I think that ensuring reports of child sexual abuse are brought to appropriate legal authorities makes society safer for children period.

End of story; regardless of circumstance (note that mental health experts are all REQUIRED by law to report these things).

And because I believe that, I believe priests should be submitting that information.

DOJ sues Washington state over law requiring clergy to report possible child abuse

If you are concerned about the safety of children but believe priests shouldn't have to report these instances, how do you arrive at the conclusion that the safety of children is secondary to a sexual predator freedoms?

Or, I guess, how does one hold such diametrically opposed ideas in one's head?

A page-one hit piece reveals contempt for traditional faith-based values.

The New York Times, in a page-one hit piecepublished this week, went after Trump Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy for — of all things — having a large Catholic family and being happy about it, revealing the contempt the “Gray Lady” has for traditional faith-based values.

The profile takes aim at Duffy and his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy for celebrating life with nine children on their podcast, From the Kitchen Table: The Duffys, and daring to suggest that having lots of kids is a good thing.

The premise of the piece, titled “The MTV Reality Star in Trump’s Cabinet Who Wants You to Have More Kids,” is that the 53-year-old Duffy was not always a paragon of virtue and therefore shouldn’t be taken seriously because of the way he behaved on three episodes of a reality show in the ’90s.

“Over three decades, Americans have watched him evolve from a sex-hungry 25-year-old on MTV’s ‘The Real World,’ gyrating with a woman on a pool table, to Secretary Duffy, a devoutly Catholic husband and father at the helm of President Trump’s Transportation Department, pushing young Americans to have families as large as his own,” the Times tut-tuts.

Continued below.

Investors got a snapshot of the health of the economy in a clutch of data Thursday. The highlights: The US economy shrank 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the government's final estimate, worse than previously thought. Meanwhile, jobless claims rose, with continuing claims rising to their highest level since late 2021.

Click to expand...

Just saw this on Yahoo finance. Stocks have been rising, but it does not sound as if the economy is that healthy right now. Trump's solution is to announce who he is nominating to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Fed as soon as he can. While Powell can't be pushed out until his term ends next year, if Trump telegraphs his replacement It is believed that will hurt Powell's influence on the economy. As usual, Trump wants to push Powell into lowering interest rates sooner than may be prudent and punishing him if he does not.
As a retired person, I feel much more comfortable with a president who appoints well respected experts in their fields and lets them do their jobs. Powell successfully helped our country recover from global inflationary pressures. Lowering interest rates too soon can reignite inflation, which could also be ignited by tariffs.
Are you concerned, too?

Most Christians in the United States have little to no trust in the Democratic Party and would never vote for a Democrat, a new poll suggests, as liberal Christian advocates remain confident that there is a path to win over voters of faith.

The progressive Evangelical advocacy group Vote Common Good released the survey documenting the views of Christian voters on a wide variety of issues, including their views on the two major political parties. The poll surveyed 1,761 Christian voters from May 6-11 and was conducted by Change Research, whose clients often include Democratic politicians. The sample contained a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.

The full results of the poll, shared with Time Magazine, suggest that 75% of Christian voters have little to no trust in the Democratic Party. Similarly, 62% of Christian voters surveyed insisted that they would never vote for a Democrat, 58% characterized the Democratic Party as hostile to Christianity and 54% believed that Democratic voters were hostile to Christianity.

Continued below.

"The Man on the middle cross said I could come."

And for no other reason.

This short video is, IMHO, about the best summation of the Good News I've ever heard.

I do disagree with one statement at the end, if I understand correctly but I'm sure he clarified... our profession of faith is VITAL. To paraphrase Jesus, no one filled with His Light hides HIM from the world. "So let your Light shine" can only be genuinely expressed by placing oneself on a stand where everyone can be drawn to Him.

If we don't openly glorify His Name and His words, then anyone looking at us will conclude that we are bragging of our own goodness, and seeking the praise of men.

No different or unrecognizable from the sinful pursuit of the unbeliever.

Luke 9:26
"Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

"The Man on the middle cross said I could come." is in fact the very best profession we can make before men.

Saved by grace, sustained by grace.

Christ's invitation to ALL...

Login to view embedded media

Is this Old Covenant law? Yes, it is! Are we now under the Old Covenant law? No! We are not. But Jesus Christ and his New Testament apostles taught the same things under the New Covenant. We are to love even our enemies, i.e. those who do evil against us. And we are to pray for them, and to do good (not evil) to them, and to speak to them what will be beneficial and helpful to them, for their good (to bless them), but never to approve of evil, and never to compromise truth and righteousness. And we are not to retaliate. We are not to trade evil for evil, but we are to return evil with good.

Is reproving our neighbor taught in the New Testament? Yes! For we are to be those who are spreading the truth of the gospel of our salvation with the people of the world. And this gospel message confronts people with their sinful condition, and it calls them to repentance, to die with Christ to sin, and to leave their sinful lifestyles behind them. It calls them to now follow Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands, and it warns of judgment to all who refuse to let go of their sins and to obey our Lord’s commands.

And, as followers of Christ, we are called of God to reprove (to admonish) one another daily so that none of us falls back into sin. And if a fellow professer of faith in Jesus Christ is living in sin, and is making sin their practice, and if they are not walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, we should admonish them. We are to let them know the critical nature of the need for them to repent of their sins and to turn back to God and to follow him in obedience to his commands. For if they do not, they will not have salvation from sin. They will not inherit eternal life with God.

And on the subject of hate and love, it is hate to speak lies to one another to make each other feel good, while we say nothing about what we know are other professing Christian’s sinful practices and of their need to repent and to obey God. Now, I believe women should speak to women, and men to men, if in person and/or in a private conversation. Yet they could post on a public platform what the Lord is teaching them through his word each day, and let the Holy Spirit speak truth to people’s hearts, to whoever will listen.

For love speaks the truth in love, not the lies which make people feel good but which do not lead them to biblical repentance and to walks of obedience to our Lord’s New Covenant commands. Lies are selfish and they are about people liking us, rather than them following the Lord in obedience to his commands. Or they are deliberate deception by those who want to trick us into following the lies and not the truth. But so many people today think that lies are kind and that truth is harsh and unloving. The opposite is true!

Now if we speak the truth out of hate, and out of spite, to get even with those who have injured us, then that is hate, not love. A phrase for that is “trading tit for tat.” In other words, you do something evil to me, and so to get even, I do or say something evil and spiteful back to you. That is not love. That is retaliation. That is like someone stabbed you with a knife and so you stab them back, to make them pay, to make them suffer as you have suffered. The motivation for that is hate, not love, not to produce good.

But we need to be so careful that we don’t get caught up in the lies which say that lies, which make us feel good, are loving and kind, while truth that hurts is evil and unkind. For truth will hurt if the truth is confronting anyone in their sinful behaviors and practices, even if the truth is spoken with the kindest of words. But sometimes, when people are stubborn in their rebellion, and they fight against the truth, we may have to speak with a little more force. And just know that gentleness is controlled strength, not softening the truth to where the truth has no impact on other people.

Read some of the conversations which Jesus had with some of the Jews and with some of the religious leaders and biblical scholars within the temple of God of his day. Although Jesus was gentle (humble, meek), he was not weak when it came to speaking the truth in love to the people. He spoke the plain truth, and he called things what they were, and he didn’t dance around difficult subjects to make them less offensive. And he didn’t apologize for the strength and the power of his words, either. So don’t confuse the power of the words of the Scriptures with hate. We all need to hear the truth!!

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

In Harmony

Based off Romans 12:9-21; 1 Peter 3:8-17
An Original Work / September 2, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Love each other truly.
Cling to what is good.
Hate all that is evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

Share with all God’s people
Who are found in need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue from evil.
Peaceful you must be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

God sees who are righteous;
Listens to their prayers.
But He’s against evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make Christ Lord.
Serve Him faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

Login to view embedded media
Loving One Another
An Original Work / June 26, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I feel so depressed and fearful, please pray that Jesus would comfort me and make me happy and take the fear away. Also, please pray that I will go on new medication, and one day off all medication for good. Also, I have lower back pain that’s been going on for a year now, I think it’s an injury, please pray that Jesus would heal me. Thank you so much. In Jesus name. Amen.

Edna May?

There was a time when people knew, whom many then considered to be, the globally-recognized No. 1 A-list entertainer celebrity in the world, Edna May Pettie. She was born in Syracuse, New York, 1878, and died in Switzerland in 1948.

If anyone now reading these words knows her name, that would be truly amazing.

The same can be said for many so-called stars and celebrities of the past; e.g. : Thomas Pope; Thespis; Eleonora Duse; Richard Perkins; Helena Modjeska; Helladia; Fanny Kemble; Ellen Tree; Henry Irving; Charlotte Cushman; Thomas Percival; Metrobius; and Quintilla. Today, not only are these folks no longer household names, they are virtually unknown on this earth.

For many reasons, there will be a similar story about every so-called “star,” headliner, “icon,” and top celebrity alive today. No one will think of them. No one will know their names. No one will care that they were once “somebody.”

Their earthly awards from their other celebrity friends who applauded as they were accepted – oscars, globes, emmys, palm d’ors, tonies, grammies – will be doorstops, sold on eBay, or stored away in a dark closet and utterly forgotten. The same for nobels and plitzers-each of these name begun with a lower case letter on purpose.

No one will know, and almost no one knows now, that Gale Sondergaard won the Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1937. Few even know her name. Who won the hundred meter dash at the 1908 Olympics? Who was Arfinn Bergmann? Who was the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1906?.

Continued below.

A Texas-based burger company that celebrates President Donald Trump is getting spammed online with orders for chicken tacos,

YouTube Channel Video Devo
Login to view embedded media
“We Are Acts 29”
Matthew 28:19-20 NIV
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I just finished up a devotional in the YouVersion Bible app on the book of Acts. The last devotional in the study really stuck with me how it ended and I’ll never forget how it was worded. The devotional talked about how Acts 28 ends and how it doesn’t continue with Acts 29 to tell us more of the story of how the spread of the Gospel continues. Then these words stuck with me, “But in a very real sense, we are Acts 29!”

I thought it was really cool how the devotional ended this way and it really hit me that we are indeed the continuation from Acts 28 to make the story continue of the spread of the Gospel. We are given a command and a charge to take the Good News everywhere we go, every day of life! Jesus didn’t only tell His closest men to carry this on, He also instructs us to do the same.

Jesus lives in each one of us giving us wisdom as the Holy Spirit guides us to spread His love. We are called to be Acts 29. We are called to carry His Gospel in every relationship we have and every conversation that takes place. Now, I’m not saying you need to shove this down people’s throats and bring God up in every single sentence. You need to be creative and connect with people in a very genuine way. Don’t go after them just to “convert” them. Be genuine and caring, building a relationship. Show you care as you share your life with each person.

I know in my day to day life, I am so guilty of being in my own world and doing my own thing. I go to work, do my job, come home and be with my family. I’m also involved in my church every week and I love to mingle with people. However, God calls me to share with people who don’t know Him and that honestly scares me. I want to be Acts 29 and continue the story faithfully. I hope you do as well.

I encourage you to take time to read through Acts. It might take a few days or longer, but read through and be reminded of the great story of the early church and how the power of God burned inside people and how that fire spread.

I also encourage all of us to seriously consider how we continue the story of the spread of the Gospel each and every day in our lives. What does Acts 29 look like in our lives? How are we doing? Is the story full of selfishness or are we thinking more of others and how we can serve?

I am a single (not married) adult man with no debt. I live with my parents and have been saving money until I can afford a house. I have a full time job. I have been paying my parents an agreed-upon monthly rent. I have been giving ~7% of my salary to my local church. Not too long ago, my father accidentally found out how much I am giving to the church and instantly became very upset with me, saying I've been giving far too much and that I need to severely reduce it. My parents are professing Christians but it is doubtful that they are truly born again.

I am stuck in a difficult spot now. I want to honor my parents, but I feel my father is asking me to minimize my giving to the Lord. He feels like I am throwing money away needlessly. He says $50/month is plenty to give to the church (as opposed to what I've been giving). I feel that this is my money that I've earned in my job and that I can use it however I wish. I feel that if I give in to my earthly father's demands, I would be doing it because of a fear of man. So I have not backed down.

I tried to respectfully explain why I give what I give, and I told my dad I'd like to continue in this way. We agreed to disagree, basically. But he has threatened to increase my rent as a sort of punishment. I just am so puzzled as to why giving to the church would bring such conflict within a home of professing Christians. My dad is still clearly very upset with me. I don't know what to do but pray and ask for guidance.

What do you all think? Have I handled things rightly? Should I give in to my dad's demands? Thanks for your thoughts.

Not a surprise.

The National Collegiate Athletics Association has caused a stir on social media after it declined to play Kanye West's "God Is" as the preferred walk-up song of Louisiana State University outfielder Derek Curiel during the College World Series.

In a post on X Tuesday, sports commentator Ben McDonald shared a screenshot of Curiel answering "yes sadly" when asked if the NCAA refused to play his walk-up song of choice during the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska because it was a "Christian song."

McDonald, an LSU graduate and former major league pitcher who provides color commentary for Baltimore Orioles games, noted that the organization "allowed it all year" and during "Regional/Super Regional play."

Continued below.

Last time I posted, I posted about how I’m struggling with finding a job and finding love. One of the two might’ve just been answered. I’m starting a business that has a lot of promise and I hope that it will be my first step to being ready to find love.

Please pray for my business to do well, brothers and sisters. Also, if any single women are willing to at least talk to me, I’d be happy with you DMing me. It most likely won’t get far, but it’s great practice for talking for both of us.

Recently I've been listening to doctors talking about "alternative" cancer treatments, and the common theme they keep bringing up is this idea of cancerous stem cells.

I'm wondering if it is scientifically possible for these to exist. Wouldn't cancerous stem cells automatically be leukemia in humans since adult stem cells are stored in bone marrow and used to make blood?

References please, if you have any.

... to have supported Trump.

I SERIOUSLY wonder whether it was a slow erosion or a straw that broke the proverbial camels back.


https://thehill.com/homenews/campai...hes-embarrassed-she-supported-trump/?tbref=hp

For some reason I am all of a sudden into this. The look so pure and lovely in clear vase with clean water. And almost no trouble to care for them.

Pastor Eric Tonjes talk about how we can set boundaries for people who keep crossing them

My life experience with people who cross boundaries, from toxic people to those who don't understand what healthy boundaries are, I have learnt that they won't stop unless you say no, and draw a line. Nice, friendly, but firm. If that doesn't work, to leave. Toxic people and people that don't understand healthy boundaries do not listen otherwise. Sometimes you have to, or you have to remove yourself.
It's essential to learn healthy boundaries and to set them in a healthy way.
Sometimes we are loving people by doing so, and we are also being loving towards self as to other.
Take for example people who have spent their childhood full of abuse, and not allowed to have or set boundaries, not allowed to say no, not allowed to say, I don't want you to.. Stop this.
They go through adulthood not knowing healthy boundaries, and how to set them and what is appropriate and when to be assertive, and that they are allowed to, because all their lives they have been told it's wrong and how mean they are or been punished for doing it. As a result, they go through adulthood attracting all kinds of abusive, disrespectful people, people who are toxic, people who are mean or narcissistic or psychopath. Those people are trained in spotting these people. The only way to protect yourself, and your health, is to be mindful about healthy boundaries.
We are often not loving by not settling them, because not doing anything will make it worse for all involved.
If we can't just leave, we can affirm, be assertive. It doesn't mean, we can't love them, but letting unhealthy situations continue doesn't serve anyone. Anyone who have experience that through their past know that.

Does complete happiness in heaven mean rejoicing in the punishment of the damned?​

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches that at the Last Judgment, “the truth of each man’s relationship with God will be laid bare” (1039). This means that the blessed in heaven will know which of their loved ones are in hell.

This seems to cause a problem. If heaven is a “state of supreme, definitive happiness” (1024), how can the souls in heaven be happy knowing their loved ones are in hell? It would seem that they couldn’t be happy, since, being animated by charity, they would pity the damned, and to pity the damned is to partake of their unhappiness in some way.

Is there a way to reconcile the happiness of the blessed in heaven and their knowledge of the sufferings of the damned? Yes, there is.

One way is to see that knowledge of the sufferings of the damned actually contributes to the happiness of the blessed. In response to the question of whether the saints see the suffering of the damned, St. Thomas Aquinas writes,

Nothing should be denied the blessed that belongs to the perfection of their beatitude. Now everything is known the more for being compared with its contrary, because when contraries are placed beside one another they become more conspicuous. Wherefore in order that the happiness of the saints may be more delightful to them and that they may render more copious thanks to God for it, they are allowed to see perfectly the sufferings of the damned (Summa Theologiae Suppl. 94:1).

Click to expand...

Knowing the sufferings of those in hell doesn’t take away from the happiness of the blessed. Rather, this knowledge contributes to that happiness.

Continued below.

Now let's see if the federal judge will give him a long prison sentence.

The leaders of the European Union and Canada – Presidents Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa for the EU, with Prime Minister Mark Carney for Canada – agreed to deepen their cooperation and partnership at yesterday's 20th EU-Canada summit.

Both parties signed a landmark Security and Defence Partnership that will strengthen Canada's contribution to Europe's rapidly evolving defence architecture. They also agreed to swiftly launch talks on a new bilateral agreement for Canada to access SAFE, Europe's joint arms procurement initiative. This would allow the channelling of investments in innovative defence projects.

Click to expand...

One of the main things seems to be to allow Canada to take part in the rearm Europe initiative (SAFE) and for Canada acting as a pivot away from the USA regarding defense spending. Besides that, this list of topics was part of the deal signed.

• Support to Ukraine
• International peacekeeping and crisis management, including CSDP missions and operations
• Military mobility and interoperability
• Maritime security
• Cyber issues and emerging disruptive technologies
• Space security
• Countering hybrid threats and building societal resilience
• Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI)
• Counterterrorism and preventing/countering violent extremism
• EU and Canada defence initiatives, including exchange of information on defence industrial related matters Capacity building and training in third countries
• Peace mediation and conflict prevention
• Arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation
• Climate change and security nexus
• External aspects of economic and human security
• Women, Peace and Security

Click to expand...