This is a news brief from our friends at Compass Direct News. To read the full story click here.
But first a reminder. Remember last week VOM got blasted by a misinformed journalist who claimed that Eritrea isn't persecuting Christians. Well, if Eritrea is a free, peace-loving, religiously-neutral place, why are they taking away the Catholic Church's minstry outreaches like schools, orphanages, etc? The Catholic church is one of the four officially-approved faiths. And why are Pastors disappearing and Christians being arrested. Read on...
LOS ANGELES, August 23 (Compass Direct News) – Christians in Eritrea confirmed yesterday that a pastor in Asmara who disappeared 11 days ago remains missing. Pastor Leule Gebreab of Asmara’s Apostolic Church failed to return home to his family on August 12. “His wife is greatly distressed about his disappearance,” a local source told Compass. Gebreab, 35, is married with two children. In a separate development, Eritrean authorities issued an ultimatum to Catholic church leaders on August 16, ordering that all the church’s schools, clinics, orphanages and women’s vocational training centers be turned over to the government’s Ministry of Social Welfare and Labor. More than 2,000 Eritrean Christians remain locked up and subjected to severe torture for their religious beliefs. A Kale Hiwot Church pastor and 20 members of his congregation arrested in the town of Dekemhare in late May and early June have yet to be released from custody. But the Rev. Zecharias Abraham and 80 worshippers at the Mehrete Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian Church, who had been arrested during Sunday services in Asmara on April 29, were all reported released during the fourth week of May.
