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'Homosexuals and Church' acknowledged in a statement that the group had a positive attitude toward pedophilia. Featured Image Shutterstock Andreas Wailzer (LifeSiteNews) — A German ecumenical pro-LGBT group admitted to having been influenced by a criminal pedophile and promoting a positive view of pedophilia. The group “Homosexuals and Church” (HuK) published a statement titled “Reappraisal of the HuK’s stance on pedosexuality since 1977,” in which the group acknowledges that it had a positive attitude toward pedophilia and was heavily influenced by Professor Helmut Kentler, who turned out to be the mastermind behind state-sponsored pedophile network in Berlin. READ: German govt...

Burial site of devout Catholic artist Peter Paul Rubens is shrine to yoga ANTWERP, Belgium (ChurchMilitant.com) - The historic church of St. James in Antwerp is now home to yoga enthusiasts chanting Hindu mantras below the main crucifix, with the altar and pews removed to cater to the new initiative. With the approval of Fr. Bruno Aerts, the parish priest and vicar general, the organizers promote Hinduism under the guise of weekly "yoga classes," teaching participants to sing Hindu kirtans (a call-and-response style devotional song) during the sessions. Promoting PaganismFather Aerts has posted an advertisement for the yoga classes just...

[ELCA News] The 2016 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly took several significant steps Aug. 10 moving forward the mission of this church as a church for the sake of the world. By a vote of 931 to 9, the assembly overwhelmingly accepted the “Declaration on the Way,” a unique ecumenical document that marks a path toward greater unity between Roman Catholics and Lutherans. Following the vote, an emotional assembly stood to applaud the momentous decision. At the heart of the document are 32 “Statements of Agreement” that state where Lutherans and Roman Catholics do not have church-dividing...

[Fr. Z's comments in brackets and italics.]Bolded sections are from the document, Fr. Z's emphasis.The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released a statement about the wave of terror washing across Syria and Iraq. The statement was in French. HERE Here is an English translation: The whole world has witnessed with incredulity what is now called the “Restoration of the Caliphate,” which had been abolished on October 29,1923 by Kamal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey. Opposition to this “restoration” by the majority of religious institutions and Muslim politicians has not prevented the “Islamic State” jihadists from committing and continuing to commit...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In an unusual video message, recorded on an iPhone by a Pentecostal pastor Pope Francis knew in Argentina, the pope says all Christians share blame for their divisions, speaks of his "longing" for their unity and insists that God will bring the miracle of Christian unity to completion. "Pray to the Lord that he will unite us all," the pope tells a group of Pentecostals meeting in the United States. "Let's move forward, we are brothers; let us give each other that spiritual embrace and allow the Lord to complete the work he has begun. Because...

(Vatican Radio) The death of several hundred migrants off the Italian island of Lampedusa this month has focused international spotlight on the broader, complex questions of EU policies regarding immigration and integration. According to one American Muslim leader, the United States model of integration has much to teach European countries at the present time. Syrian-born Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat is founder and president of the Civilizations Exchange and Cooperation Foundation, which is based in Baltimore, in the United States. The organisation works to promote cooperation, rather than confrontation, between young people of different religions, cultures and backgrounds. He spoke to...

The prayer shawl that Myron Slobin received when he was bar mitzvahed in 1955 will have a new home Sept. 8 when Slobin, spiritual leader of the Siouxland International Messianic Fellowship, presents it for dedication to the Rev. Jim Wilson, pastor of the Glendale Baptist Church. The shawl, or tzitzit will replace the runner on the church’s communion table which was accidentally damaged by the Messianic Fellowship which has been meeting on Fridays at the church for about 3 years. “It’s very significant to the Old Testament ties and to the Bible,” Wilson said of the tallit. “It’s something that’s...

Members of all denominations were invited to the service. Mayor Gerd Schwandner read from the Gospel. A service, which was characterized by tolerance: True to the psalm, "God, I thank thee, that I am fearfully and wonderfully made" members of all denominations and any sexual orientation were invited on Sunday to the Lamberti Church. Together they celebrated an enjoyable worship which is part of the supporting program for the Christopher Street Day Parade (CSD) on the following Saturday. With a rainbow flag - a symbol of lesbian and gay movement – six participants entered the Lamberti church and placed it...

Italian clothes company Benetton backed down and pulled a photo montage showing the pope a leading imam from its new global ad campaign on Wednesday after the Vatican issued a stern condemnation. The company, which is no stranger to controversy over its advertising campaigns, said it was "sorry that the use of the image had so hurt the sensibilities of the faithful." The statement came shortly after the Vatican expressed "the firmest protest for this absolutely unacceptable use of the image of the Holy Father." Benetton's poster showed Pope Benedict XVI kissing on the lips Egypt's Ahmed el Tayyeb, imam...

I think one of the least utilized assets in all of America is the Clergy, how can you have a pool of College Educated, or Scripturally Wise men and granted, some Women, and shuttle them off to the side as if the knowledge accumulated is akin to those whom are expert at variations of color of sea snails? I also do believe in the concept of "whomsoever" as in a Sheepskin does not a wise man make, in that sense Christians who have served in Congregations worthily should also be included. A roll call perhaps? To the topic, even Lay...

UN Climate Conference (COP16) Cancun, Nov 29 - Dec 10, 2010According to this page: COP16 is the official name of the Cancun summit, which is the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COP is the highest body of the UNFCCC and comprises environment ministers from 192 countries who have met once a year since the 1992 Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro.Once again, the UN brought together many "faith traditions" in the spirit of Religious Syncretism and Interfaith Dreams. And. They. Just. Won't. Ever. Stop. Not until Christianity has...

The emerging, or emergent, church movement takes its name from the idea that as culture changes, a new church should emerge in response. In this case, it is a response by various church leaders to the current era of post-modernism. Although post-modernism began in the 1950s, the church didn't really seek to conform to its tenets until the 1990s. Post-modernism can be thought of as a dissolution of "cold, hard fact" in favor of "warm, fuzzy subjectivity." The emerging / emergent church movement can be thought of the same way. The emerging / emergent church movement falls into line with...

Numerous critics claim that LDS religion is blasphemous and even Satanic because we allegedly think we will become gods. They say we try to rob God and Christ of their glory, the same dark sin that caused Lucifer to be cast to hell in Isaiah 14. When the critics make these claims, they never explain what LDS doctrine really is and what it is not. We absolutely DO NOT believe that we will ever be independent of God or no longer subject to Him. We do not believe that we will take away His glory, but we only add to...

On my last "Open Line" radio show (Thursdays from 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET), I took a call from Ben, a pleasant and well-spoken Unitarian fellow who took the Catholic Church to task for its "divisiveness" on issues such as abortion and homosexuality. We had a friendly but animated 15-minute debate of his opinion. Take a listen and see what you think. (Click the picture to launch the audio.)

The so-called lost books of the Bible are those documents that are mentioned in the Bible in such a way that it is evident they were considered authentic and valuable, but that are not found in the Bible today. Sometimes called missing scripture, they consist of at least the following: Book of the Wars of the Lord Numbers 21:14 Book of Jasher Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18 Book of the acts of Solomon 1 Kings 11:41 Book of Samuel the seer 1 Chronicles 29:29 Book of Gad the seer 1 Chronicles 29:29 Book of Nathan the prophet 1 Chronicles 29:29;...

Faiths unite in South Florida to help Haiti The Haitian earthquake has brought together different religious communities in South Florida, including some unexpected pairings. Like many who lost family during the earthquake in Haiti, Jude Pierre turned to his faith for solace and wanted to find a way to help. On Saturday, Pierre, a Christian from Miramar, found himself among shouts of Arabic prayers as he packed boxes of canned goods in a Miami Gardens warehouse, affixing stickers to packages that read ``Muslim Americans Help Haiti.''``I found out through a friend who sent me a link on Facebook,'' said...

Surviving Day By Day Samaritan’s Purse relief supplies are helping earthquake victims who lost everything It was almost sunset and 77-year-old Marie Casimir was sifting through the ruins of a cathedral that the earthquake claimed in Petit Goave, searching for scraps of wood for the cooking fire.Marie wiped her dust-covered forehead with her hand and paused to tell the story of where she was the day the earth rumbled. “I was outside cleaning the pot when everything started going like this,” she said, gesturing wildly with her hands and stumbling from side to side. “Whoa! Whoa! I fell down...

More than 150,000 people have so far signed the Manhattan Declaration, just a week after the document was unveiled. And one of the document's drafters, Chuck Colson, hopes the number will soon reach a million so that Christians would put America on notice that they will not compromise their faith, no matter what. Leaders from the evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic traditions released "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience" last week to stand firm on what they consider the three most foundational issues in society – the sanctity of life, the historic understanding of marriage, and religious liberty. It...

I have been thinking about this for a long time. I think several people have published book reports and others have given their take on certain books. We would need to have a variety of books by different denominational authors. Not everyone would have to read every book. Whoever might be interested in that month's title could post on that month's thread. We would have to have some kind of rules such as limited discussion until the half-point of the month so that the conclusion of the book wouldn't be given away in the first ten posts. There could be...

I suppose this thread could get messy? I've not tried to post anything like it and not seen anyone else do likewise. It is a prerecorded program of Fr. Benedict Groeschel's "Sunday Night Live" on EWTN. This particular program was broadcast last Sunday, December 7, 2008. At some point in the future, it might be interesting to stream the program in live forum, but I don't think that EWTN has streaming available yet. Go to: http://www.ewtn.com/podcast/index.asp and select the MP3 button next to "Sunday Night: Live with Father Benedict Groeschel" I usually podcast these programs and get around to listening...