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Most of us know the story of the 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt who held fast to their faith and were beheaded by ISIS in February, 2015. But did you know that only 20 of them were actually Copts from Egypt? Did you know that one of the martyrs was from Chad, and he had not been a Christian prior to the day of his beheading? This story was previously reported. But I had not heard it before this week, when I attended the World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. A Coptic...

A new study by the Pew Research Center shows that religion has returned as an essential part of identity -- both individual and national -- in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. According to the study, there are now majorities in the countries of the region that profess a belief in God, while identifying with a particular faith tradition. Just as they were 100 years ago, Orthodox and Catholic churches are the most prevalent affiliations in countries once ruled by the Russian czar or the Austro-Hungarian emperor, respectively. The report, titled “Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and...

A top cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin met privately with Vice President Mike Pence Thursday morning and urged the U.S. to cooperate with Russia to combat terrorism in the Middle East. Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of Moscow, who chairs the Russian Orthodox Church’s external relations department, spoke with Pence backstage at evangelist Franklin Graham’s Washington summit on religious violence against Christians. “It is only one united, international anti-terrorist coalition which can combat terrorism and win,” Hilarion told TIME during an interview in a suite at the Trump International Hotel in D.C., a few...

Tomorrow, at Fatima, Pope Francis will canonize Jacinta and Francisco, further enshrining the Fatima event in the life of the Church by raising two of three Fatima seers to the altars. In yet another twist to the labyrinthine mystery of the Third Secret, however, the prayer he will recite at the Fatima shrine contains this astonishing declaration: "Hail Mother of Mercy, Lady of the white robe! At this place where one hundred years ago you showed all the designs of our God's mercy, I look upon your robe of light and, as bishop dressed in white [como bispo vestido de...

For a while now, I have been looking for information about the miracle approved for the canonization of the two Fatima seerers, Francesco and Jacinta.  The other day in Rome I even went to the Congregation for Saints to talk to a friend of mine there about the miracle.  I learned that it was a Brazilian boy who received the miracle, but my friend didn’t know exact details.  I got the information for the postulator, but received no response.Strange.  What’s with the secrecy?  If I am not mistaken, there was one cause for a miracle which did not obtain approval....

U.S.—The Islamic State’s official flag has been added to the newest batch of the popular “Coexist” bumper stickers, and will be included in all future iterations of the famous graphic, sources confirmed Monday. The new logo depicts the flag protruding from the top of the peace sign that constitutes the letter “o” in the word as it proudly billows in the breeze. “We wanted our message of tolerance to include the guys who are hacking unbelievers’ heads off at an alarming rate,” a representative for the bumper sticker manufacturer told reporters. “Now even Islamic State fighters can coexist peacefully with...

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Ashers, the Northern Irish bakery run by a conservative Christian couple, saw a rise in profits and hit almost $2 million in 2016 despite losing a discrimination case over its refusal to make pro-gay marriage wedding cakes. (Photo: The Christian Institute video screencap)Daniel and Amy McArthur of Ashers Baking Company in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a video posted February 1, 2016.Belfast Telegraph reported on Monday that Ashers posted accumulated profits of £1.5 million for 2016 (about $1.94 million). The profits were up from £1.3 million ($1.68 million) the previous year.Daniel and Amy McArthur, the Christian couple that runs the bakery, were...

Well, it's quite a claim Pope Francis will make officially in his visit to Fatima, Portugal, that starts today. Let us first recall the reference to the "Bishop in white" made in the "third part of the secret", made public on May 13, 2000: “J.M.J. The third part of the secret revealed at the Cova da Iria-Fatima, on 13 July 1917. I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine. After the two parts which I have already explained, at...

Full Title:     “If modern feminists truly knew the fundamental values Catholic priests are called to embrace…”[CathCauc] The other day I read about another dreadfully misguided and spiritually dangerous fraud perpetrated in North Carolina, another fake “ordination” of a woman.   Women, of course, cannot every be ordained to any of the Holy Orders (that includes diaconate).  A thousands male bishops with the laying on of hands chant prayers over a woman for a thousands days and yet the effect would only be fatigue and a pressed down hairdoo.There is a good piece at the National Catholic Register which you might peruse about feminism....

World War III need not happen...if only we as a nation return again to God...

The campus of the Jesuit-run Fordham University is at peace this week after having undergone a terrible ordeal last week that could have resulted in the establishment of a dangerous and subversive group being set up in the heart of one of America’s most venerable Catholic universities. Here’s how it went down. A Chick-fil-A restaurant was planning to set up shop at Fordham’s New York City campus. Can you believe it? And the fast-food chicken giant would have succeeded had it not been for Fordham’s rainbow-sashed crusaders who managed to step in at the last minute and save the day....

The Vatican body responsible for managing the Vatican’s real estate has been accused of far exceeding its authority by unilaterally telling Vatican departments to supply their financial information to an outside auditor. The surprise move by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) which came in the form of two letters on May 3 and 5, was firmly rebutted by Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy (SPE), and the Holy See’s auditor general, Libero Milone, who wrote a reply saying “with deep regret” they had to intervene to refute the APSA letter. In...

Was Leo’s "Apostolicae curae" an exercise of the extraordinary papal magisterium, itself making infallibly certain the invalidity of Anglican orders and thus requiring Catholics to hold them “absolutely null and utterly void”? A rock dropped into quiet waters produces a visible splash and observable ripples. The same rock thrown into a storm-tossed sea, however, passes unnoticed, for its effects are overwhelmed by larger and wider waves. Before the splash of Cdl. Coccopalmerio’s startling comments toward recognizing Anglican orders disappears in the theological chop that is the new normal for Catholics, let’s record some questions deserving of consideration. Note, the only source I...

Fatima, Portugal, May 9, 2017 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- This is part two of a two-part series. Part one covered the historical context, contents of the apparitions, and Miracle of the Sun.  The secrets of FatimaWhile Mary revealed what came to be known as The Great Secret of Fatima during her third apparition to the shepherd children, it was kept from the public for quite some time, according to instructions from Mary. Sr. Lucia revealed the first two secrets in a memoir in 1941, which had been written at the request of the local bishop at the time....

It sure is easy to get confused these days. One moment #Resistance against offensive politics and policies is brave. Bold. Daring. The next? “That is crazy talk.” At least that’s the charge leveled when conservatives resist liberal policies, such as when the archbishop of Kansas City, Joseph Naumann, announced last week that the Archdiocese had decided to end its relationship with the Girl Scouts of America. As he put it: To follow Jesus and his Gospel will often require us to be counter-cultural. With the promotion by Girl Scouts USA (GSUSA) of programs and materials reflective of many of the...

Syrian Catholic Archbishop Youhanna Boutros Moshe of Mosul blesses a newly-erected cross in Bakhdida, Iraq, May 2, 2017. Photo courtesy SOS Chretiens Orient.Mosul, Iraq, May 9, 2017 / 10:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- With the blessing of the cross raised up in the city of Bakhdida May 2, the reconstruction of the towns in the Plain of Nineveh in Iraq destroyed by the Islamic State officially began. Syrian Catholic Archbishop Youhanna Boutros Moshe of Mosul blessed the cross on a joyous morning with emotive dances by Christians. There are 13,000 damaged houses – 669 of which were completely destroyed by the...

Actress and political activist Lena Dunham is praising abortionist Dr. Willie Parker – who says his Christian “calling” is to perform abortions for poor women – as “the pro-choice hero we need.” Writing at Lenny, a weekly online feminist newsletter created by Dunham and Jennifer Konner, Dunham reviews Parker’s new book, Life’s Work: A Moral Argument for Choice, in which the abortionist describes his journey from being a faith-filled anti-abortion OB/GYN, to – as Dunham describes – “being the person who did the terminating.” “I have been amazed by Dr. Parker’s work: his heroism in comforting women who are, like...

The apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, between May 13 and October 13, 1917 were a time and place chosen by God. That very same year, 1917, the Russian Revolution began on March 8, triggered by Karl Marx’s ideas on communism. It was the first communist revolution in history and led to killing on a scale never seen before—over 9 million. However, God responded at the other end of Europe. The Fatima apparitions began on May 13, 1917, during World War I (1914-1918).

Friday, May 12th, is the first of several major milestones this year.  This day marks exactly 70 prophetic years since the rebirth of Israel on May 14th, 1948.  In the Bible, prophetic "days" or "times" appear to consist of 360 days each (e.g. Daniel 7:25, 9:24-27, 12:7, Revelation 11:2-3, 12:6, 12:14, 13:5).  In addition, this Sunday Israel celebrates its 69th anniversary, which means that Monday begins the 70th regular solar year since Israel became a nation.  Psalm 90:10 tells us that a generation is 70 or 80 years long. From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its...