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The gay bishop of New Hampshire should resign in order to save the Anglican Communion, a senior African archbishop said today. The call came from the Rt Rev Dr Daniel Deng, the archbishop of Sudan, and followed a strongly worded statement that accused the US Episcopal church of exposing Anglicans to ridicule and damaging their credibility in a multi-religious environment. African bishops who signed the statement rejecting homosexual practice said they could not accept it as part of their church. They reiterated their opposition to developments in the US and Canada, where gay clergy are ordained and where same-sex relationships...

Another step toward the persecution. My emphases and comments.  FAITH UNDER FIREMajor U.S. city officially condemns Catholic ChurchInstructs members to defy ‘Holy Office of Inquisition’ Posted: July 15, 2008 San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge A San Francisco city and county board resolution that officially labeled the Catholic church’s moral teachings on homosexuality as "insulting to all San Franciscans," "hateful," "defamatory," "insensitive" and "ignorant" will be challenged tomorrow in court for violating the Constitution’s prohibition of government hostility toward religion.Resolution 168-08, passed unanimously by the City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors two years ago, also accused the Vatican...

Tonight the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre featured the UK premier of For The Bible Tells Me So, “a provocative documentary about the chasm that separates gay life and Christianity today,” produced by Dan Karslake. It was followed by a conversation and Q&A with the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson and Sir Ian McKellen, Shakespearean actor and star of The Lord of the Rings. The evening started with a beautiful bass voice giving the standard instructions for everyone to turn off their cell phones and pagers. Turns out it was Sir Ian, who arrived on stage a few minutes...

A Michigan man is suing Zondervan Publishing and Thomas Nelson Publishing, claiming biblical references to homosexuality as a sin violate his constitutional rights and have caused him emotional pain and mental instability. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and $10 million from Thomas Nelson, The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reported. He is representing himself in both claims. Fowler claims the Bible has made him an outcast and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of "demoralization, chaos and bewilderment." "As frivolous as this case may sound, it's an indicator of where the homosexual agenda is headed," said...

A Michigan man is seeking $70 million from two Christian publishers for emotional distress and mental instability he received during the past 20 years from versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, a gay man, claims his constitutional rights were infringed upon by Zondervan Publishing Co. and Thomas Nelson Publishing, both of which, he claims, deliberately caused homosexuals to suffer by misinterpretation of the Bible. Fowler, 39, is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson. According to a USA Today report, Fowler’s two separate suits against the publishers...

San Jose, CA., Jul 8, 2008 / 11:57 pm (CNA).- Reaction continues to the decisions of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), which took place between June 21 and June 28. The assembly nullified proscriptions against sexual behavior outside of marriage and called for a vote to delete the church’s constitutional standard requiring fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness. It also initiated a process that could remove mention of the Bible’s prohibition against homosexuality form the Heidelberg Catechism. The moves are seen by some as an attempt to clear a path for the eventual ordination...

A homosexual man is suing a major Christian publisher for violating his constitutional rights and causing emotional pain, because its Bible versions refer to homosexuality as a sin. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Press reported. Fowler filed his claim against Grand Rapids-based Zondervan yesterday, alleging its Bibles' references to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods...

Q. When did confession to a priest start?A. Confession is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ Himself in John 20: 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven… From the early writings of the Church fathers below you can see that the sacrament of confession has always been a practice of the Church founded by Jesus Christ.In the early Church confession was not done in private to the priest but to the whole gathered...

Issue: Is the distinction between mortal and venial sin biblical? Can we "lose" our salvation by committing a mortal sin?Discussion: The Bible describes sins that are mortal (or "unto death"), and those that are not mortal, which we commonly call venial (cf. 1 Jn. 5:16-17; Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1852-54).Christians are capable of committing mortal sins, thereby rejecting the gift of eternal life, a gift that cannot be taken for granted. However, Christians who choose to persevere in faithfulness—and seek reconciliation through the Sacrament of Confession should they sin—may be confident in God’s infinite mercy and His fidelity...

In an Apr. 10 interview with The Advocate magazine, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said "homophobic" messages are coming from the pulpits of black churches because "most African-American churches are still fairly traditional in their interpretations of Scripture." In the same interview, Obama praised the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor and long-time spiritual adviser, for being on the right side of the homosexual debate. ... Obama volunteered that his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was "very good on gay and lesbian issues." ... Black leaders and clregy reacted to Obama's remarks to The Advocate, saying they contradict the...

Almost exactly five years after he was elected as the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson remains the most controversial Christian in the world. His consecration as the first openly gay, partnered Anglican bishop launched a global conversation about sexuality in Christianity and divided the Anglican Communion, the largest Protestant body in the world with 77 million members. Yet what he is doing now may be more radical: Robinson is traveling the country and the world to talk more openly and more publicly than ever about his faith. "The principal identity that I have is as a follower of...

America's Sin In Forgetting God By Evangelist Joseph T. Larsen This article is from the July 1933 Moody Bible Institute Monthly AMERICA'S greatest sin and the real cause of the present depression is forgetting God. That means failure to obey God, to listen to His Word, and to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Godlessness leads to disregard for law, corruption in politics, fraud in educational and state life, and hypocrisy in the Church. America has forgotten God! Its parents, youth and citizens as a whole - these have forgotten God. Even ministers, educators...

Last week, controversy erupted when Archbishop John Nienstedt informed St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Minneapolis that it could not hold a gay pride prayer service in its sanctuary. The service -- held for several years in conjunction with the annual Twin Cities Gay Pride festival -- celebrates the gay identity. In response, organizers moved the celebration outside the church. One gay activist attended in what must have struck him as a clown's outfit, given the occasion -- the robes of an archbishop, miter and all. David McCaffrey of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) condemned what...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Conservative Anglican leaders pledged on Sunday to stay in the worldwide Anglican Communion but form a council of bishops to provide an alternative to churches they say are preaching a "false gospel" of sexual immorality. ADVERTISEMENT The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) said member churches would continue sponsoring breakaway conservative parishes in liberal western member countries and called for a separate conservative province in North America. It also said in a final declaration that Anglicanism -- the third largest group of Christians after Roman Catholics and Orthodox -- was not "determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop...

It is clear from a number of statements by Bishops and by statements of the Magesterium of the Church that it would be a sin to vote/support Obama Barack for President. Also, because of the planks of the Democratic Party, it would be sinful to support/contribute to a party that holds abortion to be a right. Clearly, people can vote for Obama Barack. It is just that it is a sin to do so. The Priests for Life has a number of documents on statements of various Bishops/Cardinals and the Church on this matter. There are the following links: Statements...

Hardline Church leaders have formally declared the end of the worldwide Anglican Communion, saying they can no longer be associated with liberals who tolerate homosexual clergy. The traditionalists dealt a serious blow to Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, by claiming that he can no longer hold the Church together. They warned that the Church was gripped by its most serious crisis since the Reformation. It could only be saved by the repentance of the Americans who triggered the row by ordaining a homosexual bishop, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, five years ago. The formal pronouncement of the schism...

LAKE FOREST – The conversation dealt with transgendered individuals, homosexuality, and theology. Representatives of the gay community today shared their "coming out" stories and discussed religious attitudes toward homosexuality with Saddleback Church staff. "I feel the foundation is being built for other dialogue between Saddleback and the gay community," said Richard Finch... One person talked about being transgender and Christian, attendees said. Another individual talked about being in the brink of suicide because of his childhood church's views on homosexuality. ... Jeff Lutes, executive director of Soulforce — a gay rights advocacy group that organized the project — said the...

This Father’s Day, one of most popular pastors in America will open his megachurch to homosexual dads, an event that would usually signal an extreme weather alert from old guard Republican evangelical leaders. Rick Warren. (Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press)But by welcoming gay fathers into his Southern California flock, Rick Warren, author of the “The Purpose Driven Life,” is not just living up to the highest standards of Christian fellowship, he’s turning the page on a particularly embarrassing part of our politics. Just to refresh: it was televangelist Pat Robertson who predicted “earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly even...

That Little Bit of Juicy News You Spread at Work Might Get You Fired Just a year ago, the atmosphere in Sam Chapman's small public relations firm was often tense. "We had information leaks, we had disgruntledness, we had competitors finding things out, and we had sniping about senior management policies," says Mr. Chapman, CEO of Empower Public Relations in Chicago. "People would stop talking when you walked by." A life coach identified the problem: gossip. Determined to elevate the tone, Chapman took dramatic steps. He fired three employees for gossiping. He also established a strict policy, turning the whole...

Gene Robinson, New Hampshire's Episcopal bishop, entered into a civil union yesterday with his partner of 20 years, Mark Andrew, according to WMUR-TV. The ceremony, held at St. Paul Church, coincided with the fifth anniversary of Robinson's election as the nation's first openly gay Episcopal bishop. The state Legislature passed a law last year allowing gay couples to enter civil unions; the law took effect Jan. 1. In an interview last month on NBC's "The Today Show," Robinson said the decision to enter into a civil union came after he received death threats about his decision to attend the Lambeth...

ROME (CNS) -- The seven deadly sins are still key to understanding and healing the social and personal ills plaguing humanity today, said an influential Jesuit journal. The capital vices of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride are not outdated and have not been made irrelevant by psychotherapy or other mental health counseling, La Civilta Cattolica said. The journal cited a survey commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corp. that found most people surveyed felt the list of deadly sins defined in the Middle Ages no longer applied to modern-day life and should be updated. The survey, released in...

There are bloggers who present their calumny under the guise of “allegations,” applying evasive constructs like “some people are saying” or “it has been alleged.” Such writers are often well educated (sometimes with a law background), skilled at parsing words in order to avoid culpability for legal defamation. In this they rely for protection on the high standard of proof required to bring a libel action. Others recognize the evil in calumny, but see it as a compromise that must be made for the sake of a noble cause. They hope that by destroying an opponent’s reputation they will de-legitimize...

Americans are nearly evenly divided on whether they believe homosexual behavior is a sin, a new survey showed. While 48 percent of Americans agree it is a sin, 45 percent said they don't believe homosexuality is sinful, according to a LifeWay Research study, released Wednesday. Although those who are religiously affiliated were more likely to call homosexual behavior sinful, the director of the research group cautions that there are still many believers who don't view the behavior as sin. The study showed that 61 percent of Protestants believe homosexuality is sinful compared to 31 percent who don't. Among born-again, evangelical...

More video of Rev. Michael “Vanilla Ice” Pfleger’s race-baiting sermon last week at Trinity United Church of Christ has emerged on YouTube. Boy, was he on a roll. If you thought his bug-eyed, Jeremiah Wright wannabe mimickry of Hillary Clinton’s “white entitlement” was over the top, you’ll love the new excerpts in which Pfleger inveighs that “America is the greatest sin against God.” (”God damn America” was already taken, of course.) My question is: What will it take for the Catholic Church to cut themselves loose of this racial huckster? “Have the balls” to fire him already. (See also Catholics...

Rev. Pfleger: "America is the Greatest Sin Against God" June 01, 2008 10:46 PMIn another excerpt from Rev. Michael Pfleger's sermon last Sunday, May 25, from the pulpit of Sen. Barack Obama's now former church, Trinity United Church of Christ on the South side of Chicago, the longtime Obama associate condemns America for racism in fairly harsh terms. Watch HERE. "Racism is still America's greatest addiction," Pfleger says. "I also believe that America is the greatest sin against God." There seems to be a mixed reaction to that from the pews. But Pfleger explains: "If the greatest command is to...

Rich Cook had it all: a dream job in his chosen field, Christian music; a solid marriage and three adoring daughters; a home in Orange County, a paradise in his eyes, worlds away from his New Jersey roots. But something was wrong. "I'd been around a long time, and I knew what it was," said Cook, 63. "I had to do something. The bottom line was changes had to be made." Cook was gay. And by the mid '90s he decided it was time to acknowledge it to his family and the world. ... Cook and his wife divorced. His...

A support group for gay Mormons urged church leaders Wednesday to stay on the sidelines after the California Supreme Court said same-sex marriage there is legal. The church, which teaches that gay sex is a sin, has expressed disappointment in the recent ruling. Some critics and conservative groups want to overturn it through a constitutional amendment. In a statement Wednesday, the executive director of Affirmation said he hopes church leaders would not "use their energies and their funds" to overturn a ruling that affirms the worth of families or meddle in politics that demonizes gays. "Rather work with us to...

Marriage for All at All Saints Church Press Release sent from All Saints Church, Pasadena this afternoon: All Saints Church, Pasadena rector, J. Edwin Bacon, Jr., announced today that the church will treat equally all couples presenting themselves for the rite of marriage. The announcement followed a special meeting of the All Saints Church Vestry, which unanimously adopted a “Resolution on Marriage Equality” [below] in response to the May 15, 2008 ruling of the California Supreme Court. “Today’s decision is consistent with All Saints Church, Pasadena’s identity as a peace and justice church,” said Bacon, following the historic vote. “It...

The Anglican Church is the perfect vehicle for creating a new “gay” Christianity by virtue of the fact that it is the only church that accepts the logical contradiction of asserting both the sanctity of human life and the existence of a right to abortion. Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson, whose ordination to the episcopate has precipitated the ongoing schism between traditionally Christian Anglicans and its ultra-liberal, secularized branches, is in London to talk about his vision for the homosexual future of the Anglican Church. He was visiting and promoting his cause in preparation for the upcoming Lambeth Conference in July.

Vatican City, May 16, 2008 / 02:12 pm (CNA).- One day after California overturned a ban on same-sex marriage, the Holy Father has firmly stated that only marriage between a man and a woman is moral.Yesterday, California’s Supreme Court came to a 4-3 decision overturning the state’s law preventing homosexuals from being recognized as married.While the Pope did not directly mention the ruling in California in his address to the Forum of Family Associations and the European Federation of Catholic Family Associations, Benedict XVI stressed the importance of the traditional family for the good of society. "The union of...

MCKINNEY, TX, May 13, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Texas residents are alarmed that Bishop Kevin Farrell has appointed Fr. Arthur Mallinson, a priest associated with a prominent website for actively homosexual priests and religious, pastor of the newly renovated St. Michael's parish in McKinney, Texas. Fr. Arthur Mallinson's picture has appeared on the St. Sebastian's Angels (SSA) website, a now defunct online network for actively homosexual priests and religious that featured pornographic images, sexually explicit comments, and derogatory remarks about Vatican churchmen, particularly against then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. In 1999, the reform organization Roman Catholic Faithful (RCF) exposed SSA and the fifty-three...

As my regular readers know, I have blogged in the past two weeks about my visit to Lakewood Church. I issued an open letter to Joel Osteen asking him to embrace the gay community by responding to Soulforce's request for Lakewood Church to participate in the American Family Outing. I also blogged about the press conference that Soulforce held last week. You can read these previous entries on this blog. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the picnic on Saturday because of other family and church obligations, but Soulforce issued the following press release just moments ago. Jay Bakker and...

The son of evangelical Tammy Faye Bakker Messner will spend his first Mother's Day weekend since her death in Houston, waiting to hear from Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen. Jay Bakker, a high-profile supporter of Soulforce — a group that fights religious and political oppression of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders — wants Osteen to join the nontraditional families at a picnic Saturday and welcome them to church on Sunday. As the tattooed and pierced Bakker spoke at a Soulforce news conference Wednesday, it was clear his mother was in his thoughts. Though she died of cancer last July, she...

Despite a 2004 order from the future Pope Benedict XVI barring pro-choice Catholic politicians from the Communion table, a quintet of elected officials flouted his wishes twice during his recent six-day visit here by partaking of the sacrament right before his eyes. The bishops whose job it is to enforce the pope's wishes have been all over the map in responding. While New York Cardinal Edward Egan publicly chastised former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani for taking Communion during an April 19 Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the bishops of Washington, Boston and Norwalk, Conn., have not disciplined members...

In an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC, practicing Homosexual controversialist Bishop Gene Robinson announced plans to enter into a ‘Civil Union’ with his Male Paramour. He told the interviewer it was “what God is telling me to do” Just as the splintering Anglican Communion was preparing for its International Lambeth Conference. Just as the controversy surrounding the actions of some orthodox Anglicans planning an alternative Conference seemed to be out of the limelight. Right at this time,a controversialist Bishop named Gene Robinson once again enters the limelight to make himself the center of attention.

The palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise.Thomas Paine In my recent column "Pulpit Racism Leads Blacks To Destruction," I dealt with the racism coming from many black preachers. The hate-filled anti-American sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. and other wolves in sheep's clothing have been exposed. Yet, there still remains an unspoken disease infecting the black church – the racism in the pews.

In a new book the Anglican clergyman explains why he wanted to formalise his 20 year relationship. “I always wanted to be a June bride.� As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew there'd be trouble. I'd just delivered an hour-long lecture on the relationship between religion and public discourse, and why religious fervour over homosexuality plays such a large and negative role in the securing of full civil rights for gay people. During the question-and-answer period, someone asked me about the forthcoming civil union between me and Mark, my partner of 20 years. The audience...

LAS VEGAS, NV April 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A visitor to the Cathedral of Las Vegas was shocked recently to see an advertisement for the Imago Dei ministry in the cathedral bulletin. Jack Fonseca, a 3rd degree member of the Knights of Columbus, has since worked to rally other Catholics to have Bishop Joseph Anthony Pepe disband the group for its infidelity to Church teaching regarding homosexuality.According to its official site, "Imago Dei was established to meet a need in the Church for support of gay Catholic women and men.  Gay people have been made to feel that they are...

I can't decide if Gene Robinson should be made an honorary member of Herman's Hermits (second verse same as the first) or just be named Crybaby of the Decade. Sure does a lot of book tours for someone who wants to just be a simple country bishop. Can't you just hear the heavy sigh? Robinson is in London to promote his new book, In The Eye of the Storm. It is a spiritual memoir aimed, he says, at showing that he is more than "a one issue guy". The last of its five sections, however, sets a course for the...

The Rev. Frank Murd has resigned as pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Maumee because he is under investigation based on an accusation of improper sexual contact with an adult, the Toledo diocese reported yesterday. Sylvania Township police are investigating the accusation against Father Murd, 65, who has been pastor of St. Joseph's since July, 2003. The alleged incident occurred March 18 in a hot tub at the YMCA/JCC, Robert Metzger, the township's police chief said last night. No charges have been filed, he said. [snip]

If you consult the mainstream media, you’d swear that all Benedict (aka “God’s Rottweiler/The Enforcer/Former Hitler Youth”) did is concoct new rules and then “lash out” or “crack down” on people for not keeping them. Given this view of the faith, discussions in the press often break down into babble about mortal and venial sin. Little lists are bandied about and we are told, in the words of one magazine: “Mortal sins are those that the sinner knows are serious but nonetheless decides to perform. They include the seven deadly sins as well as countless others, like witchcraft or skipping...

Why would a loving God allow evil? Probably one of the biggest issues regarding people’s objection to God, is the underlying feeling that God, ‘if He were God’, would not allow evil to affect so many people. Indeed, there is a great amount of terrible suffering in this world, and people naturally struggle with this important issue. Some of the accusations leveled toward God that I see quite commonly go along the lines of “God must not be perfect (or omnipotent) if He wasn’t big enough to prevent evil from affecting us”, and usually people will extend this accusation to...

As best as I can determine, my same-sex attraction began in reaction to my father, who was a violent alcoholic. He often drank, came home to throw things around the house and abuse my mother in addition to threatening me and my brother. I thought he hated us. Consequently, I didn’t want to be anything like him. In my sorrow, I started looking for the love of my father in thearms of other men. At age 17, a predator took advantage of me under the teacher/pupil dynamic and I became completely mixed up about human sexuality. Over the years, one...

Divorce and abortion are offences in the sight of God, Pope Benedict XVI charged Saturday, while calling on the Catholic Church to be merciful to those who had experienced such events. "The ethical judgement of the Church on divorce and abortion is clear and well-known," he told participants in a Catholic congress on marriage and the family. "They are serious offences... which violate human dignity, inflict deep injustice on human and social relations and offend God himself, guarantor of conjugal peace and origin of life," he said. However he added that there were people who had committed such "errors" but...

Media frenzy and a flood of criticism over past comments made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently retired from leading Chicago's 8,000-member Trinity United Church of Christ ( UCC ) , have caused some unease among Americans, including members of the LGBT community. Some activists have second-guessed Obama out of fear that the man he labeled as his “spiritual mentor” might be anti-gay after seeing the short clips. Since media outlets started showing video clips of racially charged past sermons, Wright has received a high amount of criticism. Even Obama has tried to distance himself from Wright.

SANDERSON, Florida — Deputies in Baker County arrested a couple caught having sex in a church. Baker County Sheriff's Deputies say they received a call about a suspicious person outside the Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church, on the night of March 11th. Deputies say they found a red Toyota pick-up truck and went inside the church. "Her drawers [were] in the stands. Her brazier was over on the outside the stands," Deacon Lonzie Altman recalled from his conversation with deputies. According to the offense report, deputies found Crystal Rowland, 24, behind the altar. Rowland was taken into custody. She told...

Americans overwhelmingly believe in the concept of sin whether they are religiously involved or not, according to a new Ellison Research study released Tuesday. “Sin,� as defined by the research organization, is “something that is almost always considered wrong, particularly from a religious or moral perspective.� The study questioned more than 1,000 American adult respondents whether they believe in such a thing as “sin� and then asked them whether 30 different behaviors were sinful. Out the list of 30 behaviors, adultery was most often described as a sinful behavior by American respondents (81 percent). Following adultery was racism (74 percent);...

Genetic manipulation, environmental pollution, social inequality, unsustainable social injustice: these are the new forms of sin appearing on the horizon of humanity, like a corollary of the unstoppable process of globalization. They are also new challenges for the Apostolic Penitentiary, which labors to reaffirm its own role in an age in which the perception of sin counts less. Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, Regent of the Penitentiary, spoke of these in this interview released to L’Osservatore Romano the day after the conclusion of the course for confessors.... Does the attention to sin come from a sensibility to the needs of modern society...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican official has listed drugs, pollution, genetic manipulation and social and economic injustices as new areas of sinful behavior. Sins increasingly manifest themselves as behavior that damages society as a whole, Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti said in an interview published Sunday by the Vatican's daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. "While sin used to concern mostly the individual, today it has mainly a social resonance, due to the phenomenon of globalization," said Girotti, who heads the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican body that issues decisions on matters of conscience and grants absolutions. Catholic teaching distinguishes between lesser venial sins...

What are Capital Sins?Fr. William SaundersWhy are the capital sins called the capital sins?  The Penitent MagdaleneDonatello The capital sins are the source of all sins. The word capital derives from the Latin "caput," meaning "head." Note that they are not called "capital" because they are prevalent around a nation's capital or capitol. Actually, St. Thomas Aquinas preferred to use the word "vice" instead of "sin" when addressing this issue. He stated, "A capital vice is that which has an exceedingly desirable end so that in his desire for it, a man goes on to the commission of many sins,...