Monday, December 24, 2012

Imam of Kirkuk: Papal envoy’s visit to mosque, "historical and strong"

12/22/2012 09:43
IRAQ - VATICAN

by Joseph Mahmoud

In his address at Friday prayers Hami Ahmad Amin remembers the meeting with Cardinal Sandri. The Islamist leader stresses gratitude for the event, which "expresses the respect of Christians for Muslims." He brought the "message of peace" of Benedict XVI and the call for dialogue to "solve problems."



Kirkuk (AsiaNews) - A "historic and strong" moment, for which "we are grateful." These the words of the Imam of the largest mosque in Kirkuk Hami Ahmad Amin, in his reflections yesterday on the occasion of the Muslim Friday prayer, recalling the recent visit of the Papal envoy. On December 16, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop in Iraq, Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, and Archbishop Louis Sako met the highest Sunni and Shiite Muslim personalities of the city, along with many faithful. The Vatican cardinal was also received by Najm Alddin Karim, the governor of Kirkuk, a northern city - rich in oil and natural gas - in the center of a bitter dispute between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.

In his speech yesterday, the Islamic leader said that the visit was a "historic and strong moment," which "expresses the respect of Christians for Muslims." The imam of the mosque then spoke, as an example, of a visit that dates back to the time of Muhammad. "This meeting - said Ahmad Amin Hami - is comparable to the visit of the Christians of Ethiopia to the Prophet Muhammad during his stay in Medina at the beginning of Islam."

For the highest representative of the mosque in Kirkuk, Cardinal Sandri brought - in the context of a broader pastoral and diplomatic mission in Iraq - to "all Iraqis, on behalf of Pope [Benedict XVI] a message of peace," encouraging different communities "to dialogue to resolve the problems."

Lastly, Ahmad Amin Hami echoed "the appeal" by the cardinal to "Muslims and Christians," inviting them to be "peacemakers". "We must continually learn to build peace - said the Islamic leader - especially in this difficult time, full of tension."


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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Shopping on Sunday








Sunday, December 23, 2012, 1:12 PM
Mark Movsesian


Every year, it seems, Christmas becomes more commercialized. In NYC this year, we started seeing Christmas decorations in stores in October. In October. Christmas is starting to lap Halloween.

I was thinking about this when I read that the Catholic Church in Italy is working to repeal that country’s new Sunday shopping law. Earlier this year, in an effort to stimulate the Italian economy, the Monti government enacted a law allowing shops across the country to open on Sundays. The new law is opposed by a coalition including the Vatican, small shop owners, and some secularists who argue that a nationwide day of rest is in everyone’s interest. The Italian campaign is part of a larger movement called the European Sunday Alliance, a network of “trade unions, civil society organizations and religious communities committed to raise awareness of the unique value of synchronized free time for our European societies.”

The Sunday Alliance is not at heart religious. Sure, some Christians argue that Sunday shopping violates the Sabbath, but mostly the movement has secular goals, such as working less, putting a brake on commercialism, and spending time with family and friends. To be sure, small shop owners have an economic interest in ending Sunday shopping, since the practice disproportionately favors big-box retailers. But it’s not like the big-box retailers who favor Sunday shopping are being altruistic. They’re only advancing their economic interests.

The arguments for allowing Sunday shopping are pretty straightforward. Increased commercial activity means more wealth and greater tax revenues. More people will be able to find employment. And there is the matter of consumer choice. If people want to buy TVs on Sundays, why should the state stop them? Who’s harmed? Finally, allowing shopping on Sundays could be seen as a gesture toward religious pluralism. Not everyone observes the Christian Sabbath, and Sunday closing laws may create burdens for non-Christian businesses and consumers.

These arguments have carried the day in America. Notwithstanding the fact that the Supreme Court has declared Sunday closing laws constitutional, most places allow Sunday shopping nowadays. Americans have become accustomed to the convenience and see nothing wrong with it. A movement to ban shopping on Sundays in America would go nowhere.

To my mind, though, opponents of the new Italian law have a point. Economics isn’t everything. It’s not unreasonable to think that, one day a week, society should forgo buying and selling, even if that means a reduction in wealth and tax revenues. (Tax revenues? In Italy? Who are we kidding?) In a culture as homogeneously Catholic as Italy’s, Sunday is the only realistic option. Moreover, it’s not unreasonable to think that Sunday store openings will create a situation in which observant Christian employees feel pressured to work, or that Sunday shopping will threaten traditions Italians enjoy. Perhaps Italians don’t want a society in which Christmas becomes, inevitably, the Biggest Shopping Season of the Year.

So, to the opponents of the Italian law, I say, Good Luck. And Buon Natale.

Mark Movsesian is Director of the Center for Law and Religion at St. John’s University.




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Report: Obama’s Christmas Vacation Likely to Top $4 million



Sunday, 23 Dec 2012 09:09 AM

By Paul Scicchitano


While President Barack Obama and his family spend Christmas in Hawaii for the fifth straight year, federal and local taxpayers are likely to be left with a holiday bill that tops $4 million for the first family’s security and travel expenses to the exclusive retreat known for its turquoise waters and rolling surf, according to a published report.

Air Force One touched down in Honolulu minutes after midnight local time on Saturday. The first family departed the plane and traveled quickly to their vacation home in the beach town of Kailua, a scenic, sleepy resort on the east side of Oahu. The Obamas pay for their own accommodations, while taxpayers shoulder the costs of security and travel.

Though it is not clear how long the Obamas planned to stay in Hawaii about 12 miles from downtown Honolulu, the Hawaii Reporter estimated that the trip could cost taxpayers more than $4 million based on the nine-hour flying time to and from Washington and the high-priced resort accommodations for White House staff, Navy Seals, Coast Guard, and the Secret Service.

The publication estimates that each leg of the nine-hour flight alone will cost taxpayers $1,635,813 for a roundtrip total of $3,271,622.

“While many residents welcome the first family, others are disheartened by the restrictions put on air, water, and road travel while the president and family are in town, especially because it is the holiday season and many families on vacation want to use their boats or surf and paddle in the welcoming ocean waves fronting the Kailua homes,” the publication reports. “In addition, the president's caravan of at least 22 vehicles including an ambulance can easily overwhelm the community that typically has single lane streets.”

The publication also reports that federal and local taxpayers are likely to foot the bill for the following additional estimated expenses:

The president’s staff typically stay at one of Hawaii’s oldest and most elegant hotels, the Moana Surfrider. A conservative estimate with rooms at $270 (excluding a 9.25 percent Transient Accommodation Tax and a 4.712 percent General Excise Tax on each bill, meals, Internet charges and other charges) adds up to more than $129,600 in hotel bills for some two dozen staff.

A USAF C-17 cargo aircraft that transports presidential limos, helicopters and other support equipment to Hawaii is estimated to cost $258,000, not including crew accommodations.

Secret Service, Coast Guard and Navy Seals are housed in beachfront or canal front properties near the president at a cost last year of about $200 per bedroom per day, or $21,600 per average home for at least seven homes.

The president’s advance security costs about $176,400.

Local police historically rack up $250,000 in overtime during presidential visits, which is paid by Oahu taxpayers.

A city ambulance generally costs about $10,000 to provide round the clock coverage.

The presidential security detail typically rents an entire floor of an office building in Kailua, but estimates were not available for this expense.

In addition, taxpayers pay for security upgrades and additional phone lines to private homes, including bullet proof glass and new security systems.The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Source: http://www.newsmax.com/US/Obama-s-Christmas-vacation-Hawaii/2012/12/23/id/468823#ixzz2FtYWbIKc
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EU Parliament’s Christmas greeting cards scrap Nativity for “neutral” images and messages


12/21/2012



THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT


The “neutral” Christmas cards Strasbourg has sent out this Christmas have sparked controversies. The symbol and name of the Christian celebration are nowhere to be seen

GIACOMO GALEAZZI
VATICAN CITY


What’s happened to Christmas? After Haloween pumpkins replaced the crucifix, provoking strong criticisms from the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the European Parliament’s decision to scrap Christian symbols and references from its Christmas greeting cards has caused further uproar. A part from the angel which appears on the six printed greeting card versions and the ten electronic ones, the Nativity, which is the core symbol of the Christian celebration is nowhere to be seen. “If this is the case, then bureaucrats and MPs should be turning up at work on December 25th,” said Lorenzo Fontana, Italian Northern League party representative in the European Parliament.

The European Parliament’s greeting cards also provoked complaints last year. Fontana himself presented a request to the President of the Assembly, Jerzy Buzek, asking for Christmas cards to include recognisable Christian symbols in the future. His request was rejected and this year’s cards feature stylised Christmas trees against psychedelic backgrounds and photoshopped images of the European Parliament. Those who criticise this as a new chapter in Strasbourg’s “anti-Christian crusade complain: “The design is dry, illuminated by cold blue and white flash lights which go completely against the whole idea of Christmas warmth.” Even the traditional “Merry Christmas” message has disappeared. All that appears in the cards is a neutral “2013”.

In addition to the negative reactions to the EU parliament’s Nativity-free greeting cards, there was also a lot of huffing and puffing over the futuristic Christmas tree erected in the Grand Place in Brussels. It is apparently so anti-Christian that is has triggered a series of online petitions and forums asking for the return of the traditional pine tree.

It is really a shame that the message contained in Europe’s motto “unity in diversity” are just empty words. Even at such a time of heart-felt sharing as Christmas, EU institutions have failed to show sensitivity to the feelings of its citizens, the vast majority of which are Christians. It almost seems as though this motto aims to make those who still feel strongly about the true religious meaning of Christmas, as different.

But it is not just in Brussels and Strasbourg that Christmas is under threat, lay anti-Christmas crusades are also being witnessed in other European countries. In one French school south of Paris, Father Christmas has been banned in order to show respect for the school’s beliefs and values. A puppet show has replaced Santa Klaus, a figure inspired by faithful’s veneration of Bishop St. Nicholas. In another school in Piacenza, Italy, references to religious topics in the institution’s Christmas celebrations are forbidden. Mgr. Adriano Vincenzi, a representative of the Italian Episcopal Conference in Confcooperative said: “It is commonly believed that giving up one’s own identity facilitates dialogue, but conserving one’s identity is essential for dialogue to take place.”

Every time man had attempted to extinguish the light brought to Earth by Jesus’ birth, the result has been horrible darkness, Benedict XVI warned on the occasion of the lighting of the Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square. Trying to remove God’s name from the history books leads to the most noble and beautiful of words losing their real meaning. “When terms such as freedom, common good and justice are no longer rooted in God and in his love, they fall victim to human interests and lose touch with the truth and civil responsibility, which are vital.” But no one has managed to suppress the bright story of love begun two thousand years ago in Bethlehem. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us “to constantly draw on this legacy of faith, fostering it, in order to face up to the new social emergencies and today’s cultural challenges.”


Source
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Learn not the way of the heathen



Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

Jeremiah 10:2-4


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Sunnyvale, California gaining on Mountain View

A couple of months ago, I pointed out that according to the Live Traffic Feed on this blog, Mountain View, California was the most frequent visitor:

 

Apparently, an individual or an operation at Sunnyvale, California has taken the challenge and is on track to overtake Mountain View, California as the CONSTANT VISITOR on EndrTimes.  Congratulations to that party!  Keep up the good work.

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Not the fiscal cliff

Now, these cliffs are money.

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North Shore Molokai, Hawaii, USA
by Jon Cornforth, Seattle, Washington, USA

The world's highest sea cliffs line the north coast of Molokai near the remote
Wailau Beach. Wailau, which translates into "Many Waters," is a tribute to the
valley's abundant waterfalls. Nearly impenetrable, this wild coast area is
approachable primarily by boat.


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Survivors of 2005 Red Lake School Shooting Offer Solace in Newtown


Justin Jourdain, a 2008 graduate of Red Lake High School who was in the school during the shootings that occurred in 2005, poses with a Red Lake Band of Chippewa flag signed by students and residents of the reservation in Bemidji, Minnesota. (Photo: AP/SL)




GALE COUREY TOENSING

December 22, 2012


A delegation of former students who survived the 2005 school shootings on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota traveled to Newtown, Connecticut, to offer comfort and compassion to the grieving community after the horrific killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14 that left 20 six- and seven-year-old children and six of their teachers dead.

The former Red Lake students, now in their 20s, and others left Minnesota in a three-vehicle caravan on Wednesday, December 19, heading east on a 1,500-mile journey to offer solace and solidarity to the survivors and community of the latest school shootings, the Associated Press reported. Many of the former Red Lake students were ninth graders in 2005 when an armed 16-year-old student killed his grandfather and grandfather's girlfriend and then drove to the Red Lake school, where he smashed through a classroom window and killed five students, a teacher and a security guard before killing himself. Five others were wounded in the shooting spree.

"We know exactly what those kids and families are going through," Leah Cook told AP. Cook, aged 16 at the time, still bears a mark where a bullet grazed her leg as she fled her classroom. "We want to share with them what we went through and show them that there's hope and let them know they're not alone."

Besides wanting to offer solace, they were doing what had been done for them: A delegation of Columbine High School students had visited Red Lake after enduring their own 1999 shooting that left a dozen students and a teacher dead, with 23 wounded.

The Red Lake delegation arrived in Newtown on Thursday, December 20, the Norwalk Citizen reported. They were to meet with Sandy Hook Elementary School teachers and families to present tribal flags signed by children, a dream catcher, and a memorial plaque that the Columbine delegation of students had brought to Red Lake in 2005, with the understanding that they would pass it on in the event of a shooting at another school. The Columbine survivors had received the plaque from survivors of a previous school shooting, the Norwalk Citizen said.

An elementary school–age Red Lake group, the Little Thunderbirds, sang traditional Native American songs to honor the Newtown community on Thursday afternoon, the Norwalk Citizen said. A ceremony was scheduled for Thursday night, for which the Dakota 38 Memorial Ride sent prayer ties. The Dakota 38 Memorial Ride is a group that commemorates the December 26, 1862, massacre of 38 Dakota men In Mankato, Minnesota, in what was then the largest mass execution in the history of United States.


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The path of reconciliation to the Church of Rome



The Lord has pronounced a curse upon those who take from or add to the Scriptures. The great I AM has decided what shall constitute the rule of faith and doctrine, and he has designed that the Bible shall be a household book. The church that holds to the word of God is irreconcilably separated from Rome. Protestants were once thus apart from this great church of apostasy, but they have approached more nearly to her, and are still in the path of reconciliation to the Church of Rome. Rome never changes. Her principles have not altered in the least. She has not lessened the breach between herself and Protestants; they have done all the advancing. But what does this argue for the Protestantism of this day? It is the rejection of Bible truth which makes men approach to infidelity. It is a backsliding church that lessens the distance between itself and the Papacy.

The Signs of the Times, February 19, 1894.

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The Origin Of Christmas





Christmas is a holiday shared and celebrated by many religions.

It is a day that has an effect on the entire world.

To many people, it is a favorite time of the year involving gift giving, parties and feasting. Christmas is a holiday that unifies almost all of professing Christendom.

The spirit of Christmas causes people to decorate their homes and churches, cut down trees and bring them into their homes, decking them with silver and gold.

In the light of that tree, families make merry and give gifts one to another.

When the sun goes down on December 24th, and darkness covers the land, families and churches prepare for participation in customs such as burning the yule log, singing around the decorated tree, kissing under the mistletoe and holly, and attending a late night service or midnight mass.

What is the meaning of Christmas? Where did the customs and traditions originate?

You, as a Christian, would want to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, discerning good from evil.

The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and a study of this would reveal that
Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and practices taken from many cultures and nations.

The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god.

This was done long before the birth of Jesus.

It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to increase after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died.

These ancients believed that the sun god rose from the dead three days later as the new-born and venerable sun.

Thus, they figured that to be the reason for increasing daylight.

This was a cause for much wild excitement and celebration. Gift giving and merriment filled the temples of ancient Rome, as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.

In Germany, the evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the yule god, also in observance of the resurrected sun god.

The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship.

Witches and other pagans regarded the red holly as a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, also known as Diana.

The holly wood was used by witches to make wands.

The white berries of mistletoe were believed by pagans to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god.

Both holly and mistletoe were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter them.

These customs transcended the borders of Rome and Germany to the far reaches of the known world.

The question now arises: How did all of these customs find their way into contemporary Christianity, ranging from Catholicism to Protestantism to fundamentalist churches?

The word "Christmas"itself reveals who married paganism to Christianity.

The word "Christmas" is a combination of the words "Christ" and "Mass.

The word "Mass" means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs exclusively to the church of Rome.

The ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and the distribution of the "Host", a word taken from the Latin word "hostiall" meaning victim!

In short, Christmas is strictly a Roman Catholic word.

A simple study of the tactics of the Romish Church reveals that in every case, the church absorbed the customs, traditions and general paganism of every tribe, culture and nation in their efforts to increase the number of people under their control.

In short, the Romish church told all of these pagan cultures, "Bring your gods, goddesses, rituals and rites, and we will assign Christian sounding titles and names to them.

When Martin Luther started the reformation on October 31st, 1517, and other reformers followed his lead, all of them took with them the paganism that was so firmly imbedded in Rome.

These reformers left Christmas intact.

In England, as the authorized Bible became available to the common people by the decree of King James the II in 1611, people began to discover the pagan roots of Christmas, which are clearly revealed in Scripture.

The Puritans in England, and later in Massachusetts Colony, outlawed this holiday as witchcraft.

Near the end of the nineteenth century, when other Bible versions began to appear, there was a revival of the celebration of Christmas.

We are now seeing ever-increasing celebrating of Christmas or Yule, its true name, as we draw closer to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In both witchcraft circles and contemporary Christian churches, the same things are going on.

As the Bible clearly states in Jeremiah 10:2-4, "Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen; and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven. For the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain. For one cutteth a tree out of the forest. The work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not."

So, what is wrong with Christmas?

1. To say that Jesus was born on December 25th is a lie! The true date is sometime in September according to the Scriptures.

2. Trees, wreaths, holly, mistletoe and the like are strictly forbidden as pagan and heathen! To say that these are Christian or that they can be made Christian is a lie!

3. The Lord never spoke of commemorating his birth but rather commanded us to remember the sacrifice of His suffering and death, which purchased our salvation.

Think about it! Can we worship and honor God by involving ourselves with customs and traditions, which God Himself forbade as idolatry? Can we convince God to somehow "Christianize" these customs and the whole pretense and lie of Christmas, so we can enjoy ourselves? Can we obey through disobedience?

So what is right about Christmas? 1. Nothing!
For more information and documentation contact:

Last Trumpet Ministries International
PO Box 806
Beaver Dam, WI 53916




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Boston Priest to Lead Oversight Of Sexual Abuse Claims at Vatican


By RACHEL DONADIO
Published: December 22, 2012


ROME — Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday appointed a priest who handled sexual abuse cases under the disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston as the Vatican’s new sex crimes prosecutor.


The pope also pardoned his former butler, who was serving a prison term after leaking confidential documents in the Vatican’s most embarrassing security breach in decades.

The Vatican said that the Rev. Robert W. Oliver, a canon law specialist at the Archdiocese of Boston, would be the “promoter of justice” at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s doctrinal office that reviews all abuse cases.

Father Oliver was among the canon lawyers who advised Cardinal Law on sexual abuse cases in Boston, the center of the church’s child abuse crisis in the United States. He continued advising the Archdiocese of Boston after the cardinal was forced to resign in 2002 amid an uproar over revelations that the cardinal had kept abusive priests working in parishes.

David Clohessy, who helps lead the victims advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said that appointment of “anyone with ties to Law” was problematic.

“It just rubs salt into the wounds of hundreds and hundreds of Boston victims when anyone associated with Law is given any kind of responsibility or power or prestige,” he said. “On the other hand, we’d rather someone hold that position who has had a lot of experience, even if their track record is less than stellar.”

Father Oliver currently serves as a canon lawyer in the Archdiocese of Boston and as a visiting professor of canon law at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In a statement released by the Boston archdiocese, Father Oliver said, “It is with deep humility and gratitude that I received the news that the Holy Father is entrusting me with this service to the Church.”

Father Oliver succeeds Msgr. Charles Scicluna, 53, who was promoted to auxiliary bishop in his native Malta. A friendly canon lawyer, Monsignor Scicluna found himself in the eye of the storm after being named promoter of justice in 2002.

The same year, Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a decree that all abuse cases should be sent directly to the doctrinal office. But bishops later said that the decree was not explained clearly and confusion lingered over how dioceses should handle abuse cases.

After his resignation in Boston, Cardinal Law was transferred to Rome and named archpriest of the prestigious Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and remained a member of the Vatican’s powerful Congregation for Bishops, responsible for naming bishops, until he retired last year.

When the scandal erupted anew in Europe in 2010, with cases emerging in Ireland and the pope’s native Germany — including some that called into question how Benedict handled an abuse case when he was archbishop of Munich in 1980 — the Vatican issued new guidelines, essentially telling bishops to report abuse cases to the police.

Victims groups called the Vatican’s actions too little, too late.

The Vatican also said Saturday that Benedict had pardoned his former butler, Paolo Gabriele, 46, who had been sentenced to prison after admitting to leaking confidential documents that formed the basis of a tell-all book on alleged misdeeds, financial mismanagement, back-stabbing and infighting within the Vatican.

On Saturday morning, Benedict met for 15 minutes with Mr. Gabriele in the Vatican police barracks where he had been serving an 18-month sentence for aggravated theft and set him free, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said.

Mr. Gabriele was arrested in May after Vatican authorities found what they called an “enormous” quantity of confidential documents in his Vatican apartment. Mr. Gabriele said he leaked the documents because he believed that exposing the “evil and corruption” within the Vatican would help put the Catholic Church back on track.

Father Lombardi said that Mr. Gabriele would not have his former job back, but that the Vatican would help find him a new job and apartment.


Laurie Goodstein contributed reporting from New York.


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The Mayan Calendar and the End of the World?



So, what happened to the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world?

According to those that believe in such things as a Mayan stone calendar the world was supposed to end yesterday 12/21/12. Only One knows when that will take place, and it's certainly not the experts of the paranormal, the modern day alchemists or the New Agers.  
Many also believe in the prophecies of the reputed seer Nostradamus, psychics Edgar Cayce and Madame Blavatsky, and others on  the so-called saint Malachy Archbishop of Armagh.  Men would rather believe in mere mortals who have long since died, rather than on the sure word of Prophecy - the Holy Bible and its author Jesus the Messiah.

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 
Matthew 24:36


I would rather believe that an end will come, but no man knows when; especially not astrologers.
As I read last night I came across a verse that sheds some light on this matter:  


9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13 Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.
14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do....
Deuteronomy 18:8-14.
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The end is near, in fact it's at the door. 
If you want to know when it will be read Matthew 24.

Happy Sabbath


Friday, December 21, 2012

Sandy Hook shooting: Religious leaders gather in D.C.


D.C.

By John Gonzalez
December 21, 2012 - 06:32 am




WASHINGTON (AP) - Religious leaders representing a broad range of faiths are gathering at Washington National Cathedral to remember the lives lost in the Connecticut school shooting and to call for an end to gun violence.

The interfaith group will meet Friday morning ahead of a tolling of the cathedral's funeral bell at 9:30 a.m.

The participants will include leaders from Judaism, Catholicism and Islam, as well as Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists and others.

Episcopal leaders in Washington have called for stricter gun control since the mass shooting. The Very Rev. Gary Hall, the National Cathedral dean, said in his Sunday sermon that Christians can no longer tolerate gun violence and have a moral obligation to work to end it.

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde has said civilians shouldn't own assault weapons.

Source
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Note:
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

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Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled



What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

James 2:14-17.

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After Newtown, experts say kids are resilient in coping with trauma

By The Associated Press 
on December 19, 2012 at 1:14 PM, updated December 19, 2012 at 1:15 PM


Anna Delaney, 11, holds her mother Molly, during a prayer service for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School held at St. John's Episcopal Church.New York Daily News 

They might not want to talk about the gunshots or the screams. But their toys might start getting into imaginary shootouts.

Last week's school shooting in Connecticut raises the question: What will be the psychological fallout for the children who survived?

For people of any age, regaining a sense of security after surviving violence can take a long time. They're at risk for lingering anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder.

But after the grief and fear fades, psychiatrists say most of Newtown's young survivors probably will cope without long-term emotional problems.

"Kids do tend to be highly resilient," said Dr. Matthew Biel, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

And one way that younger children try to make sense of trauma is through play. Youngsters may pull out action figures or stuffed animals and re-enact what they witnessed, perhaps multiple times.

"That's the way they gain mastery over a situation that's overwhelming," Biel explained, saying it becomes a concern only if the child is clearly distressed while playing.

Nor is it unusual for children to chase each other playing cops-and-robbers, but now parents might see some also pretending they're dead, added Dr. Melissa Brymer of the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.

Among the challenges will be spotting which children are struggling enough that they may need professional help.

Newtown's tragedy is particularly heart-wrenching because of what such young children grappled with - like the six first-graders who apparently had to run past their teacher's body to escape to safety.

There's little scientific research specifically on PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, in children exposed to a burst of violence, and even less to tell if a younger child will have a harder time healing than an older one.

Overall, scientists say studies of natural disasters and wars suggest most children eventually recover from traumatic experiences while a smaller proportion develop long-term disorders such as PTSD. Brymer says in her studies of school shootings, that fraction can range from 10 percent to a quarter of survivors, depending on what they actually experienced. A broader 2007 study found 13 percent of U.S. children exposed to different types of trauma reported some symptoms of PTSD, although less than 1 percent had enough for an official diagnosis.

Violence isn't all that rare in childhood. In many parts of the world - and in inner-city neighborhoods in the U.S., too - children witness it repeatedly. They don't become inured to it, Biel said, and more exposure means a greater chance of lasting psychological harm.

In Newtown, most at risk for longer-term problems are those who saw someone killed, said Dr. Carol North of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who has researched survivors of mass shootings.

Friday's shootings were mostly in two classrooms of Sandy Hook Elementary School, which has about 450 students through fourth-grade.

But those who weren't as close to the danger may be at extra risk, too, if this wasn't their first trauma or they already had problems such as anxiety disorders that increase their vulnerability, she said.

Right after a traumatic event, it's normal to have nightmares or trouble sleeping, to stick close to loved ones, and to be nervous or moody, Biel said.

To help, parents will have to follow their child's lead. Grilling a child about a traumatic experience isn't good, he stressed. Some children will ask a lot of questions, seeking reassurance, he said. Others will be quiet, thinking about the experience and maybe drawing or writing about it, or acting it out at playtime. Younger children may regress, becoming clingy or having tantrums.

Before second grade, their brains also are at a developmental stage some refer to as magical thinking, when it's difficult to distinguish reality and fantasy. Parents may have to help them understand that a friend who died isn't in pain or lonely but also isn't coming back, Brymer said.

When problem behaviors or signs of distress continue for several weeks, Brymer says it's time for an evaluation by a counselor or pediatrician.

Besides a supportive family, what helps? North advises getting children back into routines, together with their friends, and easing them back into a school setting. Studies of survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks found "the power of the support of the people who went through it with you is huge," she said.

Children as young as first-graders can benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy, Georgetown's Biel said. They can calm themselves with breathing techniques. They also can learn to identify and label their feelings - anger, frustration, worry - and how to balance, say, a worried thought with a brave one.

Finally, avoid watching TV coverage of the shooting, as children may think it's happening all over again, Biel added. He found that children who watched the 9/11 clips of planes hitting the World Trade Center thought they were seeing dozens of separate attacks.


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Georgetown University Raising Funds For Newtown Victim’s Daughter

December 19, 2012 1:36 PM




WASHINGTON (AP) — A Georgetown University professor has launched an online fundraising effort to help a graduate student whose mother was killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Mary Sherlach was a psychologist at the school. Newtown superintendent Janet Robinson says Sherlach was killed when she ran toward the shooter who ultimately killed 26 people, including 20 children.

Her daughter, Katy Sherlach, is a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry at Georgetown. Law professor Heidi Li Feldman organized an online fundraising page that’s collected more than $6,000 to help Katy with funeral and other expenses.

Chemistry professor Paul Roepe tells WRC-TV that Katy was with fellow researchers in the chemistry lab when she learned about the shooting. He says the community is taking the loss very hard.



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For New York Stock Exchange, a sell order

Published: December 20, 2012 6:15 PM
By STEVE ROTHWELL The Associated Press




Photo credit: Getty | The New York Stock Exchange’s parent company has agreed to be sold to IntercontinentalExchange, an Atlanta-based energy trader, for $8 billion. The NYSE trading floor looks almost empty on Thursday. (Dec. 20, 2012)


The Big Board just isn't so big anymore.

In a deal that highlights the dwindling stature of what was once a centerpiece of capitalism, NYSE Euronext, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, is being sold to a little-known rival for $8 billion -- $3 billion less than it would have fetched in a proposed takeover just last year.

The buyer is IntercontinentalExchange, a 12-year-old exchange headquartered in Atlanta that deals in investment contracts known as futures.

IntercontinentalExchange, known as ICE, said Thursday that little would change for the trading floor at the corner of Wall and Broad streets, in Manhattan's financial district.

There will be dual headquarters, in New York and Atlanta, and ICE will open an office in Manhattan.NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer will become president of the combined company and CEO of NYSE Group.

But the deal makes clear that the clout of the two-centuries-old NYSE has been eroded over decades by the relentless advance of technology and regulatory changes.

The NYSE dates to 1792, when 24 brokers and merchants traded stocks under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street. Today most trading doesn't require face-to-face meeting at all. It's done on computers that match thousands of orders a second.

Three decades ago the floor of the New York exchange was full of bustling traders. Today one of its largest booths belongs to the cable news channel CNBC, which broadcasts from there.

The introduction of negotiated, rather than fixed, commissions for securities transactions, in May 1975, marked the start of a gradual decline in brokerage fees for traditional stock trading. It also gave rise to discount brokerages, like Charles Schwab, that traded for customers at lower rates.

While brokerage fees have declined, futures exchanges like those central to ICE have retained profit margins, said James Angel, an associate professor in finance at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.

Stock trading is a "dog-eat-dog business where the profit margin per share is measured not in pennies, not in tenths of pennies, but in hundredths of pennies," said Angel, who also sits on the board of Direct Edge, a smaller stock exchange.

NYSE Euronext was formed in a 2007 merger when NYSE Group, parent company of the exchange, got together with Euronext, which owned stock exchanges in Europe.

ICE was established in May 2000 and went public in November 2005 -- on the NYSE.


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Thursday, December 20, 2012

It’s not the end of the world, but Mayan madness is heating up


Guru is scorched at ceremony and Michigan officials let kids off school because of worry about 12/21/12

BY GINGER ADAMS OTIS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

PUBLISHED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012, 3:29 PM


UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2012, 12:16 AM


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Tourists are flocking to the Mayan sacred site of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico on the eve of the supposed end of the world -- the end of the Mayan calendar.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/mayan-madness-heating-article-1.1224557#ixzz2Fnq61Roq.


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Benghazi report threatens to tarnish Clinton's legacy

By Halimah Abdullah, CNN
updated 2:48 PM EST, Thu December 20, 2012


Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to testify on the Benghazi incident in January.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to step down from her Cabinet position in January
An review on Benghazi cited "systemic failures" at the State Department
High-ranking State officials have resigned or been disciplined
If Clinton runs in 2016, the sting of the Benghazi report will have lessened, experts say



Washington (CNN) -- The year 2012 was supposed to herald Hillary Clinton's swan song, a golden departure amid speculation that she might consider another run at the presidency in 2016.

Instead, the outgoing Secretary of State has found herself and her agency at the center of a scathing report about bloody attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

On Wednesday, four State Department officials, including two who oversaw security decisions at the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, were disciplined after a review of security failures there, senior State Department officials told CNN. One resigned, while three others have been placed on administrative leave and relieved of their duties, said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

An independent review released Tuesday cited "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the agency Clinton heads. The review board completed its investigation this week. Clinton received a copy of the report on Monday and said in letters to the heads of those committees that she accepted every one of its recommendations, including strengthening security, adding fire safety precautions and improving intelligence collection in high-threat areas.

Benghazi siege: The ambassador's last minutes

Citing health reasons, Clinton delays testimony

Clinton, who had been recovering from stomach flu last week and a concussion following a fainting spell, informed the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees over the weekend that, at the advice of her doctors, she would be unable to testify at upcoming hearings about the deadly events in Benghazi. In her place, deputies Thomas Nides and Bill Burns will testify on Thursday.

Initially, that did not sit well with some members of Congress, especially Republicans, who have been highly critical of the Obama administration's handling of the Libya attack.

CNN Poll: Majority dissatisfied but don't think administration misled on Benghazi attack

"I know that Secretary Clinton was unable to be able to testify tomorrow in an open setting," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, told reporters Wednesday. "I do think it's imperative for all concerned that she testify in an open session prior to any changing of the regime. I think that that's very important for her, I think it's very important for our country, and I think it's very important to really understand sort of the inner workings of the State Department itself."

Clinton to testify before House panel in January

However late Wednesday, House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, indicated that Clinton will indeed testify in front of the committee sometime in mid-January.

Ros-Lehtinen issued a statement saying, "We still don't have information from the Obama administration on what went so tragically wrong in Benghazi that resulted in the deaths of four patriotic Americans. We have been combing through classified and unclassified documents and have tough questions about State Department threat assessments and decision-making on Benghazi. This requires a public appearance by the Secretary of State herself. Other Cabinet secretaries involved should also be held publicly accountable."

Lawmakers are right to demand answers of Clinton, said David Rothkopf, editor of Foreign Policy magazine.

"Hillary Clinton must take her fair share of responsibility for the mismanagement that led to the Benghazi disaster. And I believe she has. Her response to it, the appointment of a serious review effort led by (Ambassador Thomas) Pickering and (Adm. Mike) Mullen, its swift, thorough and unflinching completion of its duties and her acceptance of all its recommendations has been a textbook case of how to handle a crisis responsibly," Rothkopf said.

Sizing up Kerry as secretary of State

It is a crisis that has left an indelible mark on the careers of several high profile Obama administration officials.

Rice attacked for Benghazi comments

U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration to become the top U.S. diplomat after drawing heavy criticism from Arizona Sen. John McCain and other Republicans over her public statements about the Benghazi attacks.

In a letter to Obama, Rice said the Senate "confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive, and costly — to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities. That trade off is simply not worth it to our country."

Clinton praised Rice as a capable leader and insisted "she made very clear in her appearances that the information was subject to change as more facts were gathered and analyzed by the intelligence community" in a press conference at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference in Dublin earlier this month.

Disciplinary actions at State

Eric Boswell, assistant secretary of diplomatic security, has resigned his post. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Charlene Lamb is among the other three officials placed on administrative leave pending further action, a source told CNN.

Boswell and Lamb oversaw security for the Benghazi mission. Lamb testified before Congress about the security precautions. Documents show Lamb denied repeated requests for additional security in Libya.

State Department resignations follow Benghazi report

But there is no reason to think Clinton's presidential prospects are dimmed, political experts say.

Positive public support

Before the report came out, Clinton had enjoyed wildly popular approval ratings in nationwide polls. A Bloomberg National Poll released this month showed 70% of Americans have a mostly or very favorable view of Clinton, with 24% holding a mostly or very unfavorable opinion of the nation's top diplomat. Similar polls from Politico/George Washington University, ABC News/Washington Post and the Siena College Research Institute showed consistent high marks.

"The report certainly isn't the 'hail and farewell' Hillary Clinton hoped for, and it isn't pretty. But two points: Clinton has been in the national public eye for 20 years, so any new piece of information is put into a much larger context. That will help her," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

Though the Benghazi attacks will likely come up should Clinton venture a presidential run, the impact will have lessened, Sabato said.

"Think about 2012 when Benghazi was a fresh issue. How much did it help the GOP in the end? Somewhere between nada and zilch. Only a small portion of the electorate seemed interested, and overwhelmingly, they were already voting Republican," Sabato said. "I have a hard time believing that Benghazi will make much difference after the passage of four more years."

Rothkopf agrees.

"I do not believe the Benghazi case will have any impact on her presidential prospects. No one in public life for as long as she has been has an absolutely blemish-free record, and hers is vastly more distinguished and blemish-free than most," Rothkopf said.

"Further, truth be told, the misfires prior to Benghazi really occurred much farther down the food chain within the State Department," he said. "Suggesting errors in judgment regarding a particular post in a particular country fall within the direct purview of the Secretary of State is a gross misreading of the nature and demands of her job."

CNN's Dana Davidson, Dana Bash, Elise Labott , Adam Levine and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.


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4 State Department officials quit after report on Benghazi attack


The four officials resign after a high-level panel held them responsible for failing to act on requests for greater security for the U.S. mission in Libya.




A man looks at documents at the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, a day after it was attacked by militants, who killed four Americans. (Ibrahim Alaguri / Associated Press / September 12, 2012)



Panel faults security failures in Benghazi attacks









By Paul Richter and Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times

December 19, 2012, 7:39 p.m.



WASHINGTON — Four senior State Department officials resigned under pressure Wednesday after an independent review board determined that they had operational responsibility for "grossly inadequate" security when Islamic militants killed four Americans at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

At a news conference, retired Adm. Michael G. Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a leader of the independent panel, said "senior officials in critical positions of authority and responsibility in Washington demonstrated a lack of leadership and management ability."

The Sept. 11 assault, which killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, has forced a wholesale reexamination of how the U.S. government protects its diplomatic facilities and employees, especially in dangerous areas.

It has also set off a bitter struggle between the White House and Republican critics who contend the Obama administration failed to provide adequate security and sought to conceal its lapses during the presidential campaign.

The senior State Department staffers who resigned included Eric Boswell, the assistant secretary for diplomatic security; Charlene Lamb, a deputy assistant secretary responsible for embassy security; and another unnamed person in the diplomatic security bureau, officials said. Raymond Maxwell, a deputy assistant secretary who oversaw Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, was identified by the Associated Press as the fourth official to resign.

They were held responsible for failing to act on requests for more guards and better fortifications for the U.S. compound in Benghazi, a city overrun by armed militiamen.

The resignations were a rare step for the State Department and an indication of how seriously top officials consider the lapses, veteran U.S. diplomats said.

No senior officials were forced out, for example, after the August 1998 bombings by Al Qaeda of U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, which killed more than 200 people and injured several thousand.

Nor was anyone disciplined in the CIA after an independent review board found "systemic breakdowns" of security when an Al Qaeda suicide bomber killed seven CIA officers on their base in Khowst, Afghanistan, in December 2009.

Yet some Republican lawmakers who have focused on the Benghazi attacks insisted the resignations and corrective steps recommended by the panel were inadequate and demanded more sweeping reform.

"This shouldn't be about just asking a few department heads politely to resign," said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. "You better be reaching down for fundamental change."

In its report released late Tuesday, the Accountability Review Board concluded that the State Department's Diplomatic Security and Near East Affairs bureaus failed to coordinate security activities and relied on undependable Libyan militia and local security contractors to protect the facility.

Mullen and former Ambassador Thomas Pickering, co-leaders of the five-member panel, briefed closed sessions of the Senate and House foreign affairs committees Wednesday. The committees will meet in open session Thursday to hear from Deputy Secretaries of State William J. Burns and Thomas Nides.

Pickering said the board decided that direct responsibility reached the level of assistant secretary of State and no higher. That was "where the decision making in fact takes place — where, if you like, the rubber meets the road," he said.

Still, the issue could affect the legacy of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is expected to step down next month. She is widely viewed as a leading presidential candidate in 2016.

The unclassified portion of the report — a separate classified section was given to lawmakers — does not mention the CIA. Only a handful of U.S. diplomats worked in Benghazi, compared with more than two dozen intelligence officers. Two of the four Americans killed in the attacks died at the CIA base, called the Annex.

Despite the intelligence operation, the report concludes there was "little understanding of militias in Benghazi and the threat they posed to U.S. interests." That included the Feb. 17 militia, which was hired to help protect the U.S. facilities but apparently fled during the attack.

"That's in part an intelligence failure," said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), who serves on the House Intelligence Committee. "We did not know how unreliable the militias were and how compromised they may be."

"There's plenty of responsibility to go around, and I think the resignations are an indication that people are taking it seriously," Schiff said.

paul.richter@latimes.com

ken.dilanian@latimes.com



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Richard Ho Lung Left The Jesuit Order And Moved Into The Slums And Ghettos Of Kingston


THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011





What he had experienced changed everything – the poverty and want, violence and suffering on Jamaica moved  Richard Ho Lung deeply. In 1981 this Jesuit priest and university professor resigned his post and his title. He had studied philosophy, English literature and theology and had taught at St. George’s College in the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica and at the Boston College in the United States. Born in Jamaica, he had been ordained to the priesthood in 1971. "I was preaching the Word of God but not living it", recalls Father Richard Ho Lung, during a visit to the headquarters of the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Richard Ho Lung left the Jesuit Order and moved into the slums and ghettos of Kingston, the Jamaican capital. "I got to know the life of the poor and saw the Beatitudes of Jesus as my mission", recalls the now 72-year-old whose grandfather originally came from China. At first the people he met were surprised and astonished by him but very soon this priest, who devoted himself to the poor, elderly and sick, became highly regarded. Others were quickly drawn by his example and joined him. A small community of four men, both priests and laity, came into being. They called themselves the Brothers of the Poor, since they were accepted as brothers by the poor.

Link (here) to read the full article at Aid to the Church in Need


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No Hatred From Seventh-Day Adventists


No Hatred From Seventh-Day AdventistsPublished: Thursday | December 20, 2012


Colin Gyles

Colin Gyles, Guest Columnist

It is contrary to the principles and ethos of Seventh-day Adventism to hate people, whether Catholics, Muslims, Protestants, atheists, homosexuals, or any other. If there are Seventh-day Adventists who hate people, it is not on account of their being Seventh-day Adventists.

I am compelled to publicly make these declarations in response to an article published in The Sunday Gleaner, December 16, questioning 'Do Adventists hate Catholics?' by no less a person than the highly respected and eminent Father Richard Ho Lung.

It is an unfortunate and gross misunderstanding that would cause anyone to even entertain a question as to whether Seventh-day Adventists hate anyone. I speak on behalf of just about every Seventh-day Adventist that I have known.

First of all, I wish to establish my authority for being able to speak in this manner and also to make it absolutely clear that I am not speaking on behalf of the Seventh-day Adventist Church organisation. I have declared myself publicly to be of historic Seventh-day Adventist faith and also non-denominational. So I do not represent any church.

I was born and bred a Seventh-day Adventist, baptised in the church, served in various capacities, including youth leader and even elder at Kencot Seventh-day Adventist Church, one of the largest churches in Jamaica. My late father served for more than 50 years as an elder of the church, my late mother was a dedicated Adventist almost her entire life. All my siblings and close family members continue in the church and serve in various capacities, and I continue to hold to the faith.

I certainly do not hate Catholics and was never taught to do so. I have many very good friends who are Catholics. I did sixth form at St Catherie High School, a Roman Catholic school, and was even head boy there and a member of the board of governors of that school, being the student representative on the board.

I sent my son to Campion College, a school run by the Roman Catholic Jesuits, where he obtained a good education and represented the school in sports. No one can question the value added to our society and the world by Food For The Poor, a Roman Catholic-founded institution, and so many others.

Likewise, I could not hate Seventh-day Adventists, notwithstanding the well-publicised differences that I hold with respect to some of their currently held doctrines, notably the Trinity belief, which I reject and which was also rejected by the Seventh-day Adventist pioneers. To hate them would mean hating my closest family members. I was taught to love everybody.

A part of the Seventh-day Adventist philosophy is to love people, even if you disagree with their views. Even today, within the fellowship that I worship on Sabbaths, I hold different views from some of the other leading brethren. But we worship together, eat lunch together, love each other, and still vigorously advocate and defend our views in very lively theological discussions.

Where is the misunderstanding?

No one can question the value added to our society and the world by Andrews Hospital, Northern Caribbean University, and other Seventh-day Adventist institutions.

So, where does this misunderstanding arise that could possibly lead anyone to question whether or not Seventh-day Adventists hate Catholics?

I think it stems from a misunderstanding of Seventh-day Adventist theology. As someone of Seventh-day Adventist background, I know that there is a general interpretation among Adventists that certain biblical symbols represent the Roman Catholic system. It is the generally held view by Seventh-day Adventists, both historical and denominational, that Roman Catholics do not have the full understanding of spiritual truth and, like so many others in the world, could be better enlightened regarding some points of faith.

But when one feels that people misunderstand something and make mistakes because they do not know better, the feeling towards them is not to hate them, but to lovingly enlighten them.

So, I join with Father Ho Lung in encouraging not only Adventists and Catholics, but all humanity to love one another and live in harmony.

Dr Colin Gyles is a lay preacher of Philadelphia Fellowship, a historic Seventh-day Adventist Christian ministry. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and cagyles@yahoo.com.

Source



P.S.

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 
- Matthew 23:9.
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NY cardinal compares slain Conn. teacher to Jesus


By DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press
Updated 10:23 am, Thursday, December 20, 2012



Firefighters salute as a hearse passes for the funeral procession to the burial of 7-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Daniel Gerard Barden, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. Barden was killed when Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before killing himself. Photo: David Goldman / AP



NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — A single bell tolled Thursday at the Connecticut funeral of a 6-year-old girl killed by a gunman at her elementary school, while a cardinal in New York compared a slain teacher to Jesus for giving up her life to protect others.

In Newtown, the site of the shooting rampage, grim-faced mourners hurried through the packed parking lot of St. Rose of Lima Church to attend the funeral Mass for 6-year-old Catherine Hubbard.

Catherine's family said in her obituary that she would be remembered for her passion for animals and her constant smile.

Catherine was among the 20 students and six teachers killed when Adam Lanza, armed with a military-style assault rifle, broke into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on Dec. 14 and opened fire. Lanza killed his mother at her home before the attack and committed suicide at the school as police closed in.

Funerals were also scheduled in Connecticut on Thursday for 7-year-old Grace McDonnell and 6-year-olds Benjamin Andrew Wheeler, Jesse Lewis and Allison Wyatt, and a memorial was held for teacher Lauren Gabrielle Rousseau.

In New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan told mourners at the funeral of 52-year-old Anne Marie Murphy that the teacher "brought together a community, a nation, a world, now awed by her own life and death."

Murphy's father, Hugh McGowan, said authorities told him that she died trying to protect her young pupils. Her body was found covering a group of children's bodies as if to shield them, McGowan said.

Dolan underscored her sacrifice.

"Like Jesus, Annie laid down her life for her friends," Dolan said. "Like Jesus, Annie's life and death brings light, truth, goodness and love to a world often shrouded in darkness, evil, selfishness and death."

About 15 people arrived at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Katonah, N.Y., in a yellow school bus with "Newtown" written on its side. The church quickly filled and about 100 mourners waited outside.

Janelle Wingert, of Wyoming, said in an email interview that she met Murphy when they were involved in the same faith-based community service activities in the Newtown area. She said Murphy asked her after 9/11 what she would do if someone attacked a school where she was working.

"She was serious and so intense in the question," Wingert said in a Facebook post. "She died doing exactly what she said she would do — put herself between the gunman and her little ones, who she saw as the most precious of all in God's heart."

Trinity Episcopal church on Newtown's Main Street was filled to capacity for the funeral of Benjamin Wheeler, and scores of mourners who couldn't get in milled about outside. The service for a child described as a lighthouse buff, budding musician and Beatles fan included a rendition of "Here Comes The Sun" and the hymn "Amazing Grace."

Benjamin's five uncles acted as pallbearers. About two dozen Boy Scout leaders lined the front pathway to the church in honor of the former Cub Scout.

In downtown Danbury, mourners filed into the ornate white-pillared First Congregational Church for a memorial service for teacher Lauren Rousseau. The congregation in the packed church sang "Morning Has Broken" and "Let There Be Peace On Earth."

Friends wept on the altar as they remembered the spirited, hardworking, sunny-natured young woman who loved children and animals, especially cats, and who had always wanted to be a teacher. They spoke of how the 30-year-old brightened their lives with her silliness and gave them all nicknames.

A U.S. Justice Department official told The Associated Press that Attorney General Eric Holder would travel to Newtown on Thursday to meet with first responders and law enforcement officials. The trip comes after Holder met with Vice President Joe Biden, who is tasked with leading an administration-wide effort to create new proposals for reducing gun violence.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the trip hadn't been publicly announced.

In addition to the services, the families of 6-year-old Olivia Rose Engel, behavioral therapist Rachel Marie D'Avino and school psychologist Mary Sherlach have calling hours Thursday.

At least nine funerals and wakes were held Wednesday, and more are set for Friday and Saturday.

___

Associated Press writer Frederic J. Frommer in Washington, Jim Fitzgerald in Katonah, N.Y., Christina Rexrode in New York, Helen O'Neill in Danbury, Conn., and Eilleen AJ Connelly and Tom Hays in Newtown contributed to this report.


Source: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/NY-cardinal-compares-slain-Conn-teacher-to-Jesus-4134484.php#ixzz2FcSNCS6D


Related:

Newtown victim Anne Marie Murphy, of Katonah, laid to rest

http://newyork.newsday.com/news/nation/newtown-victim-anne-marie-murphy-of-katonah-laid-to-rest-1.4357264


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