R-69 Pope vows to bar pedophiles becoming priests

Pope vows to bar pedophiles becoming priests

So what's wrong with this picture when the pope says.....

"We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry."

"We are deeply ashamed and will do whatever is possible so that this does not happen in the future,"

What's wrong is that the pope now intends to exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry... What he's not saying or addressing (denial) is the abuse by the existing "known" pedophiles already in the clergy. He's also playing dumb as to his role as then, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and the cover up of sex abuse back in the 1960's that he was a part of....

R-13 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger a.k.a. the enforcer a.k.a. The Pope - named in child sex abuse cover-up

Sorry but I can't upload any images on Blogger at this time...

JR
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ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Tuesday he was "deeply ashamed" over sexual abuse of children by priests and vowed to do everything possible to stop pedophiles entering the priesthood in future.

"We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," he told reporters accompanying him on his first trip as pope to the United States.

"We are deeply ashamed and will do whatever is possible so that this does not happen in the future," he said on board the plane to Washington.

The U.S. trip is the first by a pontiff since a wave of sex abuse scandals began in 2002, provoking lawsuits that have forced dioceses to pay more than $2 billion in settlements.

Benedict said the Church will do everything possible in screening candidates for the priesthood "so that only really sound persons can be admitted."

"It is more important to have good priests than to have many priests," said the pontiff, who will be greeted upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base by U.S. President George W. Bush.

The pope is expected to discuss sexual abuse again during the six-day trip to the United States, during which he also will pray at Ground Zero in New York and address the United Nations.

Flagging the issue ahead of arrival, he said abuse had caused "great suffering" to the Church in the United States.

"If I read the histories of these victims, it's difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betrayed in this way their mission to give healing, to give the love of God to these children," he said.

A poll released this month by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life showed the German-born pope was viewed favorably by most Americans, but was not as popular as his predecessor John Paul II.

The pope, who will also mark the third anniversary of his election during the trip, has said he hopes the visit will lead to a spiritual renewal in America.

He addresses the United Nations on Friday and has said he aims to draw attention to the need for greater peace and justice around the world.

In New York, Benedict will also make a brief stop at a synagogue to wish the city's Jewish community a happy Passover.

He ends the trip on Sunday after visiting Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center towers destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. He will also say Mass at Yankee Stadium.

(Writing by Phil Stewart; Editing by Richard Balmforth; Photo By Philip Pullella )

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R-68 New Year.. times are a changing.... No more new posts

Other than for my personal Blog “Saysame,” I will not be adding any more posts to any of my “other” Blogs. The original intent and purpose of those Blogs was to present and document the unloving denials present in our society and so show how the different religions, governments, organizations, customs and traditions are all related and how the truth is distorted, manipulated and controlled by denial, omission, or in stating part truths meant to confuse and deceive. In all our history, nothing has really changed except the form of the experiences and no real healing or true understanding can take place as long as these conditions, fueled by unlovingness and old imprints, programs and beliefs are present.

What is happening globally now is merely the lull before the storm, a momentary pause in the on-going and escalating hatred and violence, creating the illusion of a possible peace, but that is only a façade. Rest assured that each side with its religion, government and its social structure and order is silently preparing for either a new offensive or defensive maneuver. Nothing has changed except, as mentioned, the “form” of the experience and now a "new" element will be brought into the conflicts to create the appearance that this is a new and different problem and issue and so the cycle continues, going around and around as it also escalates.

The coming times and Earth changes will not be easy as it will bring a total breakdown of society as we presently know it. These changes will not be affecting some other person or people in another part of the world, but will be happening on our personal doorstep where it can’t be denied unless denial is still your intent.

In the next few years everyone will be facing their denials and will be making life and death choices that will have far reaching consequences; more than just our present physical survival, but the survival of our very Spiritual essence. For Humanity to survive, we need to change within, before we can change the without. We need to let go of all our old imprints, programs and beliefs that keep us in this never ending cycle of unlovingness, suffering and death created by denial, guilt and shame that we have been struggling to change and call life. We can’t change it. IT is what it is…. until IT wants to change. What we need to do is to let it go from within us and to allow it to find it’s right place. Those that desire and choose to continue to follow IT need to be allowed to do so to also find their right place.

John

R-67 Polish archbishop-to-be was 'communist collaborator'

Polish archbishop-to-be was 'communist collaborator'

WARSAW (AFP) - Stanislaw Wielgus, who is poised to be sworn in as archbishop of Warsaw, was a "secret and conscious" collaborator with Poland's hated communist-era security forces, newspapers have reported......"The new archbishop of Warsaw was a secret and conscious collaborator with the communist police, the SB, for more than 20 years. Documents confirm this," conservative daily Rzeczpospolita wrote Thursday.

Wielgus, 67, was recruited by the Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa (SB) in 1967 when he was a philosophy student at the University of Lublin in eastern Poland, Rzeczpospolita wrote.

The newspaper also cited an agreement to work with the communist security forces, which it says was signed by Wielgus in 1978, and several other documents in which the SB claims Wielgus gave them information about the University of Lublin, where he worked for a time as a professor.

The newspaper also cited documents held by the National Remembrance Institute (IPN) -- set up in Poland in 1998 to prosecute Nazi and communist crimes -- which allegedly show that Wielgus used three pseudonyms for his work with the SB: "Grey", "Adam" and "Adam Wysocki"......Other documents held by the IPN show Wielgus was given "special training for agents" and rewarded for his collaboration with a grant to study in Munich, Rzeczpospolita said. ..... The same documents were cited Thursday by liberal weekly Wprost on its website, and the right-wing Gazeta Polska newspaper later the same day posted on its site a 68-page file held by the IPN on Wielgus.

"There is no doubt that he collaborated with communist intelligence from 1973 to 1978, but we don't know what motivated him or the effects of his collaboration," historian Andrzej Paczkowski said after reading the file.

Accusations were first levelled against Wielgus, who is due to take office on Sunday, last month when the Vatican announced he had been chosen to replace Cardinal Jozef Glemp.

He is not the first high-ranking cleric to be accused of working with the communists -- an accusation that evokes deep-seated unease in overwhelmingly Catholic Poland, where the church was in the forefront of opposition to the communists.

In 2005, the IPN said it had files showing that a Polish priest who was close to the late Polish-born pope, John Paul II, worked with the communist security services in the 1980s. John Paul II was pope from 1978 until his death in April 2005.

When that row blew up, weeks after John Paul II's death, the Polish episcopate said: "One must not forget that the communist system was pitiless... it had everyone in its clutches."

Since the end of communism in Poland in 1989, holders of public office have had to come clean about their communist past. While collaborating with the communists does not automatically mean exclusion from public office, failing to admit involvement with the now defunct regime does.

Although the come-clean rule does not apply to clerics, last year the church in Poland -- where more than 90 percent of the 38.5-million-strong population profess to be Roman Catholic -- publicly apologised for priests and other clerics who collaborated with the SB.

Several prominent priests have admitted that they had secret police links, but most deny having ever collaborated.

R-66 Pope makes Christmas appeal for children

Pope makes Christmas appeal for children

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Christmas Midnight Mass in the splendor of St. Peter's Basilica early Monday with an appeal for abused children around the world, including child soldiers, beggars and others deprived of sustenance and love.

************************* says a me comment **********************

I very much doubt that the pope has had a change of "heart-less-ness" but that this is part of the standard "IMAGE" of love and compassion that the Catholic church would have the public believe on this so-called "holy" occasion. It's a clever change of tactics to take the focus off the REAL issues within the church by blaming another... And where's the LOVE in that????

Saysame
JR

R-65 Christmas, pagans and religious divergence

Christmas, pagans and religious divergence
Happy holidays!

Have I just offended you? If you are a member of the American Family Association, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights or the Committee to Save Merry Christmas, I probably have..... Yet there is a deep, and seasonal, irony here - one that might come as a shock to the "Save Merry Christmas" crowd.

For Christmas is, in its origins and its symbolism, perhaps the most pagan-inspired of all Christian holidays. Its dating derives from the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, which was determined by the winter solstice, that astronomical point in the year after which the periods of sunlight on Earth lengthen.

And that's not all that contemporary Christians have in common with neo-pagans. Most of the popular symbols surrounding Christmas - evergreen trees and other greenery, mistletoe and holly, the Yule log, candles and bonfires and holiday lights, mystical spirits with the ability to fly and to enter and leave a house through its chimney, tricksters who treat or taunt little children, not to mention those elves - all derive from older, pre-Christian Europe.

These pagan-derived symbols and customs are precisely the elements of Christmas that Christian activists are pressing to preserve and promote, in venues such as Target and Macy's. Compounding the irony even further, these are the symbols that federal and state courts have determined make a holiday display sufficiently "secular" to warrant its construction on public property at taxpayer expense. All of which goes to illustrate what's wrong when any one religious group or government entity claims the ability to determine what constitutes "religion" in America.

In fact, nothing could be more in keeping with the "Christmas spirit" than to embrace and celebrate religious diversity. And nothing could be truer to the spirit of the First Amendment than to honor American war dead as they and their loved ones would wish. No single group of self-proclaimed Christians holds a premium on the meaning of this magical season. And no government agency should decide what "qualifies" as an appropriate religious symbol.

And so, no offense intended, but season's greetings.

**************************** says a me comment ******************************

Did you also know that "Christsmas" is not mentioned in the bible and that Easter is also only mentioned once in after thought sort of way.... Says a lot for the two most important Christian holidays and also how twisted the Christian religion really is...

"Food for thought"
JR

R-64 Envoy fears for Tibet when Dalai Lama dies

Envoy fears for Tibet when Dalai Lama dies BEIJING (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama's top envoy, in rare remarks on a dialogue process with China, has warned of potential instability unless the issue of Tibet is resolved within the lifetime of the 71-year-old spiritual leader.

About half of China's Tibetans live in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, the remote, mountainous area the Dalai Lama fled in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese Communist rule.

The remainder live in parts of the western Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan, which are considered part of a historical, or cultural, Tibet.

Uniting Tibetans in those regions was not an effort to create a "greater Tibet" or a cover for a separatist plot, Lodi Gyari said, but stemmed from a desire to restore the integrity of Tibetans as a distinct nationality within China.

R-63 Pope anged over bishop's ordination in China

Pope sorrowful over bishop's ordination VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI felt "great sorrow" that China had ordained another bishop without papal approval, the Vatican said Saturday.

The ordination on Thursday was the third known case this year, aggravating tensions between China and the Holy See. "The Holy Father learned the news with great sorrow, because the episcopal ordination was conferred without the pontifical mandate" and thus violated Catholic Church law, the Vatican press office said in a statement.

China's government-backed Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association on Thursday ordained Wang Renlei, vicar-general of the Xuzhou diocese in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

Beijing broke ties with the Vatican in 1951 after the communists took power and set up a separate Catholic church outside the authority of the Holy See. The faithful are only allowed to worship with the state-sanctioned church. Beijing views papal appointments in China as an interference in internal affairs.

"This series of extremely grave acts, which offend the religious sentiment of every Catholic in China and in the rest of the world, is fruit and consequence of a vision of the Church which doesn't correspond to Catholic doctrine and subverts fundamental principles of its hierarchal structure," the Vatican statement said.

R-62 Benedict does with the Muslims what John Paul did with the Jews

Pope hailed for praying toward Mecca like Muslims ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Pope Benedict ended a sensitive, fence-mending visit to Turkey on Friday amid praise for visiting Istanbul's famed Blue Mosque and praying there facing toward Mecca "like Muslims.".... The Pope, who sparked protests across the Muslim world with a speech two months ago seen as criticizing Islam, looked relaxed and pleased as he entered the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit for a mass at the end of the four-day trip.

His first visit to a mostly Muslim country, held under tight security for fear of protests by nationalists and Islamists, was highlighted by a series of conciliatory gestures culminating in a stop on Thursday afternoon in Istanbul's famed Blue Mosque.

"The Pope's dreaded visit was concluded with a wonderful surprise," wrote daily Aksam on its front page. "In Sultan Ahmet Mosque, he turned toward Mecca and prayed like Muslims," the popular daily Hurriyet said, using the building's official name.

Just before leaving, Benedict said he hoped his visit was seen as "a sign of friendship between religions" that helps bring countries and cultures closer together..... Catholic officials also presented the mosque visit as a key moment of reconciliation.

"I would compare the Pope's visit to the mosque to Pope John Paul's gestures at the Western Wall," said veteran Vatican mediator Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, referring to Pope John Paul II's prayers at Jerusalem's Western Wall in 2000...... "Yesterday, Benedict did with the Muslims what John Paul did with the Jews."

R-61 Pope bids to unite divided Churches

Pope bids to unite divided Churches Pope Benedict XVI has held prayers with the spiritual leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians during his visit to Turkey.

At the Church of St George in Istanbul, the Pontiff and Patriarch Bartholomew recommitted their aim to find unity after almost 1,000 years of schism between their Churches...... The Western and Eastern branches of Christianity split in the Great Schism of 1054 over differences on theology and papal authority.

Pope Benedict XVI has held prayers with the spiritual leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians during his visit to Turkey....... At the Church of St George in Istanbul, the Pontiff and Patriarch Bartholomew recommitted their aim to find unity after almost 1,000 years of schism between their Churches.

The Western and Eastern branches of Christianity split in the Great Schism of 1054 over differences on theology and papal authority..... The Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church have been at odds over Orthodox charges that Catholics have been trying to win converts after the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Vatican denies this.

R-60 Pope in Turkey.... urges leaders to renounce violence

Pope urges leaders to renounce violence ANKARA, Turkey - Pope Benedict XVI urged leaders of all religions Tuesday to "utterly refuse" to support any form of violence in the name of faith, while Turkey's top Muslim cleric complained to the pontiff of growing "Islamophobia" in the world..... As he began his first visit to a Muslim country — a trip that drew extraordinary security but few onlookers — Benedict sought a careful balance as he extended friendship and brotherhood to Muslims, hoping to end the outcry from many Muslims over his remarks linking Islam to violence.

He expressed support for Turkey's efforts to join the European Union, moving away from opposition he voiced when he was a cardinal.... He avoided mention of any specific religion, even as he decried terrorism and the "disturbing conflicts across the Middle East."

Benedict also said guarantees of religious freedom are essential for a just society, and the Vatican said he raised specific issues such as property rights of Turkey's tiny 32,000-member Catholic community during talks with Turkish officials.

R-59 Is Benedict XVI the next to last Pope?

I've felt for some time that that the next Pope following John Paul II would not be around too long and that the one following him would be the last. I'm not going to go into any details as there is a lot of information on this subject on the net already. I've provided some links and if you are interested, you can do your own follow up.


THE BIBLE REVEALS NEXT AND LAST POPE WILL BE A DEVIL IMPERSONATING JOHN PAUL II

Lateran Pacts of 1929

Lateran Concordat of 1929 - Papal Wound Healed!

Vatican City (Holy See)

A Short History of the Holy See's Diplomacy

VATICAN CITY

The Aftermath

Nazis mixed religion with government

The Catholic Church and the Nazis

So long as Adolf Hitler was in power, his Roman Catholic Church never questioned his Catholicism in public, where it mattered.

Hitler's Pope? Pope Benedict XVI - Former Hitler Youth

The Papacy - A Historical Perspective (list of Popes)

THE SPIRITUAL AMBUSH OF A UNIVERSAL RELIGION How It Will Be Utilized For The Manifestation Of The False Christ

The M+G+R Foundation

Some Major Contemporary Religious Bodies:

English Bible History

Bible; From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

R-58 Turkish protests at Pope's pending visit

Turkish protests at Pope's visit Thousands of Muslims are holding a protest in Istanbul against the Pope's forthcoming visit to Turkey..... Crowds have been booing - and shouting slogans such as "Don't come Pope" - as pictures of Benedict XVI have been shown on a giant screen.

The Pope sparked outrage across the Muslim world in September, when he quoted a 14th-Century Christian emperor who criticised the Prophet Muhammad..... The Pope stressed that these were not his own words and later expressed regret for any offence his words caused...... However many Muslim leaders have been demanding an unequivocal apology.

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Turkey's Christians await pope's visit When Pope Benedict XVI visits Turkey for four days starting Tuesday, he will try to ease anger over his recent remarks linking Islam and violence. But he is also expected to press the 99 percent Muslim country to give its Christian community more rights. Some of those Christians are forced to worship in so-called "apartment churches," and suffer prejudice, discrimination, even assault.....

Of Turkey's 70 million people, some 65,000 are Armenian Orthodox Christians, 20,000 are Roman Catholic, and 3,500 are Protestant, mostly converts from Islam. Another 2,000 are Greek Orthodox and 23,000 are Jewish.
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Thousands in Turkey denounce papal visit ISTANBUL, Turkey - Tens of thousands of protesters denounced Pope Benedict XVI as an enemy of Islam at a rally Sunday that underlined deep divisions straining Turkey ahead of the pontiff's visit this week.....

Officials hoping to promote closer ties with the West urged calm, but Islamic groups wary of Western ways are united in anger over a speech Benedict gave two months ago in which he quoted a medieval text that linked Islam to violence.

Chants of "No to the pope!" rose among nearly 25,000 demonstrators at every mention of his remarks on violence and the Prophet Muhammad. Many protesters wore headbands with anti-pope slogans and waved placards that included a depiction of Benedict as the grim reaper...... Turkey's foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, said Benedict's visit could help "remove some misunderstandings" between Christians and Muslims.

"The messages the pope gives here will, of course, be very important," Gul said at a news conference..... But the protesters sent a loud signal that the pope is not welcome until he offers a full apology for his remarks in September, in which he quoted a medieval Christian emperor characterizing some of Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman."

R-57 Buddhist monk cuts off his penis.... renounces all earthly cares

Buddhist monk cuts off penis and renounces refix BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai Buddhist monk cut off his penis with a machete because he had an erection during meditation and declined to have it reattached, saying he had renounced all earthly cares, a doctor and a newspaper said on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old monk, whose name was withheld for privacy reasons, allowed medical staff at Maharaj hospital, 780 km (480 miles) south of Bangkok to dress his wound, but refused reattachment, hospital chief Prawing Euanontouch said.

"We cleaned up the wound, gave him some stitches, but he declined to have it reattached because he said had abandoned everything," Prawing told Reuters by telephone.

************************ Says a me comment ********************

The question and issues that the monk denied were - what was he thinking about or feeling during his meditation? Does he believe that having an erection also means having a desire for sex? Why does he feel that sex is wrong or evil? If sex is wrong or evil, then he must also be evil as he is the prodiuct of a sexual act. If he was born evil, how can he expect to change what is?

Me thinks this monk needed to meditate and reflect on his issues instead of hacking off his manhood that he accused of wrong doing... What's next, a hand that scratches his ass? But alas, Buddahist meditation is based in denial as what is sought is an escape from physical reality by obtaining a mindless oneness with all that is.

Saysame JR

R-56 Orthodox chief urges Turks not to create unpleasant incidents durintg Popes visit Nov 28 - Dec 01

Orthodox chief urges Turks on pope visit ANKARA, Turkey - The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians cautioned Turks in an interview published Sunday against creating "unpleasant incidents" during
Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming trip to Turkey — his first to a Muslim country.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said in an interview in the Sabah newspaper that the pope's Nov. 28-Dec. 1 trip was a great opportunity for Turkey, and he would tell the pontiff that the country belonged in the European Union, which Ankara has long sought to join.

Turkish authorities have said they expect protests against the pope, who angered Muslims by a speech he made in September in which he quoted a Byzantine emperor's remarks about Islam and violence. Benedict has expressed regret that his remarks had caused offense, and has stressed they did not reflect his personal opinion....

R-55 Pope to hold summit on married Catholic priests

Pope to hold summit on married priests VATICAN CITY -
Pope Benedict XVI has called a meeting Thursday with top Vatican officials to discuss lifting the celibacy requirement for priests seeking to marry or who have already married.

The Vatican stressed the meeting would not open a general discussion of the celibacy requirement but would only examine requests for dispensation made by priests wishing to marry and requests for readmission made by clergy who had married in recent years.

Bishops OK guidelines for gay ministry BALTIMORE - The nation's Roman Catholic bishops adopted new guidelines for gay outreach Tuesday that are meant to be welcoming, while also telling gays to be celibate since the church considers their sexuality "disordered."..... Gay Catholic activists said the approach was so contorted and flawed that it would alienate the very people it was trying to reach.

Pope presides at summit on celibacy
VATICAN CITY -
Pope Benedict XVI presided over a summit Thursday on the celibacy requirement for clergy, spurred by a married African archbishop who has been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.... The Vatican insists that the policy itself was not open for discussion, but that the meeting was called to examine the implications of the "disobedience" by Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo.... The prelate is thinking big in his campaign to have the Church to drop the demand that clergy be celibate. He is hoping to draw some 1,000 married Catholic priests to a Dec. 8-10 gathering in the New York City area.

The Holy See had stressed that the summit on Thursday would not open up debate on the celibacy requirement, but would instead examine requests for dispensation made by priests wishing to marry and requests for readmission by clergy who had married in recent years. It cited no numbers.

Vatican reaffirms celibacy for priests VATICAN CITY - A Vatican summit led by Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed mandatory celibacy for priests Thursday, rebuffing a high-profile crusade by a married African archbishop who has been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church..... In a statement after the three-hour meeting, the Vatican said: "The value of the choice of priestly celibacy, according to Catholic tradition, has been reaffirmed."..... The Vatican did not cite any figures, but there are estimated to be at least 100,000 married priests worldwide, with about 25,000 of them in the United States.

R-54 Pope to meet Muslim cleric who denounced him and his speech of Sept 12

Pope to meet cleric who denounced him VATICAN CITY - The pope's upcoming trip to Turkey will include a meeting with a Muslim cleric who was one of the first to denounce Benedict XVI for his remarks on Islam and violence, the Vatican said Saturday.... The Nov. 28-Dec. 1 pilgrimage was born out of Benedict's desire to meet with the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, as the pope pursues closer relations among Christians.

One of the first to denounce Benedict's speech was Turkey's president for religious affairs, Ali Bardakoglu, a top Islamic cleric who said criticism of Islam threatened world peace. Benedict and Bardakoglu will meet within hours of the pope's arrival in Ankara, the Turkish capital. The pope will also deliver a speech during his encounter with the cleric, the Vatican said.

Benedict has offered his regrets that his speech caused offense and has stressed that the quotes did not reflect his personal opinion. He has also expressed esteem for Islam.

R-53 Christian population falls in Holy Land

Christian population falls in Holy Land BETHLEHEM, West Bank - The death threat came on simple white fliers blowing down the streets at dawn. A group calling itself "Friends of Muhammad" accused a local Palestinian Christian of selling mobile phones carrying offensive sketches of the Muslim prophet.... The message went on to curse all Arab Christians and Pope Benedict XVI, still struggling to calm Muslim outrage from his remarks on Islam.

Call it part of a modern exodus, the steady flight of the tiny Palestinian Christian minority that could lead, some predict, to the faith being virtually extinct in its birthplace within several generations — a trend mirrored in many dwindling pockets of Christianity across the Islamic world.

R-52 Catholic Nun gets 30 years for her part in Rwanda's 1994 genocide...

Catholic nun gets 30 years for Rwanda genocide

NAIROBI, Kenya - A Catholic nun has been sentenced to 30 years in jail for helping militias kill hundreds of people hiding in a hospital during Rwanda's 1994 genocide, an official said Friday....Theophister Mukakibibi was sentenced by a traditional gacaca court for helping Hutu militiamen to kill ethnic Tutsis seeking refuge from the slaughter in Butare hospital, where she worked.

"She was responsible for selecting Tutsis and would throw them out of the hospital and the militia would then kill them," said Jean Baptiste Ndahumba, president of the local gacaca court in Butare town. "This nun was organizing people to be killed." She was jailed Thursday....

A number of Hutu Catholic and Protestant church leaders are alleged to have played significant roles in the east African nation's 100-day massacre. More than a half-million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by the militia, orchestrated by the extremist Hutu government then in power. The genocide ended when Tutsi rebels toppled the government.

The gacaca courts are intended to speed up the genocide trials and are separate from the conventional judicial system. With nine judges from the local community, the traditional courts were also established to help heal divisions but can impose life sentences.

Some 63,000 genocide suspects are detained in Rwanda, and justice authorities say that at least 761,000 people should stand trial for their role in the slaughter and chaos that came with it. The suspects represent 9.2 percent of Rwanda's estimated 8.2 million people.

A U.N. tribunal based in neighboring Tanzania is trying those accused of masterminding the genocide in Rwanda. Three members of the clergy have appeared at the tribunal.

In 2001, two Rwandan Catholic nuns were convicted by a Belgian court for aiding and abetting the mass murders. A Roman Catholic priest is on trial before the Tanzania-based U.N. tribunal, accused of ordering the slaughter of 2,000 people who sought refuge in his church.

R-51 Israel to host gay parade.. Pope has it cancelled..

Vatican urges Israel to ban Jerusalem gay parade VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The
Vatican has condemned a gay pride parade due to be held in Jerusalem on Friday as offensive to religious believers and urged Israeli authorities to stop it taking place..... "It is with bitterness that we have learned that the day after tomorrow, November 10, 2006, there is scheduled in Jerusalem a so-called 'gay pride parade'," the Vatican said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

"The Holy See has reiterated on many occasions that the right to freedom of expression, sanctioned by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is subject to just limits, in particular when the exercise of this right would offend the religious sentiments of believers," the letter said.

"It is clear that the gay parade scheduled to take place in Jerusalem will prove offensive to the great majority of Jews, Muslims and Christians, given the sacred character of the City of Jerusalem."

Israel gay pride parade canceled

R-50 Are we sinning yet... Whipped cream? Hummmmm

Are we sinning yet?

TORONTO, Nov 7 (Reuters Life!) - The United Church of Canada hopes an ad featuring a can of whipped cream and the question, "How much fun can sex be before it's a sin?" will fill its pews as Christmas nears.

The United Church of Canada has a declining active membership of about 573,000, although almost 3 million people have some sort of affiliation with the church. Between 1994 and 2004, membership dropped about 20 percent, according to church statistics.

R-49 Church of England upset..... no Christian stamps for Xmas

Church posts anger at Britain's Christ-free Christmas stamps

LONDON (AFP) - The Church of England have sent a message of annoyance to the Royal Mail over this year's Christmas stamps, which feature festive fun rather than a Christian theme...... Santa Claus, snowmen, reindeer and a Christmas tree surrounded by presents appear on the 2006 collection, which goes on sale Tuesday.

The established church in England delivered a note of "regret" at the lack of reference to the birth of Jesus Christ, while the Royal Mail said they alternated each year between religious and non-religious themes...... "In 2004, the Church of England's General Synod approved a motion calling for Royal Mail to issue Christmas stamps with Christian themes every year," said a C of E spokesman on Monday....... "We regret that the Royal Mail have decided against continuing last year's welcome return to Christian-themed designs reminding people of the true meaning of Christmas."

Last year's set included a controversial image of a couple with Hindu markings worshipping Jesus.

UPDATES: '06 Nov 07 Non-religious Christmas stamps criticisedyear's collection of festive stamps.... Instead of religious images adorning the Christmas stamps -- which go on sale from Tuesday -- they have pictures of Santa, a snowman, a Christmas tree and a reindeer...... Religious groups say they are concerned the stamps have no connection with the real meaning of Christmas.

**************************** says a me comment ********************

"Religious groups" or "CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS GROUPS" say they are concerned the stamps have no connection with the real meaning of Christmas. I'm sure that if the Post Office started issuing stamps to celebrate other religions.. that there would be a cacophony of Christian religious opposition... especially if they were Muslin stamps...

HEY Christians....you have lost your way!!!! Aren't you the same two faced, hypocritical gang that says the true meaning of Christmas isn't about commercial things, but about love and celebrating the birth of Christ... What does that have to do with stamps? Christ never had stamps celebrating his birthday; come to think of it.... Christmas is NEVER even mentioned in the bible.... So what are you pious and righteous Christians really celebrating? If you check out the history books you will find Christmas been adapted from PAGAN holidays... So what does that make you?

"Food for thought"
Saysame JR

R-48 Anglican bishop accuses Muslims of double standards.... Pot calling kettle black....

Bishop attacks 'Muslim hypocrisy' A senior Anglican bishop has accused many Muslims of being guilty of double standards in their view of the world..... The bishop, whose father converted from Islam, also said situations such as teaching could require Muslim women not to wear full-face veils.

He added: "Given the world view that has given rise to such grievances, there can never be sufficient appeasement and new demands will continue to be made.".... He disclosed that he asks Muslim women to remove the veil when they attend his Blackburn constituency surgeries.

R-47 Evangelical chief Haggard forced to quit over sex scandal

Evangelical chief Haggard forced to quit

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Rev. Ted Haggard was forced out Saturday as leader of the megachurch he founded after a board determined the influential evangelist had committed "sexually immoral conduct," the church said Saturday.

Haggard had resigned two days earlier as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, where he held sway in Washington and condemned homosexuality, after a Denver man named Mike Jones claimed to have had drug-fueled trysts with him.

"Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct," the New Life Church's Overseer Board said in a statement.

R-46 Muslim Women demand a voice...and a choice

Muslim feminists battle against 'macho' views BARCELONA (AFP) - Muslim women from around the world took up the fight against a "macho" interpretation of Islam's Koran at the opening of an international conference on Islamic feminism

"It will come into full force when women are able to make choices in life with their own consent," Escurado said..... The three-day conference was called to "support women who are fighting for recognition of their rights in the Islamic world" and rising up "against the long-established supremacy of men", he said...... The Islamic feminist movement has slowly emerged in the Muslim world, which comprises some 29 countries with more than one billion people.

"Nothing can really begin until women start to talk to other women," said Pilar Vallugera, director of the department on women and rights at city hall in Barcelona...... "We live for the most part under rules which were handed down in Saudi Arabia centuries ago, and there are still too many unenlightened mullahs who direct our lives."..... Besides the disapproval of some men, the pioneers of Islamic feminism also face the rejection, incomprehension and anger of some of their Islamic sisters......

R-45 Frustrated Muslins respond to growing prejudice against them....

Second Muslim cleric joins row in Australia over women and rape SYDNEY (AFP) - A second Muslim cleric in Australia has stepped into a bitter dispute over attitudes to women and rape, charging that anti-Islamic bias ensured Muslim rapists got tougher sentences than other men..... Sheik Mohammed Omran publicly defended a sermon in which he said Muslims were dealt with more harshly than other sex offenders such as "bikies" belonging to motorcycle gangs or "football stars".

Both clerics referred in their sermons to heavy sentences meted out to a group of young Muslim men for a series of notorious gang rapes in Sydney six years ago..... One of the men received a 55-year jail sentence, which was later reduced on appeal...."What I said in the sermon, I say it here and I'll say it wherever I am," Omran said......

"We are part of the Australian society and, as an Australian -- forget what I am, a cleric or not a cleric, I am an Australian -- I have a view and I am free to tell the people about my view."....

Omran charged that judges lacked consistency in sentencing, saying that otherwise similar sentences should be passed on "the priest who rape(s) a child under his care, or the teacher who (has) a sexual relation with his student"..... He also accused the media and the government of overreacting to crimes committed by Muslims. Prime Minister John Howard has led the storm of criticism of the mufti's remarks about "uncovered meat".

************************ says a me comment ***********************

Similar to how aboriginals have been and still are discriminated against..... Muslims, world wide, are now being targeted with prejudice and discrimination... US - Bush did a lot to lay the finger of blame and supsicion of 911 on Muslims... and no matter what they now say or do, if they do anything wrong or complain in any way.. they are the problem and need to be taught a lesson... That's Christians for you... and any other religion for that matter... "do as I say.. don't do as I do".. but that's not the GOLDEN RULE they tell you they believe...

Saysame JR

R-44 Evangelical Pentecoastal Church in Ukraine... uses loud music and pom pom dancers..

Nigerian pastor finds new flock in Ukraine Inside one of Ukraine's biggest sports halls a band pumps out deafening music surrounded by pom pom-waving dancers in shiny blue outfits...... Thousands of people are on their feet enthusiastically singing and clapping along, as if at a pop concert...... A Pentecostal church called the Embassy of God is sweeping across the country...... It claims to have 25,000 members in the capital alone.... For many people here a church service that has a feel-good factor is something new.

Some critics are suspicious of this evangelical movement and its close relationship with powerful politicians...... The Orthodox Church feels threatened. It says Embassy of God is a cult...... "The followers become like zombies - they are fully devoted to the leader of the organisation, ready to fulfil any of his desires," says Father Superior Yevstratiy Zorya, spokesman for the Orthodox Church in Kiev..... "It also has an impact on political life, because these people help to campaign for the politicians loyal to their church."

The Embassy of God says there is no brainwashing. Instead it targets people who feel rejected by society...... It runs a homeless shelter in the capital which helps prostitutes, drug addicts and members of the mafia like Alexander Skrypin.

R-43 Pope in denial... plays dumb to past... now urges "action" on sexual abuse....

Pope urges action on sexual abuse

The Catholic Church must take all necessary steps to prevent further occurrences of child sex abuse by clergy, Pope Benedict has said.... To do this, the church had to find out what had happened in the past, he said....Pope Benedict said that abuse scandals had created deep wounds in the church.

"It is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again," he said, according to a copy of the speech released by the Vatican.... "Above all, (it is important) to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes."

R-42 US Evangelicals bring aid to suffering war torn Israel

U.S. evangelicals on mission in Israel

ASHDOD, Israel - After 35 days at sea, a group of American evangelicals traveling on a creaky World War II-era cargo ship landed in Israel on a solidarity mission only to run aground in red tape, with long delays in unloading their cargo of clothes, toys and medical supplies.

Still, the crew was unfazed Thursday, keeping a positive attitude in a demonstration of the growing alliance between evangelical Christians and the Jewish state...... "The Bible says, 'Who blesses Israel will be blessed,'" said Don Tipton, the group's leader. "We believe that."

But the mission to Israel is different.

"This is not aid, it's an expression of friendship and love," Don Tipton said. The members of his crew, like many other evangelical Christians, see supporting Israel as a divine commandment. They were further spurred by this summer's war against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, he said.....

"After the war, we saw that Lebanon was getting lots of aid and friendship, and I thought, hey, they're not the ones who just got mugged," Tipton said. He then sped up preparations for the trip, which had been planned before fighting broke out.

The voyage reflects the growing support among American evangelicals for the Jewish state, with Christians becoming more vocal politically and more generous financially on Israel's behalf.

R-41 Muslim clerics sexist comment not different than Western Societies attitude...

Australian Muslim cleric apologises for remarks on women

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's most senior Islamic cleric has issued an apology after triggering outrage for describing scantily-clad women without headscarves as "uncovered meat" inviting sexual attack.

The comments were condemned Thursday by other Muslim leaders and Prime Minister John Howard, while the government's sex discrimination commissioner said he should be deported..... "I unreservedly apologise to any woman who is offended by my comments," the cleric, Sheikh Taj Aldin al-Hilali said in a statement, after a backlash from politicians, community leaders and the Muslim community..... "I had only intended to protect women's honour, something lost in The Australian presentation of my talk," he said.

The senior Islamic cleric had commented...... "If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat?" he asked...... "The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred."

Howard said the comments were "appalling and reprehensible," adding: "The idea that women are to blame for rapes is preposterous."..... "It is incitement to a crime. Young Muslim men who now rape women can cite this in court, can quote this man, their leader in court," she told Australian television...... "It's time we stopped just saying he should apologise. It is time the Islamic community did more then say they were horrified. I think it's time he was asked to go."

************************** says a me comment **********************

I'm sure that this comment by the Muslim cleric was triggered by the The British comments on Muslim women and their veils. Again... a conflict and different opinions over customs, traditions and religious moral views.

While this is a sexist comment, it is also a religious and racial slur.. BUT... that is only part of the picture and problem... Howard and the so-called western society was quick to point a finger at the Muslins sexist comment... but.. what he failed to notice was that western society does nothing to protect women that are abused or raped... And that if a woman is abused or raped... then she must have deserved it or had invited it.... That's no different than what the Cleric was saying...

Now I'm not saying that some women don't use their body and sex to entice and manipulate men... as a form of control and power to get what they want... There are issues on all sides that need to be addressed.... including those of the so-called victim...

Saysame JR

UPDATES:
'06 Oct 26 India tackles domestic violence

It's interesting to see a twist and turn of events here... and how these same so-called good and righteous Christians never denounced the Pope when he called Muslims evil and inhuman... yet now they are outraged by a Muslim cleric calling women that reveal skin... uncovered meat... It's part of the old "Golden Rule" again and the good old "knight in shinning amour syndrome".. that now reveals himself to protect the "honor" of women, that they themselves at times, treat as meat... BUT.. this takes the focus off of their unloving actions and places it on someone that is DIFFERENT but SIMILAR...



True colours - Shit hits fan

Australia fury at cleric comments

Australian mufti's sermons suspended amid firestorm over women comments

Australian Muslim cleric apologizes for remarks on women

UPDATE: '06 Oct 30 Under-fire Australian Muslim cleric collapses, takes leave

'06 Nov 03 Australia's cleric preaches despite vow

R-40 Christianity... coming apart at the seams...

Anglican bishop warns gay clergy issue could marginalise leader

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian Anglican archbishop has warned that tolerance of gay clergy will marginalise the position of the Archbishop of Canterbury and devolve the global church from its traditional powerbase..... The leader of the largest Anglican diocese in Australia, Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen, played down the possibility of the church's disintegration, but cautioned that the ordination of gay clergy could undermine the status and influence of the global church's top figure.....

Making clear his total opposition to gay and female clergy, Jensen told a church synod late Monday that at least two overseas churches had applied to join Sydney's conservative Anglican diocese..... "I do not talk of a split, for example. Nor have I been one to talk of schism and the break-up of the Anglican communion," Jensen said.

*************************says a me comment *****************************

Why is Christianity so fragmented? Could it be that the beliefs on which it was founded are also flawed? A religious split is only a form change whereby they deny what they can't accept... So another religious domination built on the sand of denial...

Saysame JR

R-39 Religion - Politics - In god we Trust... Ahhhhhhh..... Change that.. In OUR God we Trust...

Conservatism doesn't need God

That was the nearly universal advice to Democratic politicians after the publicly pious George W. Bush vanquished the more religiously reticent John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. The largest plurality of voters - 22% - had told exit pollsters that "moral values" (left undefined in the poll) were their most salient concern. Add to this enigmatic survey finding the fact that 11 states passed amendments banning gay marriage, and the result, according to gleeful Republican pundits and not a few Democratic consultants, was the exposure of a Democratic God gap....... Ever since then, Democrats have been trying to show that they, too, have God in their hearts and in their caucus rooms.

What does faith reveal?

What are we supposed to learn when a candidate talks about his faith: That he is a good person? The rich history of religious bounders and charlatans should give the lie to that hope. Nor has a sincere belief in God prevented behavior we now view as morally repugnant. There were few more religious Americans than antebellum slaveholders and their political representatives; their claim to a divine mandate for slavery was based in unimpeachable Scriptural authority.

Or perhaps a politician's discussion of his prayer habits should reassure the public he'll make the right decisions in office. But what if opposing candidates declare themselves supplicants of the divine will - how will a voter decide who is most likely to receive divine guidance?

R-38 Masons - No so Brotherly Loving.. as they profess...

Masons struggle with racial separation
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Masons, the storied fraternal order whose members have included Mozart, George Washington and John Wayne, has become entwined across the Deep South with the remnants of another tradition in these parts: strict segregation....... Nationwide, Masonic groups operate in a separate-but-supposedly-equal system in which whites typically join one network of Masonic groups, called Grand Lodges, and blacks typically join another, called Prince Hall.

But in the South, it goes further: White-controlled Grand Lodges in 12 Southern states do not even officially recognize black Masons as their brothers — the Masonic term is "mutual recognition" — and in some cases, black lodges have taken similar stands.

R-37 US criticizes the role of Islam in politics.. but fail to see the role of Christianity

'06 Oct 21 Schroeder: Bush's faith raised suspicion BERLIN - Ex-Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder, whose second term was marked by vehement opposition to the war in
Iraq, described in an advance copy of his memoirs how he was suspicious of
President Bush's constant references to his Christian faith.....

While meetings with Bush at that time were friendly, Schroeder said he could not reconcile himself with the feeling that religion was the driving force behind many of Bush's political decisions....... "What bothered me, and in a certain way made me suspicious despite the relaxed atmosphere, was again and again in our discussions how much this president described himself as 'God-fearing,'" Schroeder wrote, adding he is a firm believer in the separation of church and state....... Schroeder accused some elements in U.S. as being hypocritical when it comes to secularism in government.

"We rightly criticize that in most Islamic states, the role of religion for society and the character of the rule of law are not clearly separated," Schroeder wrote. "But we fail to recognize that in the USA, the Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the Bible have similar tendencies."

R-36 Politics, sex, coruption and now RELIGION....

'06 Oct 19 Newspaper: Priest admits ties to Foley
ROME - A priest acknowledged Thursday that he was naked in saunas and went skinny-dipping with Mark Foley decades ago when the former congressman was a boy in Florida, but denied that the two had sex....."We were friends and trusted each other as brothers and loved each other as brothers," Mercieca told The Associated Press in Rome. Asked if their association was sexual, the priest replied: "It wasn't."

Among the activities described by Mercieca in the newspaper were massaging the boy in the nude, skinny-dipping together at a secluded lake in Lake Worth, Fla., and being nude in the same room on overnight trips while he was a priest and Foley was a parishioner.......

'06 Oct 20 Experts: Priest in denial about behavior

Experts on sex abuse say the comments of a Roman Catholic priest who acknowledged being naked with Mark Foley when the former congressman was young fit a pattern of distorted thinking that they've seen over and over among offenders...... The priest told the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune that he and Foley "loved each other like brothers" and that although he taught Foley "some wrong things" related to sex, Mercieca insisted their interactions were innocent....... "It was just fondling," he told WPTV of West Palm Beach, Fla.

From the perspective of people who have worked with abusers and their victims, that thinking is typical of a molester. Offenders, who are sexually immature, commonly view their involvement with their victims as normal and are baffled when others see things differently....... "This is the same type of rationalization that I've heard time and time again from priests who have been grooming or setting a young boy up for molestation," said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer turned victim advocate.

************************* says a me comment ******************

Original post on the following link... Saysame - On Politics- denials and truth - Politics, sex, coruption

R-35 Iraqs Shiite and Sunni seek peace amongst themselves

Iraq's religious figures issue edicts

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In a bid to stop sectarian bloodshed, Shiite and Sunni religious figures met in Mecca, Islam's holiest city, and issued a series of edicts Friday forbidding violence between Iraq's two Muslim sects........ A final communique, heavy on quotations from the Quran and Hadith, was issued at the end of the two-day meeting. It contained 10 points, the majority of which were edicts forbidding kidnappings, incitement of hatred, attacks on mosques and Shiite places of worship. It also prohibited forcing members of the other sect from their homes and called for the release from detention of Iraqis not charged with specific crimes...... It also stated that differences between the two sects did not touch on the basics of the faith.

None was among the country's top clerics, but spokesman Salah Abdul-Razaq, speaking to The Astry to sociated Press from Mecca, said the fatwas were vetted and approved by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's top Shiite cleric, and radical anti-U.S. Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr is not a high-ranking cleric but he runs the Mahdi Army, a militia blamed for much of the violence against Sunni Arabs.

The Mecca meeting had lowered expectations from the outset, with its organizers maintaining that they did not seek a truce in Iraq, where a Sunni insurgency continues to target U.S. and Iraqi forces, but only to stop sectarian killings between rival Sunnis and Shiites.

UPDATE '06 Oct 20 Long path to Iraq's sectarian split

R-34 Pope John Paul II Cartoon...just in time for Xmas ... Shows him close to children and families...

Vatican issues cartoon version of John Paul's life

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - No one expects it to replace Alice in Wonderland or Cinderella, but the Vatican has turned to a talking pen and pigeons in a new cartoon movie to teach children about the life of the late Pope John Paul..... The film, called "John Paul II, the Friend of Humanity," was unveiled at a news conference on Tuesday and its producers hope it will be a big hit for the coming Christmas season.........

"The idea was to present the human side of John Paul as the best way to bring him close to children and families," said J.L. Lopez-Guardia, a Spanish animation artist who goes by the professional name Cavin Cooper.......

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"Shows hinm being close to children and families.... I'd say so with all the sex scandals he was covering up.... NEVER happened in real life... so they have to make a movie about what they want the public to believe is the truth... I think it's only fitting that it's a Cartoon. :)

Saysame JR