U.N. migration pact seeks to promote dialogue, Vatican official says

by
Junno Arocho Esteves
11/28/2018


VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Vatican official said an intergovernmental pact can help countries address the current migration crisis through dialogue and concrete solutions rather than confrontation and fear.

Jesuit Father Michael Czerny, undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugee Section of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said the Catholic Church is doing all that it can to help welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants in countries where the U.N. Global Compact on Migration is formally adopted.

"The compact has a new style, a new spirit based on what we have brought," Father Czerny told journalists Nov. 28. "It is our desire to promote dialogue and not confrontation and isolation; to promote a culture of encounter and not let fear decide. This is the problem. If fear is in charge, that is a problem."

Father Czerny was among several experts who spoke about the global compact, which will be formally adopted at an international conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, Dec. 10-11.

Also present were Anne T. Gallagher, president of the International Catholic Migration Commission, and Stephane Jaquemet, policy director for the commission.

The Vatican contributed to the negotiations leading to the agreement and prepared a 20-point action plan that included concrete proposals to help governments improve the situation of migrants and refugees.

The eight-page plan contains proposals "grounded on the church's best practices responding to the needs of migrants and refugees at the grassroots level" and provides "practical considerations which Catholic and other advocates can use, add to and develop in their dialogue with governments toward the global compact."

Through the pastoral action plan, Father Czerny said, the church shared "the fruit of what we live, of what we do, of what we want and what we dream."

"This is already a step that isn't left within the confines of the church, but we wanted to bring this treasure and this hope within the process of consultation and negotiation," he said.

Father Czerny said the Vatican was pleased to see that the compact not only "reflects on important points in our document, but also the approach, the style and methodology" based on the church's principles and values.

"If you want this value, here are things that work," he said. "If you want to achieve this goal, here are ways which find that will actually get you to the goal."

The compact's multilateral approach, he added, is an example that countries working together to achieve a common goal "is an indispensable key to solve the problems in the world."

"We are happy for this success in a fragmented world," Father Czerny said.

- - -

Source:

https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=183836

Remembering President George H.W. Bush, dead at 94

A Call for Climate Justice

A Call for Climate Justice - Release 7

“The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.”
-Genesis 2:15-

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because I have been anointed to give good news to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken heart; to preach freedom to the captives, and bring sight to the blind; to release the oppressed.”
-Luke 14:18- 

What Does the Lord Require of You?

The call to climate justice is deeply rooted in biblically based Christian convictions. The scriptures provide a wealth of reasons why Christ followers simply cannot ignore this crisis. The following points are drawn from the Evangelical Climate Initiative, a group of senior evangelical leaders in the United States who are convinced it is time to seriously address the problem of global warming.

This is Our Father’s World. Christians must care about climate change because we love God the Creator and Jesus our Lord, through whom and for whom the creation was made. This is God’s world, and any damage that we do to God’s world is an offense against God Himself (Gen. 1; Ps. 24; Col. 1:16).

Do Unto the Least of These. Christians must care about climate change because we are called to love our neighbors, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, and to protect and care for the least of these as though each was Jesus Christ himself (Mt. 22:34-40; Mt. 7:12; Mt. 25:31-46).

Steward the Earth. When God made humanity he commissioned us to exercise stewardship over the earth and its creatures. Climate change is the latest evidence of our failure to exercise proper stewardship, and constitutes a critical opportunity for us to do better (Gen. 1:26-28). We are reminded in Luke 12:48 that, to whom much is given, much will be required.

Seek Justice. We must acknowledge that climate change is a huge and still growing factor in many issues of social injustice: Poverty, food and water security, nutrition, child health, women’s empowerment etc. Followers of Christ are called to do his justice in the world. That means facing climate change. (Zechariah 7:9-10, Romans 12:15-18, Jeremiah 22:3, Isaiah 1:17).

Important to know your religious freedom rights

By Staff Reports -

11/28/18 1:29 AM


I was saddened to hear about the Oct. 27 shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Everyone should be able to attend worship services without worrying that someone would target them solely because of their religion.

I was pleased to learn that a local interfaith group held a service on Nov. 1 for those killed in the shooting. Our community has come together this way before. For example, groups gathered in:

• August 2012 in response to a shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin
• April 2014 to express their concern for the atrocities happening in the Syrian civil war
• September 2014 after three local Christian churches were vandalized

These interfaith gatherings show how those of differing faiths can come together to support each other and protect religious freedom for all. The First Amendment allows all citizens to freely exercise their religion. This constitutional right offers protection to individuals in varying degrees.

The most protection comes in the private sphere. We are all entitled to choose how and what to believe, to teach those beliefs within our families and to worship how we desire. Additionally, everyone has the right to express their views — religious or not — in public, and no one can be discriminated against due to their religion. Churches also have the right to establish their own doctrine, leadership and membership criteria.

On Religious Freedom, Madison Was Right

By JAMES C. PHILLIPS & JOHN YOO

November 30, 2018 11:30 AM




Detail of portrait of James Madison by John Vanderlyn, 1816 (Wikimedia)


We’re both fans of Ramesh Ponnuru. But we think he’s wrong in a recent post here on the Corner. There he argues that we are advocating an un-originalist position for the Free Exercise Clause: requiring the government accommodate religious dissenters from laws, except under certain conditions. He contends that our position is the one ushered in by the Supreme Court in 1963 in Sherbert v. Verner, which was replaced by Justice Scalia’s views for the court in 1990’s Smith. And Ramesh muses that Scalia was probably right.

But Ramesh misunderstands our position. And relies on un-originalist evidence for his. First, the reading of the Free Exercise Clause we primarily advocated was not the 1963-1990 one the Supreme Court adopted. That was our fallback position if the Court was unwilling to go with the clause’s original meaning. And we explicitly stated such.

Rather, we advocated for the original meaning. The scholarship of Michael McConnell has shown, persuasively in our view, that the original understanding of the Free Exercise Clause often required religious accommodations (though we recognize Philip Hamburger takes a different view of the history).

It is beyond this short post to lay out all of this evidence, so we highlight just a few pieces of evidence of the original meaning. When debating the Bill of Rights, particularly the First Amendment, one Congressman argued that the exercise was foolish because of course these rights were protected and Congress might as well be adding an amendment that one has a right to not remove their hat. In response, another Congressman reminded all that William Penn had been prosecuted in England for his refusal, based on religious belief, to remove his hat in court. And that reminder quieted the opposition.

Yet under Justice Scalia’s views in Smith, Penn could have been prosecuted. The law requiring the removal of hats was neutral and generally applicable. Penn’s religious freedom should have fallen if Scalia was correct, yet the Congress that passed the First Amendment didn’t think so.

But there is more. All but two state constitutions at the Founding viewed the right in the way we argue, and these provisions are arguably the basis for the free exercise clause. The practice of religious exemptions was common in the colonies and early states. And the author of the free exercise clause, Madison, viewed it as providing religious exemptions. There is additional evidence, but we are not writing a law review article here.

Strangely, the 1963-1990 Supreme Court, hardly originalist in its methodology, actually got closer to the clause’s original meaning than did Justice Scalia. Even broken clocks are right twice a day.

Evangelical, Muslim, Jewish. It's time we all renew our commitment to religious freedom.

In Chicago on June 30, 2014.
SCOTT OLSON

OLIVER THOMAS AND CHARLES C. HAYNES | OPINION CONTRIBUTORS | 8:00 am EST November 29, 2018


In the turbulent 1960s, John Courtney Murray famously reminded Americans that the Constitution begins with "we the, people," not "we, the tribe."

Murray, a Jesuit priest, wasn’t papering over differences that are often deep and abiding. Each of us has our tribe — Catholic, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant or one of a hundred others in the pluralistic society we all call home. Differences matter.

Instead, Murray was calling on Americans to recognize what we share across our religious and philosophical divides, especially the core principles of religious liberty in the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

In just 16 words, our framers created an arrangement in religious freedom that has made today’s pluralism possible. More than any other provision of the Constitution, the religious liberty clauses are the “unum” in "e pluribus unum" — out of many, one.

It's time to renew our support of First Amendment

In this divided, dangerous moment in our history, it is time to renew our support for the framework of liberty provided by the First Amendment. That’s why on Thursday, American leaders from many different faiths and beliefs will sign the American Charter of Freedom of Religion and Conscience, a reaffirmation of religious liberty in our time.

GM layoff announcement sparks controversy

Unprecedented numbers of migrants and refugees means new religious freedom challenges, say scholars

Adventist-led organization seeks to bring academic focus to emerging concerns.

Nov 29, 2018 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Bettina Krause, communication director, International Religious Liberty Association




[Photo courtesy of the International Religious Liberty Association] View Larger

As the number of migrants and refugees worldwide continues to surge, a panel of scholars convened last month by the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) says more must be done to deal with related religious freedom challenges.

The IRLA’s 19thMeeting of Experts, held in Cordoba, Spain, brought together renowned scholars from a variety of academic disciplines to explore this issue. But the topics discussed were anything but academic for the many millions of men, women and children who are currently on the move, fleeing poverty, violence, or religious persecution, according to IRLA Secretary General Dr. Ganoune Diop.

“Managing migration, with all its associated difficulties—physical, legal, and social—is recognized as one of the most urgent and perplexing challenges of our time,” Diop said. “But the picture is incomplete unless we also understand just how frequently religious practice and identity intersect with these issues.”

He points out that in many world regions, from Myanmar to Nigeria to Syria and Iraq, religiously motivated hostility or violence help drive migration. But also challenging, according to Diop, are the clashes of religious and social identities that often occur later, as migrants and refugees are absorbed into new cultures.

“This process of integration raises very practical—and confronting—questions in many Western countries, such as whether to grant permits for building temples or mosques, how to relate socially and legally to those who wear religious garb, like the hijab, or even whether to allow traditional slaughtering of animals,” said Diop. “The presence and practices of religious minorities are sometimes seen as dividing wedges in society, threatening national unity and traditions.”

Scholars at the IRLA Meeting of Experts presented papers on these and other topics, including why faith-based organizations should be involved in migrant and refugee issues and how they can better collaborate. Other presenters looked at issues specific to particular world regions, such as Europe, Latin America, and North America.

The Meeting of Experts is an annual event of the IRLA, an organization chartered by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1893 and that today works around the world to promote freedom of religion or belief for all people, regardless of their religious traditions. This year’s meeting was also co-sponsored by Spain’s Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The papers presented at the Cordoba meeting will be published in next year’s Fides et Libertas, the academic journal of the IRLA.

At this year’s meeting, the IRLA paid tribute to long-time IRLA supporter and contributor Professor Alberto de la Hera. Professor de la Hera is Emeritus Professor of Canon Law and Legal History at Complutense University in Madrid and is the former Director General of Religious Affairs for Spain’s Ministry of Justice. Ambassador John Nay, president of IRLA, presented Professor de la Hera with a plaque that acknowledged his many years of scholarly work in the field of religious freedom, and his important contributions to IRLA events and activities.

Among the more than 20 scholars who presented papers at the meeting were: Silvio Ferrari, University of Milan; Cole Durham, Brigham Young University; Raimundo Barreto, Princeton University; David Little, Harvard University; Rosa Maria Martínez de Codes, Complutense University; Blandine Chellini-Pont, Aix-Marseille Université; and, Nicholas P. Miller, Andrews University.

The Meeting of Experts is held at a different location each year. Recent venues have included Harvard University and Princeton University in the United States, and next year’s Meeting of Experts will take place in Morocco.

Source: "Adventist News Network"

Source

Jesuit university blocks Ben Shapiro event, saying it prompts ‘hateful speech’ from protesters

By Avery Anapol - 11/29/18 07:20 PM EST 34




A Jesuit university has blocked a proposed event featuring conservative writer Ben Shapiro, citing the possibility of “hateful speech” by protesters.

Officials at Gonzaga University in Washington state rejected a request from the school’s College Republicans chapter seeking to bring Shapiro to campus, according to conservative college news site Campus Reform.

Judi Biggs Garbuio, Gonzaga’s vice president of student development, reportedly said in the denial that Shapiro’s speeches “routinely draw protests that include extremely divisive and hateful speech and behavior, which is offensive to many people, regardless of their age, politics or beliefs.”


Biggs Garbuio also cited the school’s Christian mission, as well as safety and security concerns about the event.

“Gonzaga University is committed to the human dignity of every individual,” Biggs Garbuio wrote. “This is the core of our mission based on the teachings of Christ Jesus, and the foundations of the Society of Jesus. We stand in solidarity with vulnerable members of our community who may be targeted for discrimination, ridicule, or harassment by others.”

Shapiro, the editor of conservative website the Daily Wire, has been blocked from speaking by a number of universities, including DePaul and California State University, though Shapiro showed up at the latter anyway.

Olivia Johnston, president of Gonzago College Republicans, told Campus Reform that the school’s response to the event shows that they “have made it clear diversity of thought [is] not welcome.”

“I refuse to accept a University that only supports strictly liberal thinking,” she added. “The hypocrisy must end.”

The Hill has reached out to Shapiro for comment.

Source

MORE CLERGY ABUSE FILES FOUND DURING SEARCH OF ARCHDIOCESE 'SECRET ARCHIVES' (in Texas)

Investigators were serving a search warrant Wednesday morning at the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston as part of a case against a former Conroe priest accused of molestation.

Author: Jeremy Rogalski
Published: 11/29/18


Multiple files alleging details of child abuse by priests were located by investigators at the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on Wednesday, sources tell KHOU 11 Investigates.

The files were found as part of a search of the Chancery. Investigators were serving a search warrant as part of a case against a former Conroe priest arrested for molestation earlier this year.

The unprecedented action in Texas was taken by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, along with the Texas Rangers and Conroe Police Department. More than 50 investigators arrived Wednesday morning carrying boxes inside the Chancery, located at 1700 San Jacinto Street in downtown Houston.

The DA’s office said investigators were looking for documents in connection to the criminal case of Father Manuel LaRosa-Lopez, the priest charged in September on four counts of indecency with a child. In the search warrant filed Wednesday, the DA’s office sought to examine confidential documents held in the Archdiocese’s Chancery and secret archives.

Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said in a news conference Wednesday if the search turned up documents about potential criminal activity involving other priests, the Texas Rangers would investigate that information.

Photos: Authorities search Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Authorities with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, Conroe Police Department and Texas Rangers executed a search warrent at the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston searching for records related to clergy sex abuse crisis on Nov. 28, 2018.

Response to David Gates & Arthur Branner-Pastor Bill Hughes

Life or Death Issues Next Spring; Matthew 24 & 25 Revisited

A Modest Proposal for a Day of Rest

Zac Johnson

January 29, 2018

In our industrialized, digitized, pressurized world, it may be hard to imagine there was once a time without the sound of text messages, the sight of skyscrapers and the smell of car exhaust.

A time when the human impact on the earth was reverential and humanity viewed their mission as a steward of the planet and caretaker of everything therein.

You would probably need to go back to Biblical times when Adam and Eve walked alone in the Garden of Eden when God concluded the six days of creation with a cessation of all further work.

This day of rest called the Sabbath, or in Hebrew Shabbat, became enshrined in Mosaic law with the Ten Commandments. To this day, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have a version of a day of rest with adherents citing benefits far beyond the religious or spiritual.

There are many examples of senior corporate executives and celebrities who have found within the day of rest, an opportunity for rejuvenation that strengthens their efforts during the rest of the week. Former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who also served as Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama and former Senator Joseph Lieberman all managed to observe the Sabbath while juggling high-profile roles at the highest level of government service. “[R]egardless of one’s religion, or frankly whether one considers oneself religious, there’s a powerful message and purpose to the Sabbath,” says Lieberman, “[t]he gift of rest is desperately needed in our world today, where people work so hard almost every day, and yearn for meaning and find it hard to locate in our popular culture.” Today, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner make Shabbat observance a priority, balancing their civic duties with their religious obligations.

Randi Zuckerberg, former Director of Market Development and spokesperson for Facebook, and a sister of the company’s co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “I’m completely unable to be creative when I’m glued to my phone, Instagram, LinkedIn messages. When you’re constantly connected to other people, you can’t unplug. On weekends, we do a ‘digital Shabbat,’ where we turn everything off.”

Mom Says 6-Year-Old Son Is Transgender. Dad Disagrees. Now He Might Lose His Son.

 

OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images

ByAmanda Prestigiacomo
@amandapresto
November 27, 2018



A Texas father is fighting for his son in court after pushing back on his ex-wife's claim that their six-year-old is a transgender girl.

According to court documents, the young boy only dresses as a girl when he's with his mother, who has enrolled him in first-grade as a female named "Luna." The father, however, contends that his son consistently chooses to wear boy's clothes, "violently refuses to wear girl’s clothes at my home," and identifies as a boy when he is with him.


The Federalist reports that the mother has accused the father of child abuse in their divorce proceedings "for not affirming James as transgender" and is looking to strip the dad of his parental rights. "She is also seeking to require him to pay for the child’s visits to a transgender-affirming therapist and transgender medical alterations, which may include hormonal sterilization starting at age eight," the report adds.

The father has been legally barred from speaking to his child about sexuality and gender from a scientific or religious perspective and from dressing his son in boys' clothes; instead, he has to offer both girls' and boys' outfits. The boy consistently refuses to wear dresses, according to the father.

The boy was diagnosed with gender dysphoria by a gender transition therapist the mother, a pediatrician, chose for her son to see. According to the therapist's notes, the boy chose to identify as a girl when he was in sessions alone with his mother; alternatively, he chose to identify as a boy when he was in sessions alone with his father. The Federalist reports:

[A] dossier filed with the Dallas court says that, under the skilled eyes of the therapist, the child was presented two pieces of paper, one with the word “James” and one with the word “Luna,” and asked to pick the name he preferred. When the appointment only included his mother, James selected Luna, the name and gender he uses at his mother’s home and in his first-grade classroom. When the appointment was only with his father, however, James pointed to the boy name James, not the girl name.

GM is going against Trump, American workers: Lou Dobbs

Hate speech, fake news, privacy violations — time to rein in social media

November 16, 2018 - 08:00 AM EST



GETTY IMAGES

BY SANDEEP GOPALAN, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR

Has social media metastasized from a social network into a social menace? And if so, is the harsh medicine of regulation the answer? The available evidence appears to point in the direction of acknowledging the dangers posed by platforms such as Facebook and holding them to account through legal measures.

Consider just a few of Facebook's transgressions:

• Committing privacy violations and compromising the personal information of millions of users (the Cambridge Analytica scandal alone affected 87 million users);
• Enabling Russian operatives to wage misinformation campaigns aimed at influencing the results of the 2016 presidential election;
• Enabling the viral spread of hateful messages directed at particular ethnic, racial or religious groups;
• Reportedly orchestrating campaigns to discredit critics such as billionaire George Soros;
• Enabling mob violence in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and other countries through its WhatsApp; and
• Facilitating the spread of fake news in countries such as Brazil, the Philippines and Malaysia.

And when faced with scandals, according to reports, Facebook's approach has been to delay, deflect, deceive, or smear others. It has engaged in "greenwashing" tactics - claiming to conduct independent investigations and then releasing anodyne reports that redirect the blame for consequences.

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UN Security Council hold emergency meeting on Ukraine

Prayer Breakfast Unites Christians and Jews for the Peace of Jerusalem

4:00PM EST 11/15/2018

Shawn A. Akers

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon (Drew Gibbs)


The atmosphere at Thursday's Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (JPB) conference in Orlando differed greatly from what Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon faces daily at the United Nations.

Instead of the anti-Israel rhetoric he consistently encounters at the U.N., Danon knows that when he attends events like the JPB, he's among friends and allies.

"For sure, for me it's a completely different ballgame," Danon said in an exclusive interview with Charisma News. "At the U.N., every day they blame Israel; they condemn us; they doubt our connection to Jerusalem and to the holy site. I know we are standing on the right side of history, but coming here and seeing the support and love, it gives the entire Jewish community and the people a lot of inspiration. It inspires me to see so many friends of Israel coming together, praying together and standing together."

The JPB is a prayer movement initiated and chaired by Knesset member Robert Ilatov and co-chaired by former U.S. Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann. The inaugural JPB took place in Jerusalem in 2017, and is designed to bring together government leaders and influential Christian leaders from all walks of society together to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

JPB Director Albert Veksler drew a comparison between Danon and the prophet Daniel in the Bible.

"The difference is that Daniel was thrown into the lions' den only once," Veksler said, referring to Danon's uphill battle for Israel at the U.N.

President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel late last year and the move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem have helped make Danon's job a bit easier, but he said the war rages on.

Homeland Security goes to church | Faith Matters

Updated on Nov 25, 2018 at 08:04 AM EST

A makeshift memorial stands outside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh where 11 people killed in a mass shooting this month.
(Matt Rourke | Associated Press)



By Rev. Alexander Santora/For the Jersey Journal

A few months ago, a man walked up the main aisle of Our Lady of Grace Church, Hoboken, while a priest was preaching in the center aisle during the Sunday evening Mass, which attracts mostly young adults.

The man was overdressed, took a seat, and then exited the same way after the homily. Quite a few parishioners were spooked.

This prompted us to contact the Hoboken P.D., look at our evacuation procedures during Mass and talk to Mass-goers at all the Masses over several weekends about what we can do if there is a suspicious person in church.

At Hoboken/Weehawken Catholic deanery meetings, we discovered concern for church safety was widespread. And understandably so since in the last several years, there have been nine instances of murders in houses of worship around the country -- in five churches, one mosque, one Sikh temple and two synagogues, including last month's Pittsburgh Tree of Life, where 11 people were murdered.

People's fears are indeed heightened and they are aware "that it could occur anywhere," said Ehtasham Z. Chaudhry, a detective with the N.J. Office of Homeland Security and head of its Interfaith Council.

Chaudhry spoke this month before 15 clergy and staff of six Catholic churches in Hoboken, Weehawken and Jersey City as well as a rep from the archdiocesan property management office.

The purpose of his work, Chaudhry said, is to help houses of worship "prepare and prevent."

He shared a ton of resources, including a self-assessment tool for a house of worship and grant applications. Since the Pittsburgh murders, he said, more clergy and congregations are nervous and reaching out.

There is also active shooter training and supplemental security measures like putting up bollards on the property, installing security cameras and panic alarms, he said.




Mark Smith, standing, director of Homeland Security for the Hudson County Sheriff's Office, meets with Sheriff Frank X. Schillari. Hudson County Sheriff's Office

As the first Hudson County Sheriff's Office director of Homeland Security, Mark Smith, a retired police captain and the former mayor of Bayonne, invited Chaudhry to the meeting.

Smith had some practical advice.

He ticked a series of action points: hold an active shooter drill, allow the local public safety officers to survey the premises, train staff, engage parishioners as "eyes and ears," call the police is there is someone suspicious.

"It's better to call police and it turns out to be a false alarm, than not call," Smith said.

Principal and president of Toronto all-boys Catholic school resign amid sexual assault investigation

By Jessica Schladebeck 

| New York Daily News |
Nov 24, 2018 | 11:25 AM

 

A Toronto police car is seen at St. Michael's College School. Police arrested six students from a prestigious private all-boys Catholic school in Toronto on Monday and charged them with sexual assault related to a video that was posted on the internet. (Tijana Martin / AP)



Two top officials at an all-boys Catholic school in Toronto have resigned amid a police investigation into a case of sexual assault by students as well as criticism over the institution’s handling of the allegations.


St. Michael’s College School in a statement this week announced that principal Greg Reeves and board president Father Jefferson Thompson resigned, both of them “citing a shared desire to move the school forward without distractions” in light of the recent “horrific events of student behavior.”

Toronto Police on Monday arrested six boys, who are all 14 and 15, from the school on total of 18 charges, including assault, gang sexual assault, and sexual assault with a weapon, in connection with a video that’s been shared online.

In the 22-second clip, a group of students can be seen holding a boy down while another two students appear to assault him with a broomstick, according to The Star.

Authorities learned about the incident just last week and believe it happened earlier in the school year. Police are also investigating additional crimes, and suspect that as many four others videos could be circulating on social media, said Toronto Police Inspector Dominic Sinopoli.

St. Michael’s expelled eight students in connection with the assault allegations, thought it’s unclear if any of them are among those who were arrested. The high school is also launching an independent review into the school’s culture and urged students to utilize a new anonymous voicemail should they want to share their own experiences.

A Preparation for the Coming of the Lord - RH19041124

Adventist named Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea

By Maritza Brunt - November 19, 2018

Justice Salika. (Photo: Facebook) 

A Seventh-day Adventist Church member has been named Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Sir Gibbs Salika, a member of Hohola Adventist Church in Port Moresby, was appointed on November 13 for a term of 10 years.

“Justice Salika is the longest-serving judge of the National and Supreme Courts and will be a strong and independent Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea,” said PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. “I congratulate Justice Salika on his appointment and I am confident he will provide the sound leadership required of the Chief Justice.”

Adventist Church leaders from PNG also expressed their congratulations and offered words of wisdom for the newly-appointed Chief Justice.

“Justice Salika is one of the longest-serving elders in our Church, and has been a strong, vibrant church member for many years now,” said Central Papua Conference general secretary Pastor Rex Koi. “We praise God for his leadership, representing as an Adventist in the highest responsibility in the [judicial] system of our country.”

“On behalf of our worker-force and the church members, I would like to congratulate Chief Justice Gibbs Salika on his new appointment,” said Papua New Guinea Union Mission president Pastor Kepsie Elodo. “We are proud of his achievement and believe God has appointed him to this post.

“We urge Justice Salika to allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide at all times, and encourage him to be loyal to his work and be fair in decision making to please both men and God. We wish him God’s blessings in all endeavours and our prayers will be with him.”

Justice Salika is currently serving his first term as Deputy Chief Justice. He had served as a judge of the National and Supreme Court for more than two consecutive terms since 1989.

Source

Even in the Adventist Church

GCSDA President Ted Wilson and Pastor Blaisious Ruguri , president of the East and Central Africa SDA Union.

(Courtesy)  https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/african-seventh-day-adventist-leader-opposes-uganda-anti-gay-bill231212/#gs.BZxejNY

The old standard bearers knew what it was to wrestle with God in prayer, and to enjoy the outpouring of His Spirit. But these are passing off from the stage of action; and who are coming up to fill their places? How is it with the rising generation? Are they converted to God? Are we awake to the work that is going on in the heavenly sanctuary, or are we waiting for some compelling power to come upon the church before we shall arouse? Are we hoping to see the whole church revived? That time will never come.

There are persons in the church who are not converted, and who will not unite in earnest, prevailing prayer. We must enter upon the work individually. We must pray more, and talk less. Iniquity abounds, and the people must be taught not to be satisfied with a form of godliness without the spirit and power. If we are intent upon searching our own hearts, putting away our sins, and correcting our evil tendencies, our souls will not be lifted up unto vanity; we shall be distrustful of ourselves, having an abiding sense that our sufficiency is of God. 

We have far more to fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and success are far greater from the church itself than from the world. Unbelievers have a right to expect that those who profess to be keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will do more than any other class to promote and honor, by their consistent lives, by their godly example and their active influence, the cause which they represent. But how often have the professed advocates of the truth proved the greatest obstacle to its advancement! The unbelief indulged, the doubts expressed, the darkness cherished, encourage the presence of evil angels, and open the way for the accomplishment of Satan's devices. 

Selected Messages Book 1, p.122 (1887).

How to Witness for Your Faith

November 24

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Titus 2:12.



Do not, because you are among unbelievers, become careless in your words, for they are taking your measure. If you sit at their table, eat temperately, and only of food that will not confuse the mind. Keep yourself from all intemperance. Be yourself an object lesson, illustrating right principles. If they offer you tea to drink, tell them in simple words [of] its injurious effect on the system. Tell them also that you do not use spirituous drinks of any kind, because you desire to keep your mind in such a condition that God can impress it with the sacred truths of His Word, and that you cannot afford to weaken any of your mental and physical powers, lest you shall be unable to discern sacred things. Thus you can sow the seeds of truth, and lead out upon the subject of keeping soul, body, and spirit in such a condition that you can understand eternal realities.

Study yourself the instruction given to Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. They “offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.” Taking common fire, they placed it upon their censers, “and there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified” (Leviticus 10:1-3).

The Lord desires you to be soul winners. Do not try to reveal your smartness as theologians, even of Bible truth, for by so doing you will speak to(o) many words that will be as little understood by them as Greek. ... Connect yourself firmly with Christ, and present the truth as it is in Him. Work as Paul worked. Wherever he was, whether before scowling Pharisees or Roman authorities, rich or poor, learned or ignorant, the cripple at Lystra or the convicted sinners in a Macedonian dungeon, he lifted up Christ as One who hates sin and loves the sinner, the One who bore our sins that He might have full power and authority to impart to us His righteousness.

Hearts cannot fail to be touched by the story of the atonement. Those who realize the necessity of keeping the heart under the control of the Holy Spirit will be enabled to sow seed that will spring up unto eternal life.—Manuscript 23, November 24, 1890, “Diary.” 

The Upward Look, p.342.

‘Dictator Pope’ author expelled from Order of Malta

Dan Hitchens 

19 November, 2018 

Henry Sire


Henry Sire has been expelled for his strong criticisms of Pope Francis, but plans to appeal

The historian Henry Sire has been expelled from the Order of Malta after writing a book which heavily criticised Pope Francis.

Sire was suspended in March, when the Order set up a disciplinary commission. His book, entitled The Dictator Pope, criticised Francis’s interventions in religious orders, and said the Pope had introduced doctrinal ambiguity, following the programme of the “St Gallen mafia” who brought about his election. Sire also claimed the Vatican was increasingly dominated by corrupt churchmen, while officials with integrity lived in fear of the sack.

The book divided opinion: some reviewers praised the book as an accurate portrayal, while others said it was inadequately sourced and guilty of irreverence towards the Pope.

Now, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre, has decreed that Sire be expelled, as his book is “gravely offensive and disrespectful to the person of the Holy Father” and his conduct “gravely incompatible with his membership of the Order”.

Sire has defended the book as a necessary warning to the Church, saying that he hopes it will help the cardinals at the next conclave “to avoid making the same mistake”. In a statement following his expulsion, Sire said that he wrote his book “for the good of the Church, in defence of the Faith and in obedience to the duty of a Christian to witness to the truth”.

But the decree of expulsion says that, while canon law recognises a right to public commentary on the Church, it also says that such commentary must show “reverence” to “pastors”, and be “attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons”. The decree says Sire overstepped the mark.

The expulsion was immediately followed by disagreement about whether due process had been followed. 

The Bride of Christ is Perfect - Its Members Are Not

Complicit Clergy 

Published on Sep 28, 2018

Fr. Joseph Johnson delivers a reflection regarding the sexual abuse crisis to the Knights and Dames of the US Order of Malta during their conference call on August 28, 2018

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on her Catholic faith and the urgency of a criminal justice reform

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

June 27, 2018

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, May 26, 2018. (Corey Torpie / Courtesy of the Ocasio-Cortez Campaign)

Christ came to me emblazoned on the upper arm of my beloved cousin Marc. The blue-black ink danced between the bullet scars and stretch marks that graced my cousin’s upper body. Atop this crown-of-thorns depiction was a tattooed banner with the phrase “Only God Can Judge Me.”

I have never known Marc as a criminal. I have only known him as the largest and funniest member of my family. As a child, I saw this tattooed arm over and over again. It appeared at family cookouts turning a lechón (roasted pig) in its fifth hour, it held me steady on Marc’s broad lap, and it was revealed during the wintertime, when our pipes would hiss until the relentless heat would force us all to roll our sleeves as far up as they would go.

I remember reading his tattoo each time I saw it, trying to understand what it meant: Only God Can Judge Me. Innocence, in its mercy, partly excuses us from having to fully reckon with the spiritual gifts of forgiveness, grace and redemption at the heart of the Catechism: I believe in the forgiveness of sins.

Marc—like several men in my family—had been caught in the webbed threads of poverty, geography and lack of opportunity during the fever pitch of 1990s mass incarceration. Baggy-pant boys like him fit the descriptions of “super-predators” and “thugs” that dominated our national discourse at the time. Marc served his time, and has been out of the system ever since—a miraculous feat, given that over 75 percent of released state prisoners in the United States are rearrested within five years. Today he is a union worker and a happily married father of three successful children.

Innocence, in its mercy, partly excuses us from having to fully reckon with the spiritual gifts of forgiveness, grace and redemption at the heart of the Catechism: I believe in the forgiveness of sins.

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Pope Francis speaks of rest: Sunday is the day of thanksgiving for the g...

Sunday Law News Report The Beast Roars

Macy's Thanksgiving parade praised after including first same-sex kiss

By John Bowden - 11/23/18 12:42 PM EST

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was praised on social media Thursday after two women were broadcast kissing in what is believed to be the first same-sex kiss shown on-air during the annual event.

Actresses Isabelle McCalla and Caitlin Kinnunen, who star in the Broadway musical "The Prom," shared the kiss at the end of a televised performance of one of the show's musical numbers.

The moment was praised by LGBTQ activists and other supporters of gay rights on Twitter, who called it an important moment of representation for gay youths.

"Two girls. Just kissed. On live TV. On the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I suddenly cried," "Spongebob Squarepants" writer Tina Landau said on Twitter.

"What a lesson you just taught the country on the @Macys thanksgiving parade!" added fellow Broadway actress Caissie Levy.

The two actresses do not have public Twitter accounts, but one of their co-stars, Josh Lamon, tweeted that he was "proud" of the two for the on-air kiss and added the next day that he had been targeted by anti-gay abuse in the hours following the parade.

"The first #LGBTQ kiss in the Parade’s history. We here at @ThePromMusical have never been so proud," Lamon tweeted.


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New climate change report...

Fox News

Climate report warns of grim economic consequences, worsening weather disasters in US

The White House on Friday released a federal report that found that the impacts of climate change are being felt across the country, and “extreme weather and ...

3 hours ago

Climate change will shrink US economy and kill thousands, government report warns

At a time when many Americans are distracted on a long holiday weekend, the Trump administration released a federally mandated report on climate change ...

4 hours ago

Washington Times

Latest comprehensive National Climate Assessment gives dire climate change warning

As many as 9300 more people could die each year because of extreme heat or cold related to climate change by the end of this century, the Trump ...
4 hours ago

A firefighter hoses down a property engulfed in flames during the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, Calif., this month. (Gene Blevins/Reuters) Reuters

Major Trump administration climate report says damage is ‘intensifying across the country’

Scientists are more certain than ever that climate change is already impacting the United States, and that it is going to be very expensive.

5 hours ago

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Updating Mark Finley's Use of History, E G White & Bible to Support David Gates' View

Holy Time || The SABBATH Day

Tijuana Mayor Declares 'Humanitarian Crisis' Over Migrants

Last Updated: November 23, 2018 1:26 PM

Associated Press

 

Maria del Carmen Mejia holds her daughter Britany Sofia while standing a line outside a migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018.

TIJUANA, MEXICO —

The mayor of Tijuana has declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city and said Friday that he has asked the United Nations for aid to deal with the approximately 5,000 Central American migrants who have arrived.

Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum said that the Mexican federal government has provided little assistance and he is not going to commit the city’s public resources to dealing with the situation. He said 4,976 migrants had come to the city.

 

Migrants listen to Mexican authorities as they join a small group of migrants trying to cross the border at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018. 

“We don’t have sufficient and necessary infrastructure to adequately attend to these people, to give them a decent space,” he said on Grupo Formula radio.

On Thursday, his government issued a statement saying that it was requesting help from the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“I am not going to spend the money of Tijuana (citizens),” Gasteulum said in the statement.

For the most part, the migrant caravan that left Honduras in mid-October was well received by the towns it passed through along the way to the border. Even cities with few resources made sure the migrants had food and a place to rest.

But in those places, the caravan stayed at most two nights — with the exception of Mexico City. In Tijuana, many of the migrants who are fleeing violence and poverty want to request asylum in the United States and face the prospect of spending months in the border city before they have the opportunity to speak with a U.S. official.

 

Why and how are asylum seekers entering the U.S.?

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske 

Nov 22, 2018 | 2:25 PM
| Matamoros, Mexico

 

Political asylum seekers Elvis Gonzalez, 23, left, a Cuban from Havana, and Brazilians Robert Richard Braganca of Rio de Janeiro and son Mario, 18-months, camp out on the Matamoros and Brownsville International Bridge in Matamoros, Mexico. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)



Many immigrants entering the U.S. — legally and illegally — claim asylum. Advocates for greater limits on immigration, particularly “chain migration” based on family relationships rather than employment skills, have tried to restrict asylum seekers.

This month, President Trump issued a proclamation preventing immigrants from claiming asylum if they crossed the border illegally. On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco blocked that “asylum ban.”

But the judge’s ruling did not address another U.S. policy that’s forcing asylum seekers to wait on the Mexican side of border bridges, adding their names to growing waiting lists maintained by Mexican officials. On Thursday, a small group of Central American migrants marched peacefully to a border crossing in Tijuana to demand better conditions and push to enter the U.S. We talked to migrants waiting to cross the border legally at a shelter and border bridge in Matamoros, Mexico, and those who had crossed illegally and were released by U.S. immigration officials in neighboring Brownsville, Texas, last week — with notices to appear in immigration court — about why and how they were seeking asylum.


Why cross legally at a border bridge or illegally via the Rio Grande?

Most asylum seekers at the Matamoros bridge said they understood that by law, it was legal to enter the U.S. via the bridge. Some were aware of Trump’s edict and feared that if they crossed the Rio Grande illegally, they could hurt their chances of being granted asylum. But with the Mexican list having grown last week to 80 names, they also worried about how long they would have to wait to cross. Some had already waited more than a month. Many of the migrants had been granted temporary visas in Mexico that had expired or were due to expire by month’s end, and they worried they could be deported.

“I came here because I thought it would be faster,” said Cuban asylum seeker Ronald Padron, 37, who had waited 26 days at the Matamoros bridge.

The Pennsylvania report on clergy sex abuse spawned a wave of probes nationwide. Now what?

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is among 14 state attorneys general, plus the District of Columbia, investigating the Catholic Church in the wake of an explosive August report on sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Pennsylvania. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times/AP)

By 

Tom Jackman

Michelle Boorstein
Julie Zauzmer


November 22 at 4:28 PM

The explosive report about sexual abuse by Catholic priests unveiled by a Pennsylvania grand jury in August has set off an unprecedented wave of investigations over the last several months, with attorneys general in 14 states and the District of Columbia announcing probes and demanding documents from Catholic officials. Those efforts have been joined by a federal investigation out of Philadelphia that may become national in scope.

The swift and sweeping response by civil authorities contrasts sharply with the Vatican’s comparatively glacial pace. While some U.S. dioceses have published lists of priests they say have been credibly accused of sexual abuse and two cardinals have been ousted, the Vatican this month put on hold a vote by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on measures to hold bishops more accountable until after a global synod in early 2019. In the meantime, Rome has done little to address the crisis.

“The Catholic Church has proven that it cannot police itself,” said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D), whose state is among those investigating. “And civil authorities can’t let the church hide child sexual abuse allegations as personnel matters. They’re crimes. We need a full accounting of the church.”

The new investigations are taking place in a very different climate than existed in 2002, when the Boston Globe exposed decades of abuse and coverups in that city. Many lay Catholics have lost faith in the church’s ability to right itself and are pushing for civil authorities to hold high-ranking church officials accountable. There’s also a greater willingness by law enforcement to do battle with a church that has become a far less formidable local presence. And the graphic grand jury report has spurred widespread public outrage.

However, hope for action won’t be satisfied quickly. Following an initial flurry of news conferences and calls to hotlines set up for the public to report abuse, there is likely to be an extended period of silence while prosecutors gather evidence.

State and federal prosecutors have three tools at their disposal: criminal charges against allegedly guilty priests or even the bishops believed to have abetted their abuse, civil suits against individuals or larger church entities, and public reports that expose the names and deeds of accused abusers without formal action.
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'It doesn’t ever go away’: Victims recount sexual abuse by priests

Three survivors recounted sexual abuse by Catholic priests in a video released by the Pennsylvania Attorney General on Aug. 14. (Pennsylvania Attorney General/Reuters)

As authorities launch their investigations, often involving episodes that are decades old, they make no promises about where their probes will ultimately lead.

Sunday Law in Paris Accord. Ted Wilson, Mark Finley said No. David Gates...

Declassified Documents: CIA Spied on Congress and on Whistleblowers

Is Thanksgiving Racist? College Students React

NWO: Buying and selling and the mark of the Vatican beast!

RFID, Technology and THE MARK (of the Beast)

RFID, Technology and THE MARK


Mention the mark of the beast today and instantly the majority of people will think of some sort of technological device like the RFID chip, or a 'techno' tattoo. And we are not only talking about professed Christians. Even non-believers instantly think of some device or physical mark that is placed upon us. So the whole world believes that one day soon we are going to have a physical mark enforced upon us which will be the prophesied mark of the beast foretold in the book of Revelation, chapter 13.

So what about us. Do we go along with this 'mainstream' view of the beast's mark? I'm afraid not, and for VERY good reason. Which is why we have compiled a short list of reasons as to why the mark of the beast CANNOT be the RFID chip or any technology device or physical mark. This is a very important issue we are dealing with here, as some of God's most dire warnings are associated with the mark of the beast.

Please carefully consider the following 7 reasons as to why the mark of the beast cannot be the RFID chip or any physical mark.

1 - We have the Technology to NOT NEED any 'Chip'


Take a look at the below recent news item from England. It shows a superstore introducing a new payment system whereby people can simply scan their finger to pay for their goods. How? Because the technology is available to be able to simply scan your finger, or even your eye and match that with your bank payment system.

Superstore in London is world's first store to offer fingertip payments

And this technology is being pushed now in many places and we will see this being introduced more and more. Which means there is no need for any RFID chip to be planted inside us! Yes, some people are doing it, but you will not see this RFID thing go worldwide, when there is a more simple option of scanning your finger or eye.

Nov 20, 2018 Verified: Your TV IS Spying on you!

Interpol

Citing ‘current crisis in the Church,’ major Catholic association won’t collect annual Vatican tithe

 

St. Peters and the Vatican Shutterstock

 

Lisa Bourne

Tue Nov 20, 2018 - 10:35 am EST

catholic, homosexuality, legatus, papal foundation, pope francis, sex abuse crisis in catholic church, theodore mccarrick, tom monaghan, vatican cover-up


ANN ARBOR, Michigan, November 20, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – A prestigious Catholic business association will not collect an annual tithe from its members for a 2019 contribution to the Holy See.

Legatus, a U.S.-based organization of Catholic business leaders, announced September 6 it would place the Holy See annual tithe in escrow following discussions of its Board of Governors, “specifically pertaining to how [the tithe] is being used, and what financial accountability exists within the Vatican for such charitable contributions.”

Legatus Chairman and CEO Thomas Monaghan wrote to members November 16 exhorting them to continue to pray “for the Church and all of our leaders,” since “it is evident that it is going to take time for the current crisis in the Church to be addressed to the point where the Board believes the reinstatement of our annual tithe would be prudent.”

Because of this, Monaghan said, the group’s Board of Governors decided “to forego collecting the annual tithe represented in your 2019 dues.”

Members who already submitted their dues will have them refunded in timely fashion, he advised, and those who have not yet sent in their dues would be issued new invoices.

The annual tithe to the Holy See has been an important part of Legatus membership since its founding, Monaghan said, and “Thus, it is the intent of the Board to reinstate this practice once we have sufficient communication regarding the specific accountability related to the use of these funds.”

“The Board will revisit this topic by the fall of 2019 in order to chart a plan related to the 2020 dues,” he added.

“The Church is most certainly in crisis, but it is not a crisis of Faith,” Monaghan said, quoting an August 30 Wall Street Journal column from George Weigel.

“Legatus continues to pledge its devotion to and solidarity with Holy Mother Church,” he said. “This is a time when we need to live the mission of Legatus more than ever.”

In conclusion, he asked members to “continue to pray for healing and courage for the Church.”

The Legatus tithe amount withheld from the Holy See is $820,000, a Legatus spokesperson told LifeSiteNews. The association has donated $18 million to the Holy See in the 31 years it has been existence, the spokesperson said.

Legatus members must be practicing Catholics and owners, chairmen, presidents or CEOs of a business with a minimum of $7 million annual revenue and at least 49 employees, or, for a financial service company, with at least 10 employees and $275 million in assets under management. The organization was founded in 1987 and has 3,000 current members.

Vatican financial accountability came into question earlier this year pertaining to the Papal Foundation, a U.S.-based organization of lay donors that provides grants to support organizations in the developing world on behalf of the Holy Father.

The grants are usually $200,000 or less. This past February, some Papal Foundation members raised concern over a Holy See request for $25 million for a Church-owned hospital plagued with corruption and financial scandal for years.

A number of Foundation members, Lay Stewards who pledge “to give $1 million over the course of no more than ten years with a minimum donation of $100,000 per year,” resigned over the matter. Questions remain about the grant’s status and handling.

U.S. bishops, including every U.S. cardinal living in America, comprise most of the Foundation board.

Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, one of three prelates who established the Papal Foundation under Pope John Paul II in 1988, was de facto removed from the board upon resigning from the College of Cardinals earlier this year following charges he abused a minor.


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Pope Francis’ Audience with Delegation of Grand Rabbinate of Israel

An Urgent Response to David Gates & March 2019 Close of Probation

A Church Remembers Avicii, With Hits Instead of Hymns

A crowd waiting outside the Hedvig Eleonora Church in Stockholm on Friday for a religious service remembering the musician Avicii.CreditCreditErika Gerdemark for The New York Times

By Lisa Abend
Nov. 19, 2018



STOCKHOLM — Olle Liljefors stood in a makeshift D.J. booth on Friday evening, spinning tracks by the Swedish musician Avicii, who died suddenly in April. It was not yet 8 p.m., but the cavernous venue was already at capacity, and Liljefors looked slightly nervous.

Stepping away from the decks, he swapped his black leather motorcycle jacket for white robes and a gold-color stole. Then, with minutes until Mass began, the Lutheran pastor mixed one last song and bopped his head in time to the electronic beats that filled the grand dome of the Hedvig Eleonora Church, a striking ocher octagon in Stockholm wedged between chic restaurants and a busy shopping street.

Ulf Norberg, left, and the choir during the Mass on Friday.CreditErika Gerdemark for The New York Times

The service that followed was intended in part as a memorial to Avicii, whose real name was Tim Bergling, who died in Muscat, Oman, in an apparent suicide. But by replacing the normal hymns with Avicii’s music, the religious ceremony was also part of a continuing effort by Liljefors and other clergy to draw younger members to the dwindling ranks of the Lutheran Church of Sweden.

Photographs of the musician, who grew up in Stockholm in the parish that the Hedvig Eleonora Church serves, were on the altar. Bergling’s father gave a short speech that brought many in the pews to tears. Liljefors delivered the sermon, which drew on lyrics from Avicii’s songs. “When we sit at home ‘waiting for love,’ or when we are happy and want to dance, or when we feel lost, like ‘wake me up when it’s all over,’ music can bring love, hope, comfort and joy,” he said.

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EYES ON THE TIMES Employers Microchipping Employees: Prophesy Again TV.

Number of Witches in U.S. on the Rise, May Surpass 1.5 Million

By Michael W. Chapman | November 16, 2018 | 5:59 PM EST




A report in the Christian Postcontends that the number of witches (and Wiccans) has dramatically increased since the 1990s, to the degree that there may be at least 1.5 million witches in the United States, which is higher than the 1.4 million mainline Presbyterians.

"[T]he practice of witchcraft has grown significantly in recent decades; those who identify as witches has risen concurrently with the rise of the 'witch aesthetic,'" reported the Christian Post in October, citing data from Quartz, a Trinity College study, and the Pew Research Center.

Between 1990 and 2008, the number of Wiccans in the United States grew from 8,000 to 340,000, according to three religious surveys conducted by Trinity College in Connecticut. In addition, the Pew Research Center reported in 2014 that 0.4% of the population -- 1 to 1.5 million Americans -- "identify as Wicca or Pagan."



"It makes sense that witchcraft and the occult would rise as society becomes increasingly postmodern," author Julie Roys, formerly of Moody Radio, told the Christian Post. "The rejection of Christianity has left a void that people, as inherently spiritual beings, will seek to fill."

Roys added that witchcraft is especially attractive to Millenials because it has been "effectively repackaged."

"No longer is witchcraft and paganism satanic and demonic," said Roys. "[I]t's a 'pre-Christian tradition' that promotes 'free thought' and 'understanding of earth and nature.'"

Pope decries that 'wealthy few' feast on what belongs to all

By The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY — Nov 18, 2018, 8:55 AM ET

The Associated Press


Championing the cause of the poor, Pope Francis on Sunday lamented that "the wealthy few" enjoy what, "in justice, belongs to all" and said Christians cannot remain indifferent to the growing cries of the exploited and the indigent, including migrants.

Francis invited about 6,000 poor people as well as some of the volunteers who help them to the splendor of St. Peter's Basilica where he celebrated Mass on a day the Catholic Church dedicates to the needy. Later, he sat down with 1,500 of the indigent for a lunch of lasagna, chicken, mashed potatoes and tiramisu in a Vatican auditorium.

In his homily, Francis said "we Christians cannot stand with arms folded in indifference or with arms outstretched in helplessness" about those in need. He cited the "stifled cry" of the unborn, of starving children, "of young people more used to the explosion of bombs than happy shouts at the playground."

He also drew attention to the plight of abandoned elderly, the friendless and "the cry of all those forced to flee their homes and native land for an uncertain future. It is the cry of entire peoples, deprived even of the great natural resources at their disposal."

Francis said the poor were weeping "while the wealthy few feast on what, in justice, belongs to all. Injustice is the perverse root of poverty."

"The cry of the poor daily becomes stronger but every day heard less," he said. That cry is "drowned out by the din on the rich few, who grow ever fewer and more rich," the pontiff said.

Last week, doctors, nurses and other healthworkers volunteered their time to offer medical assistance to the homeless and other need from morning till night in St. Peter's Square. The initiative reflects the Francis' determination that the Vatican promote by way of example priorities for rank-and-file faithful.

Francis said during Mass Sunday that "it is important for all of us to live our faith in contact with those in need."

Later, in remarks to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square, Francis spoke of the futility of making riches one's goal. He noted that with at the end of each life "the power of money and of economic means with which we presume with presumptuousness to buy everything and everyone won't be able to be used anymore."

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Pay Up or the Earth Gets It! - #PropagandaWatch

The Obamas are ‘Becoming’ a billion-dollar brand

By Isabel Vincent

November 17, 2018 | 4:07pm

Michelle and Barack Obama

Getty Images

The Obamas are “Becoming” — billionaires.


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The Barack Obama Foundation has seen its contributions soar

The launch of Michelle Obama’s cross-country book tour for her new memoir, “Becoming,” last week is just the latest marker on the road to fabulous wealth for the former first couple, who are on their way to becoming a billion-dollar brand.

In addition to a $65 million book advance and an estimated $50 million deal with Netflix, both of which she shares with husband Barack Obama, the former first lady is poised to rake in millions from appearances on her 10-city US tour and sales of merchandise connected to her autobiography.

And like her husband, Michelle Obama is currently in demand as a speaker for corporations and non-profits, commanding $225,000 per appearance, The Post has learned.

Forbes estimated the couple made $20.5 million in salaries and book royalties between 2005 — when Obama became a federal senator and they first arrived in Washington — and 2016. They are now worth more than $135 million.

And that figure does not include the cash they are raking in for public speaking.

In October 2017, Michelle Obama was a keynote speaker at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women, a non-profit that promotes education and networking.

Obama did an on-stage interview with Hollywood producer and writer Shonda Rhimes in Philadelphia for an audience of 12,000.