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DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) - A group of ex-Muslim converts to Catholicism are criticizing Pope Francis' approach to Islam. In an open letter to the Holy Father recently published online, the former Muslims say the pope's teaching on Islam as it appears in the apostolic exhortation ‬Evangelii Gaudium (EG) implies that Islam is a good religion in itself. "‬If‭ ‬Islam is in itself a good religion,‭ ‬as you seem to teach,‭ ‬why did we become Catholic‭?" they ask. "‬Do not your words question the goodness of the choice we made‭ ‬…‭ ‬at the risk of our lives‭?" Paragraph 252 of EG declares:...

In his new message for the World Day of Peace, Pope Francis has denounced those who question the wisdom of mass migration, accusing them of demagoguery and promoting xenophobia. Those who decry “the risks posed to national security or the high cost of welcoming new arrivals,” are guilty of “demeaning the human dignity due to all as sons and daughters of God,” Francis said in the New Year’s message. To resort to such “rhetoric,” the Pope continued, people “are sowing violence, racial discrimination and xenophobia, which are matters of great concern for all those concerned for the safety of every...

In a front-page L’Osservatore Romano op-ed, Italian historian Lucetta Scaraffia wrote that relativism, which the Church has had to confront in recent decades, has given way to the phenomenon of “post-truth,” which is more difficult to confront because it is “elusive and pervasive.” Citing the French historian Marcel Guachet, Scaraffia described “post-truth” as “the adulterous daughter of the politically correct.” Scaraffia, a frequent contributor to the Vatican newspaper, said that “post-truth” media are constructing the “image of a progressive and permissive Pope” by quoting Pope Francis out of context, emphasizing these quotations in headlines, and passing over statements that are...

"You have defended the clear traditions of faith"VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is praising the Vatican's former chief of doctrine. In a preface to a newly published German book, the retired pontiff wrote: "You have defended the clear traditions of faith, but in the spirit of Pope Francis you have tried to understand how they can be lived today."The book, titled The Triune God: Christian Faith in the Age-Old Era, is being published in anticipation of Müller's 70th birthday on December 31, and on the 40th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. The nearly 700-page tome...

Candle lights, fragrant of incense and sounds of bells brought back to life in the Chaldean Church of St. Paul in Mosul (Almajmoua’ Althaqafyia suburb). The Eucharist, symbol of the New Testament for the salvation of all mankind is back again on the altar. All this happened on Sunday, 24 December 2017, when His Beatitude the Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako celebrated the mass in participation of the Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni, the Archbishop of Mosul of Syriac Catholics, Putros Moshi and the Archbishop of Mosul of Syriac Orthodox, Nicademos Sharaf, in addition to some priests. Among them Fr....

A beautiful roundup and current events summary, and some important words for the year ahead.

Continuing Annual Tradition, Pontiffs Pray and Speak PrivatelyPope Francis visited Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Thursday afternoon to personally give his Christmas greetings to the Pontiff Emeritus at his residence at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in Vatican City, reported the Holy See Press Office. As has become their tradition, they prayed together briefly and then spent some time having pleasant conversation. The visit lasted about 30 minutes. In various occasion, Pope Francis likened Benedict XVI’s presence in the Vatican to having a “wise grandfather living at home.”

ROME, December 20, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican Nativity scene featuring a naked man, a corpse, and no sheep or oxen is the artistic offering of an abbey which is the focus of Italian LGBT activists, it has emerged. Enquiries by LifeSiteNews have revealed that the Abbey of Montevergine, which donated the innovative ‘Nativity of Mercy,’ houses the Marian image that has been adopted as patroness by LGBT activists in Italy. The abbey shrine is the annual destination of a sort of sacred and profane “ancestral gay pride” pilgrimage which, according to one LGBT activist, in recent years has gained...

“We build churches and create monasteries … because the people demand it,” Met. Hilarion (Alfeyev) affirmed. According to available statistics, an average of three churches a day are opened in the Russian Orthodox Church, and if construction continues at such a pace, the number of churches in Russia will double within 25-30 years, reaching pre-revolutionary levels, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, the chairman of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations, recently stated on the television program “The Church and the World,” reports RIA-Novosti. “Over the past nearly 30 years, we have built more than 30,000 churches, that...

A viral video posted to social media on Friday shows a man and woman who professed to be Christians declining a woman’s pleas not to abort their baby, stating that the child would interfere with their plans and that they had “prayed about” the matter. While the background behind the video, such as the location of the recording, has not been divulged, the footage captures the nearly seven-minute conversation between the young couple and a woman named Kate. “You guys aren’t here for an abortion, are you?” called out Kate, who stood on the sidewalk to help abortion-minded women turn...

When is a hint a hint? If I say "Don't do X", I think a future historian might draw the inference that X was really happening, or might at least be a real possibility. In other words, the Slave of Clio might detect a pretty potent hint as he/she interprets such words. When I was in teaching, we did not put up notices saying "Students must not frequent the pubs in Manhattan during term time", because of the unlikelihood that students might do such a thing, or even, given the distances involved, think about it. We did put up notices...

December 20, 2017 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Eyebrows are being raised following the announcement that a Vatican official with strong ties to LGBT activists has hired an openly homosexualist digital marketing company to design and manage the Holy See’s new internet news service. The company, Accenture, is famous worldwide for promoting the homosexual political agenda, winning awards for being the top “gay friendly” employer, and producing videos proposing strategies for promoting “LGBT rights” throughout the world. Accenture maintains an entire webpage of LGBT “pride” materials and a library of twelve LGBT videos on its website promoting homosexual “inclusion” in its company and...

Fr Samir describes an atmosphere of joy and hope, despite the lack of resources and less aid. The struggle for survival has boosted the bond between Christians, Muslims, and Yazidis. About 150 refugee families are still living at the centre, 70 per cent depending on resources provided by the Church. Hundreds of young people attend the prayer meeting in preparation for Christmas.Erbil (AsiaNews) – Despite hardships, "a climate of joy and hope" can be felt among the refugees from Mosul and the Nineveh Plain, still hosted at the reception centre of the parish of Enishke, in Iraqi Kurdistan, said Fr...

“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Gal.1:10). I don’t know for sure when it started. Maybe I’ve always been ‘that type of friend’… the odd one who is brutally honest when asked a question. For some, it caused an instant dislike of me, understandably. Others have even called me a hypocrite (but believe me, I’m every bit as hard on myself as I am on others, if not more so). Maybe a few have appreciated it, and...

Please join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for President Trump, Vice-President Pence, and for America: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (I John 5:14) Religion forum threads labeled "Prayer" are closed to debate of any kind.

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, December 20, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – With the approval of his archbishop, a Catholic priest announced to his parish and to the world that he is a homosexual during Sunday Mass. The Rev. Gregory Greiten, a priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese and pastor of St. Bernadette Parish, said, “I am Greg. I am a Roman Catholic priest. And, yes, I am gay!” In a carefully crafted one-two punch, Greiten’s Sunday announcement was quickly followed on Monday by a lengthy column penned by the homosexual priest for the National Catholic Reporter (NCR). Not once in the over 2,200 word NCR...

MASSACHUSETTS, December 19, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – A leading American Catholic newsman and commentator has praised The Dictator Pope, the explosive new book that claims to reveal the “true nature of Francis’s pontificate,” for providing “a valuable service” to Catholics globally. Phil Lawler, the editor of Catholic World News and director of Catholic Culture, praised the book for its “valuable insights” into Pope Francis character. “The most valuable service provided by the author of The Dictator Pope is the psychological portrait of the Pope,” Lawler wrote in Catholic World Report. The book reveals “a man who follows in the footsteps of...

Metropolitan Hilarion, in Bari for an honorary degree, talks about the relics of St Nicholas in Russia, and persecuted Christians in the Middle East and UkraineAfter the "complete liberation of Syria from the fighters", it will be necessary to "rebuild Churches and monasteries", "guarantee jobs to the population, especially to young people" and "recreate Syria's traditional economic infrastructure". The Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Hilarion Alfeev,"Foreign Minister" of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow and all Russia, said this during a visit to Bari. After the relic of St. Nicholas - patron saint of Russia as well as of the Apulian capital -...

Pope Francis has recognised the heroic virtue of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski and Fr Patrick PeytonPope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton and St John Paul II’s mentor, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski. The Pope approved the decrees recognising their heroic virtues during an audience on December 18 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. The Pope also recognised the miracles needed for the beatification of: Jesuit Father Tiburcio Arnaiz Munoz of Spain; Father Jean-Baptiste Fouque of France; and Sister Maria Carmen Rendiles Martinez of Venezuela. He also recognized the martyrdom of Father Teodoro...

Parishioners have tried to protect the nativity scene which they say is part of the broader church compoundNine priests and their parishioners pose for a photo in front of the nativity scene at Dong Kieu Church Dec. 14 erected for the coming Christmas celebrations. (Photo courtesy of thanhnienconggiao) Catholics in northern Vietnam have been ordered by local officials to dismantle a "nativity" scene in their parish made up of objects representing the birth of Jesus. Dong Kieu Church, at the center of the row, is located in Dien My Commune of Nghe An Province. A local witness said police and...