Free Republic

I grew up in the era of headlong evangelism by the LDS church. We were out to convert the world. Back then, it was "every young man on a mission" and "every member a missionary." The church didn't just leave it to our imagination how to accomplish this. Full-time missionaries were expected to memorize verbatim an entire series of official gospel "discussions." Regular members were exhorted to ask acquaintances, complete strangers, or anyone who held still for five seconds, "What do you know about the Mormon Church, and would you like to know more?" I did the first one on...

Ellis T. Rasmussen, professor emeritus of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. The best support for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon is the testimony of the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Lord has exhorted us to seek that kind of witness not only of the entire Book of Mormon, but also of its parts. When Moroni, the last author in the Book of Mormon, gave the promise of spiritual confirmation, he spoke especially of particulars:“When ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ,...

English-speaking Latter-day Saints who desire a thorough understanding of the Book of Mormon face a considerable challenge—the text is written in English. As a result, it is too easy to read. That is to say, it is too easy to get the gist of what is being communicated without actually taking the time to analyze every verb form, every pronoun, and every conjunction to determine exactly how the words fit together and the ideas unfold. We grasp the general message, but we also miss many of the details. In fact, the people who know the Book of Mormon best may...

For the past two days, visitors to a park in Staten Island's Fort Wadsworth section have stumbled upon a gory mystery -- a mutilated animal, possibly a dog or a goat, wrapped in a white sheet. Parkgoers found two such animals in Von Briesen Park yesterday and this morning, city Parks Department officials confirmed. The discovery has sparked speculation of ritual sacrifice and cult activity, and has led one Port Richmond woman to douse part of the ground where one animal was found with holy water, in an attempt to ward off what she believes is an evil presence. Several...

A Timeline of Catholic Church history1-500 A.D. This timeline is researched and prepared by Suzanne Fortin Copyright 2003. All rights reserved. Other Timelines: Timeline of  how the Bible came to us  All Popes back to PeterTimeline of Catholic/Orthodox Church relations  AD Event 20s *c. 29 AD Our Lord's Resurrection. The First Pentecost. St. Peter preaches in Jerusalem and converts three thousand people, creating the first Christian community. 30s *c. 35 Saul of Tarsus has an apparition of Jesus Christ and is converted to Christianity. *c. 39 St. Peter baptizes Cornelius. This event marks the beginning of the missionizing to the...

A scientific investigation seems to confirm the theory that St Paul's bones lie under the basilica bearing his name in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI has announced. The bones, long buried in a sarcophagus under St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, have been carbon-dated to the first or second century AD, the Pope said, adding a dramatic flourish to the close of the Pauline year. Standing in front of the sarcophagus, which is under the main altar and was discovered only three years ago, Pope Benedict said he felt moved to be able to make the announcement. The Holy...

At the Roman Synod on the Bible in October 2008, which I covered for HPR, the most common topic mentioned was the need to recommend “Lectio Divina” as a pious practice among the faithful. You have probably seen the phrase mentioned in recent articles about the synod.“Lectio Divina” (LD) literally translated means “divine reading.” What it really means is praying with the Bible by selecting a passage and meditating on it. It can be done alone by an individual and it can also be done in a small prayer group. LD has a long history of being practiced in...

Pope Benedict clears way for Cardinal John Newman to become first English saint in 40 years By SIMON CALDWELL 03rd July 2009 Cardinal Newman, pictured in his study chapel at the Birmingham Oratory in 1889, will be given the title 'Blessed' Cardinal Newman, the Anglican vicar who shocked Victorian Britain by converting to Roman Catholicism, is a step closer to becoming the first English saint for 40 years. Pope Benedict XVI yesterday announced the beatification of John Henry Newman, meaning he will be given the title 'Blessed'. It follows the recognition by the Vatican of the healing of an American...

Last week, in the midst of President Obama's efforts to push unprecedented expansions of federal regulatory authority through Congress, North Korea's bellicose threats of nuclear annihilation, and the Iranian regime's brutal campaign to suppress political dissent, the American public's attention was focused elsewhere. On June 25th, 2009, the nation plunged into mourning upon learning of the tragic deaths of Michael Jackson—inimitable King of Pop—and Hollywood's original "angel" Farah Fawcett. In the time it took for a commercial break, the coverage of the Iranian protests, the debates about cap and trade and healthcare reform, and the diplomatic efforts to recover two...

It seems like every time I venture into an Apple thread here on FR, it's similar to venturing over into Democratic Underground territory. Personal attacks abound especially if you start criticizing Apple products or other Apple users for being naive into thinking Apple is everything their clever marketing department represents it to be.It seems like the Mac ping list alerts the faithful flock to defend Apple to the death and that is when the claws come out and it starts to get ugly.

When Hamilton Okeke stepped into his room at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park for the first time, the enormity of what he was doing seemed to hit him in the gut. He was alone, literally and figuratively, as he was about to hand his life over to God. No one in his inner circle supported his desire to become a priest. Just two rooms down the hall on the fourth floor of the massive seminary building that looms over Northern Parkway, Deacon Gregory Rapisarda’s room bustled with a family that embraced religious vocations. At 61, Deacon Rapisarda...

One Hundred Fifty Reasons I'm CatholicAnd You Should Be Too!by Dave Armstrong1. Best One-Sentence Summary: I am convinced that the Catholic Church conforms much more closely to all of the biblical data, offers the only coherent view of the history of Christianity (i.e., Christian, apostolic Tradition), and possesses the most profound and sublime Christian morality, spirituality, social ethic, and philosophy. 2. Alternate: I am a Catholic because I sincerely believe, by virtue of much cumulative evidence, that Catholicism is true, and that the Catholic Church is the visible Church divinely-established by our Lord Jesus, against which the gates of hell...

What exactly is in Benedict XVI’s new encyclical on the economy and labor issues is not yet known. Catholic leftists and progressives, though, are already trembling with excitement. Three glaring errors have already appeared in these heavily panting anticipations. An accurate presentation of real existing capitalism requires at least three modest affirmations: 1) Markets work well only within a system of law, and only according to well-marked-out rules of the game; unregulated markets are a figment of imagination. 2) In actual capitalist practice, the love of creativity, invention, and groundbreaking enterprise are far more powerful than motives of greed. 3)...

# CONFERENZA STAMPA DI MARTEDÌ 7 LUGLIO 2009 Si informano i giornalisti accreditati che martedì 7 luglio 2009, alle ore 11.30, nell’Aula Giovanni Paolo II della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, avrà luogo la Conferenza Stampa di presentazione dell’Enciclica del Santo Padre Benedetto XVI dal titolo: "Caritas in veritate". Interverranno: Em.mo Card. Renato Raffaele Martino, Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio della Giustizia e della Pace; Em.mo Card. Paul Josef Cordes, Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio "Cor Unum"; S.E. Mons. Giampaolo Crepaldi, Segretario del Pontificio Consiglio della Giustizia e della Pace; Prof. Stefano Zamagni, Professore ordinario di Economia Politica all’Università di Bologna, Consultore...

Please forgive the shameless plug here; Whispers in the loggia is an excellent source for all things related to current events in the Catholic Church.

Pope Benedict XVI said last night that bone fragments found inside the tomb of St Paul in Rome had been carbon dated for the first time, "confirming the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul". He said that archaeologists had inserted a probe into the white marble sarcophagus under the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls which has been revered for centuries as the tomb of St Paul. The pontiff said: "Small fragments of bone were carbon dated by experts who knew nothing about their provenance and results showed they were from...

Why does the Catholic Church teach that there is "no salvation outside the Church"? Doesn’t this contradict Scripture? God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4). "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Peter proclaimed to the Sanhedrin, "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Since God intends (plans, wills) that every human being should...

ROME (AP) -- The first-ever scientific tests on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul "seem to conclude" that they do indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint, Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday. Archaeologists recently unearthed and opened the white marble sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome, which for some 2,000 years has been believed by the faithful to be the tomb of St. Paul. Benedict said scientists had conducted carbon dating tests on bone fragments found inside the sarcophagus and confirmed that they date from the first or...

Do Vatican II’s teachings on ecumenism and religous liberty really conflict with Traditional Catholic teaching? In his first Envoy article on traditionalist apologetics [see “All Tradition Leads to Rome,” Volume 4.6], canon lawyer Pete Vere identified seven common arguments offered by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) in defense of their schism, and how he overcame these objections during his journey back to the Catholic Church. Some readers responded that this schism, initiated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988, isn’t merely about the Latin Mass. The SSPX also takes issue with the Second Vatican Council, particularly on the...

Traditional Holy Mass Propers † FEAST OF SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA † Saint Aloysius Gonzaga in Glory by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo The Courtauld Institute Gallery Missa Respice in me, et miserére mei, Dómine, quóniam ( "....Look Thou upon me , O Lord, and have mercy on me...." ) 21 June 2009 Anno Dómini "....there shall be joy in Heaven upon one sinner that doth penance...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us.I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired.It is not a mere form of words; it...

GUIDELINES FOR THE PUBLICATION OF LITURGICAL BOOKS Committee on Divine Worship TABLE OF CONTENTS Guidelines for the Publication of Liturgical Books Introduction (nos. 1-12)…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 A. Approved Liturgical Books (nos. 13-26)………………………………………………………….………. 4 B. Other Liturgical Publications (nos. 27-32)……………………………………………………………….. 5 C. Participation Materials (nos. 33-44)……………………………………………………….……………….. 6 Appendix I: Editorial Requirements for Granting the Concordat cum originali……………………… 9 Appendix II: Guidelines for the Publication of Participation Aids Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Approval of the Secretariat of Divine Worship………………………………………………………….. 11 Order of Mass In General…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12 Introductory Rites……………………………………………………………………………………….. 12 Liturgy of the Word……………………………………………………………………………………… 13 Liturgy of the Eucharist………………………………………………………………………………… 14 Concluding Rite………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16 Other Questions Guidelines...

A Significant USCCB Self-Correction Posted Jun. 23, 2009 4:37 PM || by Dr. Jeff Mirus || Last Thursday’s publication of “A Note on Ambiguities Contained in Reflections on Covenant and Mission” marks a very significant step in the renewal of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The “Note” clarified the doctrinal ambiguities in an ecumenical statement on Catholic-Jewish relations issued under Cardinal William Keeler back in 2002. For several years, Cardinal Keeler had served as the USCCB Moderator for Catholic-Jewish Relations, overseeing among other things an ongoing dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Jewish community in the United...

Pope Notes His Goal for Year for Priests Reflects on Priorities for Ministry VATICAN CITY, JUNE 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A priest is a slave of Christ, who himself became a slave when he took on human nature, says Benedict XVI. The Pope today reflected on the role of the priest and his call to conform himself with Christ during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. He dedicated his reflection to the Year for Priests, which he inaugurated Friday. The Holy Father noted how St. John Vianney, patron of priests and model for this jubilee year, was identified with...

What Can I Do For the Year of the Priest? By Father Mark on June 25, 2009 11:42 AM | The Schola Cantorum of Priests of the Diocese of Tulsa 1. You can ask your Parish Priest to offer the Votive Mass of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest on the First Thursday of the Month. Suggest that he use the parish bulletin and the Sunday homily to invite the faithful to participate in this monthly Mass for the sanctification of all priests.2. Study the Holy Father's Letter for the Year of Priests in a small group. Make copies. Mark them...

Book of BlessingsThe Roman Ritual - 1987Blessings for Parents, Children before Birth, after Birth,Adopted Children, and for Engaged Couples The official Book of Blessings contains over 800 pages of formal blessings that can be received upon request being made to a legal and moral priest (the highest form of blessing). The first listed is the Order for the Blessing of a Family. It is the first listed in Chapter 1 entitled: Orders for the Blessing of Families and Members of Families. It is right that the Church give priority to the members of the faith and those directly associated with...

Earlier this year I wrote “Death By Devotion” about my personal experiences with Scientology and the founder of its Celebrity Centre, Yvonne Jentzsch, a faithful devotee of Lafayette Ronald Hubbard who was cast aside when she became ill. Now the St. Petersburg Times has done a massive expose on David Miscavige, who took over from Hubbard in running the so-called religion. Before heading up Scientology, Miscavige was (among other things) a financial messenger for Hubbard, depositing monies in European banks and thus knowing where it all could be found when the science-fiction writer turned guru died at his ranch in...

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The leader of the Church of Scientology struck his subordinates numerous times and set an example for physical violence among the tightly controlled religion's management team, four former high-ranking executives told a newspaper for a story published Sunday. The executives who have since left the organization told The St. Petersburg Times that they witnessed David Miscavige, chairman of the board that oversees the church, hit staff members dozens of times. "It was random and whimsical. It could be the look on your face. Or not answering a question quickly. But it always was a punishment," said Mike...

KABUL – The top U.S. general in Afghanistan will soon formally order U.S. and NATO forces to break away from fights with militants hiding in Afghan houses so the battles do not kill civilians, a U.S. official said Monday.

Pope Benedict XVI has raised the alarm over the decline in confessions, urging priests not to become "resigned to empty confessionals" but rather to help the faithful rediscover "the beauty of the sacrament", which answered "a deep and humble longing for forgiveness".

Monsignor John Esseff is on a mission from God. He hopes to have the Sacred Heart of Jesus enthroned as King of the entire world, family by family, church by church, dioceses by dioceseÂ…country by country. Accompanied by other priests, he is now embarking on a tour to meet with cardinals worldwide to solicit their support to develop an official plan within the Catholic Church to enthrone Jesus as the King of our world and present this plan to the Pope. This may sound idealistic, but with so many friends in high places, my money is on Monsignor. Oh, and...

Mary not just for Catholics anymore By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- As publications from Time magazine to Christianity Today have discovered recently, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is not just for Catholics anymore. Features on Mary are perennial favorites for editors looking for a religion-themed story before Christmas, and in the last few years many of these articles have focused on the increasing popularity of Mary among Protestants. Marianist Father Thomas Thompson, editor of the Marian Library Newsletter at the University of Dayton in Ohio, points out that the expanding Protestant acceptance of Mary is based...

Pope Benedict XVI today released a letter to priests, in proclamation of the Church’s Year of the Priest which commences tomorrow. The letter draws deeply on the priestly example of St. John Mary Vianney, France’s famous 19th-century “Curé of Ars.” From the Pope’s letter: There are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the Church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity on the part of some of her ministers. Then it is the world which finds grounds for scandal and rejection. What is most helpful to the Church in such cases is not only...

Infallibility 403. I see the Catholic viewpoint in this matter, but a far greater difficulty arises for me concerning your Church in so far as she claims within her spiritual sphere to be infallible. She makes that claim under certain conditions. 404. It is a most remarkable claim. It is. But then, the Catholic Church is a very remarkable Church. She was not founded by a Martin Luther, or a Henry VIII, or a John Knox, but by Jesus Christ, who guaranteed her as His official representative in this world. Yet although the Catholic Church is a remarkable Church, it...

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict VXI has dedicated to the Priesthood the year-long celebration that spans from June 19, 2009 until 2010. The life and worship of the Catholic faithful is liturgical and sacramental. As such, the Priesthood is central, and as essential as DNA, to our concept of worship. This year, we as Catholics will reflect, meditate and pray on everything related to the Priesthood, beginning with our call to participation in the common priesthood in order to better understand the call to the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood in both degrees, Presbyterate [priests] and Episcopacy [bishops], as well as...

Church Being Given Chance to Rediscover Priesthood US Bishops' Leader Reflects on Heart of Ministry CHICAGO, JUNE 10, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Though the priesthood has recently undergone a "purification," the Church is being given an opportunity to rediscover what its all about, says the president of the U.S. episcopal conference. Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, affirmed this in his column this week for the archdiocesan newspaper, Catholic New World. He dedicated the article to the Year for Priests, called by Benedict XVI for June 19 - June 11, 2010. Noting some of the problems facing the world -- issues ranging...

Curé d'Ars: Model Priest Confessor Knew the Importance of the Basics By Karna Swanson NEW YORK, JUNE 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- After more than 2,000 years of existence, there isn't much the Church hasn't addressed, faced or witnessed. Granted, times change. New challenges continually present themselves. Progress is made. And while the Church continually works to keep step with the twists and turns of history, it sometimes breaks step and simply returns to the basics. This is what Benedict XVI did recently when he declared a yearlong celebration of one of the most basic and fundamental elements of the Catholic Church:...

Q. Why do Catholics pray to Mary, instead of God? A. When we say the Hail Mary or the Rosary, we don't pray to Mary as we pray to God; we are asking her to pray, or intercede, for us-"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death". As Christians, we are all, including Mary, praying to the Father through Jesus. Christians, including Catholics, are all agreed that there is one Mediator between god and man, the Man Jesus Christ (1 Tim.2:5). Prayer is essentially a dialogue between man and God....

Notes on the New Translation of the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia(from the August 2005 Newsletter – © 2008 USCCB)While there are many and complex elements of the translation yet to be decided by the Bishops, the translation of several phrases in the Order of Mass have been previously decided by the instruction Liturgiam authenticam. Among these are “certain expressions that belong to the heritage of the whole or of a great part of the ancient Church, as well as others that have become part of the general human patrimony…” Therefore, the response Et cum spiritu tuo is “to be...

Holy See to Facilitate Expeditious Approval for the Roman Missal(from the February 2009 Newsletter – © 2009 USCCB)The Committee on Divine Worship, at its November 2008 meeting, indicated that the USCCB would complete its review and approval of the texts of the third edition of the Roman Missal by the end of 2010, and noted that once the recognitio was issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, publishers would need as much as one year to prepare, publish, and distribute the Roman Missal for use in parishes. On December 15, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I.,...

To some Catholics, U.S. bishops have chartered the correct course by focusing on liturgical matters at their three-day spring meeting, which begins today in San Antonio. More than 150 bishops from across the nation will fine-tune the English translation of the Mass to conform more closely to its Latin original. They'll seek more effective ways to spread their stated-but-little-known ministry goals. And they'll approve a new Mass of Thanksgiving. But to others, the bishops' agenda is off base and might add to their perceived ineffectual leadership in dealing with the foremost Catholic university. About 80 of roughly 200 bishops condemned...

Vatican City - The Vatican said Wednesday is would consider "illegitimate" any attempts to ordain new priests by an ultra-traditionalist Catholic group involved in a recent row over Holocaust denial. In a statement, the Vatican quoted a letter by Pope Benedict XVI addressed in March to Catholic bishops, in which he stated that members of the renegade Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) would be barred from official roles within the Church unless they agreed to fully abide with its teachings. Such teachings included the so-called Second Vatican reforms of the 1960s, when local languages replaced Latin in the mass...

Florence, Oregon, Jun 17, 2009 / 08:17 am (CNA).- He grew up an evangelical Protestant in Oregon, suspicious of Marian theology. Now he’s a Catholic priest and a physicist. Dominican Father Raphael Mary Salzillo was ordained last month in San Francisco and will take up an assignment at the University of Washington Newman Center and Blessed Sacrament Parish in Seattle.Born Wesley Salzillo in 1976, he grew up in Florence, a small coastal town. The family converted to Catholicism in the early 1990s."My family raised me with a strong Christian faith and a very clear sense that Christ should be...

June 14, 2009 — David Klinghoffer on Evolution News and Views has pointed out that James von Brunn, the man who murdered guard Tyrone Johns at Washington’s Holocaust Museum on June 10, was motivated by ideas of natural selection and eugenics. Klinghoffer provided additional information on Belief.Net with quotes from Brunn’s writings. He also found hundreds of references to...

Excuse my mastery of the obvious, but I have to believe the greatest obstacle to America's return to policy sanity is the electorate's cultish adoration of Barack Obama. If it weren't for this disturbing phenomenon -- not to discount a healthy dose of blind partisanship -- it is inconceivable that the majority of people would tolerate Obama's dismantling of America's free market system, his returning America to a pre-9/11 mindset against terrorists, his increasing usurpations of power, and his corrupt ties and practices, from the public funding of ACORN to the summary dismissal of the case against the Black Panthers...

In just a few days I’m going to be walking in the footsteps of Martin Luther. I’ll explore the halls of the church in Zurich. I’ll be in Geneva when the Protestant world celebrates the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s death. And, I’m afraid the Reformers would hardly recognize the Protestant church they struggled to birth. In fact, I think Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin might think most Protestant churches are really just inconsistent Catholic churches. Five hundred years after these men and others risked their life to bring reform to the church and the Bible to the people, we’ve not only...

Many Catholics and non-Catholics alike think that the Roman Catholic Church invented the doctrine of transubstantiation. Transubstantiation means that the bread and wine presented on the altar at the Mass become the the Body and Blood of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit at the consecration. The consecration is the time when the priest calls upon the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into Christ's Body and Blood. However, the Body and Blood retain the appearance of bread and wine. The Roman Catholic Church, that is, the Latin Rite Catholic Church, and other Catholic Churches...

The New Missal - Historic Moment in Liturgical Renewal t | t | t | tby Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli, S.T.D., S.S.L., D.D In May 2002, the publication of the Missale Romanum marked an historic moment in the life of the Church in our day. It gave an impetus to the great liturgical renewal set in motion when Vatican II issued Sacrosanctum Concilium as its first document. With Vatican II, began … the great work of renewal of the liturgical books of the Roman Rite. [This] … work … included their translation into vernacular languages, with the purpose of bringing...

Dennis McConner climbs the front steps of a well-kept home on Holgate Avenue in Maumee and knocks on the door. SNIP Mr. McConner, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., smiles warmly and says, "Good morning sir, how are you?" "Just fine. Can I help you?" the homeowner asks, polite but hurried. "Yes, my name is Dennis McConner. I'm stopping by this morning leaving invitations to you and your neighbors to attend a convention we're having at the SeaGate Centre and to answer this question: 'How can I survive the end of the world?'•" SNIP Leading up to the first weekend of meetings,...

How the New Missal is Being Translated, and Why Posted Jun. 10, 2009 11:42 AM || by Dr. Jeff Mirus || Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson (New Jersey) is the chairman of the US Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship. Last October he addressed the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions on the significance and goals of the revision of the Roman Missal, currently in progress. The revision is proceeding according to the principles set forth in 2001 in Liturgiam authenticam, an instruction of the Holy See which replaced the document in force since 1969, Comme le Prévoit, now regarded as seriously...

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the faithful had ready access to reliable media sources that consistently present news items and important issues truthfully and completely, while also communicating the authentic doctrine of the faith so dependably that Catholics could receive the information they relay with complete confidence? The Second Vatican Council thought so. In the Decree on the Media of Social Communications, Inter Mirifica , the Council Fathers spoke of the “inherent right of the Church to have at its disposal media as necessary or useful for the instruction of Christians, and all its efforts for the welfare of souls”...