Our ministry in Europe was a huge success with many divine appointments and open doors of opportunity to share the glorious Gospel of grace. On our first day at the Vatican, I approached the Pope's residence to see if we could meet with him to talk about the Gospel and his strategy for ecumenical unity. The Swiss guard told me I could see him at noon (along with the other 500,000 people waiting to see him in St. Peter's square). It occurred to me that I have immediate access to God through one mediator but had no access to the pope because of one obstruction. Later, when the pope appeared at his window to "bless" the crowd, we were astonished to witness the misplaced and excessive exaltation of this man. Our hearts were filled with compassion for the many nuns whose eyes were transfixed on him as if he were a god.

During our tour of St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum, we were taken back by the immense idolatry and paganism that is thinly veiled by a counterfeit form of Christianity. Clearly Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers from the light of the Gospel and the glory of Christ. We left with a greater sense of thanksgiving to God for delivering us from this kingdom of darkness into the glorious light of the Savior. Many of the Catholics we witnessed to showed no interest in the Word of God because of their fierce and unbending loyalty to their religion. We were, however, encouraged by some who had a teachable spirit and expressed an interest in the truth we shared from Scripture. 

We continued to sow the imperishable seed of God's Word in Naples. It was somewhat of a homecoming for me since I lived there 52 years ago while in middle school. At that time, as a devout Catholic and altar boy, I had what I thought, was a great privilege to meet Padre Pio. He was the stigmatist who bore the 5 wounds of a crucifixion and was recently named a saint. In his autobiography he said souls from purgatory would stop by his window on the way to heaven to thank him for suffering on their behalf.

Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States in April of 2008 was a turning point for me. The Holy Father presided over solemn vespers with the U.S. bishops in the Crypt Church at the basilica in Washington. Callista's choir was asked to sing for Pope Benedict at vespers, and as a spouse, I had the unique opportunity to attend the papal visit and was deeply moved by the occasion. Click here for the complete article. 

As we enter the season of giving and exchanging gifts, we must be mindful of the greatest gift anyone could ever receive - the gift of eternal life. We all have family members, friends and acquaintances who have never received this precious gift of God because they have never heard or believed the true Gospel of grace. There may not be a better time in the year to share the greatest news ever told than during the season we celebrate the Lord's birth. A wonderful way you can do this is by including our 6-panel Gospel tract with your Christmas cards and gifts. This tract is unique because it contains only Scripture! and presents God's Perfection, Man's Problem, God's Provision, Man's Part, God's Promise and Man's Privilege. Since God's Word has the power to convert the soul, this tract is a most effective way to share how Jesus Christ saves sinners completely and forever. You can order them for immediate delivery here. 

Joel Osteen, pastor of "America's largest church" is in the news once again, this time for saying that Mormonism is just another form of Christianity. Joel said: "I believe that [Mormons] are Christians. ... I don't know if it's the purest form of Christianity, like I grew up with. But you know what, I know Mormons. I hear Mitt Romney - and I've never met him - but I hear him say, 'I believe Jesus is the son of God,' 'I believe he's my savior,' and that's one of the core issues. "I'm sure there are other issues that we don't agree on. But you know, I can say that the Baptists and the Methodists and the Catholics don't all agree on everything. So that would be my take on it." Read the entire article here. 

Two men, one a United States Catholic Bishop from Green Bay, WI., the other a Cardinal based in Europe, serving as the Archbishop of Vienna, have courageously taken action that acknowledges the supernatural presence of Our Lady and her motherly role in leading us to her son. Coincidence or not? Have Ricken and Schonborn been selected to evangelize for the church precisely because of their association with the Blessed Mother? Do the smoke signals tell us something more about the role of Our Lady in the Vatican's efforts in the "New Evangelization"? Either way it is clear the Catholic Church has re-emphasized Pope John Paul II's call to seek Jesus through Mary. Read article here.

The debate that Roman Catholic apologist Tim Staples initiated with me on the doctrine of the preservation of the saints is finished. It is now ready for publication in the January/February issue of the Catholic Answers Magazine. We will make it available to our subscribers when it is published on this site.

 

During Advent 2011, Catholics will begin using new words for some of their communal prayers at Mass. The reforms bring the English liturgy closer to the original Latin, aiming to ensure that Catholics around the world have a unity of experience when it comes to their most important sacrament. The change to more transcendent wording is controversial for some Catholics, who think it could distance worshipers from a relationship with Jesus. Read entire article here.

 

Representatives of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Roman Catholic Church met in Malta November 5 "to initiate, evaluate and sustain collaboration" between the WCC and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Prime topics of discussion included spiritual life, shared values in ecumenical dialogue, the global economy, youth and migration. Read entire article here.

Pope Benedict joined Buddhist monks, Islamic scholars, Yoruba leaders and agnostics in making a communal call for peace October 27th, insisting that religion must never be used as a pretext for war or terrorism. Benedict welcomed some 300 leaders representing a rainbow of faiths in Assisi to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a prayer for peace called by Pope John Paul II in 1986. Read complete article here.