Posted on 08/14/2006 12:07:57 AM PDT by freepatriot32
LONDON - The U.S. publishing company Ignatius Press has refused to sell any works by Welsh singer Charlotte Church after she called German-born Pope Benedict XVI a Nazi and mocked the Catholic Church.
The directors of Ignatius Press said they were offended when the Welsh singer mocked the Catholic Church in the pilot of a proposed eight-part television chat show.
Church, dubbed the "Voice of an Angel" before she turned her talents to popular music, also dressed up as a nun and pretended to hallucinate while eating "communion" wafers imprinted with smiling faces signifying the drug Ecstasy.
She smashed open a statue of the Virgin Mary to reveal a can of hard cider inside, said she worshipped "St. Fortified Wine," and stuck chewing gum on a statue of the child Jesus.
Ignatius Press announced that Church's products have been withdrawn from its Web site and catalogue.
"It is with regret that we do this," the company said in a statement to its customers on its Web site, www.ignatius.com.
"Miss Church possesses a great gift from God, and in the past she has used her talent often to offer praise and glory to Our Lord," the statement said.
"We cannot stand by a young woman who uses her stature in the media to mock the Eucharist, slander the Holy Father, and denigrate the vows of religious women," it continued.
"Therefore, our catalogues and Web site will immediately withdraw all compact discs, cassette tapes, DVDs and VHS tapes that feature Miss Church. Please join us in praying for this troubled young woman," the statement added.
Church declined to comment.
Church, 20, was raised a Catholic and sang for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican at the age of 12.
The pilot for "The All New Charlotte Church Show" was filmed before a live studio audience July 12.
Ignatius Press was founded by Father Joseph Fessio, a California Jesuit who studied under the future Pope Benedict at the University of Regensburg in Germany in the 1970s and who continues to be a close friend.
Pope Benedict, the son of a German policeman opposed to Nazism, was forced into the Hitler Youth movement as a child, and during World War II he served briefly in an anti-aircraft battalion
she must not be supported in any way.....
there's tons of good music out there and we don't need an arrogant little American hater as well as a Jesus hater ....
Go to my post #129 regarding your statue issues.
In brief, they are used like you would use your family photo albums.
Nobody is supposed to pray to the statue, a candle, the Holy Water and so forth. Granted there are some few undereducated people that could do that though out of stupidity, but that isn't of the Catholic Church.
The closest we come to your issue is when we ask Jesus's mom Mary, our own dead relatives and others who passed like various Saints to JOIN WITH US IN PRAYER TO GOD for our needs. We also ask them to pray to God for us being we are stuck on a world which we do not define as heaven.
All prayer is directed only to God.
Charlotte Church's Ex Describes Drug Use In New Book.
Charlotte Church’s ex-boyfriend Steven Johnson is still clinging on to the memory of his famous ex.
He believes that it is likely Charlotte will end up in rehab like Kate Moss or with a caved in nose like Daniella Westbrook because of her party live style…
Don’t think cheeky vimto’s have quite that effect, but anyway….
Speaking about his new book ‘Hell’s Angel’, which charts his short relationship with Church, Johnson said to New! Magazine: "Charlotte gets publicity by talking about me. Why can't I do the same?"
Church did attempt to stop the book being published in which Johnson claim’s he “hits back” at his bad boy label, blaming everything on the angelic Ms Church.
In the book he alleges that Church encouraged him to get stoned, he said: "She figured that if I was stoned and ate loads of chocolate it'd ruin my modelling career."
http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news?id=9379
Goodbye, Sir
You can spout the church's doctrines all you want. They seem to often be at odds with the reality of what God's nessengers wrote to us in Scripture...
I see nothing in Scripture that tells me to not have photographs of my children (that analogy is like comparing tooth paste to a cancedr cure). I do see some writing that tells me that making idols from gold and silver, and worshipping them, is contrary to God's Word. You would rzther listen to your church, though, and they can't admit any mistakes.
The serpent said "surely, you won't die". He just didn't mean right then!
Those footnotes can best be described as "smoke and mirrors".If you keep people checking what the interpretation "should be", it is irrelevant what Scripture actually says, right? Misdirection is a classic technique for magicians, and charlatans.
Great gobbledygook!
The Ten Commandments were fulfilled with Jesus. Believe it or not. God replaced them with Jesus, for beleivers. Everyone who beleives they should be judged by the law will be judged accordingly, and lose EVERY TIME!
Jesus paid the price on the Cross at Golgotha, was buried, and rose from the dead. He is alive. His work is complete. You can keep crucifying Him if you wish, but God will correct you in the end. I hate it when somebody corrects me about something I used to believe...
The roman church is a usurper.
We disagree, and obviously I am not alone in questioning your church's "doctrines". There are plenty of other folk with me. Any time you wish to actually discuss ORIGINAL TEXT Scripture rather that what your church wants you to know, we will talk again!.
The Word of God is on my side. I translate words the way they read, not the way I want them to read. That is lying. It can bring death, eternal damnation, and separation from God. The work of Jerome is your problem! Deal with it honestly, rather than keep spouting RC 'doctine". God already ruled on that one, and it lost!
For reference: see "Pharisee"s. They were pretty much the jewish equivalent of empty pomp and ceremony... all hat and no cattle, indeed!
"You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5: 27-28).
So the above doesn't apply anymore???
Why did they do that? Run out of names (smile)?
How sad is that?
Well, pray for her. I suspect she knows she has made a mess of her life and is just striking out.
She's chosen sides. God help her.
Exodus 26:1The Ark of the Covenant was kept in the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the Temple."Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.
Exodus 26:31
"Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman.
Exodus 25:19-20
Make one cherub on one end [of the Ark] and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends.
The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.
People who do this are praying to the saint which is represented by the statue. These prayers are then presented to our Father in heaven by the saints in heaven.
Revelation 5:8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Matthew 7:4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
The sacrament of holy orders is conferred in three ranks of clergy: bishops, priests, and deacons.Bishops (episcopoi) have the care of multiple congregations and appoint, ordain, and discipline priests and deacons. They sometimes appear to be called "evangelists" in the New Testament. Examples of first-century bishops include Timothy and Titus (1 Tim. 5:19–22; 2 Tim. 4:5; Titus 1:5).
Priests (presbuteroi) are also known as "presbyters" or "elders." In fact, the English term "priest" is simply a contraction of the Greek word presbuteros. They have the responsibility of teaching, governing, and providing the sacraments in a given congregation (1 Tim. 5:17; Jas. 5:14–15).
Deacons (diakonoi) are the assistants of the bishops and are responsible for teaching and administering certain Church tasks, such as the distribution of food (Acts 6:1–6).
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1 Timothy 5:17The passage in James is especially informative when correlated to this passage:17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
James 5:14-15
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
John 20:22-23And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
The old Protestant Black Legend.
The Myth of the Spanish Inquisitionby Ellen Rice
"The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition," a 1994 BBC/A&E production, will re-air on the History Channel this December 3 at 10 p.m. It is a definite must-see for anyone who wishes to know how historians now evaluate the Spanish Inquisition since the opening of an investigation into the Inquisition's archives. The special includes commentary from historians whose studies verify that the tale of the darkest hour of the Church was greatly fabricated.
In its brief sixty-minute presentation, "The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition" provides only an overview of the origins and debunking of the myths of torture and genocide. The documentary definitely succeeds in leaving the viewer hungry to know more. The long-held beliefs of the audience are sufficiently weakened by the testimony of experts and the expose of the making of the myth.
The Inquisition began in 1480. Spain was beginning a historic reunification of Aragon and Castile. The marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile created a unified Hispania not seen since Roman times. Afraid that laws commanding the exile or conversion of Jews were thwarted by conversos, i.e. synagogue-going "Catholics," Ferdinand and Isabella commissioned an investigation or Inquisition. They began the Inquisition hoping that religious unity would foster political unity, and other heads of state heralded Spain's labors for the advent of a unified Christendom. The documentary clearly and boldly narrates the historical context, which intimates that the Spanish were not acting odd by their contemporary standards.
The Inquisition Myth, which Spaniards call "The Black Legend," did not arise in 1480. It began almost 100 years later, and exactly one year after the Protestant defeat at the Battle of Mühlberg at the hands of Ferdinand's grandson, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In 1567 a fierce propaganda campaign began with the publication of a Protestant leaflet penned by a supposed Inquisition victim named Montanus. This character (Protestant of course) painted Spaniards as barbarians who ravished women and sodomized young boys. The propagandists soon created "hooded fiends" who tortured their victims in horrible devices like the knife-filled Iron Maiden (which never was used in Spain). The BBC/A&E special plainly states a reason for the war of words: the Protestants fought with words because they could not win on the battlefield.
The Inquisition had a secular character, although the crime was heresy. Inquisitors did not have to be clerics, but they did have to be lawyers. The investigation was rule-based and carefully kept in check. And most significantly, historians have declared fraudulent a supposed Inquisition document claiming the genocide of millions of heretics.
What is documented is that 3000 to 5000 people died during the Inquisition's 350 year history. Also documented are the "Acts of Faith," public sentencings of heretics in town squares. But the grand myth of thought control by sinister fiends has been debunked by the archival evidence. The inquisitors enjoyed a powerful position in the towns, but it was one constantly jostled by other power brokers. In the outlying areas, they were understaffed - in those days it was nearly impossible for 1 or 2 inquisitors to cover the thousand-mile territory allotted to each team. In the outlying areas no one cared and no one spoke to them. As the program documents, the 3,000 to 5,000 documented executions of the Inquisition pale in comparison to the 150,000 documented witch burnings elsewhere in Europe over the same centuries.
The approach is purely historical, and therefore does not delve into ecclesial issues surrounding religious freedom. But perhaps this is proper. Because the crime was heresy, the Church is implicated, but the facts show it was a secular event.
One facet of the Black Legend that evaporates under scrutiny in this film is the rumor that Philip II, son of Charles V, killed his son Don Carlos on the advisement of the aging blind Grand Inquisitor. But without a shred of evidence, the legend of Don Carlos has been enshrined in a glorious opera by Verdi.
The special may be disturbing to young children. There are scenes of poor souls burning at the stake, and close-ups of the alleged torture devices. Scenes depicting witches consorting with pot-bellied devils are especially grotesque. For kids, this is the stuff of nightmares.
Discrediting the Black Legend brings up the sticky subject of revisionism. Re-investigating history is only invalid if it puts an agenda ahead of reality. The experts - once true believers in the Inquisition myth - were not out to do a feminist canonization of Isabella or claim that Tomas de Torquemada was a Marxist. Henry Kamen of the Higher Council for Scientific Research in Barcelona said on camera that researching the Inquisition's archives "demolished the previous image all of us (historians) had."
And the future of the Black Legend? For many it may continue to hold more weight than reality. There is the emotional appeal against the Church. The dissenters of today may easily imagine Torquemada's beady eyes as a metaphor of the Church's "dictatorial, controlling, damning" pronouncements. The myth is also the easiest endorsement of the secular state: "de-faith" the state and de-criminalize heresy. Who will be the revisionists in this case? Will the many follow Montanas' lead in rewriting history?
Our 20th century crisis of man playing God - usurping power over conception, life, and death - leaves us with no alternative but to qualify our demythologization of the Inquisition with a reminder: 3,000 to 5,000 victims are 3,000 to 5,000 too many.
Actually, the key of the eternal Davidic kingdom, as you know from the Bible.
In Isaiah 22, we see the transferal of the office of the vice-regency of the House of David from Shebna to Eliakim. The authority of this office represented by a key which the office-holder wore around his neck.
Isaiah 22:22As we see in the following passage, Jesus is the eternal king of the House of David.I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
Revelation 3:7In Matthew we see Jesus, the eternal king of the House of David, give the key of this office to Peter.These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
Matthew 16:19
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
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