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Please pray for Bishop Strickland. |
Posted by: ThyWillBeDone - 06-24-2023, 08:27 PM - Forum: Appeals for Prayer
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https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/arti...-from-rome
Please pray for Bishop Strickland.
BREAKING: Bp. Strickland Gets ‘Visit’ From Rome News: US News
DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) - According to Church Militant sources, the bishop of Tyler, Texas, Joseph Strickland, is currently undergoing an "apostolic visitation" from the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops. The immediate focus of the examination is unknown at this time, but the increasingly outspoken prelate, dubbed "America's bishop," has certainly irritated high-ranking members of the hierarchy by defending the Deposit of Faith and condemning the more heterodox opinions of various other prelates. He was the only U.S. bishop to attend the June 16 protest against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the team's support of the blasphemous Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. It created something of an embarrassment for L.A. Abp. Jose Gómez and his auxiliary bishops. Strickland has stepped up his social media postings over the past year, going after increasingly confusing comments and holding accountable multiple members of the worldwide hierarchy.
While not confirmed, there is widespread speculation in certain circles that Rome is now striking back. Archbishop Robert Francis Prevost, the recently appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, ordered Strickland's visitation, and it is being carried out by two retired U.S. bishops acting on behalf of the dicastery's directive. The two bishops, sources report, are the rather notorious Bp. Gerald Frederick Kicanus and auxiliary Bp. Dennis Joseph Sullivan. According to those on the ground, the pair was in Tyler for a full week questioning multiple employees of the diocese. Church Militant reached out to Bp. Strickland for any comment but have received no reply. According to sources in Rome, some Vatican and U.S. bishops don't like Strickland's repeated public defense of Church teachings and some in Rome are labeling his speech and social media postings as "imprudent." It is unclear whether the visitation is a warning to the 63-year-old bishop or a prelude to his removal. What appears to be clear is that, whatever the official reason, it is most likely a pretext to silence Strickland's comments, according to Church Militant sources. Church Militant broke this developing story, and we will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
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Lab-Grown Meat Gets Green Light On US Menus |
Posted by: Stone - 06-24-2023, 07:37 AM - Forum: Health
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Lab-Grown Meat Gets Green Light On US Menus
ZH | JUN 23, 2023
The World Economic Forum's dietary blueprint for the masses is becoming a reality as lab-grown meat, bugs, and plant-based foods are quickly being adopted under the guise of solving 'climate change.' The latest move by elites and governments to reset the global food supply chain is US regulators approving the sale of meat cultivated from Chicken cells. This makes the US the second country worldwide, besides Singapore, to approve the sale of lab-grown fake meat.
The Agriculture Department approved Upside Foods and Good Meat to begin selling "cell-cultivated" or "cultured" chicken meat from labs in supermarkets and restaurants.
"Today's watershed moment for the burgeoning cultivated meat, poultry and seafood sector, and for the global food industry," Good Meat said in a statement.
Upside Foods CEO Uma Valeti said cultured meat in the US will "fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table."
"Instead of all of that land and all of that water that's used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way," said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which operates Good Meat.
WEF alarmists have made it clear they believe a reset of the global food supply chain is needed to solve climate change.
WEF stressed that "we urgently need sustainable technologies and methods to improve our current food systems and use of land for agriculture." Their ultimate goal is to curb meat consumption from livestock on farms to lab-grown meat, bugs, and plant-based foods.
"The globalists are at it again," Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) tweeted earlier this year.
Good Meat's products are set to hit an undisclosed restaurant in Washington, DC, while Upside's chicken will be launched at a restaurant in San Francisco. It's only a matter of time before the fake meat hits grocery stores.
As for gauging the popularity of lab-grown meat, look at the giant flop plant-based foods have been in the US:
Quote:"The bulls in the industry, I think, had a very wild, very optimistic estimate of how big the market could get.
"There was a lot of exuberance in this category. It was new, it was different, it was on trend.
"But the consumer environment is tough, and this stuff is not cheap... It's going to take time to change cultural practices. It's not going to happen overnight," John Baumgartner, an analyst at Mizuho Securities, recently told clients.
WEF's push to directly or indirectly ram through climate policy on the corporate and government level is happening while these elites who supposedly run the world fly around in luxury private jets and sail across oceans in superyachts.
And it remains uncertain what the health consequences might be 5-10 years into the future due to the consumption of artificial meat...
Oh yea, and there's this: "Carbon Footprint Of Lab-Grown Beef "Orders Of Magnitude" Worse Than Traditionally Raised."
So is fake meat really about saving the planet? Or is there another agenda?
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Christian Doctor In UK Fired For Refusing To Use Trans Pronouns, Cites Genesis |
Posted by: Stone - 06-24-2023, 07:35 AM - Forum: Global News
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Christian Doctor In UK Fired For Refusing To Use Trans Pronouns Cites Genesis, Appeals To European Court
ZH | JUN 24, 2023
Authored by Michael Wing via The Epoch Times
A Christian doctor in the UK was fired for refusing to use hypothetical transgender pronouns for patients during a training session.
(Courtesy of Christian Concern)
A court ruling followed by two separate appeals supported his being terminated; it is believed to be the first time in the history of English law where a judge ruled that free citizens must engage in “compelled speech” pertaining to transgender ideology.
Disappointed, the doctor in question, Dr. David Mackereth, 60, has since been partially vindicated by a UK professional regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC). Mackereth is now pursuing an appeal for justice from the European Court of Human Rights.
A practicing doctor for 26 years, Mackereth refused to call a man a woman or vice versa during a training session, citing that his biblical Christian beliefs prohibited it. That resulted in Mackereth being fired from his position as a health and disability assessor by his employer, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The DWP said his failure to accommodate patients’ gender preferences amounts to “harassments” under the Equality Act 2010.
In response, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Mackereth then launched a legal claim accusing the DWP of discriminating against his Christian and philosophical beliefs, though that claim fell short before the Employment Tribunal. His dismissal was deemed lawful.
Despite the verdict being partially overturned by the Employment Appeals Tribunal in May 2022, both the tribunal and, subsequently, the Court of Appeals also ruled that the firing was justified.
Yet, Mackereth recently received vindication in a response from the GMC regulative body. Without other avenues, Mackereth had self-referred to the GMC asking them to determine whether his fitness to practice was impaired by his Christian and “gender-critical” beliefs.
Responding, a letter from the GMC to Mackereth in June 2023 amounted to what some called the “first time a professional regulator have considered the issue of ‘misgendering’ and ruled in favour of one of their members,” the Christian Legal Centre stated in a press release.
In a hypothetical situation, Mackereth had been confronted with whether he would call a 6-foot bearded man “madam,” which he refused to do. Yet he insisted, as a Christian doctor, he “would never refuse to treat a patient who was in need;” and at no point in his career had he encountered a patient who asked to be identified as a different gender.
Correspondingly, the GMC wrote in their letter:
Quote:In our view it would not be proportionate to consider what might happen in a hypothetical situation such as if you were to be approached by a transgender patient for instance and we could not open an investigation on this basis.
Assessing all the rulings and legal documents, they concluded:
We also note the tribunals’ comments around whether your views might contravene GMC guidance, however, again there is no evidence to indicate that you have provided inappropriate advice or care to patients based on your views.
Mackereth said he was “delighted, grateful, and encouraged” by the letter.
This significant response also coincides with a new appeal now moving forward. All domestic remedies exhausted, Mackereth launched an application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to rule on the present case.
He is asking the court to address the “implications surrounding compelled speech and forced adherence to gender identity belief as a condition of employment.”
Lawyers argue that both his Article 9 rights of freedom of thought, belief, and religion, as well as his Article 10 rights of freedom of expression, were violated by his employer, the Christian Legal Centre stated. The ECHR’s decision is expected within the next six months.
The DWP told The Epoch Times in a statement, “Dr. Mackereth resigned from his post. Dr. Mackereth brought a claim in the Employment Tribunal which was dismissed, and this decision was subsequently upheld on appeal.”
The CEO of the Christian Legal Centre, Andrea Williams, called the assertion that Dr. Mackereth has resigned “disingenuous and untrue,” adding that “as a matter of record … [t]he DWP pressed Dr. Mackereth to pledge to use ‘transgender pronouns’ whenever they are wanted;
“Dr. Mackereth responded: ‘I am a Christian and in good conscience I cannot do what the DWP is requiring of me;’ DWP replied, ‘[T]hank you for your resignation which we accept;’ Dr. Mackereth rejoined, ‘I have not resigned, though I do understand that I have been sacked.’”
Now, Dr. Mackereth is calling for some “much-needed sanity,” and maintains that his claims are firmly rooted in Genesis 127—that God created man in his own image, man and woman. He stated:
Quote:Everyone in the NHS should be able to say publicly without fear that a person cannot change sex, but instead we are being forced to accept a massive change to our concept of the medical reality of sex, with no scientific basis for that change.
No doctor, or researcher, or philosopher, can demonstrate or prove that a person can change sex. Without intellectual and moral integrity, medicine cannot function. I believe this conclusion from the GMC brings some much-needed sanity to these issues in the medical profession.
He added that being a Christian makes him a better doctor, and that he requires freedom of conscience to practice medicine.
Williams stated that Mackereth has sacrificed his distinguished professional career for his beliefs, adding that the compelled use of transgender pronouns defies both “common sense and Christian faith.”
“If we tolerate this as a society, if we give in on the essential freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, no other freedom is safe,” Williams said. “We are determined to fight all the way to secure justice in this case.”
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Fatima seer Sr. Lucia named Venerable, but controversy over identity remains |
Posted by: Stone - 06-23-2023, 05:23 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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Fatima seer Sr. Lucia named Venerable, but controversy over identity remains
Pope Francis has recognized the 'heroic virtues' of Fatima seer Sr. Lucia, though controversy remains regarding her date of death.
Jun 22, 2023
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) –– Pope Francis has recognized the “heroic virtues” of Fatima-seer Sr. Lucia, meaning that the visionary will now proceed to be recognized as Venerable, though controversy remains regarding her date of death.
In the daily press bulletin June 22, the Vatican announced that the pope had promulgated the decrees of a number of servants of God, including Sr. Lucia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart, more generally known as Sr. Lucy or Sr. Lucia. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, was authorized to promulgate (among others) the decrees regarding:
Quote:the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Lúcia de Jesus e do Coração Immaculado (born: Lúcia dos Santos), a professed nun of the Order of Discalced Carmelites; born March 28, 1907, in Aljustrel, Portugal, and died Feb. 13, 2005, in Coimbra, Portugal.
Sr. Lucia, along with her canonized cousins Sts. Francesco and Jacinta Marto, received the visions of the Angel of Peace and Our Lady of Fatima, beginning in 1915 and 1917 respectively. The visions of Our Lady to the three children received numerous papal endorsements, and have drawn many thousands of pilgrims to Fatima ever since.
Sr. Lucia’s later life and death
Following the very publicly attested visions, Sr. Lucia moved to Porto in 1921, and in 1925 entered the Dorothean convent in Pontevedra, Spain. Taking perpetual vows in 1934, she assumed the name of Sister Mary of the Sorrows.
READ: Fatima seer Lucia believed USA would become Communist without Marian consecration of Russia
But in 1946 she returned to Portugal, and after receiving special papal permission, entered the Carmelite convent of St. Teresa of Coimbra. Here she took the name of Sister Maria Lúcia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart.
Official reports state that she died on February 13, 2005, following which Pope Benedict XVI lifted the customary waiting period before beginning the process of her eventual canonization.
However, as with much of the Fatima message and events, controversy surrounds this aspect also. Dr. Peter Chojnowski – a teacher, researcher, and founder of Sister Lucy Truth – has compiled forensic analysis and anecdotal evidence to argue an “imposter” Sr. Lucia replaced the true seer of Fatima and that the faces and handwriting of the alleged two different women are discernibly different.
Chojnowski, whose arguments have found considerable support amongst Catholics concerned with the crisis in the Church, argues that:
Quote:Over the course of the years 2018-2022, Sister Lucy Truth commissioned a wide range of scientific professionals and medical specialists and has now compiled a sufficient number of expert reports to make the judgment that there were in fact two women, one the authentic Sister Lucy who was the Seer at Fatima in 1917, and the other an imposter who presented herself as the real Sister Lucy of Fatima at least from May 13, 1967 until her death on February 13, 2005. [emphasis original]
He claims that the reason for such a deception is that the Vatican “could not silence the true seer of Fatima,” who would have no qualms in calling out the post-1960 attempt “to water Fatima down into a vague and generic call to holiness, prayers, and penance.”
Fatima visions: marked by constant controversy
The visions were marked particularly by the vision of hell shown to the three young children, the call for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and notably by the famous three secrets, of which the third has been the center of much controversy in recent decades.
The topics of the Third secret and the Consecration of Russia have marked a particular element of conflict in the life of the Church. In 2000, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s CDF published what he described as the “entirety” of the Third Secret of Fatima, a point hotly contested by numerous Fatima scholars and clerics.
More recently though, in 2016, Father Ingo Dollinger – a personal friend of Ratzinger – told LifeSite’s Maike Hickson that Ratzinger had told him in 2000 that “there is more than what we published.”
READ: Archbishop Viganò: Third Secret of Fatima has not yet been fully published
Dollinger reported that he had been told by Ratzinger that the published part of the Secret was authentic and that the unpublished part of the Secret speaks about “a bad council and a bad Mass” that was to come in the near future. The Vatican, in a rare intervention, issued a statement reportedly from then Pope Emeritus Benedict, contradicting Fr. Dollinger’s statement and declaring “the publication of the Third Secret of Fatima is complete.”
Similar peculiar Vatican workings were on display regarding the consecration of Russia, which popes repeatedly refused to do despite Our Lady of Fatima’s repeated request.
The request was made by Our Lady in 1917, then repeated in 1929. Despite this, the popes did not heed the request. Though Pope Pius XII made a consecration of the Church and humanity to the Immaculate Heart, he did not fulfill the specific request, despite being faced with the global catastrophe and bloodshed of the Second World War.
Sr. Lucia received a revelation from Our Lord in 1943, responding to this action of Pope Pius XII: “Because of the act of consecration made by His Holiness, He [Christ] promises that the war will end shortly. But since it was incomplete, the conversion of Russia is postponed.”
Particularly, the famous 1984 consecration, defended by many as having finally fulfilled the request, did not in fact name Russia. Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes confirmed in 2017 that in 1984, John Paul II actually “held back [from mentioning] Russia explicitly because the Vatican diplomats had urgently asked him not to mention this country because otherwise political conflicts might perhaps arise.”
Both in its striking messages, which are not for the faint of heart, and the identity of the eldest visionary Sr. Lucia, the Fatima visions are both topical and surrounded in as much controversy as ever before.
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Vatican document urges talks on welcoming LGBTQ people, women's role |
Posted by: Stone - 06-22-2023, 04:08 PM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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Vatican document urges talks on welcoming LGBTQ people, women's role
June 20, 2023
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Roman Catholic bishops should discuss how the Church can be more welcoming to LGBTQ+ people and divorcees, a Vatican document released on Tuesday said.
They should also reflect on how to give women more decision-making power and allowing them to be ordained deacons, it said.
The 50-page working document for a global synod of the bishops also proposes discussion on allowing married men to become priests in remote areas - a possibility that Pope Francis put on hold following talks in a similar meeting in 2019.
It even appears to suggest that the Church should be understanding towards those in polygamous relationships.
The synod has been in preparation for two years, during which Catholics around the world were asked about their vision for the Church. A first session will be held this October and a second in October 2024.
The document, known by its Latin title Instrumentum Laboris, includes suggestions for reflections and discussions for the delegates stemming from the consultations.
After the synod, the pope writes what is known as an Apostolic Exhortation, an official document setting out his views on which, if any, of its recommendations should be taken up. This is likely to come some months after the second session.
One "question for discernment" in the document reads:
"How can we create spaces where those who feel hurt by the Church and unwelcomed by the community feel recognised, received, free to ask questions and not judged?
"... what concrete steps are needed to welcome those who feel excluded from the Church because of their status or sexuality (for example, remarried divorcees, people in polygamous marriages, LGBTQ+ people, etc.)?"
The Church teaches that same-sex attraction is not a sin but homosexual acts are. It forbids polygamy but the practice is quietly tolerated in some parts of Africa for converts who already have more than one wife.
"We have no agenda. There was no conspiratorial meeting among cardinals about how we can add progressive points to the Church," Luxembourg Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich, told a news conference in response to a question about whether the document was imbalanced.
"This was a listening experience," he said. Other speakers said it should not be taken for granted that any Church teachings on sexual morality would change because of the consultation.
GREATER ROLE FOR WOMEN
One section of the document was dedicated to women, a topic expected to be of major attention at the month-long gathering in October following Francis' decision in April to allow women delegates to vote at the assembly for the first time.
"What concrete steps can the Church take to renew and reform its procedures, institutional arrangements and structures to enable greater recognition and participation of women, including in governance, decision-making processes ...?" it said.
Last year Francis he introduced a landmark reform that will allow any baptised lay Catholic, including women, to head most Vatican departments under a new constitution for the Holy See's central administration.
He also named three women to a previously all-male committee that advises him in selecting the world's bishops.
The document said most of the local responses called for the question of women becoming deacons to be considered.
Deacons, like priests, are ordained ministers, and must be men in today's Church. They may not celebrate Mass, but they may preach, baptise and conduct wedding and funeral services and run a parish with the permission of a bishop.
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SSPX Priest: 'My Conviction is that Novus Ordo Priests are Not Validly Ordained' |
Posted by: Stone - 06-21-2023, 08:07 AM - Forum: New Rite Sacraments
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From gloria.tv June 21, 2023:
SSPX Priest: 'My Conviction is that Novus Ordo Priests are Not Validly Ordained' (June 18, 2023)
This is a short excerpt of a sermon given by Fr. Michael Johnson, SSPX, in which he states that it is his personal conviction that Novus Ordo ordinations (that is, ordinations conferred in the Roman rite of Paul VI of 1968) are invalid.
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, June 18, 2023, at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Garden Grove, California.
The full video of the entire Mass with sermon is available from the official YouTube channel of the church:
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IMF working on global central bank digital currency platform |
Posted by: Stone - 06-21-2023, 08:00 AM - Forum: Global News
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IMF working on global central bank digital currency platform
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo in Washington, United States, September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
RABAT, June 19 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working on a platform for central bank digital currencies (CDBCs) to enable transactions between countries, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday.
"CBDCs should not be fragmented national propositions... To have more efficient and fairer transactions we need systems that connect countries: we need interoperability," Georgieva told a conference attended by African central banks in Rabat, Morocco.
"For this reason at the IMF, we are working on the concept of a global CBDC platform," she said.
The IMF wants central banks to agree on a common regulatory framework for digital currencies that will allow global interoperability. Failure to agree on a common platform would create a vacuum that would likely be filled by cryptocurrencies, she said.
A CBDC is a digital currency controlled by the central bank, while cryptocurrencies are nearly always decentralised.
Already 114 central banks are at some stage of CBDC exploration, "with about 10 already crossing the finish line", she said.
"If countries develop CDBCs only for domestic deployment we are underutilizing their capacity," she added.
CBDCs could also help promote financial inclusion and make remittances cheaper, she said, noting that the average cost of money transfers stands at 6.3% amounting to $44 billion annually.
Georgieva stressed that CBDCs should be backed by assets and added that cryptocurrencies are an investment opportunity when backed by assets, but when they are not they are a “speculative investment.
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United Nations Planning Digital ID Linked To Bank Accounts |
Posted by: Stone - 06-20-2023, 08:45 AM - Forum: Socialism & Communism
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United Nations Planning Digital ID Linked To Bank Accounts
ZH | JUN 20, 2023
Authored by Frank Bergman via SlayNews.com,
The United Nations (UN) is planning to introduce a global digital ID system that is linked to individuals’ bank accounts.
The plan, which is similar to the system developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), is outlined in three new policy briefs from the UN titled, “A Global Digital Compact, Reforms to the International Financial Architecture, and The Future of Outer Space Governance.”
The goal of the briefs is to advance UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s “vision for the future.”
Officially titled “Our Common Agenda,” Guterres’ “vision” should be given the green light in September 2024 during an event dubbed, “The Summit for the Future.”
From the report:
Quote:Digital IDs linked with bank or mobile money accounts can improve the delivery of social protection coverage and serve to better reach eligible beneficiaries.
Digital technologies may help to reduce leakage, errors and costs in the design of social protection programmes.
Not unlike their unofficial counterparts over at the WEF, the UN also speaks about basically regulating the global digital future.
The unelected organization uses phrases such as “international cooperation” and “many stakeholders” who will “advance principles, objectives, and actions” to describe this globalist agenda.
The UN describes this goal as “an open, free, secure and human-centered digital future.”
The digital future as envisaged by these groups is going to be quite the opposite of open, free, or human-centric, however.
As far as the UN’s “vision” for a future global financial system, it is supposed to be harmonized with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
It would be governed by something called “the apex body” that is yet to be set up.
The key actors here would be the UN chief, as well as the Group of 20, the Economic and Social Council, and “heads of international financial institutions.”
Within this, the UN sees “visions” of “a Global Digital Compact.”
Essentially, the objective is to have people, devices, and entities, all tied up in a connected network that could apparently be centrally administered, seemingly by unelected bureaucrats.
When those planning this future scheme worry about any negative impact, they never see it as potentially affecting everyone – but only “civil society (…) or selected groups excluded from social benefits.”
Meanwhile, the WEF has just partnered with a leading biometrics company to advance its own agenda to digitize humanity.
Swedish biometrics company Fingerprint Cards has taken a big step into the WEF’s New Champions Community, an assembly of mid-sized enterprises.
The WEF is keen to promote biometric forms of digital ID and claims the technology would serve as a steward of “social inclusion.”
The New Champions Community’s schedule includes a meeting in Tianjin, China from June 27 to 29 during the WEF Summer Davos gathering.
Charles Burgeat, Senior Vice President of Strategy at Fingerprint Cards, imparted what he thought was a nugget of wisdom:
Quote:“As a proud member of the WEF New Champions Community program, we want to be recognized as a purpose-driven company that contributes positively to the changes needed to operate in the new digitalized world.
“By joining this Community, we look forward to brainstorming and exchanging ideas with peers, and bring our expertise of the biometrics industry.”
Fingerprint Cards faced choppy waters in Q1 of 2023, posting a loss of 70 million Swedish krona ($6.4 million) on a revenue of SEK 117 million ($10.8 million), Biometric Update reported.
However, the firm plowed forward, achieving key milestones, including integrating its fingerprint biometrics in 700 Android smartphones and shipping 1 million biometric sensor modules for payment cards.
Xiaomi’s Redmi K60 secured the distinction of being the first smartphone boasting Fingerprint Cards’ under-display tech.
Xiaomi is a Chinese tech company.
The WEF, already well-versed in the digital tapestry of biometrics, continues to champion the sector.
The organization previously inducted Yoti into an associated coalition.
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Indonesian Bishop blesses syncretist crucifix |
Posted by: Stone - 06-20-2023, 08:34 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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“This new faith, it is a new religion. It is a protestant religion. That is a fact! How is it possible that the Pope gives the authorization to this change? How is it possible that the Pope can sign this constitution [on liturgical change]? It is a deep mystery.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Conference, May 11, 1976)
“My dear friends, you continue to represent the true Church, the Catholic Church. I think you need to he convinced of this: You really represent the Catholic church! I don’t say there is no Church outside of us, it’s not about that. But recently, we are told that it was necessary that the Tradition enter into the visible Church. I think a very, very serious mistake is committed here. Where is the visible Church? The visible Church is recognized by the marks that have always been given to visibility: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. I ask: Where are the true marks of the Church? Are they more evident in the official Church (this is not the visible church, it is the official church) or in us, in what we represent, what we are? Clearly we are the ones who preserve the Unity of the Faith which disappeared from the official church. One bishop believes in this, the other not, faith is different, their catechisms contain abominable heresies. Where is the unity of the Faith in Rome?” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Econe, Sept. 9, 1988)
✠ ✠ ✠
Indonesian Bishop blesses syncretist crucifix
TIA | June 18, 2023
In preparation for Indonesian Youth Day - IYD - to take place this June 26-30, 2023, the Purwokerto Diocese made a cross to be carried by its youth in ceremonies during that gathering.
The cross, first row below, represents a dancing Christ wearing an Indonesian hat - blangkon - and yellow shawl. The crucifix is set upon a shield with four groups of symbols, roughly taken from the Coat of Arms of Bishop Christophorus Tri Harsono, the Ordinary of Purwokerto in Central Java.
On May 18, 2023, this crucifix was present at the Ascension Day Mass in Christ the King Cathedral in Purwokerto, and blessed by its Bishop, above and below second to fourth rows.
During that Mass members of the local clergy, fourth row, explained the symbolism of the diverse parts as follow:
The dancing Christ is executing steps of the Lenger dance, a remnant from the Hindu cultural heritage used to worship the goddess Durga, the goddess of fertility. When Hinduism arrived in Java, it made a syncretist action and assumed the dance in honor of Dewi Siri, the local goddess of fertility. This dance is used to thank the pagan gods for good harvests, for cleansing rituals and to ask their protection.
The hat represents the encounter of the Big Universe and the Small Universe, and is a symbol of harmony and the openness to other religions.
The yellow shawl represents the glory of human dignity that must be fought for and respected. It likewise represents warmth, peace and love “in our relationship with Allah; we find the warmth of love, protection and comfort together with Allah.”
The syncretist character of this crucifix as well as the lack of respect for Our Lord crucified reflected in this dancing Christ caused strong reactions of protest among many Catholics in Indonesia, which obliged the Diocese, through its IYD Commission, to renounce its use for the coming youth meetings.
Nonetheless, the fact remains that it had full support of the Purwokerto Diocese as well as of its entire clergy.
Second to last row, the youth delegation to IYD poses with the syncretist crucifix. Last row, Bishop Christophorus Tri Harsono with his coat of arms.
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WEF Wants 75% Fewer Private Car Owners By 2050 |
Posted by: Stone - 06-19-2023, 09:31 AM - Forum: Great Reset
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Climate Authoritarianism: WEF Wants 75% Fewer Private Car Owners By 2050
ZH | JUN 18, 2023
The climate change boondoggle acts as a mechanism for all kinds of social, economic and political changes that could greatly diminish the freedom and financial survival of the average person.
As the world witnessed with the covid pandemic, global institutions working with governments and corporations are happy to hype up false threats and inspire public hysteria if they think they can use that rising fear to whittle away our individual rights. The hype over “greenhouse emissions” is no exception.
The vast majority of climate and carbon policies appear to be aimed at the west, and this is one of the reasons why we know the claims behind them are fake. China alone accounts for around 32% of all global carbon emissions, with the US accounting for only 14% and the EU accounting for around 8%. Yet, think-tanks like the World Economic Forum and globalist havens like the UN are hyperfocused on the US and Europe while China does as it pleases.
Why? Perhaps because the Chinese population is already well under control and there is no need to use climate fear as a weapon to subdue them? In any case, the greenhouse gas issue is superfluous because there is zero evidence of a causation relationship between carbon emissions and global warming. Even the evidence of correlation is highly suspect. And, if you ask any climate alarmist where there is proof of the “climate crisis” they always rant about, they will predictably point to normal weather events (or wildfires) which have been common since human records started.
We have been hearing a lot lately about efforts to diminish or ban natural gas stoves in the US, to throttle agricultural production in Europe and to restrict meat in the public diet, but the most pervasive carbon restrictions are planned for cars and private transportation. The WEF has recently published a blueprint for reducing individual car ownership by 75% by the year 2050.
The white paper, titled 'Benchmarking the Transition to Sustainable Urban Mobility' establishes various guidelines for shifting the majority of the human population over to mass transportation within compact “smart cities.” The WEF also suggests that over 70% of all people will have to live in these smart cities by 2050 – Currently, 45% of the world lives in rural areas, requiring another 15% of the population to be forced into cities in the next couple decades. Not only that, but 2nd and 3rd tier cities would have to be combined into single homogenized networks. In other words, megacities.
The WEF transportation agenda demands that out of over 2 billion car owners, 1.5 billion people will lose the option of personal transportation. That would leave only 500 million people in the world with the “privilege” of owning a vehicle.
Also keep in mind that the UN also wants net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which means no more gas powered vehicles in the next 25 years.
The WEF paper is awash in meaningless buzzwords covering “equity and inclusion” rhetoric as well as “sustainable development goals” and “stakeholder capitalism” terminology. Reading between the lines is necessary to understand the implications.
To summarize, transportation reduction is an extension of something called Shared, Electric and Automated Mobility (SEAM) Governance Framework, as well as net zero urban planning initiatives. By taking away people's cars, this forces the populace into smaller and smaller areas where mass transportation is available. These extremely concentrated population regions will be digitally connected and monitored by AI, with unprecedented surveillance measures and the government ability to centralize and dictate public movements, public power usage, public access to food and even public behavior.
All of this is sold as a trade off for Utopian convenience and security, when in reality it means the end of freedom as we know it. China has been acting as a beta test country for these measures, with the some of the largest smart city designs and surveillance grids in the world.
We know that the goal of deconstructing private transport is to herd people into increasingly more compact and oppressive cities, but how would a reduction of car ownership of this scale be accomplished?
Through a series of carbon regulations and inflation in prices. Carbon taxes will be used to make purchasing and maintaining a gas vehicle untenable, and inflation in prices of electric vehicles will mean only the wealthy class will be able to buy them. In this way, the establishment can argue that they “never banned cars,” they just created the economic conditions that forced most of the population to abandon personal ownership.
Once we examine net zero projects as a whole entity instead of just the pieces and parts, it becomes clear that these plans have nothing to do with saving the environment and the planet and everything to do with centralization of power.
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St. Alphonsus Liguori: Daily Meditations for Third Week after Pentecost |
Posted by: Stone - 06-18-2023, 04:42 AM - Forum: Pentecost
- Replies (6)
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Third Sunday After Pentecost
Morning Meditation
FEAST OF THE MOTHER OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR
*The Feast of the Mother of Perpetual Succour is celebrated on the Sunday before the Feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24)
The Blessed Virgin Mary has earned the beautiful and glorious title of Perpetual Succour, not only by her valiant deeds, but also by her great sufferings. Truly Mary was that valiant woman who put forth her hands to strong things, even to be the helper, the consoler, the Perpetual Succour of the Man-God Himself. To her the divine Child ever turned for sympathy, succour, and a sweet refuge, and never did He do so in vain. Surely she who was able to help and succour and comfort the Omnipotent God Himself when He became weak for our sakes, will be able to comfort and succour His poor creatures.
I.
Truly Mary, God’s great Mother, performed valiant deeds. She was the valiant woman who put forth her hands to strong things to help even Him Who made the world, to assist Him Who sustains all creation, to succour and console Him Who was the joy of Heaven and earth, and to save Him Who was the world’s Saviour-this was holy Mary’s work, these were her valiant deeds to which she put forth her hands, and therefore it was she received from the Lord the fruit of her glorious deeds, and became for man what she had been for God Himself, a helper, a consoler, a Mother of Perpetual Succour. The Sacred Picture itself speaks better than words. In that awful representation of suffering and sorrow the Mother’s breast is the Child’s perpetual succour, for there we see He clings, clasping her hand with His trembling fingers, and finding comfort and succour in her sheltering arms. She clasps Him to her bosom, kisses away the tears, hushes Him to sleep in her arms to drown if possible, by sweet lullabies, the horrid sounds and sights of His Passion that in vision haunt and scare Him. It was to her, and to her alone, He ever and always turned for succour and sweet refuge, and never did He turn in vain. Thus, we may well say, did God place in Mary’s keeping Him in Whom were all human infirmities, that Child of Sorrows, so that she might learn from experience how to compassionate and succour poor humanity in us. And when she had proved her fitness, her skill, her tenderness in succouring and comforting the suffering Head, she was left to the suffering members of His mystical Body, to be to us what she had ever been to Him, a most sweet Comforter, a Mother of Perpetual Succour.
II.
Consider what conditions are required in us that Mary may be our Mother of Perpetual Succour. We must be her children that she may be our Mother. An enemy or a stranger will not dare to claim, or hope to expect what is bestowed only on faithful, loving children -a mother’s affection, tender care and succour. As Mary’s true and faithful children we should love her very much, and above all we should sympathise with her, remembering the bitter sorrows she had to undergo in order to become our Perpetual Succour. The very rocks of Calvary were rent asunder, and melted to pity for Mother and Son. But it was our sins inflicted all those wounds and sorrows. For the sins of my people have I struck him-(Is. liii. 8). “Each one of our sins,” says St. Alphonsus, “afflicted the soul of Jesus Christ more than Crucifixion and Death afflicted His body.” What, then, asks the Saint, must have been the sufferings of Jesus, as yet in His Mother’s arms, when He saw before Him the immense array of all the crimes of men for which He was to make satisfaction! As by our sins we had part in inflicting life-long sorrow on the Mother of the Saviour, we should offer her life-long sympathy and pity.
We should have a child’s confidence in our heavenly Mother, such indeed as her Child Jesus Himself had. As represented in the holy Picture, what childlike trust does Jesus repose in His holy Mother! In all His wants, and in the midst of the sorrows that were continually before Him, the Child Jesus ever turned to His Mother for comfort and succour. With the arms of His Mother guarding Him, and resting on her bosom, the weak and helpless Child becomes strong and valiant, and turning resolutely gazes on the awful vision of the instruments of His Crucifixion and Death, exclaiming with the Prophet: I am prepared for scourges.
All Mary’s children should have the same unfailing, childlike trust in her power. However weak we may be of ourselves, we shall be made strong and resolute against the attacks of hell; patient, generous, and victorious in the midst of temptations and sufferings, provided only we fail not in our confidence in our Mother of Perpetual Succour. “She well understands our miseries and dangers,” says St. Alphonsus, “and this most clement and sweet Lady, compassionates and succours us with a Mother’s love.”
Let us, then, have perpetual recourse to Mary to make sure of her Perpetual Succour. Constant recourse to Mary is a pledge of eternal salvation, but yet, alas! too often in past times have we fallen because we had not recourse to her. Sinners though we are, let us turn to Mary in spite of our unworthiness. “O sinner,” says St. Alphonsus, “whoever you are, do not despair, but have recourse to this Lady with the assurance of being succoured,” for, he says, “she is all eyes to pity and succour us in our necessities.”
Behold, then, I have recourse to thee, most holy Mary. I have lost my Father, but thou art my Mother who must enable me to find Him. In this my so great misfortune I call thee to my aid: do thou succour me. And this is the grace I now ask of thee, and I conjure thee as far as I know how and can to obtain it for me-namely, in the assaults of hell always to have recourse to thee and to say to thee: O Mary, help me! Mother of Perpetual Succour, suffer me not to lose my God! Amen.
Spiritual Reading
CORAM SANCTISSIMO
EIGHTEENTH VISIT
One day Jesus will be seated on a throne of majesty in the Valley of Josaphat; but now, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, He is seated on a throne of love. Did a king, to show his love for a poor shepherd, go and live in his village, how great would be the ingratitude of this peasant did he not go often to visit him, knowing the king’s wish to see him, and that for this purpose he had come to reside there!
Ah, my Jesus, for love of me Thou dwellest in the Sacrament of the Altar. Could I, then, do so, my desire would be to remain night and day in Thy presence. If the Angels, O my Lord, filled with astonishment at the love Thou bearest us, remain always around Thee, it is but reasonable that I, seeing Thee for my sake on this altar, should endeavour to please Thee, at least by remaining in Thy presence to praise the love and goodness Thou hast for me: I will sing praise to thee in the sight of the angels; I will worship towards thy holy temple, and I will give glory to thy name; for thy mercy and for thy truth-(Ps. cxxxvii. 1, 2).
O God, present in this Most Holy Sacrament, O Bread of Angels, O heavenly Food, I love Thee, but Thou art not, neither am I, satisfied with my love. I love Thee; but I love Thee too little. Do Thou, my Jesus, make known to me the beauty, the immense goodness which I love; make my heart banish from itself all earthly affections, and give place to Thy divine love. To fill me with Thy love, and to unite Thyself all to me, Thou descendest every day from Heaven on our altars; it is, then, but just that I should think of nothing else but of loving, adoring, and pleasing Thee. I love Thee with my whole soul, I love Thee with all my affections. If Thou be graciously pleased to make me a return for this love, increase my love, render its flames more ardent; that thus I may always love Thee more, and desire more and more to please Thee.
Ejac. Jesus, my Love, give me love!
AN ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
My Jesus, I believe that Thou art truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love Thee above all things, and I desire to possess Thee within my soul. Since I am unable now to receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace Thee as already there, and unite myself wholly to Thee; never permit me to be separated from Thee.
VISIT TO MARY
As poor sick persons, who on account of their miseries are abandoned by all, find shelter in the public hospitals, so also the most miserable sinners, although discarded by all, find protection in the mercy of Mary, by whom they are never rejected; for God has placed her in the world as a receptacle and, as St. Basil says, a public hospital for sinners. Hence St. Ephrem also calls her “the asylum of sinners.” Therefore, my Queen, if I have recourse to thee, thou canst not reject me on account of my sins; nay, even the more wretched I am, the greater is the claim which I have upon thy protection, since God has created thee as the refuge of the most miserable. Therefore, to thee I have recourse, O Mary; I place myself under thy mantle. Thou art the refuge of sinners; thou art, then, my refuge, the hope of my salvation. If thou reject me, to whom shall I have recourse?
Ejac. Mary, my refuge, save me!
Concluding Prayer
Most holy Immaculate Virgin and my Mother Mary, to thee, who art the Mother of my Lord, and Queen of the world, the advocate, the hope, the refuge of sinners, I have recourse today I, who am the most miserable of all. I render thee my most humble homage, O great Queen, and I thank thee for all the graces thou hast conferred on me until now, particularly for having delivered me from hell, which I have so often deserved. I love thee, O most amiable Lady; and for the love which I bear thee, I promise to serve thee always, and to do all in my power to make others love thee also. I place in thee all my hopes; I confide my salvation to thy care. Accept me for thy servant, and receive me under thy mantle, O Mother of Mercy. And since thou art so powerful with God, deliver me from all temptations, or rather obtain for me the strength to triumph over them until death. Of thee I ask a perfect love of Jesus Christ. From thee I hope to die a good death.
O my Mother, for the love which thou bearest to God, I beseech thee to help me at all times, but especially at the last moment of my life. Leave me not, I beseech thee, until thou seest me safe in Heaven, blessing thee, and singing thy mercies for all eternity. Amen. So I hope. So may it be.
Evening Meditation
THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
XXXI.-HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST SEEKS TO DETACH HIMSELF FROM EVERY CREATURE
I.
Anyone who would belong wholly to God must be free of all human respect. Oh, how many souls does this accursed respect keep far from God, and even separate them from Him for ever! For instance, if they hear mention made of some or other of their failings, oh, what do they not do to justify themselves, and to convince the world that it is a calumny! If they perform some good work, how industrious are they to circulate it everywhere! They would have it known to the whole world in order to be universally applauded. The Saints behave in a very different way; they would rather publish their defects to the whole world, in order to pass in the eyes of all for the miserable creatures which they really are in their own eyes; and, on the contrary, in practising any acts of virtue, they prefer to have God alone know of it; for their only care is to be acceptable to Him. It is on this account that so many of them were enchanted with solitude, mindful, as they were, of the words of Jesus Christ: But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth-(Matt. vi. 3-5). And again: But thou, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber; and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret-(Matt. v. 6). But of all things, self-detachment is most needful; that is, detachment from self-will. Only once succeed in subduing yourself, and you will easily triumph in every other combat. “Vince teipsum -Conquer thyself,” was the maxim which St. Francis Xavier inculcated on all. And Jesus Christ said: If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself -(Matt. xvi. 24). Behold in a few words all that we need practise to become saints; to deny ourselves, and not to follow our own will: Go not after thy lusts, but turn away from thy own will-(Ecclus. xviii. 30). And this is the greatest grace, said St. Francis of Assisi, that we can receive from God: the power, namely, to conquer ourselves by denying self-will.
II.
St. Bernard writes that if all men would resist self-will, none would ever be damned: “Let self-will cease, and there will be no hell.” The same Saint writes that it is the baneful effect of self-will to contaminate even our good works: “Self-will is a great evil, since it renders thy good works no longer good.” As, for instance, were a penitent obstinately bent on mortifying himself, or on fasting, or on taking the discipline against the will of his director; we see that this act of penance, done at the instigation of self-will, becomes very defective. Unhappy the man that lives the slave of self-will, for he shall have a yearning for many things and shall not possess them; while, on the other hand, he will be forced to undergo many things distasteful and bitter to his inclinations: From whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not hence, from your concupiscences which war in your members? You covet, and have not-(James iv. 1, 2). The first war springs from the appetite for sensual delights. Let us take away the occasion; let us mortify the eyes; let us recommend ourselves to God, and the war will be over. The second war arises from the covetousness of riches: let us cultivate a love of poverty, and this war will cease. The third war has its source in ambitiously seeking after honours: let us love humility and the hidden life, and this war, too, will be no more. The fourth war, and the most ruinous of all, comes from self-will. Let us practise resignation in all that happens to us, and the war will cease. St. Bernard tells us that whenever we see a person troubled, the origin of his trouble is nothing else than his inability to gratify self-will. “Whence comes disquiet,” says the Saint, ” except that we follow self-will?” Our Blessed Lord once complained of this to St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, in these words: “Certain souls desire My Spirit, but after their own fancy; and so they become incapable of receiving it.”
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