Free Republic

THE NEON SIGNS at Sauna City, a nightclub-and-massage complex in northern Beijing, offered little promise of spiritual comfort. But the rent was good and the landlord sympathetic, so Jin and his partners signed a lease in May 2007 on their improbable new home, a fifth-floor office large enough for 150 chairs, a choir and a band. Then Jin took a step once inconceivable for a non-sanctioned church in China: He printed business cards. In proclaiming his name and number and the location of the newly christened Zion Church, he spurned the label of "underground" church. He describes his group as...

The recent liturgy of ordination to the diaconate honored the ministry of presence which is primary to the vocation of permanent deacons. Nineteen men were ordained as permanent deacons at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angles June 7 before a congregation of more than 2,500 faithful. During the nearly three-hour liturgy, Cardinal Roger Mahony, main celebrant, prayed for the blessings of the Holy Spirit to be poured forth on this class of deacons known as St. Ignatius. "May there abound in them every Gospel virtue," said the cardinal, "love, concern for the sick and poor, unassuming authority, the...

Temetum Per Occasionem. If it is true that the Holy Spirit works in each and every baptized person, then what is the role of the individual believer when something contrary to the Gospel of Jesus is preached in a faith community? Is it to sit idly and say nothing? Is it to walk out and come no more? Or is it to confront and open dialogue in search of truth? Is it not a sad commentary that no one in a congregation is willing to question, to perhaps object, or at least seek clarification? Are members of such a congregation...

Homosexual activist groups long have denied that ex-"gays" exist and have charged those ministries that work with the needs of those desiring to leave the lifestyle are fraudulent. One such activist even recently attributed the crime of rape to the "sickness" of the ex-"gay" movement. But some attacks on those who have left the lifestyle, or are trying to, go far beyond verbal denigration, according to those who have experienced it, including Joe and Marion Allen. Their son Bart was in the process of leaving the homosexual lifestyle in 2001 when the "gay" with whom he'd shared an apartment strangled...

New research shows that a majority of churches use some type of emerging technology in their services, but the pace of technology adoption has slowed in recent years. Although 65 percent of Protestant churches now have a large screen projection system, that number is just slightly higher than in 2005 when 62 percent had such a system, according to The Barna Group. The use of large screens had jumped from the year 2000 when only 39 percent were using them. Since 2005, there was only a 5 percent increase in the adoption of a large screen projection system. The Barna...

One of Canada’s largest Christian ministries dedicated to caring for the disabled was fined $23,000 recently by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario for allegedly discriminating against a former homosexual employee. Connie Heintz claimed discrimination against Christian Horizons after she said she was “subjected to a poisoned work environment” and pressured into quitting her job after she entered a homosexual relationship – which was in violation of her work contract back in 2000. In line with its Christian foundation and principles, the ministry requires that all its employees sign “morality statements” vowing to abstain from immoral behavior, including pornography, pre-marital,...

Imagine that Mother Theresa and her Missionaries of Charity had been told that their ministry in the streets of Calcutta was, in essence, not ministry but “social work.� In order for the sisters to continue in their work, they would no longer be permitted to require that staff members share their beliefs and ministry commitment. As bizarre as this may sound, this is essentially what a single adjudicator acting as an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recently decided in the case of Heintz v Christian Horizons. Christian Horizons is, and has been since 1964, a practical ministry expression of the Evangelical...

Seth Kleg is a Hollywood casting director who has founded The Christian Studio to produce films that have a positive moral vision. The end result will be a nonstop stream of excellent movies released with budgets ranging from $100,000 to $25,000,000. There are a lot of good people working in the motion picture industry who are working to make it better. However, the messages in most of the PG-13 and R-rated movies reflect a total disregard for God and His commandments. The numerous times God’s name is taken in vain, the use of four-letter words, exploitation of sex and violence,...

STUART — In an effort to bring in more donations, longtime Martin County charity Jesus House of Hope decided to drop the word Jesus from its name. Patrick Slattery, executive director of the 24-year-old nonprofit, said the change will help the organization fulfill what Jesus commanded in the Gospel of Matthew: Help the needy. Slattery said many private foundations could not donate to the charity because it includes Jesus in the name, and people are often reluctant to give to what appears to be a house of worship if they already donate to their own church. So the organization’s board...

"Hate crimes" laws were defeated in Congress just a few months ago. Just a few weeks ago, Frank Wright of the National Religious Broadcasters Association warned, "We must be one in Christ to face the days ahead" because "hate crimes" laws would create untold new liability for Christians. Now a major Christian ministry has confirmed that such "hate crimes" laws already are setting limits on what it can broadcast. The issue is "hate crimes" laws in Canada, and they are affecting U.S. Christian ministries that broadcast into that nation. WND reported just a week ago on a Christian ministry based...

SEATTLE — In an effort to broaden his ministry's reach, evangelist Jeremy Balfour has started using filthy words he'd once banned from his vocabulary. "I've been an evangelist for ten f***ing years and I've never felt such f***ing freedom," he says during an interview. Balfour's change of heart came when he realized that obscene words are a key to open the hearts of many unsaved people. "With some people, you're not in their club unless you get R-rated in your speech," Balfour says. "They test your allegiance to their culture. A few choice s***heads and f*** yous can build trust....

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,...

"The Canadian government has ordered a Christian ministry that teaches doctrine and the differences between Christians and cults shut down because its reference materials were "critical" of the beliefs of those who are not Christian, WND has learned."..... For example, the ministry addresses the issue of "fads," including a "creeping Eastern mysticism" appearing in some churches, "turning meaningful prayer meetings into mind-emptying rituals called contemplative prayer promising experiences of a spiritual nature." "Feelings have often replaced the solid word of God," the website warns. "Numerous churches have become 'seeker' churches, disposing of the parts of the Gospel message that might...

The Canadian government has ordered a Christian ministry that teaches doctrine and the differences between Christians and cults shut down because its reference materials were "critical" of the beliefs of those who are not Christian, WND has learned. So what used to be called MacGregor Ministries with offerings in how to recognize and eliminate "faulty fads" in Christian churches has been re-created in the United States, and now operates under the name MM Outreach Media Ministries. Lorri MacGregor, who has dedicated her life to explaining the straight and narrow of Christian beliefs since she found her way out of the...

For years, as many as 200 members of Immanuel Bible Church and their friends have gathered in the church's fellowship hall to watch the Super Bowl on its six-foot screen. The party featured hard hitting on the TV, plenty of food -- and prayer. But this year, Immanuel's Super Bowl party is no more. After a crackdown by the National Football League on big-screen Super Bowl gatherings by churches, the Springfield church has sacked its event. Instead, church members will host parties in their homes. Immanuel is among a number of churches in the Washington area and elsewhere that have...

BAGHDAD, Jan. 11, 2008 – The Iraqi police were in the spotlight Jan. 9, as Iraq’s Interior Ministry highlighted the growing numbers and capabilities of its police forces during its 86th annual Police Day ceremony. Iraqi Police march during a Police Day ceremony in Baghdad, Jan. 9, 2008. Photo by Dave Karwoski  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. It was a day filled with celebrations, chanting and ceremonies to honor police across the country. “We must prohibit partisanship and sectarianism in the ranks of the employees of the ministry,” Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani said at Baghdad Police College. “We...

PEOSTA, Iowa (CNS) -- For the craftsmen and artisans at New Melleray Abbey in Peosta, a relatively new ministry has expanded into a new state-of-the-art, 40,000-square-foot factory, almost five times larger than their previous facility. "Because of increasing demands for caskets, we were unable to keep up with production to satisfy demand, so we had to develop a new woodworking facility," said Sam Mulgrew, the operation's general manager. "It's not a highly automated factory. It has good dust collection, air quality and other features." In their work, the monks strive to produce burial caskets and urns that reflect their values...

The Reverend Chad Varah founded Samaritans with one telephone line and saw it grow into a world-wide organisation helping thousands of people to avoid the ultimate act of desperation. He was never a conventional clergyman. His chief concern from the start was to help individuals rather than spreading the gospel. Born in Barton-on-Humber, where his father was the vicar at St Chad's, the local Anglican church, Chad Varah was educated at Oxford before, he said, being "press-ganged" into the life of a priest. Promise His first task as an assistant curate in Lincoln in 1935 determined the path he would...

WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee has launched a wide-ranging investigation into the financial dealings of six TV evangelists, including Joyce Meyer, the popular preacher who has built a $124-million-a-year empire headquartered in Fenton. On Monday, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Meyer to provide his staff with documents detailing the finances of the Joyce Meyer Ministries, including the religious group's compensation to Meyer, her husband and other family members, as well as an accounting of their housing allowances, gifts and credit card statements for the last several years.

BODYBUILDING may seem the height of vanity to many people. But for Errol Rivard and a small but worldwide band of dumbbell pushers based in Victoria, it's an opportunity to promote gospel values. Last month, Rivard and three local members of the International Christian Body Building Association(ICBBA) - which he founded in 2002 - flexed their pecs and witnessed about their faith at a local avant garde event called Celebrate the Body. Something of a circus of the performing arts - with modern dancers improvising to a string ensemble in one venue while acrobats cavorted in another - it was...

Frank Worthen was ex-gay when ex-gay wasn’t cool! Perhaps no testimony of freedom from homosexuality has been more widely circulated and read than Frank Worthen’s. He is now 78 years young. This article, op-ed, column – call it what you like - will not likely be published in many places or read by many people, but it commands to be written. “Different” When Frank was 13, (1942) his pastor told him “Frank, you are a homosexual." Though Frank knew he was “different” from other children, he didn’t know what homosexuality was. “I'd been called different before!” Frank had become a...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABP) -- Giving Rick Warren’s best-selling The Purpose Driven Life to prisoners is nothing new for church volunteers. In fact, O.J. Simpson reportedly received a copy of the inspirational book from ministers at Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, where he recently was incarcerated on armed robbery charges. But St. Andrews Baptist Church in Columbia, S.C., is distributing the book on a much broader scale than most groups. On Sept. 25, church members gave a copy of The Purpose Driven Life to every prisoner in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. They gave away some 24,000 copies....

CBNNews.com - SEATTLE, Wash. - Many former Muslims are now involved in efforts to convert believers in Islam to Christianity. CBN News met with some of them as they linked up with other Christians at the Seattle Revival Center. They trained in how best to reach Muslims and then went out to do just that at the city's annual Arab Festival. For some reason, Christians think Muslims are particularly hard to witness to. But these Muslims-turned-Christians pointed out they have the exact same spiritual needs as everybody else. George Saieg, leader of Arabic Christian Perspective, advises Christians to dig into...

What to my wondering eyes appears on my computer screen today but a big advertisement from something called "Paula White Ministries." It has that sort of Oprah vibe to it that many non-denominational women's ministries do. Unlike the martial sense one gets from male-run Evangelical outfits that are about "Fighting for the Truth!" and "Making an Impact on This Generation for Jesus Christ!," Oprah-fied non-denominational women's ministries tend to make you think of The View or Cawfee Tawk or Susan Powter -- plus Jesus.   So what's Paula all about? Well, at present, she is inadvertently illustrating that Catholic teaching...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Religious materials are being returned to prison chapel libraries, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said Thursday, confirming plans to modify a program designed to remove religious books and videos that could incite violence. The change follows objections by members of Congress and religious groups. Removal of religious material grew out of congressional inquiries and a 2004 Justice Department Inspector General report suggesting that chapel books and videos should be reviewed to ensure they were allowed under prison security policies. In response, the prison system's religious services branch agreed to provide an automated list of appropriate materials and...

Behind the walls of federal prisons nationwide, chaplains have been quietly carrying out a systematic purge of religious books and materials that were once available to prisoners in chapel libraries. The chaplains were directed by the Bureau of Prisons to clear the shelves of any books, tapes, CDs and videos that are not on a list of approved resources. In some prisons, the chaplains have recently dismantled libraries that had thousands of texts collected over decades, bought by the prisons or donated by churches and religious groups. Some inmates are outraged. Two of them, a Christian and an Orthodox Jew,...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sometimes it's hard to get bikers and NASCAR fans to dress up and attend church on Sunday morning. So Southern Baptists are taking the Gospel to them, giving away free motorcycles at biker rallies and motor speedways as they try to attract new converts with a revved-up new style of evangelism. Baptists in North and South Dakota for a second year in a row gave away a new Harley Davidson at the Sturgis, S.D., biker rally in August. To be eligible, people had to listen to a 3-minute sermon and fill out a card to get a...

Seven high-ranking officers, including four generals, could face discipline for what the Pentagon considers their promotion of Christianity. The Pentagon inspector general found the seven officers to be engaged in misconduct when they appeared in a promotional fundraiser video for the evangelical group Christian Embassy three years ago, according to OneNewsNow. Christian Embassy was founded by the late Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and ministers to diplomats, government leaders and military officers. The ministry holds prayer meetings each Wednesday morning at the Pentagon. The officers were said to be in uniform at the Pentagon when they expressed...

Seven high-ranking US officers, including four generals, could face discipline for what the Pentagon considers their promotion of Christianity. The Pentagon inspector general found the seven officers to be engaged in misconduct when they appeared in a promotional fundraiser video for the evangelical group Christian Embassy three years ago, according to OneNewsNow. Christian Embassy was founded by the late Dr Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and ministers to diplomats, government leaders and military officers. The ministry holds prayer meetings each Wednesday morning at the Pentagon. The officers were said to be in uniform at the Pentagon when they...

Evangelical pastor told to leave Israel Etgar Lefkovits, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 16, 2007 An American evangelical pastor who has been living in Israel with his family for nearly two decades has been ordered to leave the country with his wife within two weeks after their request for permanent residency was turned down, officials said Thursday. Ron Cantrell, 59, and his wife Carol, 54, ran a small Jerusalem-based ministry 'Shalom Shalom Jerusalem' for the past four years, while Cantrell previously worked for Bridges for Peace, an evangelical organization, for 14 years. US Lutherans consider Israel boycott Two of the couple's...

The conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family said it is a little hurt over the shock that came in response to its sponsorship and participation in a local bike race this weekend to raise funds for AIDS relief in Colorado. “There seems to be the perception that [because] AIDS is seen as typically associated with the gay community, that Focus on the Family wouldn’t care for these people,” said Devin Knuckles, a spokesman for the ministry, according to the Denver Post. “It’s kind of hurtful,” Knuckles said. “It’s our mission to help people who need help.” The Christian ministry...

Four generals among personnel found to have violated ethics regulations WASHINGTON - The Army and Air Force are considering disciplinary action against seven officers — including four generals — who violated ethics rules by assisting a Christian group in the production of a fundraising video. The Pentagon inspector general found the officers were interviewed in uniform and “in official and often identifiable Pentagon locations,” according to a 45-page report. They made comments that “conferred approval of and support” to the evangelical group, Christian Embassy, “and the remarks of some officers implied they spoke for a group of senior military leaders...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army and Air Force are considering disciplinary action against seven officers -- including four generals -- who violated ethics rules by assisting a Christian group in the production of a fundraising video. The Pentagon inspector general found the officers were interviewed in uniform and ''in official and often identifiable Pentagon locations,'' according to a 45-page report. They made comments that ''conferred approval of and support'' to the evangelical group, Christian Embassy, ''and the remarks of some officers implied they spoke for a group of senior military leaders rather than just for themselves,'' the report stated. None...

In the 16th century, London’s mentally ill were often kept at Bethlem Royal Hospital. The conditions inside the hospital were notoriously poor. Patients were often chained to the floor and the noise was so great that Bethlem was more likely to drive a man crazy than to cure him. The conditions were so infamous that the nickname locals gave the hospital—Bedlam—has come to mean any scene of great confusion. Unfortunately five hundred years later, we’re still treating the mentally ill more like prisoners than patients. Fifty years ago, more than 550 thousand people were institutionalized in public mental hospitals. Today,...

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Everything from detergent to computer discs is packaged with the Sunday newspaper. So why not Bibles? A Christian ministry wants to deliver custom-designed New Testaments to newspaper subscribers around the country as part of an effort to find innovative ways to spread a Christian message. But even in the Bible Belt, not everyone thinks that's a good idea. International Bible Society-Send the Light is planning on spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to distribute Bibles with 11 newspapers during 2007 and 2008. New Testaments would be packaged in pouches on the outside of newspapers, much...

Saying Hail Marys over a pint of Guinness has become a popular happy hour activity for some local Catholics. More than 200 people in their 20s and 30s packed into Pat Troy's Ireland's Own pub in Alexandria to eat, drink and pray alongside friends Monday night. Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, 68, who recently was named archbishop of Baltimore, led a dialogue about the mystery of evil at the kickoff session of this summer's "Theology on Tap" sessions. The Catholic Diocese of Arlington brings priests and lay speakers to local bars once a week to attract young Catholics eager to converse...

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - Mark Yaconelli tries to discourage those who call him the "guru" of Presbyterian youth ministry. "You know, we're all just working in the dark on this stuff," he told the Presbyterian News Service and Presbyterians Today during a July 19 interview at the 2007 Presbyterian Youth Triennium here. But Yaconelli has become a mentor and inspiration to Presbyterian and other youth leaders all over the country. His seminal book, Contemplative Youth Ministry, is a best-seller and his brand new tome, Growing Souls, follows up the earlier book with case studies. Yaconelli describes contemplative youth ministry as...

Porn star now seeks priesthood instead http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2007/07/15/2003369673 http://tinyurl.com/2wv9qm NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE, OAK PARK, CALIFORNIA Sunday, Jul 15, 2007, Page 7 Some people have their midlife crisis in reverse, like Ronald Boyer, who for most of his professional life has been better known as a star of pornographic films, Rod Fontana. After 30 years of sowing the wildest of oats, Boyer, 54, has searched his soul and chosen, to the surprise of family and colleagues, to seek a priesthood in the Episcopal Church. From his work in the rented villas of the San Fernando Valley, where hard-core sex films...

One Cedar Park church is reaching out to the community by helping to take the pain out of paying at the pump. Northview Community Church held a gas buydown Saturday at a local Chevron station. The church paid 30 cents per gallon off the price of gas. Church members also cleaned windshields. Pat Green, the pastor of Northview Church, said the buyout was a great way to reach out to people. "We thought, 'Let's go out there and let people know our church is here.' We're a new church so it was a great way to meet a lot of...

A US evangelical Christian minister has been appointed to lead a million-dollar program to tackle gang violence in Los Angeles, the city's mayor said. Reverend Jeff Carr, a minister in the Church of the Nazarene, was named director of gang reduction and youth development programs for the city. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa promised to name an anti-gang "tsar" as part of a crackdown earlier this year. There are an estimated 40,000 gang members in LA. Mr Carr will co-ordinate an anti-gang strategy unveiled by Mr Villaraigosa in April, and lead an audit of the 23 gang-prevention programmes already operating in LA....

... The annual Exodus "Freedom Conference" expects to attract about 1,000 men, women, children, parents and spouses affected by homosexuality at Concordia University June 26 to July 1. A bike ride away, at UC Irvine, co-sponsored by the university, is scheduled "The Survivor's Conference: Beyond Ex-gay." ... "I chose to live differently, and my feelings changed, too," said Alan Chambers, president of the Orlando, Fla.-based Exodus International, who is married. "Today, I am a far different person. Not that I don't struggle, but my life has changed. I certainly don't have the desire to be involved in homosexuality. It has...

Theresa A. Thomas  Other Articles by Theresa A. ThomasPrinter Friendly Version   The Story of Champions June 15, 2007 Once upon a time there was a boy named David. His dad was a golf professional, and his family lived on the fifth hole of a modest golf course. Every day David spent hours hitting golf balls, tee to green, over and over again, until the hazy orange light of the setting sun could no longer be seen, and pine tree shadows overcame him in the darkness. When he was old enough he worked as a caddy, lugging golf bags almost...

Pastor Mac Hammond's congregation at Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park reacted strongly Sunday to his appearance in the wake of a watchdog's group complaint to the Internal Revenue Service that he violated federal tax law and a front-page Star Tribune article examining his financial dealings: Worshipers gave him a prolonged, cheer-laced standing ovation. "Y'all better sit down; I'll get too choked up to minister," drawled Hammond, 63, pastor of the nondenominational megachurch, which has almost 10,000 members. He called questions about his financial dealings "a misunderstanding" of his prosperity-gospel ministry, which holds that following God's word leads to...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2007 – Coalition forces captured a Ministry of Health senior official, killed 20 terrorists and detained five others in operations around Iraq over the past two days. At a Ministry of Health office in the Rusafa district of Baghdad today, special Iraqi army forces captured a senior official with alleged ties to the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia. The suspect is connected to the deaths of several other Ministry of Health officials, including the ministry’s director general in Diyala province, military officials said. The suspect reportedly orchestrated several kickback schemes by using inflated contracts for ministry equipment and...

FAITH COMES BY HEARING--NT ON MP3 [SOLA SCRIPTURA PROVEN] By Quix with appendixes from the FCBH website Pastor Brent, of our church—DESERT HEIGHTS COMMUNITY CHURCH—has partnered with FAITH COMES BY HEARING (FCBH) to collect $25,000 to translate the NT into a South American language. The Seranon sp? people group have had written Scriptures since the late 1800’s as I recall. But the vast majority (90%?) of the population are illiterate. The organization brings together the copyright holders of at least one major Bible translation with the means and resources of translating Scripture into language groups where there is no Scripture...

The meaning of ministry CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULUM — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 12:35 pm One of the WDTPRS articles I posted today has a paragraph on the issue of ministry. This paragraph aroused a comment from an attentive reader. It is worth our time to tease out that exchange and give it some focus: During my seminary days the more radical of the faculty forbade us from using the “‘p’-word” (“priest”). They insisted we were being formed to be “ordained ministers”. This had the purpose of deemphasizing the distinction between the priest… er um… “ordained minister” and all people… er um…...

...But even in today’s more accommodating environment, constitutional scholars agree that one line between church and state has remained fairly bright: The government cannot directly finance or support religious evangelism or indoctrination. That restriction typically has not loomed large when public money goes to religious charities providing essentially secular services, like job training, after-school tutoring, child care or food banks. In such cases, the beneficiaries need not accept the charity’s religious beliefs to get the secular benefits the government is financing. The courts have taken a different view, however, when public money goes directly to groups, like the Iowa ministry,...

Here is an update on the Atlanta situation from the Lutherans Concerned/North America website (www.lcna.org). "November 21, 2006 Update on the Pastor Bradley Schmeling case Many of you have expressed interest in the progress of the case that Bishop Ronald Warren of the Southeastern Synod has elected to bring against Pastor Bradley Schmeling seeking Bradley's removal from the roster of ELCA clergy. As you know Bradley asked that I serve on his team of legal advisors. I will continue in this role through the disciplinary proceedings. At this point in the case and while pre-hearing negotiations are underway there are...

Israel’s defense ties with the United States have resulted in a large contract for American Jewish scribes, who are to supply the new Defense Ministry building with mezuzas. The military aid given to Israel by the U.S. requires Israel to spend that money on American goods, thereby boosting the American economy, which relies heavily on defense contracts. Until now, this has not only resulted in assault rifles with “property of the U.S. government” written on them, but canned corn and sucking candies in IDF combat rations still bearing the English labels from supermarket chains such as ShopRite and Stop n’...

The following is an edited news release from Randy Engel, author of The Rite of Sodomy ? Homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church: The Proposed Guidelines on Pastoral Care of Homosexuals The USCCB Committee on Doctrine began work on the Guidelines in the fall of 2002. Drafts of the 23-page document were later circulated to members of the Committees for Canonical Affairs, Catechesis, Marriage and Family, and Pastoral Practices. This is not the first time the American bishops have addressed the issue of special ministries and pastoral care for homosexuals. On September 30, 1997, the administrative committee of the...