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Why We Are Going to Hell – Part 5,291 The Abomination in the Temple bythelastcrusade.org A Canadian Roman Catholic bishop has been charged with the distribution and selling of child pornography after a random search of his laptop at the Ottawa airport, a police source confirmed to the press. His Eminence Raymond Lahey, 69, was returning to Canada from the United States when Canadian Border Services Agency officials found images on his computer. Bishop Lahey resigned from governing the diocese of Antigonish, Nova Scotia last weekend. In his letter to his flock, the Bishop said that he needed time...

Findings from a nationwide study reveal that clergy sexual misconduct is more prevalent than many people believe.According to research by Baylor University, 3.1 percent of adult women who attend religious services at least once a month have been victims of clergy sexual misconduct since turning 18. In other words, seven women in every congregation of 400 adults have been victimized.Ninety-two percent of the sexual advances were made in secret and 67 percent of the offenders were married to someone else at the time of the advance."Because many people are familiar with some of the high-profile cases of sexual misconduct, most...

Many members of the clergy must be using the Bible like the old Sears catalogue – for toilet paper – because they obviously don't read it. Last week, another once-great church succumbed to the relentless, media-savvy campaign of determined homosexuality. "Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America voted to lift the ban that prohibited sexually active gay and lesbian people from serving as ministers," reported the Associated Press. In July, the Episcopal House of Bishops and laity approved liturgies for same-sex couples and endorsed the right to elect gay bishops. Lutherans and Episcopalians join other denominational giants, Unitarians and...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America passed a controversial vote late Friday afternoon to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy. Despite strong opposition, the ELCA passed the vote 559 to 451, marking a historic change, and repealing a ban on gay clergy. At 4.7 million members and about 10,000 congregations in the United States, the ELCA would be one of the largest U.S. Christian denominations yet to take a more gay-friendly stance on clergy. "We are today part of a church denomination that is changing, and it will make possible...

The President's Schedule yesterday included calls with two different clergy groups trying to enlist them in selling Obamacare to their "flocks," the first to 1,000 Rabbis from across the country, ...The second call was to 14,000 clergy of all faiths The President's religious arguments were a bit disingenuous. While the POTUS was correct that revising the health care system in America is a moral issue, the argument, is not as he claims whether we should reform health care, its how we should reform health care. His opponents don't like Obama's plan

If undocumented immigrants are valuable enough to be counted in the Census, then they ought to be legalized. That’s the argument being made by a national group of Latino evangelical clergy, led by a Ridgefield Park pastor, that wants undocumented immigrants to boycott the 2010 Census unless immigration reform is passed this year. The group also plans to expand the call in December to Latinos who are U.S. citizens and legal residents if Congress does not pass reform legislation by then, said the Rev. Miguel Rivera of Ridgefield Park, president and founder of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and...

The United Methodist Church's top court recently ruled that clergy, both active and retired, cannot perform same-sex marriages or civil unions. Performing such services is "a chargeable offense," Bishop Beverly J. Shamana ruled last Friday. UMC's Judicial Council affirmed her decision. The council further ruled that an annual conference, or regional body within the UMC, "may not negate, ignore, or violate provisions of the Discipline with which they disagree, even when the disagreements are based on conscientious objections to the provisions." The council’s ruling was on a resolution passed by the California-Nevada Annual Conference last year, months after the California...

(My beautiful daughter had died in a tragic garage fire only days before, but I asked the paper to please publish this as planned. A previous OP-ED piece by a local councilwoman cited Martin Luther King as well as she reveled in the impending inauguration of Barack Obama. It made it that much more imperative that my pro-life piece be published.) _______ On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, I’ve been reminded of and contemplating the glaring cultural polarity which jumps out at us when abortion is discussed. On one side we have an ever-growing...

We refuse to be deceived again by lies and fear tactics. Those who supported Barack Obama are not anti-American, communists, leftists or whatever limited label is used to scare others away. We do not agree that the conservative right is the sole possessor of values and morality. Killing, torturing and lying are immoral to anyone.

Vatican implements new guidelines for seminarians By FRANCES D'EMILIO VATICAN CITY — The Vatican issued new psychological screening guidelines for seminarians Thursday — the latest effort by the Roman Catholic Church to be more selective about its priesthood candidates following a series of pedophile scandals. The church said it issued the new guidelines to help church leaders weed out candidates with "psychopathic disturbances." Sex abuse scandals by pedophile priests have rocked the church in recent years, triggering lawsuits that have cost hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements. "(The guidelines) became ever more urgent because of the sexual scandals," Monsignor...

The average senior pastor in U.S. churches today makes more than $80,000 a year, a recent national survey shows. Compensation packages, including benefits such as retirement, life insurance, health insurance and continuing education allowances, have increased to $81,113 per year for the average senior pastor. And pastors who hold a higher academic degree are paid up to $30,000 more per year than pastors without any post-secondary education. The statistics come from the 2009 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff, an annual analysis of compensation packages at churches across the country, and at a time when churches begin planning their budget for...

In recent years, our society has begun to better understand the widespread problem of child sexual abuse. Conservative studies indicate that one out of three girls and one out of seven boys will be sexually abused before reaching 18 years of age, regardless of religious or socio-economic demographic. Law enforcement sources estimate nearly 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse are living in America today. Sexual abuse is not limited to any racial, ethnic, or socio-economic class. It is no respecter of any religious denomination or creed. Sexual abuse can happen anywhere. Parents allow their children to participate in ministry...

Hynes’ office dissuaded families ready to let their children testify about alleged abuse. Questions about Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes’ willingness to press cases in the Orthodox community are now being reignited. by Hella Winston and Larry Cohler-Esses In a surprise move, Rabbi Yehuda Kolko, the Brooklyn yeshiva teacher charged with having sexually molested his students, pleaded guilty Monday to two lesser counts of child endangerment and was sentenced to three years’ probation. Under the plea agreement, Rabbi Kolko, 62, made no admission of sexual wrongdoing. He will not have to register as a sex offender, and pleaded guilty only to...

PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday he was "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church and will work to make sure pedophiles don't become priests. Benedict was answering questions submitted in advance by reporters aboard a special Alitalia airliner as he was flying from Rome to Washington to begin his first papal pilgrimage to the United States. "It is a great suffering for the Church in the United States and for the Church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand...

What most needed reforming was left in place, the clergy and the laity as two distinct classes.

The evangelical Australian based church Hillsong has been linked to claims of abuse against women, including allegations of emotional manipulation. Fairfax Media reports that both the Hillsong Church and Gloria Jeans Coffee are linked to the organisation Mercy Ministries, which has been accused of emotional manipulation when treating women. Three women have now blown the whistle on a program operated by the Ministry, including allegations they entered as "independent" people, however came out of the program as "broken" and "suicidal". The women say as part of the program they were taught to believe that they were possessed by the devil,...

When the Catholic Church's sexual-misconduct scandal became nationwide front-page news six years ago, the Rev. Philip Lee Erickson of the Archdiocese of Louisville was just 34. The young priest had just obtained the canon-law license that would let him function as a lawyer within the church's internal legal system when the cover-up of priestly sexual abuse in Boston and elsewhere, mostly against boys and young men, became widely reported in early 2002. "Newly ordained, as the saying goes, you're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," Father Erickson told The Washington Times in a telephone interview.

SCHENECTADY -- To commemorate Tuesday's 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that affirmed a woman's right to an abortion, clergy blessed this city's new Planned Parenthood clinic in a ceremony dubbed "On Sacred Ground.""Today is more than about the building and about bricks and mortar," Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Linda Scharf said. "It's a blessing to demonstrate the support of the clergy." Since Jan. 22, 1973, when the high court handed down the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision, two sides of the issue have squared off. Opponents have campaigned to overturn unrestricted abortion laws, while proponents have stood firm for...

by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor January 24, 2008 Albany, NY (LifeNews.com) -- In an act that is sure to generate guffaws from the pro-life community, a group of pro-abortion clergy in Schenectady held a ceremony at a local abortion business to bless it and call it "sacred ground." Religious officials who are pro-life call the ceremony sacrilegious by blessing a place that kills the life God creates.

EthicsDaily.com reported 11 arrests, three convictions, two lawsuits and one suicide involving alleged sexual abuse by clergy in 2007.Other stories included a church that allowed a convicted sex offender to preach from its pulpit while knowing about his past and comments by the president of the Southern Baptist Convention denying clergy predators are a "systemic" problem and accusing victim advocates of using the issue for personal gain. Those stories were part of ongoing coverage of efforts by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests to pressure the 16.3 million-member convention to establish an independent review board for clergy sex...

Monsignor removed from parish after admitting misconduct from 30 years ago BY PETER KADUSHIN and ALISON GENDAR DAILY NEWS WRITERS Tuesday, December 4th 2007, 4:00 AM A Brooklyn monsignor has been yanked from his parish after admitting "inappropriate behavior" with up to five young people more than 30 years ago, authorities said. Msgr. George Zatarga, 65, admitted allegations of sexual misconduct when he was a relatively new priest in the Diocese of Brooklyn in the late 1970s, according to a letter the Bishop of Brooklyn Nicholas DiMarzio sent to Zatarga's flock. A law enforcement source said investigators also were checking...

America by the Numbers How long does it take us to get to work? How happy are we in our jobs? How much beer do we drink? A statistical look at the lives of the average American nationwide

Dog collar clergy 'risk attack' There is no need to wear the dog collar in supermarkets, advice says. Members of the clergy are being advised to take off their dog collars when they are on their own, to reduce the risk of being attacked. National Churchwatch, which provides personal safety advice, says vicars are attacked more often than professions such as GPs and probation officers. The organisation's Nick Tolson said all clergy should consider the advice, including the Archbishop of Canterbury. The group also produces security advice for all UK churches and churchworkers. In the past decade, five vicars have...

In an effort to hold their church together, leaders say they will try to not pick another gay bishop or authorize rites for same-sex couples. Episcopal leaders, who are struggling to hold together their increasingly divided church and maintain its place in the global Anglican Communion, pledged anew Tuesday to "exercise restraint" in consecrating another openly gay bishop. In the final hours of a crucial meeting in New Orleans, Episcopal bishops promised not to authorize official rites for the blessings of same-sex couples and asserted that a majority of bishops do not allow priests to bless such unions. The statement,...

A government plan to use members of the clergy to quell dissent and objections to government orders during a time of national emergency has been revealed by a Shreveport, La., television station. The story by reporter Jeff Ferrell on television station KSLA says such "Clergy Response Teams" already have been used – following the hit on New Orleans by hurricane Katrina. The station's video is available on a link on its website, and also available on YouTube. It asks if martial law ever could become reality in the United States, following a nuclear, biological or chemical attack. "KSLA News 12...

Could martial law ever become a reality in America? Some fear any nuclear, biological or chemical attack on U.S. soil might trigger just that. KSLA News 12 has discovered that the clergy would help the government with potentially their biggest problem: Us. Read More

From the Telegraph:According to a report due for release this autumn, there will be as many female priests as male by 2025. The study, entitled Religious Trends, concludes that without the rapid growth in the number of women being ordained - as many women will be becoming priests as men by the end of the decade - some parishes would be forced to close.(snip)Some dioceses, many of them in rural locations, already report a higher number of women being ordained than men.The report estimates that by 2016 one in every three priests will be a woman. This year, 47 per...

We are told by the mainstream media that there is a priest shortage which will cripple the Church and that empty convents will never be occupied again. These same media organizations float that idea that only non-celibacy can save the day. Increasingly, the numbers of young men entering the seminary to become priests and young women entering religious life are telling these media gatekeepers that they are wrong. In my book, The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism, the facts are clear: those dioceses that are orthodox in nature and taht defend the teachings of the Church generally find themselves with a number of...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The three companies that insure the majority of Protestant churches in America say they typically receive upward of 260 reports each year of young people under 18 being sexually abused by clergy, church staff, volunteers or congregation members. The figures offer a glimpse into what has long been an extremely difficult phenomenon to pin down -- the frequency of sex abuse in Protestant congregations. Religious groups and victims' supporters have been interested in the figure ever since the Roman Catholic sex abuse crisis hit five years ago. The church has revealed that there have been 13,000 credible...

In 1973, Eric Karl Swenson was ordained in the Presbyterian Church and went to work doing what he’d always dreamed of: ministering to a congregation of the Southern Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. More than 20 years later, one dream almost ended when another began. When the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta discovered in 1996 that Swenson had finally fulfilled another lifelong desire—having sex-change surgery to become a woman—it started proceedings to revoke Swenson’s ordination.At the time of her “transition,” Swenson did not resist the church’s questions nor blame its reluctance. “I had been in the closet for 30 years, learning to...

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 Should Catholic priests have the right to marry?A Protestant friend who saw the video of Father Plushy giving his Barney blessing -- and truly, I don't know what is more irritating, the priest or the full house of ninnies who sat there singing and clapping -- writes this morning to say: That video you just posted is the best single argument I have ever seen for ending the celibacy of the priesthood. Well, maybe. One is entitled to wonder how seriously Father Plushy takes his vow of celibacy, or anything about the dignity and responsibilities of...

THE $60-MILLION settlement announced last week between 45 molestation victims and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is a brutal reminder that moral crisis cannot be cured through legal compromise. In those cases, and the hundreds more yet to be settled, victims want the truth to come out about abusive priests; they also want the perpetrators and those who harbored them, including Cardinal Roger Mahony and his hierarchy, to face consequences. Mahony, for his part, wants to put the whole mess behind him and shield from public view any documents that could provide the truth — while also preserving the finances...

FRESNO, CA--An Episcopal diocese in California overwhelmingly passed a series of resolutions yesterday that position it to secede from the Episcopal Church and affiliate with conservatives in the global Anglican Communion. If the Diocese of San Joaquin affirms the move in a second vote next year, the small diocese, with 48 parishes and 7,000 members, would be the first to try to break from the Episcopal Church, which has been torn by conflict since the consecration of a gay bishop in 2003. Until now, only individual parishes have severed ties. The vote by the diocese is one more step in...

Monument unveiled to Catholic priests killed in Nazi camps Nov 4, 2006, 17:23 GMT Berlin - Catholic priests and monks, the bulk of them Polish, who were killed by the Nazis in a concentration camp near Berlin were commemorated Saturday with the unveiling of a stone sculpture in the presence of Cardinal Jozef Glemp of Poland. The sculpture is engraved with the names of 96 clergy who died at Sachsenhausen concentration camp on the north-west outskirts of Berlin. Historians working for the Catholic archdiocese of Berlin have so far documented the names of 711 Catholic clergy from Poland, Germany and...

Nassau County Tax Assessor Harvey Levinson is taking a political gamble by questioning a property tax exemption for clergy that they say strips local schools of millions in revenue. Clergy living in private Nassau homes are given major breaks on their property taxes. Levinson says there are hundreds of clergy members paying no school taxes because of the large exemptions. He says these people live in very expensive homes and even quotes one clergy member's house at being worth $2.2 million. That cleric received more than $10,000 in tax savings. Some residents believe it is a political risk to go...

WASHINGTON – Religious leaders Tuesday scolded lawmakers who oppose a broad immigration policy overhaul and urged them at a Capitol Hill news conference to put people over politics. "This is not a time for making political points but for seeking a humane solution," said Bishop Jaime Soto of the Diocese of Orange. Soto flew into Washington for the news conference organized by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the key architects of the Senate-passed immigration bill. The bill merges enhanced enforcement with a guest-worker program and a plan to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants. In an interview before...

Pastor indicted in rape case By MELODY McDONALD STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER FORT WORTH -- A 63-year-old pastor accused of raping a church member last year during a ceremony to cast out demons has been indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury. Leonard Ray Owens, who is free on $25,000 bail, is now awaiting trial on a charge of sexual assault -- a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison. Police have said that they began investigating Owens last year after a 22-year-old woman reported that Owens raped her on two occasions at his Fort Worth home. The...

by Mark Finkelstein June 23, 2006 Let me share a little trade secret. Any time I'm on the prowl for something to write about, I go to the editorial page of the Los Angeles Times. Almost invariably the journey is rewarded with a remarkable liberal morsel. Take this morning's editorial - 'Battling over Bishops' - in which the Times decides to wade into the controversy roiling the Episcopal Church. Here's the kernel of the Times' argument "What both controversies [over homosexual and female clergy] have in common is not only a fixation on sex and gender but also the challenge...

The priesthood and celibacy 07.06.2006 As many 42% of Polish priests would rather not live a celibate lifestyle. Report by Michal Zajac According to a research conducted by academics of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan nearly half of the priests would choose a family life, were they given such an opportunity. The researchers have interviewed over 2 thousand priests asking them various questions related to celibacy. The findings are surprising, if not shocking. But foreign media observer of the Polish church life Jonathan Luxmoore says that more important than the results of the survey is the fact that it’s...

Poland Priests in Demand to Fill Europe In the midst of a continent that suffers from priest-shortage, Poland is the only country in Europe that is overflowing with priests. Although Poland has traditionally sent missionaries to countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, Polish priests are increasingly in demand to fill in the rest of the continent, as a quarter of all young men train to become Roman Catholic priests in Europe are Polish. There are already more than 100 Polish priests working in England and Wales. Along with 7,131 other people in Poland, 171 young men are preparing for...

FlyoverPress.com More options 12:48 pm (11 minutes ago) Mike Heath is a new contributor and I have news for young Michael. The clergy--both protestant and catholic--betrayed us a long, long time ago. thegunny, 419 CHESTY MEN http://www.newswithviews.com/Heath/mike.htm By Mike Heath May 24, 2006 NewsWithViews.com My youngest son ships for Marine boot camp on June 19th. He and I are reading a book about the only Marine in history to win five Navy Crosses. Chesty Puller wouldn't take the time to argue about "tone and style." He would view that as a distraction. In battle you deal with the enemy. You...

LONDON - The liberal leadership of the American Anglican Church is preparing for an unexpected climbdown over homosexuality that could save the worldwide Church from schism. Three years after consecrating Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop, the American bishops appear close to bowing to international pressure and shelving their radical agenda at a conference in June. Leaks from a private meeting of the bishops in North Carolina last week suggest that they will "repent" for plunging Anglicanism into turmoil by consecrating Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.

Polish Church investigates spies Poland's Catholic Church is launching a fresh investigation to identify church collaborators who worked for the communist-era secret police. "The issue simply has to be investigated... we should not fear the truth," said Father Robert Necek, spokesman for the Church in Krakow. Church historians will look through secret police files for evidence of collaboration, the AP news agency says. The Krakow inquiry follows Church investigations elsewhere in Poland. The Church commission was launched by the Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was formerly personal secretary to the late Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Dziwisz said...

ATLANTA - Churches have an obligation to help end the "poisoned atmosphere" surrounding the acceptance of homosexuals, the Rev. Al Sharpton said at a weekend summit organized by a national black gay rights group. The group invited religious leaders to brainstorm ways to get their message of tolerance across to church leaders, who are some of the most influential figures in black communities. Several portrayed it as a civil rights issue. "Our dialogue is the possibility of being acknowledged, loved and accepted. It can happen," said Donna Payne, vice president of the National Black Justice Coalition, composed of black lesbian,...

Despite the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church urging support for a petition against same-sex marriage, only 20 percent of priests who work in the Springfield diocese signed the petition, according to a Web site tracking the issue. Of the 154 active local priests, 31, or 20 percent, signed the petition that seeks to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Information about petition signers was gathered from the Web site of the pro-gay marriage organization, knowthyneighbor.org. Leaders of the organization said their Web site's petition database contains all the names accepted by the Massachusetts Secretary...

The Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, also known as HR 235, would give clergy the ability to discuss politics with their congregations without fear of response from the Federal government. Prior to 1954, clergy were allowed to speak freely about political issues but today they always have the threat of a response from the IRS. This bill may come to the forefront due to the recent case involving All Saints Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. They are being investigated by the IRS and may lose their tax-exemption status because of speech given by a guest speaker last year,...

What counsel would you offer on stem cells? Embryonic stem cell research incites the passions of people both in favor and opposed to the idea of using those cells for scientific research. The debated stem cells in question are usually "extra" fertilized eggs, frozen by couples trying to conceive.Supporters tout possible scientific breakthroughs such as cures for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease that could result from the research. Opponents say life begins at conception, and, therefore, using fertilized eggs for scientific research destroys human life and crosses serious ethical and moral lines. Although widely publicized and politicized, the issue is, at...

Lawsuits fan suspicion that bad priests sent to Alaska Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A recent string of lawsuits accusing Roman Catholic priests of molesting children has reinforced suspicions among some critics of the church that remote Alaska was a dumping ground for problem clergy. "I absolutely believe that church officials intentionally sent abusive priests to minor communities, transient communities, where kids may be less apt to tell and have less faith in the justice system," said David Clohessy, national director of Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Four priests who served in Alaska have been sued over...

The leaders of the Philadelphia Archdiocese — including two former archbishops — actively concealed sexual abuse by priests for decades, but no criminal charges can be brought against the church or its priests because of the constraints of state law, according to grand jury findings released Wednesday. Following the nation's longest-running grand jury probe into priest abuse, the scathing report documents assaults on minors by more than 60 priests since 1945 — including 12 who served in the Lehigh Valley region at some time — and alleges that the former archbishops, Cardinals Anthony Bevilacqua and John Krol, covered up the...

Let me first preface my remarks by stating for the record that I didn't attend this demonstration in order to voice support for a particular faction in the Iranian democracy movement, and was-quite honestly-surprised by the extent to which the MEK/NCRI had monopolized the crowd that had gathered in the shadow of the United Nations General Assembly in order to protest the visit to this country by a man who is the president of what is-bar none-the leading state sponsor of international terrorism. The minute you entered the rally you began to spot the nearly beatific images of Maryam Rajavi...