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A friend sent me this as a “cut n’ paste”. I did fact-checking and I’m sorry to say that this story is true in all particulars (see this and this and this).
BMD
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The parents of 13-year-old Alex Radita are on trial for murder in the death of their son. Members of the Romanian Pentecostal Church in Calgary AB, the parents had deeply held religious beliefs against seeking medical treatment for their son. Alex had Type 1 diabetes and other illnesses. His parents stopped his treatments. They declared that if he could find a way to survive without insulin and dietary regulation, he’d live… if not, they’d know that his death was God’s will. By the time of his death, Alex weighed less than 40 pounds. After his death, his family and members of the Pentecostal assembly prayed over him for some hours, expecting that God would raise him from the dead. Only after these prayers were over did they call 911 to report his death.
SOME DEEPLY HELD RELIGIOUS BELIEFS CAN BE FATAL, USUALLY TO THE INNOCENT. Remember the hieromonk who killed a young woman in northern Romania a few years ago by trying to exorcise the schizophrenia out of her. Yes, there are limits on religious freedoms, and well there should be, since we see occasions when the deeply held religious beliefs of some groups turn out to result in homicide. It does matter if it is somewhat rare for this to happen in North America, even once is too often. Alex Radita was a human sacrifice to his parents’ deeply held religious beliefs. He should be alive now and looking forward to his 14th birthday. It would be useful for someone with the time and ability to research how often incidents of this have occurred during the last century. Take into account the forbidding of blood transfusion by certain religious groups (based clearly on Scripture) and the refusal to turn to medical doctors by some others. In addition, we should review the episodes of death due to exorcisms and publish them along with the others.
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Be careful with the term “sincerely-held religious beliefs”… you could end by justifying violence and bigotry. This isn’t an isolated case, sadly enough… be especially wary of homeschoolers and those who advocate physical punishment of children… they cloak evil under the guise of “Christianity”. All too many of them are “nice” and “respectable” people, so externalities often cloak a pietistic and smarmy apologia for violence and rightwing indoctrination. Have a care… we live in evil times; some of the worst sorts justify their ill will and crank notions with saccharine religious platitudes. Our children suffer…
BMD
Catholics Distribute “Prayer Book of a Revolutionary” (Mолитвенник революционера: Molitvennik revoluyutsionera) on the Maidan
Tags: Catholic, Eastern Catholic Churches, EU, European Union, Ferdinand Marcos, Government of Ukraine, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Kiev, Maidan, opposition protests, political commentary, politics, Protest, protest actions, protest rallies, protests, Radonezh, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Uniate
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Vasili Anisimov, the head of the UOC/MP press service, said that the Catholics are ratcheting up their rhetoric on the Maidan in Kiev. He said in an interview with the website Radonezh, “Uniates, schismatics, and sectarians feed the revolt on the Maidan. The level of hatred shown by the fomenters of the Maidan often exceeds all reasonable limits. To illustrate this, President Vladimir Putin quoted a Uniate priest in Brussels. In fact, the Catholics distribute A Prayer Book of a Revolutionary (Mолитвенник революционера: Molitvennik revoluyutsionera) to those on the Maidan. It has five recommended prayers, which are really steps, with lengthy explanations. The first instruction is, ‘Rely only on God, asking Him to intervene in our people’s (народа) history’. It claimed that no one could overthrow Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, as only one battalion went over to the rebels. However, [Cardinal Jaime Lachica Sin] called believers out; so, millions took to the streets, checkmating the army, toppling Marcos. The book quoted a 1986 Filipino prayer, adapted to the present situation. The second step says, ‘Every tyranny has its roots in the sins of the people’; this prayer lists sins from abortion to corruption. The third step explains, ‘To forgive one’s enemies doesn’t mean that one refuses to fight’”.
Anisimov told us that the UOC/MP wrote the Catholic Apostolic Nunciature in the Ukraine to explain all this, but they’re still waiting for a response from the Catholics. He went on to say, “The original text of A Prayer Book of a Revolutionary was in Russian, then, they translated it into Ukrainian, as the text has many Russian idioms and Russian loan words. It’s an old compilation, as the data on abortions is six years old. Probably, it’s a generic ideological text that the Catholics adapt to specific countries, where the West feels the need to overthrow ‘tyrants’”.
6 February 2014
Interfax-Religion
http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=54376
This is an excerpt of a MUCH longer interview here. There’s much more in the way of foolish claims by the papists, such as the USSR falling due to Pope John Paul II Wojtyła consecrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and other such rot. In short, A Prayer Book of a Revolutionary is the usual product of Western illusion and self-centred ignorance. A rather more “jangly” translation of the above is here. It smells like a bad “machine” translation.