Update 34

Edwin Pope will be discussing the important principles to be used in coming out of sin. This seasonally appropriate Sermon will be broadcast this coming Sabbath day (March 16th at 2:30pm CT).

With the trials that we have been facing lately in our little group it sometimes gets a bit discouraging. Well the truth is Christ said with “much tribulation ” we enter into the kingdom. This should sharpen our senses as to what lies in the future but we can be encouraged by the fact that individually or collectively we are never tried beyond our capacity to endure those trials. If we learn nothing else other than to endure through the tough times patiently, we have done well. At the end of His life Christ took all the punishment patiently, without complaining, looking beyond the pain to the Glory after His resurrection. We have not struggled to blood, at least not at this time. Lets hope in the future if we do we can follow Christ’s example of looking beyond the present trial. Just like a woman in labor quickly forgets the pain when she sees the child she has brought into the world and is filled with joy. I leave you with the same message God gave to Joshua prior to entering the Promised Land. Let’s be strong and of good courage, the one who is for us is far greater in every capacity than the one who is against us.

WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

Gay Priests
Recent revelations of pedophilia in Boston and Florida by priests have shocked North American Catholics. Over seventy million people are adherents to the Catholic religion in this part of the world. Now a pall of doubt has settled on many practitioners as details of gross misconduct between priests and young males in their local churches appears in the headlines of national publications.

The Vatican has responded by stating that gay men should not be ordained to the priesthood. However, reports have surfaced regarding whole sub-communities of gays within the priesthood.

The financial implications are staggering. It is estimated that the cost to settle the current cases will exceed $100 million dollars. These payments do not address the real problem of homosexual behavior that has sadly been kept under wraps by the Catholic Church. Short of public disclosure, the church has been many times merely transferring problem priests to other areas–only to have the same problems repeated.

In cannot be doubted that the teaching of mandatory celebacy for the priesthood has been a contributing factor to the problems that have now been made manifest (Cp. 1 Timothy 4:3, where Paul does not approve of those who hold doctrines which include “forbidding to marry.”)