Roman Catholic League - A Hypocrisy That Knows No Limits

Moriel endorses no political candidates. It is in our view not scriptural to use the ministry for electoral purposes or secular party politics. We are also at theological odds with John Hagee over his position on evangelizing Jews, which we hold to be contra-biblical.  

However, we are sickened (but given its history, not surprised) at the unmitigated hypocrisy of The Catholic League and Catholics United for protesting the endorsement of a presidential candidate by John Hagee due to what they term as "Catholic Bashing" due to Hagee's theological opinions of Roman Catholicism.

The present pope (who in his Nazi youth was not a conscientious objector, but rather wore a swastika and fought for Hitler and The Third Reich against America) signed the 'Solicitacciones Criminales' document ordering bishops to protect pedophile nuns and priests at the expense of not protecting the innocent children whose lives these sex criminals destroy.

The very week that the arch diocese of Los Angeles paid $660 million and the diocese of San Diego paid $130 million to victims in an action legal commentators was the price of keeping Cardinal Mahoney out of prison, the present pope issued a statement that only the The Roman Catholic Church is valid and other churches are not valid.

The notion that a "church" that in the USA alone saw 177 out of its 179 diocese and their bishops found culpable in court of protecting child molesting clergy instead if the little children they violated is the only valid one is a claim that many thinking people could only contest.

But for these Roman Catholic organizations to denounce theological opposition to the Roman Catholic church as 'Catholic bashing' while their ex nazi - pedophile protecting pope can make statements attacking the legitimacy of non Catholic churches smacks of the centuries old religious hypocrisy that defines The Roman Catholic Church. 

Fox News in America ran an interesting segment today questing the timing of Bin Laden's latest recorded message against the Pope and Europe. Their general conclusion was that fearing irrelevance he is trying to keep whatever influence he still has in the Islamic world in the face of ever growing ecumenical ties between Islam and Roman Catholicism.

Generally I agreed with this perspective, however I have always questioned the authenticity of Bin Laden's power seeing him more the creation of a government-media 'shadow Hollywood' rather than radical Islam although I would not doubt that at one point he was a "player".

However, I was quite shocked to then see the following reports of Rome's advances in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This is unheard of and I can assure you that no true Bible believing fellowships would see a building openly built for their meetings.

Matthew 24:12 is a troublesome verse because I see this in myself and many of us in discernment and apologetics ministries, especially when it comes to Islam. When we should be concerned for their salvation we are condemning them to hell, this is showing that because lawlessness has increased our love is growing cold.

Both Roman Catholicism and Islam are evil imposters but Catholics and Muslims need Christ no matter how much their satanic religions infuriate.

We are seeing the union of 'one world' religion and only true believers in the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ will be considered as the unreasonable ones and even 'terrorists'. Yes, this is coming and it is all being set up.

[S]o then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. - 1 Thessalonians 5:6

BE/\LERT!

Scott Brisk

CATHNEWS - March 18, 2008

Negotiations are underway to build the first Catholic church in Saudi Arabia with King Abdullah lending his support for its construction.

Vatican Radio reports the Vatican and the Saudi government are currently in talks to allow the church despite the kingdoms ban on allowing the construction of any non-Muslim place of worship.

No religion other than Islam is allowed to schedule public services, and even the possession of bibles, rosaries, and crucifixes is forbidden.

Saudi Arabia is the only country on the Arabian Peninsula without a Catholic church despite the 800,000 Catholics - virtually all of who are foreign workers.

While Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See, King Abdullah became the first reigning Saudi monarch ever to visit the Vatican last November.

Commenting after his meeting with the Pope Vatican officials confirmed the Pontiff pressed for permission to open a Catholic church in the kingdom.

Holy See spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said that opening a Catholic parish in the Islamic land would be "a historic achievement" for religious freedom and a major step forward for inter-religious dialogue.

The apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem, is reportedly the lead Vatican negotiator in talks with Saudi officials.

SOURCE: Saudis to allow construction of a Catholic church? (CWN 17/03/08); Vatican Plans to Open Church in Saudi Arabia (Defending the Faith 17/03/08)

Original Report Here

Bin Laden's audiotape was posted late Wednesday on a militant Web site that has carried al-Qaida statements in the past and bore the logo of the extremist group's media wing Al-Sahab.

"The response will be what you see and not what you hear and let our mothers bereave us if we do not make victorious our messenger of God," said a voice believed to be bin Laden's, without specifying what action would be taken.

He said the cartoons "came in the framework of a new Crusade in which the Pope of the Vatican has played a large, lengthy role," according to a transcript released by the SITE Institute, a U.S. group that monitors terror messages. - - - -

VATICAN CITY - Muslim representatives and Vatican officials begin talks this week that they hope will lead to an unprecedented Catholic-Islamic meeting.

Five representatives from each side will meet on Tuesday for two days in Rome to work out the details of a larger meeting that will include Pope Benedict later this year.

"We have to bring the dialogue up to date following the great successes of the pontificate of John Paul II," said Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini, vice-president of the Italian Islamic Religious Community.

Catholic-Muslim relations nosedived in 2006 after Benedict delivered a lecture in Regensburg, Germany, that was taken by Muslims to imply that Islam was violent and irrational. - - -

The Vatican delegation includes Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican's Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the head of the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies in Rome and a professor from Rome's Gregorian University.

Pallavicini said the larger meeting later this year will undoubtedly talk about terrorism.

Although Benedict repeatedly expressed regret for the reaction to his speech in Regensburg, he stopped short of a clear apology sought by Muslims.

The petition urges the Pope to proclaim Mary "the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the co-redemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race."

Interview With Puerto Rico's Cardinal Aponte

ZENIT NEWS AGENCY [Innovative Media] - March 18, 2008

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, MARCH 18, 2008 (Zenit.org).- By declaring Mary the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, Benedict XVI wouldn't be saying anything new about her, only clarifying her role in salvation, says Cardinal Luis Aponte Mart�nez.

The retired archbishop of San Juan is one of the five cardinal co-sponsors of the 2005 International Symposium on Marian Co-redemption, held in Fatima, that are asking Benedict XVI to declare a fifth Marian dogma.

The petition urges the Pope to proclaim Mary "the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the co-redemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race."

In this interview with ZENIT, Cardinal Aponte discusses his views in favor of the proposed dogma. - - -

At least 50 people have lost their sight after staring at the sun hoping to see an image of the Virgin Mary, according to reports.

Alarmed health authorities in India's Kottayam district have set up a sign dispelling rumours of a miraculous image in the sky and warning of the dangers of looking into direct sunlight.

Forty-eight cases of sight-loss, allegedly caused by photochemical burns on the retina, have been recorded at St Joseph's ENT and Eye hospital in the region since Friday.

Despite warnings, and the potentially harmful effects of their actions, believers are allegedly still flocking to a hotelier's house in Erumeli near where the divine image is said to have appeared.

"All our patients have similar history and symptoms--- They have developed photochemical, not thermal, burns after continuously gazing at the sun," Dr Annamma James Isaac, the hospital's ophthalmologist said.

Even churches in the area have disowned the miracle after health officers and doctors approached the clergy.

The house where the miracle is said to have occurred has apparently been the subject of rumours for months.

The hotelier, who has since moved, had claimed that statues of the Virgin Mary in his house have been crying honey and bleeding oils and perfumes.

The Vatican has reported a further dramatic fall in the number of Roman Catholic monks and nuns worldwide.

Newly published statistics showed that the number of men and women belonging to religious orders fell by 10% to just under a million between 2005 and 2006.

During the pontificate of the late Pope John Paul II, the number of Catholic nuns worldwide declined by a quarter.

The downward trend accelerated despite a steady increase in the membership of the Catholic Church to more than 1.1bn.

However, correspondents say even this failed to keep pace with the overall increase in world population.

Dramatic fall

On the back page of its official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican published on Monday new statistics revealing that between 2005 and 2006 the number "members of the consecrated life" fell by just under 10%. - - -

The figures were published next to a report of Pope Benedict XVI's meeting with nuns, monks and priests from many countries gathered in St Peter's Basilica in Rome last weekend. - - -

The Roman Catholic Church has an aging and diminishing number of parish and diocesan clergy and this latest fall is quite dramatic, our correspondent says.

The number of Catholic nuns worldwide declined by about a quarter during the reign of Pope John Paul, and this further drop shows that new recruits are failing to replace those nuns who die, or decide to abandon their vows, he adds.

ST PETERSBURG TIMES - By Sherri Day - January 29, 2008

TAMPA - Aida Aviles' heart aches. Her 1-year-old grandson Elijah has not yet been baptized. And two of her granddaughters will never don white dresses and veils for their first communions.

In some ways, Aviles says, it's the desecration of her dream.

The 52-year-old grandmother of five comes from a long line of die-hard Roman Catholics. But a few years ago, her daughter left to worship in a nondenominational Protestant congregation. And Aviles' son also has embraced the Protestant church.

The moves upset the spiritual balance in the heavily Catholic family, an extended clan of more than 100 thatdraws its roots from Puerto Rico.

Family members step lightly to avoid accusatory discussions about differences in their faiths even as they try to visit each other's churches and share in special celebrations.

"I wish they were still Catholic, that they would go to Sunday Mass with me, that they would be with us all the time," said Aviles, who attends Incarnation Catholic Church in northwest Tampa.

It is a spiritual tug-of-war that is playing out around the country as more Hispanics break with Catholicism in favor of Pentecostal and evangelical churches. Studies show that foreign-born Hispanics are more likely to remain Catholic, but conversion picks up among those born in the United States.

Her mom is open-minded about her conversion, said Flormarie Sanchez, 34. "If the Protestant church is where we found Christ, and that's where we want to serve, she's okay with that."

Still, Sanchez knows her mother hurts.

Aviles moved to the mainland United States from Puerto Rico when she was a toddler. The fifth child in

a family of 11, she was raised by strict Catholic parents - Miguel and Florentina Santos - who worked to grow the Hispanic Catholic community on Chicago's South Side. Today, the Santos children remain steadfastly Catholic.

But to their shock, many of their children have embraced other faiths. One of Aviles' sisters has an antagonistic relationship with her now-Protestant progeny. In another branch of the family, a niece divorced her Pentecostal husband. Among other things, the couple fought over bringing a crucifix into their home, family members said. Relations with Jehovah's Witnesses in the clan also have made family celebrations awkward. Witnesses do not celebrate birthdays or observe holidays they believe have pagan origins or nationalist roots.

In the midst of all this, Maria Rodriguez, Aviles' oldest sister, has worked hard to keep her grown children Catholic.

She recognizes the attraction of spirited Protestant worship services and currently leads the Hispanic charismatic renewal in the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Catholic churches around the country are encouraging charismatic prayer ministries featuring practices traditionally associated with Pentecostals such as healings, laying hands and speaking in tongues.

The effort has become a lifeline to reach family and friends who might abandon the faith."I do whatever it takes to keep them at home," said Rodriguez, 57, a lay minister. "I say 'home' because it's like losing a family member when they leave the Catholic Church."

Aviles also attends the lively weeknight Charismatic Catholic services, but Sunday Mass remains a respected tradition for the sisters.

Aviles dons her best clothes, a dress or a slacks and a jacket. She looks forward to taking communion and the comforting rituals. Each Sunday, she says, a new homily and gospel reading provides spice to the service.

"I feel that's where I met the Lord," Aviles said.

As a little girl, Flormarie Sanchez completed each of the sacraments in the Catholic Church with great joy.

In 1995, she married a Protestant man in a Catholic wedding.

Aviles worried her grandchildren would not be raised Catholic, a concern the newlyweds quickly batted down.

Sanchez baptized her daughters, Alyssa, 8, and Destiny, 4, Catholic. She also encouraged them to learn the Our Father prayer and took them to Mass on Easter.

But Sanchez grew tired of straddling the fence, attending church both with her husband and her mother. She began to see the Catholic Mass as a predictable, uninspiring ritual. And she could not escape feeling called to worship with her family in the Protestant church.

"To me, it's like the Catholic in me is going away," said Sanchez, who lives in Odessa.

These days, she no longer prays the rosary at family gatherings or asks the Virgin Mary or the saints to intercede for her. She has no religious statues in her home.

Two years ago, Sanchez found a nondenominational church that cemented her transformation. At Calvary

Chapel Worship Center in New Port Richey, the Sanchez family melds into the ethnically diverse congregationof young families, singles and baby boomers.

A recent Sunday service features the blaring sounds of a rock band and 50-member choir. The congregation launches into a half-hour of songs as lyrics scroll on electronic screens flanking the stage.

"Grace so amazing so true. Shout it. Let the people sing. Something so powerful should shake the whole wide world. Make it loud! Make it louder still!"

One woman dances down the aisle with her daughter. Others sit sipping coffee bought in the church's lobby.

The pastor, dressed in jeans and an Oxford shirt, bounds to the stage. He sprinkles his sermon with pop culture references and jokes. He touches on the role of fathers, discipline in families and secret sin.

"Have you ever watched that commercial on TV, 'Las Vegas, it all stays here?'" the pastor asks. Hands shoot up all over the room. "How many of you know that whatever you do in the dark, whatever you do in Las Vegas,doesn't stay there? It goes to the throne of God. --- How come all of you stopped praising? Have you been to Las Vegas?"

Sanchez takes copious notes. Her husband follows along with a well-worn Bible.

The relaxed atmosphere - Sanchez wears jeans and flip flops - is part of what keeps her coming back, she says.

"It's not so strict," she said. "It's not the same routine all the time."

It is the very antithesis of how her mother attends church.

Increasingly, it seems Baby Elijah is unlikely to have a Catholic baptism.

Catholics believe it cleanses a baby of original sin, but many Baptists, Pentecostals and evangelicals theologically oppose baptizing babies. Instead, they christen or dedicate them and allow children to reach their own faith decision once they're old enough to understand the commitment.

Elijah was dedicated at Calvary Chapel, a process that generally does not involve water.

Aviles mourns that her grandson will never have copadres, Catholic godparents assigned to safeguard his spiritual health.

But she has learned to compromise. "I'd rather have them in a church where they're praising the Lord than not having them in a church at all," Aviles said.

She and her sisters have taken care not to isolate their offspring. Their family is like a tree, they say, with many branches.

"Our kids or some family members have branched off to a different direction," Rodriguez said. "But the trunk is Catholic. They have left the church. But the roots, they'll always be Catholic."

Their children see the split as more definitive.

"I feel this is where I belong," Sanchez saidof her new church. "Before, I was still kind of confused. Now, for sure, I know."

Sherri Day can be reached at sday@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3405.

Nearly one-fifth of all Latinos in America have converted from one religion to another or to secularism. Half of Hispanic evangelicals are converts, with more than 43 percent of them tracing their roots to the Catholic Church. Puerto Ricans, like the Sanchez family, make up the highest percentage of evangelicals among U.S. Hispanics. Here are some of the reasons cited for converting:

• 83 percent Desire for a more direct, personal experience of God.
• 35 percent Inspiration of a certain pastor.
• 26 percent Deep personal crisis.
• 14 percent A marriage.

Sources: Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion, Pew Research Center

Armed sheriff's deputies enforce church closing

This is that:

Romans 10:1-2
Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By Fernanda Santos - February 10, 2008

Professor Cabibbo said that the statue - paid for by private donations - was appropriate because Galileo had been one of the founders of the Lincei Academy, a forerunner of the papal body, in 1603. He had not been tortured or burned at the stake, as many believed, though he was forced to recant by the Inquisition. - - -

In January Pope Benedict XVI called off a visit to Sapienza University, Rome, after staff and students accused him of defending the Inquisition's condemnation of Galileo. They cited a speech he made at La Sapienza in 1990, while still a cardinal, in which he quoted a description of the trial of Galileo as fair. The Vatican said that the Pope had been misquoted.

The Vatican's repentance over its treatment of Galileo began in 1979, when John Paul II invited the Church to rethink the trial of Galileo. - - - -

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LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH [Barclay] - By Damian Thompson - November 16, 2007

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Tony Blair has completed his long anticipated conversion to Catholicism.

The former prime minister was received into the Catholic Church by the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, in the chapel of the Archbishop's House in Westminster last night, after years of speculation that he would convert after leaving Downing Street.

Mr Blair, whose wife Cherie and four children are Catholic, met Pope Benedict XVI on an official visit in June - his third trip to the Vatican in four years.

Now a Middle-East peace envoy, he was reluctant to convert while in office because it could have caused a potential conflict with his role in choosing Church of England bishops.

His views on abortion, gay rights and stem cell research were also at odds with Catholic teaching, and his parish priest Fr Timothy Russ commented that he had "some way to go" on important moral issues.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor has welcomed Mr Blair into the faith. He said: "For a long time he has been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and inrecent months he has been following a programme of formation to prepare for his reception into full communion."

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has also wished the former Prime Minister well in his spiritual journey: "Tony Blair has my prayers and good wishes as he takes this step in his Christian pilgrimage."

While in office, Mr Blair had chosen to keep his religious views private, and last month sparked controversy when he claimed that people who speak about their religious faith can be viewed by society as "nutters".

Ann Widdecombe, the Conservative MP who converted to Catholicism in 1993, urged Mr Blair to confirm he has changed his views on key issues to conform with Catholic teaching.

"Well I think the crucial thing to remember is at the point you are received (into the Catholic church) you have to say individually and out loud 'I believe everything the church teaches to be revealed truth'," she told Sky News.

"And that means if you previously had any problems with church teaching, as Tony Blair obviously did over abortion, as he did again over Sunday trading...you would have to say you changed your mind.

"And I think people will want to know that he did go through that process, because otherwise it will seem as if the church did make an exception for somebody just because of who he is."

NEW YORK - As CBS 2 HD first reported in April, Pope Benedict XVI will visit New York City during his first trip to the United States, and plans for the visit include a stop at ground zero before leading a public Mass at Yankee Stadium.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi told the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Monday that Benedict will travel to Washington and New York from April 15-20.

On April 18, the pope will address the United Nations and participate in an ecumenical service at a New York parish, according to the Archdiocese of New York.

A morning Mass with priests, deacons and members of religious orders will be held on April 19 in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, followed by a visit to Saint Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, where the Pope will participate in an event with youth and young people.

Pope Benedict will spend his last day in New York by visiting ground zero, and by celebrating the Mass in Yankee Stadium.

The pope will visit the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York to show "solidarity with those who have died, with their families and with all those who wish an end of violence and in the search of peace," said Sambi, the Vatican's ambassador to the U.S. - - - -