Charles Chaput: About those Unthinking, Backwards Catholics; Islamic Leaders Call for Asia Bibi to Hang...more links

 Charles Chaput: About those Unthinking, Backwards Catholics  ...On the evening these WikiLeaks emails were released, I received the following angry email myself, this one from a nationally respected (non-Catholic) attorney experienced in Church-state affairs:

I was deeply offended by the [Clinton team] emails, which are some of the worst bigotry by a political machine I have seen. [A] Church has an absolute right to protect itself when under attack as a faith and Church by civil political forces. That certainly applies here . . .

Over the last eight years there has been strong evidence that the current administration, with which these people share values, has been very hostile to religious organizations. Now there is clear proof that this approach is deliberate and will accelerate if these actors have any continuing, let alone louder, say in government.

These bigots are actively strategizing how to shape Catholicism not to be Catholic or consistent with Jesus’s teachings, but to be the “religion” they want. They are, at the very core, trying to turn religion to their secular view of right and wrong consistent with their politics. This is fundamentally why the Founders left England and demanded that government not have any voice in religion. Look where we are now. We have political actors trying to orchestrate a coup to destroy Catholic values, and they even analogize their takeover to a coup in the Middle East, which amplifies their bigotry and hatred of the Church. I had hoped I would never see this day—a day like so many dark days in Eastern Europe that led to the death of my [Protestant minister] great grandfather at the hands of communists who also hated and wanted to destroy religion.

Of course it would be wonderful for the Clinton campaign to repudiate the content of these ugly WikiLeaks emails. All of us backward-thinking Catholics who actually believe what Scripture and the Church teach would be so very grateful.

Asia Bibi's Appeal Delayed; 150 Islamic Leaders Call for Her to Hang, Whatever the Outcome   After more than seven years in prison, the first Pakistani Christian woman to be sentenced to death for blasphemy has had her Supreme Court appeal delayed, amidst renewed Islamist calls for her to die.

Aasiya Noreen, commonly known as Asia Bibi, in prison since the summer of 2009, was arrested for allegedly insulting Islam’s prophet when she offered water to a Muslim co-worker...

Franklin Graham's 'Decision America' Tour: 8,200 Unite in Prayer at Virginia's Capitol Ahead of Election Thousands of Christians converged on Virginia's capitol grounds Wednesday to pray for the nation at a rally held by the Rev. Franklin Graham and to declare that they will be voting for biblical principles in the upcoming Nov. 8 election.

According to organizers, approximately 8,200 people crowded the steep hill of the capitol grounds, singing and joining hands in prayer, as Graham held the second-to-last stop on his nationwide Decision America Tour.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Graham expressed amazement at the turnout for the hour-long rally, saying the numbers of attendees was "just incredible" and impressive "to have this many people come out here in the middle of a work day to pray."...

Satanic Clubs Coming To Your Local Elementary School
...As one example, in mid-September, a 25-foot high, 30,000 pound replica of the Triumphal Arch of Palmyra, which was the original entry to the Temple of Ba’al, was rebuilt in New York City’s City Hall Park. In fact, you may recall that the original Arch was deemed so offensive that ISIS militants destroyed the temple ruins and even killed the archeologist who served as its caretaker for forty years. My readers may recall that the Holy Bible describes Ba’al as the god to whom, including in ancient Israel, many sacrificed their children, before whom they practiced ritualistic prostitution and sexual immorality in their temples, and called good “evil” and evil “good.” And in fact, Ba’al was the god in whose name Israel persecuted the prophets and the righteous of that day. Interestingly, in Matthew 12:27, the Lord Jesus calls Satan “Beelzebub,” linking the devil to Baal-Zebub, the Philistine deity of 2 Kings 1:2.

As part of the satanic focus on enticing children, it has been widely reported that the Portland, Oregon, chapter of the Satanic Temple will bring its “After School Satan Club” to the Sacramento Elementary School. One leader of the Satanic Temple said in an interview that the Temple has been approved to begin its program, which focuses on “science and rational thinking,” on October 19^th. The spokesman has said that most members of the Satanic Temple are atheists and that the program for the elementary school children promotes “benevolence and empathy for everybody.” However, the spokesman did admit that the real purpose was to counter “The Good News Club,” the after-school clubs organized by Child Evangelism Fellowship, a Bible-centered, Christian organization. In addition, the Satanic Temple of Seattle, Washington, has asked the Mount Vernon School District for permission to start an after-school program at the Centennial Elementary School. On its website, the After School Satan Clubs says:

It’s important that children be given an opportunity to realize that the evangelical materials now creeping into their schools are representative of but one religious opinion amongst many. While the Good News Clubs focus on indoctrination, instilling them with a fear of Hell and God’s wrath, After School Satan Clubs will focus on free inquiry and rationalism, the scientific basis for which we know what we know about the world around us. We prefer to give children an appreciation of the natural wonders surrounding them, not a fear of everlasting other-worldly horrors.