We have enemies inside the Church too.

When priests and nuns teach you to show "mercy and compassion" which has become code for "tolerating the sin of the person", then tell teach them the "truth in charity".

Don't be like other priests who are quick to draw the gun and curse you online with words like TANGA, BOBO, PULPOL!

We do not tolerate sin.

"We as Catholics have not properly combated (the culture) because we have not been taught our Catholic Faith, especially in the depth needed to address these grave evils of our time. This is a failure of catechesis both of children and young people that has been going on for fifty years. It is being addressed, but it needs much more radical attention... What has also contributed greatly to the situation is an exaltation of the virtue of tolerance which is falsely seen as the virtue which governs all other virtues. In other words, we should tolerate other people in their immoral actions to the extent that we seem also to accept the moral wrong. Tolerance is a virtue, but it is certainly not the principal virtue; the principal virtue is charity... Charity means speaking the truth. I have encountered it (not speaking the truth) many times myself as a priest and bishop. It is something we simply need to address. There is far too much silence — people do not want to talk about it because the topic is not 'politically correct.' But we cannot be silent any longer."    -     Raymond Cardinal Burke

True Equality

This is what true equality means, helping the needy whoever they may be.

Thanks for the photo, Dinky.

But to call man to man sex as normal, is absurd!

It is not love.  It is lust!

People are not blind to the fact that when tragedy strikes, the Catholic Church is always there to help.

People are not blind to the fact that when tragedy strikes, these loudmouths like Akbayan, Bayan Muna, Filipino Freethinkers, the Homosexual groups, are cowering back home and staying in the comfort of their bedrooms.

Equality?

Dear Filipino Freethinkers and Iglesia ni Cristo

I pray that I see this in your own homes.

I pray you open your homes to these unfortunate ones.

I hope to see the Philippine Arena and your squeaky clean chapels opened and welcoming to people of all faiths and beliefs in times of dire need.

Filipino Freethinkers, for all your blabber against the Catholic Church, what have you done to people in need?

 

 Holy Family Parish Church, Roxas District, Quezon City

 

Sto. Domingo Parish Church, Quezon Ave., Quezon City

Martyr of the Brown Scapular

 

Meet Blessed Isidore Bakanja, a convert to Catholicism, back when missionaries work to preach the Gospel and bring people to the One True Faith.

He was baptized at the age of 18.  He worked for the white colonizers as an assistant mason. He never forgot the lessons taught him by the Trappist missionaries;  a Christian must be recognized by the rosary and scapular (Mary's habit, as it was rendered in Isidore's native tongue).

And this he kept all his life.

He found employment in a Belgian company that controlled the rubber plantations in the region as a house boy. Many of the agents were Christian-hating atheists.  The missionaries' defense of the natives' rights and their denouncing of injustices perpetrated against them earned the ire of these atheists.

Isidore soon experienced this hatred. He was told to stop teaching his fellow workers how to pray: "You'll have the whole village praying and no one will want to work", one agent shouted at him.

Isidore was also ordered to take away his scapular. When he did not, he was twice flogged. The second time, the agent tore the scapular from around Isidore's neck and threw him to the ground. He had two servant boys hold Isidore by his hands and feet and a third one flogged him. The whip was made of elephant hide with nails protruding at the end.

Isidore asked for mercy. "My God, I'm dying".  Isidore bore all the blows patiently.

After the beatings, the bones on Isidore's back were exposed.  After the scourging, his legs were chained, and he was thrown into into a hut for processing rubber.   He was severely beaten he could barely move.

When an inspector was about to visit the plant, Isidore was moved to another village. Unable to walk, he fell by the wayside and hid in the forest.

When he heard the inspector, he dragged himself before the inspector.

The inspector himself left a written account of his impression: "I saw a man come from the forest with his back torn apart by deep, festering, malodorous wounds, covered with filth, assaulted by flies. He leaned on two sticks in order to get near me -he wasn't walking; he was dragging himself".

The agent, responsible for the beating, appeared on the scene and tried to kill "that animal". He was restrained by the inspector.

He took Isidore to his own settlement, hoping to help him heal.  But the beating was so severe, that the wounds have become infected.  Isidore felt death nearing.

He told someone who had pity on him: "if you see my mother, or if you go to the judge, or if you meet the priest, tell them that I am dying because I am a Christian".

Two missionaries spent several days with him and gave him the last sacraments.

He told them the reason for his beating: "The white man did not like Christians.... He did not want me to wear the scapular.... He yelled at me when I said my prayers".

The missionaries urged Isidore to forgive the agent.  Isidore assured the missionaries that he had already forgiven them, that he nursed no hatred for him. The missionaries urged Isidore to pray for the agent. "Certainly I shall pray for him. When I am in heaven, I shall pray for him very much". His agony - more painful than the actual flogging - lasted six months. He died on either 8 or 15 august 1909, rosary in hand and the scapular of Our Lady of Mt Carmel around his neck.

He was a convert for two and a half years but lived his life since his Baptism like he was a Christian all his life.

He was beatified by St. John Paul II in April 24, 1994 along with St. Gianna Beretta Molla and St. Elisabeth Canori Mora

His feastday is celebrated in his native country and in the Carmelite community every August 15.

 ***


May we follow his example of boldly proclaiming the Faith.

May the Christian martyrs of the Middle East bring about the fall of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and all jihadists and Muslim extremists.

May the blood of the martyrs bring these people towards conversion.

Amen.!

An atheist helps the Church in declaring new saints!

Meet Dr. Jacalyn Duffin, MD, an atheist who wrote two books about medical miracles brought about by candidates to sainthood. Her investigations helped canonized them.

In a Wikipedia entry:

"Upon her return to Canada, Duffin settled in Ottawa where she took on a contract to review a set of slides, which she assumed were to be used in a malpractice suit. She was given no information about the patient, but identified the young woman as suffering from acute myeloblastic leukemia, “the most aggressive leukemia known.” As the slides were from some 5+ years earlier, she assumed the patient as deceased, as that form of leukemia kills usually within two years. Instead, she found that the patient had, after a relapse, gone into remission and was doing well some five years on. Duffin's testimony was to be used by the Vatican to determine whether Marie-Marguerite d'Youville (1701 – 1771) had performed a miracle and was worthy of canonization. According to Duffin, “They never asked me to say this was a miracle. They wanted to know if I had a scientific explanation for why this patient was still alive. I realized they weren’t asking me to endorse their beliefs. They didn’t care if I was a believer or not, they cared about the science"

You can read her own account of that miracle, how she judged the case only through the lens of a microscope.   She has also written two books about the medical miracles documented in the different canonizations.

She remains an atheist. Now that is one miracle let us hope for!

Filipino Frethinkers, look what was found! Ancient city discovered

This is one of the collosal statues found in the ancient city of  Heracleion long thought to be just a figment of the imagination of Herodotus, the 5th-century BC historian who wrote about the tale of Helen of Troy, who traveled to Heracleion, then a port of 'great wealth', with her Trojan lover, Paris.

Many "THINKERS" like the great FREEFARTERS, led by Tita Red Tani, always contend that ancient writings like those in the Bible are fictitious like what Herodotus wrote.

So...........

What say you now huh???

You change your mind now?

"But the Bible is fictitious"

Yeah, right.  Like what you said about this ancient city.

Unfortunately, hate towards Christianity defies reason and civility.

I can't wait to see the day you completely trash Islam and Mohammad.

That, I'll be watching.

Batasang Pambansa consecrated to Mary

Wow!

It took a while but still...WOW!

Good thing this was done.

So let the haters, start........hating!

***

MANILA, Nov. 28, 2013—Some members of Congress and its employees yesterday consecrated the legislative branch of the Philippines in Quezon City to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a bid to make amends for the likely effects of the highly controversial Reproductive Health law now known as Republic Act 10354.

Head of the Marian Movement of Priests Philippines, Monsignor Cesar Pagulayan led the act of consecration after a Holy Mass which he believes is an ‘appropriate time’ amid the natural calamities that have recently happened in the country.

“So that’s the concern and I think it would be a good help for those who are working in Congress, if not our Congressmen, to look at Mary during these difficult times,” said Pagulayan.

Pagulayan added that for those people who have faith and are able to read the signs of the times they might be able to make connections with the recent series of calamities.

“And I guess it is really our faith that will make us understand how we should behave right now because if we cannot be changed and our hearts cannot be changed by what has happened in Zamboanga, Bohol and Eastern Visayas, then we already have hardened hearts,” he said.

Marian medals [Miraculous medals?  What kind?] were given to attendees of the consecration.

The Universal Church on Nov. 28 celebrates the feast day of Saint Catherine Laboure the Marian visionary who relayed the request from the Blessed Virgin Mary to create the Miraculous Medal worn by millions of Christians, both Roman Catholic and non-denominational.  [November 27 is the feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, in case we forget.]

Pending final decision of the Supreme Court, calls to declare as unconstitutional were aired against the reproductive health (RH) law, where pork barrel was believed to have been used as “incentive” for legislators to push its approval.

Pagulayan further reiterated that, “we need Mary to touch our heart in order for us to see God speaking to us in the daily events that are going through.

On June 8, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines held a simultaneous national consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary spearheaded by Digos Bishop Guillermo Afable, who headed the ad hoc committee of national consecration. (Raymond Bandril)


***

We need this consecration since Congress is planning to pass a lot of pieces of legislation that literally came off the desk of Lucifer himself!

Abortion, euthanasia, same sex "marriage" are already being cooked up by these legislators who are drooling to have our country experience the moral and demographic winter or may I say "slow death" that Europe is already experiencing.

This is what atheism brings to the country.

EMPTINESS.

When an atheist tries to be smart against an exorcist

This is a classic discourse and I asked Fr. Zerrudo's permission to share this.

Thanks to my nephew RJ for the screencap.  :)

Atheists like this smart-aleck guy think everything is like the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus.

But when they are confronted with the grim reality that they too will die, and they too will have to face something in the other side, a reality that their brains never ever comprehended, spooks them to, well, DEATH.  (pun intended).

And when they got confronted with the reality that atheists like them are actually under the influence of their "imaginary" hero the Devil, they get stumped!

Next time you debate an atheist, tell them that even if they do not believe in the Devil, the Devil believes in them, in fact, they own him!

Pray for these misguided atheists.

They think that reasoning with logic and science, their own gods, makes them cool.  And that fighting the Catholic Church is cooler.

Kudos to Fr. Jojo Zerrudo for sharing his experience.

He stared the Devil in the eye, so he knows what he is talking about.

PS:  That atheist student who hates the Catholic Church studies in a Catholic university.  Ironic?  No.  I'd like to call it idiotic for someone who worship Knowledge and Freethinking.

Filipino Freethinkers host fundraising

They thought of holding a fund raiser and doing it a WEEK after the tragedy.

They cannot even pull out some of their cash from their own pockets to send to the victims.

They cannot even lift their fat fingers off the computer keyboards to help repacking relief goods.

No.

They still spend much of the time hating a God who they think does not exist.

See the great irony?

They hate Someone they believe does not exist.

They'll get donations for victims of the tragedy while spewing curses against religion and the God who they think was found sleeping on the job.

Yeah, they blame everything bad that happens to them, and to everyone else, except themselves.

Kinda like this guy.

PS:  The atheists would want to meet in front of a church.

Hypocrites.

BREAKING NEWS: Vatican donates money to typhoon victims

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican on Monday announced it is donating $150,000 (112,000 euro) in emergency aid to the Philippines after Super Typhoon  “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) devastated entire communities and left more than 10,000 people feared dead.  [Wait for it!..............the Filipino Freefarters would really be barking mad about sending "crumbs" from the billion dollar coffers of the Church.  Yes, these brats who "help" by "liking" and "sharing" posts and by attacking the Church does their share of being "human", by sitting behind their desks in front of their computers, while they demand the Church to help.  Hey!  Why not ask Manalo?]

“Following the Haiyan Typhoon… the Holy Father has decided to send a first contribution of 150,000 dollars to help the population,” the Vatican said in a statement.

The aid “will be distributed through the local Church in the areas worst hit by the tragedy” and will be “used to support aid operations for displaced people,” it added.  [And the good will be distributed to those who are affected, not based on religion, like what the Iglesia ni Cristo is doing.  Good job INC!  Show your true colors more!  That is the best way to de-proselytize!]

The donation is intended as “a concrete expression of the pontiff’s spiritual closeness and paternal support for the people and territories devastated by the floods,” it said.  [While the Manalos spend their time counting the money they will lose from the suspended church services in that part of the country.  You know they will still get back at those members.  They'll count the days of worship suspended and collect the arrears in the tithes and "alay" of their poor members.]

Pope Francis led 60,000 people in Sunday prayers for the Philippines, urging the faithful to provide “concrete help” to the largely Roman Catholic country.

“I ask all of you to join me in prayer for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan / Yolanda especially those in the beloved islands of the Philippines,” he tweeted on Saturday.

***

How about the Iglesia of the Manalos?

They boast of their medical mission right?

Now is the PERFECT time to do so.

No money sent, yet huh.

No doors opening for the survivors, no?

No medical mission going to Tacloban, no?

Guess they have very few INM members in Tacloban so they do not need to send a lot to help their own kind no?

So we know now who is really plain, and no frills HUMAN between the two churches, no?

What will the anti-Catholic Freethinkers do next?

I posted this before about how the Freethinkers love to demand that the Catholic Church help the poor while they are so warm and comfy behind their computer keyboards in their homes, doing NOTHING for the poor.

Now that the typhoon has passed the country, what will they do?

Will we see atheist facilities do this?

I don't think so.

They are for reason.

And reason says, to keep on yakking, claiming to help the poor while actually doing nothing!

Not even a cent, not even an inch!

Atheism is the religion of narcissists.

And it shows.

Marian Miracle in Cebu? Filipino Freethinkers expertise AGAIN needed

From the Philippine Star.

***

CEBU, Philippines - Hundreds of devotees flocked to the St. Augustine Parish in Poblacion, Alcantara, a town in southern Cebu, after the image of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary reportedly moved its head to the right, facing Bohol.  [See the photos above.]

Alcantara resident Bebe Quiroga, 63, who is a member of the Parish Pastoral Council-Worship Committee, [ugh....] told The FREEMAN that they were amazed upon seeing the head of the image of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, which originally was facing front, [as all images do] face to the right, in the direction of where Bohol is. Quiroga said they tried moving the head back to its original position but could not do so.  [Some moved the head?  But they "cannot".  It was stuck or what?  What is the image made of?  Did they make a switcheroo?]  

The image of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was placed in front of the altar of the church because it is the Rosary Month and residents would pray the Rosary every dawn and at 6 in the evening.

Residents immediately linked what they called a “miracle” to the earthquake that hit Cebu and Bohol last October 15, which killed over a hundred and destroyed buildings, mostly decades-old churches in Bohol.

Quiroga believes the “miracle” is Mother Mary’s message to Filipinos to have faith and believe in God.

“Wala gyud matay-og ang imahen though gibutang ra kini sa lamesa during sa linog last week,” she said, adding she expects more devotees to visit their church.  [What now?  Sorry I can't understand that.  Anyone care to translate this for me?  I think she meant the image did not fall though it was placed on a table during the quake.  Am I right?]

Parish Youth Coordinating Council (PYCC) president Russell Guardina, 21, said that it is not the first time that they noticed the head of the statue of the Virgin Mother move its head.

“The head of the statue first moved last October 15, during the earthquake but the following day it went back to normal and the second time was this morning (yesterday),” she said.  [The parish priest did it!  The parish priest did it!!!]

Guardiana’s statement was corroborated by Samantha Delarita, 19, the PYCC secretary.

Delarita told The FREEMAN that parish priest Fr. Peter Monteron, who is out of the town for a recollection, was already informed about what happened.  [Oh....he did not do it.  Sorry Freethinkers.  Next suspect!!!]

Cebu Archdiocese Episcopal Vicar Msgr. Esteban Binghay, when told of the reported “miracle” said people should “remain objective.”

In a phone interview with The Freeman yesterday, Binghay said the archdiocese is still waiting for the details about the alleged “miracle” from the parish priest, adding that it is the parish priest’s responsibility to make initial investigations about such occurrences.  [Will a statement come out?  ABANGAN!...ang susunod na Teletubbie na eeksena.]

SPO1 Jared Llenos and PO1 Madrid Aparre said that early yesterday their station received a call from Alcantara Vice Mayor Beatrice Caburnay requesting for police assistance at the church.

“Among nakita nga samok kaayo og nag-iyahay og unhanay para makagakos og makaduol sa birhen. Amo dayon silang gipalinya para malikayan ang kasamok tungod kay nag abot-abot naman ang mga tawo,” Aparre said.  [I think she meant, it's so chaotic, it's like talking to Teletubbie, asking Google Liturgist about Liturgy, and trying to decipher the English of the War Freak Eastern Hierarch.........and trying to make sense out of what the Filipino Freethinkers are talking about....and making sense out of what Fr. Genaro Diwa teaches about Liturgy.....and trying to find meaning behind the teardrops....and....I better stop.]

Elizabeth Tabanaw, a resident of the nearby town of Moalboal, said that upon hearing the news of the “miracle”, she, together with her relatives and her baby, went to the St. Augustine Parish to check if the news was true and at the same time, to pray.

“Mga around 1:00 p.m. mi naabot taas kaayo ang linya naabot na sa gawas sa church unya 3:00 p.m. na wala pa gyud mi maabot sa birhen,” she said, adding the movement of the head of the statue was indeed a miracle.

Fr. Herardo dela Victoria of Ginatilan said he also went to the church upon hearing the news.

When asked if the movement was a miracle, he said this is still subject for investigation. However, he added that personally, he thinks that the movement is a message for Catholics, reminding them of the Holy Mother’s mandate.

Msgr. Binghay said it is understandable for people to think that the alleged movement of the image was a miracle because of the disaster that recently hit Cebu and Bohol. He added that this may be taken as a “subjected perception” caused by the fear of the people of the recent disaster, especially with the continuing aftershocks. 

But Binghay said that if the reported “miracle” is true, it would be a wonderful sign. For now, however, Binghay said there is a process that needs to be followed and people need to be objective while waiting for the report of the parish priest.

The St. Augustine Parish acquired the image of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in the 1980s. — with AJ de la Torre/QSB (FREEMAN)


***

Determining miracles follow a rigid process in the Church.

Compare that with the reported miracles of healing that usually happen during charismatic and evangelical prayer meetings like that from Eddie Villanueva and Wilde Almeda....IMIN end IMIN....

Yeah he speaks like that.  That's Amen and Amen.  Maybe African twin saints.  I don't know.

Anywho...

While Filipino Freethinkers, bunch of brats who'd blame all the bad things that happened to them and all around the world to the God who did not heed their prayers, or what they actually meant was the God who does not follow their bratty and bitchy whiny wishes, are all dismayed that a major disaster that hit Cebu and Bohol, and destroyed the historical churches and cost lots of human lives cannot even dampen the faith of the Boholanos and Cebuanos.

Maybe they need more load for their broadband for them to continue their attacks against the Catholic Church.

No surprise there.  RH was made into a law and their financial sources have stopped sending them money.

Now that is their god!

Made of elastic, no reusable rubber!


PS:  To the Boholanos out there.  Watch out for Teletubbie. He'd pose near that statue.  Wear a veil and imitate the pose of the Virgin....then he'd post it on Facebook.

My advice.  Find the nearest sink hole and..................





Report it to Phivolcs.

You ha!

Filipino Freethinkers will never find an answer to this!

But they will certainly find the answer that NO ONE created that.

Geniuses.

Expertise of the Filipino Freethinkers...STILL NEEDED

If they have the SCIENCE and MATHEMATICS...

And they have the BRAINS...

Why would your science not tell us when an earthquake will strike?

SCIENCE powerless?

BRAIN is dead?

They cannot even explain through science how this happened and instead blamed GOD for the destruction and death.

Yeah, I guess if they get stumped and humiliated, it's God's fault.

Maybe you should start blaming Gloria Arroyo too no?

Or maybe ask this genius here why he can't find a solution to his own problem.

PS:  I have stirred a hornet's nest but I brought along my pesticide.  Ha!

Expertise of the Filipino Freethinkers needed for this one

Since they are all about the BRAIN.

And since they are so very good about logic, science and mathematics.

Can you explain this?

Why that statue did not suffer any damage?

Why did that glass frame remained undamaged?

Let' see you use your brain for this one.

Where are the other religions? Where are the Filipino Freethinker loudmouths?

From GMA News.

***

Zamboanga City Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar on Monday night made the rounds of evacuation centers sheltering constituents who fled from the gun battles between government troops and the Moro National Liberation Front.

Among the evacuation centers Climaco visited was the Western Mindanao State University gymnasium, where many of the victims of the crisis were brought.

The gym, aside from being an evacuation center, was also designated a Satellite Emergency Hospital.

Climaco then proceeded to the Zamboanga Grandstand to check the situation of more than 1,000 evacuees.

The city government and volunteers provided the refugees with food during their stay at the grandstand.

Zamboanga City residents were forced to flee their homes due to the gun battles between the government and the MNLF. At least six people have been killed in the clashes.

The mayor earlier imposed a curfew over the city, in the wake of a standoff between the opposing forces, virtually shutting down Zamboanga City.

Zamboanga churches

Catholic churches in Zamboanga City on Monday opened their doors to people fleeing the clashes between government troops and the Moro National Liberation Front.

Zamboanga Archdiocese administrator Msgr. Crisologo Manongas [because there is still no archbishop.] said the churches in the archdiocese welcomed all evacuees be they Christian or Muslim.

Manongas added there was no reason for Muslim evacuees to be denied accommodation since all civilians reject the ongoing conflict.

“This is not a religious conflict. This is a political conflict. There’s no animosity between Muslims and Christians. We have a good relationship with Muslim religious leaders,” Manongas said.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said Zamboanga church officials condemned the violence and called for an end to the fighting.

"We appeal to the MNLF leadership not to involve the innocent civilians in their political demands. Negotiations with arms will not resolve anything. We are appealing to them to lay down their arms," said Manongas.

The Zamboanga Archdiocese administrator was outraged over the violence since civilians, especially children, were among the most affected by the fighting. — DVM, GMA News


***

The Catholic Church is STILL the biggest charitable organization in the whole world!

Now...

Where are the loudmouths when you needed them to make the noise the most?

Where is the loudmouth INC who loves to brag about how good they are when they only open their doors to their own members?

Now, where is the loudmouth YELLOW JOURNALISTS to show this to the whole world, huh?

That's it.

You are good at attacking the Catholic Church.

You cannot even lift a damn finger to help those in need.

Nothing but rhetoric.

Bunch of privileged spoiled brats!

Put them in the same situation as those in Zamboanga or even those affected by natural calamities and I bet you that you'll never see them ask or pray to their Math and Science.

I bet you.

When death comes knocking at their doors, they'll start praying.

Filipino Freethinkers...where are you?

I am sneaking in a few minutes while working for relief and rescue efforts because of the monsoon rains.

And just like in Habagat of 2012, MOSTLY Catholic institutions and Catholic men and women are in the forefront of helping the victims of the rains.

And in the midst of the chaos, I tried looking for the whiners who hate God so much for making their life such a misery, like their coffee from gay "marriage" supporter Starbucks is not hot enough, or there is too much ice in their Coke from Burger King...

I looked and looked if they were helping.

And this happened to me....AGAIN!

The Filipino Freefarters have a lot of reality check to do.

I guess their science and mathematics cannot change the fact that when the human spirit is needed the most, even they cannot show their spirit.

Why?

Because they do not believe in anything SPIRITUAL.

And they have the nerve to ask the Church to help!

The nerve.

Spoiled brats will always be a bunch of whiners.

They don't think.

They whine.

A woman converts to Catholicism after learning what Catholicism is all about.

From the Catholic Herald

***

Three years ago when I announced to my family that I had followed my Latin American husband’s lead and converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, my intellectual-atheist brother immediately proclaimed that I had joined “the Evil Empire”. [True atheism nowadays is not just about not just about not believing in God, but HATING Catholicism.] The jokes and ridicule have never stopped coming. Just yesterday he sent me the Epicurean paradox and asked how my priest and I intend to explain it. (“When there is evil in the world, how can God be good?” – To put it simply).

My family and friends’ reactions to my conversion have ranged from disgust to pity, to a mysterious type of curiosity: “So, do you hate gay people now?” “Are you going to have lots of children then?” And of course: “Has your priest ever abused anyone?” Really?  [Really.  And they call themselves, FREE THINKERS.]

As it happened, I didn’t have a big moment where I was “called” to the Church, there was no white dove fluttering down on my shoulders, whispering the word of the Lord in my ear. I was as much a Protestant hater as the next person. And my decision to go into the RCIA course (after which you decide to either walk away or receive Holy Communion and join) was initially a fact-finding mission because I knew that my husband wanted our children to go to a Catholic school.

I expected to find a cliquey, self-absorbed group of elderly nuns and priests handing out rules I was supposed to live by. I expected to be met with blind denial of the child abuse scandal that was raging at the time, and I definitely expected no discussion of the Catholic “absolutes” regarding homosexuality, contraception and celibacy for men in the cloth.

But what I found was humility and an honest willingness to debate how the Church and its doctrines fit into the modern world. At one of the first meetings the priest in session asked: “No contraception? Is it really doable? Do people really live by it?” Rather than preaching blind acceptance, we were invited to examine the historical and philosophical reasoning behind the traditions, and it all made so much more sense.

What struck me most was that nobody purported to hold the truth about anything. Catholics have been accused of a sense of dogmatic holiness that puts everyone who is not in the fold to shame. What I found was a group of people who know that they constantly fail at reaching the high standards they set for themselves, but who try their best.

Yes, this clashes blatantly with recent developments in the Church. The speculations surrounding the Pope’s resignation coupled with Cardinal O’Brien’s admission of sexual misconduct all add to the longstanding indignation against the Church.  [And you wouldn't expect to get that kind of treatment against other religions.]

But the Catholic Church is much more than this, and it is in my opinion widely and deliberately misunderstood. We all need an enemy, and the Church lends itself so easily to that role.

But I think it’s a testament to the humility of the Catholic community that it hasn’t mobilised in a violent defence of itself. Instead it has bowed its head in recognition of its sins and is constantly reflecting on how it can do better.

TS Eliot once wrote: “For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.” If any religion can make us do that, I think we are doing OK.


***

This is a brilliant approach to apologists.

Instead of readily using the word "pulpol", try harder using a more charitable and more logical reasoning when debating other people of the Faith.

As my friend once said it "Sometimes, it is our attitudes against people of other religions that  drives them farther away from the Truth."

Agreed.

Who atheists really are...

Juvenile delinquents who are just mad at themselves and use their computers to vent out their frustrations.

Yup.  That pretty much says it all.

Thank you Filipino Freethinkers!!!

You just helped us campaign for these legislators!

The Filipino Freefarters, who all bask in the glory of the deity named "Brain", have just come up with a list of local executives who they will not vote are campaigning that the "Bulok na Ube" gang will not vote for in May.

This then is our cue!  We'll use their own list to campaign who are the PRO-LIFE CONGRESSMEN who we MUST VOTE in May.

Thank you FreeFarters!!!

Click this link to see the list.

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