Pope Francis Accused of Covering Up Sex Abuse by Former Top Vatican Official

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Pope Francis Accused of Covering Up Sex Abuse by Former Top Vatican Official

(Photo: Reuters/ Tony Gentile)Pope Francis as he leads the Christmas night Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica back in 2017

Pope Francis has been accused by a former top Vatican official of covering up sex abuse in the Catholic Church for years.

Francis, who at the World Meeting of Families in Ireland over the weekend apologized to the faithful for cover-ups from others, has since given an enigmatic response to the accusations.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who previously served as the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States in one of the top diplomatic positions, states in an 11-page letter, published in The National Catholic Register, that “corruption had reached the very top of the Church’s hierarchy.”

Viganò claims that Francis and other Vatican officials were made aware of the long list of accusations against former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, including that he took sexual advantage of young seminarians.

He insists that Pope Benedict XVI imposed sanctions on McCarrick in 2009 or 2010 and ordered him to withdraw to prayer and penance, but that Francis decided to cover for him and even put him in a position of a trusted counselor.

The alleged papal cover-up of McCarrick continued for years, the letter states, until finally the cardinal was removed from public…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.

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John McCain’s most singular trait

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John McCain’s most singular trait

“Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended. Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled. John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order.”

This is how President George W. Bush remembered John McCain on Saturday after the senator died at the age of eighty-one. True to form, the senator asked Mr. Bush and President Obama–each of whom ran against him in presidential campaigns–to deliver eulogies at his funeral.

Today America is remembering one of our nation’s greatest heroes. This morning’s Wall Street Journal calls him a “principled leader.” CNN describes him as a “War Hero. Statesman. Maverick,” calling him “one of the leading voices in American politics.”

Others have fought for our nation and even been prisoners of war. Others have served in the United States Senate and even been nominated for president of the United States.

John McCain is being remembered today especially because of this singular trait: his sacrificial courage.

Why McCain couldn’t raise his arms

In 1973, McCain wrote about his experience as a prisoner during the Vietnam War. Reading his account over the weekend was a moving experience for me.

On October 26, 1967, McCain’s Skyhawk dive bomber was shot down over Hanoi. His right leg was broken, his left arm was fractured, and his right arm was broken in three places.

Vietnamese doctors eventually tried to put a cast on his right arm (without Novocain) but could not set the bones and put him in a chest cast. He spent two years in solitary confinement, communicating with fellow prisoners by tapping codes through the prison walls. He suffered from dysentery for a year and a half.

Since his father was commander in chief of US forces in the Pacific, camp officials offered at one point to release him. McCain refused, insisting that those who had been imprisoned before him be set free first.

He was then subjected to extreme torture. His left…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

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Bishops agree to care for migrants stuck on ship

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Bishops agree to care for migrants stuck on ship

Some 137 migrants left the Diciotti early on Sunday, stepping on to the dock at Catania, Sicily, where police photographed them for ID checks, a requirement for asylum seekers.

 

Italy’s populist government had not let them leave the ship earlier, demanding that other European Union countries take them.

Only Ireland did, pledging to take 20.

Non-EU Albania will take 20, while Italian Catholic bishops said they would care for about 100.

On August 16, the Diciotti’s crew rescued 190 migrants, most from Eritrea, from a smuggling boat.

The others, including minors and ailing migrants, were allowed off earlier.

Italy has threatened economic reprisals against the EU for not helping it enough with migrants.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Christians have forgotten what the church is actually for

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Christians have forgotten what the church is actually for

Chris Hodges – who leads the forty five thousand member Church in the Highlands in Alabama – has been speaking to Premier as he launches his new book ‘The Daniel Dilemma’.

He says the church was never supposed to be just for believers.

 

“We’ve got to make sure the church understands what the church exists for,” he said. “We don’t exist to be a little club that we have just for us – too many people think the church is for church people.

“I personally believe the church is a place where people who don’t agree with us can come.”

Hodges says he’s had to work hard in his own church on this issue.

“We’ve had to train our church people and teach them how Jesus lived his life and how he ministered to people.

“That’s why I wrote the book – most people feel ill equipped and don’t know how to both stand firm and love well.”

You can hear more from Chris Hodges on Premier Drive at 3pm on Monday or listen again at premierchristianradio.com

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Thousands download app calling young to priesthood

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Thousands download app calling young to priesthood

An app encouraging young people to consider becoming priests, which launched earlier this year, has been downloaded thousands of times.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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I won’t say a word about it

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I won’t say a word about it

Francis said the 11-page text by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano “speaks for itself” and that he would not comment on it.

Francis was asked by a US reporter during an airborne press conference on Sunday if Mr Vigano’s claims that the two discussed the Theodore McCarrick allegations in 2013 were true.

The pope was also asked about Mr Vigano’s claims that McCarrick was already under sanction at the time, but that Francis rehabilitated him.

He said he had read Mr Vigano’s document and trusted journalists to judge for themselves.

“It’s an act of trust,” he said. “I won’t say a word about it.”

 

The National Catholic Register and another conservative site, LifeSiteNews, published Mr Vigano’s text on Sunday as the pope wrapped up a two-day visit to Ireland dominated by the clerical sex abuse scandal.

Mr Vigano, 77, a conservative whose hard-line anti-gay views are well known, urged the reformist pope to resign over what he called Francis’ own culpability in covering up McCarrick’s crimes.

Francis accepted McCarrick’s resignation as cardinal last month, after a US church investigation determined that an accusation he had sexually abused a minor was credible.

Since then, another man has come forward to say McCarrick began molesting him starting when he was 11, and several former seminarians have said McCarrick abused and harassed them when they were in seminary.

The accusations have created a crisis of confidence in the US…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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15 Common Sacred Cows in Churches

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They are usually called sacred cows.

Sometimes they are called idols. Though the sacred cow terminology has its origins in Hinduism, it is commonly used in churches to describe those facets of church life that are given undue (and sometimes unbiblical) respect to the point they cannot be changed.

To the delight of some and to the chagrin of others, I conducted an informal social media poll to find out what the audience deemed the most common sacred cows in their churches. The answers were voluminous. Some of the conversations were hilarious. Some people just got mad. Imagine that.

Here are the top 15 responses by frequency. Again, keep in mind this survey was an informal poll on social media.

  1. The parlor. Thou shalt not enter, touch, or change. Only the parlor elect may enter. Parlors typically have an occupancy rate of less than one percent. Parlorolatry is one of the signs of a church that will soon die (see my book Autopsy of a Deceased Church, chapter 11).
  2. The organ. I’m a bit surprised this issue is still around. But it is. And there are some pretty strong feelings about this instrument.
  3. Politics. A number of respondents said many of their church members equate a certain brand of politics (all along the political spectrum) with biblical truth, a truth that must be declared in the pulpit and elsewhere.
  4. Order of worship. Thou shalt not move the offertory to another part of the service. The Apostle Paul instructed us exactly where it should be.
  5. The building. Yes, this response is a general…

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

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Joyce Meyer’s Daily 27 August 2018 Devotional — Sit Down

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Joyce Meyer’s Daily 27 August 2018 Devotional — Sit Down

Topic: Sit Down [Joyce Meyer’s Devotional Monday August 27, 2018]

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever. — John 14:16

Today’s Scripture says that we are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. I read past that passage one day, and the Holy Spirit stopped me. I noticed that after His resurrection and ascension, Jesus is often depicted as being seated at the right hand of the Father.

Do you know what people do when they sit? They rest. To be seated in heavenly places with Jesus is to enter an “inner rest.”

Sometimes when you start to get nervous and upset, anxious or worried, tell yourself, “Sit down.” That does not mean just your physical body; it also means your soul—your mind, will, and emotions. It is important to let your entire being rest and just wait on God. Wait expectantly for God to do what you cannot do.

Don’t worry, get frustrated, or become fearful while you rest. We often feel that we should always be “doing” something. The promise of God’s peace is not made to those who work, struggle, and strive in their own strength, but to those who enter God’s rest.

Prayer Starter: Lord, teach me how to sit down in Your holy rest. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

The post Joyce Meyer’s Daily 27 August 2018 Devotional — Sit Down appeared first on Flatimes.

Pope waves goodbye and heads back to Rome

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Pope waves goodbye and heads back to Rome

The pope was accompanied by the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo as he pulled up to the tarmac at Dublin Airport in a blue Skoda after saying mass in Phoenix Park.

Pope Francis was greeted by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and other dignitaries on the apron of the runway before his departure.

Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin and Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin were among those in attendance.

The pontiff smiled and shook hands with many people before ascending the steps to reach Aer Lingus’ St Aidan aircraft.

PA

 

At the door, the pontiff paused, turned around, waved and blessed those who had come to say goodbye to him before heading inside.

It marked the culmination of a whirlwind visit to Ireland by the pontiff.

As the A321 jet pushed back from the runway, the papal flag and the tricolour were flown from the cockpit.

Under the command of Captain Steve Kelly, it took off shortly before 7pm on Sunday carrying more than 120 people.

PA

 

Shortly after the pope took off, Mr Varadkar tweeted that he welcomed Pope Francis’s call for firm and decisive action when it came to addressing clerical sexual abuse.

The Taoiseach wrote: “We welcome Pope Francis’s call for firm and decisive action and for forgiveness.

“We now ask that from words flow actions.

“We thank Pope Francis for his visit…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional 27 August 2018 – The True Disciples

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TOPIC: The True Disciples (Mountain Of Fire And Miracle Ministries Monday, 27 August 2018)

FIRE SCRIPTURE: Mark 8:34-37

MEMORY VERSE: “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” – 2 Timothy 3:12

The MESSAGE:

A disciple is someone who diligently follows and studies the steps and life of his master in order to be like him. The mission of the master is that he should be reproduced in his disciples.

Jesus laid down three conditions for true discipleship: (1) We must surrender ourselves completely to Him; (2) We must identify with Him in suffering and death, and (3) We must follow Him obediently, wherever He leads. If we live for ourselves, we will lose ourselves, but if we lose ourselves for His sake and the Gospel’s, we will find ourselves. Denying self is not the same as self-denial. We practise self-denial when, for a good purpose, we occasionally give up things or activities. But we deny self when we surrender ourselves to Christ and determine to obey His will. This once-for-all dedication is followed by a daily ‘dying to self’ as we take up our cross and follow Him. From the human point of view, we are losing ourselves, but from the divine perspective, we are finding ourselves. When we live for Christ, we become more like Him, and this brings out our own unique individuality. To lose yourself is not an act of desperation; it is an act of devotion. But we do not stop there: personal devotion should lead to practical duty; that is, the sharing of the Gospel with a lost world. ‘For My sake’ could lead to selfish religious separation from the world, so it must be balanced with ‘and for the Gospel’s sake’. Because we live for Him, we live for others. Discipleship is a matter of profit and loss, a question of whether we will waste our lives or invest our lives. Note the severe warning Jesus gives us here: once we have spent our lives, we cannot buy them back. Remember, He was instructing His disciples, men who had already confessed Him as the Son of God. He was not telling them how to be saved and go to heaven but how to save their lives and make the most of their opportunities on earth. ‘Losing your soul’ is the equivalent of wasting your life, missing the great opportunities God gives you to make your life count. You may ‘gain the whole world’ and be a success in the eyes of men, and yet have nothing to show for your life when you stand before God. If that happens, though you did own the whole world, it would not be a sufficient price to give to God to buy another chance at life (Mark 8:27 – 9:13). Is there any reward for the person who is a true disciple? Yes, there is: he becomes more like Jesus Christ and one day shares in His glory. The devil promises you glory, but in the end, you receive suffering and pain. God promises you suffering, but in the end, that suffering is transformed into glory. If we acknowledge Christ and live for Him, He will one day acknowledge us and share His glory with us. Paul suffered for Christ, but he had a wonderful testimony that he fought the good fight of faith and finished his course. Are you a true disciple of Jesus Christ?

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE:
DENYING SELF IS NOT THE SAME AS SELF-DENIAL.

PROPHETIC WORD:
You will be a success in the eyes of both God and man.

PRAYER POINTS:

MORNING
1. You spirit of Judas, the Lord rebuke you, come out of my life and die, in the name of Jesus.
2. Spirit of self-deception, I bind and cast you out of my life, in the name of Jesus.
3. O Lord, break me and remould me to conform to Your image, in the name of Jesus.

EVENING
4. You spirit of Demas, you will not destroy my ministry, catch fire and burn to ashes, in the name of Jesus.
5. Holy Spirit, empower me to fight the good fight of faith, in the name of Jesus.
6. I surrender all my life to Jesus, O Lord, use me for Your glory, in the name of Jesus.
7. Enemies of my soul, you are a failure, be frustrated and die, in the name of Jesus.

“If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional HERE

MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE is a daily devotional by Dr. D.K Olukoya (General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Worldwide)

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

The post MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional 27 August 2018 – The True Disciples appeared first on Flatimes.

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