ASIA/SYRIA - Jacques Mourad, Archbishop of Homs: “This is the end of the great history of Christians in Aleppo”

 Tuesday, 3 December 2024 

area crisis   jihadists   oriental churches   refugees   

Cécile Massie/Fides

by Gianni Valente 

Homs (Agenzia Fides) -

“We are really tired. We are really exhausted, and we are also finished, in every sense”. Father Jacques' words, as always, resonate with his faith and his story. Jacques Mourad, a monk of the monastic community of Deir Mar Musa, has been the Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs since March 3, 2023, the city where refugees from Aleppo, which has once again fallen into the hands of armed jihadist "rebel groups", continue to arrive. He was born in Aleppo, where he has some of his best memories and dearest companions. 

The spiritual son of Father Paolo Dall'Oglio (Roman Jesuit, founder of the monastic community of Deir Mar Musa, who disappeared on 29 July 2013 in Raqqa, the Syrian capital of ISIS at the time), he was kidnapped by a jihadist commando in May 2015 and spent long months being held hostage, first in isolation and then together with more than 150 Christians from Quaryatayn, also taken hostage in the territories conquered by ISIS at the time. This is why Father Jacques knows what he is talking about when he repeats that "we cannot bear all the suffering of the people who arrive here exhausted after 25 hours of travel. They are thirsty, hungry, cold and have nothing left". The words he chooses in his interview with Fides are, as always, a testimony of faith. A faith that also asks: "why all this, why must we endure this suffering?" and that, in the meantime, is zealously concerned about the people fleeing Aleppo, which has been besieged again. "The situation in Homs is dangerous," says Father Jacques, "many refugees from Aleppo, including Christians, came to us via the old road in the first few days after the attack by the armed groups. We were not prepared for this, so we immediately held a meeting with the bishops and set up two reception centers with the help of the Jesuits and the support of 'Œuvre d'Orient' and 'Aid to the Church in Need'. To help the refugees, we need food, mattresses, blankets and diesel." 

Active charity goes hand in hand with many questions. "The suffering is immeasurable, the Syrians are shocked by what has happened. We all know what happens when an armed group invades a country and the government and the Russians immediately react by bombing the occupied towns and villages... Why is Aleppo being so tormented? Why do they want to destroy this historic, symbolic and important city for the whole world? Why, after 14 years of suffering, misery and death, do the Syrian people still have to pay for it? Why are we so abandoned in this world, in this unbearable injustice?" 

The Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs also stresses "the responsibility of foreign powers, America, Russia, Europe..." "They all bear direct responsibility for what happened in Aleppo," he stresses. A "crime", Father Jacques continues, "that represents a danger for the entire region, for Hama, for the Jazira region", and for which "the direct responsibility lies not only with the regime or with the armed rebel groups, but with the international community" and with the "political games that everyone is playing in this region". 

Father Jacques, who has launched catechism courses for children and young people in his diocese as a real starting point for the Christian communities after the painful years of war, is aware of the feelings that are now rising in the hearts of so many brothers and sisters in faith: "After the action of these armed groups", he tells Fides, "the Christians of Aleppo will be convinced that they cannot stay in Aleppo. That it is over for them. That they no longer have any reason to stay. In Aleppo they are trying to bring about the end of the rich, magnificent and unique history of the Christians of Aleppo". (Agenzia Fides, 3/12/2024)

Clumsy, clownish color-block costumery a big fail at Notre Dame reopening

What were these people thinking? Perhaps they weren’t. 

Or perhaps they were zealous to demonstrate for the sake of the big donors they spent the money on something NEW.

Court jesters once wore such garb for the purpose of making people laugh, as a signal that what they say and do is a joke and not to be taken seriously. As in not “solemn”, which the holy Mass, for offering which vestments serve, indeed always and in every case is. Or should be. Not as dated pop art posters from the 70’s which this garb evokes.

Not to mention the new altar appointments and vessels which look to be designed like nonsense kitchen art by Alessi. A priest friend refers to the new altar as “that see saw thing.”

Proven once again: modern not better. No improving on tradition is possible. Stop trying. You succeed only in falling flat on your face and look silly in the process. Every time.

Nota bene: money is always well spent in restoring what is old. Just like Notre Dame itself.

Source: https://gloria.tv/post/UcM3zJQyWdib4k4wExeE9ot1A

Papal consorting with homosexuals, criminals and perverts: “Bishop Zanchetta Already in Rome with Friend Francis”

Monsignor Gustavo Zanchetta, a close friend of Francis and a convicted homosexual abuser, is in Rome.

According to MetroNoticias.com.ar (20 November), he is being treated in the Italian capital "because his trusted doctors are there".

Zanchetta has heart problems and high blood pressure. It is likely that the first of these two conditions is the reason for his medical trip.

On 4 March 2022, the former Bishop of Oran was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for simple homosexual abuse, aggravated by the fact that it was committed by a recognised clergyman against seminarians of the Diocese of Nueva Oran.

However, Zanchetta was allowed to spend his "prison time" in the Virgen del Valle convent of the Conceptionist Sisters, located in the 9 de Julio district of the city of Oran.

It is unclear who authorised the transfer and where the funds to pay for these trips come from.

Caminante-Wanderer.Blogspot.com (21 November) points out that Francis is directly responsible for creating and covering up the Zanchetta scandal.

Zanchetta - like so many other homosexuals - has always been particularly close to Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.

He was one of Francis' first episcopal nominees. As soon as news of his nomination broke, a large group of priests from Quilmes, Zanchetta's home diocese, sent a letter to Francis saying that Pastor Zanchetta was not fit to be a bishop.

He is alleged to have offered a person a job in a school in Florencio Varela "in exchange for some [homosexual] service" and to have abused seminarians under his command. He was also accused of 'economic mismanagement'.

Of course, Bergoglio didn't care. Zanchetta was consecrated and enthroned. But four years later he resigned for 'health reasons'.

The secretary of the diocese of Oran denounced him because he had found on his mobile phone, in addition to pornography, several selfies in which Zanchetta appeared "naked, with his genitals exposed and in a masturbatory pose".

Some time later, a complaint was lodged by two seminarians from the diocese of Oran. They claimed to have been subjected to homosexual abuse by Zanchetta on several occasions.

Zanchetta fled to Rome. Instead of sending him back to face his crimes, Francis appointed him, who was accused of economic mismanagement, as an adviser to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, with a salary of several thousand euros.

But the pressure grew and Zanchetta had to return to Argentina to stand trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to four and a half years in prison. He did not last long in ordinary prison, but was soon placed under house arrest in the Conceptionist convent in Oran.

Caminante-Wanderer.Blogspot.com points out that this is yet another example of Bergoglio's duplicity and double standards.

"Zero tolerance" is Francis' motto when it comes to Father Fernando Cornet, who was "excommunicated" last week for denying Francis' legitimacy. Bishop Pedro Martinez also received 'zero tolerance' when he decided that women could not be altar servers, after which he had to resign from his diocese. Bishop Strickland received "zero tolerance" when he criticised Francis for teaching heresy.

"However, there is tolerance for those accused and convicted of [homosexual] sexual abuse. In such cases, the mercy of Francis is shown in all its splendour, like the plumage of a peacock".

#newsEmvcwtvjwn

Notre Dame de Paris renaître!

 

Trump’s New Dept. of Justice Must Bankrupt the Deep Church, Which Fights Enforcement of America’s Just Immigration Laws

 

By JOHN ZMIRAKNovember 20, 2024

John Zmirak

I have a proposal for President-Elect Donald Trump’s new attorney general and Department of Justice: Launch a RICO investigation of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Conduct the national investigation which my church’s bishops have so far dodged into 1) the systemic cover-up of clerical sex abuse and 2) the human trafficking conducted by church-controlled nonprofits of illegal immigrants.

The DOJ should also investigate the role which the Vatican itself has played in encouraging the sex abuse coverup — for instance by directly interfering with reform efforts by our bishops, giving the lie to the legal fiction that each Catholic diocese is an independent corporation enjoying bankruptcy protection, and that the Vatican ought to be immune to sex abuse lawsuits. Nor are the sex abuse and immigration issues completely separate. As The Stream reported in 2023:

Elizabeth Yore, former general counsel for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and a conservative Catholic, called Catholic Charities “probably the number one or two NGO that is handling the trafficking of children,” she said. “Sexual predators go where vulnerable children are. You can’t tell me that there aren’t hundreds, if not thousands, of sexual predators who are posing as sponsors for these vulnerable children.”

We’re not talking about a few isolated cases. As The New York Post reported:

The Biden-Harris administration has lost track of more than 320,000 migrant children who crossed the border without parents, according to a shocking new report.

Untold numbers of the children — who were released into the US to “qualified sponsors” — are now at risk of sex trafficking, forced labor and other forms of exploitation, a Homeland Security Inspector General’s report released Monday said.

Did the Catholic bishops speak up about those hundreds of thousands of children at grave risk of abuse? Not a peep. Perhaps that’s because their own agencies, such as Catholic Charities, were implicated in importing those children, and dumping them with unvetted sponsors. When the Trump administration separated such children from those who claimed to be their relatives to vet those claims, the bishops were among the loudest in denouncing Trump for “separating families.” The Biden administration stopped administering DNA tests to determine if so-called “relatives” of the children were actually family members.

Read the rest: https://stream.org/trumps-new-dept-of-justice-must-bankrupt-the-deep-church-which-fights-enforcement-of-americas-just-immigration-laws/

Today at 2 pm.

 

Kentucky Fights Back Against ACLU Lawsuit to Strike Down Abortion Ban

  Addia K. Wuchner  |   Nov 19, 2024   |   7:41PM   |  Frankfort, 

On Monday morning, the first hearing in the ACLU’s latest legal challenge to Kentucky’s ProLife laws was held in Jefferson County Circuit Court, with Judge Tracey Davis presiding.

This case, filed under the pseudonym “Mary Poe,” is effectively Kentucky’s Roe case. Should Judge Davis allow this case to proceed as a class action case, it is anticipated that the ACLU will quickly file a motion to seek an injunction against Kentucky’s pro-life laws.

Assistant Attorney General Lindsey Keisner, representing Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office, delivered a thorough and compelling argument against the ACLU’s motion. Kentucky Right to Life, along with ProLife advocates from across the state, stood in prayer outside the courthouse for Mary Poe, her baby, and the ultimate victory of life.

Judge Davis did not issue a ruling Monday but scheduled an evidentiary hearing for January 3, 2025. Meanwhile, “Baby Poe,” now eight weeks along, will continue to be protected under Kentucky law. However, Mary Poe has expressed her intention to seek an abortion outside of the state should the court rule in an expeditious manner and provide her the right to terminate the life of her child.

Read the rest: https://www.lifenews.com/2024/11/19/kentucky-fights-back-against-aclu-lawsuit-to-strike-down-abortion-ban/