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The Shroud of Turin is the most studied object in the world – and for good reason. If authentic, this linen cloth would constitute physical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Not so fast comes the gut reaction from many Christians, concerned that such a theory skirts dangerously close to venerating a spurious relic. Besides, hasn’t the science concluded this is simply a medieval forgery?But the truth is, there is little consensus on the Shroud’s authenticity. After thousands of hours of research, study and tests, opinion is still divided among both scholars and enthusiasts. And so the intriguing possibility remains...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican again turns off lights for ‘Earth Hour’ to promote ‘respect for Our Mother Earth’Father Enzo Fortunato, the communicators director of St. Peter’s Basilica, linked the move to Pope Francis’ encyclical on ‘climate change,’ Laudato Si’."The Vatican once again turned off its external lights for an hour this weekend to “raise awareness of respect for Our Mother Earth.”In a statement issued to journalists accredited to the Holy See late Saturday afternoon, Father Enzo Fortunato – the recently appointed director of communications for St. Peter’s Basilica – announced the darkening of the basilica that evening: On the occasion of...

We require leaders with the will to admit it. A secure future for America is tied to winning two related shooting wars, one in Ukraine and the other in Israel. Victory will weaken the Russia-Iran-China axis that is at war with the United States. The will and a strategy to win are crucial and will require strong U.S. leadership, particularly from the president of the United States. In our war with the Russia-Iran-China axis (North Korea is the junior partner), American troops are not engaged directly at this time, but those of our Ukrainian and Israeli allies experience death and...

Pope Francis to COP28: Environmental destruction is ‘an offense against God’Pope Francis called the destruction of the environment “an offense against God” in a message given to the participants in the U.N. climate summit on Saturday.The keynote address that the pope had intended to give in person at the COP28 conference was distributed to the attendees in Dubai, where Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin read a shortened version of the pope’s speech to the assembly on Dec. 2.Pope Francis, who turns 87 in two weeks, canceled his scheduled trip to the United Arab Emirates days before the climate...

Decades ago, Francis Schaeffer perceived this devilish spirit already at work amongst evangelical Protestants. In “The Great Evangelical Disaster” he wrote:“Accommodation, accommodation. How the mindset of accommodation grows and expands…For the evangelical accommodation to the world of our age represents the removal of the last barrier against the breakdown of our culture. And with the final removal of this barrier will come social chaos and the rise of authoritarianism in some form to restore order.” (p. 401)

“Queerness as an interpretative tool” seems to be no more than the blunt assertion that today’s questions are the only ones worth asking and today’s categories the only ones worth applying. Never mind that when the ship sank, the crew drowned and that these artifacts spoke of real human lives that were lost and families that were presumably devastated. It is all about today’s categories such as gender and queerness. Difference need not be respected. Perspectives unsanctioned by modern Western progressivism need not apply.

Pope Francis Slams ‘Populism and Conspiracy Theories’ in Lisbon AddressROME — Pope Francis began his four-day visit to Portugal for World Youth Day by blasting capitalism, populism, and insufficient attention to migrants and climate change.“At a time when we are witnessing in many places a climate of protest and unrest, fertile terrain for populism and conspiracy theories, World Youth Day represents a chance to build together,” the pontiff told civil authorities and diplomats gathered in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.Lamenting a lack of greater global cohesiveness, the pope cautioned that “planetary injustices, wars, climate and migration crises seem to run...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican considering ‘Mayan rite’ of Mass after Mexican bishops overwhelmingly approve itThe ‘Mayan rite’ contains various pagan elements and new liturgical offices, including a ‘principal’ and ‘incensor’ who take on roles of the priest.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) –– Mexico’s Catholic bishops have overwhelmingly approved and sent to Rome their proposals for a Mayan rite of the Mass, which incorporates lay leadership and apparent elements of idolatry. LifeSite has received a copy of the text now being examined by the Vatican, and presents elements of it below.ACI Prensa reported on July 25 that the Mexican Bishops’ Conference has submitted its...

It sounds like bad science fiction, but it is rapidly becoming reality. Some of the most powerful people on the planet think they are going to “upgrade” human beings — or at least some human beings — through genetic engineering and technological schemes such as “brain implants.” Yes, really. In fact, they are publicly touting alleged benefits, supposedly including eternal life, and even evolving into “gods.”If that all sounds crazy or even diabolical — good, it should, because it is. And yet, the technologies to make some of these nightmarish visions possible are progressing so fast it would make your...

America, the freest, most enlightened society in the history of the world, was founded on Biblical presuppositions beginning with, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1) “…in His own image He made them, male and female He made them…I give you dominion over the earth and its creatures…” (Gen. 1:27) “I am the Lord your God…” (Isaiah 41:13) Our Constitutional rights, beginning with the most important one, the God-given right to life, flow from this Biblical seedbed, thus because human beings are the spiritual image bearers of the Lord, throughout Christianized Western civilization there exist...

INTELLIGENT AI robots are coming - and they will have the ability to perform religious ceremonies and could even turn against humans, experts have warned. As AI becomes more prominent in our day to day lives, it wasn’t going to be long before the worlds of religion and tech merged. The thought of robot Gods and ChatGPT sermons terrifies some people - and rightly so, according to experts. Wesley Wildman, Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics, and of Computing and Data Sciences at Boston University, told The Sun that he believes AI will soon be able to perform religious duties...

A group of experts has discovered proof that people during the Bronze Age used drugs in their ceremonies. By examining hair strands from a burial location in Menorca, Spain, researchers have learned that our ancestors took in hallucinogenic drugs derived from plants. This new information presents the initial clear evidence of drug use in olden Europe. These drugs may have been an important part of their traditional events and practices, according to the researchers. The scientists identified three specific substances, scopolamine, ephedrine, and atropine, in three separate hair samples that they replicated. The researchers noted that due to the dangerous...

The new Mayan rite of Mass encouraged by Pope Francis is replete with pagan idolatry and symbolismVarious photographs, images and statements from the Mexican diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas clearly show instances of pagan idolatry, symbolism and heretical practices being adopted into what is meant to be the Catholic Mass.Priests and bishops worshiping in front of Mayan altar in the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas in MexicoAt the beginning of March, news came out of Mexico that a group of Mexican bishops had met in the diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas with Bishop Aurelio...

In the essay, “The Paganization of Biblical Studies,” Dr. Peter Jones, Professor of New Testament at Westminster Seminary in Escondido, Calif., identifies liberalism and/or progressivism as a form of neo-Gnostic paganism, or mystical pantheism.

Gonzalez, who became the center of an international custody battle at 5 years old, was nominated Sunday to Cuba's National Assembly. Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban national whose precarious boyhood arrival in the U.S. in 1999 prompted a fierce international custody battle, is set to become a lawmaker. Gonzalez was nominated by his local municipal assembly on Sunday to serve in Cuba's National Assembly... Gonzlaez was en route to Florida with his mother when their boat capsized on Thanksgiving 1999 and she and other migrants drowned. The boy's fate thereafter became a flashpoint in U.S.-Cuba relations. His father, a waiter named...

[Catholic Caucus] Neither Mother nor Goddess. Even Gregorian Chant Is Against the New Idolatry of the Earth> Italiano > English> Español> Français > All the articles of Settimo Cielo in EnglishIf you want to receive (or go back to receiving) a notification for every new article, click HERE and subscribe to the Newsletter from Settimo Cielo!*(sm) All the more so in this season of Advent, the great liturgy of the Catholic Church is literally at the antipodes of the rampant new religion of nature, with the earth as mother goddess.Let the heavens “rain down the Just One” and the earth...

In a message for the upcoming Season of Creation, Albanian Archbishop Angelo Massafra of Shkodër-Pult, a member of the Pastoral Social Care Commission of the Council of Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE), echoes Pope Francis’ call for an ecological conversion, recalling that the current climate crisis is mainly attributable to the actions of man.As the Church prepares to celebrate the Season of Creation, from 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to 4 October 2021, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron Saint of Ecology, the European Bishops join Pope Francis in urging...

In a departure from traditional Jesuit missions to convert pagans to Christ, Canadian Jesuits now seek to incorporate superstitious religious ceremonies in an effort to ‘decolonize’ Christianity.(LifeSiteNews) – In a marked difference from the Jesuit missionaries famously known as the North American Martyrs, today’s Jesuits have redefined their mission to the Indigenous tribes of Canada as one aimed at assimilating the natives’ non-Christian spirituality into the new “ecological spirituality” being pushed within the Church. In an interview with Vatican News, Father Gilles Mongeau S.J., Vicar Provincial of the Jesuits of Canada, gave some details as to the modern approach the...

'We are the people of Mother Earth, hi, hi,' the master of ceremonies said during the dance.MASKWACIS, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) – During the first full day of his visit with Canada’s Indigenous communities, Pope Francis attended a “healing dance” that appeared to direct worship to “Mother Earth.” Prior the ritual, which took place in Maskwacis, Alberta this morning, the Master of Ceremonies for the event explained that a “healing dance” was about to occur, while outlining that the drum involved is “the heartbeat of Mother Earth, the drum is life.” Gathered in a circle around a large tree branch, Indigenous people...

Pope Francis Calls on Humanity to ‘Repent’ for Abuse of Mother EarthROME — We humans “must repent and modify our lifestyles” because of our abuse of Mother Earth, Pope Francis states in a message released Thursday.In his Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the pontiff decries the “mistreatment” of our common home stemming from “our consumerist excesses,” “tyrannical anthropocentrism,” “predatory economic interests,” and “short sighted and selfish actions” leading to “the collapse of our planet’s ecosystems.”“In the first place, it is our sister, mother earth, who cries out. Prey to our...