Death for the Christian is a birth into the final release from all the bonds that hold us from God in this life and the fulfillment of all that began to unite us with Him in this world.
The doctor who blew the whistle on abuses carried out under the notorious Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) has warned Catholics that new guidance from the Vatican on end-of-life care is lethally flawed.
The Rev. Dr Patrick Pullicino, a former hospital doctor who was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Southwark after he retired from the NHS, made his remarks in a homily preached during a Mass in the Jesuit church in Valletta, the capital of Malta.
He said the Pontifical Academy of Life had effectively put forward “guidelines whereby in certain circumstances euthanasia could be acceptable”.
“Euthanasia, though, is never acceptable,” said Fr Pullicino.
“Of course we know it is never moral to stop fluids or nutrition, but hospitals have become experts at delaying fluids and nutrition particularly in the elderly,” he said.
“This is most often done when a sick elderly person is classified as ‘dying’ and they are put on morphine and sedatives as so-called end of life care.
Muslims and mosques were not the only targets attacked during the recent U.K. race riots. Christians and churches were targeted too—but most media and politicians don’t want you to realize that. Even worse, nor do certain prominent priests.
Not that you’d know it from mainstream media, but the most persecuted religionin the world right now, in terms of sheer numbers of those affected, is Christianity. Yet there are certain places on the planet where you might not expect this to be the case: traditionally Christian countries, for example, like England.
During the U.K.’s recent race riots, the distinct impression was given that the only places of religious worship targeted by hooligans and protestors were mosques. But was this really so?
In the early hours of August 7, a statue of the Virgin Mary standing in an illuminated external niche outside St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in the London suburb of Wembley was reduced to rubble by person or persons unknown. Unlike bricks being hurled at English mosques of late, however, this particular outburst of iconoclasm received precious little domestic media coverage. News of the statue’s ruination only really made it out via social media, where thefollowing photographwas spread:
This caught the attention of the only sizeable U.K. outlet besidesThe Catholic Heraldto touch the story, GB News, a conservative rolling-news station. On August 11, GB News ran a detailed onlinereportheadlined “Christians left PETRIFIED after attack on church during riots as media IGNORES mob chanting ‘Allahu Akbar.’” Here, they spoke of having seen unspecified videos “that appear to show attacks on Christians in London.” GB News reporters tracked down the local Wembley worshipper who had posted the viral photo of the ruined Virgin Mary statue, who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, for the sake of safety.
A new report on assisted suicide in Canada – which the country’s government labels as “medical assistance in dying” (MAiD) – has found that the practise has risen thirteen-fold since legalisation in 2016 and has become a “routine” practise. It also found that the average time between request and an “assisted death” being carried out is about 11 days.
Published on 7 August, the report titled “From Exceptional to Routine: The Rise of Euthanasia in Canada” says Canada is now far beyond the limitations expected or that were recommended to safeguard against potential problems when the practise was legalised.
“The growing number of MAiD deaths, and the continued expansion of eligibility criteria, is far beyond the expectations set in Carter v. Canada, the court case that decriminalised assisted dying in 2015,” states the report.
“Consequently, MAiD is now far more than exceptional: It is routine. Almost no MAiD requests are denied by clinicians, and the median time between written request and death from MAiD in 2022 was merely eleven days. Despite judges’ and policymakers’ claims or expectations, MAiD is no longer an option of ‘last resort’,” it continues
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visit a campaign office, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix.AP
Kamala Harris is a bigot.
Forgive the blunt delivery, but there isn’t really any nuance to offer: The Democrats’ presidential nominee has long since stripped it away with her blatant discrimination against people of faith, particularly Catholics.
Witnessher stunning attackon the venerable Knights of Columbus in 2018, during Brian Buescher’s nomination hearing for a federal judgeship.
Then-Sen. Harris subtly criticized the charitable and fraternal organization for being an “all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men,” then not-so-subtly slammed it for adhering to his faith’s core — or “extremist,” to use her word — beliefs about life and family.
She implied that Buescher’s membership in the group basically made him unfit for the bench, setting up Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii to ask if the nominee would, if confirmed, “end [his] membership with this organization to avoid any appearance of bias.”
That’s what they call a religious test for office, and it’s illegal. See the US Constitution, Article VI, for more on that.
1 Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation. 2 Humble thy heart, and endure: incline thy ear, and receive the words of understanding: and make not haste in the time of clouds.
3 Wait on God with patience: join thyself to God, and endure, that thy life may be increased in the latter end.
4 Take all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience. 5 For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. 6 Believe God, and he will recover thee: and direct thy way, and trust in him. Keep his fear, and grow old therein.
This year, in a break with past tradition, it was forbidden to celebrate Mass in the Olympic Village, the Polish Olympics chaplain, Father Edward Pleń, told Tysol.pl (August 14).
He has been a chaplain for Polish athletes for 22 years. Until this summer it was always possible to celebrate Mass, but with restrictions during the Covid hysteria in Tokyo and Beijing.
In Paris, Father Plén wanted to determine the times of the Masses in advance, but "the possibility of celebrating the Eucharist was blocked."
He was told that "only prayer" was allowed: "I don't know who came up with this absurdity."
And: "The Mass is the most beautiful prayer, but they insisted. I couldn't understand it and I still can't".
Door of a Roman Catholic Church damaged by petrol bombs and paint (Shutterstock/Stephen Barnes)
ipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and arson are just a few of the many ways people have attacked churches.
Since 2020, at least342 attacks, with some estimates indicating over400, have occurred against Catholic churches in the U.S. According to the Family Research Council, “acts of hostility” against all churches doubled from 2022 to 2023. The number of hostile acts in 2023 was eight times higher than in 2018.
The phrase “TRANS PWR” was sprayed on St. Joseph Catholic church in Louisville inMarch of last year.
In today’s world, we often scorn the past as a time of violence and see ourselves as more advanced, civilized, and peaceful. As U.S. citizens, we have long viewed ourselves as the people who bear the torch of freedom. Freedom to speak our minds, bear arms, and worship as we please. Under these ideals, the U.S. has become a melting pot of people with different beliefs from across the world. Yet, its status as a land of religious refuge has not made it immune from persecution.
Major civil unrest began in May 2020 during the height of the pandemic after thedeathof George Floyd. Riots and protests sprung up across the U.S. and around the world. The situation quickly spiraled out of control as what began as protests morphed into general mayhem. People took theopportunity to loot businesses and burn buildings before turning their attention to the churches. (READ MORE: Pro-Palestinian Protestors Light the American Flag on Fire in Philadelphia)
Attacks on Catholic churches have continued to rise, tripling in number from 2020 to 2022. Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, the threat against the churches became so serious that the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to the United States Council of Catholic Bishops stating that if the Supreme Court overturned Roe, there would be “crediblethreats to the safety of Catholic churches, clergy.
The franchise owner not only had to compensate the individual with back pay but was required to revise its policies to approve religious accommodations and also train managers to understand that the 1964 Civil Rights Act allows for religious liberties of employees.
(LifeSiteNews) — A Christian employee at an IHOP in South Carolina won a religious liberty lawsuit after he was fired for refusing to work on Sundays. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the $40,000 settlement in a press release last week.
In January 2021, Eddie Moton Jr. was hired as a cook for the pancake-themed restaurant at its Charlotte location. Suncakes LLC, a Texas-based company, was operating the location as a franchise owner. Suncakes runs 16 other IHOPs in the state.
Centuries pass, circumstances are different, but God does not change, the Catholic Church is the same, and the struggle continues to be that between the two cities that oppose each other in history like two armies. The theology of Christian history assures us that the City of God is always victorious; Our Lady's apparition at Fatima assures us that the historical triumph of the Immaculate Heart is near; the historical and logical analysis of revolutionary dynamism, assures us of the irreversibility of the counter-revolutionary movement. However, those immersed in the struggle miss the great horizon of the battlefield, which sometimes seems shrouded in fog or the shadows of night. There is a risk of losing our way, but more importantly, of losing sight of the ultimate goal of our battles and our path. For the path is long and it is not linear. We advance along winding paths, with wide curves, sometimes the terrain is steep and impassable, sometimes flat, descending then suddenly rising again. Overall, the certain movement is ascending, but not straight. We climb to the top, but passing peaks, skirting chasms and cliffs, through an uneven path. And the enemies that assail us are of all kinds. Such is the history of humanity, such is our life. And when the night of confusion falls, the darkness of chaos, fear assails us.
Veteran psychologist Dr. Gerard van den Aardweg argues that Pope Francis’ fervent promotion of the narrative that homosexuality is innate and morally acceptable, while denigrating traditional family values, suggests an intimate alignment with the pro-gay ideology.
Editor’s note: Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg, Ph.D., is a Catholic and veteran of psychotherapeutic practice since 1962 who holds a master’s degree in psychology from the university of Leiden, Holland, and a Ph.D. in social sciences from the University of Amsterdam, where he specialized in homosexuality and homosexual pedophilia as sexual neuroses. Dr. Aardweg has researched and written extensively on homosexuality, with three of his books translated into English: Homosexuality and Hope (1985); On the Origins and Treatment of Homosexuality (1986); andThe Battle for Normality (1997).
(LifeSiteNews) — What motivates the Pope to impose universal recognition of homosexual relationships on the Catholic Church?
This question is in the back of the mind of many confused and perplexed people, Catholics and non-Catholics. It must be discussed openly, for people have a right to know who their leaders are and what they can expect from them. The answer is also of importance in view of the next conclave as it may be of influence to the choice of the successor of this pope.
The view discussed in this article is that the most probable answer to the above question in the title, the best explanation of the main motive of the Pope’s policy and overall behavior in relation to the issue of homosexuality, is (1) that he has a significant personal stake in it, that is, that he himself is afflicted by one or another form of same-sex attractions, and (2) that he has come to identify himself unrestrictedly with the ideology of the homosexual movement and made it his mission to introduce “normalization and justification” of homosexual relationships in the Catholic Church.
The first point is a psychological diagnosis, not an accusation. Same-sex tendencies are mental and emotional disorders, personality disorders, serious handicaps (not physical diseases). The second point, on the normalization and justification of homosexual relationships as the goal of the “gay” ideology, is of a different order; it is a matter of morality and here we have the big problem. In connection with the pressure exerted by the EU Parliament to recognize homosexual unions, Pope John Paul II offered a theological diagnosis of such a normalization: it is “a grave form of violation of the law of God,” the operation of an insidious “new ideology of evil.”[i]
Many well-documented observations of the Pope’s behavior strongly suggest the answer to our question above can be organized into three categories: first of all, those relating to the unabated fervor with which he promotes the recognition of homosexual relationships. He protects sexually criminal homosexuals; he elevates the dubious claims of a small minority of the population[ii] to a – perhaps the – central preoccupation of his pontificate while he grossly neglects and harms the real needs of the threatened family and normal marriage. Secondly, there are the observations about the way he pursues his pro-homosexuality policy; and there are the observations of salient traits of his personality. It is not conceivable that a normally heterosexual man would be able to identify himself in all these aspects so completely with the “gay” cause; even when an opportunistic heterosexual politician promotes it, he does not suppress his common sense and moral sense so radically as those for whom it is a personal need. This article intends to elucidate these points.
