A Special Offer from the Pope

The Dec 21 Pittsburgh Catholic, the newspaper of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reported in an article titled, "Pope OKs Lourdes Indulgence:"

"To mark the 150th anniversary of Mary's appearance to St. Bernadette Soubirous near Lourdes, France, Pope Benedict XVI authorized a special indulgence to encourage renewed holiness. Catholics can receive a plenary indulgence for taking part in any public or private devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes..."

A "plenary indulgence" (which can only be granted by the pope) is the complete remission of all temporal punishment (both in this life and in purgatory) due to sin up until the time of the indulgence. However, it does nothing for any punishment due to sins committed by a Catholic after the indulgence is granted!

Just look at some of the pope-created rules Catholics will have to abide by to obtain the release from punishment this special indulgence is granting:

To start with - A "pilgrimage" to the Lourdes shrine in France has to take place between Dec 8, 2007 – Dec 8, 2008. As of Dec 9, 2008, the god of Rome will no longer have this special offer available.

AND – For the god of Rome to grant this indulgence, "pilgrims" must visit the following sites, preferably in this order:

1. The parish where St Bernadette was baptized. 2. The Soubirous family home. 3. The grotto (where Bernadette saw "Mary"). 4. The chapel where Bernadette received her first communion.

ALSO – "At each location the faithful should end their meditation by praying the Lord’s Prayer, the creed and the special jubilee prayer or a prayer to Mary."

Now......for those who don't have the money to go to France, they can get this indulgence by visiting any "holy place dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in another part of the world Feb. 2-11 (and) pray the Lord's Prayer, the creed and the special jubilee prayer or a prayer to Mary."

The pope made it easier for rich people – he gives them a full year to get this indulgence (with a trip to France thrown in!), while poor people only have from Feb 2-11 to get to the nearest Lourdes shrine and go through these antics!

I wonder if the pope consulted with the French Board of Tourism before making this pronouncement?

Thankfully, the God of the bible is not at all the god presented by the Catholic Church. May the Spirit of God show many Catholics the sheer lunacy of the Roman Church and its man-made, zany rules! May God grant Catholics repentance from Rome and faith ALONE in Jesus Christ for the full and free forgiveness of sins – no popish indulgences needed!

Yet Another Title for Mary - "Mother Without Borders"

In its support for unlimited illegal immigration, the Catholic Church is giving Mary even more titles! This was reported in the Dec 5 Catholic News Service article, "Our Lady of Guadalupe Called 'Mother Without Borders' in Los Angeles."

In their worship of Mary, Catholics have already bestowed upon her lots of titles: Our Lady of Fatima - Joy of All Who Sorrow - Our Lady of Peace - White Lily of the Trinity and Vermillion Rose of Heaven - Our Lady of Graces – Un-tier of Knots…the list is endless!!

Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles came up with a new title for Mary this year – "Mother Without Borders" – as he celebrated the "Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe" this past Dec 2.

His Eminence said, "The Virgin of Guadalupe is a symbol of hope for all who are marginalized."

(Note – the "Virgin of Guadalupe" was supposedly an appearance of Mary to an Aztec peasant in 1531. The real story is – the Aztecs refused to become Catholics, so the Catholic Church took the Aztec worship of a goddess named Tonantzin, and turned it into worship for Mary.)

If I may re-phrase what His Eminence said, "The Virgin of Guadalupe is a symbol of the idolatry of Roman Catholicism."

Maybe we should title Roman Catholicism: "Mother of All Lies."

Rome is showing itself as an enemy of the United States by its support for unlimited illegal immigration. Please pray daily that God protect the USA from – the Roman Catholic Church and illegal immigration.

Catholic Church - Still in Denial

“A new comic book produced by the Archdiocese of New York aims to help middle school and high school students protect themselves from sexual predators and have the courage to report improper advances.” This was reported in the Dec 10 Catholic News Service article titled, “Coloring, Comic Books Aim to Protect Students from Sexual Abuse.”

So……you might think, “That’s good. They’re warning children to watch out for and report on pervert priests.” WRONG!!! The article continues:

“Called Archangel, the 28-page comic book tells the story of a young man -- once a victim of sexual abuse himself -- who learns at his new school that the father of one student is abusing some other young women at the school. In 'conversations' with a statue of St. Michael the Archangel at the school, the young man debates whether to report the abuse to school authorities.”

What?? This is amazing!! Only the Catholic Church could be so brazen as to print such a farce. The sexual predators preying on Catholic children have not been fathers of students molesting girl students. The predators have been priests molesting boys by the tens of thousands!!

The storyline of this “comic book” only shows that Rome is still in denial about the perverted nature of their priesthood. And, we must conclude that Rome is still not interested in protecting children from priests.

May the Spirit of God show Catholic children reading this “comic book” that their church is still more concerned in protecting the fairies and perverts in their priesthood, instead of children. May God help Catholics to repent of the sin of Catholicism, and to receive Christ by faith ALONE for eternal life, no Catholic priesthood needed!

Navy Priest Enters Guilty Plea in Sex Abuse Case

The following from the Dec 6 Washington Post article, “Chaplain Enters Guilty Plea in Sex Abuse Case” says it all:

“A Navy chaplain who is HIV-positive entered a guilty plea this morning to charges that he used his positions at the U.S. Naval Academy and Marine Corps Base Quantico to lure midshipmen and Marines into sex acts.”

“Lt. Cmdr. John Thomas Matthew Lee, 42, who is a Catholic priest, is facing a court-martial at Quantico on charges that stem from several alleged incidents from 2003 to 2007. The charges include consensual and forcible sodomy for allegedly having sex with several men; indecent acts for allegedly posing for nude photographs; aggravated assault for not informing an alleged victim of his HIV status; and conduct unbecoming an officer.”

“Lee fraternized with one midshipman over a two-year period after the student came to him for counseling and advice in 2004. Lee offered the underage midshipman alcohol, engaged in sex acts, asked him to take nude photographs of Lee and e-mailed him pornographic photos of naked men, according to the documents.”

“One source familiar with the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Lee would start conversations with the midshipmen and then invite them to his office, where he allegedly had them take nude pictures of him before he would initiate sex. A charge of forcible sodomy could result if Lee used his rank to have sex with subordinates.”

Hmmmm……and Catholics believe such men have the power to command Christ to turn Himself into wafers and wine! Oh – and to “forgive” sins, as well!

We thank God yet again for exposing the wickedness of the Roman priesthood. The Catholic heart is an unregenerate heart that must be freed from the sin of Rome. Is it a sin to be a Catholic? Absolutely yes!

Pray daily that God’s grace would free many Catholics from Rome, and bless them with saving faith in Christ ALONE for the full and free forgiveness of sins – no priests, like Father Lee, for example, needed!