Pope announce ‘zero tolerance’ for sexual abuse in the Catholic church.
Pope Francis said that priests who abused children should not be tolerated when they asked for forgiveness.
“I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst.”
“The Church recognizes the sins of some of her members: the sufferings, the experiences and the pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests.
“It is a sin that shames us.
In a letter sent on 28 December but released by the Vatican only on Monday, Francis said: “I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst.”
“Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated.
In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to ‘zero tolerance’,” he said.
He had always stood his ground and rooting out sexual abuse among priests but critics insist he had not done enough to ensure Bishops do not pardon such priests.
He however said: “We join in the pain of the victims and weep for this sin – the sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power.”
The Pope is reported to have met victims of sexual abuses in the Vatican and during his trips to several countries.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church Of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has stepped down as the leader of the church in Nigeria.
Pastor Adeboye did not resign as General Overseer of RCCG. He retires as Overseer of RCCG in Nigeria. Pastor E.A Adeboye remains General Overseer, RCCG Worldwide.
At the RCCG Annual Ministers Thanksgiving this morning, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, announced his retirement as the Overseer of RCCG in Nigeria.
This is sequel to the new legal requirements set up by the Financial Regulations Council, guiding all registered churches, mosques, CSOs. They now have a maximum period of twenty years to lead their organizations. In retirement, they are not permitted to hand over to their families.
The Church’s reports that ,
” RCCG NIGERIA is now to be headed by Pastor Joseph Obayemi, as Pastor Funsho Odesola will serve as the new Church Secretary while Pastor Joseph Adeyokunu, is the new Church Treasurer. We would like to inform all members of RCCG to understand this new structure and go about their service to God and humanity in holiness and soul winning. Let us also educate people around us and not spread inaccurate information. Pastor E.A Adeboye remains the General Overseer of RCCG Worldwide.
Signed: RCCG Pastors Seed Family “
Pastor Adeboye appointed Pastor Obayemi as Overseer of RCCG in Nigeria. He is still the General Overseer of RCCG Worldwide.
It was gathered that Pastor Adeboye would maintain oversight of the church across the world, which now has presence in over 190 countries.
The 75-year-old revered cleric was said to have announced his retirement from the leadership of the Nigerian church on Saturday during the Annual Minister’s Thanksgiving at Shimawa area of Ogun State.
Pastor Obayemi has been named Overseer of RCCG Nigeria, but Pastor Adeboye has not retired. He will still be in charge of RCCG Worldwide, conducting the Holy Ghost service, Festival of Life in other countries and other major church services, but Pastor Obayemi will lead the RCCG in Nigeria,” said a source within the RCCG while addressing rumours of Pastor Adeboye’s retirement.
Pastor Obayemi was promoted alongside others last August to the position of Assistant General Overseer. Until his appointment, Pastor J.O. Obayemi who was a deputy in charge of Finance and a member of governing council has been named his successor.
Pastor Adeboye and Pastor Obayemi
For more news about church appointments regarding the new regulations by the Financial Regulations Council, guiding all registered churches, mosques, CSOs. They now have a maximum period of twenty years to lead their organizations. In retirement, they are not permitted to hand over to their families.
Many churches will soon announce their new leader and appointments.
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Fears of attacks by Islamist militants are running high in France, where more than 230 people have been killed in assaults in the past two years and emergency rule has been in place for over a year.
France is carrying out “preventive arrests” and checking on deployment of concrete barriers at Christmas markets amid fears of a strike by Islamist militants following Monday’s Berlin attack.
A government spokesman said organisers of Christmas markets had been contacted to verify all security measures, including baggage checks, in the light of Monday’s Berlin attack when a truck careered into a market killing 12 people.
Police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert said soldiers would be posted to ensure security at places of worship, where people tend to flock in larger-than-usual numbers on Dec. 25, one of the big dates of the Christian calendar in a traditionally Roman Catholic country.
Christian leaders who have issued warnings about William P. Young’s bestselling novel “The Shack,” which portrays God as a woman and espouses universalistic beliefs, state that if the scheduled national film release is faithful to the text of the book, its distribution could “far outweigh” the harm already done to souls through the printed page.
“If the film is a faithful portrayal of the events and the theology of the book, then every Christian should be gravely alarmed at the further advance of beliefs that smear the evangelical understanding of the truth of the Bible,” James B. DeYoung, author of “Burning Down the Shack: How the ‘Christian’ Bestseller is Deceiving Millions” and an acquaintence of Young, told Christian News Network.
As previously reported, “The Shack,” released in 2007, is stated to have sold approximately 20 million copies and has been translated into 39 languages. In 2013, Lionsgate Entertainment obtained the rights to turn the book into a film, which is now scheduled to be released in March 2017 and is currently being promoted nationwide.
“The Shack” tells the story of a man named Mackenzie “Mack” Phillips who faces a crisis while on a family vacation as his youngest daughter Missy is abducted and presumably killed in an abandoned shack. Years later, the grieving father receives a note from “Papa,” who tells Phillips that it has “been a while” and to meet up at the shack the following weekend.
Reluctantly, Phillips returns to the site, where he meets the Godhead, portrayed as what Young calls a “fat black woman,” a young Asian woman named Sarayu, and a carpenter named Jesus. Together, they seek to help Phillips deal with his faltering faith and to learn to forgive.
The film features Octavia Spencer as “Papa,” who is asked blatantly by Phillips, played by Sam Worthington, “Where were you when I needed you?” Sumire Matsubara plays the Holy Spirit, portrayed in the book as Sarayu.
Schimmel
“Young’s pretentious caricature of God as a heavy set, cushy, non-judgmental, African American woman called ‘Papa’ (who resembles the New Agey Oprah Winfrey far more than the one true God revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ—Hebrews 1:1-3), and his depiction of the Holy Spirit as a frail Asian woman with the Hindu name, Sarayu, lends itself to a dangerous and false image of God and idolatry,” Joe Schimmel, pastor of Blessed Hope Chapel in Simi Valley, California and host of the documentary “Hollywood’s War on God,” told Christian News Network.
Schimmel preached a message at his church entitled “The Shack and the Seduction of the Church,” which he is currently making available as a warning to Christians.
DeYoung says that he knew Young well prior to the book’s release, and personally witnessed Young’s slide into universalism—a belief that everyone will eventually go to Heaven, and that any punishment will only be temporal.
“In 2004, [Young] prepared and released a 103-page document for our M3 Forum in which he rejected his ‘evangelical paradigm’ and embraced universal reconciliation (UR),” he explained. “He has never renounced the particulars of universal reconciliation, [and] he refuses to say that other world religions are in error in their assessment of Jesus as the unique Son of God.”
Schimmel noted that Young has made similar statements in public interviews, denying that God will pour out his wrath on unrepentant sinners, as well as the fact that Christ took God’s wrath as the substitutionary atonement for the wicked.
“Tragically, these heresies are reflected in the aberrant fictional theology presented in The Shack. These are not mere trivial matters but strike at the very heart of God’s character and the gospel that saves our eternal souls,” he said.
Schimmel warned that such depictions, much like the children of Israel who forged a golden calf, create a god in man’s image.
“Jesus warned of a time, after His ascension, that some of His servants would conclude that He was delaying His coming and would also live wicked lives (Luke 12:45). Sadly, as we await our Lord’s return from heaven, many are guilty of fashioning images of God that they find more accommodating to their desires and chosen lifestyles and calling these gods ‘Yahweh,’” he said.
Young encouraged Christians to ask themselves key questions about the film’s content.
“My word to the viewers of the movie ‘The Shack’ is this: If they confess to be Christians, they should pay close attention to the statements made by the actors and ask themselves: Does this theology agree with the Bible and Christian doctrine? Or, is it more in line with the old distortions of the truth that Christians have identified as heresy as early as the Council of Constantinople in 533?” he said. “Contrary to UR, 2,000 years of Church history cannot be wrong.”
God has given you the opportunity to be an example of Christ in your family and you must take advantage of such an chance, the Rev. Billy Graham says.Graham, founder of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said on his “My Answers” column on the organization’s website Tuesday that Christians should consider their relationship with God as a gift that needs to be shared with others, instead of being embarrassed of their faith around non-religious family members.
The 97-year-old evangelical leader writes that Christians should see their faith “not as a burden but as a God-given opportunity — an opportunity He is giving you to influence your family for good.”
It is possible to express your religion to your relatives without coming off as overbearing, negative or self-righteous, Graham adds, as such an approach usually “turns people away from Christ instead of toward Him.”
But it is also possible to show others the effect Christ’s love has had in your life, as it has given you a sense of peace that will shine through in social interactions.
Graham cites John 13:35, which reads: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” as evidence of how Christ’s love can be shared with others.
With these tips in mind, Graham encourages all Christians to pray that God will help them spread His love to their family members.
“Some in your extended family may already love God — and He can use you to encourage them. Some may be seeking God, or wondering what the future holds for them — and He can use you to point them to Jesus. And some may have no interest in Christ or may even scorn you — but God can still use you to plant seeds of faith in their hearts,” the evangelical leader concludes.
Along with evangelizing to your family members, Graham has also spoken on the importance of evangelizing on a global scale, writing in a previous blog post that missionaries “are needed today more than ever.”
“… some countries are now open to the Gospel that were closed only 15 or 20 years ago, and opportunities for evangelism and service in those nations have exploded. In addition, churches in those countries often need training and other skills that only missionaries can supply,” Graham adds.
Chuck Lawless, who serves as professor of evangelism and missions and dean of graduate studies at Southeastern Seminary, said in an op-ed for The Christian Post that there are several reasons as to why Christians might be hesitant to evangelize.
Among the nine reasons he cited, Lawless mentions the fact that the “fear of the unknown” might prevent Christians from evangelizing.
“You’ve probably heard fears expressed: ‘He might not listen to me.’ ‘What if doing this costs me my friend?’ ‘She might ask me questions I can’t answer.’ ‘They might reject what I say.’
“Most of these fears, I believe, are more perceived than real in North American culture, but perception matters,” Lawless writes.
Another reason Christians might avoid evangelism is because they are not frequently surrounded by nonreligious people.
“Many church members are so cocooned in the Church world that they couldn’t list several names of non-believers they know well. If our whole world revolves around hanging out with Christians, we’re not likely to do evangelism,” Lawless says.
Burning buses meant to evacuate ill and injured people from the besieged Syrian villages of al-Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province, Syria.Reuters
Armed men burned five buses that were supposed to be used for an evacuation near Idlib in Syria on Sunday, stalling a deal to allow thousands to depart from the last rebel pocket in Aleppo, where evacuees crammed into buses for hours before departing the city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the evacuation of the villages near Idlib had been postponed as a result of the incident. Five buses leaving Aleppo were held, packed with evacuees, for hours before they could drive the five km (three miles) to rebel-held territory outside.
In return for the evacuation of fighters, their families and other civilians from Aleppo, the mostly Sunni insurgents had agreed that people in the villages of al-Foua and Kefraya, Shi’ite villages that they have besieged near Idlib, should also be allowed to leave.
Videos posted on social media showed bearded men with guns cheering and shouting “God is great” after torching the green buses before they were able to reach the villages.
State media said “armed terrorists”, a term it uses for all groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad, had carried out the attack. Pro-Damascus Mayadeen television and the Observatory blamed the rebel group formerly known as the Nusra Front.
Rebel officials said an angry crowd of people, possibly alongside pro-government “operatives”, was responsible.
Although the Aleppo evacuation convoy was eventually cleared to drive to rebel-held al-Rashideen, there was no official word on what impact the bus burning would have on the departure of more convoys from the city and the two villages.
While the Observatory said the convoy of five buses had reached al-Rashideen, a United Nations official in Syria said only that they had left east Aleppo, adding: “The evacuations are on.” … read more
A compromise has been reached in North Carolina’s battles over transgender bathroom use. The city of Charlotte will repeal its controversial ordinance and the state government will repeal the law passed in reaction to that ordinance.
(Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Drake)A sign protesting a recent North Carolina law restricting transgender bathroom access adorns the bathroom stalls at the 21C Museum Hotel in Durham, North Carolina May 3, 2016. The hotel installed the restroom signage designed by artist Peregrine Honig last month after North Carolina’s “bathroom law” gained national attention, positioning the state at the center of a debate over equality, privacy and religious freedom.
North Carolina’s controversial law that requires transgender individuals to use state-operated bathrooms consistent with their biological sex will likely be repealed in a special session of the state’s legislature on Tuesday.
On Monday, North Carolina’s Republican Gov. Pat McCrory called for the state’s lawmakers to convene a special session so they can officially repeal the highly controversial H.B. 2, a law that prevents local governments from requiring businesses and other places of public accommodation to allow transgender individuals to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.
H.B. 2 was originally passed in response to a discrimination ordinance enacted by the Charlotte City Council that forced all businesses in Charlotte to open up their bathrooms and other changing areas to transgender individuals — a measure that opponents argued would make it easier for sexual predators to gain access to women’s and girl’s bathrooms.
McCrory and the state lawmakers received national criticism from left-leaning media, corporations and celebrities who pushed back against H.B. 2 and claimed that the law was discriminatory and politicized bathroom usage.
But after the Charlotte City Council voted unanimously on Monday to repeal its discrimination ordinance, McCrory’s press secretary, Graham Wilson, issued a statement calling for the repeal of H.B. 2.
“Now that the Charlotte ordinance has been repealed, the expectation of privacy in our showers, bathrooms and locker rooms is restored and protected under previous state law,” Wilson said. “Governor McCrory has always publicly advocated a repeal of the overreaching Charlotte ordinance. But those efforts were always blocked by [Charlotte Mayor] Jennifer Roberts, [Attorney General and Governor-elect] Roy Cooper and other Democratic activists.” … Read More
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