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| UN Chief: Christians Who Don’t Accept MAPs Will Be Excluded From Society. |
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Posted by: ThyWillBeDone - 08-10-2023, 12:58 PM - Forum: Anti-Catholic Violence
- Replies (1)
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UN Chief: Christians Who Don’t Accept MAPs Will Be Excluded From Society.
The United Nations has warned Christians that if they do not fully embrace the legalization of pedophilia, they will be excluded from participating in society.
In a disturbing new declaration, UN expert Victor Madrigal-Borloz says religious freedom can only be tolerated if religious people fully embrace the globalist agenda, including radical LGBTQ+ ideology.
The LGBTQ+ ideology the UN is pushing originates from a report issued earlier this year that calls for the decriminalization of sex between adults and minors.
https://thepeoplesvoice.tv/un-chief-chri...om-society
T.me/LetThereBeLightNow
T.me/LetThereBeLightChat
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| Archbishop Viganò: Pope Francis wants to create a ‘schism’ |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-09-2023, 05:04 AM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
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Archbishop Viganò: Pope Francis wants to create a ‘schism’ by excommunicating Latin Mass devotees
Pope Francis 'has placed in key positions in the Roman Curia those characters who guarantee the worst possible management of the dicasteries entrusted to them, with the worst possible result and the greatest damage to the ecclesial body,' Viganò said.
![[Image: Vigano_and_Pope_Francis-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Vigano_and_Pope_Francis-810x500.jpg)
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Pope Francis
Mon Jul 24, 2023
(LifeSiteNews [emphasis mine - slightly adapted]) –– The outspoken former apostolic nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has argued that Pope Francis is looking to corral devotees of the traditional Mass into the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and then excommunicate the Society.
Speaking with veteran Italian journalist Aldo Maria Valli in a July 15 interview, Archbishop Viganò commented on the recent cardinal-designates announced by Pope Francis and the Pope’s moves against the traditional Mass.
The archbishop stated that the Pope was looking to “create the premises for a schism, which he denies and deplores in words, but which he has been preparing for some time.”
Such a move, argued Viganò, would be “to separate, in one way or another, the good part of the faithful and clerics from the official Church; and to achieve this, to ensure that they distance themselves from the modernist Sanhedrin, he [Pope Francis] has placed in key positions in the Roman Curia those characters who guarantee the worst possible management of the dicasteries entrusted to them, with the worst possible result and the greatest damage to the ecclesial body.”
To this perceived end, Viganò suggested that the Pope’s restrictions on the traditional Mass were part of a larger move aimed at orchestrating a de facto schism.
This could be achieved by channelling traditional Catholics into the SSPX, he argued, and then issuing an “intolerable provocation” that would “force at least one faction of the Society of Saint Pius X to distance themselves from Bergoglian Rome, sanctioning the ‘excommunication’ of traditionalism, no longer represented within the official Church, if it ever was.”
He argued:
Quote:The progressive restrictions on the celebration of the ancient liturgy serve to confine conservatives to hunting reserves, in order to then channel them towards the Society of Saint Pius X, as soon as the Synod leads the doctrinal, moral and disciplinary changes that are in the pipeline to their tragic consequences, causing an exodus of Catholics into what, after the suppression or normalization of the Ecclesia Dei Institutes, will become the “monopolist” of Tradition.
But at that point — that is, when the traditional Catholics have migrated into the Society and its leaders believe they have won a victory over the competition from the suppressed Summorum Pontificum — a new intolerable provocation will force at least one faction of the Society of Saint Pius X to distance themselves from Bergoglian Rome, sanctioning the “excommunication” of traditionalism, no longer represented within the official Church, if it ever was. For this reason, in my opinion, it is important to maintain a certain fragmentation, in order to make the malicious maneuver of expelling traditional Catholics from the ecclesial body more complex.
Highlighting Pope Francis’ promotion of heterodox prelates—such as Cardinal-designate Victor Manuel Fernández—Viganò stated that the Pope’s aim is “to create confrontation, let it grow, encourage the supporters of the most extreme requests with appointments and promotions.” This, he stated, would lead to a “predictable reaction of condemnation” from the “few good remaining bishops, priests, and religious,” who by doing so would encounter “Bergoglio’s trap door.”
They would then “have two choices: either to return to suffer in silence, or or to stand up, denounce the betrayal of Catholic Truth, and be forced to leave one’s post and exercise the ministry clandestinely or at least in apparent canonical irregularity.”
By this method, “the Bergoglian hierarchy will be able to exercise full control over the clergy and people, certain of the obedience of those who remain,” Viganò argued. “And this sect, which will only have the name of Catholic (and perhaps not even that anymore), will totally eclipse the Bride of the Lamb, in the paradox of a traitorous and corrupt Hierarchy that abuses Christ’s authority to destroy his Church.”
The archbishop expanded on these statements in a subsequent conversation with Valli, in which Viganò recalled how Pope Francis had already stated “I am not afraid of schisms.” Viganò commented:
Quote:And while he [Francis] stated that “schismatics always have one thing in common, they detach themselves from people, from the faith of the people, from the faith of the people of God,” he added: “The morality of ideology leads you to rigidity, and today we have so many schools of rigidity within the Church, which are not schisms, but they are pseudo-schismatic Christian ways that will end badly: when you see rigid Christians, bishops, and priests, there are problems behind them, there is not the sanity of the Gospel.” As usual, he accused Catholics of doing what he himself was about to do.
Referring to Pope Francis’ July 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, Archbishop Viganò argued that the text was a means to effect such a plan of fomenting a schism. To this, he added the current practice of how “the Vatican does not hesitate to limit the rights of Bishops to prevent them from helping certain traditional communities to survive, [and] it significantly extends the rights of other Bishops beyond the law – by sanating the irregularities and abuses of its own lackeys – whenever it serves to suppress and persecute such communities.”
“To this we may add the Constitution Vultum Dei Quærere and the Instruction Cor Orans, with which Bergoglio has deprived monastic communities of their autonomy and arranged them into federations under the strict control of ultra-progressives – along with Chinese-style reprogramming – of the self-styled Dicastery for Religious,” he continued.
What about an impending schism?
When questioned by Valli about what devotees of the traditional liturgy and faith should do when such devotion is deemed to be increasingly hostile to the current Vatican program, Viganò outlined an image of an abducted Church. He stated that since the Second Vatican Council “we have become accustomed to seeing the authority of the Pastors used against the faithful and against the Church herself, all while maintaining an appearance of formal legitimacy.”
Quote:The “Council” itself – the only Council that is dear to the heart of the Modernists, because it is the only one of which they are the architects and that has nothing Catholic about it – was a colossal deception against the ecclesial body, because it maintained the authority of an Ecumenical Council while fraudulently insinuating heretical doctrines; it maintained the authority of the Council Fathers and the Roman Pontiff precisely as it was being used to demolish the Catholic edifice; it imposed blind and servile obedience to norms in contrast with the uninterrupted and immutable Magisterium.
Addressing the “abolition of the traditional Liturgy,” which he said was “intended by Paul VI using his apostolic authority,” Viganò described this action as “a fraud.”
And the current attempt to cancel Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum with an analogous Motu Proprio – apparently carrying the same canonical efficacy – is no less malicious.
Such an action – meaning Traditionis Custodes – is intended for the “ruin” of the Church and of souls, argued the outspoken prelate:
Quote:Its aim is not the good of the Church and the salvation of the faithful, but the ruin of both. On the other hand, even the accusation of blasphemy that the Sanhedrin brought against Our Lord had all the appearances of a formally unexceptionable action, even though it was intrinsically illegitimate and null, because it was used against the Divine and Innocent Legislator.
He alluded to Pope Francis’ campaign against the traditional liturgy as a form of “authoritarianism,” by which an individual governs in his own name but “not because he is a vicar of the authority of Christ.”
“This makes it a subversive power,” he said, “unchained from any duty to conform itself to the will of Christ in pursuing the common good, and for this reason it is inexorably destined to transform itself into hateful tyranny.”
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| Major Australian Banks Are Going Cashless - Forced Acceptance Of CBDCs Next? |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-08-2023, 05:11 AM - Forum: Global News
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Major Australian Banks Are Going Cashless - Forced Acceptance Of CBDCs Next?
ZH AUG 07, 2023
The core problems of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have been addressed many times here, but it may bear repeating these two facts - First, in a cashless society all privacy in trade is lost, and second, banks and governments will control access to all of your money. If such a system is allowed, it will act as a major stepping stone to technocratic authoritarianism. It's inevitable.
The Australian government and central bank have been involved in a beta test for the past year with the proliferation of CBDCs in mind. Their partnership projects with the Bank for International Settlements and pilot programs with companies like Mastercard are about to wrap up this fall, and it looks as though Aussie bureaucrats are planning to implement their cashless system very quickly after the trial run is finished.
In defense of CBDCs officials suggest that Australians are already shifting into a cashless society, citing the fact that the population went from 32% using cash to only 16% using cash in the span of three years. Of course, what they don't mention is that Australia's aggressive and draconian covid lockdowns and mandates since 2020 pushed the public into relying more on digital and online purchases.
Already, the top four banks in the country are removing over the counter cash withdrawals at most of their branches. "Special centers" will be put in place for "more complex banking needs including cash" but the overall trend will be the reduction of paper money, forcing the populace to go fully digital.
The use of CBDCs by the establishment to control the flow of money is tied directly to social engineering programs. As members of the World Economic Forum have openly admitted, governments could program CBDC usage to prevent purchases of items they deem to have a negative social impact. These restricted items could be anything from ammunition to meat. In other words, they don't have to officially "ban" certain products, all they have to do is make it impossible to buy them.
But the micromanagement goes well beyond this. There are plans to make CBDCs that "time out," compelling the public to spend them before they expire. There is also the issue of social credit scoring, which has been established in China and is creeping into western institutions. What if one day the powers-that-be decide that certain speech and certain beliefs cause "harm" to the greater collective and must be suppressed through monetary penalties? This could result in limitations on how you can use your bank account everytime you make a comment they don't like on social media. Or, it could result in your account being frozen for a period of time until you publicly apologize for your statements.
It makes sense that Australia would be one of the first western nations to adopt the cashless structure. The government was rather successful in enforcing extreme covid lockdowns with minimal public resistance, to the point that citizens in cities were under house arrest and were not even allowed to go to the parks or beaches in many cases. It's likely the the establishment sees Australians as an easy target for the first volley of cashless controls.
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| 'Disease X': UK scientists begin developing vaccines against new pandemic |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-07-2023, 06:42 AM - Forum: Health
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'Disease X': UK scientists begin developing vaccines against new pandemic
The work is being carried out at the government's high-security Porton Down laboratory complex in Wiltshire.
SkyNews | 7 August 2023
UK scientists have begun developing vaccines as an insurance against a new pandemic caused by an unknown "Disease X".
The work is being carried out at the government's high-security Porton Down laboratory complex in Wiltshire by a team of more than 200 scientists.
They have drawn up a threat list of animal viruses that are capable of infecting humans and could in future spread rapidly around the world.
Which of them will break through and trigger the next pandemic is unknown, which is why it's referred to only as "Disease X".
Sky News was escorted around the site, which is run by the UK Health Security Agency, to see the work being done in high-containment labs.
Professor Dame Jenny Harries, the head of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), told Sky News: "What we're trying to do here is ensure that we prepare so that if we have a new Disease X, a new pathogen, we have done as much of that work in advance as possible.
"Hopefully we can prevent it [a pandemic]. But if we can't and we have to respond, then we have already started developing vaccines and therapeutics to crack it."
The Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre at Porton Down has been expanded to take on the work.
Originally, it was focused on COVID and testing the effectiveness of vaccines against new variants.
But scientists at the centre are now involved in monitoring several high-risk pathogens, including bird flu, monkeypox and hantavirus, a disease spread by rodents.
![[Image: skynews-porton-down-vaccination_6242399....0806152750]](https://e3.365dm.com/23/08/2048x1152/skynews-porton-down-vaccination_6242399.jpg?20230806152750)
File photo of a high containment lab at Porton Down
One early success is the world's first vaccine against Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, a disease that's spread by ticks and has a fatality rate of 30%.
Early-stage clinical trials have just started, with 24 volunteers expected to test the jab.
The disease is becoming more common in Europe as global temperatures rise and some travellers have returned to the UK with the infection.
UK scientists have begun developing vaccines as an insurance against a new pandemic caused by an unknown ‘Disease X’. The work is being carried out at the government’s high-security Porton Down laboratory complex in Wiltshire by a team of more than 200 scientists.
Prof Harries said climate change and population shifts are making another pandemic more likely.
"What we're seeing is a rising risk globally," she said.
"Some of that is because of things like urbanisation where you may get virus jumping into humans [living close-by], as we've seen with bird flu.
"And some of it is because of climate change where you get things like ticks and mosquitoes moving to where it was previously cold and is now becoming increasingly warm.
"So this is a growing risk agenda. But it's one we can use our science actively to prevent human impact."
Bird flu is currently thought to be the most likely pandemic threat.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says at least 30,000 seabirds have died around the UK this summer as a more virulent strain of the H5N1 virus has swept around the world.
There is also evidence of limited spread in some mammals.
Bird flu is currently thought to be the most likely pandemic threat. The RSPB says at least 30,000 seabirds have died around the UK this summer as a more virulent strain of the H5N1 virus has swept around the world.
![[Image: skynews-bird-flu-vaccine-porton-down_624...0806201357]](https://e3.365dm.com/23/08/2048x1152/skynews-bird-flu-vaccine-porton-down_6242757.png?20230806201357)
Bird flu is currently thought to be the most likely pandemic threat
And four people working on poultry farms in the UK have also tested positive, but were only mildly affected.
The UKHSA has started monitoring people in close contact with birds in case it can spread without causing symptoms.
The agency is part of a global effort to develop a vaccine within 100 days of a new pathogen being recognised as having pandemic potential.
"Historically, that would be unheard of," said Prof Harries.
"It would normally take five or 10 years. For COVID it was around 360 days.
"So this is a really high ambition. But for some viruses, it is definitely possible."
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| Pope Francis says new council unnecessary as Vatican II ‘has not yet been implemented’ |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-07-2023, 05:57 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Pope Francis says new council unnecessary as Vatican II ‘has not yet been implemented’
Pope Francis again blasted traditional Catholics and said Vatican II ‘was very risky’ in a new interview.
![[Image: pope-recent-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/pope-recent-810x500.jpg)
Pope Francis addressing Portuguese leaders during his August 2023 visit
Twitter screenshot
Aug 4, 2023
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) –– In a newly released interview, Pope Francis has downplayed suggestions of a third Vatican Council, saying that Vatican II “has not yet been implemented.”
The Pope’s comments came as part of an interview he granted to the Spanish-language outlet Vida Nueva marking the 65th anniversary of the publication, to which the Pope is a subscriber.
Speaking about his reaction to ascending to the papal throne, along with topics such as the Ukraine war, “rigidity” and the Synod, Pope Francis gave the interview from his apartment at the Vatican’s Santa Martha hotel.
The current Synod on Synodality has been compared to an extension of Vatican II, and occasionally likened to a form of a third Vatican Council. Vida Nueva asked Francis about the Synod and whether he would “consider shaping the third Vatican Council?”
In response, the 86-year-old pontiff downplayed such a suggestion, arguing instead that the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) had yet to be enacted.
Quote:The time is not ripe for a Vatican Council III. And neither is it necessary at this time, since Vatican II has not yet been implemented. It was very risky and it has to be implemented. But there is always that fear that we all have been infected, unseen, by the “old Catholics” who, already at Vatican I, claimed to be “depositaries of the true faith.” All these proposals of “bad lactose” must be brought down with clear arguments. It is important to go out to meet the sophisms.
As has become commonplace, the Pope also took aim at traditional Catholics, arguing that “rigidity” was caused by fear “of the time of insecurity we are living in,” but also due to vice. He argued that the “armor” of “rigidity … hides a lot of rottenness. I have already had to intervene in some dioceses in several countries with similar parameters.”
“Behind this traditionalism, we have discovered moral problems and serious vices, double lives,” Francis continued, without expanding on what was incorporated by “traditionalism.”
Quote:We all know of bishops who, needing priests, have made use of people they had thrown out of other seminaries for immorality. I do not like rigidity because it is a bad symptom of interior life. The pastor cannot afford to be rigid. The pastor has to be ready for whatever comes.
He cited a conversion in which he had been told that “the rigidity of young priests arises because they are tired of the current relativism, but this is not always the case.” Instead, Francis called for “normal seminarians, with their problems, who play soccer, who do not go to the neighborhoods to dogmatize.”
Francis also decried individuals who “live trapped in a theology manual, incapable of getting into the problems and moving theology forward.” Such “stagnant theology,” he said, “reminds me that stagnant water is the first to be corrupted, and stagnant theology creates corruption. Both left-wing and right-wing movements that remain stagnant create corruption.”
Vatican II central theme of pontificate
Francis has made similar laudatory comments of the Second Vatican Council in a previous interview, published in March 2023 but conducted in December 2022.
Answering questions about how Vatican II is a central theme to his pontificate, Francis outlined how “I am so committed to the Council because that event was actually a visit of God to His Church.”
He continued: “The Council was one of those things that God brings about in history through holy men.”
READ: Pope claims Vatican II was ‘renewal’ of the Church ‘in tune with the signs of the times’
Francis expanded upon this claim by stating that Vatican II was a “renewal” and a rejuvenation of the Catholic Church. “The Council did not only involve a renewal of the Church,” he said. “It was not only a matter of renewal, but also a challenge to make the Church more and more alive.”
Citing not only a “renewal” of the Church, Francis argued that the Council “rejuvenates the Church,” turning it into a “mother always moving forward.” This process of “moving forward” is being achieved by the Synod on Synodality, argued the Argentine pontiff:
Quote:We come from afar, now we are here and we have to move forward. This is what we do through the current Synod process, and the two Synods on Synodality will help us clarify the meaning and method of decision-making in the Church.
But while Francis has praised Vatican II, alongside expressing his desire for it to be further implemented, scholars and clerics do not share his view.
Liturgist and theologian Dr. Peter Kwasniewski wrote of the Council that “it must be remembered with shame and repentance as a moment in which the hierarchy of the Church, to varying degrees, surrendered to a more subtle (and therefore more dangerous) form of worldliness.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “the errors contained in the documents, as well as the many errors commonly attributed to the Council or prompted by it, must be drawn into a syllabus and anathematized by a future pope or council so that the controverted matters may be laid to rest, as former councils have wisely and charitably done in regard to the errors of their times.”
The former papal nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò wrote in 2020 that certain of the “deviations” of Vatican II have given rise to many of the more controversial and problematic recent papal texts, such as the Abu Dhabi document and Fratelli Tutti.
Summing up the deviations in Catholic doctrine in the last decades, the Italian prelate wrote:
Quote:If the pachamama could be adored in a church, we owe it to Dignitatis Humanae. If we have a liturgy that is Protestantized and at times even paganized, we owe it to the revolutionary action of Msgr. Annibale Bugnini and to the post-conciliar reforms. If the Abu Dhabi Declaration was signed, we owe it to Nostra Aetate. If we have come to the point of delegating decisions to the Bishops’ Conferences – even in grave violation of the Concordat, as happened in Italy – we owe it to collegiality, and to its updated version, synodality. Thanks to synodality, we found ourselves with Amoris Laetitia having to look for a way to prevent what was obvious to everyone from appearing: that this document, prepared by an impressive organizational machine, intended to legitimize Communion for the divorced and cohabiting, just as Querida Amazonia will be used to legitimize women priests (as in the recent case of an “episcopal vicaress” in Freiburg) and the abolition of Sacred Celibacy.
He called the Second Vatican Council a “coup d’état” and a “revolution.”
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| The Kolbe Report (August 5, 2023) re Fr. Paul Robinson, SSPX |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-07-2023, 05:46 AM - Forum: The New-Conciliar SSPX
- Replies (2)
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Kolbe Report
Taken from here
[Red emphasis mine. Slightly adapted]
August 5, 2023
Dear Friends of the Kolbe Center,
Glory to Jesus Christ!
While many traditional Catholic theologians recognize that the theology and the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas cannot be reconciled with theistic evolution, there are some who insist that the long ages associated with the molecules-to-man evolution hypothesis have been proven to be true beyond any reasonable doubt.
According to the view known as “progressive creation,” God created all of the different kinds of creatures by fiat, but He did so by intervening periodically in the course of the 13.7 billion of years that began with the Big Bang. We are delighted to announce the publication of a new book entitled Worthy of Belief which masterfully defends the traditional Catholic reading of Genesis, with its chronology of four to five thousand years from Creation to the Incarnation, against the claims of the progressive creationist account of the origins of man and the universe.
In this newsletter I would like to share the first chapter of this new book with you, so that you can see how the author approaches his task. I hope that you will be moved to obtain the book for your own library and make the author’s arguments your own. Chapter One is entitled “Muddy Walls” and ends with a quotation from G. K. Chesterton in which he defines a “realist” as “One who throws enough mud until some of it sticks, especially to that unfortunate creature Man, who was originally made of mud.”
Muddy Walls
On the origin of the universe, theories and theorists abound. Those who believe in Creation point to revelation, and also to the observable world, explaining that it corroborates the Biblical account. Atheists reject God, arguing that the same world proves the contrary. Some promote a middle way, contending that God created the universe, but not as described in Genesis. And these say that compromise is necessary to save religion; which, they contend, cannot otherwise stand against the theories of modern scientists.
Disbelief, of course, is nothing new. The centuries have had many scoffers, grinding their atheistic axes with unproven theories. But there is something novel about modern disbelief. It’s not so much the substance of the modern theories, or even that the theories are taught by secular academics. What’s different today is the number of clerics and churchmen who accept those theories. Now, Catholic schools and seminaries commonly teach the principles of Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin as if true.
Indeed, despite the attempts of some previous popes to stop it, the trend has escalated to such a point that the Catholic hierarchy itself has become a leading scoffer. Pope Francis recently complained that, when thinking of the creation “story,” Catholics “risk imagining that God was a magician, with such a magic wand as to be able to do everything.” According to U.S. News, instead of the account in Genesis, Pope Francis expressly accepts “[t]he Big-Bang;” the theory that, he explains, “is placed today at the origin of the world.” Obviously, this amplifies the Big Bang’s impact in undermining belief in Creation as revealed by God through Moses in Genesis.
But Pope Francis’ view directly contradicts that held by previous popes, especially those preceding Pius XII. Consider the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, Providentissimus Deus, where (in 1893) he expressly reaffirmed that:
Quote:The books [of the Bible], all and entire, which the Church accepts as sacred and canonical, with all their parts, have been written at the dictation of the Holy Spirit; so far is it from the possibility of any error being present to divine inspiration, that it itself of itself not only excludes all error, but excludes it and rejects it as necessarily as it is necessary that God, the highest Truth, be the author of no error whatsoever.
This is the ancient and uniform faith of the Church, defined also by solemn opinion, at the Council of Florence and of Trent, finally confirmed and more expressly declared at the [first] Vatican Council, by which it was absolutely declared: ‘The books of the Old and New Testament . . . have God as their author.’ Therefore, it matters not at all that the Holy Spirit took men as instruments for the writing, as if anything false might have slipped, not indeed from the first Author, but from the inspired writers.
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3...ipo=images]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.lOWEp_fWGUlQ2Ppq1alu0QHaJm%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=96fa2cfc1be6942b346eea8798a2b8f176eb75a0bc3d998866addf8023fae211&ipo=images)
Pope Leo XIII
Clearly, it is well-settled dogma that the Scriptures cannot contain even the slightest error. It is likewise clear that the Big Bang Theory, which holds that the universe developed progressively over billions of years from a primeval atom, contradicts the historical account of Creation revealed in Genesis. This is the case even if God is ‘credited’ as having gotten the process started. The Big Bang also contradicts more than nineteen hundred years of Church tradition.
Pope St. Pius X also reaffirmed that “each and every part” of Sacred Scripture is protected against error. In adopting the report of his Biblical Commission, St. Pius X admonished against “the various exegetical systems” (systems of interpretation), “which have been proposed to exclude the literal sense of the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis.” In fact, he specifically rejected abandoning the literal meaning of Genesis with interpretations that “have been defended by the pretense of science.” St. Pius X expressly ruled that those interpretations of science are erroneous. He and the Commission explicitly rejected any teaching which suggested “that the three aforesaid chapters of Genesis do not contain the stories of events which really happened, that is, which correspond with objective reality and historical truth...”
If the universe is the result of billions of years of evolutionary—or progressive—development, then reason demands a re-evaluation of Genesis. And from that theory springs yet another concept: that discernment of truth itself is an evolutionary or progressive process, a process in which revealed truth is subject to qualification by scientific theorists. These ideas gave birth to the notion that truth may differ from age to age, that truths defined by the Apostles may have evolved to have different meanings or aspects for today’s truth. This is the essence of Modernism, which Pope St. Pius X, in his Encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis, dubbed “the synthesis of all heresies,”9 calling out the Modernists for proposing to “separate the theological and pastoral [interpretation of text and tradition] from the scientific and the historical.”10 Concerning this, he stated:
Quote:[The modernists,] on the principle that science in no wise depends on faith, when they are treating of philosophy, history, and criticism, . . . they display in every way a contempt for Catholic precepts, the Holy Fathers, the Ecumenical Synods, and the ecclesiastical magisterium; and if they are criticized for this, they complain that they are being deprived of their freedom. Finally, professing that faith must be made subject to science, they rebuke the Church generally and openly, because she refuses most resolutely to subject and accommodate her teachings to the opinions of philosophy; but they, repudiating the old theology for this purpose, endeavor to bring in the new, which follows the ravings of the philosophers.
St. Pius X warned that, ultimately, this “system means the destruction not of the Catholic religion alone but of all religion.” Thus, he says, “[w]ith good reason do the rationalists applaud [the modernists], for the most sincere and the frankest among the rationalists warmly welcome the modernists as their most valuable allies.” The aftermath of Vatican II has certainly vindicated St. Pius X’s warning, especially as to the Catholic faithful.
After Vatican II was implemented in the late 1960s, those adhering to tradition (in dogmas and liturgy) became known as traditional Catholics. Leaders of the traditional Catholic movement opposed the new theologies that contradicted the traditional account of Creation as revealed in Genesis. At the very least, they certainly never heralded the new theories. But that, too, has apparently changed. Anyway, it appears to have for the Society of St. Pius X, judging by its support of The Realist Guide to Religion & Science, a book written by one of its seminary professors, Fr. Paul Robinson.
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3...ipo=images]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.BXv0-1gltI40zQt0aX-Y_AHaJH%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=e8ec5d0d47ab752b7b4dd3c10fb17ccfa73779a0b04a97adca89f7ca64d442b5&ipo=images)
Pope St. Pius X
Of course, one book by one priest does not a movement make. But the posture of the SSPX toward this book is tantamount to endorsement. Upon its release, the SSPX’s website officially promoted the book as being “written at [its] Holy Cross Seminary,” and applauded that it “takes a thesis of the late, great Fr. Stanley Jaki.” The book’s author taught theology and philosophy at the Society’s Holy Cross Seminary until 2019, when he took charge of one of the Society’s high schools in the United States. Additionally, the Society’s publisher, Angelus Press, not only sells the book but gives it accolades, having promoted it with an email push following its publication. Further, priories of the SSPX in the United States have promoted the book by hosting lectures with Fr. Robinson. And, finally, Fr. Robinson himself credits his formation at the SSPX seminary for instilling in him this “opposition” to the literal interpretation of Genesis, explaining it was there that:
Quote:...[he] was taught why Catholic exegetes reject [the idea of a young Earth, i.e., dating the Earth according to Scriptural history,] under the guidance of the Church. God willing, I was also given a Catholic intellectual balance in Scriptural matters which, in turn, I hope I communicate to my own students.
In The Realist Guide, Fr. Robinson announces: “Today, it is clear that Genesis 1 is not meant to provide a strict history of the universe.” Instead, he insists that the literal understanding of Genesis is incompatible with reality. This, he contends, results in “an apparent dilemma for believers.” According to Fr. Robinson, taking Genesis literally has “disastrous effects on souls,” often ending in apostasy. To emphasize this point, he narrates the following:
Quote:Jaki makes mention of a priest working in the slums of Paris who claimed that ‘the apparent conflict between science and the six-day-creation story was much more effective in promoting atheism among the poor and the relatively uneducated than were the social injustices that cut into their flesh and blood.’
To what “social injustices” this Parisian priest was referring is left undisclosed, but his disdain for the six-day-creation “story” is obvious. The answer to the “dilemma,” says Fr. Robinson, is to adopt “a middle ground” and compromise “between the strictly literal interpretation and the allegorical” reading of Genesis 1. He calls this middle ground “progressive creationism,” explaining “that Genesis 1 is not an exact, historical account of the unfolding of creation, yet at the same time, it does contain historical elements.” In explaining this notion, he declares that:
Quote:God did not create everything at once, but rather created some material beings in an initial instant and then progressively added material beings to the universe at later times. This did not happen in six periods of twenty-four hours, nor did it happen in the exact order indicated by Genesis 1.
According to Fr. Robinson’s reckoning, it is impossible for Creation to have happened within the time-frame calculated by Biblical scholars, which dates Creation at approximately 6,000 or so years ago. Instead, Fr. Robinson suggests that God initiated creation via the “Big Bang Theory,” starting with a “primeval atom” some 13.7 billions of years ago—an opinion he credits as having “probable certainty.” He opines that taking Genesis literally “advocates a picture of the Earth that is manifestly wrong” concerning its age, as well as the historical account of Creation over six days that he deems equally erroneous. Fr. Robinson also rejects the Genesis account of the Flood of Noah, contending it to be both scientifically and physically impossible. He concludes that the Flood could not have happened as described in Genesis and, thus, had to be merely local to that region.
![[Image: noe-ark-icon.png?resize=600%2C542&ssl=1]](https://i0.wp.com/www.kolbecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/noe-ark-icon.png?resize=600%2C542&ssl=1)
Presenting what he purports to be scientific data, Fr. Robinson asserts that Reason is not to be ignored and, thus, insists we must reject Genesis as traditionally understood. It is true that “faith and reason can never come into conflict.” But the reasoning must be sound. The theories Fr. Robinson promotes do contradict the text of Genesis, and also the Church Fathers and Doctors. The problem, however, is not with the words of Moses and tradition, but with the theories The Realist Guide promotes.
On a positive note, Fr. Robinson is correct that words used solely for esthetic description are not to be taken literally. To use his example, a text that describes a morning “sunrise” conveys the present sense of what the writer sees, not movement of the sun. As Fr. Robinson correctly states, the Fathers of the Church adopted a “fundamental” rule for interpreting Biblical text, namely, that: “it is not lawful to depart from the obvious literal sense, unless reason prohibits it or some necessity forces us to leave it.” Fr. Robinson then explains that the Bible was not given as a physics or science manual. Fair enough. Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M, Ph.D. (1913-2009), who was a great defender of the literal account of Genesis, explained that the more important focus is on man’s spiritual position rather than geometric location. But there is no error whatsoever in Scripture. The accounts of Creation and the Flood, as revealed in Genesis, are literally and historically true. These historical narratives are foundational first principles in Revelation and, therefore, central to the Faith. They either happened as revealed or they did not.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God and of all the Saints, may the Holy Ghost guide us all into all the Truth!
Yours in Christ through the Immaculata in union with St. Joseph,
Hugh Owen
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| St. Alphonsus Liguori: Daily Meditations for Tenth Week after Pentecost |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-06-2023, 05:37 AM - Forum: Pentecost
- Replies (7)
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How is it possible for him who looks at the Crucifix, and beholds a God dying in a sea of sorrows and insults –how is it possible for him, if he loves that God, not to suffer with cheerfulness? Yea, how is it even possible not to desire to suffer every pain for Jesus’ sake? Love makes all things easy.
I.
O God, how is it possible for him who looks at the Crucifix, and beholds a God dying in a sea of sorrows and insults; how, I say, is it possible for him, if he loves that God, not to suffer with cheerfulness? Yea, how is it even possible not to desire to suffer every pain for Jesus’ sake? St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi used to say: “The sharpest pains become sweet when we behold Jesus on the Cross.” Justus Lipsius once found himself greatly afflicted with pains: a certain person endeavoured to encourage him to bear them with patience by placing before him the patience of the stoics; but turning to the Crucifix he said: “There is true patience!” He meant to say that the example of a God Who once suffered so much for the love of us is sufficient to animate us to endure all pain for the love of Him. “The ignominy of the Cross,” says St. Bernard, “is agreeable to him who is not ungrateful to a crucified God.” To him who loves his crucified Saviour pains and opprobrium are agreeable. When St. Eleazar was asked by his virgin spouse, St. Afra, how he could submit to so many insults from the rabble without seeking revenge, he said: “My spouse, think not that I am insensible to these insults; I feel them keenly; but I turn to Jesus on the Cross, and continue to look at Him until my soul becomes tranquil.” Love, says St. Augustine, makes all things easy. After being wounded with Divine love, St. Catherine of Genoa used to say that she knew not what it was to suffer. Although she endured the most grievous pains, she felt none of them, because she regarded them as sent by Him who loved her so tenderly. Thus also a good religious of the Society of Jesus, when God visited him with any pain, sickness, or persecution, used to say within himself: “Tell me, O pain, sickness, or persecution, who sends thee? Does God send thee? Welcome, welcome!” Thus he was always in peace.
II.
Since, therefore, in this life we must suffer either cheerfully or with reluctance, let us endeavour to suffer with merit, that is, with patience. Patience is a shield that defends us against all the pains arising from persecutions, infirmities, losses, and other afflictions. He who has not this shield, has to bear all these pains. Let us, then, in the first place, ask this patience of God; without asking it we shall never obtain this great gift. When afflictions come upon us, let us be careful to do violence to ourselves, and not break out into words of impatience or complaint. The fire that burns in a vessel is soon extinguished when the vessel is closed. To him that overcometh, I will give the hidden manna (Apoc. ii. 17). When a person does violence to conquer himself in adversity, by instantly embracing the cross that God sends him, oh! what sweetness does the Lord not make him afterwards experience in the very tribulation he suffers–a sweetness wholly hidden from men of the world, but well known to souls that love God. St. Augustine used to say that to enjoy a good conscience in the midst of afflictions is sweeter than to live with a guilty conscience in the midst of delights. Speaking of herself, St. Teresa said: “I have several times experienced that when I generously resolve to do an act, God instantly makes the performance of it pleasant to me. He wishes the soul to feel these terrors in the beginning, that she may have greater merit.”
Spiritual Reading
THE DOCTOR AND APOSTLE OF PRAYER, ST. ALPHONSUS.
When once his Congregation was approved, Alphonsus gave himself up with greater ardour than ever to the impulses of his burning zeal. From this time we see him extending so widely the sphere of his labours, that his boundless activity has won for him the admiration of all successive ages. In addition to the cares, which now weighed upon him more heavily than ever owing to the increase and extension of his Institute; in addition to the anxieties and fatigues occasioned by his persevering assiduity in the work of the missions, Alphonsus now began to publish that long series of works, both theological and ascetical, by which he merited the glorious title of Doctor of the Church. His fame rests principally on his Moral Theology, and as a teacher of morals he occupies indisputably the foremost place. It was the charity of Christ and zeal for souls that constantly urged on this holy man. Hence no amount of work, no pains of sickness, however severe, could hinder him from publishing one or another book, and sometimes even many every year, and this he continued to do even when burdened by the heavy cares of his episcopal office.
If we look for an explanation of this marvellous activity we shall find it in the heroic vow by which this extraordinary man bound himself for the love of Jesus. This vow is recorded in the Bull of his Canonization in the following terms:–“In order that he might consecrate himself and all his actions to the service of God, he bound himself by an arduous and almost unheard-of vow, never to waste the smallest portion of his time in idleness, but to be perpetually engaged in some useful occupation.” Certainly we cannot but wonder that anyone should venture to make a promise so unlimited. It occasioned the defender of the cause of his beatification to exclaim in astonishment: “O wondrous vow, to which eternal praises are due; O heroic act, unknown till now, that reveals to us the sanctity of Alphonsus!” It is very probable indeed that Alphonsus took this vow from the very commencement of his Congregation. But since he lived for more than fifty years from that time, what must have been the vigilance necessary to observe so heroic a resolution for so long a period?
And now before we proceed further in our narration of the Saint’s life, we will delay for a few moments in order to speak of the virtues which he practised in so perfect a manner. As we mentioned before, the chief virtue of St. Alphonsus was his burning love for Jesus Christ. This virtue was, as it were, the root from which sprung all his other virtues; it was the motive power of all his actions. Since he was pressed by the charity of Christ, he fled even from the shadow of sin as from the face of a serpent. “Rather,” he used to say, “would I be plunged alive into a cauldron of boiling oil than commit even one mortal sin; and I would suffer my head to be cut off sooner than tell a willful lie.” The words and actions of Jesus Christ formed the unceasing subject of his contemplation. Yet there were three Mysteries of this Divine life that he loved to dwell upon with a special affection: the Incarnation of the Divine Word; His Passion and Death; and that immense love which moved Him to become a sojourner on our altars, even to the end of time. In meditating on these Mysteries he nourished his soul with a food of heavenly sweetness; they formed the usual subjects of his sermons, and he explained them with such unction that he seemed to be an angel rather than a man. In order to communicate to others the piety that inflamed his own heart, he published many books, written in a strain that is truly seraphic. Amongst these the best known is that golden little work entitled Visits to the Blessed Sacrament. When Alphonsus thought of the number of souls who offend our Divine Lord by their sins, and who either treat Him with complete indifference, or with cold respect, he would exclaim, in bitter grief: “Poor Jesus Christ! Poor Jesus Christ!” And it was this compassion for his outraged Saviour that urged him to undertake so many labours for the salvation of souls.
There was, perhaps, no Saint who more fully understood, or more constantly insisted on that urgent command of our Lord Jesus Christ “that we ought always to pray and not to faint.” Alphonsus himself used to pray to God without ceasing, and he never wearied of exhorting the faithful to make use of the weapon of prayer in all dangers both of soul and body. He published on this subject his celebrated treatise, entitled: Prayer, the Great Means of Salvation; and, hence, he has been styled the Apostle of Prayer. From this unwearied spirit of prayer, and from his singular love for Jesus, there sprung his boundless and truly extraordinary devotion to the Virgin Mother of God. It would, indeed, be difficult to describe the greatness of his love for this best of mothers. During the whole course of his life he had nothing more at heart than to prepare himself for her Feasts by redoubling his prayers and penances. Every Saturday he fasted on bread and water in honour of his beloved Mother. His actions were all commenced and ended with the “Hail Mary.” No day was allowed to pass by without the recitation of a third part of the Rosary, to which he bound himself by vow. He had also made a vow to preach every Saturday in honour of the Blessed Virgin. When he spoke of his dearly-beloved Queen, it was evident that his burning words proceeded from a heart burning with love. And since these marks of affection for the Holy Virgin seemed insufficient to him, he wrote a book on the Glories of Mary, of which every page, nay, every line, breathes the tenderest devotion and love. As the Bull of his Canonization declares: “Towards the Blessed Virgin, whom he regarded as a Mother, he cherished the most singular devotion.” Such was Alphonsus, whom Jesus Christ gave to His Church as founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. The Saint had now reached his sixty-sixth year, and it is at this period of his life that he received a call from Heaven to new cares and duties, namely, those of the episcopal office. Alphonsus as a bishop will be the subject of our next chapter.
Evening Meditation
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
I.
Therefore, we ought continually with tears of tenderness, to thank the Eternal Father for having given His innocent Son to death, to deliver us from eternal death: He spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; and how hath he not also with him given us all things? (Rom. viii. 32). Thus wrote St. Paul; and thus Jesus Himself spoke in the Gospel of St. John: God so loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son (Jo. iii. 16). On this account the Holy Church exclaims on Holy Saturday: “Oh, wonderful the condescension of Thy love for us! O inestimable gift of Charity, that to redeem a servant Thou shouldst give Thy Son.” O infinite mercy, O infinite love of our God! O holy Faith! How can he who believes and confesses this, live without burning with holy love for a God Who is so loving, and so worthy of love?
O Eternal God, look not upon my soul overwhelmed with sins; look upon Thy innocent Son hanging upon a Cross, Who offers Thee the many pangs and insults He has suffered, that Thou mayest have mercy upon me. O God most worthy of love, and my true Lover, for the love of this Thy Son, so beloved by Thee, have mercy upon me. The mercy I ask is, that Thou shouldst give me Thy holy love. Oh, draw me wholly to Thyself, from the mire of my corruption. Burn up, O Thou consuming Fire, all Thou seest impure in my soul, and all that hinders me from being wholly Thine.
II.
Let us give thanks to the Father, and let us give equal thanks to the Son, that He has been willing to take upon Himself our flesh, and together with it our sins, to offer to God, by His Passion, a worthy satisfaction. It is on this account that the Apostle says that Jesus Christ has become our Mediator; that is, that He has bound Himself to pay our debts: Jesus is made the surety of a better testament (Heb. vii. 22). As the Mediator between God and man, He has established a covenant with God, by which He has bound Himself to satisfy Divine justice for us; and, on the other hand, has promised us eternal life on the part of God. Therefore, in anticipation of this, we are warned not to forget the grace of this Divine surety, Who, to obtain salvation for us, has been willing to sacrifice His life. Forget not the kindness of thy surety, for he hath given his life for thee (Ecclus. xxix. 19). It is to give us the better assurance of pardon, says St. Paul, that Jesus Christ with His Blood has blotted out the decree of our condemnation, in which the sentence of eternal death stands written against us, and nailed it to the Cross on which He died to satisfy the Divine justice for us (Col. ii. 14).
O my Jesus, by that love which caused Thee to give Thy Blood and Thy life upon Calvary for me, make me die to all the affections of this world; make me forget everything, that I may think only of loving Thee and giving Thee pleasure! O my God, worthy of infinite love, Thou hast loved me without reserve, I desire to love Thee also without reserve. I love Thee, my greatest Good; I love Thee, O my Love, my All!
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| New Evidence Suggests Vaccinated Can Transmit Covid-19 Vax Antibodies Through The Air |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-05-2023, 05:30 AM - Forum: Health
- No Replies
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New Evidence Suggests Vaccinated Can Transmit Covid-19 Vax Antibodies Through The Air
![[Image: id5437809-Coronavirus-inside-aerosol-par...k=qHjOSH3v]](https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/id5437809-Coronavirus-inside-aerosol-particles-1200x609.jpeg?itok=qHjOSH3v)
ZH | AUG 04, 2023
Authored by Megan Radshaw JD via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
New evidence suggests vaccinated individuals can transmit antibodies generated through mRNA COVID-19 vaccination to unvaccinated individuals through aerosols, according to a peer-reviewed study (pdf) published in ImmunoHorizons.
Extended mask requirements allowed scientists at the University of Colorado to evaluate whether vaccinated individuals could transfer aerosolized antibodies generated from COVID-19 vaccines. Aerosols are a manufactured or naturally occurring suspension of particles or droplets in the air, such as airborne dust, mists, fumes, or smoke, that can be absorbed by the skin or inhaled.
Researchers used a combination of tests to detect SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies from masks vaccinated lab members wore and donated anonymously at the end of the day. Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system that circulate in the blood and neutralize foreign substances such as bacteria and viruses.
Consistent with results reported by others, the researchers identified both immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies in the saliva of vaccinated individuals and on their masks.
Based on their observations, the researchers hypothesized droplet or aerosolized antibody transfer might occur between individuals, similar to how droplets and aerosolized viral particles are transferred by the same route.
To test their hypothesis, they obtained and compared nasal swabs from unvaccinated children living in vaccinated, unvaccinated, and COVID-19-positive households.
Results showed high IgG in the noses of vaccinated parents was “significantly associated” with an increase in intranasal IgG within the unvaccinated child from the same household, especially compared to the “complete deficit of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody detected” in nasal swabs obtained from children in nonvaccinated families. A similar trend was found with IgA in the same samples.
In other words, their findings suggest aerosol transmission of antibodies can occur between COVID-19 vaccinated parents and their children—and the tendency for this transfer is directly related to the amount of nasal or oral antibodies found in those who received vaccines.
This type of shedding is called “passive immunization,” where antibodies—primarily IgA—are actually exchanged between individuals through respiratory droplets, Brian Hooker, chief scientific officer at Children’s Health Defense, who holds a doctorate in biochemical engineering, wrote in an email to The Epoch Times. “But this would provide minimal immunity for the ‘bystanders’ based on the fact that the original mRNA vaccines provide so little protection.”
Mr. Hooker said passive immunization could elicit autoimmunity and “all sorts of reactions” in bystanders due to a similar “molecular mimicry between the COVID-19 Ig [immunoglobulin] antibodies and human proteins.”
Studies have shown that molecular mimicry between the foreign molecules and human molecules can lead to an autoimmune response causing antibodies to function incorrectly and interact against human proteins. Autoimmunity refers to an immune reaction where the body attacks its own tissues, resulting in damage or disease.
Mr. Hooker said the study suggests that if Ig antibodies can be transmitted person-to-person, there is a possibility the spike protein generated by COVID-19 vaccines could be transmitted as well.
“This could cause immunization of the bystanders as well as problems associated with spike protein toxicity to bloodstream components and other tissues,” he added.
COVID-19 Vaccines Were Authorized Without Studies to Assess Transmission
COVID-19 vaccines using mRNA technology like Pfizer and Moderna were authorized globally without studies into the possible expression of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) containing the mRNA or of the spike protein manufactured by the cells of a recently vaccinated individual.
Read more here...
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| Should Women Become Bible Scholars? |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-05-2023, 05:16 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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Should Women Become Bible Scholars?
A Q&A taken from here.
[This seems very much in line with how the Church has traditionally acted in the past.]
Dear TIA,
Back in March, I sent you an email asking questions on academic professions and one of my questions was regarding the appropriateness or inappropriateness regarding a woman receiving a degree in religious studies and becoming a scholar on religion.
I wanted to ask your opinion on such a matter again including one regarding biblical studies by sending a new email since my older one might have gotten lost in the flood of other emails you probably receive daily.
My question is: Is it against a woman's nature to join religious studies and becoming a scholar on religion? Should this profession only be reserved for men? How about a woman receiving a degree in biblical studies and becoming a Bible scholar?
Thank you for your time. It is much appreciated.
R.T.
***
Dr. Horvat responds:
Dear R.T.,
I apologize for the delay in responding to your question. I will gladly offer my opinion on the topic of whether a woman should become a scholar in Religion.
Given that men by nature are more prone to objective and logical thinking, I believe that the fields of Religion and Philosophy belong to them, as was the rule in the past. It suits the nature of men, as the medieval Doctors noted well, but not the nature of women, to enter into serious study on these topics.
Having said this, I believe that, as an exception, if a woman were to pursue a sensible course of study in Religion or History for her own benefit, or inside a convent, it could well be beneficial and could help to fulfill her spiritual / intellectual needs, as some persons profit from studies more than others.
I believe it is not wrong for a woman to study Religion. Some women can even be called to it, although it is often the exception rather than the rule.
From the time of the Middle Ages, women in convents studied Latin, read spiritual works, and engaged in transcribing. As early as St. Jerome, we have St. Paula and her daughter assisting the Saint in the translation of the Vulgate, dedicating their lives to study under his guidance. There were many great Abbesses such as Saint Hild, Saint Lioba, Saint Gertrude, Saint Hildegarde von Bingen, who were deeply immersed in matters of Religion and read and studied much.
However, please note, until the 17th century women did not enter the universities and pursue careers as professors, and even up to the 19th century it was a novelty for a woman to pursue higher degrees. Further, the study of Theology in the medieval and even later universities (at least until the 20th century) was strictly for men.
In the study of Religion, women followed men and were directed by men, usually priests, who often encouraged them in their studies when they discerned it would be a good for them and others.
So, on one side we have Feminism pushing women to have degrees, including degrees in religious matters, and this inclines us to think it is wrong. On the other hand, we have the examples of great women saints who studied, which lead us to imitate them.
There is not one unswerving answer to your question. The spirit of the study and its aim are what should count for a decision.
As a final note, allow me to stress that more important than to have a degree is to have Catholic sense, which today has almost disappeared.
Regarding Catholic sense and common sense, in my opinion, for women the most important thing is to know how to do well those things that are proper to women: Housekeeping, sewing, cooking, home decor, gardening, playing a musical instrument and singing, besides taking care of her husband and children if she is married, or of her family if she is not.
I hope this is of some help to you.
Cordially,
Dr. Marian T. Horvat
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| Gates Funded Research Into Genetically Engineered Cattle Ticks |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-03-2023, 02:32 PM - Forum: Health
- Replies (1)
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Bill Gates Funded Research Into Genetically Engineered Cattle Ticks
450,000 Americans Have Red Meat Allergies From ‘Alpha-Gal Syndrome’ Caused by Tick Bites
July 28, 2023 [not all hyperlinks included below from the original]
As alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a tick-borne disease that triggers an allergic reaction to red meat, sees a steep rise in cases, eyebrows are being raised over a coincidental alignment with research funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
AGS, first reported in Virginia in 2008, has seen an alarming increase over the past few years. According to a recent press release from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 450,000 people in the U.S. have tested positive for alpha-gal since 2010.
In 2021, the number of positive test results for AGS surged by 41.3% compared to 2017, and testing for alpha-gal peaked at 66,106 persons that year.
The same year, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a significant grant of $1,469,352 toward research into the Rhipicephalus microplus (“Asian blue”) tick. This tick is known to cause AGS, as verified by a publication in the ImmunoTargets and Therapy journal found in the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM).
The grant was channeled to Oxitec Ltd., a biotechnology company that genetically modified male ticks to carry a “self-limiting gene,” intending to control the tick population by releasing these engineered ticks to mate with wild females in high-infestation areas. Oxitec’s project purportedly aimed to address the global pest problem affecting cattle, a significant source of red meat.
In June 2023, after Oxitec reported high efficacy in its tick experimentation, the Gates Foundation provided an additional $4.8 million in funding.
However, the intertwining of Gates’s interests and this rise in AGS cases is drawing scrutiny. Gates holds stakes in pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer Inc. that produce antibiotics such as doxycycline, commonly used to treat tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease. Moreover, in 2017, his foundation granted over $1 million to Ceres Nanosciences, a diagnostics company specializing in Lyme disease detection.
In the food industry, Gates has significant investments in plant-based and lab-grown meat companies. He has backed companies such as Upside Foods, Good Meat, Beyond Meat, and Impossible Foods, some of which which have been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the production and sale of meat substitute products.
While there is no definitive evidence linking Gates’s funding of tick research to the rise in AGS cases, the timing and the complexity of his interests have led to a growing call for more transparency and accountability.
But this isn’t the first time that Gates’s involvement in disease research and prevention has caused controversy. A similar series of events unfolded when Gates focused on malaria, a disease eradicated in the United States for decades, until recent developments.
Malaria was last detected in the U.S. back in 2003 when seven people in Palm Beach County were infected, as per the CDC. Fast forward to 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation turned its sights on malaria research, subsequently pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the cause, and increasing their malaria budget by 30% in 2014.
In a significant development, in July 2018, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) launched Krintafel (tafenoquine), a new treatment for Plasmodium vivax malaria. This marked the first new treatment for the disease in over six decades. Gates Foundation funding was pivotal in the drug’s development, a fact corroborated by Forbes. The Foundation continued to invest in tafenoquine research, backing various studies, including a Lancet-published article praising the drug’s performance.
Meanwhile, in 2019, the Foundation backed the “Injectable Artesunate Assessment Report,” establishing the efficacy of injectable artesunate, a malaria vaccine.
Notably, in September 2020, the Gates Foundation granted over $1.3 million to Oxitec Ltd., the same company involved in the aforementioned genetically engineered tick research, for “mosquito field trials.” These trials involved the release of genetically engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, known vectors of diseases including malaria, into Florida and Texas following EPA approval in March 2022.
This move sparked outrage from locals who voiced concerns about being turned into “guinea pigs” for this “criminal” experiment, according to Florida resident Meagan Hull. Councilman Mark Gregg likened the GMO mosquitoes to “Frankenstein bugs.”
Fast forward to March 2023, and FFF Enterprises, a specialty vaccine distributor, announced it would start stocking the Gates-backed artesunate vaccine. Three months later, in June 2023, the CDC issued an alert about locally acquired malaria cases in Florida and Texas. Interestingly, the CDC, funded by the Gates Foundation, recommended rapid access to the artesunate vaccine.
As these series of events involving alpha-gal syndrome and malaria unfold, parallels can be drawn in the timing of the Gates Foundation’s funding and subsequent disease outbreaks. Though direct causality hasn’t been established, the correlation has led to calls for more in-depth investigations and heightened accountability. Transparency about these ties is paramount to alleviate public concerns and ensure ethical practices in disease prevention and treatment.
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| Israeli Jews storm Carmelite monastery amid escalating attacks against Christians |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-03-2023, 06:24 AM - Forum: Anti-Catholic Violence
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Israeli Jews storm Carmelite monastery amid escalating attacks against Christians
Claims by assailants that Elisha the prophet is buried on the premises elicit fears the property may be targeted for confiscation by the Israeli government.
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A solidarity event at Stella Maris Church, which has faced repeated attacks by Zionists over the past few weeks, was attended by 1,000 people.
Aug 2, 2023
HAIFA, Israel (LifeSiteNews [adapted]) — Jewish groups in Israel have repeatedly attempted to storm the Catholic Stella Maris Monastery and Church in the northern port city of Haifa as part of the latest waves of increased violence and provocations against Christians in the Holy Land.
According to Catholic News Agency, after “several attempts last week, intruders managed to infiltrate the outer courtyard of the monastery and disrupt the prayer session taking place, causing fear and anger among the Christian community.”
Settled on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the monastery is the home of Discalced Carmelites whose religious confreres began living as hermits at the site in imitation of the prophet Elijah, whose cave is believed to be beneath the main altar of the church.
After several attempted incursions onto the property, the intruders were confronted by Christians last on July 26, an incident that elicited intervention by law enforcement.
According to a Wednesday video statement by Wadie Abunassar, an adviser to churches in the Holy Land, these extremists claim Elijah’s disciple, the prophet Elisha, is buried on the monastery grounds. Yet, Abunassar echoed the church’s categorical denial of such assertions, which, he added, contradict 2 Kings 13: 20-21 that indicate Elisha was buried “near the lands of the Moabites” far to the east near the Jordan River.
As a deterrent, he said “gates and fences were installed” on Tuesday to mark the monastery’s property lines “and to insist that anybody who would pass these gates and fences without the permit[ion] of the monastery would be considered to be a trespasser” making such violations easier to enforce for the police.
The representative also expressed gratitude that the monastery enjoys “very wide support among all religious communities in Israel, Jews, Muslims, Druze and of course all Christians to our stance insisting that Stella Maris Monastery is a worship place for Christians, though it is open for every human being to come at the monastery’s conditions.”
In a July 19 statement, the Islamic-Christian Committee in Support of Jerusalem and its Sanctuaries condemned these provocations, indicating they may be the beginning of a plan for the Israeli government to seize the property.
“The claim that there are graves for Jews in churches is a pretext for seizing and Judaising them, which is an aggression similar to what is being done in Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the committee stated.
“This new allegation comes in the context of the repeated attacks by Jewish religious groups targeting the Christian presence, desecrating and vandalizing Christian holy places, and attacking and spitting on priests and monks in the streets,” the Committee continued.
During an April interview, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said that while such incidents are not new to Christians in the region, “The frequency of these attacks, the aggressions, has become something new,” since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government was sworn into office last December incorporating extremist Jewish leaders as part of the majority coalition.
A report from Axios at the time called Netanyahu’s coalition “the most right-wing government” in the nation’s history, including powerful minsters who espouse “racist and Jewish supremacist” views.
This includes Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Jewish Power party, who during his election victory speech last November praised fellow party member Bentzi Gopstein, who refers to Christians as “blood sucking vampires” and “the Christian church” as “our deadly centuries-old enemy” while calling for the expulsion of all Christians from the country.
A member of the Knesset (parliament), Ben-Gvir is a resident of an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, which is deemed illegal under international law. He was sworn in as Minister of National Security late last year, giving him unprecedented authority over police and border paramilitary units that operate among the 2.9 million Palestinians under military occupation in the West Bank.
With such leaders in power, Pizzaballa said extremists on the ground are now evermore emboldened to harass Christian religious and clergy while committing vandalism against this community’s property as well.
“These people feel they are protected … that the cultural and political atmosphere now can justify, or tolerate, actions against Christians,” the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land said.
Though freedom of religion, worship and conscience are fully recognized in Israel’s founding 1948 Declaration of Independence, a 2016 Pew Research Center survey found that nearly half of Israeli Jews believe Arabs (including Christians) “should be expelled or transferred” from the country.
Since Netanyahu’s new government has taken power, these attacks include a radical Jew entering the Church of the Flagellation in February and pulling down a large statue of Jesus Christ and smashing it on the floor, then defacing it with a hammer.
In March, two Israeli terrorists entered the Church of Gethsemane in Jerusalem that encompasses the empty tomb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and attempted to vandalize icons and attack the presiding bishop and another priest during Sunday morning Mass.
And even earlier, Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land decried “a group of religious Jews who entered the New Gate” near their headquarters and attacked tourists while committing acts of vandalism, “throwing chairs, tables and glasses, and transforming the Christian quarter into a battlefield.” According to the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, the police didn’t arrive for an hour, when they finally “took the attackers away.”
Other incidents include a January desecration of a Christian cemetery in Jerusalem, “Death to Christians” graffiti being written on the walls of a monastery in the Armenian quarter, and an act of vandalism being committed against a Maronite center.
Such incidents have occurred over the years with less frequency, including Jewish radicals spitting on Christians, disrupting their prayer and likely firebombing their property, including the 2015 torching of the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha in Galilee.
And similar to the lack of investigation and prosecution when it comes to the crimes of leftist terrorists in the United States — whether they be part of the Black Lives Matter terrorist crimes of 2020 or the pro-abortion terrorist acts since May 2022 — crimes against Christians in Israel and Palestine are virtually never solved or properly adjudicated.
“We see that most incidents in our quarter have gone unpunished,” lamented Father Aghan Gogchian, chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate. He went on to convey his disappointment that law enforcement authorities don’t prosecute the culprits of such anti-Christian hate crimes with the grave charges they deserve but rather legally accommodate them as individuals suffering from mental illness.
“The police try to paint each attack as something isolated and try to paint the attackers as mentally unstable,” Amir Dan, spokesman for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, told The Times of Israel in March. “In doing so, the police remove themselves from all responsibility.”
Pizzaballa, who will be raised to the rank of Cardinal in late September, embraced an optimistic approach in an interview with Vatican News last week stating there are “reasons for hope, because these incidents have spurred strong reactions even from Jewish religious leaders in Israel” and that “over time this awareness of the problem will bear fruit.”
On Thursday, approximately 1,000 people arrived at Stella Maris to stand in solidarity with Christians and the monetary. In his statement, Abunassar described the event as demanding “the Israeli authorities act more seriously against not only these provocateurs, but against all those who are committing [such] incidents” targeting holy sites and Christian individuals.
“We want this Holy Land to be a land of peace and justice for everybody equally” and thus better understanding must be promoted to foster “coexistence based on mutual respect and equal rights,” he concluded.
As is well known, the Israeli government is heavily subsidized by American taxpayers of whom Christians remain a high majority at 69%. Such enormous subsides include, but are not limited to, $3.8 billion annually, despite polls in the U.S. finding such largess to be unpopular.
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