In an age where people are sharing photos of sinful activity all over the world, it’s unusual to see a video of simple adoration of a Christian leader making worldwide impact.
However, the recent photo of a six-year-old boy in awe of Pope Francis has gone viral and has been shared by tens of millions worldwide.
The boy, known only as “Carlos”, is an orphan from Colombia who was adopted by an Italian family. During the pope’s address during “Family Day at the Vatican,” the boy walked up on stage, hugged Pope Francis and then sat in the pontiff’s chair while he spoke to the crowd.
The boy also tried to help other children up to meet the Pope and at one point laid hands on a man that the Pope prayed over.
The Pope took the attention in stride, at one point tussling the boy’s hair and hugging him to his side as he continued to address the crowd.
The Pope’s address encouraged those in attendance to shower love on fellow family members. He said that if families can say “sorry,” “excuse me” and “thank you” that families would be fine.
Pope Francis expelled a German bishop from his diocese because of serious questions regarding his handling of church finances.
Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst had been overseeing a $43 million new residence complex that caused concern among church officials. In some parts of the country, Elst had been called the “Luxury Bishop.”
Germany has a nationwide “church tax” that brings billions a year into the church. Many Germans complain about the lack of transparency on the part of the Catholic Church and have cited the building complex as an example of extravagance.
While the Vatican said the bishop was leaving until the investigation was over, local officials and church leaders said it was unlikely Bishop Elst would return to his position. The Pope has issued clear instructions to church leaders that they are to live simply in the manner he has been demonstrating since his ascension to the papacy.
Pro-Israel groups are claiming an article printed in the New York Times shows an inherent anti-Israel bias in the newspaper’s reporting.
NYT Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren has been under fire from groups for an article that dismissed Palestinian rock throwers, saying their deadly assaults on Israelis soldiers and citizens as a “hobby” and “rite of passage”. The article prompted a response from the Israeli Defense Forces reporting facts not included in the Times article, such as six Israeli civilians injured in rock throwing incidents in July and previous incidents where women and children were killed by rock throwing at vehicles. Continue reading →
Officials from Brevard Public Schools are on the defensive after parents began to discover a textbook in world history classes is openly promoting Islam.
The Prentice World History textbook has a 36 page chapter on Islam but no chapters on Christianity or Judaism. The book, intented for 9th graders, declares Muhammad the “Messenger of God”. The book includes large passages from the Koran but not a single verse from the Bible.
The book says “some believed he was the messiah” in mentioning Jesus and later says he was executed but nothing about his resurrection. Continue reading →
You know, it’s fairly easy to follow the “deception leads to depression” truth. There are many false teachings that have lead people astray and when they find out that what they have been taught just DOES NOT WORK, they are devastated.
Take, for example, the false prosperity teachings. Jim calls them “love of money” teachings. Most of these are based on a formula of sowing and reaping, e.g. sowing money equals reaping money. But this teaching has been taken so out of context and when people eventually find out that their giving should not be tied to monetary gain, they are often angry at first, and then depressed. Why? Because they have been schooled in the teaching that if they give money, they will reap money…. And not just what they have sowed, but a 30, 60 or 100 fold return! Do you think there’s a little greed in there!? Continue reading →