US cardinal: “It is clear that Muslims have as their ultimate goal conquest and power over the world”

October 8, 2016 – by Robert Spencer 

Cardinal Burke’s line runs directly counter to the rainbows-and-moonbeams Islam of Pope Francis.

He is, apparently, too prominent for Catholic authorities to try to silence, unlike other foes of jihad terror whom the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and individual bishops have worked so assiduously against.

Cardinal Burke must get a chilly reception from his peers when they all get together.

Speaking in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Cardinal Raymond Burke accused Westerners of being too weak to acknowledge the incompatibility of Christianity and Islam.

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Suicide Bomber Ran Into a Crowded Church in Indonesia Amid Sunday Mass, and Then…

News Staff : Aug 29, 2016 : CBN News

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation and has suffered a series of deadly attacks by Muslim jihadists.

Father Albert S. Pandingan was leading Sunday mass when an attacker tried to murder him and everyone else in the church.

Authorities say the bomber charged a priest at the altar, hoping to detonate the bomb in his backpack.

However, the bomb never went off.

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The Church and Islam: The Next Cover-up Scandal

A Voice for the Faithful Catholic Laity – August 10, 2016

“#NotMyPope.” In the wake of Pope Francis’ equivocal response to the murder of a French priest by two Islamic jihadists, that’s the top trending hashtag in France and in Belgium.

Which raises a question: Is the Pope doing more harm than good by continuing to deny—in the face of a mountain of evidence—that Islam has anything to do with violence?

As I’ve noted several times in the past, the Church’s handling of the Islamic crisis may prove to be far more scandalous than its handling of the sex abuse crisis. The main scandal surrounding the revelation of priestly sex abuse was that it was covered up for a very long time by priests, pastors, and even bishops.

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Christ the Redeemer: 5 Thing to Know About Rio’s Most Famous Statue

By Brandon Showalter , CP Reporter – August 20, 2016

Christ the Redeemer during sunrise in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 2, 2016.

As the 2016 Summer Olympics come to a close this weekend, viewers will have a few more opportunities to see aerial images of the massive representation of Jesus Christ that overlooks Rio de Janeiro. But how did the 98 feet tall, 635 metric ton Christ the Redeemer statue come about?

Here are five fascinating facts you should know about Brazil’s Cristo Redentor statue.

  1. It’s listed as one of the “new seven wonders of the world,” and its roots trace back to the 1850s.

Christ the Redeemer stands with outstretched arms atop a mountain as if to physically embrace Brazil’s second-most populous city. The monument has become a global symbol of the Christian faith and attracts millions of visitors every year.

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Iraq: 3 Priests Ordained in Refugee Camp to Serve Fellow Refugees

Veronica Neffinger : Aug 11, 2016 : Christian Headlines "We left Qaraqosh during this time two years ago. Before it was a bad day because we became refugees and ISIS…

Continue ReadingIraq: 3 Priests Ordained in Refugee Camp to Serve Fellow Refugees

Your Prayers Have Been Answered: It Is Reported That Father Thomas Uzhunnalil Was Not Crucified by ISIS But is Alive and ‘Safe’

April 04, 2016 – Christian Post, Stoyan Zaimov

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said Catholic priest Tom Uzhunnalil, who was previously feared to have been crucified by the Islamic State on Good Friday, is alive, safe, and efforts are being organized for his release.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India spokesman Father Gyanprakash Topno told the Press Trust of India that Swaraj met with CBCI delegates and told them that reports claiming Uzhunnalil has been killed are not true.

“Father Tom is safe and efforts are on for his release as early as possible,” Topno said, conveying the minister’s words, adding that the “government will facilitate the priest’s safe return to India.”

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Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart

Melbourne Archbishop Denis HartMELBOURNE, Australia, February 12, 2016 (LifeSiteNews)

MELBOURNE, Australia, February 12, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – A Catholic member of Australia’s Parliament won`t be giving the keynote address to Catholic social workers as scheduled because of her public support of same-sex “marriage.”

MP Cathy McGowan was going to speak to Catholic Social Services workers from all over Australia at a conference later this month until Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart asked that she be disinvited because of her open backing of same-sex “marriage” legislation opposed by the Church. The conference organizers complied.

Archbishop Hart’s spokesman Shane Healy told reporters, “There was no malice,” on Hart’s part, nor did he want to “in any way embarrass Cathy, but he would see with a conference such as this that the keynote speaker should be in line with Catholic teaching on that very important topic.”

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Pakistan: Christians build churches despite death threats

November 9, 2015 – by Robert Spencer

Javed David doesn’t seem to understand the situation. Muslims have threatened David and warned him to stop building new churches. So why is he going ahead? Why is he needlessly and recklessly poking them in the eye? They told him they didn’t like this activity — doesn’t he realize how much he is harming Muslim-Christian dialogue by provoking Muslims in this way?

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which understands very well that the dialogue must be preserved at all costs and all activities that offend Muslims must be ended immediately, should send an emissary or two over to Lahore to explain present-day realities to David and to the Rev. Sohail Farman.

Perhaps an Eastern Catholic bishop, one with an Arabic background and a sterling record of silencing and ostracizing those who speak out against Muslim persecution of Christians, could take one of his trusted priests, one who knows that those who oppose jihad and Islamic supremacism are an ongoing danger to the church, and they could go over to Lahore together and explain to David and Farman that Islam is at its core a Religion of Peace, as long as Christians don’t cross any red lines and do anything to goad the poor dears into doing something violent — violence for which the Christians would be entirely responsible, of course.

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Pope Francis Creates Panel to Process ‘Backlog’ of Appeals From Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse

By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter – November 12, 2014

The Vatican announced Tuesday that Pope Francis will set up a panel to help process the “backlog” of appeals from priests who’ve been accused of committing sexual abuse against minors. The new judicial body, or college, will be overseen by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“Hearing the appeals is a very important job, especially those on abuse of minors, and the backlog of cases is at risk of absorbing all the time of the congregation,” Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi told The Tablet, a Catholic news weekly.

“[The accused] shall have his case examined by the whole body of members of the congregation, the ordinary session, which may also examine other specific cases upon papal request, and/or examine cases referred to it by the newly created college,” he added.

The new college will mostly focus on appeals from defrocked priests, according to Reuters, which reports that “Under the changes, the new commission would handle appeals while an existing office in the doctrinal department would continue to handle initial cases. The Vatican said earlier this year that between 2004 and 2013, it had defrocked about 850 priests who had been accused of sexual abuse of minors.”

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Vatican Document Makes Dramatic Tone Shift Over Homosexuals

10/13/2014 Philip Pullella/Reuters

In a dramatic shift in tone, a Vatican document said on Monday that homosexuals had “gifts and qualities to offer” and asked if Catholicism could accept gays and recognize positive aspects of same-sex couples.

The document, prepared after a week of discussions at an assembly of 200 bishops on the family, said the Roman Church should challenge itself to find “a fraternal space” for homosexuals without compromising Catholic doctrine on family and matrimony.

While the text did not signal any change in the Church’s condemnation of homosexual acts or its opposition to gay marriage, it used language that was less judgmental and more compassionate than past Vatican statements under previous popes.

The document will be the basis for discussion for the second and final week of the assembly, known as a synod, which was called by Pope Francis and focuses on the theme of the family.

It will also serve for further reflection among Catholics around the world ahead of another, definitive synod next year.

“Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer the Christian community: Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a further space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home,” said the document, known by its Latin name “relatio.”

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Challenges & excitement of hosting the WCF Conference at CTFM / 350-400 inside & 50 protesters outside / Around 7500 watch live webcast

Dear friends & family in Christ,

On Thursday 28th of August, Pr Daniel was informed that the World Congress of Families Conference did not have a venue for their conference on Saturday 30th of Aug, as 3-4 different locations had all cancelled their bookings because the protesters got to the venue owners and threatened them with sabotage.

On hearing this he opened Catch The Fire Ministries premises to be used for the conference. Just for the record, CTFM did not organise this conference, but was one of the supporting organizations. When the organizer of the conference heard about the CTFM venue, she was very relieved as finally they had a place. She told Pr Daniel, “I hope you don’t let me down” for which he responded, “that will not happen with us.”  We applaud Babette Francis and her team at Endeavour Forum for organising this conference.

Then CTFM staff started getting several threatening emails and calls to cancel the event from the protesters. The protesters expected a response similar to the other venues. thinking that we will cancel too. They were shocked that we did not back down.

On Friday 4 police officers and 2 local council members met with us and one of the officers told Pr Daniel at least 3 times, “Are you sure you are going to have this conference?? The protesters are expecting thousands.” Pr Daniel responded, “They are just making a mountain out of a mole hill.” Then the officer asked him, “How many do you think will come?” He responded, “I think around 60-80.”

Pr Daniel stated, “It is a very sad day when you want to speak about family values, that it is considered to be so offensive. What is good is evil and what is evil now is good”.

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What language DID Jesus speak? Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope’s disagreement opens debate on whether he spoke Hebrew or Aramaic

By Sarah Griffiths, 28 May 2014 |

The Pope’s pilgrimage to the Middle East was controversial because of the holy leader’s impromptu prayer session at the West Bank’s barrier.

And a playful religious disagreement also took place between Pope Francis and Israel’s prime minister, which revolved around Jesus’ linguistic skills.

Benjamin Netanyahu and the Pope had a small, good natured squabble about the language spoken by Jesus Christ.

Most Biblical scholars agree that Jesus and his disciples spoke Aramaic, which was the common language of Judea in the first century AD.

It is likely that Jesus spoke a local Galilean dialect and the towns of Nazareth was an Aramaic speaking community.

Despite the increasing importance of Greek, Aramaic was the dominant language among Jews in the Holy Land and across the Middle East until the Arab conquest in the seventh century.

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Gay advocates slam New Zealand bishop’s plan to use ‘The Third Way’ film as a teaching tool

May 22, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) Michelle Kaufman, New Zealand Correspondent

The desire of a New Zealand bishop to use the new documentary about homosexuality and the Catholic Church, “The Third Way”, as a teaching tool in his diocese has come under fire by gay advocates.

Bishop Patrick Dunn of Auckland said the film is “thought-provoking for all of us” and suggested that interested people should “view it and make their own decision about it.”

In a statement, he wrote, “Jesus holds up for us the ideal of a faithful, loving relationship between a man and a woman in marriage.  Sexual activity, be it heterosexual or homosexual, that is not within this marriage relationship falls far short of this ideal.”

The secular media have seized Bishop Dunn’s support as an opportunity to further the gay agenda in New Zealand.  Headlines such as “Catholics tell gays to ditch sex,” “Anti-gay ‘documentary’ slammed,” and “Catholic documentary labelled ‘hate speech’, ‘propaganda,’” have sent a biased and inaccurate message to the public about the film, and Catholic teaching on sexuality.

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Women ask pope to make celibacy optional

REUTERS – May 20 2014

Pope Francis holds the book of the gospels as he leads the Italian conference of bishops meeting in the Synod Hall at the Vatican. Twenty-six women in love with Roman Catholic priests have written to the pope urging him to make celibacy optional.

Vatican City – Twenty-six women who say they are in love with Roman Catholic priests have written to Pope Francis urging him to make celibacy optional.

The women, who all live in Italy, described the “devastating suffering” caused by the church’s ban on priests having sex and marrying.

“We love these men and they love us,” they said in their letter published on the authoritative website Vatican Insider.

“With humility, we place at your feet our suffering so that something can change, not just for us but for the good of the whole Church,” they added in the message, signed with their first names and an initial of their last names, but with several phone numbers.

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