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Deacon John Giglio  //  All for the glory of God through the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

Nov 25 / 4:45pm

Liberty Counsel Announces the 'Naughty & Nice' List for Christmas 2009


WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- As part of Liberty Counsel's seventh annual "Friend or Foe" Christmas Campaign, Liberty Counsel has released its "Naughty & Nice" checklist to help consumers know what businesses they should or should not be supporting this Christmas. The list catalogs retailers which either censor ("Naughty") or recognize ("Nice") Christmas. The complete list can be found at www.LC.org. The list is compiled from information provided by individual consumers and is updated whenever new information is received.

Comparing 2009 to the years of 2005 to 2007, there are far more retailers that recognize Christmas this year in their marketing and advertisements. When Liberty Counsel first created the Naughty & Nice list, the number of retailers in the "Naughty" column equaled the number listed in the "Nice" column. However, that trend began to change during the two Christmas seasons of 2007 and 2008. Now, the Nice column far exceeds the Naughty column.

In 2005, Wal-Mart censored Christmas, calling "Christmas Trees" "Holiday Trees." That same year Walmart forbid its employees from returning the greeting "Merry Christmas" to customers who initiated the greeting. But, after pressure from consumers, Walmart subsequently changed course. Walmart, like K-Mart, Sears, and a host of other retailers moved from the Naughty column to the Nice column. On the other hand, CVS continues to remain in the Naughty column despite the fact that its competitor, Walgreens, is in the Nice column. This year, consumers have a choice of whether to patronize CVS or Walgreens. Last year consumers had a choice to patronize Circuit City (on the Naughty list) or Best Buy (on the Nice list). This year, Circuit City is not in either column as it declared bankruptcy and dissolved earlier in 2009.

As the biggest shopping holiday of the year, Christmas should be recognized by retailers who are profiting from it. Instead, many stores are calling it "The Holiday" and completely ignoring the fact that "The Holiday" is actually called "Christmas."

Mathew D. Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented about the "Naughty & Nice" list: "Every consumer should make a list and check it twice, stop patronizing retailers which are naughty and shop at those which are nice. Retailers which seek to profit from Christmas while pretending it does not exist should realize they have offended the vast majority of Americans who enjoy Christmas. Customers have a choice, and they will not patronize corporate Scrooges. The success of the 'Naughty & Nice' list illustrates the power of the consumer to shape corporate policy. Consumers should compliment retailers which honor Christmas and tell those which do not why they are patronizing their competitors."

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Nov 25 / 4:25pm

Children of Medjugorje Message of November 25, 2009


www.childrenofmedjugorje.com" target="_blank">

 

Message of November 25, 2009

“Dear children! In this time of grace I call you all to renew prayer in your families. Prepare yourselves with joy for the coming of Jesus. Little children, may your hearts be pure and pleasing, so that love and warmth may flow through you into every heart that is far from His love. Little children, be my extended hands, hands of love for all those who have become lost, who have no more faith and hope. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

 

Wishing you all a very Blessed and Holy Thanksgiving! 

May it be a wonderful day of prayer together in your families!


Click www.childrenofmedjugorje.com/cart/product.php--Q-productid--E-16162--A-cat--E-0--A-page--E-1" target="_blank">here to order Sister Emmanuel's CD: Prayer With the Heart

Click www.childrenofmedjugorje.com/content/explore-mainmenu-32/medjugorje-newsletters-mainmenu-114/current-newsletter" target="_blank">here for Sr Emmanuel's November newsletter!


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Nov 25 / 10:09am

'It's OK Wish Me A Merry Christmas'

200,000 Christian Shoppers Wear Buttons That Tell Retailers 'It's OK Wish Me A Merry Christmas(tm)'

MEDIA ADVISORY,

 Nov. 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- Over 200,000 shoppers are wearing buttons this Christmas season that proclaim a straightforward message to retailers: "It's OK, Wish Me A Merry Christmas(tm)." Individuals and churches around the country are partnering with the Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign mobilizing advocates energized for a return to the traditional, convivial greeting, bearing buttons that make a clear statement - "It's OK, Wish Me A Merry Christmas(tm) (www.wmamc.com )". Over 200,000 of these buttons have been distributed nationally. 

With over 200,000 buttons on the streets and in stores this year, local store associates are likely to be presented with the opportunity to deviate from the corporate holiday wishing policy of top retailers like the Gap and Best Buy, and stealthily wish their customer "Merry Christmas" instead of the generic "Happy Holidays". But since 96% of Americans celebrate Christmas (Gallup Poll, 2004), it's likely that the store cashiers would prefer to wish their customers "Merry Christmas" as well. In fact 88% of Americans state that "It's okay to wish 'Merry Christmas'." (Gallup Poll). 

Pastors across the North America have lined up to support the Campaign. "Our nation needs to return to our Christian roots and values. Trying to remove the name of Jesus Christ from Christmas and from our society must be stopped," says Reverend John Mains of Fountain of Life in Johnstown, PA. 

In Ontario, Canada Pastor Troy Dingwell says, "I believe it is great that there are still people in North America who still hold to our Christian beliefs and traditions." 

Even Santa himself humbly gives credit where credit is due, "Christmas is not just about Santa and presents. Christmas is about the baby Jesus." 

Sue Fairchild and Reverend James Ritter of the Watsontown Baptist Church in Watsontown, PA sees the spirit of the Campaign, "We are using these buttons to encourage our congregation to step out in their faith this holiday season. We are coming together to put Christ back in Christmas." 

Said Campaign Manager, Ashley Tarter, "National retailers will hearken the public's message that it is okay to wish, 'Merry Christmas,' once again. In the meanwhile local communities are being impacted by the message of the Campaign." 

The national Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign is appealing to retailers to "put Christmas back in the holidays" with two straightforward petitions: 

* To actively retract adverse corporate holiday wishing policies, by returning to the traditional and explicit "Merry Christmas" phrase; and 

* To restore use of the symbols, language and sounds of Christmas in in-store displays, signage and music, as well as in November and December advertising. 

From Florida to Alaska and into Canada individuals and churches have purchased hundreds of thousands of the red and green, "It's OK, Wish Me A Merry Christmas," ornament-like buttons to wear and share. 

For more information, visit www.wmamc.com - the first letters in Wish Me A Merry Christmas, or contact Media Relations at 800-487-7137, option 4. Merry Christmas! 

* Gallup Poll 2004, PDFs available at 
http://wmamc.com/millionbuttongoal/media.html 

PHOTOS:
http://wmamc.com/millionbuttongoal/media.html #images 

CONTACTS:
Ashley Tarter
Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign
PO Box 5398
Williamsburg, VA 23188
PHONE. 800-487-7137 ext. 709
E-mail: atarter@wmamc.com

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Nov 25 / 9:42am

Thanksgiving Message


Tribulation Times

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/october.asp?version=63&startmmdd=0101

November 25, 2009  

(Php 4:6-7) Be nothing solicitous: but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO: Archbishop's Journal: Thanksgiving message: Saved, blessed, inspired by Faith

HOMILY ARCHIVES: Thursday November 24, 2005 (Thanksgiving Day) by Fr. Robert Altier 

Reading I (Sirach 50:22-24) Reading II (1 Corinthians 1:3-9) Gospel (St. Luke 17:11-19)

In the second reading today from Saint Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul tells the Corinthians that he gives thanks to God the Father always in his prayers for them, and then goes on to explain to them why they need to be so grateful to God; that among them there are no spiritual gifts that are lacking, that God has provided for them in all ways. So too it is with us. God provides for His Church everything we need, but the problem most of us have is that we do not recognize the spiritual gifts. We live in this very materialistic and scientific age; consequently, we miss the things that are spiritual. Yet, at the same time, what we have to be able to see is that even if we are perhaps overlooking some of the particular gifts that God has given, we still need to be able to see the greater gift, which is obviously what you are recognizing because of your very presence here today. The greatest gift that God has given to each one of us, beyond life itself, is faith, faith in Him in this society which does not recognize God or does not think it needs God, the fact that the Lord has placed into our hearts the faith to be able to recognize our dependence upon Him and the grace to be able to recognize that we need to come before Him like this leper from the Gospel reading and say, "Thank You."

If we go back some two hundred and thirty years, we recognize that the early pilgrims were people fleeing religious persecution, people who were fleeing a society that had become exceedingly decadent and very immoral, and they were looking to be able to practice their faith. Among these early pilgrims, recall, were many Catholics, those who founded, for instance, the states of Maryland and Virginia–both named after our Blessed Lady by Catholics who came to America. The first religious who came to America came in 1776. It was a community of Carmelite nuns who came to the New World to be able to lay a spiritual foundation. The very essence of what our founding fathers came for was to practice their faith, and it is that faith that we have to be so grateful to God for because now it is we who in fact live in a society that is similar to the one they were trying to flee. We live in a society where they are trying to push God out of society, but how grateful we must be that the Lord has given to us the grace to recognize Him, to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him.

We also need to be grateful even for the society in which we live, not because it is so decadent but because there has never been a better time to be a saint. There has never been an easier time to be a saint. This is what we need to be grateful for. If we can simply maintain our faith–which is not so simple–but if we can maintain our faith in the midst of this society, we can become saints. We can become great saints, lights shining in the darkness of this world.

Saint Paul tells us that we are to give thanks to God the Father in everything we do. That is something we all need to look at. Do we recognize that in everything we need to be grateful? There are so many things we do that we think we can do all by ourselves: "I really don't need God to do this thing or that thing because I can handle it myself." Remember that even the talents and abilities you have are God-given. Certainly, we have had to work at developing those abilities, but God is the One Who gave them in the first place. So to say, "I can do this all by myself," no we cannot. We cannot do it unless we have the ability which is given by God, so we still need to thank God even for those abilities. We need to thank Him for every breath that we can take, because if He did not provide for us to be able to have the oxygen, we would not even be alive! Again, we begin to see why Jesus says, Without Me you can do nothing. We could not even take a breath without Him.

Everything is a gift, even the things that do not look to us like the gifts we would give to somebody we love, because sometimes they are not very pleasant. Things happen in our lives which, in fact, are pretty rotten. When was the last time we thanked God for those? Most of us probably look up at Him and have some things to say that are not very prayerful, are they? But we are supposed to give thanks to God just the way Jesus did before He suffered and during His suffering.

Again, we see how God is providing for each one of us to become saints. That is what we need to be most grateful for because the faith by itself, excellent as it is, is not an end in itself. Heaven is the end. Union with God is the end. If we have been able to recognize this gift then we need to be able to come to Him and to thank Him, which of course we are doing right here and now in the most profound and perfect way. The word Eucharist, remember, is the Greek word that means "thanksgiving." So we are here offering the sacrifice of thanks to God, offering the perfect sacrifice which brings the grace of God to us and gives Him the greatest honor and glory. But it is not just here in church that we are to do this; this is to be the pattern for every single aspect of our lives so that in all we do we give thanks to God the Father through Jesus Christ Our Lord. That is the direction Saint Paul gives us. That is to be what our lives are all about. In everything, no matter what it is that happens in our day-to-day lives, we need to say "Thank You," and we need to recognize that absolutely everything that happens in our lives, no matter how good or bad they may seem at the time, are all gifts from God and they are all designed to help us grow in holiness and become great saints.

If we can keep our focus on God, it will help to put a perspective onto everything else and then we can do exactly what we have been told to do, to come back to Him, to thank Him, and then even at the moment in absolutely everything to give thanks to God the Father through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 24- "On meekness, simplicity and guilelessness"

12. The souls of the meek are filled with knowledge, but an angry mind is a denizen of darkness and ignorance.   

Prayer request?  Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com

This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.


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Nov 25 / 9:32am

Love God, Love One Another: "Love Your Children" by Rita Ring, May 15, 1994

Love Your Children

God's Blue Book III Cover

May 15, 1994

Dear child, do not worry for I am ever beside you. I walk with you wherever you go. This life is but a passing moment, here today, gone tomorrow. Let go and surrender into My hands. I have work for you to do. Do it and let Me run the show.

What love you gave is all that lives. It lives in the hearts of all you touch. It is your kindness that is not forgotten.

It is your love that ripples to your children and brothers. Such needless tasks you perform, and deem so very important, and your children are left tended to by a sick television. You are responsible for your children.

I have given you them to be loved and directed. All your foolish endeavors, and the children are ignored. You are going nowhere fast. Do you want to race down a road that leads to a dead end? What a frustrating experience, to hurry, hurry, and then a dead end! How many of your jobs are really a race to a dead end?

How many of your jobs are willful jobs that you want accomplished but really serve no purpose? Did you set the goal and decide that you would do it and now you are going to carry it out to prove to yourself you need to do as you intended? Is it a useless task? What about your children? What about your role as a mother or father or spouse? How many goals do you plan that are totally useless, but you carry out as a law that should not be broken, while your family is ignored?

How you love God and love one another is all that matters. Useless tasks are soon washed up from the sea and laid lifeless on the beach. The life in your actions is how you treat each other. Love is life and it doesn't die. It is given and is acted out in the actions of others. Is it so hard to love or are you just performing needless tasks and are not in the habit of giving love?

Love lives forever. Love is never forgotten. Love given to your children is still given years later.Love is planted in the hearts as life! Love your children always. Love planted in children is a treasure. They are young and it remains so much longer. They will meet so many more people. America, love your children! They are thirsty for your love. They are given a cold world. They are given things and games and television and dreams and education and money. What happened to time in prayer? What happened, America, to love in their hearts?

Give the children the gift of God's love within you. Your answer, America, is in praying and playing with your children, not competitive sports to make you better, then not so good, but games to promote good, healthy feelings of friendship and love. Walk with your children. Tell them about God. Show them kindness. Show them peace. Give them time. How will you teach your children to have peace when you have none yourself?

You don't have time for them? What a seed to plant in their little hearts. Take time! Giving time develops their self esteem. Not having time robs them of their importance. Children need you. They need your love. They need your time. They need you to pray with them. If God gave you a child, it is His Will that you are a parent. Being a parent is a job.

I ask you, My beautiful parents, to take your job seriously. This is the most important job you have, being a parent! It is not second to what you think is important. You are giving life to a child. This life lasts forever. To teach them they are not worth your time is a sick lesson. I want you to love and spend time with My beloved little ones. Forget your crafts and picture shows, your games, all the little jobs you assign yourselves that must get done. You will be held accountable to God for how you raised your children. You are responsible for teaching your children about God.

My time is given to you to do My work. It is not your time at all. You have a free will. God will hold you accountable for how you spent your time. Time is a valuable asset. To squander it for yourself is wrong. God created you to know, love and serve Him. Are you using your life to do His Will?

http://www.sofc.org/

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Nov 25 / 7:26am
Today's Feast Day: St. Catharine of Alexandria, Egyptian virgin Martyr (307 A.D.) http://ping.fm/CUmfa Patron of Philosophers
via Ping.fm

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Nov 24 / 3:08pm

Love God, Love One Another: "Your Tongue Is the Doorway to Holiness" by Rita Ring, May 12, 1994

Your Tongue Is the Doorway to Holiness

God's Blue Book III Cover

May 12, 1994 After Communion 8:45a.m.

Let you who are without sin cast the first stone. Control your tongue as the doorway to your soul. Your tongue is the doorway to holiness. I am Jesus. I am the Son of God. Harken to My words here for I speak and I speak clearly to you, My precious children. Satan will work in your minds to create hatred. He aims to destroy you and your peace of mind. You must come and be with Me, so close, after Communion. Be silent with Me. Let Me pour out My peace to you!

Guard your tongues. Guard your hearts. Guard your minds. You must think you are holy. Satan aims to trip you up. He uses your weakest link. He works in your minds to create dissension. I am speaking in your hearts. Come and be with Me. I fill you. You need to be in constant connectedness with Me. Love is the answer. You cannot love Me and hate your brother. I love your brother. I shed My life for him whom you hate. Your Father created him. His special creation! Open your hearts. Lay away your pride and your egos, focus on your goal to love God and draw your brothers to eternal life. You cannot do this alone. Satan is an evil force that aims to stop you. You are in a daily battle, little ones. Are you worn out at the end of the day? Fight the good fight. Your arms are your love of God and love for one another. You cannot love and hate at the same time.

Open up your hearts to My love. You need to be alone with Me. You need My supplies. You must constantly choose to love and not be angered at your brothers. Satan is pressing down on you who aim to spread My work. He works on the priests and sisters. He works in marriages. He works on children to annoy their parents. He works in your hearts and talks through your tongues. Be aware how strongly he is pressing on you, My faithful ones.

You must constantly silence him and choose to love your brother. He is not perfect and neither are you. It is your love that will bind you together. There is no room in your heart for hate. Hate and love cannot co-exist. A heart must be pure to love. Let go of all your anxieties. You have to come to Me. You cannot fight this battle alone.

No matter what your brother does, pray for him and love him and come to Me for your guidance. Do not talk about each other and make yourself right and them wrong. Pray and sacrifice. Satan is getting a strong hold on My faithful ones through anger in their hearts. Do not give in to pride and anger. Only love will do. Love one another as I have loved you.

Let go of your foolish anger and resentments. Love one another. I love you and I am present to you this very day. What more do you need when God loves you so much?

Forgive your brothers when you feel wronged. Pray to let go of your anger at one another. Pray to forgive. Do not talk about your brothers. Love them. Only in unity will you light the city. Love will flow from your hearts and My might will abound in your souls. I love you so!

R. I do not need to talk about anyone. Tell Jesus. He listens, He knows, He has all the answers! I do not need to tell anyone anything derogatory about anyone else. When I am making myself right and others wrong, I am missing a chance to spread God's love.

God is truly there and He will tend to all my cares. I must trust and love and have faith in Him. Amen. It doesn't matter what the world thinks if I focus on the immensity of His love.

Jesus: It is in this struggle that you realize the immensity of My love. Feel the flutter in your chest, the burning of My love deep within. I am here, little one, I am here. It is this struggle that I have given you this moment. You grow in your trials and our love is deepened. Your time is My time.

Do as I ask. Spread My love!

http://www.sofc.org/


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Nov 24 / 9:51am

Egyptian Muslim Mob Attacks Thousands of Coptic Christians in Egypt


WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- As of Saturday, November 21, 2009 the Egyptian town of Farshoot, located 300 miles south of Cairo, and the neighboring villages of Kom Ahmar, Shakiki and Ezbet Waziri, have been the scenes of massive Muslim mob attacks against Coptic Christian inhabitants. The mob looted, vandalized and burnt Coptic properties estimated for six million Egyptian pounds (over one million dollars), while Copts are still hiding indoors fearing for their lives. There are reports that many Copts were attacked and injured. According to many eye witnesses, the mob made wooden crosses and burnt them in the streets while shouting "Allah Akbar." 

Victims and eye witnesses said that nearly 3000 angry Muslims have been damaging and looting at least 50 shops all owned by Christians, including jewelry stores and pharmacies, over a claim that a 20 year old Christian man, now in custody, had a relationship with a 12 year old Muslim girl. Coptic priest Rev. Benjamin Noshi was attacked and is now hospitalized as a result of a fracture in his skull. His car was damaged by the Muslim mob. By the evening most Coptic businesses were looted and burnt and many Coptic Christian families were thrown out of their homes by other Muslim residents. 

Farshout's Bishop, Kirollos, said the attacks were definitely preplanned and suggested that the principal of an Islamic Institute in Farshoot motivated his students to attack the Christians. He also pointed out to the shameful role of the security forces, which disappeared without giving proper justifications or making any arrests, despite several demands by the victims to put an end to the organized attacks against the Copts. 

In the early hours of Monday, November 23, 2009 three additional Christian-owned businesses were looted and burnt in the village of "Abu Shousha" located 15 miles away of Farshout. New attacks were taking place Monday night in Al-Arky village seven miles away. 

It has become clear that the organized violence is spreading out to more villages only to target the Christian lives and businesses while the Police continue to watch. The last 90 days witnessed at least seven similar attacks on Christian villages, where at least five Copts were killed, many Coptic girls and women were abducted and forced to embrace Islam with the assistance of the Egyptian authorities. 

Coptic American Friendship Association (CAFA) pleads to the American and International Rights Organizations to demand the Egyptian government to take immediate measures to protect the Christian lives and properties of the persecuted Copts in Farshout, Egypt (Copts are about 18 million Christians - The largest Christian minority in the Middle East). 

For more information, please contact CAFA at Coptic.American@yahoo.com or Call: 703.337.5217 

Ihab Aziz
Executive Director
Coptic American Friendship Association (CAFA) 

Coptic American Friendship Association (CAFA) is a non-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization based in the greater Washington, DC area since 1996. CAFA advocates on behalf of the persecuted Christians in Egypt and the Middle East.

   
Click here to download:
Egyptian_Muslim_Mob_Attacks_Th.zip (36 KB)

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Nov 23 / 8:12pm

Embracing Hope TV is Back!

M A R K  M A L L E T T

–––S P I R I T U A L  F O O D  F O R  T H O U G H T–––


Embracing Hope is Back!

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SHOULD you store up supplies? Should you take the vaccine? Should you move to the countryside? These are the questions readers and viewers alike have been asking. In Episode 5 of Embracing Hope, Mark answers these questions with eye-opening facts and practical advice.

This episode is available for the general public to watch at www.embracinghope.tv. Thanks to everyone for patiently waiting for this webcast to resume!

———————————

The Second Edition of Mark’s riveting new book, The Final Confrontation, is now available. The feedback to Mark’s first book has been quick and strong. Writes one reader,

Mark has done such a wonderful job of gathering all of the pieces of the puzzle and presenting them to us so that we could see the full picture in one place—awesome! I love this book. I love his writing and I wanted to say what a wonderful book and read this is. —American reader

The Final Confrontation is a concise summary of Mark’s writings that draws upon the powerful voice of the Magisterium, geling a vision for our times that is unmistakable. The priest whom Blessed Mother Teresa asked to co-found the Missionary of Charity Fathers, Fr. Joseph Langford, writes:

Mark Mallet has written a must-read book, an indispensable vademecum for the decisive times ahead, and awell-researched survival guide to the challenges looming over the Church, our nation, and the world. Indeed, the "hour is upon us to wake from sleep"—and these inspired pages provide the clarion call we need, as they draw on Scripture, on the Popes and Fathers of the Church, on world events, and on the personal experiences of many who, like the author, have felt the urgency of the Lord’s mandate to prepare.

The book skillfully explains the quickening we have all sensed, the unprecedented acceleration of world-changing events, presenting them in biblical context, and shedding light on their true significance. The Final Confrontation will prepare the reader, as no other work I have read, to face the times before us with courage, light, and grace—confident that the battle—and especially this ultimate battle—"belongs to the Lord."

(Fr. Langford has recently taken seriously. Please pray for him!)

The Final Confrontation is available online at www.thefinalconfrontation.com.




All Mark's writings can be found at:  Spiritual Food For Thought

Listen to Mark's music on his official website:  www.markmallett.com


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Nov 23 / 7:14pm

"Pope John Paul II would punish himself and in particular just before he ordained bishops and priests!"

POPE 'WHIPPED HIMSELF IN REMORSE FOR SINS' REVEALS NUN

Story Image


Pope John Paul II. ‘You could hear the blows’ says a nun in his office

Monday November 23,2009

By 

Nick Pisa


POPE John Paul II regularly whipped himself in a sign of “remorse for his sins”, a nun has disclosed.

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