Political Chistians In Pakistan

The Pilot  reported that "70 people accused of blasphemy have been murdered in extrajudicial actions by mobs, said Peter Jacob, executive director of the Center for Social Justice based in Lahore, Pakistan." [1]

These 70 people are likely Christians even though the article did not state it specifically, but did state what Peter Jacob said: "Christians fear both the loss of their livelihood and displacement because the Pakistani law is 'vague' on what constitutes an insult to Islam or Muhammad, its founder." [2]

One has to wonder if they were truly Christians, for if they were true Christians, they would listen to and act in accordance with the words of Christ, quoted without paragraph numbers and footnote [3]:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

If one sincerely loves one's enemies and prays for them, then it does not matter whether a law on blasphemy is vague or not.  How is it possible that sincere love and sincere prayer be blasphemous?



[1] https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=185508
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A43-48&version=NIV

Extremist Jewish Groups Target Christians

Agenzia Fides  reported as follows (separated here into four paragraphs) [1]:

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land has denounced the recent acts of intimidation perpetrated against local Christian communities by extremist Jewish groups, considered close to the settler movement.

On the morning of Friday, July 19, 2019, in Jish, in Galilee, unknown assailants damaged cars and wrote slogans in offensive Hebrew against Christians.

The previous week, Friday 12 July, participants in a parish party held at the Church of St. James in Beit Hanina, a suburb of East Jerusalem, were hit by the launch of tomatoes and other objects thrown by provocateurs residing at the nearby Jewish settlement of Naveh Yaacov.

At least in the first case, the intimidating act is attributable to the groups that in recent years have hit mosques or Christian places (Tabgha, Beit Jamal, Latrun, the Dormition, etc.) in various ways, signing their own violent acts and their profanations with the "Price Tag" formula (the price to pay).

The Jewish people who have power have turned a blind eye to these reprehensible acts by a certain segment of the Jewish population.  By their silent acquiescence, they are therefore equally guilty of such crimes.

What would the State of Israel do if Jewish settlements are being pelted with tomatoes and other objects?  It is doubtful that it would do and say nothing, and turn the other cheek.


[1] http://www.fides.org/en/news/66394-ASIA_ISRAEL_Catholic_Bishops_denounce_new_acts_of_intimidation_towards_Christian_communities

Philippines Clerics Learned A Valuable Lesson

CBCPNEWS  reported that "[f]our bishops and three priests were accused of cyber libel and sedition, along with several [non-clerical] opposition figures", that "the accused [Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines] members [were] Archbishop Socrates Villegas, and bishops Pablo Virgilio David, Honesto Ongtioco and Teodoro Bacani", and that "[e]xcept for Ongtioco, [they were] known [to be] outspoken critics of [Philippines' President] Duterte’s controversial war on drugs." [1]

If they are unhappy with their president, they should keep quiet and  pray for a new one and for a Holy Father that is apolitical and truly holy.


[1] http://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/cbcp-chief-chides-sedition-charges-against-bishops-priests/

Solitude & Silence

Living in solitude and living in silence are two separate things.  The former is easy, the latter humanly impossible.

One can live a solitary life without social engagements, and on days when one does not need to work, one can be alone without seeing or talking to anyone.

Silence does not come with solitude.

Silence is not merely an absence of audible sounds, it is a continuous (rather than occasional) absence of thoughts, worries and desires.

To have this silence, complete fulfillment is a requirement which can only come from God.

Complete fulfillment is when one no longer desires anything, when the Holy Spirit has filled every void, when the longing to be united with God is satisfied and when the peace of Christ within is eternal. 

A Documentary: Into Great Silence (2005)

The movie, Into Great Silence, can be viewed online at

https://gloria.tv/video/xpZWrjBDm2JQ3pJAcq6RTenPv

It is a movie about contemplative life of Carthusian monks in France at La Grande Chartreuse.

The main language in the movie is a universal one: silence.  The two languages that can be heard are French and Latin.  The few bible verses inserted into the movie are in French and German.

The movie sometimes stops for some reason but it will continue, at times requiring a bit of clicking around.

The following is quoted from gloria.tv [1]:

The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. They responded to [Philip] Gröning 16 years later to say they were willing to permit him to shoot the movie if he was still interested. Gröning then came alone to live at the monastery, where no visitors were ordinarily allowed, for a total of six months in 2002 and 2003. He filmed and recorded on his own, using no artificial light. Gröning then spent two and a half years editing the film. The final cut contains neither spoken commentary nor added sound effects. It consists of images and sounds that depict the rhythm of monastic life, with occasional subtitles displaying selections from Holy Scripture.

Zeitgeist Films had this to say [2]:

Nestled deep in the postcard-perfect French Alps, the Grande Chartreuse is considered one of the world’s most ascetic monasteries. In 1984, German filmmaker Philip Gröning wrote to the Carthusian order for permission to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back to him. Sixteen years later, they were ready. Gröning, sans crew or artificial lighting, lived in the monks’ quarters for six months—filming their daily prayers, tasks, rituals and rare outdoor excursions. This transcendent, closely observed film seeks to embody a monastery, rather than simply depict one—it has no score, no voiceover and no archival footage. What remains is stunningly elemental: time, space and light. One of the most mesmerizing and poetic chronicles of spirituality ever created, INTO GREAT SILENCE dissolves the border between screen and audience with a total immersion into the hush of monastic life. More meditation than documentary, it’s a rare, transformative theatrical experience for all.

There are other Carthusian monasteries besides La Grande Chartreuse.  Wikipedia  has a list of them [3].

Journeyman Pictures  uploaded to You Tube  a video entitled What's It Like to Become a Monk? [4]  It took place in Évora [5], Portugal, at the "Cartuxa Santa María de Scala Coeli (Escada do Céu)" [6].  The Carthusian monks and those hoping to join them there actually spoke in this video, with subtitles in English.

The seclusion of monastic life can be appealing but it is not for most men.  It requires courage, sacrifices and determination.  Those who are willing to commit themselves must have been called specially by God to live a prayerful and contemplative life mostly in silence and in solitude.

[1] https://gloria.tv/video/xpZWrjBDm2JQ3pJAcq6RTenPv

[2] https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/intogreatsilence

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Carthusian_monasteries

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0HvQ50cnvE

[5] https://youtu.be/e0HvQ50cnvE?list=LLZ-92A_tcDaq6Y4pKbTUo_w&t=478

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Carthusian_monasteries

The Holy See On World Hunger

In response to "the latest UN report on the state of food security and nutrition in the world,"  "Msgr. Fernando Chica Arellano, Holy See's Permanent Observer to the UN food and agriculture organizations" remarked that "'Humanity has not done its duty enough for its poorest brothers.'" [1]

Fernando Arellano ought to revise his remark and state that "Bergoglio has not done his duty enough for his poorest brothers."  The Vatican, not just Bergoglio's, is all talk and no action.

"The Vatican diplomat recalled Pope Francis telling FAO conference members during a meeting in the Vatican last month that hunger is a problem that must involve everyone because the suffering of one person is the suffering of all." [3]

Really?  When had Bergoglio and all his obsequious sycophants ever suffered hunger like the millions as reported in the article [4]:

Asia has the highest number of hungry people with 513.9 million, followed by Africa with 256.1 million and Latin American with 42.5 million.

What needed to be done is for Bergoglio to teach by example, not just by words alone.

Bergoglio ought to visit at least 10 places in each of Asia, Africa and Latin America and buy a small farm for the local community on each visit and get down on his knees to fertilize the soil with manure, including bull manure (the literal kind, not figurative kind that comes out of Bergoglio's mouth) and plant non-GMO crops that would thrive based on the region's weather patterns.  Bergoglio will then smell like the real shepherd who serves his sheep rather than one who sits on a throne and have others serve him.

Having set this example, then all the cardinals, including Cardinals Blase Cupich, Donald Wuerl, Timothy Dolan, Reinhard Marx, Walter Kasper, all the archbishops, bishops and the rest of the Catholic clergy, including those who have been defrocked, such as Theordore McCarrick, will have to follow Bergoglio's example and spread across the continents and do the same.

If this were reality and not fantasy, then the Vatican will likely keep its hypocritical mouth shut, and reports such as this will not appear anymore [5]:

The Holy Father also made an appeal for good use of water, food production and its fair distribution, noting that while there are countries where food is surplus, there are entire regions, especially in Africa, where it is lacking.  This inequality is truly cruel, he added.

How can water be fairly distributed, "Holy Father"?  Why not teach the world how that is done?  Perhaps the "Holy Father" ought to go to Antarctica and transport some glaciers over to places that do not have potable water.  This will not damage the environment since the glaciers would melt anyway due to climate change and global warming, topics the Vatican likes to talk about but does nothing about.

This blogger still thinks it is best for the "Holy Father" to work manually with bull manure to fertilize the soil to grow crops for those suffering from hunger than to spew it out orally which does not feed even one hungry person and quench his/her thirst with potable water.


[1] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-07/holy-see-un-hunger-report-2019-arellano.html
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.

The Miracle That Could Turn Fulton Sheen Into A Political Saint

Ms. Bonnie Engstrom is the woman who said that she had prayed to Fulton Sheen for his intercession and that as a result of her prayers, her infant son "who was stillborn on September 16, 2010, after a healthy pregnancy" [1] came back to life from having been "dead for 61 minutes." [2]

At approximately 26:23 on World Over – 2019-07-11 – Full Episode with Raymond Arroyo  on You Tube, [3] Raymond Arroyo asked Ms. Engstrom this question: "You say to pray to Fulton Sheen now as much as you ever have.  What do you pray for and what would you encourage others to pray to him for?"

Ms. Engstrom started answering at approximately 26:34 saying that over the years and to this day she had asked Fulton Sheen to help her know the Blessed Mother better, because Fulton Sheen had a strong devotion to Her, and to appreciate the Eucharistic Lord because Fulton Sheen had a daily Eucharistic hour and because of this, Ms. Engstrom said this had increased her faith, her love and appreciation there. [4]

Ms. Engstrom never followed up on whether Fulton Sheen answered her prayer that she prayed over the years till the present and helped her know the Blessed Virgin Mary better.  Instead, she pivoted and changed the subject.  That does not matter greatly because the main reason Ms. Engstrom was being interviewed was that she was the mother of a dead infant who came back to life after praying to a dead televangelist.

Raising someone from the dead is a miracle, one that is not necessarily bigger than another other miracle for every miracle is big from the perspectives of the person(s) benefiting from it.  It is appropriate to note here that not all miracles are or will originate from God. [5]

It is assumed here that the miracle Ms. Engstrom experienced on September 16, 2010, was from God.  Of course Fulton Sheen cannot raise the dead without Christ willing it be done.  At the time, Fulton Sheen was not even canonized a saint.  Therefore, Ms. Engstrom was not praying to a saint but to a dead man who was a televangelist.

Fulton Sheen was not even venerable on September 16, 2010.  It was only "[i]n June 2012, [that] Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of 'heroic virtues' - a major step towards beatification - so he is now referred to as 'Venerable'." [6]

Fulton Sheen could have led a holy life.  Only God knows how holy.  If Fulton Sheen is canonized a saint, he, in this blogger's opinion will be a political saint along with many others, but not God's saint.

Unlike God's saints, Juan Diego and Bernadette Soubirous, Fulton Sheen did not see any apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary that one knows of, and unlike Francis of Assisi, Christ did not speak to Fulton Sheen and Fulton Sheen did not have the stigmata that one knows of.

Why pray to a dead televangelist who was not immaculately conceived, and why not pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary Who is the Immaculate Conception and to Christ Who is the Son of God?

Why ask a dead televangelist to intercede when the Blessed Virgin Mary is the only one in Heaven that can be said is the closest to Christ Who is Her Son aside from the Father.  Being the Mother of God, the Blessed Mother is the most effective intercessor of all.

What can a dead televangelist who is not yet a saint do to help Ms. Engstrom know the Blessed Virgin Mary better and to appreciate the Eucharistic Lord?  One can believe that Fulton Sheen is close to God since he is dead, but is anyone closer to God than the Blessed Virgin Mary Who is the Mother of God?

In order to know the Blessed Mother and Her Son, one has to cultivate a relationship first, through unwavering faith and prayers, and sincere love for both, not on an as needed basis but consistently throughout one's life.

Alhough a sinner's love for the Blessed Mother and the Lord is necessarily imperfect, the imperfection does not prevent the sinner from having a close relationship with them because it is their love for the sinner that perfects the relationship.  Their love is a gift to the faithful, a gift that is always undeserved.

This blogger's opinion is to skip the saints and pray directly to God and the Mother of God based on an existing relationship, but it could very well have been God's plan to have Ms. Engstrom pray to Fulton Sheen to have her child stillborn raised to life after asking for Fulton Sheen's intercession in order that Fulton Sheen can have a miracle attributed to him for canonization.


[1] https://www.catholicstand.com/the-miracle-of-fulton-sheen-bonnie-engstrom/
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://youtu.be/N-aXDD3pSXA?t=1583
[4] https://youtu.be/N-aXDD3pSXA?t=1593
[5] https://www.allaboutgod.com/can-satan-do-miracles-faq.htm
[6] https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=7731

As Usual - Bergoglio Preached Mercy

It should surprise no one that Bergoglio would again return to the theme of his hypocritical papacy - mercy.  In his Angelus  address on July 14, 2019, Bergoglio twisted the words of the Lord, in a way not dissimilar to what the Serpent in the Garden of Eden had done.  The paragraph quoted below is from zenit.org  [1]:

After recounting the parable, Jesus addresses the Doctor of the Law again, who had asked Him “Who is my neighbour?” And He says to him: “Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?” (v. 36). In this way, He brings about a reversal in regard to His interlocutor’s question, and also to the logic of us all. He makes us understand that it’s not we that, on the basis of our criteria, define who is and who is not our neighbour, but it’s the person in a situation of need who must be able to recognize who is his neighbour, namely, “the one who showed mercy on him” (v. 37). This conclusion indicates that mercy, in confronting a human life in a state of necessity, is the true face of love. It is thus that we become true disciples of Jesus and that the face of the Father is manifested: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). It is thus that the commandment of the love of God and of our neighbour becomes a unique and coherent rule of life.

First of all, none of the Lord's commandants is the equivalent to any "unique and coherent rule of life."  Commandments are commandants.  They have not become "rules of life."

Then Bergoglio judged Christ, and described "the commandment of the love of God and of our neighbour" as "unique" as if Christ's words needed to be evaluated as "unique."

What is worse is that Bergoglio had put forth an innuendo implying that Christ might be "incoherent" by using the word "coherent" to describe "the commandment of the love of God and of our neighbour."

Furthermore, Bergoglio quoted the Lord's words selectively, "'Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.'"  By doing so, he had misrepresented by intentional omission.  Bergoglio's artfully chosen quote are preceded by the following words, quoted without paragraph numbers [2]:

 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 

and followed by these, quoted without paragraph numbers [3]:

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Bergoglio omitted all these words of the Lord to draw his own conclusion to protect himself, not to enlighten and bring his flock closer to God.  By leaving out what preceded and what followed, Bergoglio did not need to explain why he has ignored Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò who criticized him and who had once suggested that he resign his papacy.  Where is Bergoglio's mercy with respect to Viganò?

Also one cannot forget Matthew Festing, former Grand Master of the Knights of Malta who had upset Bergoglio when "Festing had dismissed the order's Grand Chancellor, Albrecht, Baron von Boeselager, for allowing the distribution of condoms in a medical project for the poor." [4] [Quoted without hyperlinks.]  As a result, Festing resigned under pressure from Bergoglio's Vatican.  Where was Bergoglio's mercy with respect to Festing?

Bergoglio preaches mercy over and over to a tedium, but he is one who is often merciless when it comes to his enemies.  He does not love his enemies.  He crucifies them metaphorically by exercising his papal powers.

These words may one day be ringing in Bergoglio's ears for an eternity:  "'For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.'" [5]  May God pardon the hypocrite Bergoglio and save him from the fires of Hell.  He could very well be one of the many who is in most need to God's mercy.


[1] https://zenit.org/articles/popes-angelus-address-on-the-parable-of-the-good-samaritan-full-text/
[2] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6%3A32-38&version=NIV
[3] Ibid.
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Festing
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6%3A32-38&version=NIV

Mass Exorcism This Weekend In Columbia

The Independent  published an article entitled  Bishop to spray holy water over city from helicopter in mass exorcism of 'demons' this weekend.  Quoted below without the hyperlink is from the article [1]:

Monsignor Rubén Darío Jaramillo Montoya will perform the mass exorcism for the Colombian seaport of Buenaventura during the city’s annual patron saints’ festivities.

“We want to go around the whole of Buenaventura, from the air and pour holy water onto it to see if we exorcise all those demons that are destroying our port,” he told a Colombian radio station.

A Catholic bishop will spray holy water over an entire city from a military helicopter in an attempt to conquer the demons he believes are plaguing it. 

After this spraying, the helicopter should be deployed to do the same and shower the Vatican and all Catholic and non-Catholic religious institutions and places of worship with holy water to rid the demons there, then onward to every village, town and city throughout the world, beginning with places where seats of power are located, where weapons of mass destruction are being manufactured and where think tanks and leaders meet to form strategies and alliances on how to sow discord between and among nations, ethnic groups and tribes and on how to eliminate people.

Monsignor Rubén Darío Jaramillo Montoya should have been elected to succeed Benedict XVI instead of Bergoglio.  He would probably have appointed Rome's chief exorcist, Father Gabriel Amorth, [2] to oversee all the mass exorcisms around the world.


[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bishop-helicopter-mass-exorcism-holy-water-demons-colombia-montoya-catholic-a9000281.html
[2] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/romes-exorcist-father-gabriel-amorth-dies-at-age-91-29963

The $135.5 Million Catholic Church Cares More About Its Stature Than The Poor

A Catholic cathedral in Garden Grove, California, now named as Christ Cathedral had undergone a $77 million renovation.  This building was previously owned by televangelist Rev. Robert H. Schuller who named it the Crystal Cathedral "with a facade made up of nearly 11,000 glass panes." [1]

"[W]hen Schuller's Crystal Cathedral went bankrupt in 2010 the diocese [of Orange] instead opted to buy the sprawling campus in Garden Grove for $57.5 million. In addition to the cathedral, the campus has a school, cemetery and offices surrounded by scenic gardens and water features." [2]

Adding the cost of the property of $57.5 million to the $77 million renovation, the total comes out to $134.5 million.  For this amount of money, here is what the article also reported [3]:

“Our hope is that through the beauty of this place people will be drawn closer to the divine,” said Father Christopher Smith, episcopal vicar and rector of Christ Cathedral. “Every time people have walked in here since we’ve opened it up to people to see it, that is exactly what’s happened.”

Really?  Does that mean if one prays in Gethsemane on one's knees in the dirt without a roof, one will not be drawn as close to "the divine"?  But that was exactly what Jesus did Who is Divinity Himself!

Christopher Smith is a priest and what came out of his mouth was nonsense.  Being able to experience the Divine is a gift from God.  It can happen at any time, anywhere.  One does not need to enter a multimillion cathedral to have such an experience.  It is obvious that Christopher Smith never received such a gift or he would not have spewed such nonsense.

It is spiritual poverty not ostentatious display of wealth that connects one's soul to the Divine.  Sadly, in this world of Satanic materialism, many people and clerics no longer have the clarity to distinguish between what is truly holy and what is mere pretension.

Can a balance be struck between spending money on a large expensive cathedral and setting aside less than half of it, say $50 million, to help those who are in desperate need for food, shelter, medical treatments and medications around the world but cannot afford them?  The Church sure preaches the need to serve the poor it but sets a different example here.  What the diocese in Orange is saying is if you have the money, first spend it on acquisition of and improvements upon real property before even thinking about those who are poor and in need.  Let them suffer and die first.  It is more important to have a large multimillion cathedral.  As for the individual, it is more important to have a large mansion so that when one walks into one's spacious home that is filled with light, one can be "drawn closer to the divine" than walking into a shabby hut without even one glass window, not unlike the stable where Christ was born.


[1] https://www.apnews.com/552b9ebb27a94635b6064fe788726992
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.

War Cloud vs. Mushroom Cloud vs. Armageddon

American companies are competing for "a $10 billion opportunity to build the U.S. military its first 'war cloud' computing system." [1]

“This is not your grandfather’s internet,” said Daniel Goure, vice president of the Lexington Institute, a defense-oriented think tank. “You’re talking about a cloud where you can go from the Pentagon literally to the soldier on the battlefield carrying classified information.” [2]

When it comes to defeating the enemy, one can resort to all kinds of new technology.  When it comes down to the most effective way to kill, is it not still based on old technology which is the nuclear warhead?

What is the use of of a "war cloud" that provides instant classified information to the soldiers on the battlefields when  hundreds of nuclear atomic bombs are falling on big cities with large populations causing mushroom clouds to rise?

After all, it was the hijacking of passenger planes in the sky flying into tall buildings that forever changed the lives of travelers around the world.  No high technology was required.

Not even the worst of wars will equal what could happen as written in the Book of Revelations, Chapter 16, quoted without references [3]:

1
I heard a loud voice speaking from the temple to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s fury upon the earth.”


2
The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth. Festering and ugly sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast or worshiped its image.


3
The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. The sea turned to blood like that from a corpse; every creature living in the sea died.


4
The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water. These also turned to blood.a
5
Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just, O Holy One,
who are and who were,
in passing this sentence.

6
For they have shed the blood of the holy ones and the prophets,
and you [have] given them blood to drink;
it is what they deserve.”
7
Then I heard the altar cry out,
“Yes, Lord God almighty,
your judgments are true and just.”


8
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. It was given the power to burn people with fire.
9
People were burned by the scorching heat and blasphemed the name of God who had power over these plagues, but they did not repent or give him glory.


10
The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. Its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and people bit their tongues in pain
11
and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their works.


12
The sixth angel emptied his bowl on the great river Euphrates. Its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.
13
I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.
14
These were demonic spirits who performed signs. They went out to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle on the great day of God the almighty.
15
(“Behold, I am coming like a thief.” Blessed is the one who watches and keeps his clothes ready, so that he may not go naked and people see him exposed.)
16
They then assembled the kings in the place that is named Armageddon in Hebrew.


17
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.”
18
Then there were lightning flashes, rumblings, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake. It was such a violent earthquake that there has never been one like it since the human race began on earth.
19
The great city was split into three parts, and the gentile cities fell. But God remembered great Babylon, giving it the cup filled with the wine of his fury and wrath.
20
Every island fled, and mountains disappeared.
21
Large hailstones like huge weights came down from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God for the plague of hail because this plague was so severe.

Man often times thinks that he is brilliant and invincible due to pride until he sees God, then he will cower with fear and tremble.  One ought to be conscious of that inevitable moment at every moment in life.


[1] https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/amazon-microsoft-wage-war-over-the-pentagons-war-cloud/
[2] Ibid.
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/revelation/16

Sexual Abuses Committed By A Priest Around Lyon, France

RFI  on 4 July 2019 published an article entitled French Catholic Church defrocks abuse priest at centre of Barbarin affair.  The two paragraphs quoted below are from the article [1]:

Father Bernard Preynat was on Thursday "dismissed of the clerical state" – the heaviest sentence that can be pronounced by the church's ecclesiastical court.

Preynat was indicted in February 2016 for the sexual assault of minors dating back to the 1970s. More than 80 other people came forward with allegations of abuse by Preynat over a 20-year period.

In a related article dated 1 July 2019, RFI  published French Cardinal’s trial highlights Church response to child abuse  stated that "Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, 68, is one of six Church officials accused of failing to report Bernard Preynat, a priest accused of abusing children around the French city of Lyon between 1986 and 1991." [2]  [Hyperlinke omitted.]

The article continued to report as follows [3]:

Two other French Catholic officials have been convicted of failing to report child abuse in the past, but Barbarin is the highest-profile official implicated in a cover-up.

“It’s very rare that cardinals or bishops are prosecuted for covering up child abuse, and that’s the most effective action that civil authorities can take to change the system,” says Miguel Hurtado of the international victims’ rights group The Ending Clergy Abuse Global Justice Project.

“The biggest precedent [French judges] can set is to say that nobody is above the law, no matter how powerful you are; that you may be a cardinal, but if you cover up abuse, you go to jail.”

When will American judges set this precedent?

[1] http://en.rfi.fr/france/20190704-barbarin-affair-french-catholic-church-defrocks-abuse-priest-bernard-preynat, see also https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-07/french-priest-preynat-guilty-sexual-abuse-defrocked.html

[2] http://en.rfi.fr/france/20190107-child-abuse-french-catholic-cardinal-trial-cover-up-barbarin-preynat

[3] Ibid.