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On the "Singer of Charity" "Only One Task Is Entrusted to Every Human Being" VATICAN CITY, DEC. 2, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address during today's general audience in St. Peter's Square. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, In a previous catechesis I presented the figure of Bernard of Clairvaux, the "Doctor of Sweetness," great protagonist of the 12th century. His biographer, friend and admirer was William of Saint-Thierry, on whom I will pause in this morning's reflection. William was born in Liege between 1075 and 1080. From a noble family, gifted with a lively...

Some see the signs in natural disasters or political news, others in apocalyptic visions at the movie theatre. Whatever the inspiration, a growing online community is devoted to tracking the imminent arrival of the Rapture.

The comment by a Vatican spokesman followed criticism from across Europe. On Sunday voters in Switzerland voted yes to a referendum which bans the building of minarets on top of mosques used by the country's small Muslim minority. Earlier on Monday the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said he was "scandalised" by the Swiss decision and said it represented a "show of intolerance" by France's neighbour. He said it was a "negative" move because banning the construction of Muslim mosque towers amounts to "oppressing a religion". ...

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, celebrated his 75th birthday today. Canon law now requires him to submit his resignation to the Pope, although there is virtually no chance at all that the Holy Father will choose to accept that resignation anytime soon. Cardinal Bertone has only been Secretary of State for a bit more than 3 years, he is extremely energetic, and by all available indications he enjoys the full confidence of the Pontiff. Pope Benedict-- like his predecessor Pope John Paul II-- has frequently kept prelates in office well beyond the normative retirement date. In the...

Your Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper, representative of His Holiness the Pope and Bishop of Rome, Benedict XVI, and your honorable entourage, It is with great joy that we welcome you once again to the courtyard of the Church of New Rome in order to concelebrate the sacred memory of its founder and protector Saint Andrew the First-Called of the Apostles. We express our heartfelt gratitude to our beloved brother in the Lord, His Holiness Pope Benedict of Old Rome, who deigned to delegate his representatives to the Thronal feast of our Church, following the custom established decades ago for an...

While huge segments of Christendom go apostate by baptizing practicing homosexuality as divinely blessed, Christianity based upon the Bible as divine revelation not to be tampered with is flourishing in Africa.

The American Humanist Association is expanding its “Godless Holiday� advertising campaign to five major American cities this Christmas -- taking its message of a holiday season without religion nationwide for the first time. The ads read: “No God -- no problem! Be good for goodness’ sake. Humanism is the idea that you can be good without a belief in God� and feature several people in red and white Santa hats. The new ads come on the heels of an AHA campaign last year which asked “Why believe in a God?� and featured ads on public transit in Washington, D.C. Previously,...

VATICAN CITY — Homosexuals and transsexuals "will never enter the kingdom of heaven", a leading Roman Catholic cardinal said on Wednesday. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan said that while the Church regarded homosexuality as an "insult to God", this did not justify discrimination against gay and transsexual people. "Transsexuals and homosexuals will never enter the kingdom of heaven and it is not me who says this, but Saint Paul," the cardinal said, in comments reported by the Ansa news agency. "People are not born homosexual, they become homosexual, for different reasons: education issues or because they did not develop their own...

It was truly a black Friday in Calgary, as Bishop Frederick Bernard Henry suspended the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in at least two of the locations staffed by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP). The Bishop, as published on the diocesan website, made drastic and forceful measures in the face of the Swine Flu outbreak. Mandatory as of November 9th, the bishop suspended communion on the tongue and from the chalice, stopped shaking hands at the sign of peace, removed the holy water from the fonts, as well as some minor non liturgical changes. When FSSP told the...

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Evidence of "possible cooperation" between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church continues between Rome and Moscow. And the playing filed on which they meet remains the struggle for the affirmation of the Christian roots of Europe "threatened by secularism." The latest episode that gives hope for a real climate of greater proximity between the two Churches, is the presentation (today in Rome) of "Europe Spiritual Homeland", a bilingual volume in Italian and Russian collecting the speeches that Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI dedicated to Europe over the past decade. The novel aspect is that for the...

ISTANBUL, Turkey, DEC. 1, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I is affirming that progress is being made on the path to Catholic-Orthodox unity, and says uprooting the obstacle caused by the "thorny question" of papal primacy will be key for continued progress.The patriarch of Constantinople made this affirmation when he welcomed a delegation from the Holy See for Monday's feast of St. Andrew, patron of the Orthodox Church. The Vatican delegation was headed by Cardinal Walter Kasper and Bishop Brian Farrell, president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Bartholomew said the presence of the delegation in...

Whatever you think about Sarah Palin, one thing is for sure: if you have a TV show, she is guaranteed to send your ratings soaring (hello, Oprah), and if you have a Web-based column, slipping in her name will drive hits to your site (hello, reader). But that is not the reason I am writing about Sarah Palin and mentioning her name in every sentence. I actually read her book, Going Rogue, and have a few things to say about it that have not already been said. Honest. I should warn you, however, that since most readers will judge my...

The City of San Francisco is hard up for cash, so they’ve decided to steal it from the Archdiocese of San Francisco because they can – nakedly, in broad daylight, without the slightest plausible legal pretense. The Church is openly hated and condemned in San Francisco for its support of Proposition 8 and its defense of human sexual morality in general. The City can steal from the Archdiocese because the City needs the money and because it makes the citizenry happy to stick it to the evil Catholic Church.Here’s some backstory from a previous post: When you sell a piece...

NAMPA - Becki Detro said she was married to the church for 28 years of her life. Constant feelings of unworthiness caused her to leave her faith. "It was very hard," she said. "It's a hard thing when your whole family..." she couldn't continue and was visibly emotional. She's now joining an effort to help other followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who want to leave the church, but still have a place to worship. "I see a concern that LDS people are leaving because they are not receiving the healing balm of His forgiveness,"...

The vise is tightening further on Rifqa Bary, the teenage girl who converted to Christianity from Islam and then fled to Florida from her Ohio home in fear for her life. Now she is in foster care in Ohio, in imminent danger of being returned to her family, and the Ohio authorities, at the command of the Barys’ lawyer, continue to isolate her. Rifqa Bary has been in Ohio for well over a month and still there is no “approved visitation” list of friends who are allowed to see her. How can this be? How can it be that friends...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said he will share priorities and hopes for the ELCA, and wants to hear stories from members about the church's work in their own contexts, when he hosts an online "Town Hall Forum" Sunday, Dec. 6. The hour-long forum begins at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time (4:30 p.m. Central Time). The program will be webcast live from Chicago, where Hanson will be joined by an audience of ELCA members. The audience will ask questions of the presiding bishop. Web viewers can watch the...

As of Nov. 29, clergy of the diocese may solemnize marriages for all eligible couples, Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE has announced.  The decision comes after a long discernment process leading up to and continuing after the action of General Convention this past July allowing that “bishops, particularly in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage is legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this church.” The full text of Bishop Shaw’s statement follows. Advent I, November 29, 2009 Christian marriage is a sacramental rite that has evolved in the church, along with confirmation,...

Heather West and Tom Carpenter, interns from Villanova University near Philadelphia, work in the Vatican's Internet office Nov. 30. West has been working on posting videos of Pope Benedict XVI's general audiences while Carpenter has been developing a Java application to track Internet projects. (CNS/Paul Haring) By Gustavo SolisCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a truly win-win arrangement, a group of U.S. university students get amazing access to the Vatican and the Vatican gets an enthusiastic, computer-savvy volunteer workforce. Since 2004, students from Villanova University in Pennsylvania have worked alongside cardinals and priests as part of the...

Monday November 30, 2009 Send Jailed Pro-Life Heroine Linda Gibbons a Christmas Card November 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Supporters of Linda Gibbons are disseminating the following information to encourage support for the Canadian pro-life sidewalk counsellor: Linda Gibbons has been a “common criminal” for many years now.  For fifteen years, since 1994, this grandmother has been in and out of Ontario prisons. Her totally accumulated jail time is seven years.  What is her crime?  Linda prayerfully and quietly witnesses in front of Ontario abortion clinics, in violation of an unjust "bubble zone" law.  This past session has been particularly...

Father Robert J. Fox passed away at his home on Thanksgiving day at 12:45 P.M. He died a peaceful and happy death. He was anointed the night before and he also offered Mass. A wake service will be held at the Shrine of The Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville Alabama. The body will arrive at 3:00 P.M. and the rosary at 7:00 P.M. His burial will be in Alexandria South Dakota at St. Mary of Mercy Catholic Church. PRESS & DAKOTAN Published: Tuesday, December 1, 2009 12:56 AM CST Father Robert J. Fox of Hanceville, Alabama passed away on Thursday,...

The Bishop of Calgary, Alberta, has just suspended all activities of the Latin Mass communities in Calgary and Medicine Hat due to a pseudo-scientific and anti-Canonical order mandating the non-reception of the Eucharist on the tongue due to concerns related to the transmission of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. We had known about the matter for days, but had waited for some official words from the FSSP priests who serve those communities. However, since the entire matter has now been made public, we post the contents of the e-mail messages related to the affair. (A reader sent the e-mail exchange...

When we sit down at the Thanksgiving table this week I am quite certain there at least a few feelings that swoop up and tug at our conscience. However we intend to celebrate this ceremonial coming together of family and friends, there is the distinct possibility that something may be missing from the table. It could be the representation of the gift of thanks from our last Thanksgiving. Just what is that gift of thanks that may be a distinctly distant memory? It could be the true meaning to what we are giving the credit for our thanks. Is it...

What could bring record producers, famous for working on music by Elton John, Blondie and Dolly Parton, together with Pope Benedict XVI and the former choir master of St. Peter’s Basilica? The answer is “Alma Mater,” a new CD from Decca released worldwide Nov. 28. The album features nearly 10 minutes of recordings of the Pope alongside eight tracks of Lauretan Litanies, Marian popular chants and modern classical music. Each track ends with Gregorian chant sung by the Philharmonic Academy of Rome Choir and conducted by Msgr. Pablo Colino, the former chapel master of St. Peter’s.For 26 years, the Spanish priest was...

This Jerusalem Post article is sure to raise eyebrows, and perhaps tempers, among Jews, Catholics, and anyone else who thinks it's wrong and ugly to spit at someone because of his religious beliefs. This report says that Catholic and Orthodox priests and religious are regularly assaulted by Orthodox Jews who spit at them in a show of contempt. . . .

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of the bestselling book The Purpose Driven Life, drew fire last year when he was invited to give the invocation at President Obama's inauguration. His support for Proposition 8 in California, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman only, and his anti-gay-marriage views concerned many in Obama's base. Now Warren's on the defensive again, this time for his affiliation with Martin Ssempa, a Ugandan pastor who has endorsed proposed legislation in Uganda that makes certain homosexual acts punishable by life in prison or even, in some cases, death. Ssempa...

More than a dozen Lutheran congregations in Minnesota have vowed to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) after a vote in Minneapolis this summer to allow gay and lesbian pastors in committed relationships to serve as clergy. The fifteen churches will join a new denomination called Lutheran CORE and leave the ELCA, the largest Lutheran denomination in the world. The leaders of Lutheran CORE say the ELCA has moved too far away from the Bible. "Many ELCA members and congregations have said that they want to sever ties with the ELCA because of the ELCA's continued movement away...

Some good insight into Sarah Palin's faith in Almighty God. Links below. Finding Faith On Facing Challenges Source for links BGEA

TULSA, Oklahoma, November 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa, Oklahoma also chose not to contribute to the national collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) has confirmed, making him the sixth bishop confirmed to have done so.In a letter to the pastors of his diocese, read at Masses on the weekend of the November 21-22 collection, Bishop Slattery informed the faithful that the funds contributed to the CCHD collection would be reserved for use within the diocese.Msgr. Patrick Brankin told LSN that Bishop Slattery made his decision in the week before the...

The Lisbon Treaty is Ratified The Lisbon Treaty is a reformatted "treaty" to replace the constitution thatfailed ratification owing to the French and Dutch rejection of it a few years ago. As is typical for the EU, they merely repackaged it, renamed it, and passed it by having the individual nation's parliaments approved it, instead of allowing the people to vote on it (Ireland was an exception to this). Jean Monnet, the true founder of the EU, suggested that to obtain passage of significant matters in the EU; never allow the people to vote onthe issue. That advice is now...

Bishop John Chapman has given a church in the diocese of Ottawa permission to begin offering a rite of blessing to same-gender couples who are civilly married. The Church of St. John the Evangelist could offer its first blessing as soon as a married couple asks. At least one person in the couple needs to be baptized. “Same-sex couples who are civilly married and seek the Church’s blessing of their marriage must be welcomed with the same care and solicitude that the church would extend to any other of its members,” Bishop Chapman wrote in his charge to the recent...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue opines as follows:· The menorah in Nashville’s Riverfront Park is okay by the ACLU, but the crèche in Clarksville, Tennessee is not. Why? The City of Clarksville paid $200 for the animals used in the nativity scene. · A woman from Manchester, Massachusetts was told she cannot have a live nativity scene outside her First Parish Church. Why? The church sits on the town common. · A life-sized crèche has adorned the Chambersburg public square in Pennsylvania for about a half-century, but there won’t be one this year: the decision to censor it was made...

Could same-sex "marriage" spell the end of religious liberty as we know it? Here is the chilling answer. As more states-like Iowa-approve same-sex “marriage,” conservatives are claiming that freedom of religion is in peril. Same-sex “marriage” supporters accuse them of engaging in hysterical gay-bating. Who’s telling the truth? Let me share some stories with you from an excellent news broadcast produced by National Public Radio. Then you decide. Two women decided to hold their civil union ceremony at a New Jersey pavilion owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. This Methodist group told the women they could not “marry”...

Reported by Interfax of Russia in Moscow On November 25, an unusual sacred procession took place when the Virgin Mary Icon known as the "Sign" (see below) flew around the Earth 176 times. On September 30 the spaceship Soyuz TMA 16 which had a mission to bring the icon to the International Space Station was driven from the Baikonur cosmodrome, the representative of the Galaxy studying centre initiated the project told Interfax-Religion on Wednesday. The sacred procession was finished on October 11. The icon, after circling the earth for over a week,  was delivered back on the "Soyz TMA 14 spaceship. The icon of the Virgin Mary "The...

by Chuck NessAs we approach Christmas, you will no doubt be confronted by those who would like to remove the name Christ and any reference to Him from the Holiday season. That is because the world we live in has been judged by Him and it's end is near. Thus, those who hold onto this world will do all they can to keep the lost from finding the Messiah, Christ Jesus. Many do not even want to use the word "Christmas" to describe this holiday season. There are disputes across this country in community after community where public officials are...

Those in the Northeastern Iowa Synod are providing significant leadership in trying to keep their synod together in spite of the biblical and theological crisis in the ELCA. Call to Faithfulness, one of the reform groups that comprise Lutheran CORE, has provided leadership in the efforts in the Northeastern Iowa Synod. The Northeastern Iowa Synod Council has passed two resolutions in response to the Churchwide Assembly’s votes. The first resolution calls upon the ELCA Church Council to reject and work to overturn the Sexuality Statement and the Recommendations on Ministry because they are contrary to the Confession of Faith in...

Americans are also so tolerant of religion — any religion except Christianity these days — that their mindset says, “Yes, Muslims coexist nicely alongside Buddhists and Hindus and Shintoists and Jews and Christians and animists and atheists and agnostics. Yes they do. Isn’t that nice?”

A decision at the highest level of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America about homosexuality has sent discontented ripples into Polk County, and a local church is holding discussions with a potential splinter group. At Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in Winter Haven on Sunday, a representative of Lutheran Coalition for Renewal, or CORE, met with about 80 parishioners to answer questions, said the Rev. Alan Ford, pastor of Abiding Savior. The Rev. Rebecca Heber of Lake Mary told those present the Evangelical Lutheran Church is moving away from its historic standards of scriptural authority by loosening restrictions on gays in...

Note the date of this post. Should not have America wakened up long ago regarding Muslim versus Christian in Barack Hussein Obama?

A Sikh advocate in Pakistan was reportedly thrashed and threatened with dire consequences recently if he did not convert to Islam, forcing his family to run for safety to a gurdwara in Hassanabdal near Rawalpindi. While the victim, Anup Singh, was yet to regain consciousness, the incident has left the Sikh community in Pakistan rattled and insecure. Talking to TOI from Islamabad, Anup’s brother, Ravinder Singh, recalled horror of November 21. ‘‘A group of at least eight men kidnapped my brother from his office and took him to Mohammad Amin’s residence, where he was stripped and photographed with Amin’s wife.’’...

The first of five U.S. cities will be hit by a new atheist holiday ad campaign this Thanksgiving weekend. Washington, D.C., residents can expect to see ads proclaiming, "No God?...No Problem!" inside buses and rail cars. Washington, D.C., residents can expect to see ads proclaiming, “No God?...No Problem!” inside buses, rail cars and on the side or tail of buses by week’s end. The campaign, sponsored by the American Humanist Association, will then target the transit systems of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. According to AHA, the holiday ad campaign is the first by a humanist group...

The false religion is all around us. Those churches that have turned against the Word of God, Christ as God, and the proclamation of personal salvation through His forgiving mercy, aid in damning America. Those churches clustered into denominations add to the demonic force.

Monday and Thrsday mornings, 11/30 and 12/3Kohen--Genesis 32:4-6Levi--vs. 7-9Yisra'el--vs. 10-13 Strday 12/5--Shabbat Parashat VaYishlachMORNING Kohen--Genesis 32:4-13Levi--32:14-30Shelishi--32:31-33:5Revi`i--33:6-20Chamishi--34:1-35:11Shishi--35:12-36:19Shevi`i--36:20-43Maftir--36:40-43Haftarah--The Book of Obadiah EVENING Kohen--Genesis 37:1-3Levi--vs. 4-7Yisra'el--vs. 8-11

November 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - With the Patrick Kennedy Communion flap and the recent action of the Bishops of Spain having opened up the issue of denying communion to pro-abortion politicians, it is worthwhile to review the position of the Vatican on the matter. Since the controversy came to a head in 2004, the stance from the Vatican on the matter has been clear and consistent. For the Pope and top Curial Cardinals in charge of the matter there is no question about the responsibility to deny Holy Communion to Catholic politicians who obstinately support abortion. In fact, the issue...

Chastity talk resonates with Baltimore teens Sacred Heart, Glyndon, parishioners Allison Boyd and Katie Lutz share a moment inside the Sprint Center. (CR Staff/Matt Palmer) Matt Palmer mpalmer@CatholicReview.org KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Adults talking sexuality with a bunch of teens is typically a recipe for awkwardness. So, when a husband and wife team, Jason and Crystalina Evert, stood in front of 21,000 teenagers Nov. 20 and preached the values of chastity, the last thing anyone expected was for it to go over like gangbusters. But, that's exactly what happened. At the end of the Everts' nearly 40-minute presentation at the...

Jesus gave generic signs regarding His Second Coming in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

Although most of the Jewish population of Israel is secular and therefore seemingly unaffected politically by God's promise of the land to Abraham in Genesis, it appears the divine promise that "I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land of thy sojournings" holds ancient power. The pull is unconscious for most but very deep, which has an effect on most Israelis...

More than 150,000 people have so far signed the Manhattan Declaration, just a week after the document was unveiled. And one of the document's drafters, Chuck Colson, hopes the number will soon reach a million so that Christians would put America on notice that they will not compromise their faith, no matter what. Leaders from the evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic traditions released "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience" last week to stand firm on what they consider the three most foundational issues in society – the sanctity of life, the historic understanding of marriage, and religious liberty. It...

How can there be a generation of souls wholly indifferent to this delicate thread that exists in each of us and that connects us backwards to the beginning and forwards to His return? But it is not just the Culture of Death that threatens the unbroken thread. There is also the Culture of Selfishness that avoids marriage and, once married, also avoids children. I am an example of the former. I did not marry until forty-seven. How did I come finally to be blessed with a wife and two children at my advanced age? How did I not break the...

A Chinese court sentenced the pastor and leaders of a 50,000-member megachurch in northeastern China to prison, rights groups reported Thursday. Pastor Wang Xiaoguang of Linfen Fushan Church in Linfen, northern Shanxi province received three years for “illegal land occupation” and his wife Yang Rongli received a maximum of seven years for “illegal land occupation” and “assembling a crowd to disrupt public order," according to ChinaAid Association. Other church leaders received three- to four-and-a-half-year prison sentences. The sentences are among the most severe for house church leaders in recent years. “To punish an innocent house church leader with seven years...

Conservative leaders today are rejoicing over the out come of last nights 2009 election victories that have taken place. Many of the conservative leaders and their base are touting that they can see the light at the end of the tunnel and are optimistic. Last night’s victories are quite encouraging in light of the past shellacking that conservatism and the Republican Party have taken but they are the last struggling convulsions of a nation on the precipice of total collapse. The absolute reality is that the conservative, optimistic ideal cannot support the excessive weight of the current crises and realities...