THE CHURCH MILITANT
Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.
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If Qatar would do this in Somalia, can the millions it has showered upon Georgetown University and other American universities be seen as benign? Georgetown is the epicenter of the “Islamophobia” propaganda industry in the U.S., and has worked indefatigably to manipulate Americans into thinking it wrong and bigoted to oppose jihad mass murder and Sharia oppression of women.
Coincidence? Almost certainly not.
“New York Times obtains recording revealing Qatari complicity in Somalia attack,” Al Arabiya, July 23, 2019:
A businessman linked to the Qatari Emir told Qatar’s ambassador to Somalia that an extremist attack in May was carried out to advance Doha’s interests in the country against the UAE, an audio recording obtained by the New York Times revealed.
According to the New York Times report, in the recording Khalifa Kayed al-Muhanadi tells Qatari ambassador Hassan bin Hamza Hashem that “the bombings and killings, we know who are behind them.”
Al-Muhanadi says the attack was done in order “to make Dubai people run away from there.”
“Let them kick out the Emiratis, so they don’t renew the contracts with them, and I will bring the contract here to Doha,” al-Muhanadi said.
The ambassador then tells al-Muhanadi that the attacks were taking place “to make them run away,” referring to the UAE.
“Our friends were behind the last bombings,” al-Muhanadi replies.
When asked by the New York Times about the recording, neither al-Muhanadi nor the Qatari government denied the authenticity of the phone call, which was secretly recorded by a “foreign intelligence agency opposed to Qatar’s foreign policies.”..
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Eight years after the Diocese of Orange purchased the Crystal Cathedral — the glittering glass church in Garden Grove where the popular “Hour of Power ” TV show once beamed the late Rev. Robert H. Schuller’s sermons across the globe — the cathedral re-opened its doors Wednesday with a dedication ceremony, marking the end of a two-year, $72.3 million renovation. Renamed Christ Cathedral, the 78,000-square-foot structure and surrounding campus is now the center of Catholicism in Orange County and the seat of Bishop Kevin W. Vann.
The sanctuary will host 11 weekend Masses in four languages starting Saturday, according to Father Christopher Smith, rector and episcopal vicar of Christ Cathedral. The more than 12,000 worshippers can choose from English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Mandarin. The cathedral is the last building on the Christ Cathedral campus to finish renovations. “The cathedral stands as a physical sign of unity of the 62 parishes in the Diocese of Orange, ” Smith said. “We’re kind of the center of town for Orange County Catholics and others.” One innovative aspect of the renovation, Smith said, are “quatrefoils,” specially designed window shades that were added to 11,000 panes of glass to control sunlight. Instead of the bright light that used to come in through the glass building, Smith said the quatrefoils offer a softer glow, giving the cathedral’s interior an “ethereal look.”
TheAdditions also transformed the cathedral into a place for Catholic liturgy, including a marble platform and altar; a 1,000-pound crucifix hanging above it; a cathedra, the bishop’s chair; an ambo, where the Bible is read aloud during Mass; reconciliation chapels where confessions will be heard; a Blessed Sacrament Chapel for private prayers in front of the Eucharist; and an octagonal baptistery with a cross-shaped baptismal pool.
Aspects of the renovations also showcase the diversity of the Diocese of Orange, which, according to its leadership, is now one of the most diverse and fastest growing in the U.S.
The south end of the cathedral features a hand-painted mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness saint of the Diocese of Orange and the Americas.
Relics from Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican and American martyrs — as well as Pope John Paul II — are encased in the altar. And the entryway of the cathedral includes portraits of several saints, including Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church; Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first person born in the U.S. to become a saint; Lorenzo Ruiz, a 17th-century Filipino saint; and Oscar Romero, the archbishop from El Salvador who spoke out against poverty and injustice and who was assassinated in 1980 and canonized last year by Pope Francis.
The diocese is also in the process of building a 2-acre, outdoor shrine to Our Lady of La Vang, a Vietnamese Marian apparition, in a courtyard dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
“We’ve tried very hard to reflect the area we’re in,” Smith said.
On top of the physical renovations, the community underwent a transformation as well.
St. Callistus, a parish in Garden Grove, was relocated to the Christ Cathedral campus — where it held Mass at the cathedral’s Arboretum — so that it could start the process of becoming a cathedral parish, the “mother church” of the diocese.
“We’ve grown from going through a period of grief because of what was being left behind to coming to an understanding that we have been called to be the cathedral parish,” said Trudy Mazzarella, a parishioner at what is now called the Christ Cathedral Parish, “and that it’s very special to have that kind of responsibility.”
In addition to performing normal parish functions, cathedral parishes also serve the entire diocese by hosting special Masses, such as ordinations, and other events put on by the bishop.
Excitement for the cathedral’s opening has “grown exponentially,” Mazzarella said, comparing the dedication to the joy a family feels celebrating Christmas.
Since 2012, Mazzarella has also served as director of tour ministry for Christ Cathedral, organizing group and individual tours for visitors from 63 countries.
“I’m already getting phone calls and emails from people all over the United States wanting to get in there, and asking, ‘when can we book a tour?’” she said.
Designed by the post-modern architect Philip Johnson, the old Crystal Cathedral became the largest glass building in the world when it was completed 39 years ago.While the dedication marks the transformation of the cathedral’s interior — and community — one thing that wasn’t touched in the renovations was the building’s iconic exterior.
While the reflective exterior is a far cry from the traditional architectural style of most Catholic churches, Smith said the diocese wanted to preserve the legacy of Crystal Cathedral and its founder.
“We see ourselves as continuing in the footsteps of a great Christian preacher who built Christ Cathedral in the first place, ” he said.
Schuller retired in 2010 and died in 2015. Grandson Bobby Schuller, a pastor in Irvine, is continuing the “Hour of Power” broadcasts in the evangelical tradition.
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President Donald Trump wants Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, to cut the Fed Funds rate by a full percentage point Wednesday afternoon. Powell is certain to give him just one-quarter of that, with the possibility of more cuts soon.
The president has expressed regret repeatedly about his appointment of Powell as head of the country’s central bank, blaming him for raising rates four times last year, nine times since 2015, intentionally slowing his economy just as his reelection campaign is heating up.
The last time the Fed cut rates was in late 2008 when the central bank dropped rates to near zero in hopes they would stimulate the moribund post-real-estate-crash economy back to life. It took Trump’s Tax Cut and Jobs Act, combined with regulatory relief, to stir the economy. Powell’s concerns about incipient inflation caused him to raise rates in anticipation.
But with inflation low, the global economy slowing, and pressure from the White House, Powell is likely to open the door for more rate cuts later on this year. He may also terminate the Fed’s “balance sheet roll-off” earlier than scheduled. That effort to reduce the Fed’s holding of nearly $4 trillion in U.S. treasuries is sucking $50 billion out of the economy every month which Trump has accurately called “quantitative tightening.”
Anticipation has already affected long-term mortgage rates, which have dropped from 4.94 percent last November to 3.75 percent last week. This saves a homeowner more than $250 a month on a $250,000 30-year mortgage.
A quarter-point cut on a $5,000 credit card balance would lower the minimum monthly payment by $1 a month, while on a $30,000 home equity loan (HELOC or home equity line of credit) it would save the borrower a little over $6 a month.
Those holding a $200,000 adjustable-rate mortgage would see their monthly payment drop by $56 while those shopping for a new car would save $3 a month on a $25,000 loan. Those holding federal student loans would not be impacted as those rates are fixed by Congress and are not affected by any move Powell might make. In other words, the rate cut will have little immediate impact on the U.S. economy.
The real impact will be on how Powell juggles future rate cuts. Market watchers will be paying close attention to his statement Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. for clues about giving the president more of what he is demanding. The chairman will be expressing concerns over trade talk uncertainty, slowing business investment, and sluggish growth worldwide. He is likely to generalize about the problems facing Germany, where growth has slowed to a virtual standstill, and China, where government figures have clouded that economy’s real economic performance. He is likely to use phrases like “watching closely” and “carefully measuring” and “being sensitive” to further slowing globally.
He will most certainly say nothing about threats by the president to fire him if he doesn’t give him what he wants. He already answered that question back on July 10 when Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) asked him during a House Financial Services Committee hearing whether he would “pack up his stuff and go” if the president asked him to. Said Powell: “Of course, I would not do that,” adding, “The law gives me a four-year term and I fully intend to serve it.”
Short of being fired then, the next best thing Powell can do is to give the president what he wants — on the installment plan.
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