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NEW DOCUMENTARY EXPOSES SCANDAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY, PEDOPHILIA IN POLISH CHURCH
from: LifeSite News
(22 May) Three priests mentioned in a recently released documentary about clerical sexual abuse of minors in Poland were collaborators with the country’s dreaded communist-era Security Service. Tylko nie mów nikomu ("Tell No One"), which was released to YouTube this May 11, has now been seen over 20 million times. Director Tomasz Sekielski revealed after his film's release that three of the priests it featured were "registered as secret collaborators" of the Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa (S.B.).
The three priests were Fr. Jan Aniol, filmed confessing to molesting seven-year-old girls; Fr. Franciszek Cybula, a Solidarity chaplain who was filmed admitting to having had a sexual relationship with a teenage boy; and Fr. Eugeniusz Makulski, the curator of the Basilica of Our Lady of Lichen, accused of child sexual abuse in the 1970s by an anonymous victim who says he is now himself a priest. Both Cybula and Makulski had been honored in Poland as hero priests of the communist era.
Formed from an earlier security service in 1954, the S.B. was responsible for monitoring and arresting perceived enemies to Poland's communist dictatorship. Active against the Solidarity movement of the 1980s, the S.B. was responsible for the beating and death of the most renowned of the Solidarity chaplains, Fr. Jerzy Popielusko. Many Poles, willingly or unwillingly, were collaborators with the S.B., including, it is alleged, Solidarity spokesman and later Polish president Lech Walesa.
Krystian Kratiuk, editor-in-chief of Polonia Christiana's PCh24.pl website, told LifeSiteNews via email that the S.B. was determined to destroy the Catholic Church in Poland through discovering the misdemeanors of priests. "Every cleric had a file in the SB, and they tried to catch every priest with wiretaps, agents, or hidden cameras in any offense in order to discredit him," Kratiuk explained. [read more...]
RUSSIAN PATRIARCH KIRILL CALLS FOR ENDING ABORTIONS TO BOOST POPULATION
from: Forum 18 News Service
(20 May) The head of Russia's Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill has proposed a national ban on abortion to boost the country's lagging population numbers.
Russia legalized abortion in 1955 and has the second-highest abortion rate in the world after China. While Russia's pro-life movement has largely failed to change the law, it has gained momentum in recent years, spurred by the rise of the Orthodox Church as a powerful political force.
"We must first of all remove the topic of abortion to the extent that it exists," Patriarch Kirill was quoted as saying at a pro-life event in Moscow on Sunday by Interfax.
With an estimated 1 million fewer abortions per year, he projected population numbers could reach 156 million in the next decade and 166 million in 20 years. Russia has grappled with a demographic crisis in recent years, with its population declining for the first time in a decade last year to 146.8 million. [read more...]
OCU SYNOD APPROVES APPOINTMENTS AND APPOINTS A BISHOP FOR GREEK-SPEAKING FAITHFUL IN UKRAINE
from: Religious Information Service of Ukraine
(24 May) The Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine passed the decision to consecrate Archimandrite Epiphanius (Dimitriou) as a bishop. He will take care of the Greek-speaking flock in Ukraine as a vicar to the Primate of the OCU. The consecration of the new bishop will be held tomorrow in St. Michael's Cathedral of Kyiv.
The Synod also decided within a month to complete the registration of the Charters of the Departments of the dioceses of the UOC (OCU). The process of registering the charters of the monasteries and the spiritual educational institutions of the OCU was launched.
According to the Synod's statement, "The Orthodox Church of Ukraine preserves internal unity and calls upon the episcopate, clergy and faithful to discuss and resolve all questions that arise in the spirit of brotherly love that is commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ, avoiding incitement to hostility, confrontation and division. The Synod also expressed its full support to the Primate, His Beatitude Epifaniy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine." [read more...]
PATRIARCH DEFROCKS MONASTERY PRIEST FOR STABBING MONK
from: Interfax-Religion
(23 May) Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has approved a resolution by the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius' spiritual assembly to revoke the right of the Hegumen Sevastian (Zapolnov) to wear monastic clothing and to laicize him, the monastery stated on its website on Thursday.
Last Wednesday evening the hegumen, while on the grounds of the monastery, "in a state of extreme alcohol intoxication and beyond himself" assaulted the Hierodeacon Polikarp (Sidorov) with a knife and stabbed him several times.
Father Polikarp was taken to the Sergiyev Posad district hospital where he was treated and his life is no longer in danger. Police apprehended the culprit at the monastery. He is facing criminal charges.
"The conflict, which led to such sad consequences, was caused by the inadequate state of Father Sevastian as a consequence of his excessive alcohol consumption," the statement said. [read more...]
'CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW' DRIVES HUNGARY'S STUNNINGLY SUCCESSFUL PRO-FAMILY POLICIES: MINISTER FOR FAMILY
from: LifeSite News
(22 May) Hungary's astounding success of creating an environment where marriages and families are flourishing and abortion numbers are dropping did not happen by chance, the country's State Secretary for Family and Youth Affairs told LifeSiteNews in an exclusive interview, but because the Orban-government policies are "based on our [country's] Christian worldview and the traditional definition of the family."
"The Hungarian people are family-oriented, respect traditional values and want to live in peace and security. This is based on real feedback, not assumptions," Katalin Novàk, Hungarian Minister of State for the Family, Youth and International Affairs, told LifeSiteNews
“According to a recent poll, 79% of the Hungarians share the view that we should preserve our Christian heritage, which means that a large majority supports policies that are rooted in Christian culture. The seven-point Family Protection Action Plan and the Hungarian Family Act are based on our Christian worldview and the traditional definition of the family," she added.
Novak said that the policies encourage young Hungarians to marry and have more than one child. The government is hoping to reverse negative population trends through the "family-friendly" approach instead of turning to migration. "We conducted a national consultation in December last year in which we asked Hungarians whether they agree on the policy direction of putting families at the focus of attention instead of migration. The answers confirmed that the Hungarian people see the future in the increased support of families." [read more...]
PATRIARCH FILARET REFUSES TO SIGN OCU'S CHARTER – METROPOLITAN EPIFANIY
from: Unian
(24 May) Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) Epifaniy has said Honorable Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Filaret on December 15, 2018 refused to sign the OCU's charter, which was adopted during the Unification Council.
"The Synod witnessed that in its future life and activities, the Ukrainian Local Orthodox Church will be guided by Holy Tradition, Scripture and the charter adopted at Kyiv's St. Sophia Cathedral on December 15, 2018. Almost all of us were unanimous in previous decisions, but the last decision was not signed only by the patriarch," Epifaniy said on Friday after the OCU Synod, Ukrainian TSN news service has reported.
According to him, during today's Synod, the parties discussed the situation that had developed in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the statements that had been made over the past two weeks. But Filaret continued to insist that the Kyiv Patriarchate still exists and was not removed from registration. "Although we all tried to convince and prove that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate had no longer legally and actually existed, and the Kyiv Patriarchate formed the basis of the OCU," the metropolitan said.
"Therefore, to a certain extent, we discussed, talked, convinced, but everyone saw that His Holiness Patriarch Filaret, unfortunately, remained with his opinion," Epifaniy added. Filaret refuses to recognize the UOC-KP as "liquidated" as a result of the creation of the OCU. At the same time, the Ministry of Culture assures that the UOC-KP was dissolved on December 15, 2018, during the Unification Council. [read more...]
OTHER NEWS HEADLINES:
METROPOLITAN EPIFANIY ATTEMPTS RECONCILIATION WITH PATRIARCH FILARET
from Ukrainian Weekly
PATRIARCH EMERITUS FILARET ASSURES PHANAR HE SUPPORTS METROPOLITAN EPIFANIY
from Religious Information Service of Ukraine
RUSSIAN PASTORS RECEIVE BIBLICAL COUNSELING TRAINING
from Mission Network News
TEEN SUSPECTED OF SETTING FIRE TO ASSUMPTION CHURCH IN KARELIA FOUND TO HAVE MENTAL DISORDER
from Interfax-Religion
PROTESTANT PASTOR FINED FOR CONDUCTING REGULAR WORSHIP
from Religia i pravo
DIVINE LITURGY CELEBRATED OUTSIDE THE CATHEDRAL CAPTURED BY SCHISMATICS IN VINNITSA
from Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate
WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PARALYZED - HOMILY ON THE SUNDAY OF THE PARALYTIC
from Orthodox Christianity
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NOW, OUR VIEWS:
Who Are We?
We set up "Agape Restoration Society" in 1998 as a nonprofit organization that demonstrates the love of Christ in practical, charitable actions, namely by training people to work with and rehabilitate disabled people, to provide medicines, wheelchairs, other equipment, and Build the ARC - Agape Restoration Communities.
How did this idea of creating such a community come about? I committed my life to Christ as my Lord in 1957, and about a year later, I received a vision as I stood on the balcony of a U-shaped apartment complex. A voice said, "Remember this plan: you will build it many years from now, when you're an old man." I asked, "Why do I have to wait so long?"
Then I saw a map or outline of Russia in the sky, and also was given the clear impression that there was something very special about the stairways, but I didn't understand what. Immediately after receiving this vision I began studying about Russia, and my wife and I eventually lived there for 17+ years. Over the years I drew these plans several times, even built our own passive solar house incorporating some of these ideas, but there was always that nagging question about the stairways.
What's the big deal about the stairways?
About the property we plan to purchase for our Agape Restoration Community: I've revised my modifications HERE to our architect's sketch, so that the ground levels match more closely the topographic map of 30-40 years ago. In addition to my earlier three-dimensional view, I have also sketched the side views, the second floor (church) plan, and first floor (living units) plan. These will be presented to the Planning Commission soon.
Here's a large-scale view of the area, in the top center showing Highway 48 coming down from Monroeville PA to Trafford. The rectangle in the lower-right corner shows where we zoom in to the R-3 (multi-family) zoned property we plan to purchase. Zooming in further, on the right you can see Urban Lane, the road leading up to the hilltop. On the left is Urban Construction Company, the current owners.
As I mentioned in our last Hosken-News, this property is an 8.8-acre plot located on a hilltop in an R-3 zoned (multi-family residential) area of Trafford, PA, a small town in Westmoreland County that's literally just across the street from Allegheny County where Pittsburgh is located and where we now live. In the planned living units all doors are 3' wide and hallways in the units are 5' wide so a wheelchair can turn around, plus there are other accessibility features such as seats in all shower stalls, hand-held shower heads, raised toilet seats, grab bars, etc.
Our first news article NEW DOCUMENTARY EXPOSES SCANDAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY, PEDOPHILIA IN POLISH CHURCH tells about the sad state of affairs in the Roman Catholic Church of Poland. Mandatory celibacy of the clergy in that church has led to this: men are humans, not angels, and they have a drive to mate. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:7, not every servant of Christ has the ability to lead a celibate lifestyle.
You may wonder why Ukraine needs a Greek-speaking bishop, as described in OCU SYNOD APPROVES APPOINTMENTS AND APPOINTS A BISHOP FOR GREEK-SPEAKING FAITHFUL IN UKRAINE, our third news article. From a few centuries before Christ up through the tenth century of the Chrisian era, the Greeks came across the Black Sea from the eastern half of the Greco-Roman Empire and made large settlements on the Crimean Penninsula and inland in the area that is now southern Ukraine. Many Greeks still live in that area.
Hungary is experiencing an upsurge in the birthrate, as our fifth news article 'CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW' DRIVES HUNGARY'S STUNNINGLY SUCCESSFUL PRO-FAMILY POLICIES: MINISTER FOR FAMILY explains. They have decided that if they really want to preserve their Hungarian culture and identity, the solution to a declining population is not to import migrant workers and their families; rather, it is to encourage the Hungarian people to have more babies!
And our sixth news article PATRIARCH FILARET REFUSES TO SIGN OCU'S CHARTER – METROPOLITAN EPIFANIY tells that retired Patriarch Filaret was the only person at the synod meeting who would not sign the new OCU's charter, although he had earlier agreed to the formation of this new church. Then our first news headline METROPOLITAN EPIFANIY ATTEMPTS RECONCILIATION WITH PATRIARCH FILARET describes how the new leader of the OCU tries to work things out with Filaret, and our second news headline PATRIARCH EMERITUS FILARET ASSURES PHANAR HE SUPPORTS METROPOLITAN EPIFANIY explains that after a meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch's representative, Filaret has agreed to be more cooperative. In my humble opinion, he's an old man and really needs to be retired.
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The Most Social of All Actions
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
For many years, those like the Target stores promoting sexual promiscuity would say that it's nobody else's business what two consenting adults do in private, it's much more important what they do in terms of social action. But this is merely a smokescreen, a deception: while sexual activity is a very intimate, private matter, it is also The Most Social of All Actions. In fact, unless it is done right, human society as we know it would cease to exist!
As our news article RUSSIAN PATRIARCH KIRILL CALLS FOR ENDING ABORTIONS TO BOOST POPULATION tells us, Russia along with most other European countries has been experiencing a serious decline in birthrates and population. Abortion and homosexual behavior are two leading factors in this problem. If two people just live together without marrriage, either man and woman tend to have few or no children, or two of the same sex never have any children. As my grandchildren would say, "Duh, Grandpa!"
But the younger generation is being brainwashed - er, propagandized - er, "educated" - to think that what two people do in private is nobody else's business. Hogwash! Utter nonsense! Why are Russia, Hungary, Germany, France, England, etc. worried about declining population and migrants? When children are taught that living together and the various LGBTQ lifestyles are just fine, indeed respectable and cool, some of these children will adopt those lifestyles that in just a few more years translate into declining birthrates and population. And yet, these people think that somehow society will simply continue on as it always has, with no changes.
How should Christians respond when this topic comes up? We should be respectful of others and not ridicule their lifestyles: these days we can get in deep trouble for that! But the Apostle Peter wrote that we should "always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear: having a good conscience; that, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who revile your good manner of life in Christ" (1 Peter 3:15-16). They will sometimes accuse us of being intolerant, bigoted or hateful even though we express our position calmly, kindly and rationally, so be prepared for that.
Here's what happened when the Apostle Paul was arrested and brought before the Roman governor - "But after some days, Felix came with Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus. As he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, 'Go your way for this time, and when it is convenient for me, I will summon you'" (Acts 24:24-25). Felix, a Roman, had married a Jewish woman without converting to Judaism, and they both knew this violated her religion. Telling unbelievers the Gospel includes telling them about righteous living and self-control, which might well get them upset with you!
We also must keep in mind that the Christian lifestyle of sexual continence outside of marriage and sexual faithfulness within marriage is not the rule nowadays for many non-Christian people. We do business and have social contact with these folks on a regular, day-to-day basis, and should not reject or condemn them. As the Apostle Paul stated - "I wrote to you in my letter to have no fellowship with sexual sinners; yet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then you would have to leave the world. But as it is, I wrote to you not to have fellowship with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Don't even eat with such a person" (1 Corinthians 5:9-11).
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We don't condemn secular people who are greedy or worship their cars and other possessions or who drink to excess, so we shouldn't condemn secular sexual sinners. We need to distinguish between what is acceptable in secular society in contrast with what is acceptable in the Christian community: Paul goes on to write - "For what have I to do with also judging those who are outside? Don't you judge those who are within? But those who are outside, God judges. Put away the wicked man from among yourselves" (verses 12-13). We must not judge or condemn those outside the Church, leave that to God. But we should maintain purity within the Church.
In the very next chapter, St. Paul continues on this topic - "Don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of God. Such were some of you, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
The real issue comes down to repenting and being sanctified, changing what or Whom we worship: when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well and asked for a drink of water, He knew that she had been married five times and the man she was currently living with wasn't her husband, but He didn't condemn her for that. Instead, He steered the conversation toward God:
"You said well, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said truly. The woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe Me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. You worship that which you don't know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:17-24).
And when the Scribes and the Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery, He didn't condemn her; instead, He forgave her and enabled her to repent, which means to turn about-face and change the way she was living: "Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, 'Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more'" (John 8:10-11).
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Christ is among us! He is and ever shall be!
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Please remember to pray for Christians in socialist countries, and for...
Your fellow-servants,
Bob & Cheryl
p.s. There are two kinds of pain: the pain of discipline, and the pain of regret. The choice is yours.
- 27 May 2019