30Apr17 THE SEARCH FOR CHRIST’S FAMILY

THE SEARCH FOR CHRIST’S FAMILY
The Christian Post states that researchers and religious scholars have reportedly embarked on a "groundbreaking" search to see if any living descendants of Jesus Christ's family can be found. Experts are analyzing the famous Shroud of Turin for DNA samples. And The Daily Mail has reported that scientists will also be investigating the supposed bones of John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, which were discovered in Bulgaria in 2010.


CHRISTIAN CONVERTS IN EUROPE
New Life reports that Christianity is making a comeback in Europe due to Muslim conversions, according to Matthew Kaemingk, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminar. He says that many parts of Europe are becoming more secular, and in some areas churches are losing congregations. But an increasing number of Muslims, many of them refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are converting to Christianity.

POPE CALLS FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
The Pope made numerous appeals recently to world leaders to make gestures of peace and reconciliation. In his homily at a Mass before 70,000 people in St. Peter's Square, the Pope called for the spirit of hope and mercy to continue. "Let us ask for the grace of never closing the doors of reconciliation and pardon, but rather of knowing how to go beyond evil and differences, opening every possible pathway of hope," he said.