PBS NEWSHOUR - Tuesday, February 25, 2014

EndrTimes:

(How does the issue of Gay Marriage become the first story [in sequence] on the news?)

Full Program: Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Rick Warren acts on mental health in son’s death

By
| February 26,2014





ap photo

Saddleback Church founder and senior pastor, Rick Warren, left, and Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, Kevin William Vann, right, pose for a photo at the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Warren will partner with the Roman Catholic Church and the National Alliance on Mental Illness next month for the first event of what they hope will be a sustained project to get faith leaders more involved with mental health issues and advocacy. LAKE FOREST, Calif. — A year after his son’s suicide, popular evangelical pastor Rick Warren is taking on a new mental health ministry inspired by his personal tragedy.

Warren, founder of Saddleback Church and a best-selling author, will team with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and the National Alliance on Mental Illness to host a daylong event next month focused on helping church leaders reach parishioners who are struggling with mental illness.

The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church grew out of private conversations Warren had with the local Catholic bishop, Bishop Kevin Vann, after his son’s death and his own writings in his journal as he processed his grief. Matthew Warren, 27, committed suicide last April after struggling with severe depression and suicidal thoughts for years.

“I’m certainly not going to waste this pain. One of the things I believe is that God never wastes a hurt and that oftentimes your greatest ministry comes out of your deepest pain,” Warren said Monday as he met with Vann to discuss the March 28 event. “I remember writing in my journal that in God’s garden of grace even broken trees bear fruit.”

After Matthew’s suicide, more than 10,000 people wrote to Warren and his wife, Kay, to share their own struggles with mental illness, he said. The conference will address a range of mental health issues, from bipolar disorder to suicide to more easily hidden issues such as anxiety, eating disorders and addiction. Attendees can choose from among 20 interactive workshops within the conference.

“When Kay and I began ministering to people with HIV/AIDS about a dozen years ago, I thought AIDS was the greatest taboo. But actually, I think mental illness is,” he said. “And we want to remove the stigma.”

The focus on mental health is a natural outgrowth for churches, which have long been the first stop for the faithful who are suffering and need guidance, Vann said.

As a newly ordained deacon in 1980, Vann said, his first funeral Mass was for a man who had committed suicide. Later, a man hearing voices knocked on the parish door seeking relief.

Vann didn’t feel equipped to handle either situation properly, he recalled.

The conference will put an emphasis on providing resources to churches so that people in need can get the help they need immediately — and so faith workers can get insight into the challenges confronting the mentally ill and their families.

“Our goal is, as we say, we crack the door open and then churches go, ‘OK. If the diocese is doing this, if Saddleback’s doing this, we can do this,’” Warren said. “And we’d love to see a movement started where people actually begin to say, ‘We need to see this element added to our local ministry.’”

Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980 in his house. The megachurch now claims more than 20,000 members and has multiple satellite campuses around Southern California.

Warren is also author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” which has sold more than 50 million copies, and gave the invocation at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration.


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666 & the Mark

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Adam 1984

Published on Jan 27, 2014

James Arrabito gives a Clear visual proof of who the "beast" is and what his mark is, using photographs from around the world and quotations from history.

Presented in 1986, by James Arrabito.


LLT Productions, Inc., was started up in 1985 by James Arrabito, artist, photographer, and lay evangelist. James Arrabito was tragically killed in an Alaskan small plane crash in 1990.

http://www.lltproductions.com/about.html

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No Peace in Compromising

Jesus Himself never purchased peace by compromise. His heart overflowed with love for the whole human race, but He was never indulgent to their sins. He was too much their friend to remain silent while they were pursuing a course that would ruin their souls,--the souls He had purchased with His own blood. He labored that man should be true to himself, true to his higher and eternal interest. The servants of Christ are called to the same work, and they should beware lest, in seeking to prevent discord, they surrender the truth. They are to "follow after the things which make for peace" (Rom. 14:19); but real peace can never be secured by compromising principle. And no man can be true to principle without exciting opposition. A Christianity that is spiritual will be opposed by the children of disobedience. But Jesus bade His disciples, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul." Those who are true to God need not fear the power of men nor the enmity of Satan. In Christ their eternal life is secure. Their only fear should be lest they surrender the truth, and thus betray the trust with which God has honored them.

The Desire of Ages, p. 356.
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‘What’s the Use of Keeping this Baby Alive?’ Belgian Lawmakers Legalize Euthanasia for Children

February 23, 2014
By: Garrett Haley





BELGIUM – Lawmakers in Belgium recently approved a measure that will allow doctors to euthanize children of all ages.

As previously reported, the Belgian Senate overwhelmingly approved a child euthanization bill in December, sending it to the lower legislative house. This month, the lower house voted 86-44 in favor of the measure, despite some international criticism. Belgium’s King Philippe is expected to sign the bill into law.

Once the new measure is enacted, terminally ill children will have the option to end their lives via lethal injection. As long as children understand what euthanasia is and have approval from parents and doctors, they will be free to choose assisted suicide.

Belgium, a predominantly secular country, first sanctioned euthanasia for adults in 2002. Now, the small European nation will become only the second country in the world—along with the Netherlands—to allow child euthanization.


Supporters of the child euthanization measure argue that terminally ill individuals should be allowed to die, regardless of age.

“This [bill] is an act of humanity that allows the doctor to make the most humane course of action for his patient,” Philippe Mahoux, a senator who sponsored the legislation, told The New York Times. “What is scandalous is the suffering of sick children when they are going to die.”

Linda van Roy is a mother from Belgium who supports the new euthanization measures. Two years ago, her 10-month-old daughter slowly died from a terminal disease, and she wishes she could have ended her baby’s life more quickly.
Connect with Christian News

“That whole period of sedation, you always need to give more and more medication, and you start asking questions,” van Roy told CNN. “And you say, ‘What’s the use of keeping this baby alive?’ ”

“We want for those children to be able to talk about euthanasia and to ask those questions and if they really want to say, ‘Stop, this is it, I don’t want it anymore,’ that they can have a choice,” she added.

However, many people voiced opposition to the euthanasia bill, stating that children should never be asked whether or not they want to intentionally end their lives.

“The law says adolescents cannot make important decisions on economic or emotional issues, but suddenly they’ve become able to decide that someone should make them die,” observed Andre-Joseph Leonard, an archbishop in Belgium.

American businessman and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes likewise expressed concern about the Belgian measure, opining that it exemplifies the “slippery slope” of euthanasia.

“We are on the malignantly slippery slope to becoming a society like that envisioned by Nazi Germany, one in which ‘undesirables’ are disposed of like used tissue,” Forbes wrote in a recent column. “The Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities sidetracked the eugenics movement. But now it’s making a comeback in new garb—we want to kill only to reduce suffering.”

“As euthanasia becomes more accepted—and we become more numb to the horror of murdering people like this—we’ll descend to the next abomination: pressuring the sick to discontinue treatment for a likely fatal illness in the name of ‘saving scarce resources’ for people who have more years ahead of them,” he suggested.

“The true mark of a civilization is in how it treats its most vulnerable members,” Forbes concluded.

Photo: BBC

 
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Marriage equality advocates fly South, and not just for winter

Robert Roman and Claus Ihlemann, of Virginia Beach, celebrate a ruling that declared Virginia's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional on Feb. 14, 2014, in Norfolk, Va.
Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot/AP


02/26/14 07:21 AM—Updated 02/26/14 11:13 AM


By Emma Margolin


Marriage equality advocates – emboldened by mounting victories in courtrooms and legislatures across the country – are turning their attention to the deep-red South.

The group Freedom to Marry and local state LGBT equality organizations officially launched Southerners for the Freedom to Marry this week, a $1 million initiative to pave the way for equal protections and benefits currently denied to the hundreds of thousands of gay couples living in 14 southern states.

The campaign follows recent federal decisions striking down all or part of state bans on same-sex marriage in Kentucky, Oklahoma and Virginia – three states the effort will focus on – as well as a federal challenge to Texas’ 2005 voter-approved amendment banning same-sex nuptials.

Though many on both sides of the marriage equality debate believe the constitutionality of the issue will ultimately be decided nationwide at the Supreme Court level, advocates still believe it’s crucial to grow public support across the country – even in areas that have typically been resistant to gay rights.


NOW With Alex Wagner, 2/14/14, 5:16 PM ET
States push for equality, Cruz pushes back

“The strategy has always been to create the climate for the Supreme Court to bring the country to a natural resolution,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, which is directing the campaign. “We don’t have to win the freedom to marry in every southern state, but we want southern voices to be part of the chorus saying that America is ready for the freedom to marry – all of America.”

The campaign will focus on Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. According to a December 2013 poll from Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, 46% of voters in the South said they favored marriage equality, while the same number – 46% – said they were opposed. Though it was the weakest region in the country in terms of support for same-sex marriage, Wolfson noted the results from the South were “certainly higher than most people would think.”

In addition to partnering with state LGBT equality organizations for field and media work, Freedom to Marry will also draw upon the influence and expertise of political leaders, some of whom are members of the GOP.

Former media adviser to President George W. Bush, Mark McKinnon, was named co-chair of the initiative down in Texas, along with Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro. The Lone Star State’s Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott both staunchly oppose same-sex marriage, as does every Republican running to replace Abbott. But McKinnon says his support for same-sex marriage is firmly rooted in his political allegiance to conservative principles, not antithetical to it.

“I’ve long believed as a Republican that opposition to gay marriage is philosophically inconsistent for a party that is supposed to support less government intrusion into our lives,” said McKinnon via email to msnbc. “We will be communicating with voters and opinion leaders that the idea of marriage equality has its roots firmly planted in the constitution and, therefore, deserves the support of those who say they support the constitution.”

In Florida, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, one of the first and few Republicans in Congress to support same-sex marriage, said in an email she was “pleased” to be named an honorary co-chair of the campaign, and congratulated Freedom to Marry on “working to make marriage equality a reality in the South.”

And in Georgia, where the initiative was launched on Monday, Democratic Rep. John Lewis also lent his support to the cause. In a powerful web video, Lewis, once a friend and ally to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., called the right to marry a civil rights issue.

“I’ve fought too hard and too long against discrimination based on race and color, not to stand up and speak out against discrimination against our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters,” he said.

On Tuesday, Lewis’ home state became the latest to consider legislation that could sanction anti-gay discrimination in the name of religious liberty.



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San Diego Atheist Group Looks To Spread Non-Belief

KPBSSanDiego



Published on Nov 21, 2013


The number of people in the United States who identify themselves as atheists has been rising steadily, according to a recent Pew study. And a growing group of atheists in San Diego is mirroring that trend. A few thousand people are part of the San Diego Coalition of Reason, which supports the local atheist community and works to teach others about their non-beliefs. KPBS reporter Claire Trageser has more.



Read more: http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/nov/22/...


P.S.

Why do they congregate on the Sabbath?
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Universal Upheaval

Horror in Nigeria as pupils burn to death in boarding school attack by Boko Haram

25/02 11:17 CET

&

Infighting Hurts Ukraine Efforts to Form a New Government

  &

Flee or Resign, Turkey Opposition Tells Erdogan Over Tape

  &

In Venezuela protests, both sides draw battle lines -- but call for peace

&

Divided Thailand faces warnings of civil war

&

South Sudan: 'One of the most dangerous places to give birth'

 

 &

Who's Protecting Muslims From Christians in Africa? The Catholic Church.

  *

Question:

Will the mayhem we see all around the world spread to the western hemisphere's North American Union?  

Will the Arab Spring phenomenon spread to North America?

Photo (Courtesy) http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/nafta-barack-obama-trade-mexico-103701.html 

Will an opposition group (mob) of any of the three (Obama, Harper, and Enrique Peña Nieto) so-called presidents demand that they step down immediately?

Meanwhile, back at the farm:

Photo (Courtesy)  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi-joins-pope-francis-at-a-historic-cardinal-ceremony/2014/02/22/80406b6e-9bfd-11e3-ad71-e03637a299c0_story.html?tid=hpModule_04941f10-8a79-11e2-98d9-3012c1cd8d1e

The visible popes

*

Photo (Courtesy) http://awakenvideo.org/2010/02/the-black-pope/

The invisible popes

*

P.S. 

3 of the 4 are Jesuits; Ratzinger (god's rotweiller) just has his imprimatur on the 1994 Catholic Cathechism, that's all!

They are all busy working for the Common good.

 

Arsenio.

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Jesus All. -- 2013 Young Adult Festival of Worship

a allan martin


Published on Jun 23, 2013

This past Spring, hundreds of young adults from across the Southwestern Union convened at Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church for a Sabbath of inspiration, service, and fellowship. Giving focus to worship of Christ Jesus, attendees were blessed by Chris August, Leah Jordache, Russ Laughlin, A. Allan Martin, The Only Way, The University Singers, and YG Worship Band. Hosted by Younger Generation Church, this annual festival intends to encourage next generations to deepen their devotion to Christ. www.YGchurch.com
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Songs, Sex & Scriptures: The Art of Intimacy [service] from Arlington Adventist Church

Songs, Sex & Scriptures: The Art of Intimacy [service] from Arlington Adventist Church on Vimeo.


Source: http://vimeo.com/87366662#embed

Younger Generation Church

February 22 · Edited

Younger Generation Church is rated PG-13 for Love Month. February through March, YG will feature a relationship series based on the book, Song of Solomon. The series, "Songs, Sex & Scriptures" will take a biblical look at sexuality, intimacy, and God's design for courtship, marriage, and commitment.

We advise parental guidance for this series, and as an option, have wonderful Sabbath School programs for children of all ages to attend at the parent's discretion.

We hope you will join us for this new series launching February 2014, Saturdays, 10:15am [CST], in person or online, www.YGchurch.com — at Younger Generation Church.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/ygchurch
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Governors erupt in partisan dispute at White House

Photo by: The Associated Press

President Barack Obama toasts after delivering remarks during a dinner for the National Governors Association in the State Dining room of the White House on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)



Monday, February 24, 2014

By: Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The nation's governor's emerged from a meeting with President Barack Obama Monday claiming harmony, only to immediately break into an on-camera partisan feud in front of the West Wing.

Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal lashed out first, saying if Obama were serious about growing the economy he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline project and take other executive actions.

Instead, Jindal said, Obama "seems to be waving the white flag of surrender" on the economy by focusing on raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10, up from $7.25. "The Obama economy is now the minimum wage economy. I think we can do better than that," Jindal said.

Jindal's statements were the kind that Republicans often make on television appearances or at partisan events. But his colleagues had been instead expressing wide agreement and appreciation for the president's time. Some of the governors began shaking their heads, and Hawaii Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie began audibly mumbling to others around him even as Jindal was speaking.

Connecticut Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy took over the microphone from Jindal and responded sharply, "Wait a second, until a few moments ago we were going down a pretty cooperative road. So let me just say that we don't all agree that moving Canadian oil through the United States is necessarily the best thing for the United States economy."

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican who chairs the National Governors Association and supports Keystone, earlier said she asked Obama when the administration would decide whether to allow it and he told her there would be an answer in the next couple months.

Malloy said the white flag statement was the most partisan of their weekend conference and that many governors support a minimum wage increase.

"I don't know what the heck was a reference to white flag when it comes to people making $404 a week," Malloy snapped. "I mean that's the most insane statement I've ever heard."

Jindal did not the back down. "If that's the most partisan thing he's heard all weekend, I want to make sure he hears a more partisan statement," Jindal responded. "I think we can grow the economy more if we would delay more of these Obamacare mandates."

As the news conference broke up, Colorado Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, vice chair of the governors association, called Jindal a "cheap shot artist."

The public dispute came after Obama addressed the group in the State Dining Room and appealed for their help to advance his economic policies that stand little chance of winning passage on Capitol Hill.

"Even when there's little appetite in Congress to move on some of these priories, on the state level you guys are governed by practical considerations," Obama told the governors during a meeting at the White House. "You want to do right by your people."

The president pressed in particular for states to act on their own to raise the minimum wage and expand access to early childhood education, two initiatives that have gained little traction in Congress since Obama first introduced them last year.

Several governors are seen as potential presidential candidates in 2016. Obama made light of the speculation about the race to replace him, saying he "enjoyed watching some of you with your eyes on higher office size up the drapes, and each other."

Not every governor met Monday with the president.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie left the NGA meeting early to attend his daughter's birthday and prepare for a budget address.

Facing multiple investigations in a political-retribution probe in New Jersey, the Republican leader also skipped a Monday news conference by the Republican Governors Association, which he leads.

___

Associated Press writers Nedra Pickler and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.


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3ABN Newsbreak: John Ashcroft Concert, Anchors Series with Frank Gonzales

Posted on: 02-18-2014 Posted in: Newsbreaks




Transcript

Hello, I’m Shelley Quinn, and we are delighted to announce a special program that will air on Thursday, February 20, on 3ABN Today Live.

On this special 2-hour program, we’ll be hosting former Missouri governor, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft as he shares his personal testimony and presents an inspirational gospel concert at our Worship Center.

John Ashcroft’s life and career have been guided by his Christian faith, and while serving in the U.S. Senate, he was a member of the Singing Senators Quartet and an active member of the prayer team. In addition to his distinguished political and business careers, he’s also an author and a noted singer and songwriter.

We’re also very happy to announce that with him on this broadcast, we will feature the music of the Greater Vision Trio. This group is the most awarded trio in the history of gospel music and we’re blessed to have them with us.

If you live nearby, we invite you to attend this free concert program which will be held at 3ABN’s Worship Center at 3577 Angel Lane just off Highway 149 in Thompsonville, Illinois, on Thursday, February 20, at 8:00 p.m. CST.

We’re also very excited to announce another live series which begins next month with Pastor Frank Gonzalez. This is entitled “Seven Words of Hope.” It’s part of our Anchors of Truth series, and you won’t want to miss this one. Nothing can bring about a change of heart as the mind-bending, heart captivating, and life giving “Seven Words of Hope” that our Savior gave us as He suffered and died on the cross. This begins on Wednesday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m. CDT, right here at 3ABN.

We want to thank each of you who have faithfully prayed for and supported 3ABN’s worldwide ministry. Each minute of every day, thousands of people around the world discover 3ABN and find a source of hope as well as answers to their most perplexing problems. We cannot do this without you, so we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

If the Holy Spirit impresses you, please send your tax-deductible love gifts to:
3ABN
P.O. Box 220
West Frankfort, IL 62896



Or call 618-627-4651, Monday through Thursday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time.

Thank you for caring, and may God pour out His richest blessings on you today.


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P.S.
*Ashcroft is a member of the Assemblies of God church. He is married to Janet E. Ashcroft and has a family with her.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ashcroft
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Mind Control through Tv and the Children {Documentary}

(You may want to turn down volume to avoid the syncopated electronic soundtrack).





TheTocqualamond

Published on Sep 28, 2012

The greatest form of control is when you think you're free when you're being fundamentally manipulated and dictated to. One form of dictatorship is being in a prison cell and you can see the bars and touch them. The other one is sitting in a prison cell but you can't see the bars but you think you're free.

What the human race is suffering from is mass hypnosis. We are being hypnotized by people like this: newsreaders, politicians, teachers, lecturers. We are in a country and in a world that is being run by unbelievably sick people. The chasm between what we're told is going on and what is really going on is absolutely enormous.
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When the professed people of God are uniting with the world,..

Photo (Courtesy) http://www.flickr.com/photos/whmgtv/5752248666/

When the professed people of God are uniting with the world, living as they live, and joining with them in forbidden pleasure; when the luxury of the world becomes the luxury of the church; when the marriage bells are chiming, and all are looking forward to many years of worldly prosperity—then, suddenly as the lightning flashes from the heavens, will come the end of their bright visions and delusive hopes.

The Great Controversy, pp.338, 339 (1911).
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The Enoch Walk Amid Peril - Bob Trefz

Michael Walston

Published on May 4, 2011


Storm Series #2 - 1992


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Fitzgerald: Anti-casino clergy are minding their business

Photo by: Jacob Belcher

MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: Father George Szal, S.M., foreground, pastor of Immaculate Conception church, and Pastor Nick Granitsas from First Congregational Church of Revere are opposed to a proposed casino in Revere.


Saturday, February 22, 2014


By: Joe Fitzgerald

This one’s for George Szal, who pastors Immaculate Conception Church, and for Rabbi Joseph Berman of Temple B’Nai Israel, and for Nick Granitsas, who shepherds The First Congregational Church, and for Imam Sherif Shabaka of the Egyptian Association, all Revere clergymen who have felt a moral imperative to oppose casino gambling in their city, warning of its toxic nature.

Bringing their ministries beyond the walls of the places they’ve been led to serve, they call gambling what it is, a disaster for many families.

They are indeed “noble souls,” a term that echoes from history.

In this month that celebrates black history, do you, too, wonder what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. might think if he could peek in on what’s happening to our society today?

Much would please him, and much would likely break his heart.

But the guessing here is that he’d have looked upon Szal, Berman, Granitsas and Shabaka with great favor.

A third-generation Baptist preacher, King bemoaned the passivity of the clergy who act as if the answer to empty pews is to play it safe at the pulpit.

“I have wept over the laxity of the church,” he said. “I felt the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the south would be some of our strongest allies; instead, all too many have been more cautious than courageous, and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows.

“I have heard so many ministers say, ‘Those are social issues with which the Gospel has no real concern.’ We are moving toward the exit of the twentieth century with a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a taillight behind other community agencies, rather than a headlight.

“I have looked at beautiful churches with lofty spires pointing heavenward and found myself wondering, ‘What kind of people worship here?’ The contemporary church is often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent sanction of things as they are.”

Power structure? That sounds a lot like those carpet-bagging high-rollers now wishing the Revere clergy would mind its business, which is rather ironic. Do they not realize the business of the church is to be its brother’s keeper?

“I am thankful,” King went on, “that some noble souls have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity (and) left their secure congregations with the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.”

He’d have found such noble souls in Revere this morning.


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Tale Of Two Popes: Francis, Benedict Appear Together In Public

by
February 22, 201411:31 AM




Newly-elected Cardinal Leopoldo Jose Brenes Solorzano, Archbishop of Managua, right, is hugged by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during a consistory inside the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, on Saturday. Alessandra Tarantino/AP


Pope Francis and his predecessor, Benedict XVI, appeared together at a ceremony anointing 19 new cardinals in what described as "an unprecedented blending of papacies past, present and future."

In the solemn event, known as a consistory, Francis on Saturday bestowed red hats on his first batch of cardinals.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli, reporting from Rome, says at the start of the event in St. Peter's Basilica, Francis warmly embraced Benedict, seated close to the new princes of the church.

AP says:

"Benedict discreetly entered St. Peter's Basilica from a side entrance surrounded by a small entourage and was greeted with applause and tears from the stunned people in the pews. He smiled, waved and seemed genuinely happy to be there, taking his seat in the front row, off to the side, alongside the red-draped cardinals."

"It was the first time Benedict and Francis have appeared together at a public liturgical ceremony since Benedict retired a year ago and became the first pope to step down in more than 600 years."

"Benedict's presence marked a new phase of reintegrating him back into the public life of the church after a period of being hidden away that began almost exactly a year ago with his Feb. 28, 2013 resignation."

Ten of the 19 new cardinals, like Francis himself, come from outside Europe, including some from the poorest countries in the world, Sylvia says.

The AP says: "Two hail from Africa, two from Asia and six from Francis' native Latin America, which is home to nearly half the world's Catholics but is grossly underrepresented in the church's hierarchy."

"In his homily, Francis warned them to reject a 'worldly mentality' – which he said leads to rivalry, jealousy and factionalism," according to Sylvia.


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NPR Morning Edition: Pope Welcomes New Cardinals, Many From Developing World

More Vatican Pro-paganda on America's National Public Radio:

by Sylvia Poggioli

February 22, 2014 8:00 AM

Listen to the Story

Weekend Edition Saturday

4 min 28 sec 

Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday. The pope created 19 new cardinals in a ceremony Saturday in St Peter's Basilica. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images


In a solemn ceremony at the Vatican, Pope Francis on Saturday bestowed red hats on his first batch of cardinals.

Ten of the 19 new princes of the church come from outside Europe, including some of the poorest countries in the world.

Their selection is a sign that the reforms Francis is introducing include a restructuring of how the Catholic Church will be governed.

The first pope from the developing world chose many of his new cardinals from the periphery of the globe. They come from the Philippines, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast and Haiti –- places that had never had a cardinal before.

John Allen, Vatican analyst for the Boston Globe, said the choices show the pope's desire to reduce the number of European cardinals and cardinals from the curia – the central Vatican administration.

It could be the start of a shift in the College of Cardinals to global south, where two-thirds of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics live today.

"Francis is making some choices," Allen said, "and one of those choices clearly is that he wants to shift the action in the church from the traditional centers of power to places that he thinks that for too long have been ignored and overlooked."

Only four members of the Vatican administration were tapped to become cardinals.



Bishops, wearing purple skull caps, are shown on Thursday at the Vatican. They were elevated to cardinals in a ceremony Saturday. Alessandra Tarantino/AP


Representing New Trends

One of those is Gerhard Mueller, head of the Vatican's doctrinal office and a known conservative. That's a sign that Francis does not want only prelates who are on his same wavelength, said Marco Politi, Vatican correspondent for the Italian daily Il Fatto.

"The pope wants the college of cardinals to represent the different trends within church as they are," he said.

When Francis announced his selections last month, perhaps the biggest surprise was the unprecedented letter he sent to each newly designated cardinal.

He told them that the red hat should not be seen as a promotion, much less an honor. He asked them to accept the nomination with joy, but in a way that avoids any sign of worldliness, because cardinals should see themselves as servants marked by humility, he said.

This is in stark contrast to the past when wealthy donors or friendly religious orders threw lavish celebrations on the cardinals' behalf, noted John Allen.

Normally, this week in Rome "is like Oscars week in Hollywood. Everyone has a party, a cocktail and often these are swanky black-tie affairs," he said.

Allen said Francis is trying to redefine leadership in the Catholic Church away from an image of power and privilege.

"It 's going to have to change in the direction of greater humility, simplicity, modesty," he added.

Seeking Consensus

In advance of Saturday's ceremony, Francis met with the entire College of Cardinals to discuss badly needed reform of the scandal-plagued Vatican Bank and preparations for an important worldwide bishops' assembly in October on the family.

The discussion likely included the results of a worldwide survey that revealed many Catholics in the U.S. and Europe rejected as unrealistic church teaching on birth control, homosexuality, marriage and divorce.

Before the cardinals began their discussion, Francis urged them to find what he called intelligent, courageous and loving ways to tackle these and other contentious issues.

Vatican analyst Marco Politi says Francis is inspired by the collegiality of the Second Vatican council in the 1960's and wants cardinals and bishops to play a more decisive role in church governance.

"He does not want to make changes by himself, like a monarch," Polti said. "He wants to create an atmosphere like in Vatican Council Two where the bishops discuss and then together in a common way they take their decision."
Robert Mickens, Vatican correspondent for the British Catholic weekly, The Tablet, said Francis has begun not only reforming the Vatican but also the papacy itself.

"In its style, in its tone, the whole ethos surrounding the old Vatican court which he has basically just dismantled, he is sharing his power, he has begun to set down the foundation stones for a new model of governance, or rather a recovery of an old ancient model of governance," Mickens said.

If he's able to carry it out, Mickens added, it will be the biggest change in the Catholic Church in a thousand years.


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More gratuitous Vatican Propaganda from NPR

Related:


Meet The New Pope, Mostly The Same As The Old Popes


February 22, 2014 8:00 AM

Listen to the Story

Weekend Edition Saturday

5 min 12 sec

Theologian George Weigel tells NPR's Scott Simon that Pope Francis is actually very similar to his papal predecessors.

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Jamaica: Adventists seek 24-hour Sabbath time in work arrangement bill

February 17, 2014 – Browns Town, St. Ann…Nigel Coke/IAD

President of the Seventh-day Adventists Church in Jamaica, Pastor Everett Brown is calling on legislators not to pass the Flexible Work Arrangement Bill in Parliament until its members along with other Sabbath keeping congregations are guaranteed their full 24-hours Sabbath.




Pastor Everette Brown, president of the church in Jamaica, calls on legislation not to pass the Flexible Work Arrangmement Bill in Parliament until its church members and other Sabbath keeping congregations are guaranteed 24 hours of Sabbath rest. Image by Nigel Coke/IAD

Speaking at the installation service for newly elected leaders in the Church’s northern region– St. Ann and Trelawny–at the Brown’s Town Seventh-day Adventist Church, Pastor Brown warned them that the times ahead call for strong and courageous leadership.

“The task of providing leadership for the Church here in the North at this time is a very formidable one,” Brown submitted. “You have been placed in leadership at a point in time when, according to the apostle Paul in 1Timothy 1:3, it is going to be ‘perilous’; and it is proving to be extremely difficult to be a Christian as we are now living in a post modern material-driven, hedonistic, pluralistic, corrupt and decaying society.”

He argued that strong and courageous leaders are needed more than ever to safeguard and preserve the Christian values and standards of the Church, and that Church leaders may be called upon to oppose strongly any attempt to curtail our religious freedom which the constitution guarantees, by the passing of legislation on the new flexible work arrangements.

“Let me make the position of the Church clear: God who mandated the Seventh-day Sabbath as His holy day of worship did not make it a twelve-hour day but a twenty-four hour one–from sunset Friday evening to sunset Saturday evening.”

This position is among several concerns that not only the Seventh-day Adventists have, but the wider church population in Jamaica regarding the Flexi Work Arrangements, which have been on the table for 18 years, but is schedule to be passed by the end of March this year, as a requirement of the latest IMF agreement with the Government of Jamaica.

The umbrella group of churches, which the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a part, has drafted a letter which will be delivered Feb. 18, with the concerns of the group seeking audience with the Minister of Labour, the Hon. Derrick Kellier.

“We hope that through this letter we can sit with the Minister and his technocrats along with other stakeholders to address the concerns we have,” said Gary Harriott, secretary of the group. “One of the concerns surrounds the issue of public education and awareness, which was promised would happen before a critical agreement like this is passed. With March being a deadline set by the IMF to meet this qualitative part of the agreement, we need to know when this aspect of the whole enactment will take place.”

Harriott went on to say that what they are not seeking “is for the bill to be rushed through Parliament like many we have seen last year without any proper debate and public education and which causes an economic backlash.”

Brown added that whatever the arrangement for worker to work, the citizens of Jamaica have the right to worship.

“We must pray that whatever happens as far as the final legislation is concerned that no employer has the right to determine what the day of worship should be for the employee,” Brown concluded.


Source: http://www.interamerica.org/?p=10684#ixzz2u4OwWtKY
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Laborers for God

Photo (Courtesy) http://www.imb.org/main/downloads/page.asp?StoryID=9464&LanguageID=1709

Chapter 11

Laborers for God

Fellow laborers in the great harvest field, we have but little time left in which to labor. Now is the most favorable opportunity we shall ever have, and how carefully ought every moment to be employed. So devoted was our Redeemer to the work of saving souls that He even longed for His baptism of blood. The apostles caught the zeal of their Master and firmly, steadily, zealously went forward to the accomplishment of their great work, fighting against principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places.

We are living in a time when even greater earnestness is needed than in the apostles’ day. But among many of the ministers of Christ there is a feeling of unrest, a desire to imitate the romantic style of modern revivalists, a desire to do something great, to create a sensation, to be accounted able speakers, and to gain for themselves honor and distinction. If such could encounter perils and receive the honor given to heroes, they would engage in the work with unflagging energy. But to live and labor almost unknown, to toil and sacrifice for Jesus in obscurity, receiving no special praise from men—this requires a soundness of principle and a steadfastness of purpose that but few possess. Were there a greater effort to walk humbly with God, looking away from men and laboring only for Christ’s sake, far more would be accomplished.

My ministering brethren, seek Jesus with all lowliness and meekness. Do not try to draw the attention of the people to yourselves. Let them lose sight of the instrument, while you exalt Jesus. Talk of Jesus; lose self in Jesus. There is too much bustle and stir about our religion, while Calvary and the cross are forgotten.

We are in the greatest peril when we receive praise of one another, when we enter into a confederacy to exalt one another. The great burden of the Pharisees was to secure the praise of men; and Christ told them that that was all the reward they would ever receive. Let us take up our appointed work and do it for Christ; if we suffer privation, let it be for His sake. Our divine Lord was made perfect through suffering. Oh, when shall we see men laboring as He labored!

The word of God is our standard. Every act of love, every word of kindness, every prayer in behalf of the suffering and oppressed, is reported before the eternal throne and placed on heaven’s imperishable record. The divine word pours light into the most darkened understanding, and that light makes the most cultivated feel their inefficiency and sinfulness.

The enemy is buying souls today very cheap. “Ye have sold yourselves for nought,” is the language of Scripture. One is selling his soul for the world’s applause, another for money; one to gratify base passions, another for worldly amusement. Such bargains are made daily. Satan is bidding for the purchase of Christ’s blood and buying them cheap, notwithstanding the infinite price which has been paid to ransom them.

Great blessings and privileges are ours. We may secure the most valuable heavenly treasures. Let ministers and people remember that gospel truth ruins if it does not save. The soul that refuses to listen to the invitations of mercy from day to day can soon listen to the most urgent appeals without an emotion stirring his soul.

As laborers with God we need more fervent piety and less self-exaltation. The more self is exalted, the more will faith in the testimonies of the Spirit of God be lessened. Those who are the most closely connected with God are the ones who know His voice when He speaks to them. Those who are spiritual discern spiritual things. Such will feel grateful that the Lord has pointed out their errors, while those who trust wholly in themselves will see less and less of God in the testimonies of His Spirit.

Our work must be accompanied with deep humiliation, fasting, and prayer. We must not expect all peace and joy. There will be sadness; but if we sow in tears we shall reap in joy. Darkness and despondency may at times enter the heart of the self-sacrificing ones; but this is not against them. It may be God’s design to cause them to seek Him more earnestly.

What we need now is Calebs, men who are faithful and true. Indolence marks the lives of too many at the present day. They turn their shoulders from the wheel just when they should persevere and bring all their powers into active exercise. Ministers of Christ, “awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Your labors taste so strongly of self that Christ is forgotten. Some of you are pampered and flattered too much. As in the days Noah, there is too much eating and drinking, planting and building. The world has stolen the energies of the servants of Christ. Brethren, if you would have your religion honored by unbelievers, honor it yourselves by corresponding works. By a close connection with God and a strict adherence to Bible truth in the face of difficulty and worldly pressure, you may infuse the spirit of the truth into the hearts of your children so that they will work effectually with you as instruments in God’s hands for good.

Many are incapacitated for labor both mentally and physically by overeating and the gratification of the lustful passions. The animal propensities are strengthened, while the moral and spiritual nature is enfeebled. When we shall stand around the great white throne, what a record will the lives of many then present. Then will they see what they might have done had they not debased their God-given powers. Then will they realize what height of intellectual greatness they might have attained had they given to God all the physical and mental strength He had entrusted to them. In their agony of remorse they will long to have their lives to live over again.

I call upon those who profess to be light bearers—ensamples to the flock—to depart from all iniquity. Use well the little remnant of time now left you. Have you that strong hold of God, that consecration to His service, that your religion will not fail you in the face of direst persecution? The deep love of God alone will sustain the soul amid the trials which are just upon us.

Self-denial and the cross are our portion. Will we accept it? None of us need expect that when the last great trials come upon us a self-sacrificing, patriotic spirit will be developed in a moment because needed. No, indeed, this spirit must be blended with our daily experience, and infused into the minds and hearts of our children, both by precept and example. Mothers in Israel may not be warriors themselves, but they may raise up warriors who shall gird on the whole armor and fight manfully the battles of the Lord.

Ministers and people need the converting power of grace before they will be able to stand in the day of the Lord. The world is fast approaching that point in iniquity and human depravity when God’s interference will become necessary. And at that time His professed followers should be more marked for their fidelity to His holy law. Their prayer will be as that of David: “It is time for Thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void Thy law.” And by their conduct they will say: “Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.” The very contempt that is shown to the law of God is sufficient reason why His commandment-keeping people should come to the front and show their esteem and reverence for His downtrodden law.

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” The very atmosphere is polluted with sin. Soon God’s people will be tested by fiery trials, and the great proportion of those who now appear to be genuine and true will prove to be base metal. Instead of being strengthened and confirmed by opposition, threats, and abuse, they will cowardly take the side of the opposers. The promise is: “Them that honor Me I will honor.” Shall we be less firmly attached to God’s law because the world at large have attempted to make it void?

Already the judgments of God are abroad in the land, as seen in storms, in floods, in tempests, in earthquakes, in peril by land and by sea. The great I AM is speaking to those who make void His law. When God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth, who will then be able to stand? Now is the time for God’s people to show themselves true to principle. When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason. The nation will be on the side of the great rebel leader.

The test will surely come. Thirty-six years ago I was shown that what is now transpiring would take place, that the observance of an institution of the papacy would be enforced upon the people by a Sunday law, while the sanctified rest day of Jehovah would be trampled underfoot.

The Captain of our salvation will strengthen His people for the conflict in which they must engage. How often when Satan has brought all his forces to bear against the followers of Christ, and death stares them in the face, have earnest prayers put up in faith brought the Captain of the Lord’s host upon the field of action and turned the tide of battle and delivered the oppressed.

Now is the time when we should closely connect with God, that we may be hid when the fierceness of His wrath is poured upon the sons of men. We have wandered away from the old landmarks. Let us return. If the Lord be God, serve Him; if Baal, serve him. Which side will you be on?

*****


Testimonies for the Church Volume 5, pp. 32-137.

Happy Sabbath

World War Three and Albert Pike

World War Three is to be fomented by using the differences the agentur of the Illuminati stir up between Political Zionists and the leaders of the Moslem world. The war is to be directed in such a manner that Islam (the Arab World including Mohammedanism) and Political Zionism (including the State of Israel) will destroy themselves while at the same time the remaining nations, once more divided against each other on this issue, will be forced to fight themselves into a state of complete exhaustion physically, mentally, spiritually and economically. Can any unbiased and reasoning person deny that the intrigue now going on in the Near, Middle, and Far East is designed to accomplish this devilish purpose?

After World War Three is ended, those who aspire to undisputed world domination will provoke the greatest social cataclysm the world has ever known. We quote his own written words taken from the letter catalogued in the British Museum Library, London, England.

"We shall unleash the Nihilists and Atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will be from that moment without compass (direction), anxious for an ideal, but with out knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view, a manifestation which will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time" (William Guy Carr, Pawns in the Game, p. xv-xvi).

This strategy is corroborated by Dr. Dennis L. Cuddy PhD. in The Power Elite's use of Wars and Crises. pike.htm


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Unite and Conquer: Fighting Back Against the Oligarchy

corbettreport

Published on Feb 19, 2014


PLEASE SUPPORT BFP: http://ur1.ca/gnpck
TRANSCRIPT AND SOURCES: http://www.corbettreport.com/?p=8752

In the tech field, the open source revolution is reimagining the way people collaborate, share knowledge, and produce innovations. From 3D printing and the sharing of the digital blueprints for the design of all manner of household objects under creative commons licenses to the creation of downloadable roadworthy car chassis to the sharing of designs and ideas for farming technologies in the open agriculture revolution, people are finding all sorts of new ways to come together regardless of political or philosophical or racial or class distinction to create vibrant, alternative communities of like-minded people interested in finding solutions to humanity's problems.

Find out more about the collaborative solutions to our common problems in this week's Eyeopener report.
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Soros betting against stocks? Not likely

 By Patrick M. Sheridan @CNNMoneyInvest
February 19, 2014: 2:20 PM ET





George Soros increased his position in an investment that would profit if stocks fall. But it may simply be a smart hedge.


NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Hedge fund heavyweight George Soros appears to be making a billion dollar bet against the stock market. But looks can be deceiving.

Tongues have been wagging on Wall Street since Soros Fund Management revealed in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday that his fund owned 7 million "puts" on the S&P 500 (SPY) exchange traded fund in the fourth quarter. Puts are essentially a bet that the price of an asset will go down. The total value of the "puts" as of the filing date was $1.3 billion.

Soros first bought the position last year as the S&P 500 was on its way to setting a series of new record highs. So if Soros is boosting the size of an investment that many short sellers and other market bears use, then that should be big news to make investors worried about where are stocks going, right? Not necessarily.

According to one investment expert, the move may be nothing more than a standard hedging practice for Soros, whose total portfolio is worth about $11.7 billion. Insider Monkey research director Ian Dogan noted that even though the size of the S&P 500 put position increased by a whopping 150%, this may be normal given that Soros also increased his overall long position on the market by $2 billion.

Related: Soros and other hedge fund bailed on gold in 2013

To that end, Friday's filing also revealed that Soros added to stakes in several well-known stocks, such as Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Dish Network (DISH, Fortune 500), in the fourth quarter.

Another thing to remember is that the latest filing is a snapshot of what the fund held as of the end of December. We won't know what Soros has bought or sold in the first quarter until sometime in May when his firm is required to file its latest quarterly update.

A Soros representative declined to comment on the filing. But with his history of big bets, it's understandable why some investors are curious.

A little more than 20 years ago Soros made his most famous investment. He shorted the British pound and pocketed a billion dollars in the process.

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Los Angeles Cardinal Unlikely to Face Charges

LOS ANGELES February 19, 2014 (AP)
By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press





Top Headlines This Hour From ABC News
Next Video Catholic TV Star Defends Child Sex Abusers







The nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese has agreed to pay $720 million to clergy abuse victims over the past decade and released internal files that showed Cardinal Roger Mahony shielded priests and ordered a surrogate to withhold evidence from police, yet Mahony and other archdiocese leaders are unlikely to face criminal charges.

With the final $13 million settlement of existing old cases announced Wednesday, Mahony has emerged from the scandal with his reputation tarnished, but his place in the church intact — even after being publicly rebuked by his successor for internal church files showing that he and others worked to protect priests, keep parishioners in the dark and defend the church's image.

By settling the cases, the archdiocese avoids a trial in which Mahony would have been publicly questioned under oath about what plaintiffs' lawyers said was an attempt to thwart a Los Angeles police investigation.

During a deposition unsealed Wednesday, Mahony acknowledged he told an underling not to give police a list of altar boys who had worked with the Rev. Nicolas Aguilar Rivera. He testified he wasn't trying to hinder police, but he didn't want the boys to be scarred by the investigation and that he felt the altar boys were too old to be potential victims of the Mexican priest.

Police later found that 25 of Aguilar Rivera's alleged victims were altar boys and the other victim was training with the priest to be one, said Anthony DeMarco, a plaintiff attorney.

It's not clear what impact Mahony's action had on the investigation, though at the time, police complained that the archdiocese wasn't fully cooperating.

"Cardinal Mahony and those top officials have never been held fully to account," Jeff Anderson, a plaintiffs' attorney, said at a news conference. "What we see is a current and ongoing attempt to deflect and deny responsibility."

The priest is believed to have molested 100 additional children in Mexico both before and after his stint in Los Angeles, DeMarco said. He was defrocked in 2009 after attorneys in Los Angeles filed the first of their lawsuits.

The archdiocese said in a statement Tuesday that the church had settled the cases to "provide support to the victims through the healing process."

Mahony, who retired as head of the archdiocese in 2011, was admonished last year by Archbishop Jose Gomez for his handling of the abuse crisis. But he has avoided criminal prosecution, despite investigations by the Los Angeles County district attorney and the U.S. attorney's office.

With only a three- to five-year period to bring charges of obstruction of justice after a crime — depending on a federal or state court venue — it's unlikely he or other church administrators would face charges now for cases that date back more than a decade, said Lawrence Rosenthal, a criminal law professor at Chapman University and a former prosecutor.

In other cases, church leaders accused of shielding pedophile priests from prosecution have faced criminal charges.

Prosecutors in Philadelphia won the conviction of a monsignor after a change in state law gave prosecutors more time to file charges and seek evidence. A state appeals court last year, however, threw out the conviction and said he never should have been charged.

In Missouri, a judge found the Kansas City bishop guilty last year of failing to report child abuse to the state, making him the highest-ranking U.S. Roman Catholic official to be convicted of a crime related to the child sexual abuse scandal. He was sentenced to probation for the misdemeanor and remains head of his diocese.

A Los Angeles federal prosecutor involved in a 2009 grand jury investigation wrote that documents showed "the possibility of criminal culpability" by members of the archdiocese leadership, but a criminal conspiracy case was "more and more remote" because of the passage of time.

The newly disclosed testimony by Mahony deals mostly with Aguilar Rivera, who fled to his native Mexico in January 1988 after Mahony's top aide, Monsignor Thomas Curry, tipped him off about parent complaints and warned that the church would call police.

Aguilar Rivera, who was 46 at the time, remains a fugitive and is believed to be somewhere in Mexico.

U.S. authorities have an arrest warrant pending and could arrest him if he returns to American soil.

In the deposition taken a year ago, Mahony appears on video in his priests' collar, taking long pauses and glancing down frequently. At one point he explains why he told Curry not to share a list of altar boys with police. Allowing police to question altar boys at the two parishes where Aguilar Rivera worked during his 10-month stint in LA "could be very traumatic to those servers to all of a sudden be sitting in front of a policeman being interrogated," the cardinal said. "And we had no suspicion at that time of any other victims and nobody among the altar servers."

He denied under questioning from plaintiff attorneys that his motivation in holding back the list was to protect the priest and delay the investigation.

J. Michael Hennigan, an attorney with the archdiocese, said Mahony was in Rome on Wednesday and was not available to comment.

Hennigan said Mahony was "very vigorous" in trying to get Aguilar Rivera brought back to the U.S. for prosecution after he fled.

Mahony wrote to his counterpart in Aguilar Rivera's diocese and urged him to contact police.

In his testimony, Mahony also defended Curry, the vicar for clergy, for telling Aguilar Rivera that the church would need to contact police and that the accused priest was "in a good deal of danger."

The complaints came in on a Friday, and Curry met with the priest Saturday morning. Police weren't notified until Monday. By then, Aguilar Rivera was gone.

Victor Cortez, 34, said he was molested by Aguilar Rivera when he was 7 and kept the abuse secret for years.

"I've lived for 26 years with fear, and now I'm not afraid anymore," said Cortez, who was part of Wednesday's settlement announcement. "Once I got it all out, the problems just went away. I'm able to be a better father to my children and a better husband to my wife."

Mahony also testified about a 1986 letter he wrote to the director at a New Mexico center treating the Rev. Peter Garcia for pedophilia, warning that the priest couldn't return to Los Angeles in the foreseeable future.

"I believe that if Monsignor Garcia were to reappear here with the archdiocese, we might very well have some type of legal action filed in both the criminal and civil sectors," he wrote.

In his deposition, Mahony said the letter was not intended to protect Garcia from prosecution.

"Was I interested in having a big civil upset here for the archdiocese? No, I was not," he said. "But I was not encouraging him to avoid criminal prosecution."

Mahony, who turns 78 next week, has largely retreated from the public eye.

After giving his deposition last year, he traveled to Rome, where he helped elect the new pope. A month ago, he celebrated Mass with Pope Francis at the Vatican before having a private meeting with him.


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