Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 6/17/17

• Bishops to reconsecrate Canada to Mary’s Immaculate Heart

I would like to understand why Catholicism is so preoccupied with the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Great devotion and worship are accorded to these biological organs, all of which strikes genuine believers in Christ as very strange and idolatrous.

• Catholic groups launch conversation about female deacons

Pope Francis opened the door a crack and liberals are attempting to push it wide open. I anticipate the ordination of female deacons in the RCC in the next 5 to 10 years.

• Is Christian US soccer player boycotting team over these jerseys?

The LGBTQ rainbow alliance is pushing for acceptance in every part of public life. Churches that refuse to participate will be targeted.

• Knights of Columbus’ financial forms show wealth, influence

The K of C was founded in 1882 as a Catholic benevolent fraternal organization. In some respects, it was the Catholic alternative to verboten Freemasonry. I remember the K of C newspaper advertisements when I was a kid that defended and promoted Catholicism. Most fraternals are in sharp decline these days but the K of C guys with the silly plume hats, capes, epaulettes, and swords are still going strong and wield a lot of influence. Any sign of Jesus Christ in all of this pageantry?

• Mormons and Evangelicals bond over shared beliefs

I’m not a big fan of “dialogue” with religious unbelievers. The aim of “dialogue” is to find common ground and build upon that while ignoring or minimizing important doctrinal differences. I don’t read about the apostles and disciples of Christ engaging in ecumenical “dialogue” with religious unbelievers in the New Testament.

• Three ironies about a dramatic show of papal muscle in Nigeria

These Nigerians priests who refuse to acknowledge a bishop appointed from outside their geographic area are still mired in tribalism. Francis should accommodate them just like Catholicism accommodates/syncretizes native pagan beliefs and practices elsewhere in the world, such as in Latin America.

• Granada Catholics outraged after Muslim prayers held near Virgin Mary statue

People are surprised to learn the Muslim Quran references Mary much more than the Bible does. Muslims venerate Mary as a faithful follower of Allah and the mother of the “prophet,” Jesus. Will Marian devotion and worship be the catalyst for a one-world religion?

• Corpus Christi procession takes Catholicism into the streets

This past Thursday was the Feast of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) for Roman Catholics. This weekend many of the ethnic parishes will have an outdoor procession with the priest carrying a large consecrated bread wafer, which Catholics are taught is the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. The faithful line the streets and bow in worshipful adoration to the passing Jesus wafer.

• How Eucharistic miracles show Christ’s blood type

What is Jesus’ blood type? Defenders of eucharistic miracles claim the blood from bleeding wafers is consistently type AB. But where is the Gospel in all of this?

• Southern Baptists Announce Crackdown On Fun (satire)

And while we’re on the topic of Southern Baptists…

…Did you hear the one about the Southern Baptist who decided to let his hair down and throw all caution to the wind on one particular day by reading only four chapters of the Bible instead of the usual five? Praise the Lord for the believers in the Southern Baptist Convention who remain faithful to Jesus Christ and His Word.