Dear Ron,
The News In Review newsletter is a service
provided
by Understand The Times that
is a compilation of the news articles
previously posted
on our site . Understand The Times does not
endorse these events but rather is
showing the church the current events.
Our purpose of posting these
articles is to warn the church of the
Biblical deception.
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October 23 - Church Of Sweden To Bless Gay Marriages
Article:Perilous Times
Delegates of Sweden's
largest church, the Lutheran Church of
Sweden,
approved a plan Thursday to bless gay
marriages, the AFP reported.
Gay marriage became available in Sweden on
May 1 after Lawmakers
overwhelmingly approved a bill in April,
making it the
seventh country to legalize gay
marriage.
A large majority (70%) of
the church's synod, or church board, agreed to allow
gay couples to marry in its congregations
from November 1. Pastors,
however, have the discretion to refuse to
bless a marriage.
The Church of Sweden, which
was the state church until 2000, is the
nation's largest church with 6.8
million members or nearly 75% of
Swedes. While the
church has blessed civil unions for more
than a decade, and supported the
effort to legalize gay marriage, some
clergy wanted to preserve
marriage for heterosexual couples.
The decision comes on the
heels of a
controversial vote by U.S. Lutherans to
accept partnered gay clergy and a nod to
pastors wanting to bless gay unions
and marriages. ELCA, the nation's largest
Lutheran denomination, voted to
adopt the changes in August. Unhappy
conservatives have since announced they
would explore ways to splinter from the
church.
Likewise, conservative
Episcopalians are defecting to more orthodox
denominations over similar gay
issues, including the blessing of gay
marriages. Last week, the Pope said
he would embrace disgruntled Anglicans,
which include Episcopalians, to the
Roman Catholic Church. The Holy Father's
offer includes concessions that
would allow Anglicans to keep some religious
traditions.
The Swedish Federation for
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Rights (RFSL), the nation's largest
gay rights advocate,
praised the move by the Lutheran
Church. "[We] congratulate the Church
of Sweden for its decision.
[The Church's] homosexual and bisexual
members will finally be able to feel
a little more welcome within society,"
the group said in a
statement.
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October 26 - Deja vu! Russians arming Cuba's military Plans include sensitive electronic eavesdropping station 90 miles from U.S.
Article: Miscellaneous
Russia is offering
to modernize Cuba's deteriorating weapons
systems - installed when the
former Soviet Union was expanding worldwide
- and it also wants to
reactivate a sensitive electronic
eavesdropping station on the nearby island
at Lourdes, use Cuba as a base to refuel its
bombers and a port to replenish
supplies on its warships, according
to a report from Joseph Farah's
G2 Bulletin.
Cuba's Soviet-made
military equipment has been falling apart.
After an assessment, the Russian
military has decided
to undertake a comprehensive
modernization. In addition, the Cuban army
also will receive Russian
military training.
Cuba is only 90
miles south of Florida, where the U.S. has
considerable military facilities
which the Russians could easily monitor.
"We inspected the
condition of this equipment, and outlined the measures
to be taken to maintain the defense
capability of this country,"
Makarov said. "I think a lot of work
needs to be done in this respect, and I
hope we will be able to accomplish this
task."
Then in August 2008
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
declared that Russia needed to rebuild
its links to the Cuban island. He was
careful not to say that Russia was
establishing bases in Cuba, even though
Moscow
apparently intends to use the Caribbean
island as a potential refueling stop
for its nuclear-capable
bombers and for ports of call for its
warships.
Then Russian Air Force
chief Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev in March 2009
had made it clear
that Cuba, as well as
Venezuela, could be used to base
Russia's strategic bombers, although the
Kremlin was quick to add at the
time that such a development was
"hypothetical."
"We
need to reestablish positions on Cuba and in
other countries," Putin
said.
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October 27 - ELCA VP: Churchwide Assembly's Pro-Gay Actions a 'Catalyst'
Article: Periilous Times
A letter written by the
vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America is being
distributed to the church body's 4.6
million members in response to the
growing dissatisfaction over divisive
decisions made this past summer by
the denomination's chief legislative
authority. Since ELCA's Churchwide
Assembly adopted a social statement on
human sexuality and
made it possible
non-celibate homosexuals to serve
as rostered leaders, a number of
congregations have
considered parting ways with denomination,
which they say has been
parting ways with the Word of
God.
"We
are experiencing a 30-year trend in
decreased membership and giving to
support the work of the ELCA beyond its
local congregations,"
Hanson had reported this past Friday - the
second day of the LWF
Council's six-day meeting in
Geneva."Furthermore,
we do not know the budgetary implications
of our recent decision on
human sexuality," he told
council members.
While the Churchwide
Asssembly's controversial decisions are
expected to take its toll on the
denomination, ELCA VP Peņa said he believes the
assembly's actions will be "a catalyst to
further strengthen our church
and our relationships with each
other."
"I feel as
though I have experienced a
resurrection," stated Peņa, who
was elected to a second six-year
term during the 2009 Churchwide
Assembly. "Good
things are coming to light out of the chaos
and darkness of what seemed
like a hopeless situation."
"And I pray for my
fellow Lutherans that
they may have the strength
to commit and weather the
storm," Peņa concluded.
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October 27 - Holy See Identifies the Source of Religious Intolerance
Artilce: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.
Before there can be authentic
religious freedom, there must be a change of hearts
regarding tolerance and respect toward other
religions and cultures, says
the Holy See.
In addition to changes in the law, Archbishop
Migliore urged an attitude change:
"Legislation which restricts freedom of
expression cannot change attitudes.
Instead, what is needed is the will to
change. "This can most effectively be
achieved by raising the
consciousness of individuals,
bringing them to a greater understanding of
the need to respect all persons
regardless of their faith or cultural
background."
"It is
imperative that the people of the
various faith traditions work together in
order to grow in mutual
understanding," he
continued. "Here
there is need for an authentic change of
minds and hearts.
"This can be done best through
education,
beginning with children and young
people, on the importance of
tolerance and respect for cultural and
religious diversity."
"Cooperation
among religions is a prerequisite
for the transformation of
society,"
Archbishop Migliore added,
"and must lead to a change of
minds
and hearts so that a culture of tolerance and
peaceful coexistence among peoples
can truly be
built."
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October 29 - Conservatives Vow to Keep Close Watch on Hate Crimes Law
Article: Perilous Times
Christian conservative
groups will be keeping a close watch over
how new hate crimes
legislation will be enforced after
President Obama signed it into law
Wednesday. "Although we don't know the full
ramifications of this bill
as of yet, my staff and I will be watching
closely
for any possible infringement on the rights
of our members and pastors
to speak out against the sin of
homosexuality based on the Word of God,"
said Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, president of
The Lutheran Church -
Missouri Synod, in a statement.
The Human Rights
Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender
advocacy group, calls the hate crimes law
the
"nation's first major piece of civil rights
legislation" for LGBT.
Though supporters
hail the signing of the hate crimes bill an
advancement in U.S. civil
rights, opponents fear the law will be used to
restrict the free speech of
pastors and Christians who say
that homosexuality is a
sin.
Critics contend that
pastors can be
unfairly linked to a hate crime if
they preach homosexuality as sin and
someone who hears the sermon later
harms another because of their sexual
orientation.
Family Research
Council President Tony Perkins also
criticized the hate crimes bill as a
threat to the free speech of Americans,
saying that the hate crimes law
lays a legal
foundation and framework
for "investigating, prosecuting and
prosecuting" pastors and Christian
business owners "whose actions reflect
their faith."
Gay rights group are
now pressing President Obama to repeal the "don't
ask, don't tell" policy, which bans gays
from openly serving in the
military, and to repeal the Defense of
Marriage Act, which defines legal
marriage as between a man and a woman.
Obama has previously
announced his intention to repeal
both.
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October 28 - Mary's Golden Age
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Pius
XII today is often associated with
the debate surrounding his assistance to Jews
during World War II. But as his
first encyclical turned 70 this month, a
conference was held to reflect on one
of the truly momentous contributions of this
Pope to history:
his Marian devotion and
doctrine.
Special veneration of the Mother of Jesus
made its greatest impact in the first
half of the 20th century, to the point that Blessed John
XXIII would refer to it as the age of Mary.
The Pontiff's devotion was
also expressed through a series of official
events (Roschini lists 400
documents) whose objective was to promote Mary's presence
in the life and thought of the Church.
The noteworthy events of Pius XII's Marian
magisterium are numerous. There is
the famous encyclical "Mystici Corporis
Christi" (of June 29, 1943), in which
the Pope specifies the Virgin's place in the
Mystical Body of Christ,
presenting her
as "alma socia Christi," that is,
Mother associated to the Son in all his
redemptive work.
He was the Pope to
consecrate the world to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary (on Oct. 31, 1942), thus
heeding the request of the Portuguese
episcopate on the 25th anniversary of the
apparitions of the Virgin in Fatima.
At the height of the War, the Pope
invoked Mary as
"refuge of the human race" and
entrusted the whole world to her maternal
protection. Pius XII reiterated this act of
confidence in Jesus' Mother consecrating
Russia to her in 1952 and Spain in
1954. As a continuation of these
gestures, Pius XII
established the feast of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary in the universal Church on
March 4, 1944.
This Marian Year was solemnly opened
Dec. 8, 1953, in St. Mary Major, and
closed in St. Peter's on Nov. 1, 1954,
with the crowning of the Salus
populi romani [salvation of the Roman people]
icon of Mary and with the
institution of the feast of
Mary
Queen of Heaven.
Father De Fiores
explained to ZENIT that "Pius XII will
remain in the history of the Catholic
faith above all for the dogmatic definition
of Mary's assumption in body and
soul to heaven."
The Nov. 1, 1950, proclamation was a
memorable event in the history of the
Church, which Pius XII himself interpreted
with these words:
"As
though shaken by the beat of your hearts and
by the commotion of your lips, the very
stones of this patriarchal basilica
vibrate and together with them it seems the
innumerable and ancient churches cry
out with mysterious trembling, raised
everywhere in honor of the
Assumption."
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October 23 - Obama offers millions in Muslim technology fund
Artcile: Misc.
The White
House Friday highlighted a new multi-million-dollar
technology fund for
Muslim
nations,
following a pledge made by President Barack
Obama in his landmark speech to
the Islamic world. The White House
said the US Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC) had issued a
call for proposals for the fund,
which will provide
financing of between 25 and 150
million dollars for selected projects and
funds.
OPIC
said sample projects could help
foster the development
of new computer technology or
telecommunications businesses, or widen
access to broadband Internet
services.
In his
speech to the Muslim world
in Cairo last June, Obama argued that
"education and
innovation will be the currency of the 21st
century" and that
under-investment was rife in many Muslim
nations.
As
well as the fund, Obama also said
he will host
a summit on entrepreneurship this year
to
deepen ties between business leaders in the
United States and Muslim
communities around the world.
In his
speech on June 4, Obama vowed
to forge a
"new beginning" for Islam and
America,
promising to purge years of "suspicion
and discord."
In
what may be one of the defining
moments of his presidency,
Obama laid out a new
blueprint for US Middle East
Policy,
pledged to end mistrust, forge a state for
Palestinians and defuse a nuclear
showdown with
Iran.
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October 27 - Thousands gather as Virgin Mary set to make major statement at Knock shrine
Article: Signs And Wonders
Thousands of Irish
people claim to have
witnessed apparitions of the
Virgin Mary in the skies over Knock shrine
in Co Mayo. About
5,000 people gathered at the holy Catholic
shrine earlier this month
amid a Dublin-based
clairvoyant's predictions that
an apparition would appear on October
11.
They reported that
they could see images
of the Virgin Mary
shimmering in the sky as the sun danced
nearby.
Another apparition has been predicted by
the same clairvoyant,
Joe Coleman, for this weekend and several thousand
people are expected to make the pilgrimage
to Knock.
Mr Coleman claimed:
"I have seen her
twice in recent months in the
Gable chapel at Knock. The statue comes
alive, she opens her arms, a
lovely pink cloak comes around her, there
are stars above her head, she
turned into Jesus, then to Padre Pio and
then back to herself. While the
vision is happening, I can see nothing else
in the chapel."
She has told
me she wants to make the
biggest statement she has ever made on this
earth. Knock is the
spiritual heart of
Ireland."
The archbishop said
there were huge
differences between the
apparitions of 1879 and what, if anything,
was happening now.
"The apparition of 1879 was neither
sought nor expected by the humble,
honest people who were its astonished
witnesses. Their faith reveals the
patience and humility that characterises
true belief. The shrine of
Knock is living witness to that
faith," he said.
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We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
Sincerely,
Ron Pierotti
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