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Westcott House in Cambridge says LGBT service liturgy that referred to God as ‘the Duchess’ was hugely regrettableA leading theological college that trains priests for the Church of England has apologised after it hosted a service to mark LGBT history month that referred to God as “the Duchess”. Student priests at Westcott House in Cambridge organised the evensong service on Tuesday in the college chapel. Advertised as a “Polari evening prayer in anticipation of LGBT+ history month”, it was described as a “liturgical experiment”. Polari is slang used by some gay people. A prayer referred to the “Fantabulosa fairy” and...

CHICAGO (CNS) — U.S. bishops sent their immediate past president to Vietnam to see how they could help with the first college-level Catholic school approved in the Asian country in about 40 years. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, also wanted Vietnamese Catholics to know “they are not forgotten.” “The church in Vietnam has suffered … hardships and … religious repression, and slowly over these 40 years there are some headways that have been made,” the archbishop told Catholic News Service Feb 2. “I think the episcopal conference of Vietnam is naturally looking for friendship and opportunities to be...

HOLLYWOOD WEST, California, February 2, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Robert Barron said in an interview Monday he wouldn’t “press” to reverse the legalization of homosexual “marriage” in the United States. And after criticism, he reiterated the point in a Facebook post Wednesday. An auxiliary bishop for Los Angeles, founder of Word on Fire Ministries and hugely popular social media personality, Barron made his remarks on The Rubin Report. The show is hosted by political commentator Dave Rubin, himself in a homosexual “marriage.” Rubin questioned the bishop on his “personal feelings” about the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling that legalized homosexual “marriage”:...

The circumstances surrounding the resignation of the Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and the appointment of a “papal delegate” to assist in the “renewal” of the order, raises further questions about the extent to which Pope Francis assents to the teaching of the Catholic Church on questions of sexual ethics. In this article we will revisit previous concerns regarding Pope Francis’s position on contraception, in the light of recent events. At the heart of the crisis in the Order of Malta is the distribution of contraceptives and abortifacient drugs, over a number of years, by Malteser...

Teen Vogue is doing its best to push its pro-abortion agenda on young, impressionable minds. This week, the magazine ran a column by the Rev. Broderick L. Greer, an Episcopal priest who advocates for abortion. Greer argued that Christians should support women in their decisions to have abortion, rather than judge them. “And that is where the Church can find its point of entry: in offering people making these decisions every measure of mercy they need to live wise and whole lives,” Greer wrote. “It is the act of looking people in the eye and saying, ‘I trust you. I...

FULL TITLE: Black Pastor: “People Cry for Harambe, But They Have no Love for Babies Killed Every Day” in Abortions Bishop Vincent Mathews Jr. of the Church of God in Christ issued a strong call to Americans to stand up against the injustice of abortion on Friday during the March for Life. Mathews, a leader in the predominantly black denomination, led the prayer that kicked off the march, which drew hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers to the nation’s capital on Friday. Before praying, Mathews talked about how the abortion industry targets the black community, and how churches like his are...

Maltese prelate defends controversial guidelines on ‘Amoris Laetitia’ in his first interview since they were released. Says in a homily that the faithful should direct questions on the document to Pope Francis. Pope Francis’ comments to Argentine bishops last year on allowing Holy Communion for some civilly remarried divorcees was the blueprint for the Maltese bishops own controversial guidelines on interpreting Amoris Laetitia, Archbishop Charles Scicluna has said. The archbishop of Malta made the remarks in his first full interview (see transcript below) since he and Bishop Mario Grech of Gozo published their guidelines on the apostolic exhortation on Jan....

Members of the Catholic faithful in Malta have published a stinging rebuke of their bishops in a full-page newspaper ad calling on the bishops to rescind their guidelines allowing Communion to those living in adultery. The ad in the January 25 Times of Malta featured an open letter titled “A Plea for True Mercy and Repentance.”“You have permitted the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord and Master to be crucified and tortured once again in the mouths and hearts of filthy, impenitent adulterers and fornicators!” state the authors, identifying themselves as “members of Veri Catholici.” “For those who...

As I was growing up, I lost my faith in both God and the Church.  There are many things that made me lose my faith, among them terrible stories I heard about the Catholic Church’s past. Most of today’s pagan youth imagine people being burnt at the stake whenever they hear people talk about Catholicism.  They are wrong, but it’s not their fault.  The Church’s enemies, among them the communists, have spread lies about the history of the Church and the content of the faith. One thing they never told you, and the mainstream media simply won’t tell you, I assume,...

I posted earlier today on this story in London’s Daily Telegraph. The short version is that a Dutch doctor had decided to kill an old lady who had dementia and the old woman began to resist, so the woman’s family was asked to hold her down while the doctor gave her the injection. In this case, the woman, who was suffering from dementia, had earlier expressed a desire to have her life ended when she felt the “time was right”. According to case notes, the woman, who lived in a nursing home, showed signs of fear and anger. She would...

Decapitated by the pope of its Grand Master, the Englishman Matthew Festing, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta not only has ratified his forced resignation on Saturday, January 28, but it has turned back the hands of time to the fateful 6th of December, 2016, reinstating in the role of Grand Chancellor the very man who on that day had been removed from it and suspended from the Order, the German Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager. What reversed the fortunes within the Order, to the point of driving it to this act of total submission to the bidding of Pope Francis,...

The Church of England should not change its opposition to same-sex marriage, a new report has recommended, despite saying it needs to "repent on the homophobic attitudes" it has previously had. A document from the House of Bishops says the Church should adopt a "fresh tone and culture of welcome and support" for gay people. It says guidance in marriage should be interpreted in a way that provides "maximum freedom" for homosexuals. New teachings on marriage and relationships should also be drawn up to replace those introduced in the 1990s, it suggests. There was also "some support" in the House...

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. Revelation 2:17 My son Track came home after his first day of kindergarten, threw his backpack on the ground, and said, “We’re changing my name to something normal!” Apparently, the other kids made fun of this name, and he wanted to fit in. “So call me ‘Colt’.” I guess...

Pope Francis says he is concerned about what he calls a “hemorrhage” of priests and nuns from the Catholic church. […] First among the factors he cited as causing nuns and priests to quit their vocations is a society that discourages lifelong commitments. Francis lamented that many conduct their lives based on “à la carte” choices. …

"Parishioners are responsible for the judgment of the state of their soul before God"WASHINGTON (ChurchMilitant.com) - Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. is informing his priests and seminarians that in implementing Amoris Laetitia, the laity alone are culpable for their own moral choices, which include if and when to receive the sacraments. In three interventions this month regarding the papal exhortation on marriage, the archbishop of Washington is focusing on the role of each parishioner's conscience while saying nothing of the priest's role to safeguard against sacrilegious reception of Holy Communion per canon 915, which forbids those in a state...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT MIKE PENCE and 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. 1 JOHN 5:14 Religion Forum threads labeled "Prayer" are closed to debate of any kind.

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10 Our kids’ names were chosen with purpose: Track, Bristol, Willow Bianca, Piper Indi, and Trig. “They all sound like hunting dogs,” one congressman remarked. (This, coming from a politician named “Hunter”!) I love that their names represent something deeply personal and poignant in our lives. Names mean something. Did you know God established His name above all things? The Bible uses hundred of names to represent Him, each bringing out an aspect of His character. Are you sick? Call out Jehovah...

Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin of Shanghai has rejoined the Catholic Patriotic Association, which he had denounced in 2012, the AsiaNews service reports. However, the regime still evidently does not recognize his status as a bishop. Bishop Ma created a sensation in July 2012 when, during the ceremony at which he was ordained as a bishop, he announced that he was dropping his membership in the Patriotic Association. (The Vatican has said that the group, which claims authority over the Church in China, is incompatible with Catholic teaching.) In response, the government-backed Bishops’ Council revoked its recognition of this authority as...

ROME, January 23, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) -- Faithful Catholics may be surprised to learn that as many as thirty cardinals expressed their reservations to Pope Francis about his Exhortation Amoris Laetitia prior to its April 2016 release. The thirty cardinals, writing to Francis either individually or in small groups, attempted last year to dissuade the pope from releasing Amoris. They warned that it would not only weaken the Church's teaching on marriage, but on the Eucharist and confession as well, stated the French publication Le Figaro last August. The Cardinals only submitted their concerns after thoroughly reviewing the text of the...

"He's being very economical with the truth"GOZO, Malta (ChurchMilitant.com) - A priest from Malta is confirming with Church Militant that, contrary to Bp. Mario Grech's claims, he did indeed threaten a priest on the subject of Holy Communion to the divorced and remarried. Church Militant reported January 19 that the head of the Gozo diocese said he'd strip priests of their faculties if they refused to implement the new Maltese bishops' guidelines, which allow those in an objective state of adultery to approach the sacraments as long as they are "at peace with God." The report originated from Messa in...