Time for Christians to unite and help remove the evil within the Catholic Church

August 22, 2018

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Contributor

Last week the Christian world was once again rocked with the grand jury testimony from Pennsylvania that over 300 Catholic Priests sexually abused children and the Catholic Church helped cover it up. Sadly, this is not the first time the Catholic Church has been rocked by such scandals. Having lived through a similar scandal in Ireland, and as a former Catholic (note: please continue reading if you are a Catholic as I don't have an ax to grind), I wanted to offer some advice for all concerned in the hope it can be handled differently this time.

Pure Evil

When you hear some of the horrific details from the grand jury, the easiest emotion to feel is anger and hatred. I totally understand that and I join you. If you are abusing and raping poor innocent kids, I think you are vile, evil, and pure SCUM. I put you in the same category as other evil people who preyed on innocent people like Hitler, Stalin, ISIS, Mao or Pot. This is an absolute for me regardless of the position you hold in society – I don't care about your race, your gender, your sexuality nor your religion. There is no excuse.

I have no problem admitting that my feelings are rather extreme towards people who abuse kids in this manner. I do my best to live a peaceful life and follow Christ, but on issues like this I really struggle. Personally, I would love to have ten minutes alone with them in a cell and afterward send them to be castrated. I believe society needs to send a clear message to everyone that abusing kids is off limits and there is a mega price to pay if you cross that line.

Love

Anger (righteous or otherwise) is a very easy emotion and it is on display by many in this case and on social media every day. Love is a harder emotion to follow and share in society. The first priority from these horrific cases in PA must be to show warmth, compassion, and love to the victims. Help them on the road to recovery (or as close to a recovery as is possible). Whether you are Catholic, Christian, Jew, Atheist, Muslim, Republican or Democrat, we must listen to them, help and support them in their time of need. I don't know if one can truly recover from such abuse, but we must be there for them as they start to relive their experiences and do everything possible to ensure their lives are not defined by those experiences, but rather help them to hope for a brighter future.

Catholic Church

The future of the Catholic Church is once again in question and its actions / inactions going forward will determine its future. It is clear that part of the Catholic Church is rotten and that rot needs to be removed before it infects and destroys all of the Catholic Church and maybe start to affect the role of other religions within Christianity.

Do I expect them to come out like me and support castration? NO, but they all need to come out and, in the strongest possible terms, denounce this behavior as evil; that any priest that is guilty is no longer worthy to be a shepherd of a flock, celebrate the consecration and give out communion. While this needs to start at the top with Pope Francis (and will require more than one written statement) it should also come at every opportunity from every member of clergy including cardinals, bishops and priests. Every member of the Catholic Church should demand it. Let us never forget the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.

All Catholics Are Evil???

In 2018, we live in a world where we love to dehumanize the individual and make wide-ranging generalizations. It would be very easy to judge the priorities of this current Pope, to look at the history of abuse within the Catholic Church, and to say all Catholics are evil and that the Catholic Church sucks. If you are tempted to think this, let me ask you a couple of very direct questions.

Can you show me a section of society that has been more vocal and supportive of the pro-life movement around the world?
Can you show me any generalization (from any part of the world or at any time in history) that was ever factually proven to be true? I would love you to find 2 people who agree on everything, let alone 1.2 billion people who identify as Catholic in this world.
Lastly, when you attack all Catholics and say they are all the same – what do you see as the end result?

It is our job as Christians and as members of the human race to love and support each other, but also let the truth be our guide. If we simply attack all Catholics as being the same, they will likely do what they did in Ireland – get defensive – because they feel personally attacked (you will also notice others use this as a vehicle to attack the Church and God in general). Personal attacks will make them remain quiet in the face of this evil, because if you are being attacked from all sides of society, why would you add to it? This path will lead people to choose one of two options; they will either remain loyal to the Church; and the more we "attack" the more stubborn they will become, or, they will simply leave.

My First Big Concern

The biggest concern I have is for Catholics living in America (and around the world) who's faith has been shaken by this horrific news.

Do Catholics know the line that exists between man-made Catholic religion and God?
Do Catholics understand that man, being deeply flawed, let this happen and not God?
Do Catholics know God is weeping right now at what is happening to His children?

In Ireland, the sexual abuse scandal rocked the Church and was the catalyst for many to leave the Church and turn their backs on God. Sadly, many of those Catholics did not understand the line and the difference between the Catholic Church and God. One is divine and perfect and the other is man-made, therefore deeply flawed and imperfect.

If we are Christian (or Jewish), we must do our best to explain the job of religion – it is purely a vehicle to get us close to God and be a part of His family on Earth. If that vehicle is no longer doing its job, that does not mean God is not great, or that He does not exist, or that God approves of these evil actions – it means it's time to find another vehicle to get closer to God.

I can only hope and pray that members of other Christian religions do not see this as an "opportunity" to grow the ranks for their religion. The aim for all of us is to bring people closer to God and Christ and grow His influence through actions, not to get more people in the pews of our chosen religion.

Second Concern

My second concern is a more generalized one. If you look around at our world today, you will see many battles highlighted – left versus right, rich versus poor, black versus white, man versus women, and gay versus straight. While they all merit some discussion, they all pale in comparison to the biggest battle we all face in society today – Good versus Evil.

We can see evil growing in our society every day, but where is good growing? Who are the people shining the light for good? Where has common decency gone? Where has the respect gone for those who have a different opinion than you? If you believe and have faith in God and or Jesus Christ, that is your duty and responsibility. In this dark world we need more people like John the Baptist testifying to the lights' greatness and living a life worthy of remembering. If sections of Christianity start to turn dark or be silent in the face of evil darkness, who can and who will take their place?

Conclusion

I personally hope the Catholic Church purges this evil from within its ranks. While I personally do not believe in the theology of Catholicism, I have seen the good the Catholic Church has done ranging from the pro-life movement to the role of Pope John Paul II during the Cold War. I believe a strong, healthy, vibrant Catholic Church can play a major role in the body of Christianity in our world.

I believe the future of our world can be extremely bright and we can live freer and more prosperous than ever before. However, for that to happen, I believe it starts with Christians uniting around the principles that God and Jesus taught us in the Bible and not telling others how to live, but rather showing them by example!

Jonathon hosts a weekly one hour show exclusive to the Blaze Radio Network called Freedom's Disciple where he highlights the IDEA of America, promotes the eternal principles of freedom and shares his passion of America's Founding documents. Please check out his show for FREE on TheBlaze Radio, and platforms SoundCloud, iTunes, OMNY FM, Castbox, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, and Google Play.

Trump's education secretary has BIG plans for the DoE

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Our education system is broken, and the Department of Education is a massive failure. But that all ends now.

It's no secret that America's school system is seriously lacking in many ways. President Trump pointed out that despite our massive spending per pupil, we are behind most of the developed world in most metrics. Our scores continue to plummet while our student debt and spending skyrocket—it's utterly unacceptable performance and America's students deserve better.

That's where Linda McMahon, Trump's pick for Secretary of Education comes in.

The former WWE CEO and leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration during Trump's first term, McMahon laid out her harsh criticisms of the DoE during a confirmation hearing on the 13th and revealed her promising plans to turn things around. McMahon described the public education system as "in decline" and promised that under her authority, the DoE would be reoriented towards student success.

Here are the top three changes to the Department of Education:

1. Dismantling the Department of Education

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From the beginning Trump's orders for McMahon were clear: oversee the end of the Department of Education.

During her Thursday hearing, McMahon clarified what dismantling the DoE would entail. As Democrats have repeatedly pointed out, Trump does not have the authority to destroy the DoE without Congressional consent, as an act of Congress created it. That is why Trump and McMahon's plan is to start by shutting down programs that can be stopped by executive action, then approach Congress with a plan to dismantle the Department for good. The executive orders have already begun to take effect, and once McMahon is confirmed she will author a plan for Congress to close the Department.

McMahon also promised that the end of the Department of Education does not mean an end to all the programs currently undertaken by the doomed department. Programs that are deemed beneficial will be transferred (along with their funding) to departments that are more suited to the task. The example given by McMahon was IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding, which instead of being cut would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.

2. School Choice

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In a huge win for parents across the country, McMahon pledged her support for School Choice. School Choice is the idea of allowing parents to enroll their student in any school of their choice, including religious schools and private schools. It would also mean that part or all of the funding that would have gone to a relocated child would follow them and continue to pay for their education.

This gives parents the ability to remove their children from failing schools and seek a better education for them elsewhere. A growing body of evidence suggests that the way we run our schools isn't working, and it is time to try something new. School Choice opens up education to the free market and will allow for competition.

Our children deserve better than what we can currently offer them.

3. COVID and DEI

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Trump's government-wide crackdown on DEI will ironically serve to increase inclusion in many American schools.

McMahon said as much during her Senate hearing: “It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion. And I think what we’re seeing is, it is having an opposite effect. We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools.” She also spoke in support of Title IX, and the push to remove biological males from women's and girl's sports. In the same vein, McMahon pledged to push back against the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, which many Universities have failed to adequately address.

On Friday, February 14th, President Trump signed an executive order barring any school or university with COVID-19 vaccine mandates from receiving federal money. This only applies to the COVID-19 vaccine, and other vaccine mandates are still standing.

POLL: What DARK government secrets will Trump uncover?

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Will the dark secrets of the Deep State finally see the light of day? Or will they slip back into darkness, as they have many times before?

The Trump administration is gearing up to fulfill one of Trump's most anticipated campaign promises: to make the contents of the JFK files, along with other Deep State secrets, available to the public. Kash Patel, who has promised to publicize the highly anticipated files, is expected to be confirmed next week as Trump's director of the FBI. Moreover, the House Oversight Committee created a new task force headed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called "Task Force on Declassification of Federal Secrets," which is tasked with investigating and declassifying information on the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, UFOs, the Epstein list, COVID's origins, and 9/11. This all comes after the FBI found 2,400 "new" records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy following Trump's executive order to release the files.

Glenn discussed this topic with the cast of the Patrick Bet David podcast. Glenn expressed his confidence in Trump's radical transparency—on the condition that Kash Patel is confirmed. The cast was not as optimistic, expressing some doubt about whether Trump will actually unveil all that he has promised. But what do you think? What files are likely to see the light of day? And what files will continue to linger in the dark? Let us know in the poll below

Do you think the JFK, RFK, and MLK files will be unveiled?

Do you think the 9/11 files will be unveiled?

Do you think the COVID files will be unveiled?

Do you think the UFO files will be unveiled?

Do you think the Epstein list will be unveiled?

Transgender opera in Colombia? 10 SHOCKING ways USAID spent your tax dollars.

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The government has been doing what with our tax money!?

Under the determined eye of Elon Musk, DOGE has rooted out the corruption that permeates USAID, and it turns out that it's worse than we thought. Glenn recently read a list of atrocious causes that were funded by USAID, and the list was as long as it was shocking.

Since the January consumer index report was published today, one thing is clear: eggs are bearing the brunt of inflation. That's why we illustrated the extent of USAID's wasteful spending of YOUR taxpayer dollars by comparing it to the price of eggs. How many eggs could the American people have bought with their tax dollars that were given to a "transgender opera" in Colombia or indoctrinating Sri Lankans with woke gender ideology? The truth will shock you:

1. A “transgender opera” in Colombia

USAID spent $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia. That's over 135,000 eggs.

2. Sex changes and "LGBT activism" in Guatemala

$2 million was spent funding sex changes along with whatever "LGBT activism" means. That equates to over 5.7 million eggs!

3. Teaching Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid binary-gendered language

USAID forked over $7.9 million to combat the "gender binary" in Sri Lankan journalism. That could have bought nearly 23 million eggs.

4. Tourism in Egypt

$6 million (or just over 17 million eggs) was spent to fund tourism in Egypt. If only someone had thought to build some impressive landmarks...

5. A new "Sesame Street" show in Iraq

USAID spent $20 million to create a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. That's just short of 58 million eggs...

6. Helping the BBC value the diversity of Libyan society

$2.1 million was sent to the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) to help them value the diversity of Libyan society (whatever that means). That could have bought over 6 million eggs.

7. Meals for a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda

$10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group. That comes up to be just shy of 29 million eggs.

8. Promoting inclusion in Vietnam

A combined $19.3 million was sent to two separate inclusion groups in Vietnam inclusion groups in Vietnam (why where they separated? Not very inclusive of them). That's over 55 million eggs.

9. Promoting DEI in Serbia's workplaces

USAID sent $1.5 million (4.3 million eggs) to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

10. Funding EcoHealth Alliance, tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology's "bat research"

EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key NGOs that funded the Wuhan lab's bat virus research, received $5 million from USAID, which is equivalent to 14.5 million eggs.

The bottom line...

So, how much damage was done?

In total, approximately $73.8 million was wasted on the items on this list. That comes out to be 213 million eggs. Keep in mind that these are just the items on this list, there are many, many more that DOGE has uncovered and will uncover in the coming days. Case in point: that's a lot of eggs.

POLL: Should Trump stop producing pennies?

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On Sunday, February 9th, President Trump ordered the U.S. Mint to halt the production of pennies. It costs the mint three cents to produce every penny, which Trump deemed wasteful. However, critics argue that axing the pennies will be compensated by ramping up nickel production, which costs 13 cents per coin.

In other news, President Trump promised on Truth Social that he would be reversing a Biden-era policy that mandated the use of paper straws throughout the federal government. From potentially slashing entire agencies to saying farewell to pennies and paper straws, Trump is hounding after wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

But what do you think? Was Trump right to put an end to pennies? And should plastic straws make a comeback? Let us know in the poll below:

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