Third Eye "Blind", Abolishing Death Penalty, InterFaith Summit & Offering Muslim Prayer Rooms
This blog is loaded with the Latest News from the Vatican II cult of man. Vatican II is not our Faith nor Gospel
Freemasonic "third-eye" part of Vatican light show
Look at the picture, Does it send chills? It should. It is evil, it is Masonic.
The National Catholic Reporter, long ordered to remove "Catholic" from its name, called LifeSiteNews, "deranged" for their coverage of the event in Rome. The only derangement is amongst those Catholics who refuse to see exactly what this is and those malefactors in the Vatican that permitted and advocated this abomination.
It is the "third eye" the "eye of Horus" the "all-seeing eye of providence."
It is diabolical and it is not out of keeping with the vile depiction of Our Lord Jesus Christ for the Year of Mercy.
They can call LifeSiteNews or Vox "deranged," - the people that allowed this are Satanic.
SEE MY WORK ON THE TOPIC:
Francis calls on global leaders to abolish death penalty, provide healthcare, forgive debt
Pope Francis has published his annual message for the World Day of Peace
In the name of his ongoing Jubilee year of mercy, Pope Francis has
strongly called upon global leaders to make what he has termed
“courageous gestures of concern” for those left most in need by society
-- especially prisoners, migrants, and the unemployed.
Among the pontiff’s requests, made Tuesday with the publication of his annual message for the upcoming World Day of Peace: Abolition of the death penalty, conditions for legal residency for migrants, jobs for the unemployed, access to medical care for all, and forgiveness of international debt burdens.
Francis makes the requests at the end of his 2016 message, titled “Overcome Indifference and Win Peace,” in a concluding section on “Peace in the sign of the Jubilee of Mercy.”
The pope first speaks of prisoners, saying that “in many cases practical measures are urgently needed to improve their living conditions, with particular concern for those detained while awaiting trial.”
“It must be kept in mind that penal sanctions have the aim of rehabilitation, while national laws should consider the possibility of other establishing penalties than incarceration,” he continues.
“In this context, I would like once more to appeal to governmental authorities to abolish the death penalty where it is still in force, and to consider the possibility of an amnesty,” he states.
The pope then speaks of migrants, asking that “legislation on migration be reviewed, so, while respecting reciprocal rights and responsibilities, it can reflect a readiness to welcome migrants and to facilitate their integration.”
“Special concern should be paid to the conditions for legal residency, since having to live clandestinely can lead to criminal behavior,” he states.
Francis also asks for “concrete gestures in favor of our brothers and sisters who suffer from the lack of labor, land and lodging.”
“I am thinking of the creation of dignified jobs to combat the social plague of unemployment, which affects many families and young people, with grave effects for society as a whole,” he states, adding that “special attention” should be given to women, “who unfortunately still encounter discrimination in the workplace.”
The pontiff then says he wants to express his hope “that effective steps will be taken to improve the living conditions of the sick by ensuring that all have access to medical treatment and pharmaceuticals essential for life.”
Francis ends the letter with a threefold appeal to world leaders, asking them to: “refrain from drawing other peoples into conflicts or wars;” “forgive or manage in a sustainable way the international debt of the poorer nations;” and, “adopt policies that respect the values of local populations.”
The World Day of Peace is celebrated by the church each Jan. 1, which is also the Catholic feast day of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Pope Paul VI first dedicated that feast to world peace in 1967, and each feast since 1968 has seen release of a papal message.
Francis’ message is particularly forceful in his requests upon world leaders, which he makes in the context of a special Jubilee year he opened for the Catholic church on Dec. 8 that is focused on highlighting the boundless nature of God’s mercy.
A Jubilee year is a special year called by the church to receive blessing and pardon from God and remission of sins. The mercy Jubilee will last until Nov. 20, 2016.
The pontiff focuses his 2016 World Day of Peace message on overcoming what he has commonly called a “globalization of indifference.” He opens the message with a stirring reinforcement of God’s care for humanity, stating: “God is not indifferent! God cares about mankind! God does not abandon us!”
Francis also reflects at length on the meaning and importance of mercy, stating simply: “Mercy is the heart of God.”
“It must also be the heart of the members of the one great family of his children: a heart which beats all the more strongly wherever human dignity -- as a reflection of the face of God in his creatures -- is in play,” he continues.
“Jesus tells us that love for others -- foreigners, the sick, prisoners, the homeless, even our enemies-- is the yardstick by which God will judge our actions,” he states. “Our eternal destiny depends on this.”
Throughout the 21-page message, the pope outlines different kinds of indifference in the world, starting with “indifference to God, which then leads to indifference to one’s neighbor and to the environment.”
He says one particular form of indifference of our times is the ability of people to be incredibly informed through TV, newspapers, or social media about the problems of the world but to not get involved or engaged in the problems of the people around them.
“Theirs is the attitude of those who know, but keep their gaze, their thoughts and their actions focused on themselves,” he states, adding that our culture of over-information “can numb people’s sensibilities and to some degree downplay the gravity of the problems.”
Francis also cites from his recent encyclical letter on the environment, Laudato Si’, to say that indifference to environmental concerns “ends up creating new forms of poverty and new situations of injustice, often with dire consequences for security and peace.”
“How many wars have been fought, and how many will continue to be fought, over a shortage of goods or out of an insatiable thirst for natural resources?” he asks.
Calling for a conversion of hearts from indifference to mercy, the pontiff cites the biblical story of Cain’s killing of Abel to say that God is never indifferent to humanity.
“Cain said he did not know what had happened to his brother, that he was not his brother’s keeper,” says Francis. “He did not feel responsible for his life, for his fate. He did not feel involved. He was indifferent to his brother, despite their common origin.”
“How sad!” the pope exhorts. “What a sorry tale of brothers, of families, of human beings! This was the first display of indifference between brothers.”
“God, however, is not indifferent,” he states. “Abel’s blood had immense value in his eyes, and he asked Cain to give an account of it. At the origin of the human race, God shows himself to be involved in man’s destiny.”
Francis then speaks of God’s intervention to free his people from Egypt and of Jesus’ incarnation as a human being.
“God has come down among us,” the pontiff says of Jesus. “He took flesh and showed his solidarity with humanity in all things but sin.”
“He was concerned not only for men and women, but also for the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, plants and trees, all things great and small,” states the pope. “He saw and embraced all of creation.”
“But he did more than just see; he touched people’s lives, he spoke to them, helped them and showed kindness to those in need,” he continues. “Not only this, but he felt strong emotions and he wept. And he worked to put an end to suffering, sorrow, misery and death.”
The World Day of Peace message is signed by Francis and dated on Dec. 8, the opening of the Jubilee year and the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Among the pontiff’s requests, made Tuesday with the publication of his annual message for the upcoming World Day of Peace: Abolition of the death penalty, conditions for legal residency for migrants, jobs for the unemployed, access to medical care for all, and forgiveness of international debt burdens.
Francis makes the requests at the end of his 2016 message, titled “Overcome Indifference and Win Peace,” in a concluding section on “Peace in the sign of the Jubilee of Mercy.”
The pope first speaks of prisoners, saying that “in many cases practical measures are urgently needed to improve their living conditions, with particular concern for those detained while awaiting trial.”
“It must be kept in mind that penal sanctions have the aim of rehabilitation, while national laws should consider the possibility of other establishing penalties than incarceration,” he continues.
“In this context, I would like once more to appeal to governmental authorities to abolish the death penalty where it is still in force, and to consider the possibility of an amnesty,” he states.
The pope then speaks of migrants, asking that “legislation on migration be reviewed, so, while respecting reciprocal rights and responsibilities, it can reflect a readiness to welcome migrants and to facilitate their integration.”
“Special concern should be paid to the conditions for legal residency, since having to live clandestinely can lead to criminal behavior,” he states.
Francis also asks for “concrete gestures in favor of our brothers and sisters who suffer from the lack of labor, land and lodging.”
“I am thinking of the creation of dignified jobs to combat the social plague of unemployment, which affects many families and young people, with grave effects for society as a whole,” he states, adding that “special attention” should be given to women, “who unfortunately still encounter discrimination in the workplace.”
The pontiff then says he wants to express his hope “that effective steps will be taken to improve the living conditions of the sick by ensuring that all have access to medical treatment and pharmaceuticals essential for life.”
Francis ends the letter with a threefold appeal to world leaders, asking them to: “refrain from drawing other peoples into conflicts or wars;” “forgive or manage in a sustainable way the international debt of the poorer nations;” and, “adopt policies that respect the values of local populations.”
The World Day of Peace is celebrated by the church each Jan. 1, which is also the Catholic feast day of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Pope Paul VI first dedicated that feast to world peace in 1967, and each feast since 1968 has seen release of a papal message.
Francis’ message is particularly forceful in his requests upon world leaders, which he makes in the context of a special Jubilee year he opened for the Catholic church on Dec. 8 that is focused on highlighting the boundless nature of God’s mercy.
A Jubilee year is a special year called by the church to receive blessing and pardon from God and remission of sins. The mercy Jubilee will last until Nov. 20, 2016.
The pontiff focuses his 2016 World Day of Peace message on overcoming what he has commonly called a “globalization of indifference.” He opens the message with a stirring reinforcement of God’s care for humanity, stating: “God is not indifferent! God cares about mankind! God does not abandon us!”
Francis also reflects at length on the meaning and importance of mercy, stating simply: “Mercy is the heart of God.”
“It must also be the heart of the members of the one great family of his children: a heart which beats all the more strongly wherever human dignity -- as a reflection of the face of God in his creatures -- is in play,” he continues.
“Jesus tells us that love for others -- foreigners, the sick, prisoners, the homeless, even our enemies-- is the yardstick by which God will judge our actions,” he states. “Our eternal destiny depends on this.”
Throughout the 21-page message, the pope outlines different kinds of indifference in the world, starting with “indifference to God, which then leads to indifference to one’s neighbor and to the environment.”
He says one particular form of indifference of our times is the ability of people to be incredibly informed through TV, newspapers, or social media about the problems of the world but to not get involved or engaged in the problems of the people around them.
“Theirs is the attitude of those who know, but keep their gaze, their thoughts and their actions focused on themselves,” he states, adding that our culture of over-information “can numb people’s sensibilities and to some degree downplay the gravity of the problems.”
Francis also cites from his recent encyclical letter on the environment, Laudato Si’, to say that indifference to environmental concerns “ends up creating new forms of poverty and new situations of injustice, often with dire consequences for security and peace.”
“How many wars have been fought, and how many will continue to be fought, over a shortage of goods or out of an insatiable thirst for natural resources?” he asks.
Calling for a conversion of hearts from indifference to mercy, the pontiff cites the biblical story of Cain’s killing of Abel to say that God is never indifferent to humanity.
“Cain said he did not know what had happened to his brother, that he was not his brother’s keeper,” says Francis. “He did not feel responsible for his life, for his fate. He did not feel involved. He was indifferent to his brother, despite their common origin.”
“How sad!” the pope exhorts. “What a sorry tale of brothers, of families, of human beings! This was the first display of indifference between brothers.”
“God, however, is not indifferent,” he states. “Abel’s blood had immense value in his eyes, and he asked Cain to give an account of it. At the origin of the human race, God shows himself to be involved in man’s destiny.”
Francis then speaks of God’s intervention to free his people from Egypt and of Jesus’ incarnation as a human being.
“God has come down among us,” the pontiff says of Jesus. “He took flesh and showed his solidarity with humanity in all things but sin.”
“He was concerned not only for men and women, but also for the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, plants and trees, all things great and small,” states the pope. “He saw and embraced all of creation.”
“But he did more than just see; he touched people’s lives, he spoke to them, helped them and showed kindness to those in need,” he continues. “Not only this, but he felt strong emotions and he wept. And he worked to put an end to suffering, sorrow, misery and death.”
The World Day of Peace message is signed by Francis and dated on Dec. 8, the opening of the Jubilee year and the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Interfaith summit planned for Georgetown
WASHINGTON — Faith leaders from the Washington area are gathering at Georgetown University to advocate for peace and religious freedom.
Wednesday’s interfaith event was scheduled in the wake of the fatal shootings in San Bernardino, California, by a married couple who sympathized with the Islamic State militant group. The shootings have led to criticism of Islam, including a call by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to bar Muslims from entering the United States.
Among the clergy gathering at Georgetown will be Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, and Talib Shareef, imam and president of Masjid Muhammad, known as “The Nation’s Mosque.” They plan to discuss their shared “commitment to peace, justice, and religious freedom.”
The event will also include music and prayer.
Twal: Christmas tree lights to be switched off in memory of victims of violence
In this year’s Christmas message, the Patriarch of Jerusalem has
invited the Holy Land’s parishes to switch off their Christmas tree
lights for five minutes in solidarity with the those who tragically lost
their lives in recent months. Addressing the Middle East which has been
rocked to its core by wars and intifadas, he said: “Mercy is a
political act par excellence”
"Pope" to celebrate ‘cross-border’ Mass during Mexico trip
Francis will go to the border town of Ciudad Juárez during February's visit
Pope Francis will celebrate a “cross-border Mass” and visit some
of the most marginalised communities in Mexico when he visits in
February.The Vatican announced on Sunday details about the Pope’s February 12-17 trip to Mexico, during which he will stop in six cities, including two in the state of Chiapas and — across from El Paso, Texas — Ciudad Juarez, which just five years ago was considered the “murder capital of the world” as drug cartels disputed a trafficking corridor.
The Pope said in November that he wanted to visit cities where St John Paul II and Benedict XVI never went. But he said he will stop at the capital of Mexico City to pray at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. “But if it wasn’t for Our Lady I wouldn’t” go there, he had told reporters.
The Pope will fly out of and return to Mexico City each day after celebrating Mass at the basilica on the second day of his trip.
Over the following four days, he will visit a pediatric hospital in the capital as well as families and indigenous communities in the southernmost state of Chiapas, Mexico’s poorest state, which gained worldwide attention for the 1990s Zapatista rebellion.
He will visit young people and religious in Morelia, celebrate Mass on the Mexican-US border in Ciudad Juarez and visit its infamous Cereso state prison, where at least 20 people were killed during riots in 2009 triggered by rival gangs among the prisoners.
“We are certain that the presence of the Holy Father will confirm us in the faith, hope and charity and will help the church move ahead in its permanent mission,” the Mexican bishops’ conference said in a December 12 statement. “It will encourage believers and non-believers and commit us to the construction of a just Mexico, with solidarity, reconciliation and peace,” the statement said.
Fr Oscar Enriquez, parish priest and director of the Paso del Norte Human Rights Centre in Ciudad Juarez, told Catholic News Service that Juarez is often seen as an example of overcoming extreme violence: “The Pope always looks for the peripheries. Juarez is the periphery of Mexico and it’s a place migrants pass through.”
Fr Patricio Madrigal, pastor of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in the Michoacan city of Nueva Italia said by visiting Morelia, the Pope “wants to be closer to an area beaten down by violence. He wants to bring comfort and also closeness.”
The Pope’s meeting with young people and religious in Morelia is important, Fr Madrigal told CNS, as the Church there works to keep kids out of the cartels and provide priests with support and “strengthen us in the faith and our work in attending to victims of violence.”
Priests in the rugged Tierra Caliente region there had lent moral and spiritual support to vigilantes arming themselves to run off a drug cartel in 2013.
Pope Francis “wants to give young people a message of hope and that they stay away from the temptation of violence,” the priest said
Salvation is free, Francis says, warning against Holy Year fraudsters
VATICAN
CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday warned Catholics against
fraudsters who would have them pay to pass through "Holy Doors" at
cathedrals around the world, a ritual in the Church's current Jubilee
year.
"Be
careful. Beware anyone who might be a little fast and very clever who
tells you have to pay. No! You don't pay for salvation. It is free," he
said in unscripted remarks to tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's
Square for weekly audience.
During
the year-long celebrations that began last week and are one of the most
important events in the 1.2 billion-member Church, the faithful will
make pilgrimages to Rome and other religious sites around the world,
mostly local cathedrals.
By
passing through a holy door of a church, which remains closed except
during a Holy Year, Catholics symbolically pass from sin to grace.
Holy
Years usually take place only every 25 years and the next one was due
in 2025. But the pope, who wants a more inclusive and less judgmental
Church, called an extraordinary one on the theme of mercy, compassion
and forgiveness.
To
underscore that the Church should show additional concern for the poor
this year, he has taken the tradition beyond houses of worship and will
open a symbolic "holy door" at a Rome homeless shelter on Friday.
Rome
has already seen some Holy Year fraud. This week Italian police
confiscated 3,500 counterfeit parchments bearing purported blessings by
the pope and were being sold to pilgrims coming to Rome for the Holy
Year.
Detroit Priest Calls Gay Marriage ‘Sacramental’
Father Ronald Victor says Church "needs more examples of gay holiness"
A priest in the Detroit archdiocese is calling gay marriage "sacred and sacramental," and insists the Church "needs more examples of gay holiness."Father Ronald Victor, pastor of St. Isidore Catholic Church in Macomb, Michigan, made the remarks while attending the wedding of his gay nephew Bryan Victor earlier this summer. As reported Tuesday by the Detroit Free Press, he said of the couple, "They are two very holy guys. I do see their union as being sacred and sacramental, in the sense that it reflects God's love. ... While it's not necessarily life-giving in a biological way, it's life-giving in other ways."
A longtime priest in the Detroit archdiocese, Fr. Victor has been involved in controversy before. In July, he testified on behalf of a fellow priest convicted of possession of child porn and accused of sex abuse. The priest, Fr. Timothy Murray, no longer in active ministry, was discovered in possession of 685 videos of child porn on seven computers in his home in 2012. He was sentenced to 16 years. The sentencing judge said the crimes were "stomach-churning."
Murray had been removed as pastor from a parish in 2004 after officials discovered he had sexually abused an altar boy in the 1980s. The statute of limitations prohibited any lawsuits, but Murray did admit to the crime. The Detroit archdiocese currently lists Murray as "permanently removed from public ministry."
At the court hearing for child porn in July, Fr. Victor appeared on Murray's behalf, submitting a letter to the judge testifying to Murray's "good character." "In spite of his criminal behavior, I consider Mr. Murray to be a person of good character. One of his strongest traits is his honesty," Victor wrote.
And in a mysterious incident in 2005, Victor was the victim of assault by a fellow priest who bore a grudge against Victor. According to a report in the Detroit News,
Fr. Bondy walked towards Victor loudly stating, "The thief is back. ... Lock everything up, nothing is safe with you around." Father Bondy continued toward Fr. Victor, telling him he was not welcome at St. Clement again. Father Bondy proceeded to grab Fr. Victor around his neck, choke him, push him against a closet door, and slap him twice.Victor never elaborated on the details spurring the incident, and the archdiocese urged him not to press charges.
As to Victor's most recent comments, he admits that although he once stayed quiet about blessing same-sex unions, he is "comfortable being public with it now." Even so, he expressed frustration that he couldn't bless his nephew's same-sex union in a Catholic parish. "[I'm] a little angry and a little disappointed," Victor remarked, "that we couldn't do it in a church where I could have officiated."
Although he offered to bless the union privately, his nephew ultimately refused the offer because the couple didn't want anything "clandestine or controversial." Victor himself believes many priests would be open to blessing same-sex weddings even though "they can't be real public with that."
Dissident gay activist groups like New Ways Ministry are applauding Fr. Victor for his gay-friendly stance.
Vatican's ex-No. 2 seeks to make amends for hospital scandal
ROME (AP) — An Italian cardinal
whose penthouse apartment was reportedly renovated using funds from a
Vatican-owned children's hospital is making a large donation for medical
research in a bid to make amends, the hospital's president said
Saturday.
Bambino Gesu Hospital President Mariella Enoc told
reporters that Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is donating 150,000 euros
($165, 000) for research on orphan diseases.Bertone has insisted that he paid for the renovations himself. The scandal put him on the defensive, since lavish lifestyles clash with Pope Francis' insistence that prelates live modestly.
Bertone was formerly the secretary of state, the Vatican's No. 2 official, under Pope Benedict XVI and for the first months of Francis' papacy. Now 81, he no longer holds any top Vatican post.
The questionable renovation was one of the scandalous episodes cited in a best-selling book by an Italian journalist, one of two reporters on trial at the Vatican now for publishing confidential documents. A Spanish priest, the priest's aide and an Italian PR specialist are also on trial in the case of leaked information.
"Cardinal Bertone didn't directly get the money," Enoc said. "However, he acknowledged that all that which happened damaged our hospital and our foundation ... and thus he is making amends to us with a donation."
The Italian news agency ANSA quoted Bertone as stressing that the money he's giving "is a voluntary donation. It's not reimbursement, because I personally haven't done any damage."
Bertone was further quoted as explaining that he will give out the money in installments from his savings and from various contributions for charity that were made to him over the years.
"My life is not luxurious as it is continually, stereotypically, said," Bertone was quoted as saying.
Referring to the donation, he said "I had a little salary, and then some benefactors' offer that I have always reutilized to help people in need."
The Vatican's current No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was asked about the apartment scandal Saturday while he visited the hospital.
"I thank the Lord that, from this moment of difficulty, it's turning out constructively," Parolin said.
The
Bambino Gesu Hospital is one of several Catholic-administrated health
care facilities that have been stung by scandal. Among them is a Rome
dermatology hospital that is being investigated by Italian prosecutors
for suspected embezzlement. Many workers there went unpaid for long
stretches, and the priest in charge of the hospital administration was
put under house arrest.
Francis will make Mother Teresa—a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud—a saint?
In 2003, Pope John Paul II approved the beatification of Mother
Teresa. At the time, Christopher Hitchens called Mother Teresa “a
fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud,” arguing that “even more will be
poor and sick if her example is followed.” On Friday, Pope Francis
announced that he will make Mother Teresa a saint in 2016. Hitchens’
original essay is republished below.
I think it was Macaulay who said that the Roman Catholic Church deserved great credit for, and owed its longevity to, its ability to handle and contain fanaticism. This rather oblique compliment belongs to a more serious age. What is so striking about the "beatification" of the woman who styled herself "Mother" Teresa is the abject surrender, on the part of the church, to the forces of showbiz, superstition, and populism.
I think it was Macaulay who said that the Roman Catholic Church deserved great credit for, and owed its longevity to, its ability to handle and contain fanaticism. This rather oblique compliment belongs to a more serious age. What is so striking about the "beatification" of the woman who styled herself "Mother" Teresa is the abject surrender, on the part of the church, to the forces of showbiz, superstition, and populism.
It's the sheer tawdriness that strikes the eye first of all. It used
to be that a person could not even be nominated for "beatification," the
first step to "sainthood," until five years after his or her death.
This was to guard against local or popular enthusiasm in the promotion
of dubious characters. The pope nominated MT a year after her death in
1997. It also used to be that an apparatus of inquiry was set in train,
including the scrutiny of an advocatus diaboli or "devil's
advocate," to test any extraordinary claims. The pope has abolished this
office and has created more instant saints than all his predecessors
combined as far back as the 16th century.
As for the "miracle" that had to be attested, what can one say?
Surely any respectable Catholic cringes with shame at the obviousness of
the fakery. A Bengali woman named Monica Besra claims that a beam of
light emerged from a picture of MT, which she happened to have in her
home, and relieved her of a cancerous tumor. Her physician, Dr. Ranjan
Mustafi, says that she didn't have a cancerous tumor in the first place
and that the tubercular cyst she did have was cured by a course of
prescription medicine. Was he interviewed by the Vatican's
investigators? No. (As it happens, I myself was interviewed by them but
only in the most perfunctory way. The procedure still does demand a show
of consultation with doubters, and a show of consultation was what, in
this case, it got.)
According to an uncontradicted report in the Italian paper L'Eco di Bergamo,
the Vatican's secretary of state sent a letter to senior cardinals in
June, asking on behalf of the pope whether they favored making MT a
saint right away. The pope's clear intention has been to speed the
process up in order to perform the ceremony in his own lifetime. The
response was in the negative, according to Father Brian Kolodiejchuk,
the Canadian priest who has acted as postulator or advocate for the
"canonization." But the damage, to such integrity as the process
possesses, has already been done.
During the deliberations over the Second Vatican Council, under the
stewardship of Pope John XXIII, MT was to the fore in opposing all
suggestions of reform. What was needed, she maintained, was more work
and more faith, not doctrinal revision. Her position was
ultra-reactionary and fundamentalist even in orthodox Catholic
terms. Believers are indeed enjoined to abhor and eschew abortion, but
they are not required to affirm that abortion is "the greatest destroyer
of peace," as MT fantastically asserted to a dumbfounded audience when
receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.* Believers are likewise enjoined to
abhor and eschew divorce, but they are not required to insist that a ban
on divorce and remarriage be a part of the state constitution, as MT
demanded in a referendum in Ireland (which her side narrowly lost) in
1996. Later in that same year, she told Ladies’ Home Journal that she was pleased by the divorce of her friend Princess Diana, because the marriage had so obviously been an unhappy one …
This returns us to the medieval corruption of the church, which sold
indulgences to the rich while preaching hellfire and continence to the
poor. MT was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty.
She said that suffering was a gift from God. She spent her life
opposing the only known cure for poverty, which is the empowerment of
women and the emancipation of them from a livestock version of
compulsory reproduction. And she was a friend to the worst of the rich,
taking misappropriated money from the atrocious Duvalier family in Haiti
(whose rule she praised in return) and from Charles Keating of the
Lincoln Savings and Loan. Where did that money, and all the other
donations, go? The primitive hospice in Calcutta was as run down when
she died as it always had been—she preferred California clinics when she
got sick herself—and her order always refused to publish any audit. But
we have her own claim that she opened 500 convents in more than a
hundred countries, all bearing the name of her own order. Excuse me, but
this is modesty and humility?
The rich world has a poor conscience, and many people liked to
alleviate their own unease by sending money to a woman who seemed like
an activist for "the poorest of the poor." People do not like to admit
that they have been gulled or conned, so a vested interest in the myth
was permitted to arise, and a lazy media never bothered to ask any
follow-up questions. Many volunteers who went to Calcutta came back
abruptly disillusioned by the stern ideology and poverty-loving practice
of the "Missionaries of Charity," but they had no audience for their
story. George Orwell's admonition in his essay on Gandhi—that saints
should always be presumed guilty until proved innocent—was drowned in a
Niagara of soft-hearted, soft-headed, and uninquiring propaganda.
One of the curses of India, as of other poor countries, is the quack
medicine man, who fleeces the sufferer by promises of miraculous
healing. Sunday was a great day for these parasites, who saw their
crummy methods endorsed by his holiness and given a more or less free
ride in the international press. Forgotten were the elementary rules of
logic, that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and that
what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without
evidence. More than that, we witnessed the elevation and consecration of
extreme dogmatism, blinkered faith, and the cult of a mediocre human
personality. Many more people are poor and sick because of the life of
MT: Even more will be poor and sick if her example is followed. She was a
fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud, and a church that officially
protects those who violate the innocent has given us another clear sign
of where it truly stands on moral and ethical questions.
"Pope" Appoints Mgr. Paul Tighe as Bishop and Adjunct-Secretary to the Pontifical Council for Culture
Pope Francis has assigned talented Irishman from Secretary of
Pontifical Council for Social Communications to Adjunct-Secretary of the
Pontifical Council for Culture
http://www.lastampa.it/2015/12/19/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/pope-appoints-mgr-paul-tighe-as-bishop-and-adjunctsecretary-to-the-pontifical-council-for-culture-HRiw1QHMiUzhaQ8syGhatO/pagina.html
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis settles civil sexual abuse case
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has reached a settlement with state prosecutors that will allow for more oversight and independent audits as part of a civil case that alleged it failed to protect children from sexual abuse. A criminal case that accuses the archdiocese of child endangerment will continue.
The agreement in the civil case, announced Friday in Ramsey County District Court, allows legal oversight of the archdiocese over the next three years, with the goal of changing its organizational culture to ensure that no more children become victims, prosecutors said.
“Under this agreement, the hierarchy of the archdiocese may no longer conceal or minimize clergy sex abuse,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said after the hearing.
Archdiocese attorney Joe Dixon said in court that the settlement must be approved by a bankruptcy judge, but both sides pledge to begin work immediately. In addition to agreeing to two independent audits and oversight by prosecutors and the court, the archdiocese also plans to give the court progress updates every six months.
If the archdiocese remains in compliance over the next three years, the civil charges will be dismissed.
The civil case stems from a petition Choi’s office filed in June, alleging that the archdiocese contributed to the need for protection of three children who were sexually abused by a former priest. The archdiocese was also charged with six gross misdemeanor criminal counts of child endangerment in connection with the same priest. Prosecutors say top Church officials failed to respond to “numerous and repeated reports of troubling conduct” by Curtis Wehmeyer from the time he entered the seminary in 1997 until he was removed from the priesthood in March.
Wehmeyer is imprisoned in Minnesota for sexually abusing two brothers, and he’ll begin a sentence in Wisconsin in 2016 for abusing a third sibling there.
Each of the six criminal counts carries a maximum fine of $3,000. Choi and archdiocese officials said the criminal case is moving toward a resolution.
Ten days after the charges were filed, then-Archbishop John Nienstedt, resigned from his post. Nienstedt has not been charged.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda said Friday that the Church can’t change the past, but is committed to changing the future.
“Although significant strides have been made, the archdiocese recognizes that its work is not done, and will never be done,” Hebda said. He said the archdiocese is committed to working openly with authorities “always with the prayerful hope of rebuilding trust.”
The archdiocese has been under fire since 2013, when a former Church official went public with concerns about its handling of abuse cases. That same year, a state law opened a three-year window for victims of past sex abuse to file lawsuits. The archdiocese has declared bankruptcy and more than 400 victims have come forward.
A 2014 settlement between the archdiocese and plaintiffs’ attorneys created protocols designed to keep children safe. Choi said Friday that the new agreement incorporates many of those protocols — but now his office has the power to enforce them.If the archdiocese doesn’t comply with the agreement, Choi said, it will have 28 calendar days to make changes, or it will face court action.
“Though the requirements in this agreement, it is my expectation that … the protection of children will forever be of paramount importance within this archdiocese,” Choi said.
The agreement also requires that all allegations of misconduct be addressed by a ministerial board comprised mainly of non-clergy, instead of allowing one or two Church leaders to make decisions. In addition, the archdiocese agreed it will not conduct its own internal investigations of abuse allegations, and will not interfere with law enforcement.
More Potential "Resignation" Propaganda....It might help if Francis were the true Pope
Fears for health of Pope Francis as he is unable to stand at Vatican speech
BY HANNAH ROBERTS
www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/fears-health-pope-francis-unable-7052191
“I am not feeling very strong. With your permission, I’ll speak to you sitting down”Fears for the health of Pope Francis have resurfaced after he was unable to stand at an official event, explaining that he was ‘not feeling strong.’
Addressing Vatican officials in a Christmas speech on Monday, Francis said he had the flu. He said: ‘Dear brothers and sisters, Forgive me for not standing up as I speak to you, but for some days I’ve been suffering from flu and I am not feeling very strong. With your permission, I’ll speak to you sitting down.’
The pope has been unsteady of his feet at times in recent months, stumbling several times in public. Last week he celebrated his 79th birthday.
In November as walked up the steps in the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome he seemingly tripped on his robes, forcing nearby priests to grasp his arms and help him up the steps.
The same week he tripped as he walked up some steps in St Peter’s Square, this time being brought to his hands and knees.
Concerns for the health of Pope Francis first surfaced after the pontiff told parishioners in May that he is ‘a bit old and a bit sick’.
During a visit to the seaside town of Ostia, the pope asked a group of ill and disabled people to pray for him, warning that he was also suffering from heath problems.
Previously Francis has insisted that he expects to live only two or three years. He told journalists on the papal plane last year he would only be in power ‘a short time’. ‘Two or three years and then I’ll be off to the Father’s house, ‘ he predicted.
The pope has some underlying health problems, including sciatica and had part of one of his lungs removed in his youth.
Some observers have claimed that he has gained weight since his election and is having difficulty breathing, which they say could be a sign of a heart condition. Earlier this year doctors reportedly advised him to cut back on his daily meal of pasta.
Claims in October that the pope was being treated for a small benign brain tumour were strongly denied by the Vatican and health professionals.
Father Thomas Rosica, spokesman for the Vatican, insisted today (Monday) there was no cause for alarm. He said: ‘There is a flu bug going around in Rome and elsewhere. But there is nothing to worry about.’
Detroit Catholic High School Offers Muslim Prayer Room
A prestigious Catholic high school in a ritzy, estate-filled suburb of Detroit now features a prayer room for Muslim students to pray.
The school is Brother Rice High School, an all-boys bastion affiliated with the Congregation of Christian Brothers in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., reports Detroit Fox station WJBK.
Brother Rice president John Birney decided to permit the use of a reflection room inside the college prep school as a Muslim prayer room at the request of Muslim students.
Birney said he granted the request because he wants the Catholic school to be inclusive.
