United Kingdom Gospel
Embassy of the United States in Manila
Father Carmelo Capizzi, Distinguished Faculty and Staff. Magandang Hapon & Good Afternoon. And to the 2005 Rogationist College graduating class, Congratulations! You made it! You are free. You are now ready to go out into the world. Doesn’t that just scare you to death? I suspect your feelings must be very confused right now: an odd mixture of anxiety and eagerness. A bittersweet sorrow as many of you now leave the safety and warmth of this place forever, and a fearful joy that finally you can take control of your own lives and your own destiny. You know--because people keep telling you—that this is a transition point in your lives. But it doesn’t quite feel like one. You didn’t wake up today feeling you are a different person than you were yesterday, and yet everyone is telling you that this is the end ... [Read More]
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
Some Protestant house church groups reported that after the December 2001 State Council Work Conference on Religion, police raids on worship services increased, resulting in greater numbers of detentions. On February 5, Huang Aiping, Li Wulong, and Ji Qingjun were sentenced to 7 years in prison for "using a cult organization to violate the law" in Xiamen, Fujian Province. The three were members of the Blood and Water Holy Spirit Full Gospel Preaching Team, which was founded in Taiwan and was banned on the mainland in 1996 as an "illegal infiltration organization." In December 2001, Gong Shengliang, founder of the South China Church, was sentenced to death on a wide range of criminal charges, including rape, arson and assault. His niece, Li Ying, was sentenced to death with a 2-year reprieve. In September an appeals court overturned the death sentences, and in October Gong was sentenced to life in prison and Li to 15 years. In the retrial, the court dropped all "evil cult" charges again ... [Read More]
International Religious Freedom Report 2002: Lithuania
Approximately 0.23 percent of the population belong to what the Government refers to as "nontraditional" religious communities. The most numerous are the Full Gospel Word of Faith Movement, Pentecostals/Charismatics, New Apostolic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, and Seventh-Day Adventists. According to the Ministry of Justice, a total of 967 traditional and 184 nontraditional religious associations and communities are registered. ... [Read More]
International Religious Freedom Report 2002: China (includes Hong Kong and Macau)
Many religious leaders and adherents have been arrested and sentenced to prison terms. On February 5, 2002, a Xiamen court sentenced Huang Aiping, Li Wulong, and Ji Qingjun to 7 years in prison for "using a cult organization to violate the law." The three were members of the Blood and Water Holy Spirit Full Gospel Preaching Team, which was founded in Taiwan and banned on the mainland in 1996 as an "illegal infiltration organization." In December 2001, Gong Shengliang, founder of the South China Church, and his niece Li Ying were sentenced to death on a wide range of criminal charges, including rape, arson, and assault. Both remained in detention at the end of the period covered by this report while appealing their sentences. Two members of the South China Church claimed that police tortured them until they agreed to sign statements claiming that they had been raped by Gong. Other persons arrested along with Gong and his niece were sentenced to prison for periods ... [Read More]
Zarqawi Letter
And when Ibn Hazm brought evidence and proofs against the Jews and Christians for distorting the Torah and the Gospel, they found no retort except to say that the Shi`a among them spoke of distortions to the Qur’an. He said, God’s mercy! When they speak of the claim of the Shi`a that substitution has occurred, the Shi`a are not Muslims. They are a sect that follows the path of the Jews and Christians in lying and infidelity.” – al-Fasl, part 2, page 78 ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Full Gospel Service: ... [Read More]
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
Actions against such groups continued during the year. For example, police in January reportedly arrested over 100 members of the All-Scope Church in Henan Province and accused them of being a "doomsday cult." In February 2002, three members of the Blood and Water Holy Spirit Full Gospel Preaching Team were sentenced to 7 years in prison for "using a cult organization to violate the law" in Xiamen, Fujian Province. In December 2001, Gong Shengliang, founder of the South China Church, was sentenced to death on criminal charges including rape, arson, and assault. In 2002, an appeals court overturned his death sentence, and Gong was sentenced to life in prison. In the retrial, four women from his congregation claimed that, prior to the first trial, police had tortured them into signing statements accusing Gong of raping them. The four women, who were found not guilty of "cultist activity" in the retrial, were nonetheless immediately sent to reeducation-through-labor camps. In the retrial, ... [Read More]
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