Religion & Culture (Religion)
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U.S. President Donald Trump and his counterpart, Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, have been told that at least 16,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since June 2015, many of them victims of radical Islamic violence. The International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law submitted a petition to Buhari last week, where the civil society organization urged the president to "wake up from [his] slumber" and protect the millions of endangered Christians in Nigeria. The "Christians at Crossroads in Nigeria" letter, shared online by Elombah.com, said that 16,000 people, mostly Christians, have been killed since Buhari took office...
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Cardinal Joseph Zen, who has defended the real, underground Catholic Church in Communist China for decades, said Pope Francis's plan to unify the real church with the government-run church -- the Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) -- for diplomatic reasons, would result in "putting wolves" before "the flock" and would lead to a "massacre" of the faithful Catholics. The remarks of Cardinal Zen, 86, were reported in the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 14. In Communist China there are two Catholic churches: the real one, which went underground after the Marxist dictator Mao Zedong seized contol in 1949-50, and the government-run...
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No one has said it better than Helen Raleigh, an Asian-American commentator, writing inThe Federalist: “On this particular Ash Wednesday, millions of Catholic faithful in mainland China have an extra reason to pray for God’s mercy: their earthly leader, Pope Francis, has betrayed them.” And now the betrayal is about to be confirmed. Guo Xijin, 59, one of the two legitimate Catholic bishops of the “underground” Church in China that the Vatican has asked to step down in favor of illicitly consecrated puppet bishops of the communist-created Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA), has just declared that he will obey the order to...
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Pro-Francis journalist Mollie Wilson O'Reilly asks the pope to “stop making every pope a saint” saying that it is “a pretty big coincidence for all of the popes since Pius XII — ahem, Venerable Pius XII — to have been men of uncommon heroic virtue”. Writing in the liberal Catholic magazine Commonweal (February 8) she adds, "If the modern Church really has managed to elect an unbroken string of papal saints in the past century, well, that’s impressive, but considering that the pope is the one who gets to make that call, it’s also a bit...suspect.” In 2014, Pope Francis...
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No matter our passion and sincerity, human wisdom alone will not solve the terrible problem of mass shootings in America. A heavily-armed and deranged 19-year old unleashed hell in Broward County, Florida, on Wednesday. The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland left 17 dead, families devastated, and a school and community forever scarred. Americans have historically turned to faith and prayer in tragic times such as these. But times are changing. When it comes to mass shootings today, public expressions of sympathy and calls for prayer are increasingly answered with scorn and derision. In the hours...
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Key words: Proverb 15 (NKJV) A Soft Answer Turns Away Wrath 01 A soft answer turns away wrath, 00 But a harsh word stirs up anger. 02 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, 00 But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. 03 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, 00 Keeping watch on the evil and the good. 04 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, 00 But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 05 A fool despises his father's instruction, 00 But he who receives correction is prudent. 06 In the house of...
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Our Father in Heaven, we humbly ask that in this time of loss you would comfort the families who have lost loved ones and who have loved ones who are injured. We pray for the medical staff and all the first responders who are working with the injured. We pray for the students who have lost friends during this tragedy. We pray we turn our weary eyes and hearts to you as we attempt to deal with this tragedy.
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Academics, lawyers, human rights activists ask the Holy See to demand greater guarantees of freedom in the appointment of bishops and religious freedom in the country. Xi Jinping scepticism towards China. " Rushing for a quick achievement, taking a wrong step, can result in total failure".Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - "An irreversible and regrettable mistake ": this is how a group of Catholic personalities in Hong Kong and in the world defines the possible agreement between China and the Holy See on bishops' nominations, reported by some media as "imminent". In an open letter addressed to the bishops of the world...
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I believe that the one most revealing, the most essential characteristic of our Creator is love. By His love He made us, and because of His love He redeemed us. We are closest to His nature and what He created us to be when we are living our lives according to His idea of love. He also told us that His entire law can be summed up with one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” What does that mean? What does it mean to love your neighbor as you love yourself? First of all, who is our “neighbor?” Most of...
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Proverb 14 (NKJV) The Ways of Life and Death 01 The wise woman builds her house, 00 But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. 02 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, 00 But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him. 03 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, 00 But the lips of the wise will preserve them. 04 Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; 00 But much increase comes by the strength of an ox. 05 A faithful witness does not lie, 00 But a...
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A former pastoral associate with the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton says he was fired from his job because he would not say whether he was in a same-sex relationship with another man. In a Facebook post Tuesday, Mark Guevarra said he was investigated two months ago by his employer but refused to answer a direct question about whether he had a male partner and a daughter. "I was called into my priest's office in the presence of the head of human resources for the Archdiocese and was terminated on the grounds that I am in a relationship," wrote Guevarra. "They...
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North Carolina pays settlement to former magistrate who resigned over conscienceRALEIGH, N.C. (ChurchMilitant.com) - A Christian judge in North Carolina reached a $300,000 settlement with the state in a lawsuit for her conscience rights. The settlement took place in November 2017 but was not public knowledge until this Wednesday. When gay marriage was legalized in North Carolina in 2014, Union County magistrate Gayle Myrick prepared a resignation letter but met with her supervisors to ask them to accommodate her religious beliefs. (This was about a year before the Supreme Court approved of same-sex marriage for the whole nation in 2015's...
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A diocese's double standard penalizes conservative priests but allows for others to openly praise transgender Lutheran ministers. Father Alexander Santora, pastor of Our Lady of Grace in Hoboken, New Jersey, wrote and tweeted praise for Lutheran Pastor Rose Beeson's renaming ceremony that was held on Sunday. "Hoboken's Lutherans Make history, in the spirit of Luther's 500," he tweets, "as Pastor Beeson transitions from Rose to Peter in renaming ceremony this Sunday." In his Faith Matters article he wrote for the Jersey Journal on February 7, he opened it with, "When Jesus called Simon to be his first apostle, he changed his name to...
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Proverb 13 (NKJV) Wisdom Loves Righteousness 01 A wise son heeds his father's instruction, 00 But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. 02 A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, 00 But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence. 03 He who guards his mouth preserves his life, 00 But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction. 04 The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; 00 But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. 05 A righteous man hates lying, 00 But a wicked man is...
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Parolin Denies Christ as Divine Interpreter of Truth It's really spooky how brazenly diabolical this papacy conducts its affairs. I somehow missed some of Parolin's statements in this gem: The Vatican's Secretary of State defends the indefensible by denying the existence of Christ and His Authority to interpret Truth. Where does one start? This might possibly be the worst collection of lies from a Vatican spokesperson in the history of Christendom. The cardinal also said “no one should cling to the spirit of opposition to condemn his brother or use the past as an excuse to stir up new resentments...
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At nearly 100 years old, famed evangelist Billy Graham has a difficult time hearing, seeing, and moving around — yet his mind is still clear as ever, his daughter Anne Graham Lotz has revealed.The 69-year-old Lotz, the founder of AnGeL Ministries, gave an update on the health of her legendary father during a devotional delivered at Founder's Week, a week-long Bible conference on Moody Bible Institute's Chicago campus."I'd be remiss if I didn't bring you greetings from my father," she said. "I'm not sure he knows that I'm here. He doesn't track like he used to, but his mind is still clear.""He...
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But fellow German prelate confirms Marx not misquotedMUNICH (ChurchMilitant.com) - Cardinal Reinhard Marx, head of the German Bishops' Conference, is claiming he was misquoted when it was claimed he confirmed an interviewer's question asking if a blessing rite for same-sex couples was possible in the Catholic Church. Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising and a close advisor to Pope Francis, told Catholic News Agency on Wednesday their translation of a February 2 interview with Bavarian Radio was incorrect when he was asked, "So, you really can imagine that there might be a way to bless homosexual couples in the...
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The Church of England is facing as many as 3,300 potential sex abuse cases in the form of concerns and allegations, as revealed by the Church's lead bishop on safeguarding issues. The Times reported on Thursday that Peter Hancock, bishop of Bath and Wells, shared the latest figures, which concern sex abuse against children and vulnerable adults reaching up to 2016, during a three-day meeting of the General Synod in London. Hancock did not make it clear whether all the complaints are new or a combination with longstanding ones, but even if a fraction of them are upheld, the CofE...
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A 2015 Pew survey reported that the total number of Catholics in the United States dropped by 3 million since 2007, now comprising about 20 percent - or one-fifth - of the total population. Catholicism is losing more members than it gains at a higher rate than any other denomination – a recent development which the radical progressives at Salon celebrate. Why is this an issue that should worry Americans and the Western world at large? One key reason is that the fastest-growing religion in the country and around the world is Islam – something Salon radicals also no...
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A group of mostly Hong Kong-based academics, lawyers and human rights activists has warned that regularizing seven illicitly ordained bishops in mainland China would cause Catholics in the country to “be plunged into confusion and pain, and schism would be created in the Church in China.”The open letter was addressed to the bishops’ conferences of the world, and said the signatories were “shocked and disappointed” about unconfirmed news reports claiming the Vatican and China are on the brink of an agreement on appointing bishops in the country.The proposed agreement would allow the communist regime to nominate bishops, subject to a...
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