‘For the sake of the gospel’

CHINA: At least 279 Christian leaders across China have issued a statement decrying the government’s crackdown on Christians, calling it “an abuse of government power” that has led to conflict. “For the sake of the gospel, we are prepared to bear all losses—even the loss of our freedom and our lives,” they said. Read it all here.

AUSTRIA: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security again has issued denials of asylum to the Iranian Christians whose cases have been in limbo in Vienna. The applicants left their country on invitations by the U.S. government to apply for asylum and have family living in the United States. They were initially denied by DHS, but a federal judge ordered DHS to reconsider their claims. Background on their cases here.

VATICAN CITY: For the first time, the pope has summoned bishops worldwide to a meeting on a specific topic—sexual abuse in the church.

IRAN: A Kurdish party said its actions to oppose Iran won’t stop despite a missile attack on its headquarters in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps fired seven missiles on the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) headquarters in Koya, killing 11, as Tehran works to extend its reach in Iraq.

ISLAMIC STATE remains the world’s deadliest terrorist organization, even though attacks in the West have declined.

George Washington University will take charge of collecting into a database 15,000 pages of ISIS files retrieved from Iraq by The New York Times.

AUSTRALIA: Anyone else have a smoke gray joey pinballing around the backyard? In Canberra suburbia, it’s a regular sight.

I’M READING No Turning Back: Life, Loss, and Hope in Wartime Syria by Rania Abouzeid. Why globe trot? has generated great response, and I end the week welcoming many new email subscribers to Globe Trot. Happy weekend.

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