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Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
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CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.
HHS investigating claims school vaccinated student despite religious exemption
- By Michie
Federal health officials have launched an investigation into a complaint alleging that an unidentified school located in the Midwestern United States disregarded a valid religious exemption and administered a vaccine to a student without parental consent.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the investigation on Dec. 3 after officials said school authorities administered a vaccine to a student despite having a religious exemption submitted under a state law.
According to HHS, the vaccine was supplied through the federal Vaccines for Children program, which is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Entities participating in the program, including schools and medical practices, must adhere to state laws on religious and other exemptions from compulsory vaccination requirements, according to HHS.
The department's Office for Civil Rights will determine whether the school violated those obligations. Neither the school's name nor the student's identity was disclosed.
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the investigation on Dec. 3 after officials said school authorities administered a vaccine to a student despite having a religious exemption submitted under a state law.
According to HHS, the vaccine was supplied through the federal Vaccines for Children program, which is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Entities participating in the program, including schools and medical practices, must adhere to state laws on religious and other exemptions from compulsory vaccination requirements, according to HHS.
The department's Office for Civil Rights will determine whether the school violated those obligations. Neither the school's name nor the student's identity was disclosed.
Continued below.
HHS investigating claims school vaccinated student despite religious exemption
Federal health officials have launched an investigation into a complaint alleging that an unidentified school located in the Midwestern United States disregarded a valid religious exemption and
www.christianpost.com
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The real gifts and what they really are.
- By Dave...
- Spiritual Gifts
- 0 Replies
Anything good that comes from us for the Church is an undeserved gift from God. The lists given in Scripture are general. If it's from the Holy Spirit, not the flesh, it's good and thus a gift. That's the Biblical meaning of the gifts. Setting aside the sign gifts per the rules.
In short, It's the fruit of the Spirit.
John 15:1-5 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
"...for without Me you can do nothing", nothing good implied. That's where the gifts come from.
1 Corinthians 4:7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
Ephesians 4:7-8, 11-12 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."....And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
All the gifts are for the edification of the Church. Any gifts used for self edification is in fact in direct contradiction to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians, and therefore, most likely, not from the Spirit and not a gift from God.
1 Corinthians 14:12 Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
No need to get goofy with this stuff. Scripture is pretty clear. 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul lays down the foundation of purpose, to edify the Body, not ourselves. Then gives us examples of the what to do (edify the Body), and then gives us examples of the what not to do (edify self). Though many teach the 'what not to do" as commands, and as good things, these are clearly examples of what not to do. Love is the great qualifier. Love is not self seeking.
Whenever in doubt, ask if what you're doing passes the simple test of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8A Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails....
Remember, fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), good, a gift. The flesh, not good, not a gift, but sin.
Galatians 5:16-17 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
In short, It's the fruit of the Spirit.
John 15:1-5 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
"...for without Me you can do nothing", nothing good implied. That's where the gifts come from.
1 Corinthians 4:7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
Ephesians 4:7-8, 11-12 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."....And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
All the gifts are for the edification of the Church. Any gifts used for self edification is in fact in direct contradiction to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians, and therefore, most likely, not from the Spirit and not a gift from God.
1 Corinthians 14:12 Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
No need to get goofy with this stuff. Scripture is pretty clear. 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul lays down the foundation of purpose, to edify the Body, not ourselves. Then gives us examples of the what to do (edify the Body), and then gives us examples of the what not to do (edify self). Though many teach the 'what not to do" as commands, and as good things, these are clearly examples of what not to do. Love is the great qualifier. Love is not self seeking.
Whenever in doubt, ask if what you're doing passes the simple test of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8A Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails....
Remember, fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), good, a gift. The flesh, not good, not a gift, but sin.
Galatians 5:16-17 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
Raking In Hundreds Of Millions For Trafficking Kids Destroys U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Credibility On Immigration
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
Earlier this week, Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC) crooned: “As we enter the Advent season, we remember that the Holy Family themselves were migrants seeking safety.” It is a recurring motif to validate the resistance of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to curtailment of illegal immigration.
In November, the USCCB prepared for Advent by declaring war on the Trump administration with a “Special Pastoral Message on Immigration.” The insurrectionist tenor of this rare “special message” places the globalist conceits — and monetary interests — of the hierarchy ahead of the just laws of their own country.
Continued below.
thefederalist.com
In November, the USCCB prepared for Advent by declaring war on the Trump administration with a “Special Pastoral Message on Immigration.” The insurrectionist tenor of this rare “special message” places the globalist conceits — and monetary interests — of the hierarchy ahead of the just laws of their own country.
Continued below.
U.S. Catholic Bishops Have No Credibility On Immigration
In its special message, inaccurate wording disguises the USCCB’s self-interested opposition to the deportation of illegals.
thefederalist.com
And agree.
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2025: 7,000+ Christians Killed in Nigeria by Muslims
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
In 2025 alone, more than 7,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria, underscoring the intense persecution experienced by Christian communities in the country.
Overview of Persecution
Nigeria has become one of the most perilous places for Christians, with violence largely fueled by Islamist militant groups like Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen. Over the past 14 years, more than 52,250 Christians have been killed due to religious violence, and the situation has only deteriorated in recent years. In 2025, it was reported that 7,087 Christians lost their lives between January and August, averaging approximately 35 killings per day.
Notable Incidents and Statistics
Continued below.
atreasuretobeshared.blogspot.com
Overview of Persecution
Nigeria has become one of the most perilous places for Christians, with violence largely fueled by Islamist militant groups like Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen. Over the past 14 years, more than 52,250 Christians have been killed due to religious violence, and the situation has only deteriorated in recent years. In 2025, it was reported that 7,087 Christians lost their lives between January and August, averaging approximately 35 killings per day.
Notable Incidents and Statistics
Continued below.
In 2025 alone, over 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria
A Treasure To Be Shared, the occasional blog of an Ordinariate Roman Catholic, celebrates the English Patrimony.
atreasuretobeshared.blogspot.com
The Unanswered Question: Natural Law And Same-Sex Attraction
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
A Study in Moral Discourse
My starting position is that Catholic moral theology proceeds by reason toward truth, not by sentiment toward consensus. Yet even among Catholics, the path of that reasoning can become obscured by philosophical confusion about what moral theology based on Revelation and Natural Law requires.A recent exchange with a fellow Catholic, Todd Flowerday, brought this tension into sharp focus.
The Question We Both Agree On
The conversation began with a premise I share: if same-sex attraction is a stable, unchosen feature of human experience for a percentage of the population, Catholic moral theology cannot ignore that reality. Revelation and Natural Law reasoning must account for what exists in human nature.This is basic Catholic realism. When my interlocutor suggested that biological realities matter to Natural Law, he was right. They do matter.
The real question is how they matter.
Where Our Methods Diverge
Continued below.
The Unanswered Question: Natural Law And Same-Sex Attraction
If same-sex sexual acts fulfil a legitimate human telos, what is that telos?
www.patheos.com
Zac Brown Band Raises Hell Online With ‘Satanic’ Performance at Las Vegas Sphere
- By Michie
All hell has broken loose online after Zac Brown Band played the first of eight shows slated for their residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The Sphere is an experience “that envelops you in 270 degrees of visuals while filling your ears with immersive sound,” and the band is taking heat for subjecting viewers to “demonic” and “satanic” imagery that included a fiery wasteland and a giant skeleton with a crown of bones.
“I rebuke [these] demons and principalities in the name of Jesus,” said one user on Instagram in response to a clip of the show that showed a hellhound charging toward viewers as if to swallow them. “I [am] speaking healing and deliverance for the people who attended that concert. I pray for Zac Brown Band to open their eyes to see what they are doing and to repent. In Jesus name amen.”
Zac Brown Band Under Fire
Continued below.
Zac Brown Band Raises Hell Online With ‘Satanic’ Performance at Las Vegas Sphere
All hell has broken loose online after Zac Brown Band played the first of eight shows slated for their residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
churchleaders.com
Scholar warns feminism has become a ‘megachurch’ replacing faith, family and Christian virtue
I personally have an issue with this article. The scholar's argument that feminism is a "megachurch" that forces women to choose between family and fulfillment overlooks a significant reality present in her own life.Carrie Gress argues the movement functions as a secular megachurch targeting women with false promises
An author of 11 books, including an upcoming title on feminism, says the movement has evolved into a kind of secular "megachurch" with its own doctrines, rituals and moral code — one that she argues now serves as a substitute for faith, family and traditional Christian virtue.
“Feminism actually is not a subset of Christianity. It's actually a rival to Christianity," Carrie Gress, a fellow at the Institute for Human Ecology at Catholic University of America, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
Gress is the author of the forthcoming book "Something Wicked: Why Feminism Can’t Be Fused With Christianity," which she says examines how feminism has "quietly captured the minds and hearts of women by mimicking aspects of Christianity. Through its own ‘commandments,’ ‘virtues,’ ‘evangelization,’ and even ‘a sacrament,’ feminism has become an exceedingly powerful megachurch."
“In many respects, it can actually be seen as a megachurch," Gress told Fox News Digital. "It has taken on so many of the aspects of Christianity."
Continued below.
Scholar warns feminism has become a ‘megachurch’ replacing faith, family and Christian virtue
A Catholic author argued feminism functions as secular "megachurch" rivaling Christianity in a new book examining the movement's religious-like structure and doctrines.www.foxnews.com
It is undeniable that her ability to wear so many hats—as a wife, a mother of five, a professional author, an academic fellow and an editor —is a testament to the expanded opportunities secured by generations of women seeking equality. This is the Feminist movement.
By criticizing women who seek a career, autonomy and individualism as inherently anti-Christian, she is clearly not grasping the fruits of her now modern opportunities given to her by the foundational work laid by these like minded women of feminism.
I say this is shameful at best and hypocritical at worse.
Thanks for sharing.
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Boston-area pastor refuses to remove anti-ICE Nativity scene, seeks meeting with archbishop
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
The pastor of a Catholic parish near Boston says an anti-immigration-enforcement display in its Nativity scene will stay up at least for the time being, and he is asking for a meeting with the archbishop.
The announcement Monday night — more than three days after the Archdiocese of Boston said the display should be removed — leaves the parish and Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston at an impasse.
“We are waiting for an opportunity of dialogue and clarity with [Arch]bishop Henning before reaching any final decisions,” Father Stephen Josoma said, according to a video of a press conference published by MassLive.com.
The display, put up Nov. 29 outside St. Susanna Church in Dedham, Massachusetts, includes a large sign saying “ICE Was Here” and another sign explaining that the absent figures of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are safe inside the church building. The display also includes a telephone number to report the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs agents to an organization that monitors them.
A spokesman for Archbishop Henning on Friday described the display as inappropriate and said it should be removed.
“The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging. The Church’s norms prohibit the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people. This includes images of the Christ Child in the manger, which are to be used solely to foster faith and devotion,” said Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, by email.
“Regarding the recent incident, St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm or to place a politically divisive display outside the church. The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose,” Donilon said Friday.
Continued below.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
The announcement Monday night — more than three days after the Archdiocese of Boston said the display should be removed — leaves the parish and Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston at an impasse.
“We are waiting for an opportunity of dialogue and clarity with [Arch]bishop Henning before reaching any final decisions,” Father Stephen Josoma said, according to a video of a press conference published by MassLive.com.
The display, put up Nov. 29 outside St. Susanna Church in Dedham, Massachusetts, includes a large sign saying “ICE Was Here” and another sign explaining that the absent figures of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are safe inside the church building. The display also includes a telephone number to report the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs agents to an organization that monitors them.
A spokesman for Archbishop Henning on Friday described the display as inappropriate and said it should be removed.
“The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging. The Church’s norms prohibit the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people. This includes images of the Christ Child in the manger, which are to be used solely to foster faith and devotion,” said Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, by email.
“Regarding the recent incident, St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm or to place a politically divisive display outside the church. The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose,” Donilon said Friday.
Father Josoma’s stance
Continued below.
Boston-area pastor refuses to remove anti-ICE Nativity scene
The pastor of a Catholic parish near Boston says an anti-immigration-enforcement display in its Nativity scene will stay up at least for the time being.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
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