Generational Poverty

There is a cycle of poverty known as “Generational Poverty” and it is nearly impossible to correct.  Generational Poverty is when three or four generations of the same family have grown up in poverty.  They have no memory of anyone in the family not living in poverty. They begin to accept that survival is enough and do not make an attempt to get out of poverty.

 

Many much smarter than me say they begin to accept survival over trying to advance because they lack resources, education and connections. They claim that if they had outside help they could break the cycle of poverty.  Without outside help they are destined to be poor generation after generation.

This is true to a certain extent, but I do not believe it is the only cause of generational poverty.  Generational poverty becomes a mindset and is nearly impossible to break regardless of the outside help they have. I say this because I have tried to help and have first hand experience in the Philippines.  I will explain later. 

I admit poverty can be and generally is the results of low productivity, low salaries, poor governance, ignorance, lack of skills and technology, lack of education, disease, disasters, unemployment, marital status, lack of confidence, victim mentality and mass imprisonment of men.     

A 1960 study said trying to advance the skills of children in poverty has proven difficult and expensive, therefore they suggest supplementing the income of all poor 
families to bring them up to the level of the other students in their schools.  I am sorry this does not make sense to me.  Do they intend for us to supplement the salaries of every generation that follows and there will never be and end to the burden it puts on tax payers and it will never advance an individual who is living in poverty.  There is an old clique give a man a fish and he will eat once, but teach him to fish and he will eat the rest of his life.   

There was a study in France in 2004 that liked the idea that Obama proposed “Income Transfer”, take from the rich and give to the poor.  But, the study did  
 conclude this should only be a quick fix and could not be continued because the real solution is the government must assure a quality education for all. This plan was 
different than the GREAT PRESIDENT OBAMA'S for his plan would have 
continued for ever because it was to be part of the I.R.S.  

Do you remember the other great plan of the Democrats in the 1960's favor minorities in job and entrance to college. They did not apply for jobs and they did not go to college.  When it came time to stop the plan they revolted.  The ones that benefit from the Civil Rights Plan would have probably succeeded without it for they were already achievers.  Contrary to what we are told I believe most rich people do not inherit their wealth they obtain their wealth by working hard.  Most of the rich did not attend private schools they attended public schools.  I think it has more to do 
with  the motivation of the individual to want to do better than handouts.

After my Father died, when I was in my early teens, we became poor very fast.  I was 
determined I did not want to be poor all my life and I worked my way through 
college and graduate school and manage to obtain a lifestyle where I never experienced poverty again.

Since living in the Philippines I have paid all expenses for five students to go to college  and given them a weekly stipends.  One graduated from College.  The others did not have enough desire to advance in life.  One young lady was an honor student, but her parents thought it best she drop out and go to work so she could help support 
the family. She believed she should follow Philippine tradition.  One family was afraid the child would have more of an attachment for me than them and would not 
help them when he finished college. I now pay a family to send their daughter to school who is in the seventh grade and an honor student and pray she continues.  Her 
family seems to understand the importance of an education.

My point is these five students had outside help and only one took advantage of it.  Now I will give you more examples. They concern helping families start a business. 

A young couple in their late twenties, a nice couple, was living in poverty and I was 
the Godfather to their child.  They went back to the city where they came from and I financed a small café for them.  I personally went and purchased all the equipment, had the space remodeled and paid one year utilities and rent in advance.  They opened and did better than I had ever anticipated.  The first warning to me was when the wife said we are the owners and I should not be waiting tables I should be the cashier.  She had her Father build her a nice little cashier booth where she sat on her 
butt all day.  They had to replace her with a paid employee.  The third month they had made enough money to take a vacation in Cebu to show off their new found wealth to his family.  They closed for three weeks.  When they returned they found that the customers they had daily had gone elsewhere and they  could not 
understand why.  To make a long story short they pawned all the equipment, left the 
building empty with about ten months rent and utilities paid.  To top it all they did not even feel and obligation to tell the customer on a sign that they were closed for three weeks and would reopen. They had outside help, but could not or would handle the responsibility.

I help a mother and son open a grocery store.  The mother was disabled and the son was about 23 and a prostitute making money at the mall off of foreign men.  I visited the mother and knew the circumstances and decided to help.  She did have a home on a busy street and a front yard big enough for a small store.  I had it build, equipped and stocked.  Another success story for about six months.  I visited the mother to find 
the store closed and found the boy like being a prostitute better than having to stay in the store more free time he said prostituing  Today he has A.I.D.S. and the mother is deceased.  It was not the lack of outside help it was the lack of desire and being responsible.

I helped a brother and sister open another café and I will not go into to that. I had owned a restaurant in Houston, Texas and try to advise them, but no they would not listen. They preferred to blame lack of business on the lack of traffic and the people in cars drove by to fast and everything else they could imagine.  I told them they should try a buffet style restaurant before they closed – no interest.  I told them they should have a limited menu and an offer a different meal everyday and then simply repeat it for the next week for the workers near by – no interest.  Restaurant closed!

Still being the fool I am I helped a woman open a vendors stall at the Davao Street Market.  She is doing well, but could do much better.  The problem is she does not like change.  Whatever you suggest you can see it in her face she is not listening and is not going to try it. She was told if she would arrange the used clothing in colors and sizes and put them on the rack neatly more people would come into her stall.  I was told Filipino’s do not like that they like digging through stuff piled on a table and finding what they want.  So in other words ALL Filipino people have no desire to 

shop in ease and in a well organized place they are too low class for that.  That what I hear her saying.  There is a saying in retail that women do not like to “Butt Swipe” when shopping which means they like enough space so other are not brushing up against them.  I was told Filipino’s do not care anything about that they live five and six in one room they are use to being crowed.  Last night I advised them no more help and no more money.  I think they will make enough to have a dried fish and rice everyday for breakfast.  Outside help may have failed again.

I was helping an orphanage in a nearby town.  One day I happen upon one of the directors Facebook Page.  All of these pictures of people that were supposedly 
volunteering at the Home were going on all day sightseeing trips on boats, staying the weekend at resorts on Samal Island. But, I was told weekly, “Father, if we do not get money in we will have to close in two weeks.”  Most of the volunteers were friends 
and family. Naturally they get nothing from me any longer.  They got outside help, but did not change anything.  These people were college graduates who  when looking at their material possessions it looks like they have nothing, house not decent, no car, cheap furniture, etc.

Then my Filipino friend told me, “Father, those people are not going to change no matter what you give them.  You give it and they spend it on a party.  They are happy the way they are and do not want more out of life.  You want to give them a chance to live a better life, because you feel sorry for them, but what you do not understand is 
they really do not care about having a better life because that would mean more work, less play and more responsibility.” This friend is the only one I helped that finished College and got a degree in Accounting.

This week I happened upon a You Tube site where a young Filipino man was talking about poverty in the Philippines.  This young man has made it big in the entertainment business in the States.  He said that all his family expect him to support them while they lay around the house in the Philippines.  He claims he did that for several years.  He then realized he was not helping them get out of poverty and now he gives them nothing.  He said of course they think he is terrible and has no heart and tell him that was not the way he was raised.  His reply is it is not the way I was raised and if I followed the culture and traditions of the way I was raised I would be 
poor to. His niece is at the moment hates  him for not sending her to college. He told her no one sent me I worked at a Call Center at night and went to college in the day you can do the same.  What he said may seem cold, but he is right.  He is only contributing to Generational Poverty as long as he keeps supporting them all.  One has to desire to get out of poverty in order to get out of poverty.

I gave the lady in the Davao Street Market 144 Tee Shirts, name brand, overruns.  She immediately replied I cannot sell those things.  They are too expensive and no one would pay what they are worth.  They are too thin, Filipinos like thick cotton shirts.  They are all tagged with prices from stores.  The price on the tags and what I ask her to try and sell them for is ¼.  The largest Department Store in the Philippines sells the same brands and same shirts. She honestly believes Filipinos prefer used clothes because that is what they are used to. Not open to trying and certainly not open to change.  It is festival week in Davao alot of people from out of town.  If they had money to fly here for the festival they may have money to pay a little more for new clothes. 

So I do not buy the idea that all people living in poverty need is OUTSIDE help!  They also need the desire to get out of poverty.

 

Philippine National Bank

I have had several accounts at Philippine National Bank since 2005.  I actually opened one of the accounts before I ever came to the Philippines in Houston, Texas

The service is not the best, but I have not changed because I know I could get a worse bank.  My major problem has been with wire transfers from my trust fund in the States.

For instance on March 1, 2017 my transfer was made just as it has been done every month since January 2005.  For nine days I fought with PNB Customer Relations in Manila.  The only response was your bank in the States is lying they have not transferred the funds.

This morning I got the confirmation from the U.S. bank proving the money had been wired and I immediately sent it to PNB.  A MIRACLE, within 15 minutes after they received the proof that they were the ones that made the mistake (as they had done on five other occasions) they credited my account the funds.

I have never received and apology!

On one occasion they did admit they had credited the funds to someone else's account and they would have to find whose account the money was in before they could credit me.  I never understood why I had to wait since they made the mistake.  It was obvious they did not put it in any of my three accounts.

Another occasion I did not get my Social Security check that normally is credit on the third until the 15th.  The lady in The Davao Branch told me it was because I now had over $50,000 in assets and the U.S. government does not allow anyone on Social Security to have more than $50,000 in assets.  I told her she did not know what she was talking about and of course she got mad.  I told her if I have more than $50,000 in one foreign bank the bank has to report it to the U.S. Treasury.  If she would look she could see that is why I never keep more than $40,000 in PNB or BDO or Maybank or Peoples Bank.  She rudely told me I needed to talk to my Embassy because she knew she was right and she guaranteed I would not get another check until I got rid of assets.

The Embassy found out that the Social Security Department made a mistake and listed me as DEAD.  I got the past due check immediately and the next months check and every check since on time.

I have my caregiver on one PNB account since I am now homebound due to health issues.  A transfer had come to that account for over five years in my name.  They held the transfer and finally after my attorney in the States got involved they said it was because the wire transfer had to be in my name and his name.  Never was before!  I did have my attorney make that change and I have not experiences any other problems.

ALL EXPATS - check out all the banks in the Philippines before you settle on one.  All my U.S. accounts and Social Security is setup for the PNB accounts or I would change immediately.  I wonder if they delay crediting money transfer so they can use our money for free for a few days.

I have savings at BDO and Maybank and have never had any problems and their people are always courteous.  It seem at PNB it is the managers that are horses behinds.

If Philippine banks delay OFW remittance by just a few days it is a considerable amount of money for the bank to use free, based on 2016 28 Billion dollars was remitted from overseas.  It is approximately 8 percent of the Philippine total budget.

Random Thoughts - Christmas

Well it is about time for all of us Christian to celebrate another pagan holiday. I have no problem celebrating Christ birthday, but if we are going to do so then why not do it at a more appropriate time.

Most people know that Christ was not born in December.  It snows in the mountains of Israel in December and no Shepherd would be carrying his sheep to the fields to graze.

There was a priest named Augustine, not Saint Augustine. He was sent on a mission trip and had tried to get Catholic Christians to stop celebrating the pagan holiday that came around December 25th.  He contacted Pope Gregory and said no matter how hard I try I cannot stop them from celebrating the pagan holiday. Pope Gregory replied basically, "If you cannot beat them then join them".

Guess what? A Christian holiday came to be at the same time as the pagan holiday and it was Christ-Mass (get it) Christmas. Now the Christians could celebrate the pagan holiday and it would be a Christian holiday. I am sure they thought they had it all figured out.

The Christmas tree is a carry over from the pagan holiday. They would cut down a large tree and burn the stump and have a bond fire.  The office party is a carry over from the pagan holiday. The people could drink alcohol during that time as much as they wanted. The mistletoe and holly is a carry over from the pagan holiday. During the  time of that pagan holiday they were allowed to have casual sex.

I first really became annoyed about how we celebrate Christmas when I moved to Davao, Philippine. On Christmas morning a priest and some altar boys came carrying a cross and crib with the baby Jesus in it (DOLL). I went to the gate and one of the young boys lifted the baby Jesus (DOLL) out of the crib so delicately and put it right in front of me. He said, "Father, you can kiss baby Jesus and you will be bless next year."  I gave them the donation they came for, but I did not kiss a DOLL!

The Catholic Church teaches against superstition, but out of cultural tradition it is allowed even if it goes against the Bible. Jesus Christ is no longer a baby He was 33 years old when He was crucified. I do not dress up like a baby on my birthday and I doubt if you do. No one pretends I am a baby on my birthday.  Many homes and businesses in the Philippines has statues of they baby Jesus in them and often have a candle burning by it. Folks that is not Jesus in 2016.

The nativity scene we Christians have is not even accurate according to scripture.

By the way the doll they brought to my house on Christmas morning had BLUE eyes and pale, pale skin that is not how Jesus would have looked - He was a Jew.


I have no objection to celebrating a holiday on December 25th. If families want to gather, have a meal, pray, and exchange gifts that is fine with me. I enjoy it myself. But, I think it is time we take CHRIST out of a pagan holiday that has been commercialized.

Unlimited Surveillance is carrying surveillance too far and not working

If Washington was really interested in reforming NSA why would they appoint Senator Dianne Feinstein to oversee primary oversight of NSA? She has long been a supporter of the U.S. national security industry. This is one area where she often voted against her fellow Democrat Representatives and Senators. Does she not have a conflict of interest when much of her husband’s income is derived from military contracts?  Senator Feinstein in my opinion is like putting the fox in charge of hen house.

Dianne Feinstein has argued in USA Today that metadata collection of all Americans’ telephone records is not surveillance at all because the actual conversations are not recorded. I think when the U.S. government knows when you called, who you called, who called you, length of each call and frequency of calls that is surveillance and an invasion of privacy.  When they can do the same with your emails that is surveillance and invasion of privacy. It gives the government a clear picture of your associations, activities and a general picture of your daily routine when pieced together. Why should the government have the right to know if you are using a dating service, contacting a gay or lesbian organization, seeking help from an addiction clinic or HIV clinic, etc.?

An August 2010 document that Snowden released to the public revealed that the U.S. spied on members of the United Nation so they would have a heads-up on how they intended to vote on upcoming votes. Edward Snowden’s revelations for the first time allowed people to know the true extent of the surveillance capabilities of the U.S. Government and the dangers it posed to a democratic governance. Privacy is at the very core of our being free people.

NSA does not have to listen to every call we make or read every email we send just the thought that they can is enough to cause people to fear and fall in line. That is really the intent of state surveillance. The threat of government surveillance psychologically inhibits our freedom of speech. If the surveillance worked you may could concede we need it, but it does not work we have seen that over and over just recently in Orlando, Florida.

We all have secrets. We all have personal information that we do not want to share with the public and that does not mean the information is wrong or illegal. I did not as a child want people to know my father was an alcoholic. It took many years in ministry before I would share that I had a sister who had been married five times and divorced. That is not something Catholics, especially Catholic priest want to make public. Washington is quite aware that the mere existence of government surveillance stifles the ability for one to dissent that is why it is so important to them.

NSA databases store information about your political views, your medical history, your relationships and they tell us we have nothing to worry about. I do not trust human nature enough not to be concerned. I certainly do not trust the hypocrites in Washington that have no real convictions except a thirst for more power.  The IRS has conveniently leak private information in the past, especially when an administration is trying to defeat a particular candidate and so will the NSA.

The true measure of a society’s freedom is how it treats dissident and marginalized groups not how it treats good loyalist. Even the worst tyrants protect their loyalist from abuse. In a democracy we should not have to be loyalist to the present administration to feel safe. Some of the richest people in the Philippines today were loyalist of Marcos and had their futures protected regardless if Marcos remained in power or not.

In 2013 the Pew Research Center revealed 70%  of U.S. citizens surveyed thought the U.S. government uses information gathered from surveillance for things other than terrorism. It was even more revealing that the majority now feel Americans should be more concerned about government surveillance than terrorism. Forty-seven percent said they knew the government had taken surveillance too far and abused it.

The indifference or support for unlimited surveillance by government is generally held by those who think themselves exempt from abusive government power. That kind of complacency by the people always leads to abuse. The Japanese Americans never thought that they would be hauled off and put in camps, but during World War II they were. Most of us never thought government surveillance would be used against anyone in the U.S. except Muslims, but it is.

The communication of the Brazilian oil giant Petrobras or spying on negotiation sessions at an economic summit or targeting the democratically elected leaders of allied nations or collecting all Americans communications records has nothing to do with terrorism. Terrorism is a pretext to allow unlimited surveillance of our citizens. Did it stop the 2012 Boston Marathon bombing, did it stop the San Bernardino slayings, did it stop the attempted bombing of an airline over Detroit, did it stop the plans to blow up Times Square or the plans to attack the New York Subway?  Did it stop the major international attacks from London to Mumbai to Madrid?

CBS News host Bob Schieffer denounce Snowden as a “narcissistic young man who thinks he is smarter than the rest of us.”  Politico’s Roger Simon called Snowden a loser because he dropped out of high school. Democratic congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz called Snowden a coward. Congressman Mike Rogers  switched from calling him a spy for China to a spy for Russia without any proof whatsoever. The truth is Edward Snowden was going to Latin America via Russia and when the plane arrived in Russia he was forced to stay there because the U.S. government had cancel his passport. He is not in Russia by choice.  

I NOW believe Edward Snowden has done more for America and freedom than Schieffer, Simon, Schultz, Rogers and all the other Snowden detractors put together. Pardon Edward Snowden and let him come home if he still wants to come home - I do not know if I would or not!

This is how our politicians spend our tax dollars.

Some of the stupidest examples of government waste this year include:

•A $375,000 National Science Foundation grant to study the dating habits of senior citizens. I am a senior citizen Obama could have just picked up his phone and called me or picked up his pen and wrote me and I would have told them for free.

•$200,000 spent by the National Endowment for the Arts for wordless adaptations of Shakespeare plays. I do not even no what this is - wordless plays!

•$283,500 spent by the Pentagon to study a small bird. I raise birds love birds, finches, parakeets, canaries and cockatiels. They can study my birds for $500 anytime they want as long as they do not hurt them.

•$1.2 million spent by the National Science Foundation to teach robots how to select outfit combinations and dress children and the elderly. I do not think I want a robot dressing me and I think the robot would cost more than my caregiver in the Philippines. "Children" implies young and cannot live alone - why can't the people taking care of the "Children" select their clothes? If they do not have sense enough to select clothing I would think they would be to stupid to care for children.

•$250 million spent to train only 60 Syrian rebels to fight ISIS — that’s $4 million per rebel. The worse thing about this waste is they all RAN when the fighting began.

I saw $105 billion dollars in what I consider obvious waste of taxpayer money and I am sure there is much more.  Yet, we have children in the United States going to bed hungry and going to school without breakfast.

Trump is reaping the benefits of the National Historical Tax Credit to the tune of $40 million to develop an old building into a luxury hotel.

 

Many people think they are a Christian, but are they?

If you conducted an informal opinion poll near where you live, and asked ten people to explain what it takes to make someone a real Christian. You might get ten different answers. Ask yourself, "Am I a real Christian.

Maybe you were raised in a Catholic or Protestant home. No matter what your background, I encourage you to take an honest look beyond the myths about what makes someone a Christian.

Let's explore what some say makes us a real Christian:

1.    I've been a Christian all my life; I was born in a Christian home. But since when does where you're born determine what you are? Someone may have been born in a stable, but that doesn't make him a horse. Nor does being born in an airport make someone an airplane. Grace Poe who is running for President of the Philippines in 2016 was born in the Philippines, but some say that does not make her a Filipino. Those same people may say they are a Catholic Christian because they were born in a Catholic Nation. Be thankful for where you were born and for the family and church in which you were raised, but don't assume that automatically makes you a Christian.

2.    A Christian may know that he or she is valuable in God's eyes because He made us and loves us, but you could develop a certain sense of well-being and self-worth apart from knowing what the Bible teaches us about thinking right in an un-right world. So thinking positively about life in general and about yourself in particular doesn't automatically make you a Christian.  Living a clean and moral life doesn't make anyone a Christian. Many atheists live a decent, straight life.

3.    Last Sunday four out of ten Americans went to church. But does that mean that all these people are Christians? Of course not. Even some thieves go to church. Some people go to church because it's a social habit. Others attend because their family makes them go. Some Catholics go to Mass on Sunday out of an obligation. It is true that Christians go to church and take an active part in church life, but attending church doesn't make you a Christian.

4.    Many of us were taught since childhood to give a portion of our income to charity or to the church. Whether rich or poor, we feel it's our "Christian" duty. But that's not what makes somebody a Christian. Yes, Christians give to others more than anyone else. They help the needy and less fortunate. But you can give away everything you own and still not be a Christian.

5.    Maybe you were baptized as a child or young adult. That doesn't necessarily mean you're a Christian. Many violent inmates in penitentiaries were baptized years ago, but few people would automatically consider these inmates Christians. Maybe you take Communion every Sunday if you're a Christian, that's great! But, both baptism and Communion are Biblical and God commands Christians to observe both. But, receiving either one won't make you a Christian.

6.    Eight out of ten people in America say they believe God exists. But are they all Christians? You can be a Muslim and believe in God, but "believing in God" does not make you a Christian. Belief, on its own, makes no difference. That is why belief, by itself, doesn't make someone a Christian.

7.    Many people talk about Jesus Christ and even speak well of Him. They may be teachers, ministers, church leaders, or "just plain folk." But, they may not even believe that the Bible's message about Jesus is true. Are these people truly Christians?

8.    Someone can pray and still not be a Christian. Hindus pray all the time. Muslims pray five times a day. Praying in itself doesn't make someone a Christian.

9.    Christians love the Bible. Some of us read it daily. But just reading the Bible doesn't mean you are a Christian. Karl Marx read the Bible even though he eventually rejected the Bible's authority, and during his adult life called himself an atheist, a communist--anything but a Christian. Nikita Khrushchev, the former premier of the USSR, read the Bible. Yet later he made it his ambition to bury the church. Just reading the Bible won't make you a Christian.

If thinking positively, living morally, going to church, giving to others, receiving a sacrament, believing in God, talking about Jesus, praying, and reading the Bible doesn't make you a Christian, then what does? What is a real Christian?

Being a Christian is believing in Jesus Christ as your savior and making every effort to live a Christian life – the life Jesus Christ called us to live. If you are knowingly fooling around with sin; if you are playing with immorality; if you are not being truthful in your business; if you are dishonest in your school, in your work, in your play, in your home -- then you are not trying to live the life Jesus Christ called Christian to live.

When you come to Christ, He forgives your sins and purifies your heart. That doesn’t mean you suddenly become holier than everyone else. On the contrary, you become more conscious of your shortcomings. But, God makes you righteous and gives you the power to live a more righteous life.

The way of life in Christ is also the way of love. Today, the word love has been robbed of meaning. It's used to describe a person exploiting the emotions of another for his own satisfaction and selfishness. But that is not love. True love wants the very best for someone no matter what it may cost us.

The way of life is also the way of obedience to God. I have written in the past that I do not believe perfection is possible, but Christians make an effort to be obedient to God in all things.  Christians give God authority over their lives. We will go wherever He wants us to go, do whatever He wants us to do and we do not care what it may cost in terms of comfort or reputation.

Life with Christ was not only God's original design for us; it is the way God intends for us to live today. A real Christian knows without a doubt he or she has eternal life. A real Christian knows without a doubt that they are a child of God. A real Christian believes God created everything - Christians may disagree how that creation came about, but we do not deny God is the creationist of all. A real Christian must have a spiritual birth. This happens when we repent of our sins and put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

I again encourage you to take an honest look beyond the myths about what makes someone a Christian, re-evaluate your Christian life today.

More conspiracy stories or facts - I do not know!

On a recent Sunday following Mass Cardawe and I were in a coffee shop in Davao, Philippines. An American who has lived in China for the past 15 years was at the table next to us. He teaches English in China and makes documentaries. He showed me one of his documentaries on The Bush family if true it was shocking.

The conversation came up because he asks me what I thought about the China and Philippine problems over the Spratley Islands. He then began to tell me how the Bush family and the mafia was involved in the dispute. How the Bush family and his cronies wanted the United States to have financial problems and finally have to bankrupt and they would blame it on China and Russia. They were using the China/Philippine dispute as a means to their end.

I did some research and there are some conspiracy stories backing up what he claimed in our four to five hour conversation. What the gentlemen was saying was shocking to me because I had not heard all of these things before (some I had) and I consider myself a news junky and history freak. I do not know if they are true or not. I do know that for the past ten years I have had difficulty trusting my government because our leaders have been caught in so many untruths, especially since Obama took office. What is the truth of the gentlemen’s story I really do not know?  I will share with you what he told me – you decide.

He said Henry Ford along with one hundred other U.S. money powers involved in banking, mining, steel and oil were behind Hitler and helped Germany get started because they saw a way of making a profit off of war. (I BELIEVE THERE IS A MILITARY ENTERPRISE (CORPORATIONS) IN THE UNTIED STATES THAT LIKE WARS).

The Rockefellers of Standard Oil Company and Chase Bank, the Rothschild’s, the Schiff’s, the Warburg’s, and the Bushes were among the other supporters. The powers of financial capitalism had a far reaching goal, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. (I BELIEVE THERE ARE WEALTHY POWERS AROUND THE WORLD THAT SUPPORT ONE WORLD ORDER BECAUSE IT IS PROFITABLE TO THEM AND I DO NOT BELIEVE IT IS GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD).

They have covertly manipulated politicians and nations into wars for over a century and descendants of the families continue to do so to this day. Their ultimate goal was and is to establish a “New World Order”, a totalitarian one-world government ruled by the very few and very rich. President George Herbert Walker Bush was not the first or only prominent man to proclaim this “New World Order”. Hitler, President Woodrow Wilson, author H.G. Wells and many other politicians, writers and businessmen have worked behind the scenes for “New World Order”.

Samuel Prescott Bush (1863-1948: George W. Bush’s great grandfather) founder of the Buckeye Steel Castings Company in 1894, Remington Arms Company and Chief of the Ordnance, Small Arms and Ammunition Section of the War Industries Board for World War I pushed for the United States to enter into World War I. He sold weapons made by manufacturers such as his own Remington Arms Company to 75% of the WWI combatants on both sides.

Congressional committee hearings in 1934 by U.S. Senator Gerald Nye attacked Bush and other weapons salesmen as war profiteers and “Merchants of Death.” Salesmen from these companies had helped to manipulate the nations into World War I and then made unimaginable profits from the sales of the weapons, at the taxpayer’s expense.

In 1944, Bush was awarded a huge government contract to make armor casings for WWII. Most of the records and correspondence of Samuel Bush’s arms deals have been burned “to save space” in the National Archives. This pattern of the systematic deletion of large portions of the public records is typical of all the Bushes. (DESTRUCTION OF PAPERS IS TYPICAL OF ALL GOVERMENTS AND IN THE UNITED STATES TYPICAL OF BOTH THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT PARTIES).

George Herbert Walker (George W. Bush’s other great grandfather)  was a Wall Street banker and director or president of G.H. Walker and Co., J.P. Morgan and Co., Guaranty Trust Co., W.A. Harriman and Co., and Union Banking Corporation. Walker made his fortune building up the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, financing their oil, coal, steel, and manganese industries, among others. As President of Union Banking Corp. (UBC), he laundered money for Hitler and supplied raw materials essential for Germany’s waging World War II. His most prominent partners in financing Hitler’s war machine were Averell Harriman and Prescott Bush. Their Consolidated Silesian Steel Corporation owned 1/3 of a complex of steel-making, coal-mining, and zinc-mining activities in Germany.

 Friederich Flick a German owned two-thirds and was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment by the Nuremburg Tribunal, but the American partners were never tried. When the U.S. government seized the Silesian-American Corp. in 1942 under the “Trading with the Enemy Act,” George Herbert Walker was still the senior director of the company.

Prescott Sheldon Bush (George W. Bush’s grandfather; 1885-1972, Yale, Skull & Bones, class of 1917):  was a Wall Street banker, Vice President of W. A. Harriman and Co., and director or senior partner in Union Banking Corporation (UBC) and Brown Brothers, Harriman, and a manager of Silesian-American Corp., the Holland-American Trading Corp. and the Seamless Steel Equipment Corporation, all which were Nazi front organizations run by the Bush-Harriman bank, UBC.  

Union Banking Corporation (UBC) was exposed as a de facto Nazi front organization by the U.S. government in Congressional hearings, Prescott Bush, Harriman, and George Herbert Walker continued doing business with the Nazis for 8 months after the U.S. entered World War II. When the US government seized control of UBC under the “Trading with the Enemy Act,” all the shares were owned by Prescott Bush, E. Roland Harriman, three Nazi executives, and two other Bush associates (Four of the eight directors were members of Skull and Bones, class of 1917).

The US government also seized several subsidiaries run by the Bush-Harriman bank (UBC), including The Holland-American Trading Corp., the Seamless Steel Equipment Corp, the Silesian-American Corp., and the Harriman Fifteen Holding Company and determined that huge sections of Prescott Bush’s empire were operated on behalf of Nazi Germany and had greatly assisted the Nazi war effort. Bush and Harriman each received $1.5 million in compensation for their seized assets from the United States Government. (U.S. TAXPAYERS).

Not only were Prescott Bush and the other directors of UBC legally front men for the Nazis, they hired, armed and instructed Hitler’s Nazi army. Prescott Bush later served as a director of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., Prudential Insurance, Dresser Industries, Inc., Hydrocarbon Research, Inc., Wanadium Corp. of America, and U.S. Guaranty Trust, among other companies, until 1952 when he was elected U.S. Senator from Connecticut.

A major part of the Bush family fortune is due to the “Hitler Project”, which included the slave labor and Holocaust at Auschwitz.

Our 41st president’s political life has been intertwined with four of the most powerful and profitable business enterprises on the planet, banking, oil, the arms/intelligence industries, and sales of illegal drugs. He began his career as an oil salesman for Dresser Industries and went on to co-found his own oil company, Zapata Petroleum Corp. of Houston. This would spin off to Zapata Offshore and Pennzoil/Zapata. Bush was president of Zapata Oil from 1954 to 1964 and Zapata Offshore from 1964 to 1966.

Persistent reports (PERHAPS CONSPIRACY REPORTS) indicate Bush was also an undercover CIA agent in the early 60’s, playing a prominent role in the “Bay of Pigs” invasion of Cuba. As Ambassador to China, Bush helped Kissinger oust Cambodian leader Lon Nol and install Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. More than 2 of a total 7 million Cambodians perished under Pol Pot, an estimated 32% of the population. (I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH OF THESE STATEMENTS I BELIEVE).

In 1976, Bush became Director of the CIA. When elected Vice President in 1980, he put his family fortune into a blind trust under the control of his close friend, William Stamps Farish, III, who also had inherited much of the Auschwitz death camp fortune. Farish’s grandfather was president of Standard Oil and controller of the global cartel between Standard Oil and the German I.G. Farben Corp., which operated the Auschwitz slave labor camps to produce artificial rubber and gasoline from coal. There, Jews and political opponents of Hitler were worked to death or murdered.

Some of Bush’s other notable, but generally under-reported, contributions include:

1) Helping to orchestrate the “October Surprise,” in which the Iranian government was bribed or coerced into holding the American hostages until after the 1980 election, thereby helping to ensure Carter’s defeat and a Reagan/Bush victory. (I TEND TO BELIEVE THERE MAY BE SOME TRUTH TO THIS STATEMENT).

2) The assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan two months after he took office. The Hinkley family is a Houston oil family and long-time friends of the Bushes. Their son tried to kill President Reagan and was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. (CONINCDENT OR TRUTH I HONESTLY DO NOT KNOW).

3) Presiding over the Savings and Loan/HUD scandal, in which taxpayers were made to pay over $500 billion for bailing out failed S&Ls. Son Neil Bush, director of Silverado Savings and Loan in Denver, is reported to have personally profited by about $1 billion. (THIS I BELIEVE).

4) As VP and therefore Head of the National Security Council’s Groups on Crisis Management, Drug Addiction, and Terrorism, Bush directed the Iran-Contra drug scandal, in which the secret government (comprised of ex-CIA and military intelligence operatives and businessmen) diverted profits from illegal arms sales to Iran to illegally fund the revolutionary Contras of Nicaragua and the Mujahedeen of Afghanistan. (THIS I BELIEVE). Under CIA protection, these covert operators flew vast quantities of cocaine and heroin into the poor neighborhoods of America, again using drug profits to fund the illegal covert war in Nicaragua, etc. (THIS I BELIEVE).

5) Under Bush’s watch, the CIA spent over $3 billion dollars fomenting holy war (“Jihad”) and training and funding the Mujahedeen terrorists (including Osama bin Laden), their networks, and training camps in Afghanistan. Thus, the Taliban, the Mujahedeen, and Osama bin Laden were established as CIA assets. Not coincidentally, under CIA supervision during the 80’s, Afghanistan became the number one heroin producer and exporter in the world. In 2000, the Taliban government banned the production of poppies (heroin). However, after the invasion of Iraq and installation of an American puppet government, Afghanistan is again the number one heroin producer in the world. (THIS I BELIEVE).

6) Under Bush’s supervision of the first “War on Terrorism,” hundreds of thousands of Innocent civilians were killed, tortured and disappeared in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Another million or so each, again mostly civilians, were killed in the U.S. supported and funded wars in Afghanistan and Iraq/Iran. (THIS I QUESTION).

7) Presiding over invasions into both Panama and Iraq in which some 8000 Panamanians and over 200,000 Iraqis were killed. The U.S had illegally sold tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons, including chemical and biological weapons, to Saddam Hussein during the 80’s to help him build the strongest regional power in the Middle East. (THIS I BELIEVE). Evidence indicates that Saddam was more or less set up for the Gulf War when U.S. Ambassador Glaspie told him the U.S. had no interest in his border dispute with Kuwait, it was a trap. (I FIND THIS HARD TO BELIEVE).

However, there were also perks for this hardworking politician/businessman. According to retired Brigadier General Bowen (in The Immaculate Deception: The Bush Crime Family Exposed), Bush and Saddam Hussein split about $250 billion in Persian Gulf oil kickbacks during the 1980’s, which were laundered through the scandal-ridden Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). (I FIND THIS HARD TO BELIEVE).

In 1988, Project Censored awarded the honor of “Top Censored Story” to the story of George Bush, revealing “how the major mass media ignored, overlooked or under-covered at least ten critical stories reported in America’s alternative press that raised serious questions about the Republican candidate, George Bush, dating from his reported role as a CIA “asset” in 1963 to his Presidential campaign’s connection with a network of anti-Semites with Nazi and fascist affiliations in 1988.”

Bush Sr. became a highly-paid consultant for the Carlyle Group, America’s 11th largest military contractor. In this capacity, he went to Saudi Arabia to meet with the Bin Laden family and the Saudi Royal family in 1998 and 2000. The Carlyle Group stood to make billions of dollars from Jr. Bush’s “War on Terror.” Thus, Bush Sr. was still profiteering handsomely from his insider connections. (THIS I BELIEVE).

George W. Bush (1946-present, Yale, Skull & Bones, class of 1968). As governor of Texas, the 43rd president of the United States presided over the execution of 52 inmates, including mentally retarded prisoners more than any other governor in US history until Ex-Governor Perry of Texas took the honor from him. He did, however, pardon one death row prisoner, a serial killer. (THIS I BELIEVE). As governor, he changed pollution laws to benefit energy companies and made Texas the most polluted state in the nation (I QUESTION THE POLUTION CLAIM SINCE I AM FROM TEXAS AND NEVER HEARD ANY TEXAN COMPLAINING ABOUT A POLLUTION PROBLEM. HE WOULD ALSO HAVE TO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE TEXAS CONGRESS TO CHANGE LAWS).

Other contributions of Ex-President George W. Bush:

1) Presiding over the government’s complicity and cover-up of the killing of about 3,000 people at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. (I QUESTION THIS CLAIM.)

2) Presiding over the greatest rollback of Constitutional civil liberties in the history of the country. The Patriot I and Homeland Security Acts, passed in 2001 and 2002, respectively, along with the pending Patriot II Act eliminate or threaten Constitutional rights guaranteed in our 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. (I SUPPORTED THESE CHANGES).

3) The high-tech massacre of many thousands of innocent and defenseless Afghani and Iraqi civilians who posed no security threat to the U.S. whatsoever and had no part in the crimes of 9-11. The two primary resources thereby controlled are opium and an oil pipeline in Afghanistan and, of course, oil in Iraq. The Bush administration, obviously responding to demands from the major oil companies, is clearly pursuing a strategy to dominate the world’s last, greatest fossil fuel reserves in the Persian Gulf and Caspian Basin. (THERE IS ALWAYS COLLATERAL DAMAGE IN WAR AND AMERICANS DO NOT UNERSTAND THAT).

4) Leading a “pre-emptive” war against Iraq in violation of international law (including the UN charter, the Nuremburg Tribunal and the Geneva Accords) and on the basis of entirely false pretexts. Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) carefully documents 237 lies told by the Bush administration in their efforts to convince the American people, the Congress, and the UN to go to war in Iraq. Interestingly, this document is no longer on the web. (PRESDENT BUSH WAS NOT THE ONLY WORLD LEADER TOLD THAT SADAM HAD WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION SO I FIND IT DIFFICULT TO AGREE WITH THIS CLAIM).

5) Proposing an endless “War on Terror” (i.e., military conquest abroad in service of resource looting for international corporations and a police state at home to suppress dissent), when, in fact, evidence shows that the “War on Terror” is a fraud and that the greatest purveyor of terror in the world, by far, is the U.S. government, with its CIA, School of the Americas, etc. (I DEFINITELY DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT AND WOULD THINK ONLY A HATER OF THE UNITED STATES WOULD MAKE SUCH STATEMENTS).

6) Presiding over the loss, mostly by outsourcing, of some 2.5 million American jobs in his first two years in office. (OBAMA CAME ALONG AND FOLLOWED IN BUSH’S FOOTSTEPS AND THE NEXT PRESIDENT WILL DO THE SAME BECAUSE THE U.S. CANNOT NEGOITATE GOOD TRADE AGREEMENTS).

7) Granting trillions of dollars’ worth of tax cuts to the richest 2% of Americans. Thereby, spending the $7 trillion surplus he inherited from Clinton and allowing the federal deficit to exceed $7 trillion, mainly by granting gigantic tax cuts to the rich and making huge increases in military spending. (THIS IS TRUE, BUT OBAMA HAS INCREASED THE DEFICIT MORE THAN ALL THE OTHER PRESIDENT’S PUT TOGETHER).

8) Presiding over one of the greatest Wall Street scandals (and stock market crashes) of all time (the Enron scandal, the creation of artificial gas shortages in California, etc.). (THIS IS TRUE).

9) De-funding and thereby further crippling our education, social services, health care, etc. (THE SOLUTION TO EDUCATION, SOCIAL SERVICES AND HEALTH CARE IS NOT MORE MONEY SO I DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT. I WOULD SUPPORT SOME MORE DEFUNDING BECAUSE THERE IS TOO MUCH WASTE).

10) The worst environmental record of any U.S. president in history, including the systematic weakening and rollback of all major environmental laws and regulations. (ENVIROMENTAL LAWS HAVE GOTTEN OUT OF HAND AND THEY ARE CRIPPLING OUR ECONOMY).

Four generations of Bushes have been instrumental, along with other Wall Street and international bankers, in creating and financing a series of great enemies (including the Soviets, the Nazis, Ho Chi Minh, Saddam Hussein, and Osama bin Laden). They and their international business partners, which typically include enemy leaders, have reaped tremendous profits from the wars they have orchestrated. The Bushes have been intimately involved in all the most profitable businesses, including banking (usury), energy (oil), sales of illicit drugs, and weapons/intelligence. Three generations of Bushes have been involved in America’s most elite secret society, Yale’s Skull and Bones, which many believe to be Satanic. (SATANIC I DO NOT KNOW - DESIRES ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT THAT IS TRUE). The “Great Plan” which they have been working so hard to usher in calls for the destruction of the United States of America as a sovereign nation and the establishment of a “New World Order” (DESTRUCTION OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER FIRST WORLD COUNTRIES WOULD BE THE RESULTS OF ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT), effectively a “Fourth Reich of the Rich.” Thus, they are all guilty of the highest crimes against humanity and the American people. (THIS STATEMENT OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY TO ME IS A BIT TOO DRAMATIC).

 It seems obvious that unless and until the Bush dynasty and their associates (international bankers, corporate and military leaders, secret societies, etc.) are exposed and brought to justice, they will continue to orchestrate and profit from future wars to the detriment of all humanity. (I AM AGAINST ANY FAMILY HAVING MORE THAN ONE MEMBER IN OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, BUT THIS SHOUD BE DECIDED BY THE VOTERS).

I know some of what he said to be true and I find some farfetched and just more conspiracy talk that a lot of people enjoy engaging in. I also realize that a lot of Americans have lost hope and are disappointed in our government leaders and it is easy for conspiracy stories to get started and once started they seem to get a life of their own. I have not lost hope, but I definitely am disappointed and unhappy with our leaders both Democrat and Republican. I am disappointed that the American people seem to be getting more and more ignorant of what is going on in our government and this is resulting in our electing poor leaders.  

I have honestly tried to back up the claims made in the coffee shop and claims found on the Internet and I honestly do not find any that I view as really credible. But, then I ask myself who is credible when it comes to the news. As far as I can tell all media today is bias and has an agenda, especially mainstream media that is owned and controlled by a few families - that happen to be extremely wealthy. Is it even possible for the average American or average citizen of the world to get the truth anymore? This is a sad commentary for the news media.

 

 

Teachings of Pope Francis - Part V

Our goal is not to proselytize but to listen to needs, desires, disappointments, despair and hope. We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future and spread love. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.

You cannot know Jesus without having problems. We only come to know Jesus on the daily path of life … in order to know Jesus; we need to enter into a dialogue with Him. If you don’t pray, you don’t know Him.

What will my cross be like? We do not know, but there will be a cross and we need to ask for the grace not to flee when it comes.

Faith contains the memory of our encountering God.

A people who do not take care of their elderly and their children have no future. The only commandment which brings with it a blessing is the fourth, the commandment which regards honoring our parents and the elderly.

God is in every person’s life even if the life of a person has been a disaster. You must try to seek God in every human life. There is always a space in which the good seed can grow.

Charity is simple: worshiping God and serving others.

Let us respect creation, let us not be instruments of destruction! Let us respect each human being. May there be an end to armed conflicts. May hatred yield to love, injury to pardon and discord to unity. Let us listen to the cry of all who are suffering and who are dying because of violence.

We can all flee from God. This is a daily temptation: not to listen to God, not to hear His voice, not to hear His promptings His invitation in our hearts.

Are you able to find the Word of God in the history of each day or do your ideas so govern you that you do not allow the Lord to speak to you?

Today let us all ask ourselves do I remain caught up in forms of material security, taking refuge in my own projects and plans. Do I truly let God into my life?

God asks us to be faithful to Him in our everyday life, even if we are sometimes unfaithful to Him, He remains faithful to us. He never tires of stretching out His hand to lift us up, to encourage us to come back and tell Him of our weakness, so that he can grant us His strength.

Saying “thank you” is such an easy thing and yet so hard! How often do we say “thank you” to one another in our families? These are essential words for our life. “Sorry,” “excuse me,” “thank you” - If families can say these three things, they will be fine. How often do we say “thank you” to those who help us. All too often we take everything for granted! This happens with God. It is easy to approach the Lord to ask for something, but do we thank Him.

God invites us to pray. Prayer makes us feel God’s presence. Persevering prayer is the expression of faith in God.

If money and material things become the center of our lives they seize us and make us slaves.

The Kingdom of Heaven is for those who do not place their security in material things, but in love for God.

 

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!

At what age are children old enough to take communion?

 

Churches such as Methodist, Presbyterian and some nondenominational churches believe that children should not be excluded from Communion because it sends the wrong message to children. They suggest that Jesus forbid the exclusion of children from His presence, so excluding children from the communion table says they are unwelcome and unloved by God.

The Catholic Church says that children can understand that communion is a mystery and should be taken with understanding, much as the position Paul took in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, “So if anyone eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, that person is guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup unworthily, not honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgement upon yourself.”

I do not think children that are unable to comprehend the meaning of communion should be allowed to take communion. I believe if children don’t feel they are excluded from God, it is possible that excluding them from participation at the communion table can create a healthy spirit of anticipation for later inclusion in the sacrament. Churches who believe that children should understand the sacrament before taking their first communion can encourage parents to educate their child about the sacrament, provide classes that educate children or include an explanation prior to communion and in kids’ Sunday school classes.

Some say parents should decide when their child is capable of understanding why we celebrate communion. I do not agree with that because some parents are irresponsible in taking communion themselves. It is naïve for us to think that all parents partake of communion with the right attitude. I know of people that took communion from me that took it because they would be embarrassed not to and in reality they should not have been taking it.

I have had parents in my parish tell me I have told my child when they feel they are old enough to date, drink, smoke, have sex or use drugs they can as long as they tell me in advance. I have had parents tell me I have told my child if they are going to have sex, drink, smoke or use drugs I would prefer they do it in our home. Do we want these same parents allowing their children to make the decision as to when they should take communion? I don’t think so.

I read of a man that stated, “I have been talking about our child taking communion extensively with a friend of mine. We both have daughters who are three years old. His daughter has not yet expressed an interest in taking communion. Mine has, and we have decided to allow her to participate. My friend has a real hang up about this, believing that communion is solely for those who have already made a decision to trust in Christ. I have studied the Scriptures carefully, and there seems to be nothing directly on point that would prevent our child from taking communion. Besides Jewish children in the O.T. and today partake of the Passover meal and that is similar to communion. They both are to teach about what God has done for us.”  This statement is a perfect example of why I do not want the church to allow parents to make the decision as to what age is appropriate for their child to take communion.

I cannot find an example in the New Testament where a child or a non-Christian took the Lord’s Supper. Unlike the Passover, which was eaten by the household, the Lord’s Supper was taken when the Christians gathered together to form the body of Christ. Since the Lord’s Supper is for Christians it excludes our children from partaking of it. The reason I say this is because under the New Covenant we must choose to become a Christian it is not a birthright. To choose to follow Christ implies we know what we are doing. The Passover was a command of God that the Jews were obligated to follow and under the New Covenant we are not obligated to follow Christ or take communion.

We are supposed to partake of communion in remembrance of Jesus. Just as the Passover was a reminder to the Jews of how death passed over them, which led to their freedom from slavery, the Lord’s Supper reminds us of how Jesus made eternal salvation possible for us by becoming the perfect sacrifice on the cross so we could have freedom from the bondage of sin.

When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim His death until He comes again. Even when our children do not partake of the Lord’s Supper, when they see us partaken of it every week, they most likely will eventually ask us why we do it, and we can use that opportunity to teach them about what it represents without them partaking of it. If they do not ask we should tell them. Remember, they are not commanded to partake of it like the Jewish children were commanded to partake of the Passover.

Young children can go through motions of eating the bread and drinking the fruit of the vine, but I do not think they can fully understand what they are doing or why they are doing it. If I am correct then how can they be taking communion in a worthy manner? If they are old enough to understand the significance of the communion and everything that goes with it, then they are old enough to make a decision to become a Christian.

While we can learn much from the Old Testament, we cannot use it to justify what we do under the New Testament. The Jews under the Old Testament were commanded to observe the Passover with their household, but Christians are commanded to partake of the Lord’s Supper together when they worship God on the first day of the week. While we should encourage our children to pray, give, sing, and listen to the priest or preacher, we must not allow them partake of communion until they become Christians because they need to know what they are doing so they can partake of it in a worthy manner.

I also believe that communion has an element of ‘unity’ in it and if a child cannot understand that Christ wants ‘unity’ in the church (body of Christ) then what is the point in their taking communion with the rest of the members. Perhaps the reason the church lacks ‘unity’ is because the parents do not understand that communion is also a symbol of ‘unity’ among the church family.

Some say that a person should not take communion unless they have been baptized. I realize some churches require baptism prior to communion and as a general rule I have no problem with that, but it is not stated in Scripture that a person must be baptized before being able to receive communion. The Lord's Supper was instituted by Jesus with His disciples the evening before His crucifixion (Matthew 26:20-28). In Matthew 28:19, after our Lord's death and resurrection, He gave the Great Commission to His disciples to go into the entire world and teach His Gospel, followed with the command to also baptize the new believers.

Communion is only to be taken by believers in Jesus Christ. Baptism is intended to be an identifying mark of believers in Christ. Therefore, some churches require water baptism before a person can partake of the Lord's Supper. However, again, Scripture nowhere gives us this instruction.

Personally I would prefer baptism prior to communion, but my heart tells me that anyone who confesses faith in Jesus should be free to participate in the unifying celebration of communion. The Catholic Church requires baptism prior to communion and I certainly do not fault that view and if I were not retired I would enforce that rule.