SCOTTISH ATHEIST TOUTS BILL CRIMINALIZING CHRISTIANITY NEWS: WORLD NEWS------by Martina Moyski • ChurchMilitant.com • September 2, 2020 Bible, Church teaching could fall afoul of new law

 

SCOTTISH ATHEIST TOUTS BILL CRIMINALIZING CHRISTIANITY

NEWS: WORLD NEWS

by Martina Moyski  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  September 2, 2020    3 Comments

Bible, Church teaching could fall afoul of new law

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GLASGOW, Scotland (ChurchMilitant.com) -  Scottish atheists are applauding a potential hate law that many fear would further persecute Christians and criminalize the Bible.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf

(Photo: Michael Gillen)

Ian Stewart, convener of Atheist Scotland, is hailing a newly proposed hate crime measure that poses serious legal threats to Christians. 

"Atheists see some merit in Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf's hate crime bill," Stewart wrote in a letter published Aug. 25 in the Scottish newspaper The Courier, "as it will enable the prosecution of all Scotland's religions and their holy books for spreading hatred."  

The atheist leader further threatened that his group fully intends "to monitor all holy books, sermons in places of worship and the social media accounts of the various religions and report any hatred to Police Scotland for criminal investigation."

The atheist took particular aim at "holy Willies," a derogatory term applied to Christians in that country. 

The Hate Crime and Public Order Bill, proposed by Justice Secretary Yousaf, criminalizes speech that is "likely" to "stir up hatred" against groups perceived to be marginalized. It would transform the current policy of reporting hate "incidents" to the police, who enter them into a database, into a law which requires investigation, potential prosecution and penalties of up to 7 years in jail, unlimited fines or both. 

The law would not require police or prosecutors to show malicious intent behind the statements.

Free Speech, Christianity Threatened

The bill has received pushback from church groups and free speech advocates. 

 

The Bishops' Conference of Scotland put forth that "how hatred is defined is not clear, which leaves it open to wide interpretation." Warning of the dangers of the imprecise language of the law, they said:  

Whilst acknowledging that stirring up of hatred is morally wrong and supporting moves to discourage and condemn such behavior, the bishops have expressed concerns about the lack of clarity around definitions and a potentially low threshold for committing an offense, which they fear could lead to a "deluge of vexatious claims."

The bishops further warned the bill could lead to the criminalization and censorship of Catholic teaching itself, particularly the Church's "understanding of the human person, including the belief that sex and gender are not fluid and changeable."   

The law could even "render material such as the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church inflammatory," they said.

The Christian Institute, which bills itself as "a Christian influence in a secular world," takes issue with, like the bishops, the imprecise language of the hate crime bill, calling it "a dangerous game." The Institutes' public affairs deputy director, Simon Calvert, said it "will give politically motivated complainants like Mr. Stewart a powerful weapon against their ideological opponents."

The law could even 'render material such as the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church inflammatory.' Tweet

Calvert observed "The threshold of the proposed offenses is so low that Mr. Stewart might well be able to persuade a police officer that certain unfashionable Bible verses or sermons are 'hate crimes.'"

Rev. David Robertson

'Authoritarian Morality'

A former moderator of the Free Church of Scotland, Rev. David Robertson, said that Stewart is "in effect, saying that we should all be closed down unless we accept his authoritarian morality," adding the atheist leader "regards any disagreements with any of his fundamental beliefs as self-evident 'hate.'"

Robertson alleged Stewart's letter "illustrates perfectly" why more limitations on freedom of speech represent a dangerous slope.

Scotland's religious leaders are not the only ones criticizing the bill. The Scottish Police Federation has asserted such legislation could "paralyze freedom of speech" and "devastate" the relationship between the public and the police.

Social media users also reacted to the bill, pointing to the hypocrisy inherent in Stewart's letter. "Isn't the expression 'holy willies' an example of hate crime?" a Twitter user posted.

Yousaf has declared support for Black Lives Matter and recently delivered a speech lamenting the number of white people in top jobs in Scotland, where, according to the 2011 census, 96% of the population identified as white. 

 

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COVID KILLING PARISHES? NEWS: US NEWS----by Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th. • ChurchMilitant.com • September 2, 2020 Pre-existing financial conditions

 

COVID KILLING PARISHES?

NEWS: US NEWS

by Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th.  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  September 2, 2020    2 Comments

Pre-existing financial conditions

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WASHINGTON (ChurchMilitant.com) - The cash-strapped archdiocese of Washington is blaming COVID-19 for having to downsize but kept silent on pre-existing financial conditions.

The archdiocesan newspaper, Catholic Standard, on Wednesday, disclosed the restructuring plans being rolled out under Washington's Abp. Wilton Gregory. The plans included a 15% staff reduction for Washington's Pastoral Center, which oversees 139 parishes, nine missions, 91 Catholic schools and affiliated agencies of the archdiocese.

Abp. Wilton Gregory

Gregory revealed his downsizing initiative during an Aug. 21 conference call with Pastoral Center employees. Joining the call was Fr. Daniel Carson, Gregory's vicar general and moderator of the Curia.

"No one could have envisioned the impact of the virus," asserted Carson.

In a letter sent the same day to priests of the archdiocese, Gregory recalled, "I have been a priest for almost 50 years, and I have never seen anything like what we are witnessing with this pandemic."

The archbishop noted that pastors "have shared with me the financial hardship you are currently experiencing with reduced offertory. Understandably, our parishioners have their minds on their homes, family members and health."

Pre-existing Conditions

While prelates are blaming the Wuhan virus for financial ills plaguing their dioceses, Church Militant's Michael Voris believes the dioceses were already strapped for cash because of:

• Lack of parishioners, owing to decades of poor catechesis
• Costly sex-abuse litigation and payouts
• Parishioners closing their wallets owing to the 2018 sex-abuse crisis

Based on these factors, Voris says it's disingenuous to blame all financial woes on pandemic-related restrictions: 

Long before the Wuhan virus appeared, U.S. dioceses were already reeling financially owing to revelations about covering up sex abuse, Theodore McCarrick, financial malfeasance and spurious so-called evangelization programs. Wuhan may have been the nail in the coffin, but let's be clear — the corpse was already laid out long before Wuhan arrived on the scene.

Already in 2016, Cdl. Raymond Burke was speaking of the crisis in the Catholic Church and laying the blame on poor catechesis. At a conference that year in Rome, the former head of the Vatican's highest court quoted the famous catechist Fr. John Hardon, S.J.: "Catholicism is in the throes of the worst crisis in its entire history." The cardinal then pinpointed the problem:

Fr. Hardon knew that the necessary strong Catholic witness depends essentially upon the right understanding of the Faith and its demands provided by sound catechesis. He saw how decades of a thin and even false catechesis had created a situation in which many Catholics ... were left in confusion and error regarding the most fundamental tenets of the Catholic faith and of the moral law.

Regarding the costly sex-abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic Church in America, 24 U.S. Catholic dioceses and religious orders have already filed bankruptcy. Some experts in 2015 put the total financial burden of child sexual abuse to the U.S. Church at more than $9 billion. The abuse scandal cost the Los Angeles archdiocese alone nearly two-thirds of a billion dollars.

News Report: Faithful Faulted for COVID 

The 2015 estimate, however, was three years before the current sex abuse scandal rocked the Church in 2018. This opened a floodgate of lawsuits that will be financially bleeding the U.S Church for years to come.

This so-called "summer of shame" scandalized many Catholics into closing their wallets until the Catholic hierarchy cleans up the mess. Catholics wanted bishops to stop the cover-ups and come clean about the crisis stemming from homosexual clergy.

In an open letter published in 2019, Cdls. Walter Brandmüller and Raymond Burke, two of the authors of the dubia, called on bishops to end the conspiracy of silence that's allowing the vice of homosexuality to flourish in the Church.

Nothing illustrates the loss of the sense of the sacred better than the wholesale sell-off of parishes across America. Tweet

"The plague of the homosexual agenda has been spread within the Church," warned the cardinals, "promoted by organized networks and protected by a climate of complicity and a conspiracy of silence."

Churches on the Chopping Block

A recent poll by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) shows parishes and schools are being put on the chopping block by bishops needing money. Of the 160 bishops polled in July, CARA found that nearly a quarter were considering closing parishes and 45% either had closed elementary schools or were considering doing so.

Cdl. Raymond Burke

Brody Hale, founder of the Catholic Church Preservation Society, has negotiated with dioceses to save more than a dozen churches from being sold off. Brody had asserted in 2019 that the underlying problem of parish closings is that bishops are viewing churches as simply a commodity that can be liquidated at will. This, he notes, has been going on for decades.

"For the past 36 years, there has been a massive uptick in closures," Hale observes. The 1983 Code of Canon Law, he says, allowed for the closure of churches but only for grave reasons. This process is "grossly abused," affirmed Hale.

"We have seen thousands of churches that were in reasonably good shape that were closed and sold, and these are churches that if the faithful had more information, likely many of them could have found continued sacred use if not as places of regular worship," he added.

Carson says the financial impact of the Wuhan virus has caused parishes and schools to struggle financially. This, he notes, has caused 44 parishes and schools to begin the process of restructuring, with even more parishes making requests for financial assistance from the archdiocese.

Underlying the closures is a loss of the sense of sacred, emphasized Hale.

"For 2,000 years, it was an unquestioned fact that these are places where God dwells," Hale explained. "Nothing illustrates the loss of the sense of the sacred better than the wholesale sell-off of parishes across America." 

"Churches are not just buildings," Hale emphasized. "They are sacred spaces."

 

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PELOSI TARGETS HYDE AMENDMENT NEWS: US NEWS------by Paul Murano • ChurchMilitant.com • September 2, 2020 Prioritizes abortion funding for 2021

 

PELOSI TARGETS HYDE AMENDMENT

NEWS: US NEWS

by Paul Murano  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  September 2, 2020    6 Comments

Prioritizes abortion funding for 2021

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WASHINGTON (ChurchMilitant.com) - The Hyde Amendment will become history if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes good on her threats.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday that Pelosi, the highest-ranking anti-Catholic in Congress, told House Democrats she's planning to defund the Hyde Amendment in 2021. This would force taxpayers to fund U.S. abortions.

The Times notes this is a change of direction for today's Democrats:

The plan to oppose the restriction on government money reflects the dramatic and widespread reversal of opinion on the subject that Democrats have undergone in the last five years. What was once viewed as an acceptable compromise is now widely seen among Democrats as a prime example of systemic racism that unfairly hurts poor women and women of color by banning abortion in most cases for Medicaid patients.

The Hyde Amendment, which has been law since 1976, is named after the late former congressman Henry Hyde who introduced the measure. Implemented three years after Roe v. Wade, the amendment bans federal taxpayer money from funding abortions in the United States. This is distinguished from the Helms Amendment, which bans federal funding of abortions internationally.

 Rep. Rosa DeLauro

The Los Angeles Times reported that Pelosi had told some House Democrats in private that all House spending bills crafted in 2021 will exclude the Hyde Amendment. Pelosi's anticipating the House of Representatives will maintain its Democrat majority in November's election. Current polls point in this direction, but political observers know anything can happen between now and election day.

Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who leads the subcommittee that funds federal health programs, considered removing the ban from a spending bill this year. It was judged as futile, however, since Republicans hold both the Senate and the White House.

One major Democrat who changed his position on the Hyde Amendment under pressure is Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Biden supported the measure through his Senate career all the way up until he began his official 2020 quest for the presidency. He apparently caved owing to the shift in the attitude of his Party of Death. In June 2019, during his presidential campaign (and amid intense pressure from the progressive Left) Biden reversed his position.

One major Democrat who changed his position on the Hyde Amendment under pressure is Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.Tweet

While many House Democrats are elated at the prospect of dropping the Hyde Amendment, the American Catholic bishops are pushing back against the movement to fund abortion. The head of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee, Abp. Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, communicated to the Catholic News Agency his dismay that the amendment was in danger.

Noting the broad consensus Hyde has consistently had in Congress, Naumann added, "It's very disappointing to see the extremism now that's attacking what most Americans would consider a very important principle."

 

He emphasized, "When you're destroying a human life, this isn't health care."

Hyde, a Catholic, was a 16-term Republican congressman from Illinois. He is known for his continuous pro-life presence in Congress from the 1970s till the 21st century. A quote of his has inspired pro-lifers for decades:

When the time comes, as it surely will, when we face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I've often thought, as Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You have no advocates, you are there alone standing before God — and a terror will rip your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I think there will be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world — and they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will say to God, "Spare him, because he loved us!"

Democrats, in recent years, have been trying to force U.S. taxpayers to pay for other people's abortions. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), covers the cost for millions of women who kill their prenatal babies. Lawmakers are thus violating the consciences of pro-life businesses by forcing them to also pay for insurance plans that include contraceptive and abortifacient drugs.

Drew Hammill and Nancy Pelosi

The birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act was challenged by the Little Sisters of the Poor, eventually landing it in the U.S. Supreme Court. On July 8, in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, the high court struck down the mandate for those with moral and religious objections. This was a major victory for the Trump administration and the many organizations run by people who consider paying for contraception and abortion as cooperation with moral evil.

According to a 2016 report by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, which is affiliated with the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, "the best research indicates that the Hyde Amendment has saved over two million unborn children" since the policy was first enacted in 1976.

Studies show abortions multiply when others pay for them. The Guttmacher Institute, for instance, found that in states where tax dollars pay for the abortions of Medicaid recipients, the abortion rate among those recipients is 3.9 times higher than that of nonrecipients.

A spokesman for Pelosi, Drew Hammill, was tight-lipped when asked about Democrats dropping Hyde. Queried about the prospects of it happening next year, he said: "The House will work its will."

 

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RELATED STORIES

CATHOLIC STUDENT FILES SUIT NEWS: US NEWS-----by David Nussman • ChurchMilitant.com • September 1, 2020 Jack Denton faced 'retaliation for private religious speech,' says attorney

 

CATHOLIC STUDENT FILES SUIT

NEWS: US NEWS

by David Nussman  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  September 1, 2020    5 Comments

Jack Denton faced 'retaliation for private religious speech,' says attorney

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (ChurchMilitant.com) - A student smeared for being a faithful Catholic is filing suit.

Jack Denton was president of the Student Government Association Senate at Florida State University (FSU). But he was voted out of office in June, as leftist students were outraged over private comments he made in support of Church teaching on abortion and transgenderism.

Now Denton is suing the university for failing to protect his religious freedom.

Conservative Christian nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the lawsuit on Monday in a U.S. district court in Tallahassee.

The suit argues, "The Student Senate at Florida State University has failed its pedagogical purpose and breached its constitutional obligations by removing its presiding officer, Jack Denton, in retaliation for his private religious speech."

 

Attorney Tyson Langhofer, senior counsel at ADF, commented in a press release Tuesday, "All students should be able to peacefully share their personal convictions without fear of retaliation."

Langhofer also said, "Florida State should be fostering real diversity of thought, not punishing individuals based on their religious convictions or political beliefs."

He went on to say, "While FSU students claim they're creating a 'safe space,' they've tried to cancel Jack's freedoms and discriminate against him because they don't like his beliefs, in direct violation of the school's SGA Ethics Code, the Student Body Constitution and — most importantly — the First Amendment."

Florida State should be fostering real diversity of thought, not punishing individuals based on their religious convictions or political beliefs.Tweet

This lawsuit comes after attorneys sent a letter to FSU officials in late July, complaining of stonewalling by student government leaders.

The controversy began in a group message on June 3, when Denton told fellow Catholics that left-wing organizations — namely Black Lives Matter (BLM), Reclaim the Block and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) — are opposed to Catholic teaching. 

Denton pointed out BLM's website promotes transgenderism and dismantling the nuclear family, while the ACLU routinely defends abortion.

Another student in the group chat took screenshots of Denton's comments and shared them with others. The screenshots were widely circulated — even published in student publications — leading to fierce backlash among left-wing students at FSU.

On June 3, those outraged by his comments tried to remove Denton as Senate president with a vote of "no confidence" but fell short of the required 66% of senators' votes. But two days later, on June 5, they succeeded in voting Denton out of office.

During FSU Senate proceedings on June 4, Benton said, "Those messages were simply stated as fact on the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and what we believe as Catholics."

He clarified the messages were not intended to hurt anyone.

Denton pointed out BLM's website promotes transgenderism and dismantling the nuclear family.Tweet

A June 4 op-ed in FSU student-run periodical Spire Magazine called Denton "unfit to hold the office of Senate president," accusing him of "attempting to use his religious identification as a cover for bigotry."

More than 7,000 people added their names to a Change.org petition to remove Denton as Senate president.

FSView & Florida Flambeau, which covers news at FSU, referred to Denton's comments as "transphobia and exclusionary speech" in a headline on June 5.

Monday's suit lists a number of comments from student senators during proceedings to remove Denton as Senate president.

For example, student senator Kundhavi Gnanam — who made the motion for a vote of no confidence — stated she was "offended and scandalized by the rhetoric that Jack Denton used."

 

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RESCUE OUR CHILDREN NEWS: VIDEO REPORTS-----by Trey Blanton • ChurchMilitant.com • September 2, 2020 Wisconsin volunteer fights human traffickers

 

RESCUE OUR CHILDREN

NEWS: VIDEO REPORTS

by Trey Blanton  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  September 2, 2020    0 Comments

Wisconsin volunteer fights human traffickers

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CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO

TRANSCRIPT

Millions of women and children are victimized each year by human trafficking, and far too few are ever rescued from their nightmare. 

But a group of people are fighting to tip the scales in favor of the victims. A Green Bay-area volunteer is leading the effort in Wisconsin to raise awareness and money.

Tiffani Pfefferle: "We are here today to raise awareness about human trafficking and also to raise funds to donate to Destiny Rescue to save our children."

Selling brats, shirts and lawn signs, Tiffani is in the middle of a multi-week campaign to raise the $6,000 it takes to rescue four children.

Destiny Rescue, the organization mobilizing volunteers, explains how it rescues children:

We do border-crossing rescue, and so [we help] people who are being trafficked acrosss the border. We have stations there, and we rescue one to two [people] a day on that border. We also have relational rescues where agents go out and build a relationship, and we also do raids where our rescue agents go in and build a file against an establishment and do a raid to shut down the establishment selling children.

Destiny Rescue operates in several countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal and other locations. One operation was successfully executed in July in the Philippines, but more support is needed to ensure work can continue.

For Tiffani and others, the message is clear: "Save our children!"

 

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ECUMENICAL ECO-WORSHIP NEWS: WORLD NEWS-----Bishops, Protestant leaders mark 34-day 'Season of Creation'

 

ECUMENICAL ECO-WORSHIP

NEWS: WORLD NEWS

by David Nussman  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  September 1, 2020    65 Comments

Bishops, Protestant leaders mark 34-day 'Season of Creation'

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VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - An ecumenical "Season of Creation" begins this week, promoted by Catholic leaders.

Pope Francis and the "Season of Creation"

The "Season of Creation" is promoted annually by the World Council of Churches (WCC) — an ecumenical organization consisting of Protestants and Eastern Orthodox. It kicked off Tuesday with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and runs until Oct. 4.

Though the Catholic Church is not officially a member of the WCC, Church officials and Catholic theologians often work with the organization.

Plus, in 2015, Pope Francis called on the Catholic Church to join the Sept. 1 ecological prayer day.

'Jubilee' Theme

This year's "Season of Creation" has as its theme "Jubilee for the Earth," because it is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, which was celebrated in 1970.

There must exist a just and sustainable balance between social, economic and ecological realities.Tweet

Catholic bishops and non-Catholic religious leaders put out a joint statement in the lead-up to the ecological prayer day, which says: 

The values of Season of Creation go back to the roots of the Christian faith. Creation is a gift of God for mankind and for all living beings. It is therefore our responsibility to protect it as good and reliable stewards, and as faithful servants of God. "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it" (Psalm 24:1).

The Catholic bishops' conference of Europe penned the Aug. 25 statement alongside the Conference of European Churches — which, much like the WCC, consists of Protestant leaders and Eastern Orthodox clergy.

The joint statement claims the theme for this year, "Jubilee for the Earth," is rooted in the biblical celebration of jubilees.

It says, "The concept of Jubilee is rooted in the Bible, and underlines that there must exist a just and sustainable balance between social, economic and ecological realities."

The Church's Amazon Synod, held in fall 2019, pushed ecological concerns using Liberation Theology, panned by Pope St. John Paul II
 

The bishops and Protestant leaders went on to state, "The lesson from the biblical concept of jubilee points us towards the need to restore balance in the very systems of life, affirming the need for equality, justice and sustainability and confirming the need for a prophetic voice in defense of our common home."

'Significant Ecumenical Dimension'

They note elsewhere in the statement, "Celebrating the Day of Creation and the Season of Creation has a significant ecumenical dimension."

This is even more important when considering the environmental devastation and the threat of climate change.Tweet

The statement claims the Wuhan virus pandemic has highlighted "how deeply the globe is interconnected," adding, "Impact of the pandemic forces us to take seriously the need for vigilance and the need for conditions of sustainable life throughout the earth. This is even more important when considering the environmental devastation and the threat of climate change."

The Spanish bishops' conference is joining the environmentalist prayer day, releasing a statement that likewise speaks of "planet-wide interdependence, fraternal co-responsibility and the need for human compassion."

News Report: Pope Francis and the Virus
 

The WCC has an ecumenical, ecological prayer guide for the "Season of Creation." It recommends a number of prayers for "ecumenical prayer services" and similar events.

 A liturgical guide for the "Season of Creation"

It includes an ecological penitential rite (labeled as "confession") in which participants say, "We confess our demand that the earth produce beyond its limits, and our bondage to desire more."

The ritual, adapted from a Lutheran source, also has the congregation confess to "our vicious consumption of food and energy" and apologize to God for failing to love "our human and non-human neighbors as ourselves."

'Liturgical Season'

In the United States, a number of Catholic organizations have highlighted the "Season of Creation" and Tuesday's day of prayer.

Earlier this year, the Dominican Center in southeast Michigan put out a liturgical guide for the "Season of Creation."

The booklet refers to the 34 days dedicated to environmentalism as a "liturgical season," and recommends alternate formulas for the prayers of the Mass to be used on Sundays during the "season."

 

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