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I’ve been thinking a lot about priests lately. In truth, I often do, as some of my best friends happen to wear Roman collars. I see them on their low days, and I see them in moments of true total self-surrender. Of course, you know why I’d be thinking about them even more lately. For priests who seek holiness in loving service to God’s people — striving to see God in every person they encounter — these are grueling times. And a few conversations I’ve had lately have reminded me that the good and holy among them, while still human...

Please join with others to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Family, Government, 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.

"The Main Temple of the Armed Forces" -- Russia under Putin has little use for separation of church and stateThe Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will build the main temple of the Armed Forces in the Patriot Park near Moscow, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, head of the military department, said at a conference call with the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces today. "Now, the Russian Defense Ministry is realizing a plan for building the main temple of the Armed Forces in Patriot Park. This idea was approved by the public, state authorities, military administration, the...

In an interview with the Register, Péter Szijjártó explains why he believes his government’s EU-opposed immigration policy is necessary to preserve Hungary’s and Europe’s Christian heritage. In recent years, Hungary has been almost alone in Europe in fighting to retain its Christian heritage and to preserve its Christian identity in the face of a European Union that has tried to do the opposite. And it has done so largely through what some see as a “hardline” immigration policy, but which the country’s government insists is a sensible policy of controlled immigration (it opposes illegal and irregular immigration and favors tight...

The Turkish Supreme Court rejected a request from one of the religious groups. They had asked for the historical museum of Hagia Sophia to be transformed into a mosque. According to the Anatolian agency reporting the news on Thursday, the Court dismissed the case because of errors made in the written request. The basilica of Hagia Sophia was transformed into a mosque during the fall of Constantinople in 1453, then into a museum in 1935. According to Turkish law, worship is prohibited in museums.

Taiwan said Thursday that a historic agreement between China and the Vatican was likely to be imminent, but remained hopeful the move would not result in it losing its only diplomatic ally in Europe. The foreign ministry said it had obtained information from “various sources” that an agreement between the Vatican and China on “religious affairs” was most likely to be signed in September or October. Speculation has been rife that the Vatican is moving closer to an agreement with China over the major stumbling bloc of who ordains bishops. But there are fears that would put Taiwan’s official ties...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on recent criticisms of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington: It is one thing for the laity to be angry about recent revelations regarding former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, and the Pennsylvania grand jury report on molesting priests (which is riddled with lies), it is quite another to allow emotion, not reason, to guide one’s perspective on these twin scandals. Yet that is what is happening. The most angry comments are directed at Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington: He is being blamed for the twin scandals. This is patently unfair—there is no basis for...

Unlike most commentators and reporters, I [Bill Donahue] have read most of the Pennsylvania grand jury report. The purpose of this statement is to debunk many of the myths, and indeed lies, that mar the report and/or interpretations of it. Myth: Over 300 priests were found guilty of preying on youngsters in Pennsylvania. Fact: No one was found guilty of anything. Yet that didn’t stop CBS from saying “300 ‘predator priests’ abused more than 1,000 children over a period of 70 years.” These are all accusations, most of which were never verified by either the grand jury or the dioceses....

As of yesterday there are "New measures" for the control of online religious activities. Live streaming of religious ceremonies banned, as well as prayers, preaching and burning of incense. Permission required to set up religious websites that must be 'morally healthy and politically reliable'. Conversions banned as well as the dissemination of religious material. But the religious awakening in China is now unstoppable.Rome (AsiaNews) - From now on, all online evangelization is forbidden. The state administration for religious affairs yesterday issued rules on religious activities via the internet that forbid the streaming of religious ceremonies (live on the internet), including...

FRONT ROYAL, Va. (ChurchMilitant.com) - An exclusive interview with Chinese cultural expert sheds some light on why Vatican prelates are compromising with China's Communist government at the expense of the Church. Steven Mosher is the president of Population Research Institute and a Catholic who has been studying and working in China since 1976. In 1979, he was the first American in China after the U.S. normalized diplomatic relations with the Chinese government and has spent decades in the country living and working with the Chinese people. "I've basically spent my life studying China," he said. Mosher traveled to Rome earlier this summer to talk directly...

As the days go by, the controversy ignited by the indictment of former nuncio to the United States Carlo Maria Viganò against Pope Francis on account of the scandal of ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick is becoming ever more lively. And it has seen a further flare-up with the explosion of the case of Kim Davis, the Christian county official in Kentucky who was imprisoned for a week in the summer of 2015 for having refused - for reasons of freedom of conscience and of religion - to grant a marriage license to homosexual couples, and was received by Francis on September...

C212 NEUMAYR INTERVIEW: THE REAL STORY BEHIND CARDINAL WUERL’S IMPENDING DEPARTURE

Franklin Graham, who has called Islam ‘evil’, is due to speak at a festival in BlackpoolBritain’s leading Muslim organisation has called on the Home Office to refuse a UK visa to a prominent US evangelical preacher with links to Donald Trump and a track record of Islamophobic and homophobic statements. Franklin Graham, the son of the evangelist Billy Graham, has been invited to preach at a Christian festival in Blackpool this month. The preacher, who said Trump’s election victory was evidence that “God’s hand” was at work, has called Islam “evil” and “wicked”, claimed Barack Obama’s “problem is that he...

The “Donald Trump/Mike Pence Prayer Vigil” and “Pray for our American Heroes" Prayer Thread have Combined to Form the AMERICA PRAYER VIGIL Prayer Thread! Join with Fellow FREEPERS to Pray for our PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. 'And this is the Confidence that we have in Him, that, if we Ask Anything According to His Will, He Heareth us.' 1 John 5:14 Religion Forum Threads Labeled [Prayer] are Closed to Debate of Any Kind. Psalm 16:1-4 Save me, O God, because I have Come to You for Refuge....

The president of a conservative Christian college in Colorado has voiced his concern about proposed changes to the Higher Learning Commission's standards for accreditation that he says could harm religious schools. Donald Sweeting, president of the 8,000-student Colorado Christian University, spoke during a public hearing for the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee of the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday to comment on changes that could negatively impact religious freedom. At issue is a draft proposal on the commission's criteria for accreditation that Sweeting said would essentially remove language requiring accrediting bodies to take an institution's "specific and diverse" mission into account...

New York and New Jersey have launched new probes into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in light of Pennsylvania’s recent grand jury report. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood, moved by the Pennsylvania report on child sexual abuse, subpoenaed all eight dioceses in the state for information and documents regarding any allegations of sexual abuse, payments to alleged victims, and church investigation findings. Gurbir Grewal, the attorney general of New Jersey, meanwhile, announced the formation of a special task force assigned to investigate the way seven dioceses have handled sexual abuse allegations. (RELATED: Main Org For Catholic Business Owners...

An Indiana minister who claims to be a pro-life Christian testified against a religious freedom ruling Friday during U.S. Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Alicia Baker, a community development organizer and ordained Free Methodist Church minister from Indianapolis, urged the Senate to oppose Kavanaugh’s confirmation because of his decision to grant religious exemptions to the Obamacare HHS mandate. “If Judge Kavanaugh is confirmed, access to affordable birth control will be in jeopardy,” Baker said. “This committee and the Senate must weigh the harmful impact Judge Kavanaugh would have on the health and well being of so many...

The fast-approaching attack on Idlib, if it has not already started, is going to be a bloodbath, with 60,000 Sunni warriors within Idlib, along with the millions of civilians. Idlib is supported and armed to the teeth by the Turks. Everyone drawing the line at chemical weapons, yet hypocritcally not a lot of outrage about the attack itself. Israel attacked an Iranian missile factory in Aleppo in the last two days, where precise missiles were being made. The plunging economy of Iran and the teetering economy of Russia are pushing these countries to remove the last obstacle to their seizing...

A relatively unpublicized and unpromoted online statement for Christians to affirm that they are defying the “social justice” agenda of some American churches, and rejecting “values borrowed from secular culture,” is surging. Introduced only days ago, by Thursday afternoon it had nearly 5,000 signatures from individuals and groups, including churches. The Daily Wire said the “Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel” even is attracting opposition, such as the criticism from Ryan Burton King, of Grace Baptist in the United Kingdom, who charged that the signers are “not at all ‘getting’ what those whom it primarily addresses are saying.” WND...

As I compose this commentary, there remain segments within the American evangelical church that continue to advance and propagate the principles and tenets of the "gospel" of social justice. Increasing numbers of evangelical churches, pastors, and ministries are buying into what I consider merely a new presentation of an old soteriology: salvation by social activism. One such organization, Evangelicals For Social Action, describes itself as "a catalyzing agent for Christ's shalom via projects focused on cultural renewal, holistic ministry, political reflection and action, social justice and reconciliation, and creation care. Rather than a typical "think" tank, ESA is a "do"...