https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ism-conference-meet-growing-demand/367735002/ Demand for exorcisms is up threefold in Italy, so Vatican is holding conference The Vatican hopes to step up its game against demon possessions with a week-long international conference in April to address a threefold increase in demand in Italy alone for the services of exorcists. The church is particularly alarmed over the uneven skills of some of its current exorcists and worried about priests who are no longer willing to learn the techniques. The assessment is a major finding of a four-day meeting in Sicily that included testimony on sects and Satanism, according to Vatican Radio. One of the organizers of the Sicily gathering, Friar Beningo Palilla, told Vatican Radio there are some 500,000 cases requiring exorcism in Italy each year. He blames the increase in recent years on a growing number of people seeking the services of fortune tellers and Tarot readers. Such practices "open the door to the devil and to possession," he said. While many of the cases are not actually related to demonic possession, but to spiritual or psychological problems, he conceded, they nonetheless must be investigated. In any event, Palilla, a priest in Palermo, is calling for an across-the-board improvement in training. "We priests, very often, do not know how to deal with the concrete cases presented to us: in the preparation for the priesthood, we do not talk about these things," he said. Palilla is particularly concerned about some do-it-yourselfers within the priesthood. "A self-taught exorcist certainly meets errors," he said. "I will say more: it would also take a period of apprenticeship, as happens for many professionals." Palilla also said it is not enough for the bishop to appoint a priest to become an exorcist, but that neo-exorcists "should work alongside an expert to learn in the field." Exorcism is recognized under the Catholic Church's canon law but can only performed with high-level permission from within the church. Four years ago, the Vatican backed the International Association of Exorcists, which was founded in 1990 and has licensed some 200 members on six continents. The weeklong international course will be held in April at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, an educational institute of the Catholic Church in Rome. Palilla said the gathering is billed as the first in the world on exorcism with a goal "to offer a rich reflection and articulation on a topic that is sometimes unspoken and controversial."
If the course is being held in the Vatican, perhaps it would be advisable to start with an exorcism of the venue. Apartments where priests host drug fueled homosexual orgies should be top of the list, followed by the Jesuit HQ.
Hopefully the "apprenticeship" for new (and old) exorcists includes the old rite which Fr. Amorth fought for and Pope Benedict permitted to also be used. The new prayers lessened the effect and were rather useless according to Fr. A. Without those powerful prayers I'd be worried about those priests who could just open themselves to the demons' advantage over them. I think they should have denied any kind of new "rite" invented by the libs who Fr. A. spoke of as never even assisting an exorcism and knew less than nothing about exorcisms.
Pope Francis: Fresh violence in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta is ‘inhumane’ February 25, 2018 http://www.catholicworldreport.com/...iolence-in-syrias-eastern-ghouta-is-inhumane/ Vatican City, Feb 25, 2018 / 04:37 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After a week of heavy bombardment near Damascus left hundreds of civilians dead, Pope Francis has made an appeal for global leaders to rally in ending the siege, allowing civilians to evacuate and humanitarian aid to get in. “In these days my thought is often turned to the beloved and martyred Syria, where the war has exploded again, especially in Eastern Ghouta,” the Pope said Feb. 25, noting that this month marks one of the most violent since the Syrian conflict erupted seven years ago. Thousands of innocent lives have been claimed by the ongoing, bloody war, with several hundred more being added just this past week, many of whom are women, children and elderly, he said. “Hospitals have been hit, people can't get enough to eat…all of this is inhumane,” Francis said, stressing that “evil cannot be fought with another evil.” The Pope then issued “a heartfelt appeal” for global leaders to work to stop the violence, to allow humanitarian aid such as food and medicine into the area, and to ensure that the sick and wounded would be evacuated. Francis' appeal comes a week after Russian-backed Syrian forces launched a series of deadly airstrikes and artillery fire on besieged Easter Ghouta enclave, which sits just northeast of Damascus. Home to some 400,000 people, Eastern Ghouta is the last rebel-held area east of Damascus and has been a target of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces since 2013 in a bid to drive the rebels out. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the fresh eruption of conflict in the area, which began Feb. 18, has so far left more than 500 civilians dead, of whom 121 are children. Aid groups also report that several hospitals in the area are now out of commission. After three days of deliberation to come up with a ceasefire deal, the U.N. Security Counsel yesterday voted unanimously in favor of a resolution calling for a 30-day calm to allow residents of the suburb to evacuate, and food and medicine to enter. However, reports indicate that just hours after the deal was accepted, the Syrian government launched a new ground and air offensive in the area. Pope Francis' appeal, which he made during his Angelus address for the Second Sunday of Lent, asked pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square to join him in praying that his plea would be answered “without delay.” He then led pilgrims in a moment of silence before reciting a Hail Mary. In his address, he focused on the transfiguration of Jesus in the day's Gospel reading from Mark, saying the announcement that he would be rejected, put to death and would then rise on the third day “put Peter and the group of the disciples into crisis,” since they had been expecting a powerful Messiah who would rule the nations. However, instead, Jesus presents himself “as a humble and meek servant of God and of men,” who was to give his life in sacrifice through persecution, suffering and a violent death. The transfiguration, Francis said, ultimately helps the disciples to face the Passion of Christ in a positive way, “without being overwhelmed” by it. It also helps both the disciples, and us, to understand that while Jesus' Passion is “a mystery of suffering,” it's above all “a gift of infinite love on the part of Jesus.” “The event of Jesus who transfigures himself on the mountain also helps us to better understand his resurrection,” the Pope said, explaining that if the transfiguration and God's declaration that “this is my beloved Son” had not happened before Jesus' Passion, neither this nor Jesus' rising in the Paschal mystery would be easily understood. In order to understand these events, he said, “it's necessary to know in advance that he who suffers and who is glorified is not only a man, but the Son of God, who with his love faithful to death has saved us.” Francis said that it's important, especially during Lent, to go up the mountain with Jesus and be with him and listen to his voice, allowing oneself to be transformed by the Holy Spirit. “It's the experience of contemplation and prayer, of living not in avoidance of daily struggles, but of enjoying familiarity with God, in order to take up with renewed vigor the tiring path of the cross, which leads us to the resurrection.” _______________ "Seven popes from Syria ascended the papal throne" including St. Peter, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Syria .
Sadly, the below is what godless FringeLeft Socialism looks like and it's become a serious Health/Crime Hazard in EVERY Democrat Party Controlled, once great-n-productive, US Cities. To allow Humans to exist in this kind misery and degradation is NOT Christian compassion!!: "National disgrace’: Community fights back as California overrun by homelessness, human waste, needles" http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...amp-near-disneyland-fearing-new-skid-row.html .... and have Ya noticed that whenever there's a shooting, the Democrat Party FringeLeft demands Gun Control? However, when there is Murder, Rape and Mayhem perpetrated by illegal aliens, the very same people NEVER demand Border Control. The Global Left simply wants People Control and Sheep to slaughter if their Agendas are opposed. GOD SAVE ALL HERE!! PS: The phrase: FringeLeft Democrat Party is a redundant!
On the Morality of Gun Control Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky Saturday, February 24, 2018 After delivering a homily indicting Catholic Senators (Democrat and Republican) who voted against legislation that would render illegal the killing of unborn babies with a developed nervous system, I received a response in a letter: I look forward to hearing your next political homily, similar to the one on abortion a few weeks ago. Please state the Catholic position on mass murder, and, in that context, list the Catholic Republicans in Congress who block any reasonable assault-weapons ban. You might need to extend church hours since the list will, undoubtedly, be extensive. Thank you. It needs to be said right off, of course, that a homily on the evil of abortion is about as political as a homily condemning the Holocaust. Regardless, if my correspondent would identify any politician who was in favor of placing weapons – including daggers and box cutters – into the hands of criminals and psychotics for purposes of mass murder, I would happily identify them by name. And I would invite the same boos and hisses I invite for any politician who doesn’t lift a finger to protect the lives of unborn babies. But on such matters, here is my answer in a nutshell: Abortion is intrinsically evil and thus opposing it is not political. Guns are not intrinsically evil. On the contrary, the Catechism teaches not just the right but the duty to use lethal force, if necessary, to defend oneself and those towards whom we have a responsibility. The same right to life that condemns mass murder requires the use of a gun to wound or kill if necessary to save life. Keeping guns away from mass murderers is obviously a moral duty, but guns in themselves are not intrinsically evil, unlike abortion. Every firearm can be used in an assault, so the label “assault rifle” is a political, rather than a moral, one. Priests and prelates have no pertinent expertise in crafting gun control legislation or, for that matter, in preventing the arming of rogue states. Those killed by a butter knife, an AK-47, or a neutron bomb are equally and indifferently dead. In each case, the resort to arms will be judged just or unjust by the same moral criterion. The Church must always uphold the integrity of justice, and justice not only permits but requires defense of the innocent against unjust aggressors, i.e., those who inflict harm without due cause. But is a “reasonable assault-weapons ban” a moral imperative in our day in view of the increasingly frequent school shootings (not to mention violence in the cities)? Here there arise some truly political questions that need thoughtful consideration and rigorous analysis – by the laity. The ones I am about to list certainly are not exhaustive. (I do not presume to exercise priestly authority here, but I am, after all, a citizen, too.) What is a “weapon”? Obviously, handguns and rifles are weapons. But so are box cutters on airplanes. Nearly 3,000 people were murdered with assaults that began with box cutters in the hands of terrorists. * The difficulty of defining a “weapon,” however, doesn’t disappear when restricting the conversation to fire sticks. What is an “assault weapon”? A tank? A machine gun? A repeating Winchester rifle? An M-16? The real question is: how might legislation keep these weapons out of the hands of criminals and the mentally disturbed? The question of crafting criminal laws threatening to inflict just punishment, it seems to me, is far easier to evaluate with moral criterion than regulatory laws. Front-end regulatory laws such as a “reasonable assault weapons ban,” in contrast, are far more complicated because not only do the laws need to envision an ever-expanding universe of definitions, there are serious questions of effectiveness and the morality of infringing on the right to self-defense. And it should be recognized that in the aftermath of violence, hysteria and emotionalism easily disrupt clear thinking. With respect to the question of effectiveness: What kind of gun control is “reasonable”? How do outlaws obtain guns? Is it true – or just a clever phrase – that if guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns? What is the experience in cities with strict “gun control” laws? What is the experience of political entities with “conceal and carry” regulations? What are the facts? All of these questions are clearly beyond the competence of the clergy. Questions of gun violence causality need a continuing dispassionate investigation by the laity and the experts among them. (My educated guess is that pornography plays a large part in causality. When the porn fails to satisfy, a twisted mind seeks other methods of excitement. And of course at root is the breakdown of the family including legalized abortion. Disrespect of unborn human life begets disrespect of all human life.) Who among us would not like to see a world without violence, where guns were only used for hunting and sport? But the effects of Original Sin remain and we have a natural right to self-defense. (Alas, whenever I try to “Visualize World Peace,” I end up visualizing a police state.) These are difficult times, with a broken culture contributing to a breakdown on a wide scale of our civilization, leading to countless acts of violence. So pronouncing on the morality of banning guns should not be made by a cleric in the exercise of his prophetic office. There are too many moving parts, questions of fact and causality, and good faith prudential judgments where believing Catholics can disagree in good conscience. But underlying moral principles remain and need proper application. At times, a clean gun in good working order can be the solution – as in just war, just police action, and acts of personal self-defense. But legislation regulating the procurement and possession of guns, to preserve the liberty and order and security essential to a free society, is the business of the laity. *Image: The Fruits of Arbitrary Power, or the Bloody Massacre, printed in 1770 by Paul Revere after a design by Henry Pelham [Library of Congress]
I forgot how well done the following article is, Fatima, Noah and Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ http://www.lepantoinstitute.org/faith-and-life/fatima-noah-and-same-sex-marriage/. I just posted the whole article on "The Vatican Has Fallen" thread because of its timeliness. Of course we just celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Apparitions of Fatima in 2017 but I never made the possible connection to the date of May 14, 1948 when Israel was formed as a nation with the first apparition of Fatima occurring on May 13, 1917. Recently, Donald Trump decided to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by May 14, 2018 in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Nation of Israel. Some people feel that the 70th anniversary of Israel is particularly significant because of the following two verses from scripture, Psalm 89:10 (DRA) The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years. [a generation is 70 years] But if in the strong they be fourscore years: [or 80 years] and what is more of them is labour and sorrow. For mildness is come upon us: and we shall be corrected.and Matthew 24:34 (DRA) Amen I say to you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. [The beginning of the end of times?] US to open new embassy in Jerusalem in May 23 February 2018 https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-43174956 Image caption The Israeli and US flags fly high over Jerusalem in December 2017 copyright Getty Images The US Department of State has said that a new American embassy in Jerusalem will open in May. The opening of the mission will coincide with Israel's 70th anniversary, the statement said. The announcement brings forward the controversial plan, announced by President Trump in December, by at least a year. A senior Palestinian official, Saeb Erekat, called the move a "blatant provocation". The anniversary of Israel's founding precedes by a day what Palestinians call the Nakba, or "catastrophe" of their displacement in the 1948-49 Arab-Israel war. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the embassy announcement as "a great day for the people of Israel". Donald Trump's decision in December to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the embassy from Tel Aviv, where all other embassies are located, infuriated Palestinians. The declaration broke with decades of US neutrality on the issue and put it out of step with the rest of the international community. The US Department of State spokeswoman said the embassy would initially be located at existing consular facilities in the Arnona district of the city. Why is the move controversial? The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel regards Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided" capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem - occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war - as the capital of a future state. Why the city of Jerusalem matters Jerusalem contains sites sacred to the three major monotheistic faiths - Judaism, Islam and Christianity - and Israeli sovereignty over the city has never been recognised internationally. Within days of President Trump's declaration, a UN resolution was passed declaring any decisions regarding the status of the city "null and void" and insisting on its cancellation. It was backed by 128 states, with 35 abstaining and nine voting against. Why is the latest announcement significant? Last month, US Vice-President Mike Pence told the Israeli parliament that the move would occur sometime before the end of 2019. The sudden change to this May has been seen by some as a deliberate snub to Palestinians. Palestinians and Israelis react to US plan to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital Mr Erekat said the US move "reflects their total insensitivities to what goes on in this region". It "reaffirms our position that the US can no longer be part of the peace process," he added. "The US administration has become part of the problem and not part of the solution." However, it was welcomed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, who said: "This decision will turn Israel's 70th Independence Day into an even bigger celebration." "Thank you President Trump for your leadership and friendship," he said. Why do evangelicals support Trump on Jerusalem? Can Jewish settlement issue be resolved? Trump plan 'slap of the century' - Abbas
WORLD ON EDGE: Iran Threatens to ‘LEVEL TEL AVIV’ and KILL NETANYAHU if Israel Attacks February 19, 2018 https://woai.iheart.com/featured/th...el-aviv-and-kill-netanyahu-if-israel-attacks/ Iranian officials warned the United States and Israel against all acts of aggression against Tehran this week, threatening to “level Tel Aviv to the ground” and kill Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should Israel “move against Iran.” According to the Jerusalem Post, the Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, Mohsen Rezaei issued the stark threat while speaking with regional reporters, saying Iran was poised to strike directly at Israel and adding that Netanyahu “will not have any opportunity” to escape the attack. “If they [Israel] carry out the slightest unwise move against Iran, we will level Tel Aviv to the ground and will not give any opportunity to Netanyahu to flee,” said Rezaei. “The US and Israeli leaders don’t know Iran and don’t understand the power of resistance and therefore, they continuously face defeat,” he added. “Today, the situation of the US and Israel indicate their fear of the Zionist regime’s collapse and the US decline.” The Iranian warning comes days after Israel warships destroyed Tehran-supplied anti-aircraft batteries in Syria used in an unprovoked attack against the Israeli Air Force. Editorial: Abbas Abandons the Show Feb 21, 2018 http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/editorial-abbas-abandons-the-show/article/2011664#! Rather than work for peace, the Palestinian president walks out. Yesterday the U.N. Security Council convened on “the Palestinian question.” This is a regular, and regularly absurd, occurrence. The absurdity reached a new level, however, with a theatrical display of pique by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. In his speech before the council, Abbas claimed that the Palestinians are “the descendants of the Canaanites that lived in the land of Palestine 5,000 years ago and continuously remained there to this day.” We know of no evidence to support this assertion—though we’re aware of some evidence to the contrary. It’s an appeal, albeit an untrue one, to his increasingly radical base of supporters and a deliberate attempt to antagonize Israel by challenging the historical foundation on which the nation is based. Israel’s minister of education, Naftali Bennett, fired back: Abbas should “focus not on building an imaginary past, but rather on creating a practical future.” “A nation inventing its past,” Bennett said, “has no future.” Abbas concluded his speech with a list of demands that included a “suspension of the decision regarding Jerusalem and halting [the] transfer of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.” It’s convenient for Abbas to suggest a condition to which he knows the United States won’t accede. It allows him to do what he does best—walk away from the table. Which is what he did on Tuesday, literally. After his speech, Abbas and his coterie of bureaucrats walked out of the council chamber, snubbing the next two speakers, Israeli ambassador Danny Danon, and U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley. Both criticized Abbas for his histrionics. Haley also took the opportunity to respond to recent comments by Palestinian diplomat Saeb Erekat, an Abbas adviser, that Haley should “shut up.” “I will decline the advice I was recently given by your top negotiator,” Haley said, “I will not shut up. Rather, I will respectfully speak some hard truths.” She noted that the “negotiators are sitting right behind me, ready to talk. But we will not chase after you. The choice, Mr. President, is yours.” Abbas wasn’t there to receive her message; he was busy having a photo taken with the Belgian foreign minister. “I expected Mr. Abbas to stay with us and have a dialogue,” Danon remarked; “unfortunately he’s once again running away.” Abbas has neither the power nor the will to make peace. It’s the perennial problem afflicting Palestinian leadership. If he compromises on the alleged “right of return”—the chimerical idea that Palestinians can re-occupy the lands from which they fled, thus in effect obliterating the Israeli state—he will be deposed by political adversaries. Thus his contradictory strategy: to prolong his pageantry in international forums such as the U.N., and to fashion himself a “moderate” even as he finances and incites terror. He seems to believe time is on his side. But it’s not. He’s 82. While he continues his performative intransigence, he further immiserates the people he claims to represent. In a sense, it was entirely appropriate that Abbas walked out. In that sullen act, he became a metaphor for his own approach to peacemaking: When difficulties arise, vacate the premises and seek out photographers.
Ya want more Proof that godless LeftLiberal PC is destroying civilization? From what News I'm seeing, the EU has this very same "Policy" is now the "Norm" too ...... in regards to Muslim and other "minority" groups: Jack Cashill: “Incompetence Wasn’t The Problem in Broward County”… https://theconservativetreehouse.co...mpetence-wasnt-the-problem-in-broward-county/ GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
Prayers for Britain: SNOW CHAOS: 'Beast from the East' leaves 4 dead while Storm Emma threatens WORSE weather https://www.express.co.uk/news/weat...orm-emma-met-office-warning-travel-disruption
Same Far Left Group That Designated Singing Nuns as Hate Group Is Censoring Content for YouTube "Outrageous… The far left Southern Poverty Law Center has repeatedly placed the “Singing Nuns” on its hate group map. A typical hate group, huh? The Singing Nuns are traditional Catholic Sisters, members of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen. In other words, they wear their full-length blue habits all the time — not just on special occasions or when they are singing. Their motherhouse, St. Michael’s Convent, is located at Mount St. Michael, just north of Spokane, Washington. The far left SPLC says these traditional Catholic nuns are a hate group. .............The Daily Caller reported: The Southern Poverty Law Center is assisting YouTube in policing content on their platform, The Daily Caller has learned. The left-wing nonprofit — which has more recently come under fire for labeling legitimate conservative organizations as “hate groups” — is one of the more than 100 nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and government agencies in YouTube’s “Trusted Flaggers” program, a source with knowledge of the arrangement told TheDC. The SPLC and other program members help police YouTube for extremist content, ranging from so-called hate speech to terrorist recruiting videos.
thank you for such a well reasoned defense of your position which is also mine. My wife is very liberal and caught up in all the progressive arguments including, pro-abortion and gun control. It seems impossible to guide her to the cause/effect relationship of things like contraception/abortion, lack of children being raised with faith/moral compass, moral relativism, and easy access to pornography, that are the root reasons we see so many things like mass shootings etc. Even language itself is relative now, where one can't even begin to define the terms/words so that a productive conversation can be had. Things are so bad I honestly don't see any solution other than the miraculous gift of God's mercy through the upcoming Warning/revealing of each person's faults that will hopefully convert hearts. I am at a point were it seems like only prayer is the answer. The danger I find myself in is not seeing/having the virtue of Hope, which causes me to pray less and give into my own "demons" that lead me down a path of personal sin. This is truly a huge battle. Sometimes I find it hard to even cry out like St. Peter and say to our Lord "save me" because I want the sin more than I want being saved, even when I know it leads to death. Such is the state of the world. We are facing a Tsunami of demons trying to take us down with the ship. So I force myself to say the words like "Save me Jesus" and Immaculate Conception pray for me" even when every fiber in my being doesn't want it. I studied to be a priest for 6 years, but then left and fell far away from my faith. It took God 16 years to bring me back and for the last 10 years I have, through God's mercy, come full circle and I have been going to daily Mass over these last 10 years. However it is so easy to fall back into sin and that is were I find myself at right now. I can't get myself to go to Mass daily right now and I can't get myself to pray the Rosary because I know it will convict my conscience of what I am doing wrong and make me stop acting the way I have been for the last few weeks. I think God is allowing me to go through this so that I will understand clearly that we must strive to be holy with all our being. I just read these words from Mark Mallet's recent post that speak to this: "In fact, “ordinary” Christians will not survive these times. (Mark Mallett) They must either be holy—which means sanctified—or they will disappear. The only Catholic families that will remain alive and thriving in the twenty-first century are the families of martyrs. —Servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., The Blessed Virgin and the Sanctification of the Family" I am struggling right now and I am sure many of you are. Please pray for me and I will pray for you as well!
