Month: September 2024
Pope Francis tells Indonesian clergy not to ‘proselytize’ non-Catholics
During his meeting with Indonesian clergy yesterday, Pope Francis warned against “proselytizing,” instead urging them to share the “joy of encountering Christ” with “great respect and fraternal affection” for all.
Hundreds of religious, seminarians, priests, and bishops gathered in Jakarta’s Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption on Wednesday, to hear Pope Francis’ address.
The meeting formed part of the Pope’s busy schedule on the Indonesian leg of his Asian tour, and took place after Francis met earlier in the day with political leaders and Jesuits from the region.
Francis used his address to highlight the three themes of the Indonesia visit, namely “Faith, Fraternity, Compassion,” which is set in the context of the Muslim heavy population of the country (87 percent).
Share ‘joy of Christ’ but don’t proselytize
Having praised the work and example of catechists in handing on the Catholic faith, the Argentine Pontiff issued a stern rebuke against proselytizing.
Indonesian Catholics comprise only 3 percent of the population, though strong and deliberate efforts have been made at the governmental level to ensure peaceful relations between the Muslim majority and the minority Catholic populations.
Francis’ remarks came in relation to the theme of “fraternity,” which he prefaced by explaining that “living out fraternity, then, means welcoming each other, recognizing each other as equal in diversity.”
Drawing on this understanding of fraternity, the Pope described it as “a value dear to the Indonesian Church,” demonstrated through the “openness with which you address the various internal and external realities encountered on a cultural, ethnic, social and religious level.”
But he warned against promoting the Catholic faith in certain styles:
This, brothers and sisters, is important, because proclaiming the Gospel does not mean imposing our faith, placing it in opposition to that of others, or proselytizing, it means giving and sharing the joy of encountering Christ always with great respect and fraternal affection for everyone. [Emphasis added]
I invite you always to keep yourselves open and friendly to all – I like the expression “hand-in-hand” as Father Maxi said – prophets of communion, in a world where the tendency to divide, impose and provoke each other seems to be constantly increasing.
Francis’ remarks differed slightly from his prepared text, with the use of the term “proselytizing” not being originally planned.
For Pope Francis, condemning proselytism has been a recurring motif in his 11-year reign, and he has especially returned to the topic when addressing or visiting groups or countries where Catholicism is a minority.
During his 2016 trip to Georgia he famously condemned it as a “very grave sin,” commenting: “There is a very grave sin against ecumenism: proselytism. We should never proselytize the Orthodox! They are our brothers and sisters, disciples of Jesus Christ.”
In the first year of his papacy speaking with La Repubblica, he said, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense … I believe in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God, there is God and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation.”
In contrast with Francis’ emphasis, Pope Benedict XVI gave a 2010 address, in which he stated: “The witness of charity, practised here in a special way, is part of the Church’s mission, together with the proclamation of the truth of the Gospel.”
Pope Leo XIII summarized the traditional Catholic teaching on relations with those of other faiths, when he wrote in his 1896 encyclical Satis cognitum that everyone should become a child of God by taking “Christ Jesus as their Brother, and at the same time the Church as their mother.”
The Fourth Lateran Council solemnly defined, in no uncertain terms, that “there is indeed one universal Church of the faithful outside of which no one at all is saved.”
Pope Pius XII reiterated this teaching by saying that Christ “decreed the Church to be the means of salvation, without which no one can enter the kingdom of heavenly glory.” (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (1949).
Francis or John Paul II?
Pope John Paul II’s 1989 speech to the assembled Indonesian clergy offers an interesting contrast to that of his successor.
In his address to the Indonesian Catholic clergy, John Paul paid particular attention to their Catholic work and identity, urging them to continue their mission to build the Church, saying the meeting was “an opportunity for me to encourage you to persevere and to grow in the vocation to which God has called you in the service of the Gospel.”
He quoted from Psalm 96 (95) to call upon the missionary clergy and religious to spread the Faith through the many islands of Indonesia:
“Let the many islands rejoice.” (Psalm 96/95) …
You will find that meaning in bearing witness to the joy of the Resurrection and in giving your life so that even the most distant islands may “rejoice” at hearing the Gospel, of which you are authentic preachers, teachers and witnesses …
Since the building up of the Church is the work of God, we must never cease to pray for vocations and ask others to do the same.
Though a similar length, Francis’ address to the Indonesian clergy did not include the forthright recommendations to spread the Catholic faith that are found in John Paul’s.
CANADA: Father Of Seven Who Left Family To Live As “Transgender 6 Year Old Girl” Holds Event At World’s Oldest LGBT Bookstore Following Book Launch
A Canadian man in his sixties who abandoned his wife and children to live as a six-year-old girl is currently promoting his memoir about his transition. Stefonknee Wolscht, formerly known as Paul Andrew Wolscht, is a father to seven children and was married to his wife for 23 years before claiming to be transgender in 2009.
According to Wolscht’s website, Holding On by a Thread is described as a “gripping memoir” that recounts the “turbulent journey” of his life. The book was published in June and the hardcover version retails for just over $50 USD on Amazon, but has also been stocked at Barnes & Noble and will be soon available at Waterstones in the United Kingdom.
“Holding On by a Thread is a heartbreaking and eye opening memoir that combines the tragic consequences of transitioning from male to female with the hopelessness of isolation and lost love,” reads the synopsis. “Set in the heart of a major city, the story revolves around the Wolscht family and their struggle with Paul’s transgender issues, as she becomes Stefonknee.”
The description continues: “As Stefonknee grapples with her identity, readers are immersed in her experiences of isolation, lost love, and the relentless struggles she faces in her new life as a woman. Through the eyes of Stefonknee, readers are taken on a journey of discovery, suffering, and unexpected tragedy as she endeavors to create her new life as a woman coping with mental illness, homelessness and incarceration.”
Described as a “beautiful autobiography that captures the human spirit through the eyes of a persecuted transgender individual, the synopsis concludes by adding that the book seeks to expose “systemic shortcomings, inclusivity, and human perseverance.”
In addition to being sold by Amazon and Barnes & Noble, a digital version of the book is also available for purchase at the major Canadian book retailer Indigo and other bookstores across the globe.
Since the book’s release, Wolscht, who used to be a mechanic, has been promoting the book at various bookstores, including a launch party last month hosted by Glad Day Bookshop, the world’s oldest LGBT bookstore located in Toronto, Ontario. On Instagram, Glad Day described the book as “[revolving] around the Wolscht family and their struggle with navigating their loved one through transition.”
But despite the heartwarming description, there are some discrepancies in Wolscht’s story.
Prior to “coming out” as transgender, Wolscht was a father to seven children and had been married to a woman for over two decades. In his memoire, he claims that after telling her his wife that wanted to begin living openly as a “woman” in 2009, she demanded he move out.
Though portraying himself as a victim of transphobia, Reduxx has located old posts Wolscht made to social media in which he admits to threatening his wife and children after announcing his gender transition.
In a post made to sexual fetish platform FetLife, Wolscht says that in 2009, a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection to the threats. Wolscht explains he was ultimately detained by York Regional Police on seven charges following a report being filed by his wife.
“I was charged with uttering threats because, in a moment of despair and frustration, I wrote a note to my wife that stated, should she separate me from my children and not play fair, I would fight her for everything and burn down our house.”
Despite this admission, Wolscht reasserts that he believed he was being discriminated against for being transgender. He adds that he believes his wife and York police were “teaming up” and conspiring to prevent him from accessing his children, and that the Newmarket Court for Family and Criminal Hearings forbade him from contacting his former wife and children.
Though Wolscht claims to be a victim, Reduxx has viewed a public comment made on Facebook by one of his seven children in which she details the family’s side of the story and reveals that Wolscht had attempted to force his children to participate in his transvestism.
“I was 13 when you left,” the girl says. “There were days that if I didn’t want to paint your nails, you threatened to stop helping me with homework. You say that you couldn’t handle the fact that we filed a restraining order. People need to know you can’t get a restraining order for being of a different mindset. You were a physical threat to mom and the day you left, more than one of your children thought you were going to come back to harm us.”
The year after he left his family, Wolscht began surgically and medically transitioning. He moved to Toronto where he lost his job as a mechanic and lived in homeless shelters. He has said that he was housed with five women during this period.
After two years of living in shelters, he was able to secure an apartment, and, in 2012, he was “adopted” by an elderly couple he met on FetLife. The trio began participating in “play therapy,” where he would take on the persona of a 6-year-old girl during their BDSM activities.
“I have a mommy and a daddy – an adopted mommy and daddy – who are totally comfortable with me being a little girl. And their children and grandchildren are totally supportive,” he said at the time, adding that he used to identify as an eight year old girl but was asked by his “sibling” to be six so he could be the younger “child” in the home.
In 2015, Wolscht made international headlines after appearing in a documentary produced by Xtra Magazine called The Trans Project, where he discussed his transition and age regression. Following the release of the documentary, Wolscht briefly went “missing,” with Toronto Police launching an investigation into his whereabouts due to concerns he was in danger.
“People have threatened to kill me, shoot me, cut my head off, throw me in the oven,” he claimed. “[They said] that I should kill myself. There’s hundreds of different messages. The worst ones [threaten] to mutilate me,” he said.
Since the documentary’s release, Wolscht has become a vocal trans activist, and frequently attends pride parades and LGBT events in Ontario. Wolscht marched at this year’s Toronto Pride Parade where he carried the flag of Uganda in support of “LGBTQS2I refugees.”
Disturbingly, Wolscht has claimed that he is “welcomed into classrooms to educate children on gender and sexuality.”
In an exchange on X in which one user expressed criticism of Wolscht’s sexual proclivities, he replied: “We have a long way to go. Perhaps I’ll teach a TERFs kid soon.”
Wolscht has previously stated that the thought of being a woman or pregnant caused him to become aroused. During a podcast, he told the hosts he had developed an erection from the thought of being a “girl.”
Wolscht is a member of 200 online communities on FetLife. Among them are multiple groups for the so-called Adult Baby Diaper Lover (ABDL) community. Others are dedicated to age regression, BDSM, crossdressing, sissification, lactation fetishism, and castration pornography.
“I went through a rough time for a while but now I have a loving Daddy who keeps me safe as a femme little girl 24/7, I am where I belong (a girl who becomes a little girl when I need to be),” reads Wolscht’s fetish account profile.
“I really am trying to be a good little six year old girl… but it is very hard sometimes, Daddy is okay with that. We are very happy and we are teaching the world what a Queer Femme Girlie Girl really is. If you wish to meet and play with us, be prepared to immerse yourself into our happy kinky poly family.”
Austria: Anti-immigration FPÖ set to win national elections this month
The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) is set to win national elections this month, according to polling which shows them with a strong lead approximately three weeks before voters cast their ballots. The party, known for its anti-immigration, pro-peace, and socialistic blend of politics, has been leading in the polls since 2022.
According to a poll from the Lazarsfeld Society on behalf of oe24, the party has 27 percent of the vote, with the center-right ÖVP in second place with 23 percent. National elections will be held on Sept. 29.
In theory, the two parties, which have held a coalition government in the past, would have enough votes to form a government, but bad blood between the two may prevent such a coalition.
For one, the ÖVP famously broke up their previous coalition after the FPÖ was caught up in the Ibiza scandal. However since then, the FPÖ has made the ÖVP one of their top political targets, noting the party is in an alliance with the Greens, has overseen a huge surge in illegal migration, and has taken on a more pro-war stance than the FPÖ finds acceptable. Furthermore, the ÖVP would no longer be in a coalition where the FPÖ is the junior partner. In fact, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl would potentially be chancellor if such a coalition were to come to pass. So far, the ÖVP has ruled out such a coalition.
The poll also shows the SPÖ is at 20 percent, the Neos are at 12 percent, and the Greens are at 8 percent. The communist KPÖ is at 3 percent and the Beer Party is at 4 percent. Both parties must secure a minimum of 4 percent in order to gain seats in parliament.
The ÖVP has seen the steepest drop in support, winning 37 percent of the vote in the last election, which saw the FPÖ only receive 16 percent.
https://rmx.news/article/austria-anti-immigration-fpo-set-to-win-national-elections-this-month/
Austrian youth known as Islamist by agencies shot dead after he opened fire near Israeli consulate in Munich on the anniversary of Munich Olympics massacre
On Thursday (5th September), police in Munich, Germany, shot and killed a man who was carrying a long-barrelled gun after an exchange of fire near a museum dedicated to the city’s Nazi history and the Israeli Consulate. The shooting occurred on the 52nd anniversary of the massacre at the Munich Olympics on the 5th of September 1972. The police said that there were no other suspects in the incident.
The man has been identified by police as an 18-year-old Austrian national, who travelled to Germany recently and lived in the Salzburg area. As per reports, he was known to the security authorities as an Islamist.
“Police officers spotted a person who appeared to be carrying a firearm. The emergency services used their service weapons and the person was hit and injured,” Munich Police said on X. The suspect was armed with an older long gun when he was shot on Karolinenplatz, a square near the Israeli consulate and a Nazi documentation centre.
Later, the police said that “despite the all-clear, the police operation on site continues. The focus is currently on forensic work in particular. At the so-called witness collection point, colleagues speak to potential witnesses. Therefore, the traffic closures remain active.”
A Munich Police spokesperson said: “It was a male person and we know that he acted here with a long-barrelled gun. Due to the intervention of the police, the perpetrator was stopped and probably died at the scene.”
The incident took place on the 52nd anniversary of the attack on Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympics in 1972. However, no link has been established between the anniversary and the shooting.
According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the consulate has been closed for a ceremony commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the 1972 Munich Massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September during the Olympic Games. No consulate employees were injured in the attack.
Talya Lador, the Israeli Consul General in southern Germany, stated on social media that the occurrence demonstrated the dangers of increasing antisemitism.
“We are very grateful to @PolizeiMuenchen for their actions and cooperation. This event shows how dangerous the rise of anti-Semitism is. It is important that the general public raises its voice against it. Our Consulate General was closed today to commemorate 52 years since the terrorist attack at the Olympic Games,” Lador said.
Notably, in the 1972 Munich Massacre at the Munich Olympics by Palestinian terrorists, 11 Israeli athletes, a West German police officer and five of the Palestinian terrorists were killed.
“WALZ’S FOR TRUMP” – Tim Walz’s Family Snubs Harris-Walz, Endorses Trump
Tim Walz’s family in Nebraska endorsed President Trump.
The family of Kamala Harris’s running mate is backing Trump!
President Trump thanked Tim Walz’s brother, Jeff Walz.
Last week it was reported that Tim Walz’s own brother, Jeff Walz, has reportedly considered joining forces with Trump, publicly criticizing his brother as “not the type of character you want making decisions about your future.”
One post, dated May 2023—the same day the Biden-Harris administration indicted Donald Trump in New York City—reads, “We’ve just become a third world banana republic.”
When prompted by a follower to discuss these concerns with his brother, Jeff revealed that he hasn’t spoken to Tim in eight years and is “100% opposed to all his ideology.”
NEW:
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 30, 2024
🚨🚨🚨
Tim Walz @GovTimWalz and @KamalaHarris are such a bad Presidential ticket that Walz’s own BROTHER is supporting Donald Trump instead.
According to these FEC records, Jeff Walz, the brother of VP candidate Tim Walz, donated to President Trump’s presidential… pic.twitter.com/6wEwGo6bCu
Read more:
Netherlands Halts Financial Support to Rejected Asylum Seekers
From January 1, 2025 the Dutch government will end payments to failed asylum seekers, with all national government funding of the National Aliens Facility (LVV) to cease next year.
Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber announced:
From January 1, 2025, the state contribution to the accommodation of people who should have left the country long ago will be stopped.
The decision followed consultation with the five major cities which offer emergency accommodation. The spiralling expense of the so-called bed-bad-en-brood (bed, bath, and bread) scheme for rejected asylum seekers has influenced the change of policy, with costs estimated at €30 million a year, according to Netherlands public broadcaster NOS.
Under previous governments, the policy was treated as a temporary measure until its beneficiaries return home or move on to another country, preventing their homelessness in the Netherlands. To its critics, it risked creating permanent dependents and exercising a pull factor on future asylum seekers.
While the Party for Freedom (PVV) under Geert Wilders pursues the change at a national level, the five cities processing the scheme—Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven and Groningen—have been told they are free to keep up the payments at their own expense. All five mayors oppose the decision, and Amsterdam has already announced it will continue funding. The other municipalities are developing their own responses to the shift in policy.
Calls to cut social benefits for all migrants who are required to leave their host countries are growing in Europe. For instance, this week Germany’s Special Representative of the Federal Government for Migration Agreements and Free Democratic Party (FDP) politician Joachim Stamp declared:
Everyone who is required to leave the country immediately should only receive a ticket for the flight home and a small start-up grant of a few hundred euros after arriving in the destination country,
Stamp followed up his earlier suggestion by stating that European Union member states should form partnerships with third countries such as Rwanda, primarily to deal with migrants being aided across borders by Russia and Belarus as a form of “hybrid warfare”.
Attempted terrorist attack outside Israeli Consulate in Munich
An attempted shooting attack took place Thursday morning near the Israeli Consulate in Munich, Germany.
No one was injured, and the shooter, who seemed to be operating alone, was neutralized.
According to the German Foreign Ministry, the Israeli Consulate is closed Thursday to commemorate the massacre of Israeli athletes in Munich. None of the Consulate staff were injured and the shooter was neutralized by German authorities, who are managing the incident.
Local police reported a “major operation underway near Breinerstrasse and Karolinenplatz square. Incident occurs on anniversary of 1972 Munich Olympics attack, in which 11 Israeli athletes were murdered.”
Germany’s Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser commented on the shooting: ‘This is a serious incident. The protection of Israeli facilities is of the highest priority to us.”
The Bild news site reported that, “Several shots were fired near the Nazi Documentation Center in downtown Munich on Thursday morning. The Süddeutsche Zeitung had previously reported that the shots were fired in front of the Israeli Consulate General, which is just a few meters away.”
Germany: Police are searching for this Arab-looking Jew-hater
On the 2nd of September 2024 at around 6 p.m., an assault was committed against a married couple on Neckarmünzplatz in Heidelberg. The incident was triggered by a T-shirt worn by the wife, which showed a Star of David and the words ‘BRING THEM HOME NOW’. A previously unknown young man took this as an opportunity to approach the victim and grab her by the T-shirt. He also asked her to take off her T-shirt. The woman suffered minor injuries to her upper body. The husband then rushed to help his wife and was injured by the perpetrator with a punch to the face.
As the police approached the scene, the perpetrator fled and was able to escape despite an immediate manhunt.
The Heidelberg Criminal Investigation Department has taken over the further investigation. Witnesses who can provide relevant information about the perpetrator or the offence are asked to call 0621/174-4444.
The offence was partially videotaped by a witness. At the request of the public prosecutor’s office in Heidelberg, the local court in Heidelberg ordered the publication of the photographs of the perpetrator taken in this way.
The perpetrator is said to be between 175 and 180 cm tall, slim build, Arab phenotype, wearing a white T-shirt, black long trousers and black shoes. He has a conspicuous tattoo on his entire right arm.
POL-MA: Heidelberg: Politisch motivierte Straftat am Heidelberger Neckarmünzplatz; … | Presseportal
Germany: Migrant living illegally in Germany announces knife attack at funfair
In connection with a suspected knife attack at this week’s Blasheimer Markt funfair, officers from a special task force were able to arrest a 41-year-old man in Warburg today, Tuesday. This was preceded by two days of intensive investigations by the Minden-Lübbecke police.
As part of further enquiries against a 40-year-old man, a man from Stemwede (41) who was known to the police came to the attention of the officers. He is suspected of having announced a knife attack to the younger man at the Blasheimer Markt funfair in recent days.
After intensive and in-depth investigations, an address in the centre of Warburg was located as the Stemwede man’s place of residence. Based on indications that the man was dangerous, the investigators called in a special task force in addition to their own civilian forces for the planned arrest. During the course of the arrest, which was carried out in the midday hours, the local authorities were also supported by officers from the Höxter police in close co-operation.
After being brought before a judge at Höxter District Court, a longer-term detention order was issued until next Monday. This was followed by a transfer to police custody in Minden.
The 41-year-old is currently being investigated for illegal residence, suspected violation of the Weapons Act and disturbing the public peace by threatening to commit criminal offences.
POL-MI: Spezialeinsatzkommando nimmt Mann aus Stemwede fest | Presseportal