Just read comments on Mayor of Davao becoming President of the Philippines. I found it amusing at how much Catholics do not know about our religion. Making the sign of the cross did not begin with Christ it was instituted by MAN around 200 A.D. The Church should teach morals and those lessons should influence the flocks vote, but they should not tell the flock how to vote. God did not intend for Church leaders to make our decisions that is why God gave us a BRAIN! I am a retired priest and believe me I have made lots of mistakes, I sin, I have personal opinions and so do all other priest, bishops, cardinals and popes that have nothing to do with GOD. Please show me where it says in the Bible we are to make the sign of the cross - I do, but that is not something Christ told us to do - SORRY!  I do not think Christ told us to rub cloths on statues either - SUPERSTITION OF MAN! The election should be about who is most qualified to run the country and represent ALL the people not just Catholics.

Sexual abuse among Protestant and Catholic leaders.

Many Protestants are naïve and dishonest when they imply that the pedophilia and sexual abuse problem is unique to the Catholic Church. Protestants can be very arrogant when pointing to Catholics.  The fact that most Protestant ministers are married does not mean they do not commit sexual sins.  There is really no data which demonstrates whether religion plays a role in this phenomenon. We do not know if sexual abuse is higher or lower in fundamentalist, evangelical and other Protestant denominations than the Roman Catholic Church.

There is no denying we Catholics had or probably still have a problem with sexual abuse in our church. I believe what was worse than the abuse itself, if anything could be worse, is the payoffs and cover-ups by the church. I think there was more internal outrage among Catholic to the church hierarchy simply transferring the abuser to another parish. It is hard to accept that the church hierarchy cared more for our priest than our people. Their actions seem to say they cared more for the abuser than the abused.

There is evidence of sexual abuse within fundamentalist, evangelical and other Protestant denominations. Sexual abuse is found throughout society. It is believed one in four girls is sexually abused as a child. The most shocking to me is approximately 1% of girls are abused by their own fathers before puberty.
 
Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family discussed a crisis among Pastors of non-Catholic churches. He reported that 21% of evangelical/Protestant pastors had had inappropriate sexual contact with members of their congregations. Sixty percent of evangelical pastors, most of whom are married, have a problem with pornography. In a 1984 study, 76% of pastors knew of another evangelical pastor who had sexual intercourse with a member of their congregation. The majority of these cases of improper sexual behavior involved an adult member who consented to the activity, but some were assaults on children and youth. Sin is sin!

Joe Barron, one of the 40 ministers at Prestonwood Baptist Church, one of the largest churches in the United States with 26,000 members, was arrested for solicitation of a minor after driving from the Dallas area to Bryan, Texas, in order to allegedly engage in sexual relations with what he thought to be a 13 year-old girl he had met online. The "girl" turned out to be an undercover law enforcement official.

FBI agents raided Tony Alamo Christian Ministries headquarters as part of a child pornography investigation. This investigation involved allegations of physical abuse, sexual abuse and allegations of polygamy and underage marriage. Reverend Tony Alamo was convicted on ten counts of transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes, sexual assault and other crimes. He was sentenced to the maximum punishment of 175 years in prison.

Wayne Bent the founder of Lord Our Righteousness Church was convicted of one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to 18 years with eight years suspended.

James Truxton was an elder of the First Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton CA. women came forward to accuse Truxton of molesting them when they were children. The church removed Truxton as an elder and revoked his membership. Unfortunately, the accusations came more than 6 years after the abuse events and he could not be prosecuted under the state's statute of limitations. Later another woman came forward and the statute of limitations did not affect the case and he was convicted.

Daniel Vasquez is the pastor of an evangelical church and is being investigated following allegation that he sexually abused 30 boys. Vasquez denies the allegations, and says that the accusations are fabricated by members of his congregation who have been involved in a dispute with him.

Eddie Long is pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, near Atlanta, GA. It is the largest Baptist megachurch in the U.S. Three male adult members of the church have filed a lawsuit accusing him of coercing them into sexual relationships when they were youths aged 17 or 18 in his congregation. Long is one of the most homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement. A fourth young member of one of Long's churches has accused Long of coercing him into a sexual relationship during a journey that they took to Kenya in 2005. His lawsuit claims that Long convinced him that "... engaging in a sexual relationship with his pastor was a healthy component of his spiritual life."  In other words Reverend Long’s philosophy is ‘do not do as I do, but do as I say’. This isn't the first allegation against a religious leader who has crusaded against gay marriage and homosexuality.

Ted Haggard left New Life Church of Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2006 after a male prostitute said Haggard paid him for sex. Haggard denied the allegations, but later admitted to "sexual immorality" and started a new church in June 2010 after he saw mental counseling and was healed of desiring sex with men. He has made a fortune off his book covering his sexual problems.  

Reformation.com lists allegations involving 838 Protestant ministers who have been accused of sexually abusing children: 147 Baptist Minsters, 251 fundamentalist/evangelical ministers, 140 Anglican/Episcopalian Ministers, 38 Lutheran Ministers, 46 Methodist Ministers, 19 Presbyterian Ministers and 197 misc. Church Ministers. I think I have provided enough facts that sexual abuse is NOT unique to the Catholic Church.

I do not think the percentage of abusers is higher among Catholic priests than among Protestant ministers. But, individual priests probably have more victims because they operate longer before they are caught. Some people view celibacy as an unnatural lifestyle (I do for those that do not want to be celebrate). They speculate that a higher percentage of priests are abusers than are Protestant ministers, because of the Catholic Church’s celibacy requirement. The implication is that if celibacy were made optional, then priests could marry and wouldn't abuse children. Most Protestant clergy are free to marry, and most heterosexual ministers and pastors do marry and evidence show that it has not slowed or prevented their sexual abuse problems.

What many do not realize is that there are married Roman Catholic priests. The existence of married priests within the Roman Catholic Church came about when the Episcopal Church decided to ordain females, about 95 Episcopal ministers in the U.S. were so distressed by the idea of sharing the priesthood with women that some converted to Roman Catholicism in order to remain in a purely male priesthood. The church allowed them to remain married. The number has grown over the years. 

The Christian mission field is a “magnet” for sexual abusers, said Boz Tchividjian (the grandson of Rev. Billy Graham), a Liberty University law professor, prosecutor and pastor who investigates sexual abuse. When comparing evangelicals to Catholics on abuse response he said, “I think we are worse than Catholics, too many evangelicals have sacrificed the souls of young victims.”

Protestant organizations also suffer from covering up sexual abuse. Protestant Mission agencies especially (where abuse is most prevalent) often don’t report abuse because they fear being barred from working in foreign countries. Abusers will get sent home and might join another agency. What data they have released shows 25 percent that are put out of the mission program for good are repeat cases.

Many religious leaders of all denominations and non-denomination discourage whistle-blowing by condemning it as gossip in order to try to keep people from reporting abuse. People of the church are told to protect the reputation of Jesus. I do not think Jesus wants his reputation protected by committing a crime and encouraging people to lie.

Frankly, I do not understand why the Catholic Church has taken a well-deserved beating in the courts and in the court of public opinion as former altar boys, orphans and ordinary parishioners come forward with appalling stories of sex abuse. Yet, equally horrendous violations by Protestant clergy fail to generate the same level of outrage.

Maybe it is because the Catholic Church is thought of as one monolithic entity. Maybe it is because the Catholic Church is a centralized hierarchy which makes Catholic offenders easier to sue and guarantees deep pockets. The lawsuits in turn generate their own news cycle and bring victims out of the closet. Maybe it is because most Americans are Protestants; the Catholic sex abuse scandal is a story about "them" and Protestant sex abuse is a story about "us," which makes it less gratifying and more uncomfortable. Maybe it is because most Americans find the idea of celibacy peculiar. It makes for a more interesting narrative than a generic story about abuse of authority. I am sure there could be many other reasons such as jealousy, prejudices, ignorance and just plan evil.

Sexual abuse is a crime regardless of who the violator is and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Sadly, we have a long way to go to solve the problem if a solution is even possible. But, I beg the leaders of all churches, denominations and religious organizations to not cover it up – let justice for those violated occur!

Why pray for the dead?

The question of purgatory and praying for the dead was a major issue between Catholics and Protestants in the 16th century. The Council of Trent in 1563 reaffirmed the existence of purgatory and the usefulness of prayers for the dead, yet it cautioned against superstition concerning it.

The Catholic teaching regarding prayers for the dead has nothing to do with buying the dead out of purgatory, but unfortunately that is what most non-Catholics believe?  The Catholic Church’s teaching about purgatory (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1030-32) says that all sin has a life of its own and may have bad effects even after the sinner repents.  Repentance includes a desire to repair the damage done by one’s sins, but repentance may not be complete before the person dies, therefore Catholics pray for completion of repentance.  I do not agree totally with that teaching.

I will say this in defence of the Catholic doctrine on purgatory I would not say beyond a doubt that no type of purgatory exists.   I want to believe our loved ones go straight to heaven, but the truth is I do not know that for a fact.  The Bible provides evidence that there can be no imperfections in heaven.   According to the Catechism, most of us who don’t merit hell still need purification before we can enter heaven. 

I believe if there is any type of purgatory it would have nothing to do with punishment of sin.  It would only be a place to put the final touch on our perfection or holiness.  I will go further to say I do not believe it has anything to do with suffering or paying a sin debt.  Christ paid in full all our past, present and future sin debt. 

I do not believe anything we do after a person dies will affect the deceased relationship with God or their status in heaven.  I believe our salvation is determined on earth prior to death, therefore heaven or hell is determined before death.    

Christians and non-Christians alike have both heard the Bible verse ‘to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 5:6-8 Plus 9), but what does those verses really mean?  Does it really mean as soon as we breathe our last breath we are face to face with God?  I think those verses have a much deeper meaning.  Is Paul saying - if we are in our earthly bodies we are away from the Lord.  Yes, the Lord is always with us, but not where we can stand face to face with Him and that makes the difference.   I question that Paul was talking about a time line in those verses, but instead was assuring us that when we die we will come face to face with God.  Will that happen immediately, one day later, two days later or upon Christ coming again.  I do not know for sure.  I do know for sure it will happen and believers will come face to face with God. 

Protestants believe Hebrews 9:27 when it affirms that..."it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment."  Protestants feel that prayers for the dead are useless.  They believe once you die judgment follows immediately.  They believe there is no state in between death and judgment called purgatory.   I am comfortable with that teaching.  But, I also find some aspects of Catholicism appealing due to its historicity and great respect for traditions, authority, and the early Church Fathers.

 I guess in the end it is up to each Christian to decide this issue, since there is no definitive answer in the Bible.  Catholics believe in Scriptures authority and its traditions.  Protestants believe in the sole authority of Scripture alone. There are many things in Scripture that remain a mystery to me and will remain a mystery until I am face to face with God.  These mysteries do not create a faith problem for me.  I think some scriptures remain a mystery for all, but some do not want to admit that they do not have it all figured out and are not in control.

Some may be scratching their head and saying I still do not have an answer.  I still do not know what he believes about praying for the dead.  Sorry, I am not sure I know.   I came to believe over fifty years ago that God did not call me to think for you or to tell you what to think.  I sincerely believe God called me to challenge you and provoke you to study scripture not just read it.  Pray over scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to a conclusion.  

The practice of praying for the dead in my mind naturally implies that we can influence the present state of those who are dead and I do not believe we can.  I do believe we are justified by faith in Christ, and we stand or fall based on our faith at the time of our death.  I believe our righteousness comes from the righteousness of Christ and that makes it hard for me to believe a place like purgatory would need to exist.  I do believe regardless of what you believe about praying for the dead it will not affect where you will spend eternity.   I hope that somewhat clears up my beliefs, but what I believe should not be a defining factor in your deciding what you believe. 

God wanted and wants us to be in unity.  He gave us the church and man was not satisfied.  God then allowed us to have Plan B - denominations.  We were not and are not yet mature enough to come together on the things we have in common and allow our difference to teach us and allow us to grow.  When we surround ourselves with only likeminded people we stifle our growth, but it seems we are more comfortable with likeminded people.

Is it biblically correct to pray to Mary?

This discussion is difficult for me.  I am sure there are friends that I will offend.  I never had a problem with the subject until I moved to the Philippines.  Down through the years I encountered a few people whom I felt might be abusing the devotion to Mother Mary, but in the Philippines it began to really concern me.  It seems to me many good Catholics have become confused when it comes to their devotion to Mother Mary.

The practices of many Catholics depart from the "official traditions" of the Roman Catholic Church.  The Roman Catholic Church does not "officially" teach Catholics to worship Mary, but rather to honour and revere her. However, through my observation, it is clear that many Catholics do in fact worship Mary. This is the result of the Roman Catholic Church not doing a good job of teaching and explaining our doctrines.  Many Catholics are completely ignorant of what Catholic doctrines and practices truly mean and signify.

I do not believe that Mother Mary is co-equal with the Father, Son or Holy Spirit and attending Mass any Sunday in the Philippines you would wonder if fifty percent of the people realise she is not.    I know there is a movement among some Catholics around the world to make her co-equal, but as of this writing the Pope has not seriously considered it.  I do not believe any Pope would ever approve it.  I think what disturbs me the most is it seems to me more prayer and devotions are offered to Mother Mary in the Philippines than to the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity.

 I have always heard that many Evangelicals and Protestants think the word pray means worship.  So it makes sense that they think Catholics who pray to Mary actually worship her.  The problem I now have is that I have come to believe that a vast number of Catholics no longer pray to Mother Mary they worship Mother Mary and the clergy seem to look the other way.  I honestly believe some of the clergy I have met in the Philippines worship Mother Mary themselves.

Let's look at the word pray in the dictionary.  Here is what Webster's says about the word pray: (1) to utter petition to God ... (2) to make a fervent request: PLEAD (3) to beseech: implore (4) to make a devout or earnest request.  The word worship is not included in the definition of pray.   A prayer to Mary is clearly not a petition to God.  Mary is not God, and I know of no knowledgeable Catholic who has said she was.  Clearly worship is not the first meaning of pray.

When Catholics pray to God they "utter a petition to God" and when they pray to Mary they make “earnest request for prayers” from Mary.  Catholics believe Mother Mary is a prayer warrior. 

There is a difference between veneration of Mary and worship of Jesus. This was formalized in writing back in 757 AD at the Seventh General Council:

1.Latria - adoration that is given to the Trinity alone occurs 5 times in the Bible, but always refers to God (John 16:2, Romans: 9:4, 12:6, Hebrew 9:1,6).

2. Hyper-dulia – veneration (showing respect) to Mary as the mother of God.

3. Dulia - honour paid to saints and angels occurs 5 times in the Bible (Romans 8:15, 21; Galatians 4:24, 5:1; Hebrew 2:15).

There are plenty of Old Testament references that distinguish veneration from worship. "Then Moses went out to meet his father- in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him…" (Exodus 18:7) and (1 Chronicle 29:20, 1 Samuel 24:8).  Moses did not worship his father-in-law, but he did show respect to him.

Some evangelicals say consecration shows that Catholics worship Mary.  The word consecrates means to entrust. I entrust myself to my closest friends, but only Jesus Christ is my Saviour.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe said, “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”  The question is not how much Jesus loved Mary.  The question is how much some Catholics love Mary; do they love her more than the Holy Spirit?  I am sure Jesus loved Mother Mary, but does Jesus love her more than He loves you and me, I doubt that.  I also think you can love Mother Mary too much if you have turned to worshipping her instead of venerating her, showing her reverential respect. 

I have a 5 foot statue of Mother Mary in my private prayer garden.  I do not worship Mary, but I do have the highest respect for her and when I look at that statue I think of her son Jesus Christ and I think of the physical and emotional pain she must have gone through as His mother.  It leads me to ask God to give me the same courage and strength.  I have no intention of removing the statue for it is comforting to me.  I do not pray to Mother Mary or any Saint.  I pray to the Father, through the Son (asking Him to mediate for me) and I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me in prayer.  Christ made it possible on the cross for us to go to the Father.

I believe it is wise for Catholics not to allow themselves to focus on Mother Mary to the point that it distracts them from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  I do not think Mother Mary would want that.  I want to add my time thinking of Mother Mary has never been a distraction for me.  In fact it does the opposite it helps me focus more on Jesus Christ. 

Mary's role was not to jump on center stage and take the place of Jesus.  I do not believe she ever wanted to be in the spotlight.  I do think some men in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church wanted to give her a role that she did not want and God never intended for her to have.  It always perplexes me when men are not satisfied with God’s plan and want to substitute their own.

1 Timothy 2 does not say that God wants us only to communicate with Jesus. It says there is only one mediator between God and man, which is a different thing. The passage does not say do not ask people to pray for us.  The chapter not only allows intercessory prayer by third parties, but it indicates it is helpful.  “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone ...This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth? (Tim. 2:1-4).

Now one question that will arise is how can Mother Mary hear the prayers of all who are praying to her and distinguish between them for she is not all knowing as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Good Question!  I do not know the answer.  My only suggestion would be when a saint enters into the joy of their Master, they are "put in charge of many things" (Mat. 25:21).  Is listening to prayers one of them, I don’t know. 

Evangelical and Protestants will say, "I don't pray to dead people." Catholics don't think people in heaven are dead.  Catholics believe people in heaven are alive (Matthew 19:29, 25:46, Matthew 10:17-22, Mark 10:30, Luke 10:25-30, Luke 18:18-30, John 3:15-16).   We read in the Bible Lazarus was alive by Abraham's side (Luke 16:22).   At the transfiguration we read Moses and Elijah were alive beside Jesus, (Matthew 17:3).  There seems to be a lot of aliveness in Heaven in Revelation, (Revelation 4:10).  I do not believe people are in some type of comma until judgement day and I do not think the majority of Evangelicals or Protestants believe that either.

Some Evangelicals and Protestants think that asking a person in heaven to intercede for them is condemned in Deuteronomy 18:10 -12.  The Catholic Church believes that Deuteronomy 18:10 -12 speaks about the occult, soothsayers, sorcerers, spells, ghosts and spirits.  I think the same. 

Some Evangelicals and Protestants are uneasy asking Christians in heaven to pray for them because the final judgment hasn't occurred.   What does that have to do with the matter we are discussing?   I have never been to an Evangelical or Protestant funeral where they did not say, "He or she is with the Lord now."  They obviously believe as I do as soon as we die believers go to heaven.

This discussion could go on for many, many more pages.  But, I feel the need to bring it to a close.  I do have a problem praying for people after they have died.  I do not believe there are any second chances after death, but I will discuss that later. 

The problem I have is not having reverence for Mother Mary it is I am afraid some Catholics are abusing the tradition and have stopped praying to and reverencing her to WORSHIPPING her.  I think religious leaders have a responsibility to see that their followers do not do that.  Yes, it is easier to turn a blind eye and I have at times.  In the Philippines culture and tradition have deep roots, but religious leaders first responsibility is to teach God’s truths. 

I leave you with this thought Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me.”  Jesus is not denying his relationship with his biological family; he is pointing out what makes us part of God’s family.  The belief that “blood is thicker than water” no longer applies.  For Jesus the waters of baptism that transform our identity as God’s children become a stronger bond in the Spirit than blood ties.  Water becomes thicker than blood in God’s family.  Spiritual and not physical kinship is the basis of relationships in the new dispensation.  Believers, who receive Jesus through faith and through baptism and are willing to do the will of God, become the true family of Jesus.