Guatemala: 'Emergency' over killings
Guatemalan president Alvaro Colom has declared a ‘state of siege’ along the Mexican border, where at least 27 people were killed over the weekend in a ‘Mexico Zetas’ drug gang massacre. The state of emergency will restrict demonstrations and allow police to carry out raids at night, and try to track down the killers. The order finishes Tuesday. Police have captured one suspect and killed two others in an operation in which two policemen were wounded. Alvaro Colom said that Guatemala must confront the aggression which had infected the entire region. Authorities have identified 15 of the 27 migrant farm workers beheaded in the massacre, three children and two women were among the victims, the youngest was 13 years old. (See last weeks PA re. Mexico borders Drug/Human trafficking)
Pray: that this investigation will be completely lawful, protected from corruptive influence and ask Him for a season of justice and restoration for the area. (Ps.9:16)
More: http://english.aljazeera.net/video/americas/2011/05/2011517103516680111.html
Queen's symbolic Ireland visit
The Queen is sowing seeds of reconciliation that no amount of government negotiation could achieve. The Queen, who arrived wearing emerald green, laid a wreath at Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance which commemorates those who died resisting the British rule in the 1916 revolution. The wreath-laying ceremony has been viewed as a symbolic act of reconciliation between the two countries. The British national anthem was played, which is something that would have been unthinkable ten years ago. A motorcade then took the 85-year-old Queen to sign a visitors' book dating back to 1802 and plant an Irish oak sapling. Her actions mirror Queen Victoria’s planting a redwood there in 1861. HM visited Trinity College Dublin where she viewed the Book of Kells, a ninth century gospel manuscript kept in the Old Library with the college's royal charter signed in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I. The visit coincides with the 37th anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. Pray: for seeds of reconciliation sown by HM Head of State and Church to produce abundant fruit of God's purposes for our nations. (Jn.4:35-37) More: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/queen-visits-ireland-despite-bomb-threat-030220372.html
SNP Government urged to make gay marriage a top priority
The SNP won a majority in the Scottish elections last Thursday; it’s the first time since devolution in 1999 that a majority government has been elected. First Minister Alex Salmond indicated during his campaign that he personally supports the idea of same-sex marriage, and within hours of the historic win the SNP majority government was being urged by a homosexual lobby group (Equality Network) to fundamentally redefine marriage. Daniel Donaldson of the charity said, ‘We hope and expect that a consultation will now proceed quickly.’ Critics are concerned about the implications for society and schools if marriage is redefined. The Guardian’s Michael White has expressed concern about same-sex marriage, saying that heterosexual marriage is distinct because it ‘is there to produce and raise children in a more or less stable environment’. The homosexual activist group, Stonewall, has already sent a teacher training pack to primary schools urging them to use story books pushing same-sex marriage.
Pray: for First Minister Alex Salmond, and that God will work through the SNP’s election manifesto, and Scottish Parliament’s law makers. (Ps.2:10-11)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/snp-govt-urged-to-make-gay-marriage-a-top-priority/
Archbishop allows freemason to be bishop
Dr Rowan Williams named the Rev Jonathan Baker as the next Bishop of Ebbsfleet despite knowing he was an active and senior mason. The appointment, announced earlier this month, marked a significant U-turn by Dr Williams who had previously said that Freemasonry was ‘incompatible’ with Christianity and had refused to promote Masons to senior posts. Last week, as news of Fr Baker’s membership of the Masons began to circulate through the Church, it provoked growing concern and criticism from clergy and members of the General Synod. When contacted by The Sunday Telegraph last Friday, Fr Baker defended his continued membership of the Masons and insisted it was compatible with his new role as a bishop. Yet yesterday he said he had changed his mind and was leaving the Masons so that he could concentrate on being a bishop, adding: ‘I wish nothing to distract from the inauguration of that ministry.’
Pray: that the confused messages from Fr Baker would lead to his finding God’s truth and freedom from false ‘religion’. (Jer.23:16)
More:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8514169/Archbishop-allows-freemason-to-be-bishop.html
