Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 2/4/23

• Catholic-school students spend time in eucharistic adoration

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops initiated its two-year, nationwide Eucharistic Revival in June 2022 to encourage heightened reverence and worship of the consecrated Jesus wafer among American Catholics. The revival is a reaction to a 2019 Pew Research study which revealed that 70% of U.S. Catholics don’t believe in “transubstantiation,” the teaching that priests change bread wafers and wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. Imagine sitting in a church pew and worshiping a bread wafer like in the photo above. So many grievous errors taught by the RCC.

• Country with highest proportion of Catholics who attend Mass weekly or more?

The RCC mandates that all 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide must attend Sunday mass under threat of mortal sin. Nigeria has the highest proportion of Catholics who are compliant mass-attendees at 94 percent. U.S. Catholics are way down the list at only 17 percent. Catholicism is doing well in Nigeria and other “third-world” countries because of its many similarities to pagan shamanism. It’s tragic when anyone is persecuted for their religious beliefs, but Rome-friendly, evangelical para-church organizations muddy the Gospel by identifying persecuted RC priests and nuns in Nigeria and elsewhere as Christians.

• Is Catholic teaching on birth control driving people from the pews?

Pope Paul VI drew a line in the sand with his 1968 Humanae Vitae encyclical by declaring use of all forms of artificial contraception, including non-abortifacients, a mortal sin. The reality is 98 percent of Catholic women use artificial birth control as cited by Catholic sources. Paul VI and his successors lost credibility in the eyes of many Catholic married couples who did not want and/or could not support a large brood of children.

• “Rosary beads? Yes. But crystals, no.”

It would be comically ironic if souls were not at stake, for the fact that Catholicism, with its extensive array of blessed sacramental jujus – rosary beads, holy water, statues, scapulars, palm fronds, medals, candles, crucifixes, holy cards, the sign of the cross, etc. – is opposed to new age crystals.

• Pope Francis’s incremental approach toward acceptance of gay people

In last weekend’s update, I observed that pope Francis’ recent statement condemning laws prohibiting homosexuality was the latest in a systematic strategy to move the RCC closer to full acceptance of practicing S&G-ites. The Catholic and secular media had the same reaction this past week.

• German bishops’ president rebukes Pope Francis for criticism of Synodal Way

I’ve featured MANY news snippets about the German Catholic Der Synodale Weg (Synodal Path) reform initiative since it launched in 2019. There is a possibility that liberal/progressive German Catholics will break away from the RCC at the conclusion of the initiative later this year.

• Attacks against Catholic churches approach 300 incidents since May 2020

Pro-abortionists are targeting Catholic churches for their perceived anti-abortion stance, although a 2022 Associated Press poll revealed 63% of Catholic adults believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In addition to pro-abortionists, radical atheists are also targeting Catholic churches and churches in general.

• American tourist desecrates statue of Christ in Catholic church in Jerusalem

I’ve never been to Israel, but I imagine many people naively visit there with high expectations, only to be confronted by alleged sites that are thoroughly catholicized and touristized. That said, I don’t condone violence.

• Reformanda Initiative Conference at SBTS, February 22-24

I was pleased to see the Reformanda Initiative guys will be coming to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky for a three-day Reformanda Initiative Conference later this month. Events like this are sorely needed at American evangelical seminaries where undiscerning ecumenism with Rome and its false gospel is often the standard paradigm these days.