Leon J. Podles :: DIALOGUE

The Germans are having to face the consequences of their failure to have children. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that massive numbers of apartemts have to be demolished. There are now 82 million people living in Germany; by 2050 there will be only 70 million. Even by 2020 there will be 350,000 fewer households, and [...]

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Christoph Casetti, a canon of the diocese of Churr in Switzerland, according to Kath.net, has said that Switzerland needs many more exorcists. He sees more and more cases of possession. Perhaps the French anti-cult authorities are not being alarmist.

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Dietrich Bonheoffer denounced liberal Proetstantism because it preached cheap grace: “Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. … Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
 A leading minister of the United Church in Canda has decided the the [...]

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European governments keep a close eye on cults. The German government has kept a wary eye on Scientology. With more reason, the French government is keeping an eye on Satanism.  Le Monde reports that the “Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires” (The interministerial mission of vigilance and combat against  sectarian [...]

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The Vatican issued a statement that baptisms performed using words that do not refer to the Father, Son, and Spirit are invalid. According to Zenit:
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified that two formulae for baptism that remove the masculine names for God are invalid and undermine faith in the Trinity.
The congregation’s statement, [...]

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What the admirers of clerics see are devoted ministers, faithful stewards, men prepared to be patient with everyone, spending the love of their hearts on those they want to help, men who seek not their own interests but those of Jesus Christ. The observers praise such conduct but forget that these good men are interspersed [...]

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Like the Franciscan Bruce Ritter, Gelmini founded homes for the outcast and was accused of abusing young men. They also both managed to escape supervision. Ritter was a Franciscan, but the Franciscan assumed the Archdiocese of New York was keeping an eye on him, and the Archdiocese assumed the Franciscans were supervising him.
Gelmini said something [...]

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Pietro Gelmini (which news stories also spell Gelimini) founded centers for the homeless and drug addicts. He was prominent, popular, influential, and well connected to the Italian right, including Silvio Berluscone and Rocco Butiglione.

Then the accusations began. Young men said he had sexually abused them. He said that he had kicked them out for stealing, [...]

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There is a very odd discussion at the Commonweal blog about the Vatican’s pointing out that the formula some priests are using: “I baptize you in the name of the Creator, Liberator, and Sustainer (or any such variant that omits the hated masculine names of Father and Son) is not   valid Christian baptism. It began [...]

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