Syrian Catholic Patriarch of Antioch: "The Koran gives Muslims the right to judge Christians and kill them with Jihad"

Lebanese prelates caution Synod on problems of dialogue with Islam

"Two Lebanese Catholic prelates questioned the feasibility of dialogue with Islam during discussions on October 21 at the Synod of Bishops".

Commenting on propositions advocating inter-religious dialogue, Syrian Catholic Bishop Flavien Joseph Melki of Dara, Lebanon questioned whether the suggestions were realistic:


Is it even thinkable that the Arabic countries of the Middle East, where fundamentalism is becoming more entrenched, will accept in the near future abandoning their theocratic regimes founded on the Koran and the Sharia, which constitute flagrant discrimination towards non-Muslims? To me this seems to be in the domain of utopia, for the centuries to come.
Archbishop Raboula Antoine Beylouni, also a Syrian-Catholic prelate from Lebanon, raised similar questions. Because the Muslim believes that the Qu’ran offers the absolute and complete truth, the archbishop said, “he comes to dialogue with a sense of superiority.” More ominously, he continued, the Qu’ran “commands the imposition of religion through force—with the sword.” As a result, the archbishop said, Muslims are unlikely to recognize religious freedom.

Archbishop Beylouni offered a practical suggestion for efforts at dialogue with Islam. Because the Qu’ran treats the Virgin Mary with great reverence, he said, “we should turn to her for all dialogue and all encounters with the Muslims.” He concluded his remarks with a reference to one very significant inter-faith agreement in his own country: “If it pleased God that the Feast of the Annunciation was declared a national feast day in Lebanon for Christians and Muslims, may it also become a national feast day in other Arab countries.”

Facebook apps Farmville, Texas HoldEm Poker leaked user names, 'friends': report

"The names of people who use some of the website's most popular applications, such as Farmville and Texas HoldEm Poker, were "transmitted" to outside companies by those apps via the User ID, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.

"A Facebook user ID may be inadvertently shared by a user's Internet browser or by an application," a Facebook spokesman told the newspaper.

The Facebook User ID is a number attached to each individual, and can reveal that person's name, and even the names of "friends," regardless of that person's privacy settings, according to the WSJ.

The Facebook spokesman stressed, however, that the ID itself "does not permit access to anyone's private information."

Facebook has altered its site and privacy settings over the past year in order to allow for more targeted advertising on the site, which has irked millions of users. Personal details are supposed to be kept anonymous, however, and the WSJ report would indicate that this rule was violated.

"This is an even more complicated technical challenge than a similar issue we successfully addressed last spring on Facebook.com," the Facebook spokesman told the Journal, "but one that we are committed to addressing."

The social media website insists it is making efforts to "dramatically limit" the leaking of users’ personal information".

20/20 REAL EXORCISM ! (1 of 4)

Misunderstander of Islam poses as liturgical dancer, tries to murder Roman Catholic Archbishop of Khartoum

"KHARTOUM, Sudan, OCT. 12 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Khartoum escaped unhurt from an assassination attempt that was directed at him on Sunday, the feast of St. Daniele Comboni".

'Happiness Preacher' Commits Suicide

“A South Korean television personality known as the 'happiness preacher' and her husband were found dead in a motel room in an apparent joint suicide, police said Friday… Choi wrote about 20 books about happiness and hope and earned her nickname for inspiring people to live happily through ...her TV programs.”