Many recognize Dec. 7, 1941 as the date the Empire of Japan attacked the US. And we, quite rightly, remember that date. But there is another date coming up, that represents events equally or more horrible.

On December 13, 1937, the Japanese invaded the city of Nanking. The defending forces scattered, and General Iwane Matsui in command of the Japanese Central China Area Army entered the city. The course of that army was marked by appalling atrocities, including killing contests and the massacre of whole villages. When they entered the city, it got worse. For example -

...the Nanqiantou hamlet near Wuxi was set on fire, with many of its inhabitants locked within the burning houses. Two women, one a 17-year-old girl and the other pregnant, were raped repeatedly until they could not walk. Afterwards, the soldiers rammed a broom into the teenager's vagina and stabbed her with a bayonet, then "cut open the belly of the pregnant woman and gouged out the fetus". A crying two-year-old boy was wrestled from his mother's arms and thrown into the flames, while the hysterically sobbing mother was bayoneted and thrown into a creek. The remaining thirty villagers were bayoneted, disemboweled, and also thrown into the creek.

Prince Yasuhiko Asaka was installed as temporary commander in the campaign. He issued an order - "kill all prisoners".

Estimates of the number slaughtered range from the most common of 100,000 to 200,000. And then there were the rapes. Tens of thousands of them.

Japanese soldier Takokoro Kozo recalled:

Women suffered most. No matter how young or old, they all could not escape the fate of being raped. We sent out coal trucks to the city streets and villages to seize a lot of women. And then each of them was allocated to fifteen to twenty soldiers for sexual intercourse and abuse. After raping we would also kill them.[86]

Click to expand...

The women were often killed immediately after being raped, often through explicit mutilation,[87] such as by penetrating vaginas with bayonets, long sticks of bamboo, or other objects. For example, a six-months pregnant woman was stabbed sixteen times in the face and body, one stab piercing and killing her unborn child. A young woman had a beer bottle rammed up her vagina after being raped, and was then shot.

Click to expand...

Pearl Harbor was bad enough, but at least it was a military target. Nanking wasn't war. It was demonic.

There were other casualties. Minnie Vautrin was a missionary in Nanking, who tried desperately to save as many as she could, sheltering them in the school she headed. She saved many, but she could do nothing for the others. In 1941, she was able to return to the US after 28 years of missionary service in China. But, haunted by the memories of those she could not save, she took her own life.

Over the entrance to Dachau it says, "Forgive, but never forget". On December 13, let's forgive. But we must never forget.

Regards,
Shodan

Around 2,000 Christians from across India gathered in New Delhi to protest rising, sustained and systematic violence against the religious minority community. Speakers at the gathering called attention to a 500% rise in reported violence since 2014, and largely with impunity.

Representing over 200 denominations, civil society groups and legal advocates, the Christians rallied under the banner of the National Christian Convention on Nov. 29, affirming their faith in the Indian Constitution, and calling for unity, justice and hope.

From 139 reported cases of violence against Christians in 2014, the number rose to 834 in 2024, with nearly 5,000 incidents documented over the past decade, according to the United Christian Forum, one of the organizers of the convention.

Continued below.

This year’s ozone hole over Antarctica ranked among the smallest since the early 1990s, reflecting steady progress from decades of global action under the Montreal Protocol. Declining chlorine levels and warmer stratospheric temperatures helped limit ozone destruction. Scientists say the layer remains on track to recover later this century.

According to NOAA and NASA scientists, this year's measurements support the conclusion that restrictions on ozone-depleting chemicals set by the Montreal Protocol and its later amendments are steadily helping the ozone layer recover.

One hundred children kidnapped from a Catholic boarding school in central Nigeria last month have been released by their captors and transported to the capital, authorities confirmed Sunday. The fate of more than 160 other students and staff members abducted in the same attack remains unknown.

The mass abduction occurred before dawn on Nov. 21, when armed men stormed St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State, and seized 315 students and staff, most of them children aged between 9 and 14, at gunpoint.

On Sunday, Nigerian presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare confirmed 100 of the children had been freed, according to Agence France-Presse. They were flown to Abuja and were expected to be handed over to the Niger State government on Monday.

A United Nations source told AFP that arrangements were being made to transfer the children back to state officials. Reports did not specify whether the release was achieved through negotiation, ransom or military intervention, and no information was available on the condition or location of the remaining hostages.

Local church officials said they had not yet received formal notification from the federal government.

Continued below.

Confession lines reveal both our impatience and our devotion — and whether our faith runs so deep that even our faults take place within it.

You’d think Catholics would be on their best behavior waiting to go to confession, but they aren’t always. Our pastor missed confessions before the Mass one Wednesday night and stayed to hear confessions afterwards.

Someone was already in the confessional when I arrived. I was second in line, up the center aisle, nearest the door for anonymous confessions. The door for face-to-face confessions was next to the outside aisle.

I’m Next​

The line was much longer than usual, a benefit of the priest changing the schedule. As soon as a woman came out of the anonymous door, another woman dodged into the face-to-face door from the outside aisle. Another was standing there as if in line. The woman in front of me said to her, peevishly, “I’m next.”

The woman said, pugnaciously, “We always go back and forth,” waving her arm between our line and hers. I had gone to confession there many times at that point, 50 or more over about 15 years, on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings, and never, ever, never had there been a second line along the outside aisle. People lined up in the center aisle and then chose the door they wanted. The woman was inventing a custom that got her a few people ahead.

Continued below.

I have sought the Lord many a times for this, but I guess what I'm looking for isn't necessarily advice ( although its welcomed, as well as opinions ) but more like, empathy or sharing if you all are going through/have gone through similar stuff and to just converse over shared experiences. First, you guys need some history...

I grew up in a family that went to church every sunday and claims Christianity, but our family dynamic is just... wack. My Dad has a superiority/enabling issue, my mom has a manipulative/control issue. There is no doubt in my mind that I am the black sheep of the family (for various reasons). When it comes to scripture, any insight is disregarded because my dad was a "teacher for over 30 years!" and when it comes to personal life, my mother is never wrong, I'm always wrong and I'm always supposed to just forgive her despite my mother not giving me an apology for her behavior because, "she's your mother".

My mom's history of control has been a lot, from wanting me as a 39 year old married woman, to install an app on my phone so she can see exactly where I'm going at all times, to giving me orders that are supposed to be carried out regardless of how it affects myself or my husband. When I finally drew boundaries with my mom, it blew up into a few month tirade of phone call harassment. When I blocked her, my dad would call and when I blocked him, they showed up at my door (for various reasons) where my mom tried to manipulate my husband while I locked myself in another room.

For a while my mom did good. She would call once, allow me time to get back to her without it leading to a barrage of a dozen phone calls and 30+ text messages in the span of 2 hours. Or she would text me once and I would respond at my earliest convenience. But yesterday... and why I feel like I just need to vent, is like she's going back to her old ways. And the thing is, nothing she wants to get into contact with me for is important OR an emergency.

So yesterday, I put my phone on silent because she had been calling me everyday for the last 4 days just to talk about work. She had asked me to help her with some of her work, which I agreed to do because she's behind after dealing with a pulled muscle in my dads hip and her fracturing her foot. After I did what she requested, I turned off my ringer to just have a nice relaxing day with my husband playing video games with him and eating home made stew. I did not see that she had tried to call me 3 times. But because I didn't answer, she then called my husband, in her worried and panicked tone "is everyone okay?!?! I've been trying to call her but she isn't answering!" Now because my husband answered, I had to call her back... was it important? No... she asked me if I did something work related for her and I told her no because she never asked me to do that. She said she did and even sent me a file that I needed to do it. I said, no you did not. She then checked her email and found that she didn't send me anything and says, "well, I meant for you to do it." Which makes NO sense because literally the day before I gave her advice on what program to use TO do that very job.... I tell her I would do it. We hang up, she calls me back asking when she can expect me to do it, I tell her I'll work on it tomorrow because its already 6:30 in the afternoon. She says okay, we hang up. She then calls AGAIN at 8:30 at night and I don't answer and put my phone back on silent. I then wake up this morning to a text message to call her that was sent at 6:45 in the morning.

I am just so incredibly tired dealing with this... my husband said no more favors. Clearly, I can't even do something for her without harassment or it being an issue and I completely agree. But I am just so tired and frustrated and it just makes me want to move to the moon, shut off my phone and just... exist for a while.

'We know that Jesus was born into a Roman imperial occupation, and pretty much immediately becomes a refugee in Egypt, has to flee and faces political violence,' the Rev. Michael Woolf said.

The pastor noted Department of Homeland Security agents have tear-gassed protesters in the area and that locals reported seeing children among those detained with zip ties by federal agents during a recent high-profile immigration raid in a nearby apartment building. DHS has denied the latter claim, although evidence of similar actions has been reported elsewhere.

[in his church's display,] Jesus, who typically is depicted lying in hay, is instead nestled in a reflective blanket often used by immigrants in detention, with his hands bound with zip ties. And behind the family stands three Roman centurions wearing vests with a very modern label: ICE, or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Churchgoers at Saint Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, recently erected a similar immigration-themed Nativity just outside their building. The display includes traditional depictions of the magi, stable animals and other figures, but the banner above reads “Peace on Earth?” And propped up in the center of the arrangement, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus would normally appear, sits a sign that reads: “ICE was here.”

The same faith-fueled movement is inspiring another immigration-themed Nativity scene on Christmas Eve, this time featuring real-life participants. The Rev. Dave Woessner, an Episcopal priest and congregational coordinator with the Massachusetts Council of Churches, said his team is organizing a Christmas worship service outside of an ICE facility in Burlington that will feature a real-life recreation of Jesus’ birth — including, potentially, a donkey.

Woessner, who works with communities impacted by deportation efforts, said he and others have convened a weekly vigil outside the ICE facility for 33 weeks straight. The faith leaders have also attempted to accompany immigrants who are appearing for ICE check-ins, but have been repeatedly denied.

After Fox and other conservative media outlets picked up the [first] display, Woolf said his church has received an avalanche of calls — many supportive, but others decidedly not.

“There’s been some suggestions that I should kill myself,” Woolf said.

Josoma reported a similar influx of messages.

“You get a lot of support, but as it goes on, most — not all, but most — of the negative ones aren’t really conversational,” he said. “They’re just swearing and yelling.”

An excerpt from ‘Family Faith Under Fire’ by Dr. Ray Guarendi

This selection appears courtesy of EWTN Publishing. The full book is available here.



Dear Dr. Ray,

My sister has little to do anymore with the Catholic Faith, in which we were both raised. When the subject comes up, she says, “I’m spiritual, not religious.” What do I say?

—The Religious Sister



Some declarations spread because they soothe the human psyche on many levels.

• They sound smart. The words alone seem to offer both a pithy and a profound insight.
• They sound superior. They profess a “more genuine, enlightened” way to be.
• They sound self-evident, beyond dispute. They need no scrutiny as to how much sense they truly make.

At their core, such declarations are platitudes — superficial but with little substance. They are verbal viruses that multiply rapidly through the cultural body because they suit the self.

People in counseling often introduce themselves with traits. “I’m a passive person.” “My spouse is aggressive.” “My child is stubborn.” To move therapy forward, I must put specifics to the generic. “What exactly do you mean by ‘passive’? Give me some day-to-day examples.” “What, in particular, makes you think your child is stubborn?” In other words, I pursue the what, where, and how of the descriptions. Only then can I get a better picture of the why.

Continued below.

Lauren Moore — whose beautiful voice accompanied the National Eucharistic Congress and who was struck with a debilitating syndrome in early 2025 — now graces the stage once again.

“I now sing from a new place of hope.” ~ Lauren Moore

Click to expand...

“He wants our hearts more than he wants to use us.” ~ David Moore

Click to expand...

Back in April, after being struck with the debilitating condition of Guillain-Barré syndrome, which had left her partly immobilized and with intense nerve pain, Lauren Moore prayed for an Easter miracle: simply to attend Mass in person and receive Jesus without assistance.

Seven months later, on Nov. 4, in her home city of Dallas, Lauren walked gracefully onto the stage of the Meyerson Symphony Center, decked out in a glittering, rose-colored evening gown, her beautiful voice, once threatened, golden and soaring once again.

Lauren, who, with her husband David had helped lead thousands of Catholics in song as a cantor during the National Eucharistic Revival (NEC) in Indianapolis in 2024, had reached a height of her singing career that summer, only to be taken out by the condition just months later, following a bout of flu, as reported in the Register last spring.

Continued below.

Every accusation is a confession.

Her intense and joyful waiting for her Son to enter the world is a model for all...

We cannot celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas without Mary. Nor can we observe Advent without the Blessed Mother.

“Among creatures, no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his Mother,” wrote St. John Paul II in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (The Most Holy Rosary).

During Advent, then, as we get ready to welcome Jesus at Christmas, we also must joyfully take the time to celebrate and prepare with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her intense and joyful waiting for her Son to enter the world is a model for all who want the fullness of Christ’s presence in their lives, as reflected in a quote often attributed to St. Teresa of Calcutta, “No Mary, no Jesus.”

These Advent days are marked by Marian devotion.

The Directory of Popular Piety notes that, during Advent and Christmas, the liturgy frequently celebrates the Blessed Mother, and popular piety devotes many pious practices to her.

Continued below.

They jumped through all the hoops and it wasn't enough for this administration. Some of these people have been in the U.S. for 20+ years raising families and contributing to the country. Now they will possibly be deported back to countries they haven't been to in decades and have no ties to anymore. What is this really about?

Great Books and the Humanities Prompt Us to ‘Look Up’ With Wonder

Editor’s Note: This story is part of literary special content. Find related stories here.



I was led to the Catholic Church during my undergraduate years, when I was a student in the famed Integrated Humanities Program at the University of Kansas (KU). The program was a four-semester “Great Books” program for freshmen and sophomores and flourished during the 1970s and 1980s.

It was somewhat modeled after the “Great Books” programs at St. John’s University in Annapolis, Maryland, and the University of Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s. But it was different in that it was an “integrated” program where the students not only read the classics of Western civilization, from Homer’s Odyssey to Francis Parkman’s The Oregon Trail, but also memorized poetry, wrote calligraphy, went stargazing and learned to waltz.

It was an attempt to get the students to “look up” and gaze at the world with fresh eyes; to try and see truth, goodness and beauty in all things.

Continued below.

In a lengthy response, the International Marian Association Theological Commission highlights what it sees as significant errors and omissions in the Vatican’s controversial doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis.

One of the Catholic Church’s foremost associations of Mariologists has issued a strongly critical response to Mater Populi Fidelis, a recently published Vatican doctrinal note that has been criticized for its diminution of some long-established devotional Marian titles.

In a 23-page document published Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the International Marian Association Theological Commission (IMATC) points to various elements of Mater Populi Fidelis (The Mother Of the Faithful People of God) which it calls erroneous, “unfortunate,” and says are in need of “substantial clarification and modification.”

They describe a significant element of the document as resembling Protestant rather than Catholic theology and urge, “in a spirit of true synodal dialogue,” for Mater Populi Fidelis to be re-evaluated.

Published on Nov. 4 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Mater Populi Fidelisteaches that Mary’s unique cooperation in salvation must always be understood as entirely dependent on, and subordinate to, Christ’s one mediation and universal redemptive sacrifice, rejecting any formulations that would blur this asymmetry.

Continued below.

The Vatican’s gardeners have a new tool for maintaining the papal grounds: a custom-designed electric lawn mower bearing the Holy See’s coat of arms.

Pope Leo XIV received the white Electra 2.0 mower during a general audience in mid-November, a gift from Czech manufacturer Swardman.

The specially commissioned model features leather-lined handles and was hand-assembled at the company’s facility in Šardice, Czech Republic. “It was an incredibly powerful experience full of humility and respect,” Jakub Dvořák, the company’s sales manager who personally presented the gift, told CNA. “The pontiff appreciated the Vatican’s coat of arms placed on the appliance, listened with interest as we explained how it functions, and thanked us very politely.”

The quiet, precision-cutting mower is destined for use in the Vatican Gardens or possibly at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, according to a press release from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which facilitated the presentation.

Continued below.

“I was her doctor for her body, but she was my spiritual doctor,” said Dr. Branca Pereira Acevedo while describing her relationship with Sister Lucia dos Santos,one of the visionaries of Our Lady of Fátima, whom she cared for during the last 15 years of Sister Lucia’s life.

Lucia — the only one of the three shepherd children still alive at the time — moved in 1925 to the Spanish city of Tui in Pontevedra province, where she lived for more than a decade before returning to Portugal and professing her vows as a Carmelite nun in 1949. In this city in northwestern Spain, the visionary received “a new visit from heaven” with apparitions of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus.

Dec. 10 marks the centenary of these apparitions, an occasion for which the Holy See has granted a jubilee year in the place where they occurred, the “House of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” in reference to the devotion that the little shepherdess of Fátima promoted until the end of her days.

Continued below.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and Toronto’s Cardinal Francis Leo are urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to withdraw the Liberal Party’s reported agreement with the Bloc Québécois to remove religious-belief exemptions from Canada’s hate-speech laws.

In a letter published Dec. 4, CCCB President Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière warned that repealing Section 319(3)(b) of the criminal code — which protects good-faith expressions or opinions based on religious texts from hate-speech prosecution — would have a “chilling effect on religious expression.”

“The removal of this provision risks creating uncertainty for faith communities, clergy, educators, and others who may fear that the expression of traditional moral or doctrinal teachings could be misinterpreted as hate speech and could subject the speaker to proceedings that threaten imprisonment of up to two years,” Goudreault wrote.

The CCCB urged the government to retain the religious-text defense.

Continued below.

Please pray for my son Aaron that the Lord will heal his health problems. In Jesus name. Amen.

The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the faith stating that Mary was conceived sinless in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne. While this truth has been believed since the early times of the Church, it was not until December 8, 1854, that Pope Pius IX dogmatically decreed this truth, thus ending any possibility of doubt. All Catholics are required to believe in this dogma without exception.

Please pray that if it is God's will my son Jakeb can feel better and have relief. Please ask God to cure his problem today so he isn't uncomfortable or has pain and please pray for my husband's safety and our health. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you.

I am a High Church Anglican, married for over twenty years to a man who survived severe mistreatment at a Catholic boarding school run by The Society of Jesus in the 1950's. My husband has been offerred an in person apology from the current Provincial Superior, and he is intending to travel to London to meet him on the 19th of December, in order to receive it.

My husband and I would both appreciate the prayers of any Catholic members of Christian Forums regarding this meeting, for his protection (and my own) as we prepare and travel, and especially for his first encounter with any Jesuit since he left school. I will be going to London with him, but he has said that he wishes to actually experience the meeting alone. This is the bravest thing I believe I have ever personally witnessed someone doing for the Christian faith, and I trust that some who are seeing this post can understand how I hope my life partner will feel Jesus' love and see true recognition of past wrongs.

No judgement of your Church is intended by this post, my own has as much to be ashamed of in terms of letting God down over children entrusted to it's care.

Dear Beloved Family in Christ at Christian Forums, including the honorable staff, moderators, and administrative team,
Grace and peace to you in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As the Christmas season has begun a season that reminds us of “peace on earth and goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14) I write to you with a heavy but hopeful heart from Pakistan. For three decades I have served the persecuted church here, walking with our people through fire, storm, and suffering. Yet by God’s grace, our faith remains unshaken.

A Season of Joy Shadowed by Pain​

Here in Pakistan, Christmas does not always bring the safety and celebration many Christians enjoy around the world. Instead, this season often becomes a time of increased threats, hostility, and attacks.
For many years, we have witnessed painful realities:

• Churches burned
• Christian homes destroyed
• Christian girls forcibly converted and married
• Teenagers abused and raped
• Families threatened
• Believers beaten or killed simply for their faith

Even during our holy festivals, when believers gather to worship, we often stand unsure whether we will return home safely.

A Grievous Loss: Pastor Kamran Michael​

Recently, our community suffered a heartbreaking tragedy.
Our dear brother, Pastor Kamran Michael, a humble servant of God, was repeatedly warned to stop preaching the Gospel. But like the apostles who said, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20), he refused to stay silent.

on 6th December 2025 , while dropping his little daughter at school in the morning, he was murdered in cold blood by extremists, in Gujranwala City, killed because of his unwavering faith in Christ.
His little daughter witnessed her father fall as a martyr.
The pain of this loss has shaken our hearts, yet we rejoice knowing the Word says:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

Click to expand...

Pastor Kamran has finished his race (2 Timothy 4:7), but his wife, children, and congregation now face deep grief, fear, and practical challenges.

Our Humble Request to the Christian Forums Community​

Dear brothers and sisters, we need your prayers.
Christians in Pakistan feel isolated, voiceless, and forgotten, yet your prayers give us strength to stand firm.

Please pray for:

The family of Pastor Kamran Michael​

• Comfort, provision, and protection
• Healing for his little daughter who witnessed the tragedy
• The Holy Spirit’s peace that surpasses understanding (Phil. 4:7)

The Christians of Pakistan​

• Protection during the Christmas season
• Safety for pastors, evangelists, churches, and families
• Courage to stand strong in the Gospel
• Unity and spiritual endurance under persecution (Hebrews 13:3)

Our nation of Pakistan​

• That hearts of persecutors may turn to Christ
• That justice may be upheld
• That God may grant peace where hatred abounds

The global Body of Christ​

That we may continue to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), standing as one family in the household of faith.

As I share these words, I am reminded of the early church in Acts misunderstood, attacked, scattered, yet unstoppable. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Pastor Kamran’s blood will not silence the Gospel; it will strengthen it.​

Your prayers mean more to us than you can imagine.
Thank you, Christian Forums family, for being a place of refuge, encouragement, and unity in Christ.

May the Lord bless you richly this Christmas season!
May His light shine ever brighter through His persecuted church!

In Christ’s love and service,
Pastor Waris Masih
Pakistan

Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, has been patroness of the United States since the mid-19th century. But her protection of the nation dates back to its earliest history.

One of the first Catholic churches in what is now the United States was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in 1584: the now-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Jacksonville, Florida.

John Carroll, the first bishop in the United States, had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1792, he placed the Diocese of Baltimore — which encompassed the 13 colonies of the young republic — under her protection.

Over the next 50 years, seven more dioceses were created, including New Orleans, Boston, Chicago, and Oregon City.

Continued below.

On Dec. 8 the Catholic Church celebrates the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception — a paramount feast in the Church’s liturgical calendar and one that indirectly touches on a regularly misunderstood but important piece of Church dogma.

The solemnity is the patronal feast of the United States and marks the recognition of the Blessed Mother’s freedom from original sin, which the Church teaches she was granted from the moment of conception.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that Mary was “redeemed from the moment of her conception” (No. 491) in order “to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation” (No. 490).

The dogma was disputed and challenged by Protestants over the centuries, leading Pope Pius IX to affirm it in his 1854 encyclical Ineffabilis Deus, stating unequivocally that Mary “was endowed with the grace of the Holy Spirit and preserved from original sin” upon her conception.

Continued below.