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St Hilda’s College will abolish its chapel from next year, replacing the space with a multi-faith room. The announcement makes St Hilda’s the third undergraduate college in Oxford not to have a dedicated Anglican chapel. The announcement follows months of debate around the presence and need for a chapel at the college. According to a JCR motion debated in Michaelmas, a number of fellows at St Hilda’s moved to reallocate any religious spaces within the college.The issue has been raised as part of extensive development plans due to be completed in 2020. As part of preparations for St Hilda’s 125th...

February 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Jewish leaders in the U.K. have stated that they will oppose educational authorities and not allow their schools to teach about homosexual and other “lifestyles” that are “prohibited by the Torah.” Chinuch U.K., an organization that represents Britain’s main strictly Orthodox Jewish communities, has “issued a defiant challenge to the government by insisting their schools cannot discuss LGBT-related issues with pupils,” according to The Jewish Chronicle. The statement was reportedly prompted by recent visits to Jewish schools by government inspectors, who made it clear that primary schools have to teach children about LGBT “equality.” In...

Vatican authorities have seized documents and computers belonging to a senior curial official as part of an investigation into financial misconduct, the Holy See announced on Tuesday. In a statement issued on February 18, the Vatican press office confirmed that investigators had raided the office and home of Msgr. Alberto Perlasca, the former head of the administrative office at the First Section of the Secretariat of State. The raid is part of an ongoing investigation into financial misconduct by officials at the secretariat. “This morning, as part of a search ordered by the Promoter of Justice, Gian Piero Milano, and...

Xia Baolong is a long-time ally of Xi Jinping who represents a sign Beijing wants to exert more control over the cityA hardliner notorious for the demolition of thousands of Christian crosses on churches has been appointed the new head of China’s office in Hong Kong, a sign that Beijing aims to further tighten control over the semi-autonomous city, analysts say. Xia Baolong, an ally of president Xi Jinping, has been appointed director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council, replacing Zhang Xiaoming, State media reported on Thursday. His appointment came amid a purge of...

House delegate: 'It felt like condemnation'RICHMOND, Va. (ChurchMilitant.com) - Virginia Democrats stormed out of the state's House of Delegates when a local pastor condemned abortion and so-called gay marriage. Invited to give the opening prayer, Rev. Robert M. Grant Jr. last week warned state lawmakers of God's wrath on those who reject biblical principles and greenlight abortion and sodomy. "The unborn have rights and those rights need to be protected. They should never be denied the right to exist, the right to develop or the right to have a family. The word of God has given us a warning: woe...

SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. (CBS) — A historic church at the Jersey Shore is facing the wrecking ball despite efforts by thousands of parishioners who want it saved. Churchgoers at a Sea Isle City parish are doing battle with church officials in an effort to keep their century-old church building open. “We were married here. Our children were baptized here,” Tom Henry said. For more than 75 years, Henry has attended and served St. Joseph’s Catholic Church parish in Sea Isle. Next to the current sanctuary that was built in 2011 is the original 135-year-old church building, which is now...

As the campaign “to eradicate pornography and illegal publications” sweeps across the country, religious materials not approved by the Communist Party are seized.On December 7 last year, the police raided a house church meeting venue in Lichuan county, administered by Jiangxi Province’s prefecture-level city of Fuzhou, searching for unlicensed religious materials. Claiming that anything that is not approved by the state is “pirated,” officers confiscated several boxes of Bibles, hymn books, and other religious literature found in the church. They also noted down the ID information of all congregation members who were present and threatened to arrest them if they...

Pro-Trump preacher accused of homophobia and IslamophobiaLONDON (ChurchMilitant.com) - A leading traditionalist Catholic politician has robustly defended Franklin Graham's right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion after all seven venues booked by the preacher banned the evangelist from speaking during his forthcoming tour of the United Kingdom. Liberal Anglican bishops had joined hands with anti-Christian secularists and gay activists in attempting to silence Graham by accusing him of peddling hate speech. The Leader of Britain's House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, condemned Graham's "no-platforming" as a "particularly disagreeable modern trend" and stressed that freedom of speech was of "fundamental...

HBO runs yet another anti-Catholic series, remains silent on Muslims FEB 17, 2020 3:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER HBO executives are doubtless congratulating themselves for their “courage,” but it doesn’t take any courage at all to skewer the Catholic Church today. When will they be courageous enough to take on Islam, which, with the rampant human rights abuses occasioned by Sharia, would be fertile ground for a lurid miniseries like The New Pope? Oh, around never. “Column: HBO — Vicious to Christians, Silent on Muslims,” by Brent Bozell and Tim Graham, NewsBusters, February 15, 2020: HBO is currently running a...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Religion Forum threads labeled "Prayer" are closed to debate of any kind.

Up to minute 17 or so is a good explanation, with map, of what is going on in Syria with Turkey, Russia, Syria, Israel. Amir really brings it to life with his direct and appropriately passionate treatment of the conflict. Then comes his take on the coronavirus, with reports from many countries, some of which many of us haven't heard. Last, an end times perspective on things and a call to prayer.

Cardinal Joseph Zen discusses the Church in China and his relationship with Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin On February 11, Cardinal Joseph Zen, emeritus bishop of Hong Kong met with Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. After that meeting, the cardinal gave an exclusive interview to CNA in which he discussed the Church in China, the Holy See’s agreement with the Communist regime, and his relationship with Pope Francis and the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The following is a transcript of the cardinal’s interview with CNA. It has been edited for length and clarity....

Vatican Secretary of State blasts Rome conference on St. John Paul IIROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - A conference of eminent academics, politicians and writers celebrating the nationalist legacy of Pope St. John Paul II and targeting Pope Francis's globalist agenda has triggered a counterblast from the Holy See's head of state and Catholic and secular establishment media. Cardinal Pietro Parolin blasted the Rome conference on "God, Honor, Country: President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and the Freedom of Nations" as "fundamentally infantile" — even though speakers like Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasized the values of "Christian liberty" and Europe's Christian...

Hollywood has always had a problem with America's Judaeo-Christian culture, particularly now, putting itself at odds with a large part of its audience. That's left a gate open for new ideas, and entrepreneurs, using new technologies and approaches to fill the gap. So, a very successful series about the life of Jesus, called "The Chosen," creatively attempting to tell the story of Jesus from the point of view of the people around him, has taken off from under the radar. The streamed series, which can be viewed on as a multi-season television program, pretty much the first of its kind,...

'Pope Francis said yesterday the Amazon is his, the world's, everyone's. Well, the pope may be Argentinian, but God is Brazilian.'February 14, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has seemingly criticized Pope Francis for asserting in his exhortation released this week that the Amazon region belongs to people other than the nations among which the territory is spread. Speaking yesterday, Bolsonaro said: “Pope Francis said yesterday the Amazon is his, the world’s, everyone’s. Well, the pope may be Argentinian, but God is Brazilian.” In section 5 of Querida Amazonia, published on Wednesday, Pope Francis stated that he was addressing...

The next two weeks are crucial to suppress the epidemic, says Cardinal John TongThe threat of spreading the coronavirus has forced Catholic officials in Hong Kong to suspend all church programs for the next two weeks and cancel the Ash Wednesday liturgy that marks the beginning of the Lent season. Cardinal John Tong, the apostolic administrator of Hong Kong, said the “disappointing” decision had been taken “because the next two weeks will be a crucial time to suppress the epidemic.” The diocese has decided to suspend all public Masses on Sundays and weekdays from Feb. 15-28 and to cancel the...

The three Louisiana churches went up in flames in a span of 10 days, each doused in gasoline and torched with oily shop rags in the middle of the night. Each Baptist congregation was predominantly black, causing church leaders to fear that white supremacists may target their parish next. But as the fears swirled, the arsonist, 22-year-old Holden Matthews, was busy planning his next album cover, according to text messages obtained by prosecutors He burned down the three churches in St. Landry Parish, federal prosecutors said Monday, because he wanted “to raise his profile as a ‘Black Metal’ musician.” Matthews,...

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s key annual fundraising appeal took in nearly a third less money in 2019, after sexual misconduct and mismanagement scandals involving some of the region’s most prominent Catholic leaders. The archdiocese, which includes the District and its Maryland suburbs, received $10,350,027 for the 2019 Annual Appeal, compared with the 2018 total of $14,192,188, which is about where it had hovered since 2013. The drive was called “the Cardinal’s Appeal” until a year ago, when officials rebranded it to play down the image of high-ranking clerics. The annual fundraising drive in the nearby Arlington Diocese is still...

Novo-Ogaryovo, February 13, Interfax - Russian President Vladimir Putin said that as long as he remains in office, Russia will not legitimize same-sex marriages. "As concerns Parent No. 1 and Parent No. 2, I've said publicly some time ago, and I'll repeat once again now: as long as I am president, we won't have parents number one and number two, we will have Mom and Dad," Putin said at a meeting with members of a working group for preparing constitutional amendments on Thursday. State Duma deputy Olga Batalina said at the meeting that the working group had received numerous proposals...

Washington D.C., Feb 11, 2020 / 05:30 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Joseph Zen, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has said that the situation of the Church in China is dire. The cardinal also predicted the end of the underground Church. “The situation is very bad. And the source is not the pope. The pope doesn’t know much about China,” Cardinal Zen told CNA on Tuesday “The Holy Father Francis shows special affection to me,” Zen said, but added that he is in confrontation with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. “I’m fighting Parolin. Because the bad things come...