Tag: religion

Vatican Excommunicates Members of Conservative Church Group Society of St. Pius X for Ordaining Bishops Without Pope Leo’s Approval

A 21st-century schism?

The highly controversial Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of the Holy Office and a Pope Francis holdover, has issued a decree on behalf of leftist Pope Leo XIV saying that ​priests and lay Catholics from a traditionalist Catholic group that the bishops ordained with Leo’s approval are in a schism ‌with the wider Church, and are now excommunicated.

Reuters reported:

“In a strong decree, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the top watchdog authority for the 1.4-billion-member Church, also warned Catholics globally that the Swiss-based Society of St. Pius X now celebrated the sacraments illicitly.”

The group cannot officially officiate marriages or hear confessions validly, ​the decree says.

“It is a strict teaching of the Church that only the pope can authorize the consecration of new bishops, in ​order to maintain the Church’s ties to Jesus’ 12 apostles, who are considered the first priests and bishops.

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Police Stop North Carolina Church Massacre Arresting Man Who Showed Up with Flamethrowers, Crossbows, More Than 500 Rounds of Ammo

Police arrested a man on Sunday who was apparently attempting to execute a mass casualty terrorist attack at a church in North Carolina.  

He faces charges of possession of a weapon of mass destruction and impersonation of a law enforcement officer.

The suspect, 44-year-old William S. Milliken III, was found by police in the parking lot of the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church in High Point, North Carolina, on Sunday morning, after a 911 caller reported an armed man wearing camouflage clothing.

According to authorities, the man was found with a “launcher resembling a handgun, flame throwers, and more than 500 rounds of ammunition.”

“He was wearing a plate carrier, which is a type of body armor. Milliken’s charges include possession of weapon of mass destruction, impersonation of law enforcement officer, and possession of control substance schedule II,” High Point police said in a news release.

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BBC refuses to report on The Rape Gang Inquiry because it has to make “complex choices”

Today, the story broke about a Muslim rape gang ringleader, who was convicted of 30 child rapes, who “cannot be deported” despite being stripped of his British citizenship – thanks to a rule in the Immigration Act 1971.  Instead, this child rapist will be let loose into the British community.

It’s not only legislation which is protecting the perpetrators and putting the community at risk. 

Today, Rupert Lowe, a Member of Parliament (“MP”) for Restore Britain, revealed evidence of the protection the BBC affords Muslim rape gangs.

The BBC has not reported on the findings of the independent Rape Gang Inquiry because, the BBC says, “complex choices” have to be made for editorial and practical reasons.

You can read the BBC’s excuses HERE.

The following is a tweet posted by Mr. Lowe, commenting on the BBC’s explanation.

The BBC has issued an official explanation on why it has failed to cover our rape gang inquiry.

“Complex choices” are made for editorial and practical reasons. These choices “should not be taken as indicative of bias.” Their words.

But the BBC were very quick to cover malicious complaints against our inquiry, in an attempt to smear our efforts. They were then forced to later apologise for how they covered the story.

So, either the inquiry is worth reporting on, or it’s not. They can’t pick and choose.

We’re told “complex choices” are made, meaning that efforts to uncover the industrial rape of young girls is not near the top of list.

Let’s take a look at a few stories on the main BBC news page, right now…

  • ‘Osaka pays ‘love and respect to Japan’ in Wimbledon kimono’
  • ‘Why £15 durians are being sold at half price – or given away for free’
  • ‘We had packed lunches every day for 10 years and retired at 40’

Are these stories more important than the rape gang inquiry? I think not.

You cannot hate the BBC enough. I expect no fair coverage from them; I’ve stopped expecting it. But the BBC is funded by the British people. Their continued suppression of our inquiry is a disgrace.

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San Francisco Archdiocese Agrees To $395 Million Abuse Settlement

The Archdiocese of San Francisco has agreed to pay $395 million to settle more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials, in what the plaintiffs’ lawyers described as the largest per-survivor settlement.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys said on June 29 that San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone will have to write an apology letter to each survivor as part of the settlement.

The settlement also requires the archdiocese to implement a series of child protection and transparency reforms.

The settlement comes three years after the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy and will cover approximately 530 survivors of child sexual abuse.

It is the latest agreement over clergy sexual abuse claims. In 2024, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to a record $880 million settlement.

This settlement follows years of back-and-forth mediation between the Archdiocese and the Survivors’ Creditors Committee.

The law firm representing the survivors said the $395 million “stands as the largest per survivor settlement in any clerical bankruptcy.”

“As a part of the settlement, the Archdiocese is turning over (assigning) its rights under the insurance policies for the survivors to recover additional damages against all the insurance companies who refused to abide by their contractual responsibilities to the Archdiocese and the survivors,” it said.

“I’ve been working with survivors for decades, and I’ve never heard of anything quite as significant, as rigorous, as robust as what is being required of the Archdiocese of San Francisco,” said Jeff Anderson, an attorney representing dozens of child sexual abuse victims.

The proposed 14-point settlement plan calls for appointing an independent child protection consultant with full access to archdiocesan records, publishing findings and a more complete list of credibly accused offenders, creating a survivor-sensitive public archive, and strengthening protections for whistleblowers and reporters.

It also calls for banning mandatory nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) in abuse settlements and prohibiting private digital communications between adults and children.

Margie O’Driscoll sued the archdiocese, alleging she was sexually abused almost 50 years ago by a priest while she was a student at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, a community north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

“I, like every survivor, have carried this pain and shame along like a ball and chain for a very, very long time,” O’Driscoll said during a news conference.

“Ashamed and confused about what happened, scorned by the archdiocese, and sometimes not even believed by family and friends, and I think today shame is gonna change sides.”

“We believe this proposal provides a path toward fair compensation for survivors who have borne the weight of this abuse for a lifetime,” Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone, archbishop of San Francisco, said in a June 29 statement.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco, led by Cordileone, serves more than 400,000 Catholics in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties.

“The entire Catholic family is called to unite and share in the work of making amends through this proposed settlement. We have a moral obligation to bring some level of healing and reconciliation to those who deserve our unwavering respect, attention, and prayers,” he said.

“With stringent preventative measures and trainings now in place for decades, the hope is that this proposal will allow us collectively to move forward by continuing the important ministries to the faithful and community members that rely on our services and charity.

“While the vast majority of sexual abuse allegations associated with this bankruptcy were from many decades ago, we accept full responsibility for what happened, and I sincerely apologize to all those who have been harmed.”

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Northern Ireland: Historic Catholic Convent Near St Patrick’s Tomb Destroyed in Deliberate Fire as Christian Europe Burns

A historic former Catholic convent near the burial place of Saint Patrick in Northern Ireland was devastated by a deliberate fire Sunday night, forcing more than 70 firefighters into an overnight battle to save the adjacent parish church.

The blaze, according to a report from Life Site News, broke out at the former Convent of Mercy in Downpatrick, County Down, at around 7 p.m. on June 28. By the time emergency crews arrived, the building was already engulfed in a well-developed fire.

The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service said the cause is believed to have been deliberate. No injuries were reported, but the damage to one of Downpatrick’s most recognizable Catholic landmarks was severe.

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Dem Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia Claims Transphobia is ‘An Offense to the Glory of God’

Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, a Democrat, recently spoke to members of a synagogue in Los Angeles and claimed that transphobia is violence against humanity and divinity and an offense to the glory of God.

First, transphobia is a stupid word. People who object to the trans agenda do not fear trans people. They just don’t want it pushed on their kids in schools. They don’t want their wives and daughters to have to share intimate spaces with biological men.

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Backlash as Texas Approves ‘Unconstitutional’ Mandatory Bible Lessons in Public Schools

As education officials in Texas ban hundreds of books that run afoul of their interpretation of Christian morality, the State Board of Education on Friday approved a required reading list that forces the state’s more than 5 million public school students to read from the Bible.

The Republican-controlled SBOE voted 9-5 with one abstention to approve the list, which includes passages from the Book of Exodus as well as the Shepherd’s Psalm and the myths of Adam and Eve and David and Goliath.

“We’re going to stop watering down American history. We’re going to teach the truth. Our nation was founded as a Christian nation, and Texas is a Christian state,” Republican board member Brandon Hall—who is also a youth pastor at Cavalry Baptist Church in Springtown—said during a Thursday press conference in Austin.

That “truth” omits or marginalizes climate change, US imperialism, women’s history, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, slavery, and racism.

Evelyn Brooks, the only Republican SBOE member to vote against the required reading list, told CNN on Friday that she believes the board’s move is “unconstitutional.”

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James Talarico Says Black Churches Understand Jesus Better than White Churches

Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico said many white churches do not reflect the Jesus described in the Gospels and argued that black churches have a “deeper and more accurate” understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.

Speaking on the September 2024 podcast titled “Holy Conversation: Faith and Politics,” Talarico said too many white churches focus on the afterlife instead of on “freeing the oppressed and healing the sick and feeding the hungry.”

“Too many white churches are focused on the afterlife and not really much on this life,” Talarico said. “In my opinion, a lot of white churches don’t resemble the Jesus we meet in the Gospels of being out in the world, of freeing the oppressed and healing the sick and feeding the hungry.”

Talarico also praised black churches, saying they have a better understanding of what it means to follow Jesus than many white churches.

“And in the black churches that I’ve been in, they, I think because of their position in this country historically and currently, have a much deeper and more accurate understanding of what it means to follow Jesus in the 21st century,” Talarico continued. “So I’m glad that we are learning from black churches. I know my church has up in North Austin, and it sounds like this church is.”

Talarico has criticized Christianity. Earlier this year, the Texas state representative and Presbyterian seminarian told The New Yorker that Christianity is the “most violent” religion and has caused “damage” to Islam.

He has opposed President Donald Trump’s immigration restrictions on people from terrorism-prone countries and expressed support for Muslim communities. During remarks to the Pakistani American Council of Texas, Talarico condemned Trump’s restrictions on travel from countries identified as hotspots for radical Islamic terrorism, calling the president “a threat to all of us” and saying he stood with his “Muslim brothers and sisters.”

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Denmark Moves to Ban Islamic Call to Prayer, Minister Says Country Should Not Sound Like Pakistan

Denmark is considering a nationwide ban on the Islamic call to prayer, with the country’s immigration minister saying it should not be heard “over Danish rooftops.”

Morten Bødskov said the government will reopen an investigation into whether the noise can be legally prohibited across the country.

“The call to prayer should not be heard over Danish rooftops,” Bødskov told Danish news agency Ritzau.

“It has no place in Denmark, and you shouldn’t be in any doubt whether you’ve ended up in a suburb of Islamabad when you walk around Denmark.”

The Adhan is traditionally recited five times a day to call Muslims to prayer. In some countries, it is broadcast through loudspeakers attached to mosques or minarets.

Bødskov said the review will examine whether a ban can be introduced while complying with Denmark’s constitutional protections for religious freedom.

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Pakistani firm ordered to demolish illegal Saitama mosque

Municipal authorities in Kawagoe City have issued a corrective directive demanding the removal of a newly constructed mosque, declaring it an illegal structure built without permits on restricted land, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 31).

The facility, named Japan Jama Masjid Ramzan, sits in the city’s Shimo-Akasaka district. Despite its unauthorized status, the mosque held a grand opening ceremony on April 3, an event reportedly attended by the Pakistani Ambassador to Japan.

According to the city’s Development Guidance Division, the mosque was erected in an “Urbanization Control Area” — a designated zone where development and construction are strictly regulated under the City Planning Act. The builders never submitted applications or received permission to build.

City officials first learned of the rogue construction in October following complaints from local residents. By the time officials arrived, the exterior of the building was already largely complete.

Despite repeated demands from the city to halt construction, the warnings were ignored.

“Initially, the situation continued where the workers would just tell us, ‘Nihongo wakaranai‘ (I don’t understand Japanese),” a city official said. “Our staff went to the site numerous times to explicitly tell them that building there was prohibited.”

Because the structure remains unregistered and its exact owner technically unknown, the city issued its directives to the landowner. In March, ownership of the plot was transferred from a Fujimi City real estate agency to a company headed by a Pakistani national, with its headquarters listed at the same site.

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