California plans to revoke 17,000 commercial driver's licenses given to immigrants after discovering the expiration dates went past when the drivers were legally allowed to be in the U.S., state officials said Wednesday.

The announcement follows harsh criticism from the Trump administration about California and other states granting licenses to people in the country illegally. The issue was thrust into the public's consciousness in August, when a tractor-trailer driver not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people.

The head of Tehran’s Regional Water Company said that water levels had fallen 43% from last year, leaving the Amir Kabir Dam at just 8% of capacity.​

Iran is grappling with its worst water crisis in decades, with officials warning that Tehran, a city of more than 10 million, may soon be uninhabitable if the drought gripping the country continues.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has cautioned that if rainfall does not arrive by December, the government must start rationing water in Tehran.

"Even if we do ration and it still does not rain, then we will have no water at all. They (citizens) have to evacuate Tehran," Pezeshkian said on November 6.


If I was a Christian in Iran, I'd leave. That sounds like judgement does it not?

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ national anti-poverty program has provided over three-quarters of a million dollars over the course of 20 years to an organization that advocates for sex-change surgeries, abortion and same-sex marriage, according to a report.

In its November report, the Lepanto Institute warned that the USCCB’s program, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, has provided 16 grants totaling $760,000 to the United Workers Association since 2004.

UWA, which has advocated for sex-change surgeries and abortion to be covered through Medicare, also received a $25,000 grant for the 2024-2025 CCHD funding year, according to the Lepanto Institute’s report.

“Given what we are about to present, it is abundantly clear that UWA is solidly pro-LGBT — even to the point of advocating for publicly-funded sex-change surgeries — and it is currently operating through two proxy organizations of its own creation that are openly promoting abortion, birth control, funding for Planned Parenthood, and LGBT ideologies, including the public-funding of sex-change operations,” the report stated.

The Lepanto Institute has called for the "complete and permanent closure of the CCHD," citing the program's alleged "failure to protect Catholic funds and refusal to recognize and acknowledge gross violations of Catholic moral and social teaching."

Continued below.

Will they be able to re-land the space craft? Will they show up SpaceX? Twenty minutes away!

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I’m willing to bet that either you’ve struggled with significant depression or you love someone who has. The new millennium has seen a surge in depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation across the West.

Between 2015 and 2023 in the United States, the proportion of adults diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives went up by almost 10 percentage points to 29%. In the same period, the proportion of people who have been or are currently being treated for depression went up by 7 points to 17.8%. We’ve removed much of the shame and stigma once associated with mental health struggles. But we haven’t succeeded in reducing the struggles. Instead, they’ve spread like an oil spill, entrapping more and more of us like seagulls with our wings weighed down.

This mental health disaster has hit women hardest. We see ourselves as living in the most pro-woman culture in all human history. Yet women in our culture are increasingly unhappy. Thirty-seven percent of women now report being diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, compared with 20% of men. The mental health crisis has also been particularly hard on younger people. In 2023, 27.3 percent of girls and 9.4 percent of boys ages 12 to 17 reported experiencing a major depressive episodein the past year, more than double the rates in 2004. Likewise, between 2009 and 2021, the share of American high school students who said they had “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent. Tragically, between 2007 and 2021, the suicide rate among ten-to-twenty-four-year-olds also increased by 62 percent.

Continued below.

Good day all. Long time Christian and a well-established author for fiction and technology (you can find my stuff on Amazon and at my blog https://RodsFictionBooks.com) but with everything going on in the world, feel I need to refocus my experiences on more important matters. I have recently turned my focus on devotionals for personal, small group, and church use with topics I believe are timely. Each book has its own free Resource Kit and the ability for everyone to directly improve it.

Happy to share they are available on Amazon and the Resource Kit is housed on GitHub (can't take the geek out of me completely, lol)

Divine Design Devotionals: Amazon.com

Resource Kits: GitHub - rod-trent/DivineDesign: This is the repository for the electronic resource kits for Rod Trent's non-fiction, faith-based work

Bishops: "We Need to Confiscate Any and All Weapons of Private Devotion"​

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) just met for their annual conferencesynodal encounter (somehow letting Bishop Strickland in!) and elected a new president, Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley.

But rather than allowing synodal engagement with the concerns raised by Bishop Strickland about recent actions of Fr. Martin James to continue, the assembly decided that other, more urgent matters, needed to be addressed and, in a gesture of harsh, but synodal, synodality, told him that they thought the ways of the spirit required that they no longer engage in their synodal encounter of listening to him. (TRANSLATION from the Synodalish: They ignored him.)

“The Catholic Church in the United States,” Bishop William W. Walker of West Palm Beach warned the assembly, “faces the grave danger of people not actively participating in the singing after Holy Communion. In my diocese alone, we’ve caught 165 instances in just the last month of people failing to sing ‘All Are Welcome’ and ‘We Remember’ and instead praying on these old-fashioned devices called ‘rosaries.’ We need to find a way to stop this. Beautiful performances of these classic hymns are being wrecked by people praying silently, while the clowns and LGBTQY+$67#!@|\?/ activists feel uncomfortable with people praying in that way in church.”

Continued below.

People use this phrase a lot when there are arguments but for the most part, it looks like people are using it incorrectly, so I thought I'd start off this discussion by expounding on what is, and isn't "dividing the body of Christ".

1. First, let's define the word "dividing".
Dividing means to separate. I mean, that's as plain as it can get lol. If you divide an apple in half, you are cutting into two pieces. It is no longer whole, it is divided.

2. Now, what is the body of Christ?
It's a metaphor used by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 to describe the Church as a whole. All believers in Jesus, united under one head of leadership. We can get more nuanced with this but let's just leave it as, anyone who follows Christ in faith. So regardless of denomination, race, or background.

3. Dividing the Body of Christ
So instead of unity (one body) all following Christ, you have division. Examples of this are:

• A) Breaking unity over non-essentials like: "I follow Paul" or "I follow Apollos" (1 Corinthians 3:4).
• B) Promoting False Doctrine (Galatians 5:7-10, Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 1:10)
• Gossip or slander (Proverbs 6:16-19, Proverbs 16:28, 2 Corinthians 12:20) But there is a difference between "quarreling" and debate. The motive for quarreling is often pride (James 4:1) and can be over arguments that are "foolish" in nature (Titus 3:9) because the outcome ruins "good hearers" (2 Timothy 2:14 and 2 Timothy 2:23). The Motive for a debate is restoration by correction which can have a fruitful outcome when someone is corrected.

4. So if promoting false doctrine is considered dividing the body, what is NOT dividing the body?

Rebuke: Correcting a person in error by holding them accountable, correcting behavior and correcting scripture. (Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3, 2 Timothy 4:2, 1 Timothy 5:20, Titus 1:13)

If someone is preaching something false, that's already divided, but debating someone or even getting into a heated debate, isn't dividing, it's actually an attempt at becoming whole again where both people can agree. THAT is unity. So I think people need to be careful that just because 2 people are having an argument/debate, doesn't necessarily mean division, when scripturally speaking its a step towards unity (depending on context of course).

Denominations are already scripturally divided and we should duke it out more often so we can come together in unity of belief instead of attempting to pacify the debate with a chastisement of "dividing the body of Christ" which is only preventing us from actually being whole and keeping us divided with "you interpret it this way, I interpret it this way" and leaving it in that divided state. That's not helping, thats encouraging continued true division.

So within this context, can we stop throwing that phrase around and continue debating so we can become a unified front instead of a fractured one?

Now, within that spirit, feel free to debate me.

In some progressive circles of Christianity in the United States, the term "Kin-dom" has become increasingly used in recent decades as another name for "Kingdom," as in "God's Kin-dom" or "the Kin-dom of Jesus."

At the United Methodist Church General Conference held last year, for example, openly lesbian Bishop Karen Oliveto preached a sermon to delegates that referenced the phrase.

In an article published last month, Presbyterian News Service, the news outlet of the Presbyterian Church (USA), quoted a pastor who spoke of "standing on the kin-dom side of history."

But where does the term come from, and why was it created?

The first confirmed use of the term came from Catholic modernist theologian Ada Maria Isasi Diaz, a theological liberal who spoke of the concept in a 1996 book titled Mujerista Theology: A Theology for the Twenty-first Century.

The phrase has gained popularity among those who seek what they believe is a less patriarchal or imperial description of the Kingdom of God.

Continued below.

A bombshell revelation has reignited questions about Donald Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein — and this time, the timeline lands squarely in Trump’s first year as president.


According to newly released emails from Epstein’s estate, the disgraced financier told a friend he spent Thanksgiving 2017 with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago — Trump’s first Thanksgiving in office. The detail comes from a new batch of documents made public by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, followed by the release of 20,000 additional records by their Republican counterparts.

President Donald Trump prompted backlash among his political base this week for a recent interview during which he claimed the U.S. needs the H-1B visa system because the country lacks "certain talents" for some industries.

During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham that aired Monday night, Trump pushed back when Ingraham was critical of H-1B visas, which provide temporary work permits for specialty occupations such as tech and engineering.

In response to Ingraham arguing that such visas flood the market and suppress U.S. wages, Trump said, "Well, I agree, but you also do have to bring in talent."

When Ingraham insisted the U.S. has "plenty of talented people here," Trump said, "No, you don't. No, you don't have certain talents, and people have to learn."

Continued below.

"Please pray for Christians in Syria, after threatening messages were left at two churches, heightening fear amongst believers." - link - Threatening messages left at two churches in Syria

Please pray that if it is God's will my pain will go away and there is nothing seriously wrong. Please ask God to cure my digestive system and other issues. Also please pray for the health and happiness for my son Jakeb and husband robb. I ask in the name of Jesus and thank you so much. God bless you. Carmen.

All of us who believe in Jesus are His congregation. Therefore, all of us who live in the same city and believe in Jesus are His congregation in our home city. This applies in every city. It has been so from the very beginning of the congregation.

At the time the Bible was written, there were among others the congregation of such cities as
– Jerusalem (Acts 8:1, 11:22),
– Antioch (Acts 13:1),
– Cenchrea (Romans 16:1),
– Philippi (Philippians 4:15),
– Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:2),
– Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:1),
– Babylon (1 Peter 5:13),
– Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation 1:11).

Jesus Himself established the congregation through His death and resurrection in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. From there it began to spread throughout the whole world (Matthew 28:19). This same congregation has also spread to Finland(where I live).

We do not think that any person who believes in Jesus and has been baptized in His name belongs to a different congregation than we do (Galatians 5:20). The Bible clearly testifies that there cannot be many congregations in one city (1 Corinthians 1:2 & 2 Corinthians 1:1; Revelation 1:11; 1 Corinthians 1:11–13; 3:4–11). “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.” (Titus 1:5, KJV).
We may indeed gather in many different places, but these places are not congregations—the congregation is us (Acts 1:12; 12:12; 19:9; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2). God sees in every city only two groups of people: the members of His congregation and the ungodly. Therefore, we do not exclude any person who believes in Jesus from being a member of this congregation.

The congregation to which we belong is God’s. Therefore, it is right to call it the Congregation of God (1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 11:16; 11:22; 15:9; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:14; 1 Timothy 3:15). God has the sole right to the name and the membership record of His congregation (Colossians 3:17; Luke 10:20; 2 Samuel 24:1–10). We do not divide God’s congregation by calling its members into a fellowship under some man-made name or by keeping a separate membership record of its members (1 Corinthians 1:11–13; 3:4–11).

God Himself adds people to His congregation, as He has done from the beginning:
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
[…] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. […] And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. […] Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:38, 41, 42, 47, KJV).

We have all become Christians and been added by God into the membership of the congregation according to this original Gospel as revealed in the Bible—that is, after having repented AND, having come to faith and having been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth” (1 Corinthians 1:2), meaning the people living in the city of Corinth who believed in Jesus and were baptized in His name: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” (1 Corinthians 12:27, KJV). Therefore, it is Biblical to say to those who live in the same city, believe in Jesus, and are baptized in His name that you are the Congregation of God in your home city, the body of Christ, and each of you is one of His members. This is the Biblical form of congregation membership.

Therefore, if you are a Christian in the sense that the Bible gives to that name, then you are already a member of this congregation. We warmly welcome you into the fellowship of this, your own congregation (Hebrews 10:25). Our task is to help others also to become Christians in this Biblical way, and thus to become members of the congregation and be baptized.
Jesus prays for His own congregation “that they may be made perfect in one” (John 17:23, KJV). It is God’s will that His congregation be restored in each city according to the original and Biblical order revealed in Scripture.

There is no teaching in the Bible that different denominations and churches should be established. Although there are members of God’s congregation within them, none of them is the Congregation of God. God has not founded any of them. To them applies the teaching of Jesus: “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” (Matthew 15:13, KJV). Yet the perfect unity for which Jesus prayed will not be fulfilled by trying to uproot denominations and churches from the world. They will always exist among us in this world. True unity becomes visible only when we root them out from within ourselves.

Therefore, we do not build fellowship across denominational and church boundaries, but without them. We are not to be Lutherans, Catholics, Orthodox, Adventists, Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals, or any other kind of “-ist” or “-ian.” None of these existed when the congregation was founded. It is God’s will that we be simply Christians, in the same way as those whom He, from the beginning, had added to His congregation.

We build congregational fellowship in our home city according to this God-given way described above, not according to human ways. Thus the true Biblical order begins to prevail visibly within the congregation (Colossians 2:5). For the building up of congregational fellowship, God sets in our midst ministries (Titus 1:5; Ephesians 4:11–15). God blesses the tasks of Christians, equips them for His work, and grants them spiritual growth through the congregation (Acts 13:1–4; 2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25; 1 Corinthians 3:6–11). Therefore, one must be in congregational fellowship so that all this may happen in God’s way. This congregation remains united, in fellowship, and in the apostles’ doctrine (Acts 2:42; Colossians 2:19).

Blessings to you, Christian, who desire to hold fast to this Biblical congregational order and begin to gather accordingly! Jesus will guide you in all things.

“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9, KJV)

Blessings,
Weijo Lindroos, from the Turku Congregation
Maariankatu 2
20100 Turku
Finland
Email: weijo.lindroos@pp.inet.fi

I have been going through some trials and tribulations for the past two months, particularly having to do with shooting chest pains, labored breathing, and chest pressure, which have not let up. I also have a lung mass which has nearly doubled in size from the last time it was checked 9 years ago, and which is concerning for cancer. So the Lord has been taking me through a series of medical tests to help determine the source of the pain, and that has involved many doctor visits to many different doctors.

Now, this is not the norm for me. Generally speaking, I have a yearly well visit with my primary doctor where he checks to see how I am doing, and he orders some blood work, which usually ends up with no issues. And then I don’t see him again for another year, unless I have any issues. So, all this is out of the norm for me. And I am seeing different doctors with varying opinions of what could be going wrong with my body. So, with everything they tell me, I take it to the Lord in prayer, and I seek his counsel.

For it is of critical importance to me that I am in the center of God’s will, doing what he has for me to do, and that I am being led by the Spirit, and not by the flesh. So I pray about every visit and every recommendation in order to make certain that I am on the right course that God has for me at this time. Yes, I believe in healing, and God has healed me numerous times over the years. But he also promises us that we will go through trials and tribulations to test our faith in order that we might be more like him.

So, when I read this passage of Scripture this morning, it really jumped out at me. God is in control! He is completely sovereign over my life, and Jesus Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the one directing all that is going on in my life right now, and for his purposes, and for his glory, to continue the process of sanctification in my life. None of this happened without his knowledge and without his consent. And all of this is for my ultimate good. And it is his love and grace which are sustaining me.

And this last phrase is also standing out to me here.. “so that he himself will come to have first place in everything.” For no matter how long any of us have been Christians and followers of Jesus Christ, we are still clay in the hands of the Potter God, being molded to his likeness, as we cooperate fully with his work of grace in our lives in changing us to be more like him. No matter how closely we have walked with Jesus, there is still room for more growth, and more change, and even greater submission to our Lord’s will.

Not one of us has arrived at the point to where there is no more need to be pruned by God. For we live in flesh bodies. We are still human beings who are in the process of being perfected by God as we submit to his will and purpose for our lives. There is always room for improvement and for the cutting away of more flesh. For this is the process of sanctification in our lives, which is also the process of our salvation. And this process will continue through our lives until Jesus takes us home to be with him in glory.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

But just because we are in the process of sanctification, and not one of us has yet arrived at the point of absolute perfection, this is never an excuse for any of us to live in willful, defiant, deliberate, and habitual sin against our Lord. For our salvation from sin is not freedom to keep sinning without feeling guilty, assuming that God’s grace covers it all. For Jesus Christ died and rose to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so we will now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands. So let him rule your life.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Walk With Me

By Al Langdon and P.J. Zondervan

Walk with me, walk with me,
Lest mine eyes no longer see
All the glory, all the story of Your love;
Talk to me, talk to me,
Like You spoke so tenderly,
When You talked there,
When You walked there by the sea.

Talk to me, talk to me,
Lest mine ears no longer hear
All the wonder, all the beauty of Your grace;
Walk with me, walk with me,
As You walked so lovingly,
When You walked there,
When You talked there by the sea.

Let me follow in the footsteps
That trod the shore of Galilee,
Let me learn to pray like He did
In the Garden of Gethsemane;
Take my hand, take my hand,
Teach me Lord to understand,
All the duty, all the beauty of Your love.

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So Jesus Christ Has First Place
An Original Work / November 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“I found the Ark of the Covenant in my heart, stored there by the one who created me … exactly as I am," Benitez wrote

Gio Benitez/Instagram Tommy DiDario (left) and Gio Benitez (right) face two priests during the confirmation mass.© Gio Benitez/Instagram

NEED TO KNOW​

• Gio Benitez, an openly gay ABC News anchor, joined a Catholic church in New York City and celebrated his confirmation mass on social media
• He said that the special moment was partly inspired by learning more about the late Pope Francis's "legacy of inclusivity"
• Benitez's husband, Tommy DiDario, served as his sponsor

Gio Benitez, an ABC News anchor who is openly gay, joined a Catholic church in New York City and reaffirmed his faith after a long spiritual journey.

On Monday, Nov. 10, the Good Morning America co-anchor shared a moving video of his confirmation mass at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan with his husband, Tommy DiDario, serving as his sponsor — a special moment partly inspired by the late Pope Francis’ “legacy of inclusivity.”

Continued below.

Looking to get a little more insight from multiple people from multiple backgrounds on this. Thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

-When you first became a Christian, what did you expect life in the church to be like?

-What were your hopes or assumptions about how things would go?

-What was your first experience with the church community?

-Did those expectations match reality, or were there surprises?

-How do you feel now about your place in the church?

Future generations will not look kindly on those who betrayed the truth for comfort and career advancement.

The reckoning is finally arriving, echoing the dilemma in Eugene Genovese’s powerful essay, ‘The Question’. Writing in 1994, Genovese confessed that he and many others had remained loyal to the Soviet Union long after they knew about the mass killings and the gulags. ‘For many years’, he admitted, ‘I have lived in dread of having to answer The Question… “What did you know, and when did you know it?”’ Eventually, he acknowledged the uncomfortable truth: ‘We knew everything essential and knew it from the beginning.’ Many mainstream journalists will soon find themselves confronting the same question.

The sudden resignations this week of BBC director-general Tim Davie and CEO of news Deborah Turness has focussed minds on the role of the media. It has been startling – and grimly predictable – to watch senior figures at the BBC scrambling to defend their failures by muttering darkly about ‘right-wing conspiracies’ and ‘inside jobs’. Few, if any, have paused to consider whether the real problem might be their own cowardice.

Continued below.

I think there's a sticky thread for conversion stories, but I can't find it. Does anyone mind if I post mine here in the main forum? There's so little traffic here nowadays, I thought maybe it would be okay.

Senior moment I guess. I meant to say sub-forum, not sticky thread.

Is the position on Calvinism, that God created people who he would never save, and they will live a short meaningless life only to burn in hell for all eternity with never having even the slightest possibility of avoiding it?

The other position is everyone has a free will choice to choose or reject God, and because they chose to reject, they go to hell and it's their fault.

Suppose you came to the conclusion Calvinism was true all along, are you fine with that, and would it bother you?

And I wanted to give my stance on the matter, I have no idea, and I'm honestly not too concerned I'm more focused on just living the way God would like me to live than figuring out how everything works. If I find out it's true I accept it and move on, I am a believer so I have no reason to be concerned if its true.

But if Calvinism is saying that some believers are not elect and predestined to hell and we HAVE NO IDEA WHO IT IS, and i find that out then yes i would be really concerned.

A federal judge has ordered the release of hundreds of individuals arrested in Illinois as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, known as "Operation Midway Blitz."

Another activist judge trying to usurp power from the Executive Branch.

For example, a young man just starting college is murdered. He didn't get to live a long life, while someone else becomes a believer in their 40's.

The person in their 40's had more time to accept Jesus, yet the young man didn't. It seems unfair, but what does the Bible say?

Was the young man probably never would have been a believer anyway? Are we sometimes saved not only because we accepted Jesus, but by chance we survived long enough to accept Jesus as our God? Or does this not make any sense?

It just keeps getting incredible what the Pope is backing away from. Well, looks like the Pope is retracting more than a few things, now they are backing away from the apparitions that have been claimed of Jesus. Catholics believe that figures such as Jesus and Mary can appear supernaturally, known as apparitions, to share religious messages, inspire devotion, or call for peace. But now the Pope seems to be taking steps in backing away from this long held conviction.

"Jesus may answer prayers but he has not made special appearances in a small town in the north of France, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

In a new instruction approved by Pope Leo, the Vatican's top doctrinal office said stories of appearances by Jesus in the town of Dozule, in Normandy, were not to be considered genuine by the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

A Catholic mother in the town had reported seeing Jesus 49 times during the 1970s, and said he had dictated a series of messages and told her to build a 7.38-metre (24.21-foot) cross on a hillside in the town.

"The phenomenon of the alleged apparitions ... is to be regarded, definitively, as not supernatural in origin, with all the consequences that flow from this determination," said the text issued by the doctrinal office.

Catholics believe religious figures such as Jesus and Mary can make supernatural appearances, called apparitions, to offer religious messages, create new devotional practices or make general appeals for peace.

The Vatican has a formal evaluation process for assessing claimed appearances, and it warns against use of alleged phenomena for monetary gain.

The Vatican also recently issued a decree clarifying the titles Catholics can use for Mary. That text said Mary cannot be called the "co-redeemer" of the world, since Catholics believe Jesus alone redeemed humanity by his crucifixion and death."

Jesus did not appear on hill in France, Vatican says | Reuters .