Pope Francis has described some Catholic priests as so scary and neurotic that he keeps away from them. At a conference on Friday marking 50 years since Vatican II’s declarations on priestly ministry and training, the Pontiff said he is instinctively suspicious of overly pious candidates for ordination. “I will tell you sincerely, I’m scared Read more
A Kentucky man has died from a snake bite suffered during a church service. Snake handling at religious services is most common in Southern Appalachian states. The basis for the practice is a passage in the Gospel of Mark. John David Brock, 60, of Stoney Fork was handling the animal during a Sunday service at Read more
Michele Bachmann, believes that President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, and his opposition to Israel, is going to bring on the second coming of Christ the plunging the U.S., and the world, into Armageddon. She urged more pastors to speak from their pulpits about the end of times “Talk about what you see in the Read more
The plight of Christians in the Middle East and Muslims in the West dominated Pope Francis’ first day in Turkey. Both the Pope and Turkish leaders spoke frankly about their respective concerns. “It is essential that all citizens – Muslim, Jewish and Christian – both in the provision and practice of the law, enjoy the Read more
Bad religion. There’s a lot of it around still, though I am convinced there’s less of it (at least of the Christian variety) than there has been in the past. Even so, desperately bad religion dominates the daily paper, from Islamic fundamentalists filming grizzly decapitations, to the Catholic powers that be still trying to cover Read more
A Papua New Guinea lawyer says the influence of fundamentalist Christians from oversees is partly to blame for a proposed crackdown on sexting in PNG. Constitutional lawyer Tiffany Twivey-Nongorr has called the proposed PNG ban an outrageous breach of human rights. As part of a review of the Censorship Act, PNG’s Censorhip Board is considering Read more
Helping Melanesian Catholics better appreciate the Bible is one way of combating propaganda from sects and increasing fundamentalism in the region. That was one of the outcomes hoped for from a Bible Sunday organised by the bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands for August 3. The day was intended to move “the Read more
A controversial church which advertised that a prayer session could heal health problems including “incurable diseases” has been told to remove the advertisement. A complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority was made about a brochure from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, which was circulated publicly and contained a timetable of healing sessions. Read more
The star of reality TV series “Snake Salvation” which focused on believers in a particular Bible passage that suggests poisonous snakebites won’t harm those anointed by God, has died from a snake bite Jamie Coots has died of a snakebite after refusing medical attention. Coots previously lost half a finger to a bite and was arrested Read more
The Ministry of Health in New Zealand says it will not adjust immunisation targets for the West Coast of the South Island, even though the ever-growing Gloriavale Christian Community refuses have its children immunised. The group, now numbering over 400, lives communally on the shores of Lake Haupiri, inland from Nelson Creek. Despite growth at the Read more