Religion
Kenya pastors arrested after followers seeking to meet Jesus fast to death
Kenyan police said today they have arrested a local cult leader following the death of four followers he reportedly told to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”.
Eleven other followers of the Good News International Church led by Makenzie Nthenge were taken to hospital, three of them in critical condition, after being rescued Friday in the Shakahola forest near the town of Malindi.
Police said they feared more victims would be discovered.
“The pastor is under arrest after he surrendered because he knew we were looking for him,” said Charles Kamau, criminal investigations chief of Malindi sub-county.
He was taken into custody, ahead of a court appearance scheduled for Monday.
Police raided the forest on the Kenyan coast on Friday after receiving reports of “ignorant citizens starving to death under the pretext of meeting Jesus after being brainwashed by a suspect, Makenzie Nthenge, a pastor of Good News International Church”.
The four dead have not yet been identified.
The 11 taken to the hospital were seven men and four women aged between 17 and 49, the report said.
Only two of them remained in the hospital on Saturday morning, hospital administrator Said Ali told AFP.
Some of the nine people who left had refused to take medicine or food offered to them, he said.
Investigators were expected to continue their search in the Shakahola forest on Saturday amid reports of a possible mass grave where other followers could be buried.
“It is further suspected that there are many victims in the forest land believed to belong to the suspect,” the police report said.
Local media reported that Nthenge was arrested and charged last month after two children were starved to death in the custody of their parents.
He was later released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings ($700).
Religion
You return to square one if you don’t pay tithe, says Becky Enenche
Becky Enenche, the wife of Paul Enenche, senior pastor of Dunamis International gospel Centre (DIGC), has stressed the significance of consistent tithe payment.
In an undated video circulating on social media, Becky advised Christians to constantly pay their tithe, which she refers to as “returning God’s portion”.
The clergywoman also warned that whenever a Christian fails to pay their tithe, they go “back to square one”.
Enenche also likened tithe defaulters to someone who typed a long text and mistakenly pressed the delete button.
“Paying your tithe, paying your tithe, returning God’s portion must be done consistently. Every time you miss your tithe, you go back to square one. The ones you did before become nullified,” she said.
“It is like you pressed a delete button, gbam. And all the work you did before is gone. Have you ever been typing and somebody entered the room or something mistakenly? You have typed enough text.
“The content of what you’ve typed is sufficient and you are not saving as you were typing and suddenly you press delete. You can imagine how that feels. Now what more of such a thing as your tithe.”
https://twitter.com/ChuksEricE/status/1857865926068019309?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1857865926068019309%7Ctwgr%5Ea0fe21df47634feab7fb9aa5a8c6079c7dfff01d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flifestyle.thecable.ng%2Ftrending-video-you-return-to-square-one-if-you-dont-pay-tithe-says-becky-enenche%2F
Religion
Archbishop of Canterbury resigns over child abuse allegations linked to Church of England
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has resigned following the publication of the Makin Review, which exposed the Church of England’s mishandling of historic abuse allegations involving John Smyth.
In a heartfelt statement on Tuesday, Welby acknowledged the extent of the church’s failures in responding to the abuse and expressed regret over the delayed response to survivors of Smyth’s crimes.
Welby stressed the importance of institutional responsibility and expressed sorrow for the victims and survivors of abuse, emphasising his commitment to creating a safer environment within the church.
“The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth,” Welby said.
“When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024.
“It is my duty to honour my Constitutional and church responsibilities, so exact timings will be decided once a review of necessary obligations has been completed, including those in England and in the Anglican Communion.
“I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church.”
Welby noted his efforts to implement improvements in safeguarding over the last twelve years.
“The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England,” he said.
“For nearly twelve years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.”
Welby expressed his commitment to his faith, stating that stepping aside was “in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve”.
“My deepest commitment is to the person of Jesus Christ, my saviour and my God; the bearer of the sins and burdens of the world, and the hope of every person,” he added.
Welby said he would continue his work with victims of abuse, delegating his other responsibilities until a proper risk assessment process is completed.
He also requested prayers for his family, who have been a constant source of support during his ministry.
Religion
Archbishop of Canterbury asked to resign over child abuse allegations linked to Church of England
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has been asked to resign over his failure to rigorously follow up on reports of child abuse linked to the Church of England.
On Thursday, a report revealed that “horrific” and violent abuse of more than 100 children and young men by John Smyth QC, a British barrister, was covered up within the Church of England for decades.
The report followed an independent review by the archbishops’ council of the Church of England.
Smyth QC, who died aged 77 in Cape Town in 2018, was accused of attacking boys at his home in Winchester who he had met at a Christian summer camp in Dorset during the 1970s and 1980s.
He was said to have carried out lashings with a garden cane in his shed with eight boys receiving a total of 14,000 lashes, while two more received 8,000 strokes between them over three years.
Smyth QC is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England.
The report said Welby did not follow up rigorously enough on reports of Smyth QC’s “abhorrent” abuse, adding that he “could and should” have reported the case to authorities when details were presented to him in 2013.
It also said he might have been brought to justice for decades of abuse before his death in 2018 had he been formally reported to authorities in 2013.
Three members of the Church’s parliament – the general synod – have started a petition calling for Welby to resign over his “failures” to report Smyth’s abuse
Helen-Ann Hartley, bishop of Newcastle, has also called for his resignation.
She is the most senior member of the Church to call on Welby to step down.
Hartley said it would be hard for the Church to “continue to have a moral voice” when “we cannot get our own house in order with regard to something as critically important”.
“It’s very hard to find the words to respond adequately to what the report tells us,” Bishop Hartley told the BBC.
“I think rightly people are asking the question ‘Can we really trust the Church of England to keep us safe?’ And I think the answer at the moment is ‘no’.”
She said while Welby’s resignation would not “solve the safeguarding problem,” it would “be a very clear indication that a line has been drawn, and that we must move towards independence of safeguarding”.
In a statement, Welby said he was “deeply sorry that this abuse happened” and “sorry that concealment by many people who were fully aware of the abuse over many years meant that John Smyth was able to abuse overseas and died before he ever faced justice”.
“I had no idea or suspicion of this abuse before 2013,” he said.
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