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Bombs away!

12 Apr 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the Letter to the Colossians, one of the Easter lectionary options, encourages us to "think of what is above, not of what is on earth." With a North Korean missile launch in mind last Sunday, President Obama announced in a speech in Prague that the U.S. will embark on an ambitious plan to markedly reduce the number of nuclear weapons around the world. If he succeeds, words from the Acts of the Apostles read this Sunday-"he went about doing good"-will certainly apply. Obama told a cheering crowd estimated at 20,000 or more that the United States is ready to lead an international effort to reduce atomic arsenals and the threat they pose. Speaking hours after the North Korean missile launch, which drew international concern and condemnation, Obama outlined a plan toward a goal he admitted was decades away. "As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act," he told the crowd gathered in Prague's historic Hradcany Square. Obama laid out a process to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, ban nuclear testing, and put loose fissile material out of the reach of terrorists. Until weapons and the material to make them are fully secured, Obama said, the U.S. will maintain its nuclear arsenal to deter adversaries. Obama promised to negotiate a strategic arms-reduction treaty with Russia by the end of the year that would dramatically reduce the number of nuclear warheads. A few days earlier, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed during meetings in London to produce a new arms-control treaty to replace the current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires in December. Obama's plan also called for peaceful uses of nuclear power through an international fuel bank that would be available to every nation that renounces nuclear weapons. He said he supported Iran's right to pursue nuclear energy, providing the regime agrees to regular and thorough inspections. Finally, Obama said he hoped to host a world summit on nuclear weapons within the year. Source: An article by Christi Parsons and Tom Hamburger for the Chicago Tribune

barack obama russia strategic arms reduction treaty dmitry medvedev united states nuclear weapons missiles prague north korea

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Unequivocal condemnation

31 May 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples began to speak in different tongues, we hear in the Acts of the Apostles. Though they speak different tongues, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council denounced with one voice North Korea's underground detonation of a nuclear device Monday. Tensions rose through the week as North Korea tested short-range missiles and appeared to restart production at its main nuclear facility. On Tuesday North Korea decried a South Korean decision to join a U.S.-led initiative to search ships carrying suspicious cargoes to prevent trafficking of weapons of mass destruction. North Korea said that as a result of the South's action, which it considered tantamount to a declaration of war, it was abandoning the truce that ended the Korean War. It pledged to attack if its ships were stopped. Meanwhile, South Korean news reports say that steam has been seen coming from a plant at the North's main nuclear facility, a sign that it may have made good on its threat to restart efforts to make weapons-grade plutonium. Antagonisms had already risen significantly across the Korean peninsula in recent weeks. Last month North Korea launched a long-range rocket over Japanese airspace, angering the international community. Pyongyang said the rocket carried a satellite, but several nations viewed it as a cover for a missile test. The Security Council is working on a stronger resolution condemning North Korea's actions, including possible punitive measures. Washington is calling for a quick and unified response that will make it clear to Pyongyang that there are consequences for its actions. But U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the door was still open to resume long-running six-party talks and that the U.S. was looking at a "whole range of options." "We are thinking through complicated issues that require very careful consideration," said Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Source: An article by the BBC

nuclear weapons missiles north korea united nations security council south korea pyongyang

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Korea hands down harsh sentences for journalists

14 Jun 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Moses wrote down the words of the Lord, we hear in this Sunday's reading from the Book of Exodus. Two U.S. journalists arrested in North Korea for reporting on and writing down a sensitive story without government authorization were sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp Monday, as the government of Kim Jong Il continued to ratchet up tension with its neighbors and the United States. Laura Ling and Euna Lee, television reporters detained in March along North Korea's border with China, received harsher sentences than many outsiders had expected. But several experts in South Korea predicted that talks would soon negotiate their release. Ling and Lee were working for Current TV, a cable and Web network cofounded by former vice president Al Gore, when they were apprehended March 17 by North Korean soldiers along the border with China. The reporters were working on a story about North Koreans who flee the country, but the circumstances of their arrest are not clear. The State Department last week did not rule out the possibility that Gore might fly to North Korea to negotiate the reporters' release. The detention and sentencing of the two journalists has coincided with--and become entangled in--a series of provocative acts by North Korea this spring that have angered its neighbors, its historical allies, and much of the world. The heavily armed, secretive state, in the midst of a succession process as the country's ailing leader prepares to hand power over to his youngest son, launched a long-range missile in April, detonated an underground nuclear bomb in May, and has renounced the truce that ended the Korean War. On Monday North Korea warned fishermen and boat captains to stay away from the country's east coast, Japan's coast guard said. The North is planning to launch several medium-range missiles from the region, according to reports in the South Korean press. Wednesday, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council approved a draft resolution that would significantly expand export limits and financial restrictions on North Korea and leave open the possibility of widening inspections of North Korean cargo vessels. North Korea has said that any attempt to stop its vessels would be considered an act of war. Source: Articles by Blaine Harden for the Washington Post, Edith M. Lederer for Associated Press, and Neil MacFarquhar for the New York Times

north korea labor camp euna lee laura ling kim jong il journalists south korea united nations security council al gore

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Touched by an angel

09 Aug 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Elijah is touched by an angel in this Sunday's reading from 1 Kings. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has rarely been called an angel, but he seemed like one to two American journalists detained for nearly five months in North Korea. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were reunited with their families on American soil Wednesday morning after a carefully negotiated "rescue mission" involving Clinton. Although the White House and the U.S. State Department steadfastly insisted that the former president was on a "private humanitarian mission," the trip came about only after weeks of back-channel conversations involving academics, congressional figures, and senior White House and State Department officials, said sources involved in the planning. Ling addressed a crowd of news reporters and well-wishers that included Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore, who cofounded the television channel that employs the journalists. "Thirty hours ago, Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea," Ling said. "We feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp. And then, suddenly, we were told that we were going to a meeting. . . . "When we walked in through the doors, we saw, standing before us, President Bill Clinton. We were shocked. But we knew instantly, in our hearts, that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. And now we stand here, home and free." Clinton secured the women's release after meeting for several hours and attending a formal banquet with reclusive North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. The highly unusual visit gave Kim--whose relationship with the United States has deteriorated steadily in recent months--a thin slice of the international legitimacy that has long eluded him. Source: An article by Glenn Kessler and Debbi Wilgoren for the Washington Post

bill clinton north korea prisoners kim jong il laura ling euna lee al gore

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No new nukes, announces Obama

11 Apr 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the Sunday reading from the Book of Revelation, “a voice as loud as a trumpet” says to John, “I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.” Expressing grave concern over the potential for nuclear proliferation and “nuclear terrorism,” President Barack Obama Tuesday announced a fundamental shift in the nation’s nuclear strategy. Arguing that the spread of atomic weapons to rogue states or terrorists represents a worse threat than the nuclear Armageddon feared during the Cold War, Obama said his administration would narrow the circumstances in which the U.S. might launch a nuclear strike, forgo the development of new nuclear warheads, and seek even deeper reductions in U.S. and Russian arsenals. "The greatest threat to U.S. and global security is no longer a nuclear exchange between nations, but nuclear terrorism by violent extremists and nuclear proliferation to an increasing number of states," Obama said. The announcement set the stage for his trip to Prague Thursday to sign a new arms reduction agreement with Russia to cut stockpiles of long-range nuclear warheads by a third, as well as for a "nuclear summit" of 40 world leaders Obama will host next Monday in Washington. Those gathered will discuss improving safeguards against terrorists acquiring nuclear bombs. From the start of his term in office Obama has put halting the spread of atomic arms near the top of his defense priorities. But during his first year he failed to achieve a significant breakthrough on arguably the two biggest threats: Iran and North Korea. "Given al-Qaeda's continued quest for nuclear weapons, Iran's ongoing nuclear efforts, and North Korea's proliferation, this focus is appropriate and, indeed, an essential change from previous" policy, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday. While the new policy rules out new nuclear weapons or testing, it calls for setting aside billions of dollars to "modernize" existing U.S. weaponry. The new strategy, though a major shift, isn't as far-reaching as liberals had hoped nor as radical as conservatives had feared, said analysts. It contains initiatives sought by both sides, including those of Republican senators whose votes Obama will need in order for the new arms reduction treaty with Russia to be ratified. Articles by Dan De Luce for Agence France Presse, Jonathan S. Landay and Margaret Talev for McClatchy Newspapers, and Robert Burns and Anne Flaherty for Associated Press

barack obama al qaeda nuclear weapons north korea iran nuclear strategy robert gates

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The two Koreas study war some more

28 Nov 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

At the advent of a new church year this Sunday we are treated to the prophet Isaiah’s poetic and inspiring promise of a world one day at peace: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” Events on the Korean peninsula this week suggest that long-awaited day has not yet arrived. South Korea Tuesday threatened to retaliate for North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean island military installation, while U.S. officials scrambled to avert any catastrophic escalation of hostilities after one of the most serious confrontations on the Korean peninsula in decades. The North’s surprise bombing of the instillation, which killed two soldiers, burned homes, and injured 19 people, sent South Koreans fleeing the west-coast island of Yeonpyeong as their government put the air force on high alert and declared that North Korea would face massive retaliation if it launched further attacks. President Obama and South Korea’s president agreed Tuesday night to hold joint military exercises as a first response to the shelling, as both countries struggled for the second time this year to keep a North Korean provocation from escalating into war. U.S. officials and allies also began trying to round up support for a United Nations Security Council statement that would condemn Pyongyang's action, diplomats said. Analysts see the North’s attack in part as the lashing out of an increasingly isolated and impoverished nation demanding to be taken seriously on the world stage. “The regime wants respect,” says analyst Jean H. Lee, adding that the decision to show off a new uranium enrichment plant to a U.S. scientist recently was a clear ploy to pressure Washington and Seoul and remind the allies that the North expects to be taken seriously. Source: Articles by Paul Richter and John M. Glionna for the Los Angeles Times, Jean H. Lee for the Associated Press, Hack Kim and Lee Jae-won for Reuters, Sunny Yang, Mimi Hall, and Tom Vanden Brook for USA TODAY, and David E. Sanger and Mark McDonald for the New York Times

north korea south korea yeonpyeong jean h lee bombing

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Christian persecution continues worldwide

15 Jan 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

On his way to becoming a prophet, young Samuel learned how to hear and respond to the call of God, we learn in Sunday’s first reading. In many countries, Christians who dare to do the same openly risk persecution. The international Christian organization Open Doors released its annual World Watch List this week, naming the 50 countries where it says Christians face the worst persecution--and the situation is not improving. For the tenth year running North Korea topped the list. Christianity has been driven so far underground in North Korea, Open Doors said, that parents wait until their children are old enough to understand the dangers of practicing their faith before teaching them about it. The organization also estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christian are currently interned in labor camps in North Korea. For the first time in the 20 years the list has been compiled, the situation for Christians did not improve last year in any country, Open Doors said. Christians also are under attack in Nigeria, where the radical Muslim Boko Haram sect killed 44 people after it promised to murder Christians living in the predominately Muslim north of the country. Speaking Saturday to journalists, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, vowed the group's members would adequately protect themselves from the sect. He declined to offer specifics, raising concerns about retaliation. "We have decided to work out means to defend ourselves against these senseless killings," Oritsejafor said. He added: "We cannot sit back and watch people being slaughtered like animals every day, going to the church, shooting people, killing them. This is unacceptable." In Egypt, Coptic Orthodox Christians last weekend celebrated their first Christmas since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and an escalation in violence associated with the growing power of Islamists. Celebrations of Orthodox Christmas began amid tight security and a show of national unity. Mass at Cairo's main cathedral was attended by prominent figures from across Egypt's political spectrum, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group whose associated political party has won nearly half the seats in parliament. Members of the ruling military council that took power after Mubarak's Feb. 11 ouster also attended, as well as the visiting top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman. Coptic Pope Shenouda III commended their presence and appealed for national unity for "the sake of Egypt." The 88-year-old church leader said: "For the first time in the history of the cathedral, it is packed with all types of Islamist leaders in Egypt. They all agree . . . on the stability of this country and in loving it, and working for it and to work with the Copts as one hand for the sake of Egypt." Coptic Christians comprise an estimated 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 85 million. Sources: Articles by ENI News, ReligionClause.com,and Njadvara Musa and Sarah El Deeb for the Associated Press

egypt world watch list boko haram ayo oritsejafor christian association of nigeria muslim brotherhood pope shenouda iii coptic christians copts nigeria christians islamism persecution north korea open doors

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Korean divide grows sharper

07 Apr 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The resurrected Christ comes to the fearful disciples with a calming message in the gospel for this Second Sunday of Easter: “Peace be with you.” An agitated and long-divided Korean peninsula could use a calming message of peace as well but as world leaders nervously look on, statements from officials in the North and the South have become increasingly bellicose in recent days.President Park Geun-hye of South Korea ordered the country’s military on Monday to deliver a strong and immediate response to any North Korean provocation, the latest turn in a war of words that has become a test of resolve.Ratcheting up the rhetoric, North Korea warned early Thursday that its military has been cleared to wage an attack on the U.S. using "smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear" weapons.The U.S. Defense Department meanwhile said that it will deploy a missile defense-system to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam to strengthen regional protection against a possible attack from North Korea. Pentagon officials said the U.S. was seeking to defuse the situation.North Korea has railed for weeks against joint U.S. and South Korean military exercises taking place in South Korea and has expressed anger over tightened sanctions for a February nuclear test. But despite the rhetoric, analysts say they do not expect a nuclear attack by North Korea, which knows the move could trigger a suicidal war that would shatter their fragile, insular state.Homily hint: Fear holds back many of those who first heard the testimony of the risen Lord. Fear seems to be the modus operandi of the North Korean regime. What can open societies and people of faith offer to help countries like North Korea overcome their fear and join the larger community of nations? Sources: Articles by Mark Landler and Choe Sang-Hun for theNew York Times and Jean H. Lee for the Associated Press

missiles north korea south korea park geun-hye pentagon

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Christians, take cover

19 Jan 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s gospel tells of John the Baptist announcing the arrival on the scene of Jesus, “the Lamb of God.” Both John and Jesus would be executed for their faith—as were an alarming 2,123 Christians worldwide last year, nearly double the 1,201 martyred in 2012. More than half of those reported killings occurred in Syria, followed by Nigeria and Pakistan.North Korea, a nation of more than 24 million with an estimated 300,000 Christians, remains the most dangerous, where life-long imprisonment or execution is the sentence if caught in possession of a Bible. Somalia, Syria, and Iraq are also listed among the most dangerous nations by Open Doors, a nondenominational group tracking persecuted Christians worldwide.In North Korea the group reports that “like others in that country, Christians have to survive under one of the most oppressive regimes in contemporary times. . . . An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians live in concentration camps, prisons, and prison-like circumstances under the regime of leader Kim Jong-Un.”Syria, which had not previously cracked the group’s list of top ten most oppressive places for Christians, ranked third last year. As in Somalia, Islamic extremism powers the persecution in Syria, according to Open Door officials, and many municipalities that previously had large populations of Christians have become ghost towns.When it comes to Catholic pastoral workers, Latin America is the most dangerous region of the world. In 2013, according to Vatican sources, 22 pastoral care workers were killed worldwide, mostly priests, almost double the 13 slain in 2012. Colombia was the most dangerous country, with 7 priests killed there in 2013.Homily hint: While some U.S. Christians worry about threats to their religious freedom, Christians in many other nations around the world have tasted the hard-line violent type of persecution. What can you and your community do to raise awareness and work for religious freedom around the world? Sources: Articles by Joshua Rhett Miller for Fox News and by Agenzia Fides

martyrs north korea persecution syria open doors

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