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Bishop Blase Cupich, a moderate who has called for civility in the culture wars and has embraced Pope Francis' focus on fighting poverty, will be named the next archbishop of Chicago, The Associated Press has learned. Cupich will succeed Cardinal Francis George... The pope's choice for Chicago has been closely watched as his first major appointment in the U.S., and the clearest indication yet of the direction he will steer American church leaders. Cupich is a moderate and is not among U.S. Roman Catholic bishops who have taken a harder line on hot-button issues. Francis has called for a greater...

ROME, Italy – Security has been tightened in Saint Peter's Square after intelligence services intercepted a possible plan to attack the Vatican, Italian media reported on Saturday, September 20, increasing fears that Pope Francis could be in danger. A foreign security service alerted Italy this week after intercepting a conversation between two Arab speakers which referred to "a demonstrative act, Wednesday, at the Vatican," Il Messaggero daily reported. Wednesday is the day the pope holds his weekly general audience in the square in front of Saint Peter's Basilica. Checks by Italy's anti-terrorism unit revealed that one of the speakers passed...

Archdiocese of Boston Ever since he first learned of a local satanic group's plans to use a public theater to perform a "black mass," Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City has been urging public officials to cancel the event and asking Catholics to pray for that intention. He has been unsuccessful, and this Sunday, the Dakhma of Angra Mainyu will take to the stage in an 88-seat theater within the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall to reenact a ritual that is an inversion of the Catholic Mass. Though they were forced to hand over what they claimed was...

< [It] may be that the Oklahoma City satanists, who call themselves the Dakhma Angra Mainyu, believe that the black mass they're holding on Sunday, Sept. 21, at the Oklahoma City Civic Center, is harmless fun, or a deliberate insult to Catholics (since the "black mass" is a perverted parody of the Catholic Mass), or even a serious attempt to call upon dark forces. But according to the beliefs of a priest from the neighboring Diocese of Tulsa, both those putting on the event and those attending--this year's event has sold out all 88 tickets--may be in spiritual peril. Monsignor...

On Sunday, Sept. 21, a local satanic sect apparently will be allowed to conduct a public act of blasphemy in the form of a so-called black mass at the Civic Center in Oklahoma City. In spite of an overwhelming outcry of alarm from around the world, our city leaders will allow this outrage to take place in a publicly supported facility. They will not accede to the reasonable requests of local citizens to stop this outright mockery of the Catholic Mass nor the reasonable concerns of so many that this satanic ritual invokes powers of evil and invites them into...

September 17, 2014 Explaining My Decision to Serve as Grand Marshal I haven’t been in this much hot water since I made the comment, right after I arrived as your archbishop five-and-a-half years ago, that Stan Musial—my boyhood hero of my hometown St. Louis Cardinals—was a much better ballplayer than Joe DiMaggio! Now I’m getting as much fiery mail and public criticism over my decision to accept the honor of Grand Marshal of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. According to the critics, I should have refused, due to the Parade Committee’s decision to allow a group of self-identified Gays...

These are the days of Elijah.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family will not open until Oct. 5, but some of its most prominent members are already publicly debating what is bound to be one of its most controversial topics: the eligibility of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion. In an interview published Sept. 18, a proponent of changing church practice to allow such Catholics to receive Communion answered criticism from some of his fellow cardinals, suggesting they are seeking a "doctrinal war" whose ultimate target is Pope Francis. "They claim to know on their own what truth...

VATICAN CITY, September 17, 2014 – The “revolution” of Pope Francis in ecclesiastical governance is not losing its driving thrust. And so, as happens in every self-respecting revolution, the heads continue to roll for churchmen seen as deserving this metaphorical guillotine. In his first months as bishop of Rome, pope Bergoglio immediately provided for the transfer to lower-ranking positions of three prominent curial figures: Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, Archbishop Guido Pozzo, and Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, considered for their theological and liturgical sensibilities among the most “Ratzingerian” of the Roman curia. Another whose fate appears to be sealed is the Spanish archbishop...

Scientists are using your heart as a security authenticator RECOMMENDED FOR YOU Netropolitan: Facebook For The Rich Or Respite From Snark? Besides Scotland, Where Else is Secession Possible? Speak Up: Stop Bullying I Attorney General Eric Holder I Cartoon Network by Taboola In the wake of serious security breaches in the last year, from the pilfering of Target customers’ credit card information to the celebrity iCloud selfie-hack, it’s easy to feel digitally naked. Your current best options—like making your password something along the lines of “**_^XBE47>>” or using two-step verification—also have their shortcomings, which has inspired a crop of enterprising...

With the EXPONENTIAL growth in technology and media Satan is more powerful than ever in peddling his godless demonic kool-aid (John 8:44, Eph. 2:1, 6:12, 1 Peter 5:18) and mankind is more sold out today then ever to do lawlessness and to hear his voice. Thank God that there are some websites and bloggers out there who give great political insight and news commentary of the day, and they also always include Almighty God's ETERNAL gospel message of hope in our nation's darkened hour such as World Net Daily and the American Clarion and their writers. There was a time...

Alqosh, Iraq (AINA) -- More than 75% of the residents of Alqosh, an Assyrian town 37 miles north of Mosul, have returned to their town after fleeing from the threat of ISIS on August 7. On September 12 the residents celebrated the festival Mar Qardakh, the patron saint of Alqosh, at the Saint Qardakh the Martyr Church. The Holy Mass was led by Bishop Michael Muqadissi of the Alqosh Archdiocese and was attended by hundreds of people from the town. After the mass, the people walked around the Church in a procession lead by children and deacons. Improvements in security...

My first patient ever stares at me blankly when I say the doctor will see her soon. Her two small children treat the waiting room chairs like monkey bars; they’ve been sitting around for hours. Dee (some names have been changed throughout) is here to get laminaria inserted, the small seaweed sticks positioned in the cervix that expand upon contact with moisture, producing enough dilation to enable a second trimester abortion, which will happen tomorrow. I know I’m not succeeding at giving her the warm, confident assurance I’ve practiced in the mirror. -snip- Women have historically supported other women through...

The Council of Cardinals has concluded a 3-day session, during which the nine papal advisers discussed a plan to merge several pontifical councils. The Council also began drafting a new apostolic constitution on the organization of the Roman Curia. In a briefing for reporters on September 17, Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, said that the Council of Cardinals has now completed its work on the economic affairs of the Vatican, with the inauguration of the new Secretariat for the Economy, under Cardinal George Pell, and the Council for the Economy supervising his work. The Council...

After almost being martyred in Sudan for refusing to renounce her Christian faith a few months ago, global Christian icon Meriam Ibrahim, 27, is breathing easier now and smiling. "Faith means life. If you don't have faith, you are not alive," said Meriam Ibrahim when asked if she was afraid of dying for her faith. In her first public interview since arriving in the U.S. with her two children and husband, Ibrahim revealed how she was able to survive after being placed on death row in Sudan for her Christian beliefs and her response was simple — "faith." It was...

The possible demotion of Card. Burke. Wherein Fr. Z rants. Posted on 16 September 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf Now that the cat is out of the bag, I’ll post this. I do not like the fact that Sandro Magister posted in this way, however.  I’ve been biting the inside of my mouth for a while now.  The optimist in me was saying that the official announcement would not be made until after the Synod of Bishops, or at least the beginning of the Synod.  Or at all.It’s not good news.  At the time of this writing, it is still...

A pair of Jewish travelers stopped by Sarah Palin’s house recently, and the GOP pundit welcomed the men in for a chat. Palin was prepping for a film segment when two strangers, donning kipopt, knocked on her door and asked to come in to kibbitz. The on-hand camera people were able to video the exchange as the past Alaska governor spoke with the pair about Judaism and Israel. Palin remarked on the events in Israel over the summer, saying “it’s not right” and adding “USA and Israel, together. ” The video was uploaded to YouTube this week via the SarahPalinChannel.com...

Pope Francis is at risk of an assassination attempt by the Islamic extremists of Isil, the Vatican has been warned, ahead of his first visit to a Muslim-majority country this weekend. As the 77-year-old pontiff prepares to travel to Albania on Sunday for a one-day visit, Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See said there were credible threats against the pontiff's life. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church could also be vulnerable when he travels to Turkey in November, the ambassador said. Jihadists from Isil have in recent weeks boasted of wanting to extend their caliphate to Rome, the heart...

Mohammed Bakr al-Baghdadi, the brother of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is the Caliph of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, has converted to christianity, reports Al-Jazeera this morning. The move has brought the man an unprecedented backlash from the Salafist Sunni community that has ordered a fatwa, or death-sentence, on the man as soon as the news was spread in media around the muslim world. "He is no more my brother then the miscreant American pigs we slay everyday" told the self-proclaimed Caliph to a large crowd of his followers. "Let Allah not forget this treacherous swine when he pleads on his...

Dr. Mark Christian is the President and Executive Director of the Global Faith Institute (GFI), a Christian organization based in Omaha, Nebraska dedicated to “the proclamation and pursuit of truth as it relates Middle Eastern history and current happenings.” Dr. Christian, an Egyptian-born Christian convert from Islam related to high-ranking leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, is now engaged in a battle to root out the Brotherhood influence in what is called the Tri-Faith Initiative, a building project in Omaha.