SNAP group: Pope Francis/Cd. O’Malley meeting with sex abuse victims just a gesture

ABUSE VICTIMS’ LEADER: POPE’S MEETING A ‘GESTURE’

Pope Francis says his plan to meet with a group of sex abuse victims is part of an effort to “go forward” with “zero tolerance” in confronting and preventing clergy abuse. But the head of a U.S. victims’ group has dismissed the upcoming session as “another gesture, another public relations coup” that could prove meaningless.

The meeting with a half-dozen victims, announced Monday, is being organized by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston. It will mark the first such encounter for the pope, who has been criticized by victims for not expressing personal solidarity with them when he has reached out to other people who suffer.

“On this issue we must go forward, forward. Zero tolerance,” Francis said, calling abuse of children an “ugly” crime that betrays God. He said the meeting and a Mass at the Vatican hotel where he lives would take place early next month.

The Archdiocese of Boston said in a statement that the details of the meeting haven’t been finalized yet, and that O’Malley “looks forward to supporting this effort by Pope Francis in whatever manner will be most helpful.” The archdiocese said the meeting was expected to take place “in the coming months.”

David Clohessy, executive director of the main U.S. victims’ group, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said the pope has shown himself to be capable of making real change in other areas such as church governance and finance but hasn’t done so in dealing with sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.

“The simple truth is this is another gesture, another public relations coup, another nice bit of symbolism that will leave no child better off and bring no real reform to a continuing, scandal-ridden church hierarchy,” he said.

Clohessy said the meeting “is just utterly, utterly meaningless.”

But a U.S. attorney who represents clergy abuse victims said he hoped the meeting would be “substantive and meaningful” rather than for cosmetic purposes.

 Read more –  http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/05/27/Abuse-victims-leader–Popes-meeting-a-gesture

Christian colleges don’t have to comply with Obamacare contraception mandate

Federal judge rules Christian colleges don’t have to comply with Obamacare contraception mandate

• Cornerstone College and Dordt College are both Christian institutions.

• The schools maintain that Obamacare’s contraception mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and is unconstitutional.

A federal court halted enforcement of Obamacare for two Christian colleges on Wednesday, a victory for those against employers paying for contraceptives, including the controversial “morning-after pill.”

The two schools, Cornerstone College in Michigan and Dordt College in Iowa, filed a lawsuit against the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, contesting the administration’s mandate that forces employers to provide contraceptives to employees, regardless of the organization’s religious practices and beliefs. In their suit, Dordt College v. Sebelius, the schools argue that the mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and is unconstitutional.

“The Schools hold, as a matter of religious conviction, that it would be sinful and immoral for them intentionally to participate in, pay for, facilitate, enable, or otherwise support access to abortion, which destroys human life.” 

Read more - https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=5634

Military Chaplains Say Lourdes Is A ‘Field Hospital’ For Spiritual Healing

LOURDES, France (CNS) – Military chaplains are used to hitting the road and heading where the hurt is as they tour bases, camps and veterans clinics.

But on a recent pilgrimage to Lourdes with wounded soldiers, a group of Catholic chaplains also found a sacred space for healing.

Auxiliary Bishop F. Richard Spencer of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services greets U.S. Army Maj. Derrick Mitchell after Mass during a military pilgrimage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. (CNS/Paul Haring) The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes “is a special place for Catholics and for anyone who has faith. It’s a place where you can feel and experience prayer,” said Msgr. Frank Pugliese, one of the chaplains on the pilgrimage.

“I think this is truly a field hospital” where people experience inner spiritual healing as they reconnect with God and other people of faith, said the monsignor, who is the former vicar general of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services and a retired military chaplain who served the naval forces for 21 years. He is currently helping two parishes in San Diego.

In Lourdes, “The healings that happen I think are amazing, not all of them physical,” he said.
“People have a sense of peace, of being loved, of being able to leave behind some of the baggage that they come with. And I think that’s sometimes a more powerful healing than if someone throws away crutches,” he said.

Read more – http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1402084.htm

Is China Preparing For War? Troop Build Up, Citizen Evacuation taking Place

PLA troops spotted near China-Vietnam border - A large number of People’s Liberation Army troops have been spotted heading towards the China-Vietnam border as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate, reports Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily. Thousands of Chinese nationals living or on business in Vietnam have already fled the country amid anti-China riots, which were sparked by a tense standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese naval ships near a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters off the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on May 4. The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed Friday that at least two Chinese nationals have been killed and nearly a hundred were injured during violent protests last week that saw dozens of Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong factories set on fire. The UK’s Guardian claims as many as 21 people have died.

Read more -  http://endtimeheadlines.org/china/is-china-preparing-for-war-troop-build-up-citizen-evacuation-taking-place/

An Evening with an Exorcist

 Speech by an exorcist speaking on topics like
what is causing possession, things that are being promoted by society, the
difference between old & new prayers. 

NO JOKE: Bikini-Clad Beach-Goers Fined $Thousands$ for Offending Muslim Sensibilities

You’re a girl out for some sunny fun in Italy. You wear a run-of-the-mill swimsuit to a popular beach. BIG MISTAKE. You get slapped with a hefty fine. Why? Because you offended Muslim beach-goers. Seriously.

Numerous web sites are reporting that a justice of the peace in Messina, Italy has ordered three girls to pay a criminal fine amounting to more than $3,500 each for having worn a bikini to a private beach. The offensive behavior occurred in the well-known tourist resort of Taormina, frequented by Saudi Muslim families on holiday.

Read more : http://www.libertynews.com/2014/05/no-joke-bikini-clad-beach-goers-fined-thousands-for-offending-muslim-sensibilities/