| July 17, 2008
|
Rome to the Rescue? |
Revelation 18:4
I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;
|
|
Galatians 1:6-10
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
|
|
This is that...
2 Kings 17:6-8
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced.
2 Kings 17:19-20
Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the customs which Israel had introduced. The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them out of His sight.
| |
|
|
|
| Shalom in Christ Jesus, |
We see so many examples in
scripture of Israel and Judah turning away from the LORD and given over to
judgment for refusal to repent of their ways.
If you have not read the
sermon by Jacob Prasch Egypt, Babylon, or the Palm of God I suggest you read it
because it explains so well how we must trust in the Lord and not turn to false
or compromised religion (Babylon) or to the world (Egypt) as did Israel and
Judah. We now see so many in the church doing the very same thing today and it
is horrible and saddening to watch and I pray that those for a love of the
truth will be awakened before its too late.
This collection of news
reports focuses on mainly the Roman Catholic Church and those in the Anglican
Church who are turning to Rome as the alternative to their apostate
denomination (that is to say where the official leadership has headed). Also,
included are a number of related articles.
May the LORD bless you and
keep you,
BE/\LERT!
Scott Brisk
|
| English paper announces President Bush may be considering Catholicism |
CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY - June 16, 2008
Vatican City.- As President Bush and Pope Benedict XVI met at the Vatican, the English newspaper, The Telegraph reported that Bush may be considering converting to Catholicism at the end of his presidential term.
The Telegraph indicated that various Italian newspapers have been commenting on the news, especially Il Foglio.
Il Foglio explains that the circulating rumors could be correct: "anything is possible, especially for someone reborn like Bush." Yet, similar to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, "if anything happens, it will happen after he finishes his period as president, not before. It is similar to Blair's case, but with different circumstances."
A friend of President Bush, Fr. George William Rutler, who converted to Catholicism in 1979, stated that Bush respects how Catholicism was founded by Christ who appointed Peter as the first Pope. "I think what fascinates him about Catholicism is its historical plausibility," said the priest. "He does appreciate the systematic theology of the church, its intellectual cogency and stability." Fr. Rutler also mentioned that the president "is not unaware of how evangelicalism -- by comparison with Catholicism -- may seem more limited both theologically and historically."
According to the Washington Post, President Bush currently belongs to a Methodist church in Texas and attends an Episcopal church in Washington, D.C.
However, in recent years, the head of state has developed a strong relationship with the Pope and has made known his deep respect for Catholicism. The Telegraph noted that prior to his presidency, Bush's political advisor invited Catholic intellectuals to Texas to explain the teachings of the Church to the president. Bush has also appointed Catholic judges to the Supreme Court, has selected Catholic speech-writers and consultants, and has read the Pope's theological books.
In April, prior to the Pope's visit to the U.S., the Washington Post quoted William McGurn, one of Bush's former writers who stated, "I used to say that there are more Catholics on President Bush's speechwriting team than on any Notre Dame starting lineup in the past half-century."
The Post's story detailed the likelihood of Bush's possible conversion to Catholicism by quoting those close to the head of state. Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator, labeled Bush as a Catholic president. "I don't think there's any question about it. He's certainly much more Catholic than Kennedy."
While President John F. Kennedy struggled to balance his Catholic upbringing and politics, many of Bush's positions on ethical matters such as gay marriage, abortion, and stem cell research are in line with the Church.
Yet, Bush has received criticism from Catholics who point out that his invasion of Iraq is strictly against the teachings of the Vatican. However, the Post mentions that prior to the war, the president met with Catholics to discuss just-war theory. "White House adviser Leonard Leo, who heads Catholic outreach for the Republican National Committee, says that Bush 'has engaged in dialogue with Catholics and shared perspectives with Catholics in a way I think is fairly unique in American politics.'"
Read Full Report
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
Muslims Welcome Pontiff to Sydney
|
Community Hosting 350 Youth Day PilgrimsZENIT NEWS AGENCY [Innovative Media] - July 16, 2008SYDNEY, Australia, -- The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils is praying for peace and harmony among all people of good will during the World Youth Day activities in Sydney. President Ikebal Patel sent out a statement this week in which he extended "sincere greetings to the Catholic community of Australia on behalf of the Muslims of Australia." He continued, "I take this opportunity on behalf of the Muslims of Australia to also extend our good wishes to all Australians of all faiths on this auspicious occasion of World Youth Day and pray for peace, harmony and goodwill among all Australians and peoples all over the world. "We also take this occasion as Australian Muslims to welcome His Holiness Pope Benedict as well as all other pilgrims to Australia." Patel also mentioned that he is "particularly proud" that the Catholic Church accepted the offer of the Malek Fahd Islamic School in Sydney to host 350 pilgrims during the festivities.Some Muslim school students will take part in serving the pilgrims, and the school will hold an interfaith event during the week. On Thursday, Benedict will meet with 40 representatives of other faiths including Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu leaders. More than 340,000 Muslims reside in Australia. Father Mark Podesta, a World Youth Day spokesman, said the involvement of Islamic schools "is an opportunity to show the rest of the world that people of different backgrounds and different beliefs can live alongside one another in peace and goodwill and harmony." Original Report Here* Emphasis Added
|
|
World Youth Day, Australia: The Pope meets the serpent ...
|
THE EVENING STANDARD of LONDON [Associated Newspapers/DMGT - PA: Conservative/Right-Wing] - July 16, 2008
Ed. Note: Quite an
interesting picture when one understands the true teaching of Roman Catholicism
vs. the Bible. However, my main concern is how the youth are taken in by Rome's
lies and it is increasingly becoming savvier at forms of persuasion such as
using text messages etc.
The image was practically Biblical: Pope Benedict XVI face to face with a serpent. . . . The Pope was meeting native Australian animals during the World Youth Day celebration in Australia, where young Roman Catholic pilgrims attended religious classes then chowed down on sausages at barbecues. The second day of the celebration offered a relaxed schedule, beginning with "time for silence for reflection," according to the pilgrims' official handbook. Afternoon events include a pilgrimage walk to the downtown St. Mary's Cathedral, barbecues at hundreds of venues around the city and a beach party at Sydney's famous Bondi Beach featuring a rapping American priest. Pilgrims also received the second of daily mobile phone text messages from Pope Benedict: "The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles and gives u the power boldly 2 proclaim that Christ is risen! - BXVI." . . . Nearly 250,000 people registered for World Youth Day, more than half from overseas. The scale of the event was revealed when pilgrims arrived in droves and gathered along a waterfront Tuesday near the landmark Sydney Harbor Bridge for a twilight Mass, beginning with a procession of groups from 168 countries waving their national flags. - - - - Read Full Report* Emphasis Added
|
| Anglican bishops in secret Vatican summit |
LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH [Barclay - PA: Conservative/centre-right] - By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent - July 6, 2008
Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops.
They met senior advisers of the Pope in an attempt to build closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was not told of the talks and the disclosure will be a fresh blow to his efforts to prevent a major split in the Church of England.
In highly confidential discussions, a group of conservative bishops expressed their dismay at the liberal direction of the Church of England and their fear for its future.
They met members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most powerful of the Vatican's departments, the successor to the medieval Inquisition, which enforces doctrine and was headed by Pope Benedict XVI before his election.
The names of the bishops are known to The Sunday Telegraph, but they have asked for anonymity because the talks are of such a sensitive and potentially explosive nature.
The disclosure comes on the eve of a critical vote as members of the General Synod - the Church's parliament - prepare to decide whether to allow women to be bishops without giving concessions to staunch opponents.
Up to 600 clergy gave warning in a letter to Dr Williams that they may leave the Church unless they receive a legal right to havens within the Church free of women bishops. - - - -
Read Full Report |
| Anglicans to Catholics: Ready or Not, Here we Come |
Church of England General Synod to touch off an exodus by approving women bishops
LIFESITENEWS.com - By Hilary White - July 7, 2008
YORK, England, - "There can be no future for Christianity in Europe without Rome," an Anglican bishop told the Sunday Telegraph this weekend, after it was revealed that a group of "senior" bishops from the Church of England has been in secret negotiations with the highest levels of the Vatican to discuss the current crisis in Anglicanism over the acceptance of homosexuality and female bishops. Bishops from both the Church of England's "evangelical" or protestant and "high" or "Catholic" wings are said to have been involved in the talks that some believe may presage a mass return of Anglicans to the Catholic fold. . . .
The talks come with a backdrop of a difficult history. In 1992, when the Church of England voted to ordain female clergy, a similar crisis ensued in which a large number of Anglican ministers applied to Rome to create a provision to retain the traditional Anglican style of worship but seek communion with the See of Rome. At that time, under Pope John Paul II, some "Anglican Use" parishes were established in the US, but the episcopate of the Catholic Church of England and Wales obstructed the solution. Hopes were dashed when the Catholic bishops of England and Wales announced that converts would only be accepted individually, not en masse, and there would be no provision made for the retention of 500 year-old Anglican liturgical traditions. . . .
But since the election of Pope Benedict XVI, who has made unprecedented moves to reconcile traditionalists in the Catholic Church, and who was strongly supportive of the Anglican traditionalists before his election, hope has been revived that a path may be cleared. - - - -
Read Full Report |
| Vatican condemns Anglicans on women bishops |
REUTERS [Thomson-Reuters] - By Phil Stewart - July 8, 2008
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Tuesday strongly criticized the Church of England's plan to ordain women bishops, describing it as a historic break from Christian doctrine that will drive Anglicans and Catholics further apart.
The governing body of the Church of England, the mother Church of world Anglicanism, confirmed on Monday it will ordain women to the powerful rank of bishop -- albeit with compromise measures to appease traditionalists in its own ranks.
As in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican bishops have the ability to ordain priests.
The decision widens the divide between Catholic and Anglican Churches, which had been making efforts to advance dialogue in recent years despite thorny issues such as gay Anglican clergy.
"For the future, this decision will have consequences for dialogue, which until now had borne much fruit," the Vatican office for promoting Christian unity said in a statement.
"Such a decision is a break with apostolic tradition maintained in all of the Churches in the first millennium, and is therefore a further obstacle for reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Church of England."
The Roman Catholic Church says women cannot enter the priesthood because Christ chose only men as his apostles -- a point it drove home in May with a decree punishing attempts to ordain women priests with automatic excommunication.
But the Church of England approved ordination of women priests in 1992 and today one in six of England's parish priests is a woman. Liberals say it is insulting now not to admit them to positions of power, and point to Anglicans in Canada, the United States and New Zealand, who already have women bishops.
The decision by the Anglican hierarchy still must be confirmed through a long, complex process.
But if the compromise wins full acceptance in further synod meetings and the scheduled timetable is mapped out by 2012, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams may one day be succeeded by a woman as spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans.
The Churches have been split since England's King Henry VIII broke with Rome in the 16th century. Today, the Anglican Communion has about 77 million members, compared with the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
Williams will be tested again this month as he struggles to keep warring factions united when hosting the Lambeth Conference, the 10-yearly meeting of Anglican bishops from around the world.
The conference faces mass defections by conservatives, mainly from Africa, Asia and South America, who were vehemently opposed to the ordination of openly gay U.S. Bishop Gene Robinson and the blessing of same-sex marriages in Canada.
(Additional reporting by Paul Majendie in London)
Read Full Report |
| Church of England Endorses Women as Bishops |
NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By John F. Burns - July 8, 2008
LONDON - The governing body of the Anglican Church in Britain voted on Monday to approve the appointment of women as bishops, a step that appeared to risk a schism in the church in its historic homeland as the Anglican church worldwide faces one of the most serious threats to its unity in its history, over the ordination of gay clergy members.
After a debate late into the night in the city of York, the General Synod of the Church of England, an assembly that holds ultimate authority on church doctrine in Britain, voted by comfortable margins within each of the synod's three houses - bishops, clergy and laity - to approve the consecration of women as bishops in the face of bitter opposition from traditionalists.
The vote came 16 years after the synod voted, after similarly fractious debate, to approve the ordination of women as ministers within the British church. But traditionalists unreconciled to the end of the male monopoly within the clergy revived the battle over the issue of approving women as bishops, warning that it could lead to a breakup of the church in Britain.
The move to approve women as bishops in Britain followed the lead taken by Anglican churches elsewhere; in the United States, Australia and Canada, women have been appointed as bishops for some years. Opponents of female bishops argue that Jesus, in choosing men for his 12 disciples, intended that men alone should have the responsibility of ministering to his followers.
The vote came at an awkward time for the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, who leads the worldwide Anglican Communion, with a claimed membership of about 80 million, about 55 million of them active in church affairs. His efforts to prevent a schism within the church in Britain have taken place against a background of deep division between liberals and traditionalists within the Anglican church worldwide, mainly over the issue of homosexuality within the clergy.
This month, Archbishop Williams will host the Lambeth Conference in London, a two-week gathering of Anglican bishops from across the world that meets every 10 years. This year's meeting will seek ways of preventing a breakup of the communion over differences that have pitted the Episcopal Church in the United States against conservatives, mainly from Africa, who oppose the ordination of gay priests and bishops, and the appointment of women as priests and bishops.
At a meeting last week in Jerusalem, the conservatives voted to create a separate body within the Anglican union to carry the fight against the American church and its liberal allies, amid warnings that the new body could form the basis for a separate church if the conservatives' demands went unheeded. Archbishop Williams has condemned the move, saying that the new body has no legal standing and challenges Christian teachings of tolerance.
Ahead of the synod in York, traditionalists claimed to have the backing of 1,300 clergy members in Britain who were prepared to leave the church rather than accept women as bishops. Opponents included some female ministers who said that they would prefer that the appointment of women as bishops be deferred rather than risk a widening of divisions within the Church of England.
Church officials have said that the first female bishops will not be appointed before 2014. Monday's vote was qualified by a requirement that the church draw up a "code of practice" to govern the change, which appeared to open the way for further challenges by traditionalists, one step in a process that church officials said could delay final approval of female bishops for several years.
Church legislation to approve the change will come before the synod again next February, church officials said. But for the appointment of female bishops to proceed, the legislation will need a two-thirds majority, in separate votes, among the synod's membership of bishops, clergy and laity.
Monday's vote suggested that reformers were close to amassing the votes needed to meet that requirement. More than 460 delegates attended the York meeting, and the breakdown provided by church officials indicated that reformers won 28 to 12 among the bishops, and 124 to 44 among the clergy. Among the laity, the vote was 111 to 68.
But traditionalists emerging from the meeting vowed to continue their fight and hinted that the risk of a breakup of the church remained. Several British newspapers reported in recent days that a group of British Anglican bishops traveled to Rome ahead of the vote in York to meet senior Vatican officials to explore the possibility of so-called Anglo-Catholic traditionalists quitting the Church of England and joining the Roman Catholic Church.
Spokesmen for the Church of England, and the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Britain, said they had no knowledge of any meeting in Rome. But a meeting in Rome, if it occurred, would be an echo of what happened when the church first voted to admit women as priests, when traditionalists within the church, including about 500 clergymen, broke away and joined the Roman Catholic Church.
"It's getting worse; it's going downhill very badly," the Rev. David Houlding, a leader of the traditionalists, said after the York vote, according to a report by the newspaper The Guardian. "It's quite clear that there is a pincer movement, and we're being squeezed out." But he added, "There will be no walkout - yet."
The voting in York rejected a compromise proposal put forward in the last days before the synod by one of the church's most senior bishops in Britain, the Rt. Rev. John Packer, who is bishop of Ripon and Leeds. The compromise would have created a group of three so-called super-bishops, chosen from among traditionalists, who would be given authority over parishes that refuse to accept the leadership of a female bishop or priest.
But the proposal met with strong resistance among liberals. The Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, an opponent of the compromise, said that the new tier of bishops would create "a ghetto of no-go areas" within the British church, amounting to the licensing of a breakaway church.
Original Report Here |
| Male priests marry in Anglican church's first gay 'wedding' |
LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH [Barclay - PA: Conservative/centre-right] - By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent - June 15, 2008
An Anglican church has held a homosexual "wedding" for the first time in a move that will deepen the rift between liberals and traditionalists, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
Two male priests exchanged vows and rings in a ceremony that was conducted using one of the church's most traditional wedding rites - a decision seen as blasphemous by conservatives.
The ceremony broke Church of England guidelines and was carried out last month in defiance of the Bishop of London, in whose diocese it took place. News of the "wedding" emerged days before a crucial summit of the Anglican Church's conservative bishops and archbishops, who are threatening to split the worldwide Church over the issue of homosexual clergy.
Although some liberal clergy have carried out "blessing ceremonies" for homosexual couples in the past, this is the first time a vicar has performed a "wedding ceremony", using a traditional marriage liturgy, with readings, hymns and a Eucharist.
Both the conservative and liberal wings of the Anglican communion expressed shock last night.
The Most Rev Henry Orombi, the Archbishop of Uganda, said that the ceremony was "blasphemous." He called on Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to take decisive action if the Anglican Church were not to "disintegrate". Archbishop Orombi added: "What really shocks me is that this is happening in the Church of England that first brought the Gospel to us.
"The leadership tried to deny that this would happen, but now the truth is out. Our respect for the Church of England will erode unless we see a return to traditional teaching."
The Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, the Bishop of Winchester - a powerful conservative figure - said that the service represented a wedding "in all but name". He said: "Strictly speaking it is not a marriage, but the language is clearly modelled on the marriage service and the occasion is modelled on the marriage service. This clearly flouts Church guidelines and will exacerbate divisions within the Anglican Communion."
The bishop said that it was up to the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, to act, adding that it would become a high-profile test case of Church authority.
"Can we stand for the clear teaching of the Church of England or are we powerless in the face of these actions, which I regret enormously have taken place," he said.
The service was held at St Bartholomew the Great in London - one of England's oldest churches, which featured in Four Weddings and a Funeral - and was conducted by the parish rector, the Rev Martin Dudley.
The couple, the Rev Peter Cowell, who is a cleric at one of the Queen's churches, and the Rev Dr David Lord, had registered their civil partnership before the ceremony.
Mr Dudley opened the service by saying: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God to join these men in a holy covenant of love and fidelity. Such a covenant shows us the mystery of the union between God and God's people and between Christ and the Church." In the vows, Mr Cowell and Dr Lord pledged to "hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part".
Mr Dudley blessed the union with the words: "As David and Jonathan's souls were knit together, so these men may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made."
Leading church figures expressed astonishment at the language and grandeur of the service, claiming that it was a highly provocative act. Although, the use of such a traditional ceremony does not constitute a marriage in the eyes of the law, Church figures on all sides said the event went further than any gay blessing ceremonies that had gone before. - - -
Mr Dudley agreed to conduct the service despite Bishop Chartres warning that Church guidelines - drawn up when the Civil Partnerships Act was introduced - do not allow formal blessings of gay relationships. He argued that it was not a wedding but a blessing and that he was not "offering" blessing services, but responding to personal requests from friends. "I believe that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, but I see nothing wrong with blessing a couple who want to make a life-long commitment to one another."
A Church of England spokesman said: "Where clergy are approached by people asking for prayer in relation to entering into a civil partnership they should respond pastorally and sensitively in the light of the circumstances. But the House of Bishops affirmed that clergy should not provide services of blessing for those who register a civil partnership."
Read Full Report |
| Church of England clergy plan mass exit over women bishops |
THE TIMES of LONDON [News Corporation/Murdoch] - By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent - July 1, 2008
More than 1,300 clergy, including 11 serving bishops, have written to the archbishops of Canterbury and York to say that they will defect from the Church of England if women are consecrated bishops.
As the wider Anglican Communion fragments over homosexuality, England's established Church is moving towards its own crisis with a crucial vote on women bishops this weekend.
In a letter to Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, seen by The Times, the signatories give warning that they will consider leaving the Church if two crucial votes are passed to introduce female bishops.
The Church's moderate centre is being pressured as never before by evangelicals opposed to gays, and traditionalists opposed to women's ordination. The crisis is unprecedented since the Reformation devastated the Roman Catholic Church in England in the 16th century. - - - -
Read Full Report |
| Western world is losing Christian values, says leading bishop |
LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH [Barclay - PA: Conservative/centre-right] - By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent in Jerusalem - June 25, 2008
The western world is losing its Christian values at a time when it needs them most, a leading bishop in the Church of England has warned.
The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, claimed the declining importance of the church was creating a "double jeopardy" situation where faith was being challenged at a time when society would most benefit.
He said believers needed to "recover their nerve" and spread the Gospel again.
The outspoken bishop, who earlier this week told those who tolerate homosexuality in the clergy to repent, also said he was "frustrated" that decisions which had been made in the church had not been stuck to.
Dr Nazir-Ali was greeted with a standing ovation as he gave a speech to a breakaway summit in Jerusalem of more than 1,000 traditionalists from across the Anglican Communion who oppose gay priests and the blessing of same-sex unions.
He did not say that divisions over sexuality would lead to a schism in Anglicanism, and referred to unity being a "very precious thing".
Instead he called on those in the church to concentrate on mission - trying to convert those of other faiths and with no faith to Christianity.
Dr Nazir-Ali, who earlier this year claimed the decline of Christianity had led to a collapse of Britishness, said: "The greatest challenge is that of militant secularism, which is creating a double jeopardy for western cultures.
"It is losing its Christian discourse at the very time when it needs it most.
"Let us pray that we are able to recover our Christian nerve in the west and make sure the Gospel is not lost, and that all that is valuable in western culture - much of which comes from its Judeo-Christian background - will survive as a way to enhance cultures in the west and renew them once again."
He said he could not apologise for wanting to explain Christianity with Muslims and to great laughter he added: "That's not the only thing I want to do to them."
The Pakistan-born bishop repeated his claim that the church began its decline in influence when parents stopped passing the faith on to their children.
"Don't blame anyone else," he said.
Dr Nazir-Ali said when changes took place in society they must be assessed against the Bible to see whether they should be accepted, and should not just be waved through.
He said those who were attending Gafcon, many of whom like him are boycotting the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference gathering of bishops because of their opposition to liberals over homosexuality, were at the forefront of a revival of Anglicanism.
"You are the miraculous beginning of a movement for the renewal of the church." - - - -
Read Full Report |
| Williams warns of risks for conservative Anglicans |
REUTERS [Thomson-Reuters] - By Paul Majendie - June 30, 2008LONDON - Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, battling to avoid an Anglican schism over the issue of gay clergy, warned conservatives on Monday of the risks in setting up an alternative council of bishops. "How is effective discipline to be maintained in a situation of overlapping and competing jurisdictions?" asked the spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans. At a meeting in Jerusalem, conservative Anglican leaders vowed on Sunday to stay in the worldwide Anglican Communion but form a council of bishops to provide an alternative to churches they say are preaching a "false gospel" of sexual immorality. The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) said member churches would continue sponsoring breakaway conservative parishes in liberal western member countries and called for a separate conservative province in North America. It also said Anglicanism, the third largest group of Christians after Roman Catholics and Orthodox, was not "determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury". Williams, who next month hosts the 10-yearly Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops from around the globe, said the GAFCON proposals were "problematic in all sorts of ways." Making a plea for unity, he said in a statement: "I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks entailed." - - - Williams, fighting to avoid schism in the 450-year-old church, said of the proposed council of bishops "any claim to be free to operate across provincial boundaries is fraught with difficulty." - - - Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, a driving force behind GAFCON who earlier branded Williams an apostate, has rejected the idea that they were forming "a church within a church". Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen said a Primates' council -- a body of the heads of member Anglican churches -- would be formed to regulate the "chaos" within the Communion and "defend the Gospel ... from revisionist or liberal theologies". Despite some initial rhetoric, GAFCON did not develop into a full alternative and participants did not opt for schism. Conservative bishops from Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya, who boast fast-expanding congregations, have said they will boycott the Lambeth Conference. (Additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem)(Editing by Janet Lawrence)Read Full Report |
| Heretic': The first openly gay bishop is pilloried in the pulpit by a long-haired heckler |
LONDON DAILY MAIL [Associated Newspapers/DMGT - PA: Conservative/Right-Wing] - By Steve Doughty - July 14, 2008The world's first openly gay Anglican bishop was heckled last night as he gave a sermon at a church in London. The Right Reverend Gene Robinson, the American churchman whose appointment as Bishop of New Hampshire triggered a devastating split among Anglican leaders, was branded a 'heretic' by the lone protester. Bishop Robinson began his sermon by expressing his sadness that the Anglican Communion was tearing itself apart. The long-haired heckler repeatedly jabbed his finger and shouted 'repent, repent, repent'. He said the bishop 'preached the Gospel but departed from it' and claimed it was he who was behind the schism. The bishop had to halt his sermon as a slow hand-clap by members of the congregation began in response to the heckling. The hymn Thine Be The Glory was sung as the protester was escorted from St Mary's Church in Putney, South-West London. When Bishop Robinson resumed speaking, he asked those present to 'pray for that man'. Health Minister Ben Bradshaw was among those hearing the speech. Speaking after the service he said that it was an excellent and inspirational sermon, adding that the bishop had handled the outburst very well. Mr Bradshaw, who is openly gay, said: 'He is a very brave man speaking the truth.' . . . Dr Williams has banned the controversial bishop from the gathering of Anglican primates from across the world that is due to begin in Canterbury this week. The ban is an attempt to ease tension at the Lambeth Conference, which is torn with dissension between conservatives and liberals over gay rights. Bishop Robinson yesterday made a plea for the acceptance of homosexuality in the Church from the fringes of the conference. He said sexuality was 'important but not essential' and that churchmen should instead turn their attention to the troubles of the wider world such as knife crime and poverty. 'While young men are knifing each other on the streets of London and there are a billion people living on less than a dollar a day, the fact that the Anglicans argue over two men who want to make a family together makes the Church look irrelevant,' he said. - - - - Read Full Report |
| Anglican church in meltdown over gays and women |
THE TIMES of LONDON [News Corporation/Murdoch] - By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent - June 16, 2008 The Church of England has been plunged into fresh turmoil by the "marriage" of two gay clergymen and threats of an exodus of priests opposed to the consecration of women bishops. The Times has learnt that up to 500 Anglo-Catholic priests are ready to resign after failing to secure the concessions that they had sought over women bishops. Church of England bishops have rejected plans for legal safeguards for those who had hoped for the introduction of extra-geographical dioceses as havens for traditionalists. Instead, plans to consecrate women bishops will be put to a vote at the General Synod in York next month, with the safeguards for opponents enshrined in a voluntary code. A further blow will be dealt to the unity of the Anglican Communion this week when 200 traditionalist bishops attend a meeting as an alternative to the ten-yearly Lambeth Conference, which they plan to boycott. They will gather for the Global Anglican Future Conference, in Jordan, organised by evangelicals, in protest at what they see as the liberal direction of the communion. Yesterday the Church of England was investigating the "wedding" of the two gay priests in defiance of church rules on such ceremonies. Bishops have turned a blind eye to discreet services of blessing for gay couples but the wedding-style blessing service for the Rev Peter Cowell, a London hospital chaplain and priest at Westminster Abbey, and David Lord, a priest from New Zealand, could force the Church to act. As the row escalated, Dr Lord surrendered his licence to minister as a priest in Waikato. It brings to the established Church a dispute that began in the United States, where the first consecration of an openly gay bishop took place in 2003, and Canada, where a diocese issued the first authorised gay blessing service. The Bishop of London, the Right Rev Richard Chartres, has asked his archdeacon to investigate but Mr Cowell was unrepentant yesterday. "Some people have to be courageous," he said. "It was a conscious decision. We did it for each other and for family and friends." The Times understands that liberals are considering a legal challenge to guidelines that rule against blessings for civil partnerships but sanction a pastoral, prayerful response when gay couples enter a civil partnership. The service was described as very grand, with an orchestral Mass, but appeared to be an act of provocation by deliberately using as much wording from the Prayer Book order of marriage as possible. Many senior clergy were among the 300 guests. The Rev Martin Dudley, who presided at the ceremony, said that he had not consulted the church guidelines and strongly disagreed with them. Read Full Report |
| Gay Bishop Out of Anglican Summit |
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Rachel Zoll - March 11, 2008NEW YORK - The first openly gay Episcopal bishop announced he will have no official role in a meeting this summer of world Anglican leaders, saying restrictions that organizers wanted to place on his involvement had caused him "considerable pain." New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson had been told last year that he could not fully participate in the once-a-decade gathering in England, called the Lambeth Conference, as the world Anglican Communion sat on the brink of schism over his 2003 election. Still, Episcopal leaders had been negotiating with the Anglican Communion Office to allow him to join the event in some capacity. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the U.S. - - - "I am dismayed and sickhearted that we can't sit around a table, as brothers and sisters in Christ, and study Scripture together," he said. "It makes me wonder, if we can't sit around a table and study the Bible together, what kind of Communion do we have and what are we trying to save?" - - - The spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, didn't invite Robinson to Lambeth, partly to appease theological conservatives, who believe the Bible bars gay relationships. Some had threatened to boycott the meeting if he attended. Williams also didn't invite Bishop Martyn Minns, who leads a network of conservative breakaway Episcopal parishes in the U.S., that have aligned with the like-minded Anglican Church of Nigeria. - - - - Read Full Report |
| Vatican-Iranian dialogue agrees on faith, reason, non-violence |
REUTERS [Thomson-Reuters] - Posted by: Tom Heneghan - April 30, 2008Pope Benedict was "particularly satisfied" with the topic of a meeting this week held between Vatican and Iranian specialists on inter-faith dialogue, according to a statement just put out by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. That shouldn't be any surprise. The statement copied below shows his trademark topic - the compatibility of faith and reason - was prominent at the three-day session. He has been stressing this for years, with some success (as during his recent U.S. visit) and some misunderstanding (as in his Regensburg speech). With another Catholic-Muslim meeting due later this year, with delegates of the Common Word group, we can expect this issue to stay front and centre in inter-faith dialogue. That the Iranian delegation agreed with the statements on faith and reason shows they did not see the contradiction between them in Islam that some observers read into Benedict's comments in Regensburg. They also agreed that "faith and reason are intrinsically non-violent," a message Benedict said he meant to get across there. Another point agreed on here - that both Catholics and Muslims should promote respect for religious beliefs and symbols - seems to have the controversy over the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad as its background. One can't read too much into one meeting but it seems that dialogue is moving ahead despite some occasional setbacks. I can't help but notice the different emphasis here from what the popular Egyptian preacher Amr Khaled said this week about the protests against the Danish cartoons. Here is the final communique (my emphasis of main points):
1. Faith and reason are both gifts of God to mankind.
2. Faith and reason do not contradict each other, but faith might in some cases be above reason, but never against it.
3. Faith and reason are intrinsically non-violent. Neither reason nor faith should be used for violence; unfortunately, both of them have been sometimes misused to perpetrate violence. In any case, these events cannot question either reason or faith.
4. Both sides agreed to further co-operate in order to promote genuine religiosity, in particular spirituality, to encourage respect for symbols considered to be sacred and to promote moral values.
5. Christians and Muslims should go beyond tolerance, accepting differences, while remaining aware of commonalities and thanking God for them. They are called to mutual respect, thereby condemning derision of religious beliefs.
6. Generalization should be avoided when speaking of religions. Differences of confessions within Christianity and Islam, diversity of historical contexts are important factors to be considered.
7. Religious traditions cannot be judged on the basis of a single verse or a passage present in their respective holy Books. A holistic vision as well as an adequate hermeneutical method is necessary for a fair understanding of them.
The participants expressed their satisfaction with the level of the presentations and the debates as well as the open and friendly atmosphere during the colloquium. The participants were honoured and pleased to be received at the end of the colloquium by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, who was particularly satisfied with the choice of the theme and the venue of the meeting. The next colloquium will be held in Tehran within two years, preceded by a preparatory meeting. Original Report Here |
Vatican denounces claim of seeing Virgin Mary
|
LONDON DAILY MAIL [Associated Newspapers/DMGT - PA: Conservative/Right-Wing] - June 1, 2008The Vatican has denounced a group who claim to have seen the Virgin Mary more than 40,000 times in the past 27 years. The six Bosnian 'seers' attract five million pilgrims a year to their home town of Medjugorje, providing a lucrative trade for local businesses. Hundreds of thousands travel there each year from Britain alone. But now one of the most respected voices in the Roman Catholic church has accused the visionaries of perpetuating a 'diabolical deceit'. Andrea Gemma, 77, a bishop and once the Vatican's top exorcist, told a magazine in Italy: 'In Medjugorje everything happens in function of money: Pilgrimages, lodging houses, sale of trinkets. 'This whole sham is the work of the Devil. It is a scandal.' He said the Vatican would soon crack down on the group. The Medjugorje phenomenon began on June 25, 1981, when six children told a priest they had seen the Virgin on a hillside near their town. A church investigation dismissed the vision, and the Vatican banned pilgrimages to the site in 1985. But many Catholics ignored the ban. Today, the seers own smart houses with security gates and tennis courts and expensive cars. One is married to a former U.S. beauty queen. Catholic officials in the U.S. have recently banned the group from speaking on church property during their world tours, on which they allegedly take the Virgin with them. Read Full Report
|
Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens
|
ASSOCIATED PRESS - May 13, 2008VATICAN CITY - The Vatican's chief astronomer says that believing in aliens does not contradict faith in God. The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, says that the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones. In an interview published Tuesday by Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes says that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. The interview was headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother." Funes said that ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom. Read Full Report
|
| 'Respect atheists', says cardinal |
BBC NEWS [PSB operated by BBC Trust] - May 9, 2008The Archbishop of Westminster has urged Christians to treat atheists and agnostics with "deep esteem". Believers may be partly responsible for the decline in faith by losing sense of the mystery and treating God as a "fact in the world", he said in a lecture. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor called for more understanding and appreciation between believers and non-believers. But the leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales said that Britain must not become "a God-free zone". The cardinal's lecture at Westminster Cathedral comes after a spate of public clashes over issues such as stem-cell research, gay adoption and faith schools. . . . He said saying that "supposedly faithless societies" ruled only by reason were like those created by Hitler and Stalin, ripe for "terror and oppression". Last year, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor complained of a "new secularist intolerance of religion" and the state's "increasing acceptance" of anti-religious views. To stem this tide, he said Christians must understand they have something in common with those who do not believe. God is not a "fact in the world" as though God could be treated as "one thing among other things to be empirically investigated" and affirmed or denied on the "basis of observation", said Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor. "If Christians really believed in the mystery of God, we would realise that proper talk about God is always difficult, always tentative. "I want to encourage people of faith to regard those without faith with deep esteem because the hidden God is active in their lives as well as in the lives of those who believe." . . . . But Richard Dawkins, scientist, staunch atheist and author of books including The God Delusion, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the cardinal's comments carried no weight. Referring to God as an "imaginary friend", Mr Dawkins said: "When talking to a politician you would demand proof for what they say, but suddenly when talking to a clergyman you don't have to provide evidence. - - - - Read Full Report |
| US Catholic Leadership Invites Hindu Leader Zed to Improve Relationships |
NEWS BLAZE - April 25, 2008Acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American leader Rajan Zed has been invited by US Catholic leadership aimed at improving Hindu-Catholic relations. . . . The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, based in Washington DC, is an assembly of the hierarchy of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, besides other things, actively seeks ways to foster through dialogue and other forms of cooperation the relations of the Catholic Church in the US with the Jewish community in this country, with the people of the non-Christian religions and with the secularist world. Catholic Diocese of Reno recently awarded a special certificate to Zed for "vibrant interfaith communication". Rajan Zed has read the historic first Hindu prayer in United States Senate in Washington DC in July last, besides first Hindu prayers in Nevada, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Arizona Senates, Nevada Assembly and Arizona House of Representatives during the last few months. He is one of the panelists for "On Faith", a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com. Nevada Clergy Association, drawn from various religions and denominations, honored him sometime back. Roman Catholic Church, headed by Pope Benedictus XVI Joseph Ratzinger, is the largest Christian denomination with about 1.12 billion adherents, representing about 17.2 of global population. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion followers. Moksha (liberation) is the ultimate goal of Hinduism. Read Full Report |
| Facing Decline, an Effort to Market the Priesthood |
"How do we get the 'cool' factor back into the priesthood?" NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By David Gonzalez - April 15, 2008The banners hanging in the main corridor of St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers declare, "Through Faith We Grow." The class portraits that line that very same corridor tell the opposite tale. Half a century after the halcyon days when several hundred men at a time studied to be ordained as priests for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, only 22 are enrolled. Even more alarming to Catholics, although six men expect to be ordained in May, none are entering the first-year theology program. While seminary officials attribute the sudden drop to extra preparatory course requirements that went into effect this year, it is nonetheless a jarring development. "You do what you can, as well as you can, for as long as you can, and hope it works," said Bishop Gerald Walsh, the seminary's rector. "I'd be optimistic if we had enough clergy present for young people and willing to talk to them." He will have enough - and then some - on Saturday, when Pope Benedict XVI visits the seminary for a prayer service and youth rally. The pope's mere presence will be a jolt of encouragement to the seminarians. It will also offer them and other priests and nuns the chance to mingle with 20,000 young people and plant a seed for vocations. There will be flashy videos, with quick cuts, stirring sound tracks and fearless priests on New York streets. Goody bags will include glossy post cards of the pontiff emblazoned with the word "Willkommen!" - and the Web address nypriest.com, the seminary's recruiting site. In coming weeks, the archdiocese will send its schools posters that announce, "The World Needs Heroes," including one of black-suited priests crossing an intersection - looking like "Going My Way" meets "Reservoir Dogs." Officials of the archdiocese do not apologize for embracing Madison Avenue marketing to counter a sharp decline in vocations. An increasingly secular and materialistic culture, reluctance among the young to accept lifelong celibacy, and anger over the church's handling of sexual abuse scandals have all contributed to the precipitous drop, the officials say. Vocational directors recognize that the public's confidence has been shaken by the scandals. They have chosen, however, to focus their marketing campaign on an upbeat message. The Rev. Luke Sweeney, director of vocations for the archdiocese - which covers the Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and seven counties west and north of the city - says the church must make its case if it hopes to reinvigorate a priesthood that is increasingly elderly. "How do we get the 'cool' factor back into the priesthood?" Father Sweeney said. "If we don't sell the priesthood, we can't legitimately ask a young man to consider the priesthood as a vocation." - - - - Read Full Report |
| Sins, Secrets And Denial |
In addition to the 24 diocesan priests, reporters identified 19 members of the Salesian, Franciscan, Dominican, Christian Brothers, Jesuit, Holy Cross, Redemptorist, Society of the Precious Blood and Marianist religious orders who were accused of abuse in the diocese, and an additional 21 who served here and were accused in other dioceses.THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE [MediaNews Group] - By Rob Dennis, Jeremy Herb, Matthew Artz and Chris De Benedetti, Staff Writers - March 30, 2008About the seriesTo identify the 64 accused priests and members of religious orders who served in the Diocese of Oakland, Bay Area News Group reporters scoured tens of thousands of pages of court records filed in Alameda, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties. To discover where the accused priests served, the reporters built a database of every priest who has served in every parish in the Diocese of Oakland since 1950, using the Official Catholic Directory. Before 1962, those parishes were listed under the Archdiocese of San Francisco. . . . ---------- On a March night two years ago, Bishop Allen Vigneron arrived at St. Raymond's in Dublin to do what he had done so many times in previous months: apologize. "The record of clerical sexual abuse of children and young people is a heavy burden -- a burden for all Catholics in the United States, a burden for the Church in Oakland, and surely a great burden for all who have been directly involved in that history," he told the congregation. What was left unsaid, however, was that the record of abuse in the Diocese of Oakland has never been fully disclosed. Since January 2004, Vigneron had been making the rounds of 20 Diocese of Oakland parishes to apologize for 12 priests accused of abuse. In fact, however, at least 64 Roman Catholic clergy members accused of molesting children have served since 1950 in nearly three-quarters of the parishes in the diocese -- more than five times more men than Vigneron named in his "apology services," a MediaNews analysis of court and church records has found. More than a third of those accused priests and members of religious orders have not been named outside of court records or linked to the diocese until now. In the most extensive examination to date of clergy child sex abuse in the diocese -- which includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and was part of the Archdiocese of San Francisco until 1962 -- MediaNews reporters examined tens of thousands of pages of court and church records, police reports and other documents, and they interviewed victims, experts and diocese officials. Among the findings:
- Clergy members were accused of molesting children in at least 26 parishes and six high schools in the East Bay.
- At least two accused diocesan priests and 19 members of religious orders still serve at church facilities, most of them in the Bay Area, although they no longer work with children.
- Some of the most powerful priests in the diocese -- including a former chancellor and vicar general, a former schools superintendent, and two former deans responsible for supervising southern Alameda County -- were accused of abuse. One of the deans investigated child molestation allegations against the other.
- Accused clergy members served in at least 61 of the 86 parishes and all seven of the high schools in the diocese operated by male clergy. The remaining two, Holy Names in Oakland and Carondelet in Concord, are run by sisters.
- Police investigated accusations against at least five diocesan priests from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s after parents or neighbors reported abuse. None of the priests served prison time. One retired. One was sentenced to three months of probation and laicized, or removed from the priesthood, at his own request. He later returned to serve in another parish as a youth ministry coordinator. Charges were not filed against the remaining three, who were sent to therapy and then continued to serve as priests in the diocese for decades.
- Many accused clergy members were ordered to get treatment and then shuffled to multiple parishes for decades, not reported to law enforcement or removed from ministry -- mirroring the practices in the scandal-plagued Archdiocese of Boston and other dioceses around the country. . . .
Of the 64 accused clergy members identified by MediaNews, 36 were accused of abuse in the diocese, and the remainder were accused in other dioceses but also served in the East Bay. These numbers do not include accused lay teachers, coaches or deacons, nor do they include priests who were involved in relationships with adults. MediaNews reporters identified 17 diocesan priests accused of abuse in the diocese, and an additional seven who served in the East Bay and were accused in other dioceses. In 2004, the diocese reported that 24 of its priests had been "credibly accused" of abuse, but it did not name them. In a subsequent series of apology services, Vigneron, the bishop, named only 12. "My guess (is) all the names are public knowledge," said the Rev. Mark Wiesner, spokesman for the diocese. "If anything went to court, those are public already. We're not hiding a thing." In addition to the 24 diocesan priests, reporters identified 19 members of the Salesian, Franciscan, Dominican, Christian Brothers, Jesuit, Holy Cross, Redemptorist, Society of the Precious Blood and Marianist religious orders who were accused of abuse in the diocese, and an additional 21 who served here and were accused in other dioceses. The 2004 report noted that 17 religious order priests and brothers had been accused of abuse, but it also said the religious communities were responsible for investigating those allegations and did not name them. Vigneron did not name religious order clergy members in his apology services, even though 33 worked in various parishes or high schools in the Diocese of Oakland. "The religious orders are responsible for their own people," Wiesner said. "In terms of how religious order priests were handled, those questions need to go to the heads of the orders." Despite intensive media coverage and dozens of lawsuits, the vast scope of abuse in the diocese has remained buried in voluminous court records, and in personnel files that church lawyers have fought to keep secret. Even now, six years after the priest sex-abuse scandal exploded into the public consciousness, and 21/2 years after the diocese reached a global legal settlement with the victims, their story has never been fully told. - - - - Read Full ReportAbuse was common in religious ordersPart Two: Read Full Report HereLEADERSHIP DISREGARD: At least 10 priests served despite abuse complaintsPart Three: Read Full Report Here |
| Religious voters favor McCain, poll claims |
CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY - July 15, 2008Princeton - A new Gallup Poll claims to show that registered voters who say religion is important in their lives tend to support presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain by a margin of 50 to 40 percent, while those who say religion is unimportant to their lives tend to support presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama by a margin of 55 to 36 percent. About two-thirds of the registered voters surveyed by Gallup said that religion is important to them. According to the Gallup Poll, which surveyed 95,000 registered voters from March through June 2008, the divide in voting preference is not confined to white Protestants but is manifested among non-Hispanic white Catholics as well. Non-Hispanic white Catholics who say religion is important in their daily lives support McCain over Obama by 53 percent to 37 percent. Those who say religion is not important slightly favor Obama by a margin of 47 percent to 45 percent. Hispanic Catholics, black non-Catholic Christians, and those who do not have a specific religious identity reportedly tend to support Barack Obama, but their support apparently is little affected by the importance of religion in their lives. Hispanic Catholics who say religion is important in their lives support Obama over McCain 57 to 31, while those who say religion is not important support Obama by a margin of 63 to 30 percent. Among non-Catholic Christians, those who say religion is important in their daily lives support McCain 63 percent to Obama's 27 percent. Those who say religion is not important are split between the candidates, with 46 percent support McCain and 45 percent supporting Obama. About 12 percent of Americans who say they have no specific religious identity strongly support Obama. Those among this group who say religion is not important in their lives support Obama over McCain by a margin of 65 to 26 percent. Among those with no specific religious identity who say religion is important in their lives, Obama wins by a margin of 61 to 28 percent, according to Gallup. Original Report Here |
| Louisiana Democratic Party Attacks Rep. Jindal for Anti-Protestant Statements |
|
ASSOCIATED PRESS - August 22, 2007
Ed. Note: This article was written last year just before Bobby Jindal was elected governor of the State of Louisiana. He is now suggested to be one of the top contenders for the Vice President pick on the Republican ticket with John McCain.
BATON ROUGE, La. - A Louisiana Democratic Party ad accusing Republican candidate for governor Bobby Jindal of calling Protestants "scandalous, depraved, selfish and heretical" has prompted a firestorm of criticism and calls Tuesday from the GOP to take the ad off the air.
Political watchers questioned whether the ad went too far and whether it accurately reflects Jindal's writings on Catholicism. Republicans and the head of a national Catholic organization called the ad a smear campaign.
Democrats say the 30-second TV spot - running in heavily Protestant central and north Louisiana - simply explains Jindal's beliefs with his own words, using portions of Jindal's religious writings through the 1990s, before he was an elected official. . .
In a 1996 article for New Oxford Review, a Roman Catholic magazine, Jindal talks of the Catholic religion as the true Christian faith and refers to a "scandalous series of divisions and new denominations" of religions since the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century.
"Despite my best efforts, I could find no justification in the Bible or the early church for any individual to establish his own church apart from the one established by Christ," Jindal wrote.
But he also wrote of the binding ties of Christianity and says the Catholic Church must incorporate the "spirit-led movements" of other Christian faiths.
Jindal said the ad distorts his writings. Bill Donohue, head of the Catholic League, a watchdog group, said it was a "scurrilous smear" job. - - - -
Read Full Report | |
|
|
FAIR USE NOTICE
This Email newsletter contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml . If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Important Disclaimer
Moriel Ministries does not necessarily endorse everything that is transmitted to our email groups, as being completely trustworthy or godly as some items are drawn from secular sources. Nor does it suggest in any way that any individual or organization mentioned should be followed or given any special credence. Be Alert! is for the dissemination of information only and godly discretion must be applied by recipients to every transmission received by them, from us. |
|
|
