Rabbi who specializes in eschatology warns against Pope Francis

As reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Breaking Israel News, February 11, 2020 (links in original):

Historically, the Vatican was no friend to the Jews but its new initiative aligns the Catholic Church with Islam in a one-world religion that may be the biggest threat ever to the Jewish People. A major event to advance the project will take place on the anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel which, according to one rabbi, is fitting since Judaism is the last bastion, entirely incompatible with a New World Order.

At an address to Vatican diplomats last month, Pope Francis announced that the Vatican will be hosting a global event with titled, “Reinventing the Global Compact on Education.”

“A global educational pact is needed to educate us in universal solidarity and a new humanism,” the Pope said when he first proposed the summit.

A Vatican-backed website to promote the pact added: “Educating young people in fraternity, in learning to overcome divisions and conflicts, promote hospitality, justice and peace: Pope Francis has invited everyone who cares about the education of the young generation to sign a Global Pact, to create a global change of mentality through education.”

The Pope described the need for the global alliance.

“‘Never before has there been such need to unite our efforts in a broad educational alliance, to form mature individuals capable of overcoming division and antagonism, and to restore the fabric of relationships for the sake of a more fraternal humanity,’” he said.

The Pope cited the aphorism “It takes a village to raise a child,” explaining its place in his global vision.

“All change, like the epochal change we are now experiencing, calls for a process of education and the creation of an educational village capable of forming a network of open and human relationships,” he said.

“Education is not limited to school and university classrooms,” the Pope said at the address last month. “[It is] principally ensured by strengthening and reinforcing the primary right of the family to educate, and the right of Churches and social communities to support and assist families in raising their children.”

The education initiative is a continuation of the Pope’s global vision as laid out in his Document on the Human Brotherhood for World Peace and Common Living Together signed by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, in February 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The agreement between the two religious leaders was criticized for its stance on the diversity of religions.

“The fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected,” the document read. “As too the imposition of a cultural way of life that others do not accept.”

Rabbi Pinchas Winston, a prolific end-of-times author, noted that in many surprising respects, the Vatican is now practically indistinguishable from secularism.

“It used to be that the Catholic Church was the bastion that stood against liberalism in every way, denouncing it as heresy,” Rabbi Winston said. “This was the case for as long as the Vatican could impose its will on its people and influence the rest of the world. That reality has changed because they don’t have that power anymore. Pope Francis is a result of this change. He is a ‘man of the people.’”

Rabbi Winston noted that traditional values in the Catholic Church are indeed changing in ways that would have been inconceivable not so long ago.

“They used to say that secular values and liberalism were bad but when the people changed and liberalism became widespread, the Vatican reversed that position.,” Rabbi Winston said. “How can a religion claim to be from God when a man can decide to change it?”

Rabbi Winston noted that the theme of one-world order as presented by the Pope was presented several times in the Bible.

“Seeing the world as one is how it was in the days before the Tower of Babel,” Rabbi Winston said. “This was when men joined together to take over the world and kick God out.”

Rabbi Winston noted that the counterintuitive mix of secular intellectualism and religion appeared later in Genesis.

“According to Midrash, Esau impressed his father, Isaac, with questions that seemed to relate to religion but were only leveled on the intellectual level. The real intent of the questions was to generate chaos and division. The erev rav (mixed multitude) works this way, by making it appear that their intentions are pure and that they are good people. But their real intent is destructive; to disable truth.”

“The secular present universalism as the source of all brotherhood but it is exactly the opposite. There is more diversity in the world than ever before in human history. To have one way to worship God before Moshiach (Messiah) comes and brings everyone up to speed is not realistic and harmful to anyone who does not conform. The Pope should be smart enough to realize that there are very good reasons for the differences. People are different. This new initiative by the Vatican is classic liberalism in the garb of religion.”

The date of the global educational summit is May 14, precisely 72 years after Israel proclaimed its independence. Rabbi Winston suggested that this could have a deeper meaning, indicating the inherent conflict between the Jewish People and universal religion.

“They can’t get rid of the Jews and what they represent anymore by simply attacking us, which was how it was done for 2,000 years,” Rabbi Winston said. “Are they trying to get rid of the Jews and the Torah by creating one world religion? Anyone who wants a one-world order has to get rid of the Jews because all of human history has proven that the core of Torah Judaism doesn’t change, even, when necessary, and the cost of death. We are still the same people in the same land with the same Torah.”

One lesson, as always, is: never trust a Jesuit. It speaks volumes about the lack of discernment in our time that Rabbi Winston of thirtysix.org has a better idea of what Pope Francis is up to than do many professing Christian "leaders."

Conservative Catholics accuse Pope Francis of "idolatrous worship" during Amazon synod

The lesson, as always, is: Never trust a Jesuit. As reported by Nick Squires of the London Daily Telegraph, November 12, 2019 (links in original):

One of the statuettes of an Amazon fertility symbol that went on display at the Vatican during the Amazon synod (AFP)

Pope Francis has been accused of being “sacrilegious” and idolatrous for embracing indigenous symbols in the Vatican’s recent summit on the Amazon by a group of 100 Catholic traditionalists.

In one of the strongest attacks yet on the Pope, conservative Catholic clergy, historians and intellectuals from around the world lambasted Francis for supposedly allowing the “idolatrous worship” of statuettes of an Amazon fertility symbol.

Several statues of the goddess Pachamama featured in ceremonies during last month’s synod, or bishops’ meeting, on the future of Catholicism in the Amazon.

A pair of ultra-conservatives was so incensed that they stole the statuettes from a church near the Vatican and tossed them into the Tiber River.

In a strongly-worded open letter, the traditionalists accused the Pope of indulging in “sacrilegious and superstitious acts” during the synod, in which bishops from the Amazon gathered in Rome.

The most contentious issue the bishops discussed was whether to allow already married men to become priests, in an attempt to address the chronic lack of Catholic clergy in the vast region.

Conservatives see that as the beginning of the end for the centuries-old tradition of celibacy.

During the synod, Pope Francis adopted an inclusive attitude towards indigenous people, welcoming them to the Vatican and embracing the traditional objects they use in their worship of God.

But the conservatives, from Britain, the US, France, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany and several other countries, branded the statuettes of Pachamama as “pagan idols” which represented “a false goddess of mother earth.”

They were further angered when the Pope asked forgiveness from Amazonian bishops and tribal leaders after the statues were stolen and dumped in the Tiber.

He insisted that the statuettes of naked pregnant women were brought to the Vatican “without any intention of idolatry.”

But in their letter, the Pope’s critics said: “Absolutely all participation in any form of the veneration of idols is … an objectively grave sin that only God can judge.”

Francis should “repent publicly and unambiguously … of all the public offences that he has committed against God and the true religion.”

Their letter is the latest salvo in the battle being waged against Francis’s papacy by conservative Catholics who are appalled at his inclusive stance on homosexuality and the prospect of giving communion to divorced Catholics who have remarried in civil ceremonies.

Leading figures in the resistance movement against the Argentinian pope include Cardinal Gerhard Müller of Germany and Cardinal Raymond Burke of the US.

“These traditionalists take every opportunity to criticise Francis,” Austen Ivereigh, a Vatican expert, told The Telegraph.

“They have a deliberate strategy to weaken Francis’s position in advance of the next conclave (the election of a new pope).”

The conservatives remain vehemently opposed to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, said Mr Ivereigh, the author of The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope.

“For them it’s all about the war against modernity - the Church should be a fortress that protects traditions from contamination. But they are not representative of the majority of the world’s one billion Catholics. They speak for the rump of the Church, which is very small but very vociferous.”

Antichrist Ambrose University President Gordon T. Smith continues to promote ecumenism and Social Gospel

As reported by Peter Biggs in Light magazine, February 18, 2018 (bold in original):

Background

During my research on an article on Worship, some Pastors spoke of their dissatisfaction with the Evangelical ‘liturgy’. Smith’s recent book Evangelical, Sacramental and Pentecostal (Intervarsity Press) is timely. It describes clearly the different approaches to worship. He longs to see these three traditions unite together, and calls for an integration of the three traditions in one faith.

What is your general impression of how the church needs to be responding to our current culture?

First, the whole point of Evangelical, Sacramental and Pentecostal is to stress how vital it is that we learn from one another and not presume that within our own camp we have all the wisdom and grace we need to navigate the complex world of rising secularism. This posture of learning – and humility – also means that we will need to learn how to seek common cause with Christian believers from other theological and spiritual traditions. In our case here at Ambrose University, for example, I am very pleased that we have been able to establish a strong rapport with the local Roman Catholic community. We have our differences, of course; but we have a shared commitment to the ancient truths of the Creeds, and we share common concerns on a whole range of spiritual and ethical issues that directly impact our city and our country.

Second, it is also likely the case that in a secular society we can expect to experience various forms or expression of persecution. However, as 1 Peter stresses, let’s be wise on this and genuinely suffer for the gospel, not for the lack of political or diplomatic skill. We need to be discerning when it comes to which battles we fight and where and when it is more appropriate to not be in constant battle mode.

How is the seminary preparing future Pastors and leaders for the main challenges?

My observation is that in our increasingly secular society there are at least three skills or competencies that need to be cultivated in and with our students – whom we view, of course, to be future leaders of the church in our country and beyond our shores. These are:

1. Preaching for Monday morning. Meaning, of course, that it is not about preaching so that our church grows – getting people into the church – but rather preaching that is focused on equipping and empowering women and men for their service in the world – in business, the arts, education and, indeed, in every sphere and sector of society.

2. Peace-making. A secular society has no real focus or centre; and thus it should not surprise us that the society is marked by very significant levels of conflict. And surely, if we are going to give leadership to the church at such a time as this, the capacity to be an instrument of peace is rather crucial. We need people who are skilled in managing conflict constructively – skilled in conflict resolution and addressing how we can be less polarized within our society. This means, of course, that we need to learn how to address conflict in the church.

3. And third, political savvy. When I was a pastor back in the 1970s, we had little if any civic involvement. But pastors today need political skills – the capacity to engage the social and civic leaders – developing connections, cultivating political capital, advocating for essential causes but all, of course, not in a mind-set of a battle against our culture but as people who are seeking the peace of the city [to use the language of Jeremiah 29].

It is for this reason that I think we need to re-read 1 Peter, which is a New Testament book written to the church “in exile” – well, actually, a diaspora community, and thus one that might be an example to us of what it means to be a minority presence in a culture and society.

Your recent book addresses different worship traditions. It seems your concern is that each actually de-emphasizes either preaching, the sacraments or the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Yes that is true. Take preaching… even the pulpit in some churches has disappeared to be replaced by a coffee table and stool. The ‘preacher’ will have a friendly ‘chat’ with the congregation.

This is fine, but only to a point; it is crucial that we not lose sight of the power of the presence of the word, the scriptures, as the authoritative guide and text for the community of faith and that as a church we are formed and re-formed by the word which challenges, encourages and admonishes us.

Dr. Smith's reference to Jeremiah 29 isn't the first time I've seen that passage of scripture taken out of context in order to support a Social Gospel agenda. As always, it's necessary to look at scripture in context. In Jeremiah 25, God states that because Israel had disobeyed him, He was going to punish the nation with 70 years of captivity in Babylon. In Jeremiah 27, God tells Judah to serve the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar while in captivity. Chapter 28 introduces the false prophet Hananiah, who prophesies that God will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar "from the neck of all nations" within two years. In chapter 29, Jeremiah writes to those who had already gone into exile, who were apparently aware of the prophecies of people such as Hananiah, and were apparently receptive to false prophecies of an early deliverance. Jeremiah is warning the exiles not to be deceived nor to encourage the false prophets. God has determined that the Israelites' exile in Babylon will definitely be for 70 years--which, by that time, was the length of the average human lifespan (Psalms 90:10). The exiles are not going to be delivered during the lifetime of most of the people, and they're not the vanguard of invading army. They're going to be there for a long time, so they should build houses, settle down, have families, and increase in number. This is the context in which Jeremiah 29:7 says:

And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

God is telling the Israelites that he's not going to deliver the exiles or destroy Nebuchadnezzar or his kingdom for the next 70 years, so if they pray and seek for the peace and prosperity of Babylon, God will allow the exiles to prosper. In Jeremiah 30 and subsequent chapters, God promises to restore the people of Israel from exile. These passages of scripture are written to, for, and about Israel in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 29:7 isn't a message to the New Testament church to engage in a Social Gospel program of making this a better world. As always, never trust a Jesuit.

See my previous posts on Ambrose University:

Why is an Alliance-Nazarene college named after a Roman Catholic saint? (March 2, 2009)

The Ambrose-contemplative connection (March 4, 2009)

Ambrose University College trains Nazarene pastors using materials from a company with ties to Mormonism (March 6, 2009)

Ambrose University College and "Transformation" (March 6, 2009)

The Outhouse (aka The Shack) in God's house (May 5, 2009)

Ambrose Seminary teaches contemplative spirituality in 2009-2010 (February 24, 2010)

Ambrose University College hires Jesuit-educated contemplative spirituality proponent as its new president (May 30, 2012)

Ambrose University College's "Jazz Day" provides evidence of increasing worldliness in evangelical schools (March 5, 2014)

Antichrist Ambrose University College continues on its downward, leftward, and Romeward course (March 8, 2014)

Pope Francis betrays legitimate Chinese Roman Catholic bishops in favour of those appointed by China's Communist government

The lesson, as always, is: Never trust a Jesuit. As reported by Paul Huang of The Epoch Times, January 26, 2018 (updated February 3, 2018) (links, bold in original):

In a move that breaks with centuries of Catholic tradition, the Vatican under Pope Francis has reportedly forced two duly appointed Chinese bishops to make way for those unilaterally imposed by the Chinese regime. The move is the latest in a series of concessions Pope Francis has made in recent years to seek resumption of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the Chinese regime, which has always rejected the Pope’s authority to appoint Catholic bishops in mainland China.

According to Asia News, a Vatican delegation to China was sent in December of last year to force Bishop Peter Zhuang Jianjian of Shantou to “retire” or be demoted so that the Chinese regime could install its own bishops who come from regime-sanctioned churches.

The Vatican and the People’s Republic of China have had no diplomatic relations since 1951, as the Chinese Communist Party has insisted from the very beginning of its rule that all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in mainland China should be appointed by itself so that the regime may maintain control of the church. A regime-controlled Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA) was created to supposedly represent Catholics in China.

The Vatican under all previous popes has rejected such an arrangement and refused to recognize bishops unilaterally “appointed” by the CPCA. The power to appoint bishops, known as “Investiture”, has been considered to be at the core of the Catholic Church’s teachings.

Outside of CPCA control, a defiant network of underground Catholic “house churches” still exist in China, whose followers were represented by Chinese bishops legitimately ordained by the Vatican, such as Zhuang and Guo.

The 88-year-old Bishop Zhuang reportedly burst into tears on hearing the order from Vatican, he also rejected the “offer” to accept a demotion into a priest to serve under his replacement, CPCA Bishop Huang Bingzhang, since Huang could simply remove him at any later time.

In addition to being a CPCA Bishop, Huang is also a member of the National People’s Congress, the Chinese regime’s rubber stamp parliament.

Pope Francis’ Vatican previously demanded Zhuang’s retirement in a letter dated Oct. 26, of which Zhuang replied that he would rather “carry his cross” for disobeying the Vatican’s order, according to Asia News.

The Vatican delegation also traveled to Fujian Province where they asked Bishop Joseph Guo Xijin of Mindong, who belongs to the underground Catholic church, to “accept” a demotion so that CPCA-backed Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu can take his place. Previously, Guo had gone missing for some time last year after the Chinese regime forced him to “visit” a religious affairs bureau in the city of Fuan.

“It’s a shame for the Vatican politicians to put their political interests above the church’s by kowtowing to Communist Beijing,” said Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid, a Christian NGO based in Midland, Texas. “This action constitutes a true betrayal both of Christian principle and of the ongoing persecuted faithful in China. I hope the Pope Francis can intervene and correct course before the damage is too huge to remedy.”

Appeases Chinese Regime at Any Cost

The Epoch Times’ repeated phone calls to the Vatican’s Press Office to request for comment have not been answered. The news of the forced exile of two bishops by the Vatican however has been confirmed by Cardinal Joseph Zen, the respected former bishop of Hong Kong who retired in 2009 and who in recent years has become a vocal voice in questioning Pope Francis’ various overtures to the Chinese regime.

Just this week, the 86-year-old Joseph Zen reportedly visited the Vatican on Wednesday, Jan. 23 and lined up with other petitioners in the cold in Saint Peter’s Square to personally deliver a letter to Pope Francis. He was not given the privilege of an express access to the Pope that is traditionally offered to retired cardinals at his level. The letter contains an appeal for Pope Francis to pay attention to the desperate plight of the underground Catholic churches in China.

The Vatican under Pope Francis however has clearly set its course for a rapprochement with the Chinese regime at any cost. Numerous overtures to the Chinese regime have been made ever since Pope Francis was elected in 2013, such as a Papal flight over China in 2014, and an announcement in February 2017 that an “agreement” over the issue of bishop appointment had been reached with Beijing, among other events.

The Epoch Times also reported last October that a senior archbishop known for his strong opposition to the Chinese regime has been removed from a key post in the Vatican by Pope Francis.

Pope Francis’s approach to the Chinese regime also marks a sharp contrast with many of his predecessors. For instance, John Paul II is known as the pope who inspired the fall of communism in his native Poland. While various Popes before Francis have attempted to restart the Vatican’s relations with China, none has crossed the line of accepting the Chinese regime depriving the Vatican of its power of Investiture.

The issue of the appointment of bishops is not the only thing that stands between the Vatican and the People’s Republic of China. The fate of the network of underground Catholic churches in China, which have an estimated 5-10 million members, has yet to be resolved, even though their bishops have now been abandoned by the Vatican. Underground Catholics complain of the Chinese regime having arrested hundreds of priests and bishops and having destroyed their churches.

A Vatican deal with China also has to settle the issue of Taiwan, which it still has formal diplomatic relations with. Partially due to the Chinese regime’s non-recognition of the Vatican’s authority in China, Taiwan was able to maintain the sovereign state of the Holy See as one of its few remaining diplomatic allies that formally recognize the island nation—at least until now.

Observers often speculated that the Vatican would abandon its relations with Taiwan to secure a deal with the Chinese regime on the other side of the strait, an act that would be seen not just as a betrayal of Taiwan but also the 240,000-strong Taiwanese Catholics, who unlike their Chinese counterparts have been allowed to practice their religion freely there and follow the Vatican’s authority.

January 22, 2019 update: The top Roman Catholic bishop in China makes the church's capitulation to the Communists clear, as reported by Catholic News Service, January 22, 2019 (link in original):

BEIJING – The president of China's state-sanctioned bishops' conference has pledged to work with the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association to develop the Sinicization of religion in the communist nation.

Ucanews.com reported that Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming spoke after Wang Zuoan, deputy minister of the United Front Work Department, visited the patriotic association and the Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in China in Beijing.

Bishop Ma said the association and the conference would live up to the trust of the Communist Party and the government.

"In the new year, they will work hard, unite as one heart, think seriously, strive to practice, work according to the situation, and continue to make greater and better progress on the path of the development of Sinicization for gaining a satisfactory result for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China," he said.

On his visit to Beijing, Wang said work on the election and consecration of bishops and the transformation of underground bishops must be done well.

Ucanews.com reported Wang called on the patriotic association and the bishops' conference to "maintain a high sense of responsibility and mission and lead the mass believers of the Catholic Church to continue to study through Xi Jinping's new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics."

They also should "make progress on the road of independence, autonomy and self-administration of the church and operating the church democratically."

Wang said it is necessary to constantly explore and practice the direction of Sinicization – modifying by Chinese influence – to strengthen the revision and improvement of systems, while it is important to "let the five-star red flag fly high in church courtyards."

He said it is also important to formulate a plan for managing dioceses appropriately.

Bishop Ma was ordained as a bishop in 2006 without a papal mandate. In 2010, he was elected president of the bishops' conference and vice chairman of the patriotic association. Neither organization is recognized by the Vatican.

On Sept. 22, 2018, Pope Francis lifted the excommunication of Bishop Ma and six other bishops appointed by the Chinese government without a pontifical mandate. That came a few hours after the Vatican and the Chinese government had signed a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops.

The pope's forgiveness was seen as part of the process toward healing the Chinese Church.

"Pope Francis hopes that, with these decisions, a new process may begin that will allow the wounds of the past to be overcome, leading to the full communion of all Chinese Catholics," the Vatican said in a statement.

February 21, 2020 update: As reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz in Breaking Israel News, February 21, 2020 (links in original):

A meeting between the Chinese Foreign Minister and his Vatican counterpart last week resulted in a “secret agreement” that will bring the Chinese government into the process of appointing Catholic Bishops.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Munich on Friday with the Vatican Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher to finalize the agreement that was initiated and approved by Pope Francis. The agreement was to formalize a provisional agreement that was made in 2018 which will be expiring in August. The agreement allows for the Chinese government to pre-approve the Vatican’s appointment of Chinese Bishops.

The actual terms and details of the agreement remain undisclosed but it is being hailed as an unprecedented level of cooperation between the Catholic Church and Communist China, which officially cut off relations with the Vatican in 1951.

“Pope Francis hopes that, with these decisions, a new process may begin that will allow the wounds of the past to be overcome, leading to the full communion of all Chinese Catholics,” the Vatican said in a statement. “With a view to sustaining the proclamation of the Gospel in China, the Holy Father Pope Francis has decided to readmit to full ecclesial communion the remaining ‘official’ Bishops, ordained without Pontifical Mandate,”

It was reported that in return, Beijing would recognize some, though not all, of the bishops previously appointed by the Vatican. China has an estimated 12 million Catholics and 101 Bishops.

Retired Hong Kong cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun has long been a critic of Pope Francis’ relations with the Chinese government.

“Francis may have natural sympathy for Communists because for him, they are the persecuted,” Zen wrote in a 2018 op-ed. “He doesn’t know them as the persecutors they become once in power, like the Communists in China.”

Zen issued a statement criticizing the deal, accusing the Vatican of “selling out”mainland Chinese Catholics in order to normalize ties with Communist China. In an interview with Life Site News, Zen criticized Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, “is not acting for the faith,” said Zen. “I’m sorry to say, he is not a man of faith because he despises the heroes of faith.”

“[Communists] never accept compromise,” Zen said. “They want full surrender. And so now we are at the bottom. They finished the operation selling the Church.”

“With a totalitarian regime, there’s no possibility of any talk or bargaining. No, no,” warned Zen. “They just want you on your knees.”

July 24, 2023 update: As reported by Courtney Mares and Matthew Santucci of Catholic News Agency, July 15, 2023 (bold in original):

Pope Francis has decided to approve the appointment of the bishop of Shanghai who was previously installed by Chinese authorities without the Vatican’s approval.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin announced on Saturday that Pope Francis wanted to “remedy the canonical irregularity created in Shanghai, in view of the greater good of the diocese and the fruitful exercise of the bishop’s pastoral ministry.”

Parolin said that the pope’s “intention is fundamentally pastoral” and will allow the bishop to “work with greater serenity to promote evangelization and foster ecclesial communion.”

Bishop Joseph Shen Bin was installed in Shanghai in April in violation of the Holy See’s provisional agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops. It was the second unauthorized appointment by Chinese authorities in the past year.

Pope Francis formally confirmed Shen Bin for the Shanghai post on July 15. Parolin said that the Vatican intentionally made “the decision to take time before publicly commenting on the case” to evaluate the pastoral situation in Shanghai, which has been without a bishop for over a decade.

In an interview with Vatican News published with the announcement of the Chinese bishop’s appointment, Parolin underlined that it is “indispensable, that all episcopal appointments in China, including transfers, be made by consensus, as agreed, and keeping alive the spirit of dialogue” between the Holy See and China.

The Holy See first entered into a provisional two-year agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops in 2018, which was renewed in 2020 and again in 2022.

One month after the Holy See agreed to renew the deal last October, the Vatican said that Chinese authorities violated the terms stipulated in the agreement by installing Bishop John Peng Weizhao as an “auxiliary bishop of Jiangxi,” a diocese that is not recognized by the Vatican.

Parolin explained that the text of the provisional agreement has been kept confidential “because it has not yet been definitively approved.”

“It revolves around the fundamental principle of consensual decisions affecting bishops,” he said.

“We are, therefore, trying to clarify this point, in an open dialogue and in a respectful confrontation with the Chinese side.”

When asked what other topics need to be discussed in the Vatican’s dialogue with China, Parolin listed evangelization, the bishops’ conference, and the communication between Chinese bishops and the pope.

The cardinal called for a Chinese bishops’ conference with “statutes appropriate to its ecclesial nature and pastoral mission” and the establishment of regular communication between Chinese bishops and the pope.

“In fact, it must be said that too many suspicions slow down and hinder the work of evangelization: Chinese Catholics, even those defined as ‘underground,’ deserve trust, because they sincerely want to be loyal citizens and to be respected in their conscience and in their faith,” Parolin said.

Despite the repeated violations, Parolin added that the Holy See is “determined” to continue dialogue with China.

“Indeed, the dialogue between the Vatican side and the Chinese side remains open and I believe that it is a path that is in some way obligatory,” he said.

“In order to make it smoother and more fruitful, it seems to me that the opening of a stable liaison office of the Holy See in China would be extremely useful. I take the liberty of adding that, in my opinion, such a presence would not only favor dialogue with the civil authorities but would also contribute to full reconciliation within the Chinese Church and its journey towards desirable normality.”

Bishop Joseph Shen Bin

Shen Bin, 53, was consecrated as a Catholic bishop in 2010 with the consent of both the pope and Chinese authorities, according to the Vatican. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Haimen until April, when he was transferred to Shanghai “without the involvement of the Holy See.”

Since 2022, Shen Bin has been the president of a group called the Council of Chinese Bishops, a state-sanctioned bishops’ conference not recognized by the Vatican. He previously was the vice president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association established by the Chinese Communist Party and under the control of the United Front Work Department.

One month after Shen Bin’s installation, officials from the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) visited Shanghai to evaluate the progress of “Sinicization” in the diocese.

In his installation ceremony, the bishop said that he would, “continue to carry forward the fine tradition of patriotism and love of the Catholic Church in Shanghai, adhere to the principle of independence and self-government, adhere to the direction of my country’s Catholicism in China, and better promote the healthy inheritance of Shanghai Catholic evangelization.”

The Diocese of Shanghai

The Diocese of Shanghai is the largest Catholic diocese in the country and home to the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, also known as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan. The shrine, consecrated in 1873, is considered the first basilica of East Asia and is one of the main pilgrim sites on the mainland for Catholics.

The diocese was the hub of Catholic counterrevolutionary activity in the 1950s (and the city where the CCP was founded in 1921). Following Mao’s victory in 1949, Bishop Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei helped establish the apparatus of Catholic resistance that would become the underground Catholic church. On the night of Sept. 8, 1955, Bishop Kung, along with several hundred other clergy and lay Catholics, were arrested for their defiance of the regime and their refusal to renounce union with the pope. By the end of the month, some 1,200 Shanghai Catholics were arrested. Kung was imprisoned for a total of 30 years before coming to the United States in 1988.

The Diocese of Shanghai has been functionally vacant since the death of Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian in 2013. Jin had been imprisoned and sent to reeducation camps, only to be fully freed in 1982. He was made bishop of Shanghai in 1985, during Deng Xiaoping’s period of opening up, but it wasn’t until 2005 that he was recognized by the Holy See. He played a critical role in reestablishing the Sheshan Seminary and in rebuilding the local Church in Shanghai.

Bishop Joseph Xing Wenzhi, who was ordained with papal approval and government approval, was made auxiliary bishop of Shanghai in 2005 and disappeared from the public in 2011.

Auxiliary Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, Xing’s successor, denounced the CCPA during his ordination mass on July 7, 2012; later that night he was put under house arrest in the Sheshan Seminary, where he remains to this day.

Pope Francis accuses sexual assault victims of slandering Chilean bishop--although the judge who heard the case believed the accusers

Never trust a Jesuit--in this case, Pope Francis. As reported by Nicole Winfield of The Associated Press, January 18, 2018 (link inserted by blogger):

Pope Francis accused victims of Chile’s most notorious pedophile of slander Thursday, an astonishing end to a visit meant to help heal the wounds of a sex abuse scandal that has cost the Catholic Church its credibility in the country.

Francis said that until he sees proof that Bishop Juan Barros was complicit in covering up the sex crimes of the Rev. Fernando Karadimas, such accusations against Barros are “all calumny.”

The pope’s remarks drew shock from Chileans and immediate rebuke from victims and their advocates. They noted the accusers were deemed credible enough by the Vatican that it sentenced Karadima to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” for his crimes in 2011. A Chilean judge also found the victims to be credible, saying that while she had to drop criminal charges against Karadima because too much time had passed, proof of his crimes wasn’t lacking.

“As if I could have taken a selfie or a photo while Karadima abused me and others and Juan Barros stood by watching it all,” tweeted Barros’ most vocal accuser, Juan Carlos Cruz. “These people are truly crazy, and the pontiff talks about atonement to the victims. Nothing has changed, and his plea for forgiveness is empty.”

The Karadima scandal dominated Francis’ visit to Chile and the overall issue of sex abuse and church coverup was likely to factor into his three-day trip to Peru that began late Thursday.

Karadima’s victims reported to church authorities as early as 2002 that he would kiss and fondle them in the swank Santiago parish he ran, but officials refused to believe them. Only when the victims went public with their accusations in 2010 did the Vatican launch an investigation that led to Karadima being removed from ministry.

The emeritus archbishop of Santiago subsequently apologized for having refused to believe the victims from the start.

Francis reopened the wounds of the scandal in 2015 when he named Barros, a protege of Karadima, as bishop of the southern diocese of Osorno. Karadima’s victims say Barros knew of the abuse, having seen it, but did nothing. Barros has denied the allegations.

His appointment outraged Chileans, badly divided the Osorno diocese and further undermined the church’s already shaky credibility in the country.

Francis had sought to heal the wounds by meeting this week with abuse victims and begging forgiveness for the crimes of church pastors. But on Thursday, he struck a defiant tone when asked by a Chilean journalist about Barros.

“The day they bring me proof against Bishop Barros, I’ll speak,” Francis said. “There is not one shred of proof against him. It’s all calumny. Is that clear?”

Francis had defended the appointment before, calling the Osorno controversy “stupid” and the result of a campaign mounted by leftists. But The Associated Press reported last week that the Vatican was so worried about the fallout from the Karadima affair that it was prepared in 2014 to ask Barros and two other Karadima-trained bishops to resign and go on a yearlong sabbatical.

According to a Jan. 31, 2015, letter obtained by AP from Francis to the executive committee of the Chilean bishops’ conference, the plan fell apart and Barros was sent to Osorno.

Juan Carlos Claret, spokesman for a group of Osorno lay Catholics who have mounted a three-year campaign against Barros, questioned why Francis was now accusing the victims of slandering Barros when the Vatican was so convinced of their claims that it planned to remove him in 2014.

“Isn’t the pastoral problem that we’re living (in Osorno) enough to get rid of him?” Claret asked.

The reference was to the fact that – guilty or not – Barros has been unable to do his job because so many Osorno Catholics and priests don’t recognize him as their bishop. They staged an unprecedented protest during his 2015 installation ceremony and have protested his presence ever since.

Anne Barrett Doyle, of the online database BishopAccountability.org, said it was “sad and wrong” for the pope to discredit the victims since “the burden of proof here rests with the church, not the victims – and especially not with victims whose veracity has already been affirmed.”

“He has just turned back the clock to the darkest days of this crisis,” she said in a statement. “Who knows how many victims now will decide to stay hidden, for fear they will not be believed?”

Indeed, Catholic officials for years accused victims of slandering and attacking the church with their claims. But up until Francis’ words Thursday, many in the church and Vatican had come to reluctantly acknowledge that victims usually told the truth and that the church for decades had wrongly sought to protect its own.

German Silva, a political scientist at Santiago’s Universidad Mayor, said the pope’s comments were a “tremendous error” that will reverberate in Chile and beyond.

Patricio Navia, political science professor at Diego Portales University in Santiago, said Francis had gone much further than Chilean bishops in acknowledging the sexual abuse scandal, which many Chileans appreciated.

“Then right before leaving, Francis turns around and says: ‘By the way, I don’t think Barros is guilty. Show me some proof,”‘ Navia said, adding that the comment will probably erase any good will the pope had won over the issue.

Navia said the Karadima scandal had radically changed how Chileans view the church.

“In the typical Chilean family, parents (now) think twice before sending their kids to Catholic school because you never know what is going to happen,” Navia said.

HT: W.M.

50 years ago: Churches' call to keep up with the modern world sound suspiciously like what you hear from the Church Growth Movement today

In 1967 Canada was still an ostensibly "Christian" nation, as least as far as the culture was concerned. The biggest mainline Protestant denominations--the United Church of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada--were just a couple of years past their peaks in membership, and although already on the road to apostasy, were still influential in Canadian society. National mainline church assemblies still received national media coverage.

The following articles--two concerning the national synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, and two on a Roman Catholic congress on theological renewal--are notable for reporting urgings from speakers and church leaders to keep up with the times. This is the same sort of message that "evangelical" churches have been hearing from the Church Growth Movement for the last 25-30 years or so: things have changed so much that the old ways must be done away with, and we must keep in step with the modern world. The mainline churches' attempts to be relevant and in step with the times have had the ironic and unintended result of continuing declines in membership and continuing irrelevance. As the old saying goes, I'd rather be part of a church that's 500 years behind the times and doesn't care than one that's 5 minutes behind the times and is constantly scrambling to catch up.

The following Canadian Press report was published in The Edmonton Journal, August 22, 1967:

Ottawa (CP) - The world is increasingly more skeptical about the Christian Church but the church is trying hard to adjust to the demands of modern times.

This was the view expressed Monday at a news conference on the eve of the 10-day general synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, in effect the national church's parliament.

The church's proposed union with the United Church of Canada is to be a major topic at the synod. The proposed union could drive some Anglicans into the Roman Catholic Church, it was suggested Monday.

"Every church feels we're all shook up," said Most Rev. Howard H. Clark, Archbishop of Rupert's Land and Primate of All Canada.

The church had fallen behind the rapid developments in the world because it "hasn't been concerned with first things." It had had a "pretty facade over life."

But despite its apparent slowness to deal with modern problems the church is "making a tremendous effort to adjust to the 20th century," said Rt. Rev. G.P. Gower, Bishop of New Westminster, who with Bishop H.R. Hunt of Toronto, joined the primate at the conference.

Young people, the primate said, have "never been so serious" and were "much more interested in the basic questions of life" than were his generation.

"The world is increasingly skeptical of churches," Archbishop Clark said. "But I have never seen so many young people concerned for...the value of life."

Bishop Gower said he thinks the Christian religion has been a "whipping boy" but "I think the tide is turning." Even in university circles there was a growing understanding of the church.

The primate said he expects it will be at least 10 years before union of Anglicans with the United Church of Canada becomes a reality.

He said there have been misgivings in his church about union and that there is the possibility that some Anglicans will want to join the Roman Catholic Church rather than worship under a union church.

The union question is expected to be the subject of lively debate at the synod sessions starting formally today at Saint Paul University, a Roman Catholic institution formed in 1965 that houses the theology and canon law faculties that formally were under the University of Ottawa.

As reported by Canadian Press and published in The Edmonton Journal, August 25, 1967:

Ottawa (CP) - Christian missionaries are still operating as in the heyday of the British Empire, the general synod of the Anglican Church of Canada was told Thursday.

Rt. Rev. R.S. Dean, executive officer of the Anglican communion on leave from the Canadian diocese of Cariboo, said the church must face the challenge of the modern world.

"The whole world and the whole church are in the grip of revolution and there is nothing that can hold it back," Bishop Dean said as the synod began an assessment of its missionary work.

He called for a complete reassessment of the church's missionary function and a greater attempt to meet the "fluid situation" in the world today.

The 10-day synod, which Wednesday adopted a new canon permitting re-marriage in the church of divorced persons, was warned not to preoccupy itself with "canons which box us in when God is unboxed."

The church should stress its worship because that is "what really holds the church together."

Bishop Dean was named executive officer two years ago for a five-year term. His headquarters are in London, England...

...Bishop Dean later called for abolition of the synod's upper house and criticized procedures he said were unrealistic.

"Let's live in the real world and not the Alice in Wonderland world," he urged the more than 250 synod delegates.

The synod has two houses. The upper house comprises the bishops and archbishops of the churches of 28 dioceses as well as retired bishops who are not engaged in secular work.

The sessions of the lower house--members are clergy and lay delegates--are open, but when the bishops meet alone, their deliberations are closed.

The union between the Anglican and United churches never did come about, despite a serious effort to accomplish it in the late 1960s-early '70s. It hardly matters; the vestments and titles may be slightly different, but the apostasy is about the same.

The young people whom Archbishop Clark praises for their seriousness are now the aging Baby Boomers. As boomer Michael Medved said, it was the first generation that had to find a reason to go to work. The things that Archbishop Clark said about the Baby Boomers are the same things that are being said in "evangelical" churches about the Millennials today.

It's an indication of how times have changed that one of the steps the Anglican Church of Canada took in 1967 to keep up with the times was to allow divorced people to get remarried in the church. Since then, the Anglican and other mainline churches have gone in a continuous downward direction: allowing divorced and remarried men to become leaders; putting women in positions of leadership; opening fellowship to non-practicing, and then practicing sodomites and lesbians, and those of the latest alphabet perversion; putting such perverts in positions of leadership; and recognizing and then performing "marriages" of such perverts. Thus do the mainline "Protestant" churches keep up with the modern world.

"Evangelical" denominations such as the Christian & Missionary Alliance are a few decades behind the mainline churches, but they're heading in the same direction, and if they're heading in the same direction, they're going to end up in the same place.

At the same time the Anglican Church of Canada general synod was taking place in Ottawa, a Roman Catholic congress on theological renewal was being held in Toronto . As reported by Canadian Press and published in The Edmonton Journal, August 22, 1967:

Toronto (CP) - As societies and civilizations change and develop, problems of living as Christians also change and develop, a Roman Catholic expert on moral theology said Monday.

He was speaking to delegates to an international conference on renewal of the church.

Enda McDonagh, 37, professor of moral theology at St. Patrick's College in Maynooth, Ireland said:

"Today the problems and possibilities of common worship with other Christians, of mixed marriage, of living in various pluralist societies, of the bomb, of population and segregation and so on have replaced earlier and different problems. They pose new questions...and demand new answers in which the basic God-man and man-man relationship revealed in Christ is maintained."

The right answers must be based on the inherited wisdom of previous generations, yet be "new answers for new people with new problems."

"This is the task of the whole Christian community, to provide these answers by using all the resources of the community. Every member of the community has an obligation to contribute to arriving at these answers."

It is the task of the church, he suggested, "to provide a unifying service in the community, to articulate authoritatively and in some instances definitely the community understanding and pronounce it in genuine continuity with the historic."

Rev. Etienne Gilson, 83-year-old founder of the Pontifical Institute on Medieval Studies, told a congress conference that new proofs of the existence of God will continue to be discovered "as long as human understandings will spontaneously form in themselves, and realize as meaningful, that notion of a supreme being."

More than 2,000 invited delegates are participating in the congress, the centennial project of Canadain bishops. Another 3,000 persons are watching some of the proceedings on closed-circuit television in two halls.

Renewal of the Christian church--if renewal means "bringing things up to date"--can only be accomplished after a renewal in theology, Rev. Bernard Lonergan told the congress.

The 63-year-old Jesuit teacher from Toronto's Regis College said theology began to lose its touch in the 17th century when dogmatic theology emerged. It was a theology which emphasized the certainties of faith, and in which the search for an intelligent understanding of faith was minimized.

As reported by Canadian Press and published in The Edmonton Journal, August 25, 1967:

Toronto - A Canadian minister and a priest challenged a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church Thursday to open the church to public scrutiny.

The challenge came near the end of a congress on the theology of church renewal, which brought 44 of the world's leading theologians to Toronto for five days.

Earlier a woman philosopher from England, told the Congress that Roman Catholic Church handling of sexuality amounts to a set of rules and "a lot of slush about love and family life."

Franz Cardinal Koenig, 62-year-old Archbishop of Vienna and a church liberal, had said in the last speech heard by 2,000 invited delegates that the church must become "more transparent," that it must open itself to communication with its people and with the world.

Rev. A.C. Forrest, editor of the United Church Observer and member of a five-man panel which commented on the cardinal's address, said he was troubled by a reference to "transparency and partial transparency" and would like it explained.

Rev. Raymond Durocher of the Canadian Register, a Catholic newspaper, said: " The message of God was transparent on the cross at Calvary."

He asked why the church is not as fully transparent.

"That is not alone the task of the church," the cardinal replied. "It is the task of the journalist to probe and to make transparent."

It was on that note of questioning that the congress on the theology of renewal of the church ended after speakers from 15 countries had tried to fulfill its purpose of coping "with some of the serious problems of contemporary religious thinking" and to create in North Americans a greater interest in theology.

The congress, organized by the Institute for Medieval Studies, a Roman Catholic research organization at the University of Toronto, was the centennial project of the conference of Canadian bishops.

Earlier Thursday the discussion on the church's attitude to sex was led by Elizabeth Anscombe, a married Catholic laywoman and a fellow of Somerville College, Oxford, England.

The church, when it talks of sexuality, says: "Outside marriage, sexual acts are excluded; within marriage, spouses may always uses their rights...over one another's bodies."

To make such a teaching "less negative, even heartless," the church talks of marriage as a sacrament and a vocation.

"We enter upon marriage to please ourselves, not as people entering upon a vocation."

It is possible that the church's teaching on contraception will remain unrevoked and unamended, said Miss Anscombe, wife of English philosopher Peter Geach.

"It would then become a dead letter like the teaching...on usury."

Rev. Bernard Haring, a German theologian based in Rome, said in a separate paper on the family that the fundamental problems of marriage change as the world situation changes.

"The canonically legal approach to the question of marital rights must be reconsidered in the light of the contemporary social background," he said.

There is a conviction in all structures of modern life that "life does not regulate itself; man has to do it, using all his insights, energies and skills." This is a consideration that must be made toward birth control, he said.

Pope Francis appoints an abortionist to the Pontifical Academy of Life

I don't know Italian, so I had to rely on Google Translate for this post; I apologize for any awkwardness in the translation. As reported (originally in Italian) by Franca Giansoldati in the Rome newspaper Il Messagero (The Messenger), June 14, 2017:

Storm in the Vatican. In 1994 Pope Wojtyla with Motu Proprio Vitae Mysterium established a Pontifical Life Academy, open to scholars of any nationality and religious faith, to promote research aimed at strengthening the defense of life "in direct relation to Christian morality and the directives of the Church Magisterium ". At 23 years, something seems to have been jammed, at least judging the list of members appointed by Pope Francis, under the guidance of Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, president of the academy. Surprisingly among the illustrious names listed there is that of professor Nigel Biggar, an Anglican moralist theologian, a famous professor at Oxford University, who is an abortionist. Of him are known some moral studies related to a possible abortive line at 18 weeks of the fetus, certified brain activity and consciousness. Of course, for Catholic morality and for the Academy of Life, called to defend the very moment of conception, it was a tough blow. The name of Professor Nigel before arriving on the Pope's table for the honorary assignment was studied by Monsignor Paglia and sent to the Secretariat of State. Evidently even in that place something was omitted and so the name slipped through the control loops, contrary to other names of ultra liberal scholars, also proposed by Straw as members of the Academy of Life but rejected in the inner circle .

The Vatican embarrassment is now palpable. Also because in the Statute of the Academy, in Article 6, it is clear and clear that the new academics (doctors, biologists, theologians, jurists, philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists) are invited to sign the "Certification of the Servants of Life" . Which means that "the quality of Academic is lost in the case of a public and deliberate action or public statement contradicting these principles". In short, another mess for Pope Francis to break in record time, as he already mounts an underground protest from the conservative part of the Church that has long been concerned about the changes - they say - to doctrine and perpetually seeking pretexts to arise. Meanwhile, Professor Nigel Biggar, who ended up in social media dust and targeted by critical articles on his open-minded appraisal of voluntary interruption of pregnancy, replied Twitter saying that his liberal past on abortion is known, but the reason for the Which was named by the Academy of Life is his "opposition to assisted suicide".

One lesson from this is, as always, never trust a Jesuit.

Vatican astronomer's views seem to be based more on science fiction than on the Bible

On September 18, 2015, Pope Francis--a Jesuit--named American Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno to be the new director of the Vatican Observatory, replacing yet another Jesuit, Father Jose Funes of Argentina. As reported by Carol Glatz of Catholic News Service, September 18, 2015:

...Brother Consolmagno is a planetary scientist who has studied meteorites and asteroids as an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory since 1993.

He had been serving as president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, coordinator of public relations and curator of the Vatican meteorite collection in Castel Gandolfo, one of the largest in the world.

A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brother Consolmagno was a post-doctorate lecturer at Harvard College Observatory and at M.I.T. before serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in Kenya where he taught physics and astronomy. He entered the Jesuit order in 1989 when he was in his late 30s.

His research focuses on meteorites, asteroids and the origin and evolution of small bodies in the solar system.

He was honored for his work by the International Astronomical Union in 2000 with the naming of an asteroid after him, the "4597 Consolmagno," a small, 12-mile-wide rock orbiting near the sun.

Author of numerous books on science and faith, he received the prestigious Carl Sagan Medal in 2014 for his ability to communicate accurately and clearly the discoveries of planetary science to the general public.

The same day the Vatican announced Brother Consolmagno's appointment, Pope Francis met with the observatory staff and guests taking part in a special symposium sponsored by the papal astronomers...

...Pope Francis encouraged continued and deeper dialogue between science and religion, underlining the special role scientific research can have in promoting interreligious dialogue, "which is more urgent than ever today..."

As reported by Dennis Sadowski of Catholic News Service, September 19, 2015:

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, the new president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, has no doubt that life exists elsewhere in the universe and that when humanity discovers it, the news will come as no big surprise.

He suggested that the likely discovery -- whether next month or a millennium from now -- will be received much the way that news of planets orbiting far off stars has filtered in since the 1990s.

"The general public is going to be, 'Oh, I knew that. I knew it was going to be there,'" Brother Consolmagno told Catholic News Service prior to a presentation at a NASA/Library of Congress symposium on preparing for the discovery of life in the universe Sept. 18-19.

A planetary scientist who has studied meteorites and asteroids as an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory since 1993, Brother Consolmagno said he hopes the questions about life on other planets will focus more on how humanity sees itself.

"When we say human, human as compared to what?" he asked.

While the discovery of life elsewhere will not prove nor disprove the existence of God, Brother Consolmagno expects that it will open the door to ponder what form salvation history may take in other intelligent societies.

The longtime Vatican astronomer addresses the same question and a series of others that cross the threshold between science and religion in a new book, "Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? ... and Other Strange Questions From the Inbox at the Vatican Observatory," set to be published in October. Co-written by Jesuit Father Paul Mueller, another Vatican Observatory astronomer, the book uses a series of easy-to-read conversations between the two in an effort to explain how the church supports science and provide insight into how religion works...

...In his presentation Sept. 19 bearing the same title as his new book, Brother Consolmagno suggested the idea of discovering extraterrestrial life may be so appealing to humanity, with all its pain, injustice and disease, that there is hope that "any race advanced enough to cross the stars to visit us must also be advanced enough to show us how to overcome all those human ills. They look to the aliens to be saviors of mankind."

Other symposium participants from around the world involved in searching for life on other planets addressed topics such as how society should cope with the discovery, astrobiology and theology, the moral status of non-human organisms and moving beyond preconceptions of what life is.

An avid reader of science fiction, Brother Consolmagno will receive the Carl Sagan Medal from the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in November. The award is being given for his work in communicating planetary science to the general public.

As reported by Wisconsin Public Radio, September 22, 2015:

Consolmagno, who is a graduate of MIT and has been working at the observatory since 1993, has spoken out frequently on the possibility of extraterrestrial life and doesn’t believe that being human is a prerequisite for believing in God.

According to Consolmagno, the "image" of God as described in the Bible is an idea, not a literal physical likeness.

"An entity is aware of itself, aware of other entities and able to make choices maybe to love or not love, to interact or not interact. That’s the essence of what the image and likeness of God is about. It has nothing to do with how many tentacles you have," he said.

As Consolmagno has said before, "Any entity -- no matter how many tentacles it has -- has a soul."

To those who wonder if this is out of step with Roman Catholic theology, Consolmagno points to the fact that the faith is already filled with supernatural intelligent beings: Angels. In addition to not being human, he said angels are also "intelligent beings free to choose or not choose creations of the Creator."

Consolmagno admits that his fascination with these topics is driven not only by his love of science, but also by his love of science fiction. He was initially attracted to MIT for his doctoral work because of their large science fiction library. He said he enjoys the large questions being asked in both science and religion, and sees the challenges presented by both as a good thing.

"A religion that doesn’t challenge you is not much of a religion and, frankly, a science that doesn’t challenge you is not much of a science," he said.

One "extraterrestrial" whom Brother Consolmagno is probably not expecting to see is the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be coming back to Earth from Heaven (Zechariah 14:2-5; Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27; Acts 1:11) to rule as King.

The perceptive reader will notice that Brother Consolmagno's choice for Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a place to pursue his doctorate was initiated not by a desire for greater knowledge of God's creation, but by MIT's large library of science fiction, and it's science fiction, not the Bible, from which he derives his beliefs about intelligent life on other worlds. As for angels, scripture says:

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14 (NIV)

Never trust a Jesuit.

HT: Dracul Van Helsing

60 years ago: The death of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:1-5

On April 10, 1955, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest and philosopher, died at the age of 73. Father Teilhard trained as a paleontologist and geologist and believed in evolution, rejecting the biblical account of creation; he now knows better.

Fr. Teilhard was involved in the discovery of Peking Man in the 1920s and '30s, and has been accused of involvement in the Piltdown Man hoax of 1912. He conceived what he called the Omega Point, a point where man would merge into godhood; such views have earned Fr. Teilhard the nickname "Father of the New Age."

Antichrist Ambrose University College continues on its downward, leftward, and Romeward course

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Matthew 7:17-19

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:29-30

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. II Corinthians 6:14-18

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:11

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. II John 9-11

It comes as no surprise to this blogger to find that, thanks to Brannon Howse's Worldview Weekend broadcast (with guest Mike Gendron) of March 3, 2014, Ambrose University College in Calgary, Alberta, the denominational school for both the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada and Church of the Nazarene Canada, is using its Global Impact Week of March 4-8, 2014 to engage in ecumenical activities with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary. I've been warning about Ambrose for five years (see links at the bottom of this post), and predicted that the college would go in an increasingly Romeward direction when Jesuit-educated Gordon T. Smith was named President in 2012. From Ambrose's home page item on Global Impact Week (See also the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary item):

March 4 – 8, 2014
“Catholics and Evangelicals in God’s Mission – Together”
Ambrose University College and the Calgary Catholic Diocese

Keynote Speakers:

Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP is Director of the Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in Washington, DC. He did his graduate studies in theology at the Washington (D.C.) Theological Union and the University of Geneva. Ordained a Paulist in 1975, he served in campus ministry at the Ohio State University (Columbus) and at McGill University (Montreal, QC.), prior to directing the Montreal-based Canadian Centre for Ecumenism for 14 years and working in all ten provinces of Canada. He spearheaded the founding of Unitas in Montreal, an ecumenical center for spirituality and Christian meditation co-sponsored by eight different denominations.

Rev. Dr. Gordon T. Smith is President and Professor of Systematic and Spiritual Theology at Ambrose University College and Seminary, in Calgary, Alberta. Previously he served as Vice President and Dean of Regent College, Vancouver; more recently, he has been the President of reSource Leadership International. He is an ordained minister with The Christian and Missionary Alliance, and served with the Alliance as an international worker in the Philippines. He has been the senior pastor of two congregations and is the author of a number of publications, including Called to Be Saints: An Invitation to Christian Maturity (IVP, 2013) and Courage and Calling: Maximizing your God-given Potential, rev. (IVP, 2011).

Why this topic?

“Catholics and Evangelicals in God’s Mission—Together” is an unprecedented opportunity to come together to talk about Christian unity and mission. Church unity is a global issue that matters: Jesus prayed in the closing hours of his life for the unity of his followers, and the church’s vocation is to be a sign in our world of God’s reconciling power. The truth is that Evangelicals and Catholics share much more in common than not. The events, talks, and opportunities of Global Impact Week 2014 invite us to rejoice in the gifts of God present in our Christian communities and affirm our shared mission.

Tuesday Chapel, March 4 – 11:15am

Dr. Gordon T. Smith: “ONE LORD, ONE FAITH—ONE MISSION, THE MISSION OF GOD”

With all the diversity between church traditions, it is vital that we affirm our common faith, in response to one Lord – Jesus, the Christ. From this affirmation two things follow: we resolve to learn from each other; we resolve to witness together, in word and deed, to the reign of Christ.


Chapel, March 6 – 11:15am

Fr. Tom Ryan: “THE SPIRITUAL GIFT EXCHANGE”

Some gifts from different traditions of Christian faith--Protestant, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Orthodox, Catholic –will be lifted up in the spirit of "receptive ecumenism" with an eye towards an exchange of Spirit-given gifts for the growth and development of disciples in each tradition.


Thursday Evening March 6, 7PM Public Lecture

Fr. Tom Ryan: “CATHOLICS AND EVANGELICALS: LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD, ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP”

An overview of each of our origins and theological tendencies: differences that can’t be ignored, commonalities we share, and creative challenges we offer one another for our mutual enrichment.


Friday Evening March 7, 7PM Public Lecture (Location: St. Anthony’s Church, 5340 4 St SW)

Dr. Gordon T. Smith: “VATICAN II – FIFTY YEARS LATER: AN EVANGELICAL RESPONSE”

Vatican II is one of the most significant church councils in the history of the church – significant for all Christians, not just Catholics; it opened up new learnings and an extraordinary opportunity for conversation between Christians of diverse traditions, including Evangelicals and Catholics. (Note: For students wishing to attend this lecture and “The 17th Avenue Post-Vatican II Friday Night Food-Fest,” bus leaves Ambrose at 6:15 pm. See “Student Events” section for more details.)


Saturday Morning, March 8, 10AM Public Forum at Ambrose

Dr. Gordon Smith & Fr. Tom Ryan: “ECUMENISM AND EVANGELIZATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES”

This session will be an informal discussion of obstacles, opportunities, and unique challenges for Catholics and Evangelicals where they are called into mission together. For example: What can we learn from each other about Christian mission? What mistakes have we made and what have we learned from them? Why do many evangelicals continue to proselytize Catholics, especially in developing countries? Is the reverse a problem too? Who has a vision for what practical expressions and initiative for shared mission looks like? What is the vision? (Coffee and refreshments will be served at 9:30 am.)


Tuesday, March 4 – 6:30 pm

The Serving Together Event

Ambrose and Catholic university students will be serving together at The Centre of Hope in Calgary’s East Village (420 9 Ave SE). The Centre of Hope provides life-changing social services and programmes every day, providing practical assistance for children and families, often tending to the basic necessities of life, and providing shelter for homeless people and rehabilitation for people who have lost control of their lives to an addiction. Ambrose students: Please meet in the Sylvester Atrium at 6:30 pm. Contact: Tasha Klassen, tashaklassen@yahoo.ca


Thursday, March 6 – 2:30 – 4pm

Open Class: “HEALING OURSELVES, HEALING OUR WORLD”

Open to all students regardless of program, Fr. Tom Ryan will reflect on his Reconciliation and Unity study tour to Northern Ireland; Coventry England; Geneva, Switzerland; and Taize, France—all areas of our world where people are working for healing and reconciliation. Come and get a big-picture view of inspirational things happening in our world today that could fuel your own energy and vision. Location: Classroom A2210


Friday, March 7 – 6:15 pm

The 17th Avenue Post-Vatican II Friday Night Food-Fest”

Board the bus to go hear Dr. Smith’s talk “An Evangelical Response to Vatican II” at St. Anthony’s Church, followed by a downtown food-stop at Clive Burger and The Big Cheese Poutinerie. No cost for the first 48 students who register for this event. Bus leaves in front of Sylvester Atrium at 6:15 pm. Book your free ticket by emailing: giw2014@ambrose.edu


Presented by Ambrose University College and the Calgary Catholic Diocese

The blog Muddy Streams has an informative post on the strange and definitely non-Christian resume of Fr. Thomas Ryan, CSP. I'd like to know how Ambrose U.C. knew Fr. Ryan as someone to invite for this event. It reminds me of Rick Warren bringing New Agers to Saddleback Community Church to help in his "Daniel Plan" weight-loss program in 2011. How do they know these people? Such associations strike me as very suspicious.

I have problems with some of the things mentioned above. When it comes to evangelicals and Catholics sharing "much more in common than not," the same was true of Christians and Judaizers in Galatia in the 1st century, but the apostle Paul, writing under divine inspiration, condemned the Judaizers for proclaiming a false gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). Christianity and Roman Catholicism don't share a "common faith."

The question is asked above, "Why do evangelicals continue to proselytize, especially in developing countries?". The perceptive reader will notice that this is presented as a "problem." I prefer the word "evangelize"--"proselytize" seems to carry a connotation of coercion. The reason that evangelism is still done among Roman Catholics in backward nations developing countries is because the missionaries are often those who, like the Reformers, were Roman Catholics, and when they heard the true gospel, realized that they weren't saved within Roman Catholicism, came to saving faith in Jesus Christ, and then left the Roman Catholic Church.

Many people, including Christians, are under the erroneous impression that the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) resulted in the Roman Catholic Church becoming more liberal in its doctrine, but that just isn't so. From Lumen Gentium--Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, November 21, 1964:

CHAPTER VII

THE ESCHATOLOGICAL NATURE OF THE PILGRIM CHURCH
AND ITS UNION WITH THE CHURCH IN HEAVEN

...

51. This Sacred Council accepts with great devotion this venerable faith of our ancestors regarding this vital fellowship with our brethren who are in heavenly glory or who having died are still being purified; and it proposes again the decrees of the Second Council of Nicea,...the Council of Florence...and the Council of Trent.

The Council of Trent was the Counter-Reformation council that took place between 1545-1564. For a sample of the doctrines that the council promulgated, go to The Council of Trent: The canons and decrees of the sacred and oecumenical Council of Trent, Ed. and trans. J. Waterworth (London: Dolman, 1848): SESSION THE SEVENTH, Celebrated on the third day of the month of March, MDXLVII: DECREE ON THE SACRAMENTS, pp.54-58. These pages contain canons on sacraments in general, and canons on baptism and confirmation. In these few pages you will see several dozen anathemas--ecclesiastical curses accompanied by excommunication--against the Biblical gospel. The passage from Vatican II cited above says that the decrees of the Council of Trent are still official Roman Catholic teachings today.

Global Impact Week is just the latest example of Ambrose's ecumenism. Go to Ambrose's Chapel Schedule Winter 2014, look at the entry for January 23, 2014, and you'll see that Ambrose's chapel speaker that day was Adrian Martens, Coordinator of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary. Mr. Martens is the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary's contact person for Ambrose's Global Impact Week; he was speaking during Ambrose's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

And what is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity? It's an ecumenical event with Roman Catholic roots. Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute, A Ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, has this to say about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity:

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
(January 18–25, 2014)

Has Christ Been Divided?
(cf. 1 Corinthians 1:13)

The Church Unity Octave, a forerunner of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, was developed by Father Paul Wattson, SA, at Graymoor in Garrison, New York, and was first observed at Graymoor from January 18-25, 1908. Today, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity invites the whole Christian community throughout the world to pray in communion with the prayer of Jesus “that they all may be one” (John 17:21).

In 1966, the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Vatican Secretariat (now Council) for Promoting Christian Unity began collaborating as a common international text for worldwide usage. Since 1968 these international texts, which are based on themes proposed by ecumenical groups around the world, have been developed, adapted and published for use in the United States by the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute. The theme of the 2014 Week of Prayer, ‘Has Christ been divided?’ was chosen and worked upon by the Christian Churches in Canada.

On the theme for 2014, GEII says:

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2014

Chosen Theme: Has Christ Been Divided?
(cf. 1 Corinthians 1:13)

The 2014 theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity finds its origins in 1 Corinthians 1:1-17. The traditional period in the northern hemisphere for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is 18-25 January. Those dates were proposed in 1908 by Paul Wattson to cover the original days of the feasts of the Chair of St. Peter (January 18) and the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25) , and therefore have a symbolic significance. The initial work on the theme for this year’s week of prayer material was prepared by a group of representatives from different parts of Canada, brought together at the invitation of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism and the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism. The texts were approved at a meeting of the International Committee composed of members of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, and the Pontifical Council for Promoting of Christian Unity. Being faithful to Christ’s desire for the unity of his disciples, has led to this year’s theme which focuses on Saint Paul’s provocative question in 1 Corinthians: “Has Christ Been Divided?” We continue to be divided by doctrine, polity, and practice, and to maintain our own religious identity, yet our pilgrimage towards unity continues under God’s guidance.

The statements and information packages regarding the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are identical for the World Council of Churches and the Vatican. For the statement from the WCC, go here; for the statement from the Vatican, go here. For the information package from the WCC, go here; for the information package from the Vatican, go here.

Here's what the Canadian Council of Churches said about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity:

Launch of Human Trafficking Resource & Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Celebrated in Calgary

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an internationally celebrated time of prayer, reflection, and study bringing together Christians from across denominations and around the world. This year’s materials were prepared by a Canadian writing team and focus on a theme from Corinthians, “Has Christ Been Divided?” Major Canadian celebrations include a series of Calgary. The Rev. Victor Kim of local host Grace Presbyterian Church notes, “It’s a chance for us to discuss and celebrate what we all have in common, identify what role our beliefs have in today’s ever-changing society, and how it can apply to everyday teachings and situations.” A number of officiants from across Alberta will lead prayer and discussions.

This week will also see The Canadian Council of Churches present its leadership and learning kit for churches on human trafficking in Canada. This resource facilitates adult learning, theological reflection, and common action on human trafficking through a series of reflections, awareness raising exercises, bible studies, and background materials. “With rising incidences across the globe, and within our own borders, we need to understand that human trafficking is human rights abuse, economic injustice, violence; and organized crime,” says The Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton, General Secretary of The Canadian Council of Churches. She continues, “As a national council, we have heard from all churches of Christian faith across the country in their desire to become educated in the signs and solutions for human trafficking in our country.” Rev. Hamilton will be in Calgary to preach at an ecumenical gathering on Sunday, January 19th.

All are welcome at the Week of Prayer events listed below, including the public launch of Human Trafficking in Canada: A Leadership and Learning Kit for Churches.

For more information, please contact the Rev. Victor Kim at 403.244.5861.

Events

Sunday, January 19 7:00 PM
Grace Presbyterian Church. 1009 – 15 Ave. S.W.
Evening Grace Worship
Officiant: The Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton, General Secretary, The Canadian Council of Churches

Monday, January 20 Noon
Press Conference with Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton
Public Launch of “Human Trafficking in Canada: A Leadership and Learning Kit for Churches”
A resource from the Canadian Council of Churches
Grace Presbyterian Church

Tuesday, January 21 7:00 PM
Prince of Faith Lutheran Church. 2523 – 56 St. N.E.
Officiant: Pastor Scott Peterson

Wednesday, January 22 12:00 PM
University of Calgary
The Loft – 4th Floor McEwan Center, University of Calgary
Officiants: The University of Calgary Chaplains

Wednesday, January 22 7:00 PM
“Conversations of unCommon Grace”
Screening of human trafficking documentary “Not My Life”
And conversation with representatives from Action Coalition on Human Trafficking, ACT Alberta
Grace Presbyterian Church
Information and tickets: www.uncommongrace.ca

Thursday, January 23 11:15 AM
Ambrose University College Chapel Service. 150 Ambrose Circle S.W.
Officiant: Adrian Martens

Thursday, January 23 7:00 PM
St. Mary’s Cathedral. 219 – 18 Ave. S.W.
Officiant: Bishop Fred Henry

Sunday, January 26 7:00 PM (preceded by international/intercultural dinner at 6:00 PM)
St. Matthew’s United Church. 2035 – 26A St. S.W.
Officiant: Pastor Vincent Yellow Old Woman, Siksika Nation

On January 15, 2014

While the abolition of human trafficking is a worthy cause, it's not a cause that's distinctively Christian. However worthy the cause may be, the World Council of Churches and Canadian Council of Churches (which is part of the WCC) are notoriously liberal and apostate, and real Christians should have nothing to do with these bodies or any of their initiatives.

It hardly needs mentioning that the Roman Catholic Church's idea of "Christian unity" is to bring "separated brethren" back into the fold of the Roman Catholic Church. When the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church invoke I Corinthians 1:17 to ask, "Has Christ Been Divided?," my answer is that Christ hasn't been divided, but the Roman Catholic Church and the liberal churches in the WCC and CCC aren't part of the body of Christ. While Christ hasn't been divided, Christ Himself does divide: He divides families (Matthew 10:34-36); true from false (John 8:12-55); the church from the world (John 17:9); and sheep from goats (Matthew 25:31-46). Any real Christians who are still in the Roman Catholic Church or churches in the WCC or CCC should "come out and be separate."

HT: Worldview Weekend

See my previous posts on Ambrose:

Why is an Alliance-Nazarene college named after a Roman Catholic saint? (March 2, 2009)

The Ambrose-contemplative connection (March 4, 2009)

Ambrose University College trains Nazarene pastors using materials from a company with ties to Mormonism (March 6, 2009)

Ambrose University College and "Transformation" (March 6, 2009)

The Outhouse (aka The Shack) in God's house (May 5, 2009)

Ambrose Seminary teaches contemplative spirituality in 2009-2010 (February 24, 2010)

Ambrose University College hires Jesuit-educated contemplative spirituality proponent as its new president (May 30, 2012)

Ambrose University College's "Jazz Day" provides evidence of increasing worldliness in evangelical schools (March 5, 2014)

February 15, 2015 update: They're at it again. Ambrose's Chapel message for January 15, 2015 was Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The speaker was Don Bolen, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.