Germany thwarts terror plot: Teenage suspects reportedly planned attacks on churches
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=275127&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
German police cars (file image) / Mike Baumeister via Unsplah (CC0)CNA Newsroom, Apr 12, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).German authorities have reported the arrest of four suspects allegedly planning terror attacks in Germany. According to Bild newspaper, the group intended to target Christians attending church services and police stations with knives and Molotov cocktails.The Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office revealed that the suspects, who are between 15 and 16 years old, were apprehended over the Easter weekend."The suspects are strongly suspected of having planned an Islamist-motivated terrorist attack and of having agreed to commit it," authorities stated, as reported by CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner.The arrests were conducted following an investigation by the Public Prosecutor General's Office and the anti-terror unit, ZenTer NRW. North Rhine-Westphalia's interior minister, Herbert Reul, detailed the case at a press conference in Düsseldorf on Thursday, notin...
German police cars (file image) / Mike Baumeister via Unsplah (CC0)
CNA Newsroom, Apr 12, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
German authorities have reported the arrest of four suspects allegedly planning terror attacks in Germany. According to Bild newspaper, the group intended to target Christians attending church services and police stations with knives and Molotov cocktails.
The Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office revealed that the suspects, who are between 15 and 16 years old, were apprehended over the Easter weekend.
"The suspects are strongly suspected of having planned an Islamist-motivated terrorist attack and of having agreed to commit it," authorities stated, as reported by CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner.
The arrests were conducted following an investigation by the Public Prosecutor General's Office and the anti-terror unit, ZenTer NRW. North Rhine-Westphalia's interior minister, Herbert Reul, detailed the case at a press conference in Düsseldorf on Thursday, noting that the suspected terror plans were "quickly and purposefully thwarted."
Reul mentioned that it took only five days from the initial findings by German security authorities to the arrest. "We succeeded in preventing worse things from happening," he stated, as quoted by FAZ newspaper.
These arrests are not isolated incidents. In November 2023, two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, were arrested on suspicion of terrorism. They reportedly sympathized with the Islamic State and were believed to have planned a Christmas market attack using a vehicle, CNA Deutsch reported.
In December and early January, several of Europe's most renowned cathedrals, including those in Cologne and Vienna, were on high alert due to concerns about a planned attack for New Year's Eve. Authorities detained but later released three suspects; the men were reportedly members of the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), the same group linked to the March 25 Moscow concert hall attack.
In July 2023, German police arrested seven members of an alleged Islamist terror cell in the same region. According to public broadcaster ZDF, similar arrests were made simultaneously in the Netherlands. The men of Tajik and Turkmen origin reportedly traveled to Western Europe via Ukraine.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&url=10&view=post&articleid=275913&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis converses with Metropolitan Agathangelos, director general of the Apostolikí Diakonía of the Greek Orthodox Church, at the Vatican on May 16, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, May 16, 2024 / 16:18 pm (CNA).Pope Francis has placed in young people his hope that Catholics and Orthodox may be "united in diversity" and "break the chains" of antagonism, misunderstanding, and prejudice that have kept them prisoners for centuries.In a Thursday audience, the Holy Father received the director-general of the Apostolikí Diakonía of the Orthodox Church of Greece, Metropolitan Agathangelos, and a delegation from the Theological College of Athens.The Apostolikí Diakonía is the official publishing house and missionary arm of the Orthodox Christian Church of Greece. Since 1936 it has published hundreds of books on Christian theology and tradition, Orthodox spirituality, and biblical studies.At the beginning of his talk given at the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, the ...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&url=10&view=post&articleid=275912&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
In an interview with 60 Minutes' Norah O'Donnell, airing this Sunday, Pope Francis took aim at his "conservative critics" in the United States. / Credit: CBS News/Adam VerdugoCNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 16:58 pm (CNA).In an interview with "60 Minutes" airing this Sunday, Pope Francis takes aim at his "conservative critics" in the United States, reportedly saying a conservative is someone who "clings to something and does not want to see beyond that.""It is a suicidal attitude," the pope said as reported by "60 Minutes," which released a brief clip of the upcoming interview conducted by CBS' Nora O'Donnell. "Because one thing is to take tradition into account, to consider situations from the past, but quite another is to be closed up inside a dogmatic box."The Pope addresses his conservative critics in the church."Conservative is one who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that. It is a suicidal attitude," says Pope Francis. This Sunday on ...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=8838&url=10&view=post&articleid=275911&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Jessica Tapia displays a sign outside the Garden Grove Unified School District board meeting on behalf of the Teachers Don't Lie program. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Advocates for Faith and Freedom and Jessica TapiaCNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 18:04 pm (CNA).A Christian teacher settled in court for $360,000 earlier this week after suing a California school district board for firing her after she refused to comply with gender ideology rules that went against her religious beliefs.After refusing to comply with a preferred pronoun rule, Jessica Tapia was fired by the Jurupa Unified School District from her job as a physical education teacher."It ultimately really does come down to my faith and how I believe that it's always worth it to stand for righteousness and fight for truth," Tapia told CNA in a phone call. "And ultimately, I believe the word of God is that truth and is the instructions we've been given to live our life upon. There's really nothing else or no one else that I lea...