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The ongoing Synod on Synodality, the plight of migrants and refugees and continued efforts to safeguard minors and vulnerable groups from abuse will be prominent topics discussed during the Canadian bishops' 2024 Plenary Assembly in Beaupré, Que., from Sept. 23-27. Seventy-nine bishops from Latin and Eastern churches will convene to dialogue, discern and deliberate on the issues affecting the credibility and vitality of the Canadian Catholic community. Cardinal Mario Grech, the Synod on Synodality's secretary-general, will deliver the keynote address virtually, just days before the resumption of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome from...

A southern California pastor is facing 18 charges of sexual abuse against children, including sexual intercourse and sodomy, the Ontario Police Department announced in a press release last week. Jose Alcides Vasquez, 47, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting multiple girls younger than 10 at his former residence in Ontario, California, police reported. Vasquez recently worked as the head pastor at the Menifee location of Iglesia De Cristo Camino De Santidad—a multisite, international church ministering primarily to Spanish-speakers. Prior to this, Vasquez pastored and volunteered at several other nearby churches, according to police. The pastor’s charges include three counts...

The prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops, Cardinal Robert Prevost, has been publicly accused of never having opened a canonical case into alleged sexual abuse carried out by two priests in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, which he led from 2014 until 2023, when he was called to Rome. As previously reported by The Pillar, the Diocese of Chiclayo has been accused of mishandling allegations made by Ana Maria Quispe and two other women, who say they were abused by Fr Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzáles. Allegations were also made against Fr Ricardo Yesquen. It has since emerged that the other two...

Documentary details horrific cruelty towards and abuse of First Nations children in residential schools and discovery of unmarked graves This gripping account of the abuse of First Nations children at Catholic residential schools in Canada rightly won the jury prize for documentary direction at Sundance in January and is now an early Academy Award favourite. Early in the film, a group of volunteers ventures into a barn on the grounds of St Joseph’s Mission residential school near the Sugarcane Reservation in British Columbia. They find heartbreaking inscriptions from desperate children. Investigators Charlene Belleau and Whitney Spearing uncover more than 50...

This is indeed a heartbreaking piece of news for us to have to report. We are praying for the situation at the church and the Lawson family and will report back with any updates. UPDATE: The following statement was posted at the church’s website: The elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas regretfully announce that effective immediately, Steven J. Lawson has been removed indefinitely from all ministry activities at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas. Several days ago, the elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas were informed by Steve Lawson of an inappropriate relationship that he has had with a...

Rev. Emily Bowen-Marler is one of the devils leading Brentwood Christian Church, a “progressive, open and affirming congregation synogogue of satan in the heart of the Ozarks that is committed to building community, justice and love.” During her June ’23 sermon, she asked: “I wonder how Jesus might have told parables in our time. Who are the maligned in our society threatening to bring change that those in power are resisting? How would Jesus flip their understanding of the kingdom of God on its head in a way that unsettles them and empowers the ones they malign? She has a...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. Billy Graham Sermon: Pray For America Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 4:6 (NIV) ----

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Aguer: Pope Francis’ Asia tour was a ‘heterodox caricature’ of an apostolic journeyI have intentionally presented Pope Francis' journey as a tour, not a missionary trip. It is scandalous for this show of force and money to promote 'interreligious dialogue and care for the Earth in the face of climate change.'I have been following Pope Francis’ 12-day tour of Asia and Oceania in La Prensa. It is admirable that the Pontiff should take on such a demanding task at almost 88 years of age. It does seem as if the entire Vatican was in tow, with doctors,...

With all of the things impacting our inflation-ridden, more racially divided, and public-school-failing society, Steph Curry’s highest priority is … abortion. Tragically, the NBA All-Star and Olympic champion, spared from the violence of abortion himself, doesn’t believe that millions of others deserve the same opportunity to live out their God-given purpose. Curry, an ardent Democrat supporter and celebrity at DNC conventions, recently told CNBC that he endorses Kamala Harris and that abortion is “at the top of the list for me.”A professing (seemingly cultural) Christian, Curry wasn’t always so vocally pro-abortion. In a 2022 article, Curry told Rolling Stones magazine...

[Catholic Caucus] Tight secrecy imposed on Synod participants, even after Synod’s conclusionEditor's Note: Following a recent press conference, the General Secretariat of the Synod has released the calendar, list of participants, and regulations for the upcoming session of the Synod on synodality—including an imposition of tight secrecy on Synod participants, even after the Synod’s conclusion, and even with respect to their own words at the Synod. Article 24 of the Synod regulations provides: In order to guarantee freedom of expression to each and every one regarding their own thought, and to ensure a serene common discernment, which is the main...

Daily Readings from the USCCBHe said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:48–50These loving words from Jesus were spoken to a sinful woman who showed up unannounced at a dinner Jesus was having at the house of a Pharisee. The Pharisee looked down upon her in judgment, but she didn’t care. In sorrow for her sins, she anointed Jesus’ feet and humbled herself before Him, bathing His feet with her tears...

[Catholic Caucus] James Martin: Synod Delegates Called Homosexual Sin Disgusting, Repulsive, Unnatural and SickHomosexual activist James Martin SJ published a propaganda article on Outreach.faith (September 18) for Francis' upcoming ex-synod. He claims to be reflecting on what he learned at the ex-synod from October 2023. His main points.- In October 2023, "many" synod delegates were opposing homosexual sins.- Martin allegedly heard "strong language" against homosexual sins. The terms "disgusting," "repulsive," "unnatural," and "sick" were regularly used in conversations.- One delegate in a plenary session referred to homosexuality as a "Western ideology".- Some delegates said that homosexual people either do not...

Bishop Eleganti: Pope Francis’ comments on other religions conceal Jesus and contradict the GospelAnyone who wants to include everyone at the cost of relegating Christ to the background as the Son of God does not deserve the name ‘Christian.’ He is neither convinced nor convincing. He is not a witness to Christ.Pope Francis repeatedly warns against proselytism, which he sees as having an exclusively negative connotation, as if there were not also a positive understanding of proselytism, as in ancient Judaism, and of mission in particular, as in the letters of St. Paul.Above all, St. Paul emphasizes that mission has...

“Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). Spirit-filled believers will submit to one another. To the world, submission implies personal weakness or the coercive dominance of one person by another stronger, more intimidating individual. Such perspectives, however, are unbiblical. The noted expositor Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes submission’s original meaning in a military context, which helps us understand its scriptural definition: It is the picture of soldiers in a regiment, soldiers in a line under an officer . . . and if he [the soldier] begins to act on his own, and independently of the others, he...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem (9/19/24)[Prayer]Names and Titles of God the Holy Spirit (Giver of New Birth) John 3:5-65 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.King James Version________________________God Bless America.ML/LTOS

19 September 2024 Thursday of week 24 in Ordinary Time St Januarius (San Gennaro) Cathedral, Naples, ItalyReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II).First reading1 Corinthians 15:1-11I preached what the others preach, and you all believedBrothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything. Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, 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) I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis personally invites pro-LGBT Fr James Martin, Cardinal Cupich to October SynodPope Francis' personal picks for the Synod remain largely the same this year as last year, including controversial figures such as Cardinals Blase Cupich, Jozef De Kesel, Wilton Gregory, Robert McElroy and Father James Martin, S.J.The Vatican’s press office released details of the upcoming Synod on Synodality starting later this month, which, like last year, includes a list of heterodox attendees invited by Pope Francis.While the Synod begins on Monday, September 30, with all participants taking part in a two-day retreat, meetings do not begin in...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Viganò: The silence of bishops is as big a scandal as Bergoglio himself'What scandalizes and fills us with horror is not as much the series of monomaniacal provocations of Bergoglio, who has now proven his rebellious and apostatic nature, so much as the cowardice of the entire Episcopate,' wrote Archbishop Viganò.Editor’s note: The following statement has been taken from an X post made by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò originally published on September 17. The statement is a continuation of his September 13 statement in which he accused Francis of apostasy for telling a group of young people...

Some thoughts about Pope Francis’ recent visit to Singapore In an interview with Vatican News about Pope Francis’ recent visit to Singapore, Cardinal William Goh, archbishop of Singapore, had this to say: “I believe his visit has revived the faith of our people. His visit has caused many of our Catholics to work together. We have more than 5,000 volunteers just to serve at this papal visit.” “It’s a very rare occasion when all Catholics come together to work side by side. All of them have been very enthusiastic and have felt that it is a great privilege to be...