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Pope Francis Defends Top Vatican Official Cardinal George Pell Who Is Accused Of Child Sex Crimes

Charges of sexual offenses against Cardinal George Pell have placed new pressure on Pope Francis to make good on pledges to root out abuses in the church.

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Charges of sexual offenses against one of the Vatican’s top-ranking prelates have placed new pressure on Pope Francis to make good on pledges to root out, punish and prevent abuses that have shaken the Roman Catholic Church worldwide.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Pope Francis has vowed to hold all Catholic priests responsible who have sexually abused children in thier various parishes around the world. Now comes the shocking news that a top Vatican cardinal, George Pell, has been charged with pedophilia. Pell is also the Pope’s senior advisor and confidant. Will Francis do the right thing, or will he continue to cover for pedophile priests while promising reform? To date, over 4,400 Catholic priests have been charged with pedophilia. 

“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:” Revelation 17:4 (KJB)

Cardinal George Pell, the most senior church official to be implicated in a far-flung scandal of decades’ standing, said Thursday that he would return to his native Australia to face the charges against him. He dismissed the charges as “relentless character assassination.”

The cardinal, who is a senior advisor to Francis, told reporters in Vatican City that the pontiff had granted him a leave of absence to contest the charges, which bring the globe-spanning abuse allegations directly to the gates of the Vatican.

Although cases of priest-committed pedophilia and their wrenchingly long-lasting repercussions remain an open wound in dozens of dioceses across the United States and other countries, it is rare for direct allegations of abuse to reach the level of a cardinal, each of whom is known as a “prince of the church.”

Hear Cardinal George Pell’s response to child sex assault charges:

Australian authorities described the charges against Pell as centering on sex offenses committed decades ago in Australia — “historical” crimes, in police language. Pell had already come under withering scrutiny in his homeland for allegedly helping to cover up sexual predation by others while he held senior church positions in Australia.

From his humble beginnings as a parish priest, Pell, 76, rose to become the Vatican’s powerful finance czar, tasked by Francis with untangling the convoluted accounting practices of the church’s worldwide empire. The cardinal’s sidelining could significantly hamper that ambitious reform effort, which has drawn significant hostility from elements of the Vatican bureaucracy.

The abuse scandal, which has colored successive papacies, is a far more visible public battle.

Cardinal George Pell charged with historical sex abuse offences:

Pope Francis has pledgedzero tolerance” for sexual abuse within the clerical ranks and has offered personal apologies to victims for past sexual predation and the church’s attempts to diminish and deny it. Yet he has also come under criticism for alleged foot-dragging and failure to forcefully confront institutional resistance to transparency and accountability.

“Clearly, this case is going to turn up the heat on this pope’s record on examination of sexual abuse,” said John Allen, the editor of Crux, an independent website covering the Vatican and the church. But he predicted that Pell, who in his youth excelled at the rough-and-tumble sport of Australian rules football, would aggressively fight the charges.

The cardinal, who did not take questions during his Vatican City appearance, has been ordered to appear before a court in Melbourne on July 18. “I am looking forward finally to having my day in court,” Pell told reporters. “I repeat that I am innocent of these charges. They are false.… The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.”

The charges originated in the Australian state of Victoria, where police said, without providing details, that there were multiple charges from multiple complainants lodged against Pell.

For many victims in the U.S. and elsewhere, the cardinal’s case revives painful memories of being disbelieved and dismissed after suffering abuses in childhood at the hands of priests who were respected, even beloved, in their communities.

In one of the most notorious U.S. cases, in the Archdiocese of Boston, abuse and cover-ups involving hundreds of clergy and thousands of victims, many dating back decades, were documented in a 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning series by the Boston Globe and the 2015 movie “Spotlight.” But new accusations, of abuse and systematic attempts to conceal it, continue to surface.

During his visit to the United States in 2015, Francis disappointed and surprised many victims and advocates when he appeared to praise American bishops for their handling of abuse cases. Although the pope has since expressed sympathy for those who suffered abuse, Vatican follow-up has been inadequate, said Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer and priest who has worked with victims of pedophile priests in the U.S. for more than three decades.

Pope Francis vows to hold clergy accountable for child sex abuse:

Pope Francis vowed to end the long history of Catholic priests sexually abusing young children, most of them boys. Will he keep his promise or sweep it under the rug like all the others?

“Hopefully, this will get the pope’s attention, not only about Pell but about the problem in general,” he said. “The pope has done nothing so far. There’s a lot of disappointment among victims.”

With the Pell case throwing into sharp relief a long-standing sense of alienation and anger, the case could have grave ramifications for Francis’ papacy, some Vatican watchers said.

“It poses an enormous credibility challenge,” said Cristina Traina, a religion professor at Northwestern University. “It needs to be taken quite seriously. Statements of regret and distress and promises to do better in the future at this point are inadequate.”

Critics point to an enormous backlog of sexual abuse cases that have gone unacted upon. In 2014, Francis created a commission including two abuse victims to advise on the weeding out of predator priests, but the two victims — Peter Saunders and Marie Collins — left the commission amid frustrations over its inaction.

Collins said in an online post that though she was reserving judgment on whether Pell was guilty of committing abuse, he should have been made to answer to allegations he took part in cover-ups and should never have attained the prominent post he was given by Francis.

Pope Benedict resigned as child sex abuse allegations swirled around him:

“He should never have been allowed to hide out in the Vatican to avoid having to face those in his home country who needed answers,” Collins wrote on her website. The case will take time to wend its way through Australian courts, and the outcome could ultimately color Francis’ overall legacy, some observers said.

“His very image as a bold reformer hangs in the balance here, depending on what measures he takes in the aftermath of the Pell case,” said Andrew Chesnut, a professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. “Sex abuse cases are the Achilles’ heel of his papacy.”

Previously, Pell said he was ill and declined to return to Australia to testify in a government inquiry, answering questions instead in February 2016 by video link from a Rome hotel.

The cardinal has acknowledged “catastrophic” errors on the church’s part in its handling of abuse complaints, but denied any personal wrongdoing.

So far, the Vatican has been largely supportive of Pell. Last year, when police confirmed that the cardinal was under investigation for sex offenses, Francis said it was important not to rush to judgment.

“It’s in the hands of the justice system, and one cannot judge before the justice system,” the pontiff said then. “After the justice system speaks, I will speak.”

Some Vatican watchers, however, pointed to a degree of papal distancing from Pell. A Vatican spokesman said Thursday that effective immediately the cardinal would not be taking place in liturgical celebrations.

The Vatican, which is a sovereign city-state in the middle of Rome, has sometimes sheltered church officials from criminal allegations.

Under previous popes, it sheltered officials wanted by other countries. That included even Italy, which was rebuffed when it sought the handover of Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, the then-head of the Vatican bank who was wanted for questioning about the fraudulent bankruptcy of a private Italian bank.

But Francis took a tougher line toward Jozef Wesolowski, a former archbishop who was accused of paying shoeshine boys for sex while serving as papal ambassador in the Dominican Republic. He was recalled and defrocked but was found dead of natural causes in 2015 in his Vatican quarters before he could face a judge. source

 


 

Artificial Intelligence

End Times Villain Bill Gates Says That AI Will Replace Humans In ‘Most Things’ Who Will No Longer Be Needed In The Coming Dystopian Future

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Bill Gates: Within 10 years, AI will replace many doctors and teachers—humans won’t be needed ‘for most things’

At the end of the 19th century, there was an explosion of technology that was unprecedented in human history, as if a spirit had risen and had given man a form of wisdom not previously possessed. This massive increase in available knowledge was prophesied in the book of Daniel and guess what? We again experiencing a level of unprecedented intelligence and this time it’s the artificial kind. AI is preparing this world to receive the counterfeit king the Bible calls Antichrist, and predictably, Bill Gates is front and center in the end times action.

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4 (KJB)

Christian, we are living in the most technologically-advanced civilization of all time, but you’d do well to put your nose deep into your King James Bible, the scripture of truth, if you want to find out what’s really going on. The book of James 3:13-18 (KJB) tells us that there is a wisdom that comes from above and is pure, peaceable and gentle. That’s the Bible and the Holy Spirit. But there is another wisdom that is not from above, but is earthly, sensual and devilish. That’s AI and the tech titans. Can you tell the difference between the two? You can if you have a King James Bible and the Holy Spirit.

Over the next decade, advances in artificial intelligence will mean that humans will no longer be needed “for most things” in the world, says Bill Gates.

FROM CNBC: That’s what the Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist told comedian Jimmy Fallon during an interview on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” in February. At the moment, expertise remains “rare,” Gates explained, pointing to human specialists we still rely on in many fields, including “a great doctor” or “a great teacher.”

But “with AI, over the next decade, that will become free, commonplace — great medical advice, great tutoring,” Gates said.

In other words, the world is entering a new era of what Gates called “free intelligence” in an interview last month with Harvard University professor and happiness expert Arthur Brooks. The result will be rapid advances in AI-powered technologies that are accessible and touch nearly every aspect of our lives, Gates has said, from improved medicines and diagnoses to widely available AI tutors and virtual assistants.

“It’s very profound and even a little bit scary — because it’s happening very quickly, and there is no upper bound,” Gates told Brooks.

The debate over how, exactly, most humans will fit into this AI-powered future is ongoing. Some experts say AI will help humans work more efficiently — rather than replacing them altogether — and spur economic growth that leads to more jobs being created.

Others, like Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, counter that continued technological advancements over the next several years will change what most jobs look like across nearly every industry, and have a “hugely destabilizing” impact on the workforce.

“These tools will only temporarily augment human intelligence,” Suleyman wrote in his book “The Coming Wave,” which was published in 2023. “They will make us smarter and more efficient for a time, and will unlock enormous amounts of economic growth, but they are fundamentally labor replacing.” READ MORE

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

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But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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Free Bible Program

Sleek New $143 Million Maine Correctional Center In Windham Has Everything But King James Bibles As Chaplain Issues Request For Assistance

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Sleek new $143 million Maine Correctional Center in Windham opens after four years of construction with everything but King James Bibles and we’re fixing that

The new Maine Correctional Center in Windham officially opened in 2023 on the grounds of the former prison, which was more than 100 years old. The new facility is a medium security facility with a capacity of 566 male residents and 54 female residents, not including the Women’s Center. It looks more like a hotel than like a prison, is equipped with all the latest amenities, and provides ample opportunities for education, rehabilitation, and treatment services for all of the incarcerated population. Sounds pretty good. What doesn’t it have? King James Bibles, and we’re fixing that.

Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” Ecclesiastes 8:4 (KJB)

Chaplain Daniel reached out to us a few days ago and said “I have many unmet requests for KJV Bibles in this facility and I am looking for resources that may help meet this need. Thank you.” You can look all you like, but organizations that will send out large print full King James Bibles are few and far between. That’s why God raised up Bibles Behind Bars, to meet the ‘unmet requests’ for King James Bibles that come from so many jail and prison chaplains across the country. Come help us to send out a couple hundred KJVs to Chaplain Daniel at the Maine Correctional Center, Chaplain Lison at the Sweetwater County Detention Center in Wyoming, and all the others who write to us on a regular basis looking for help from Florida all the way up to Alaska. We need you!

If God has prospered you, please take a moment to click on the donate button to help us in this monumental task of providing King James Bibles, New Testaments, scripture portions, gospel tracts as well as Spanish Bibles to inmates in jails and prisons from Florida to Alaska, and every state in between. We need your prayers, we need your generous financial support, and we need you to stand with us in the closing days of the Church Age. Thank you so very much, TO THE FIGHT!!!


NOTE: If you need a 501 C3 Letter of Donation for tax purposes, please send your donation to:

NTEB Ministries
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Ste. 1272-129
Virginia Beach, VA 23454.


Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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European Union

European Union Chief Tells All 27 Member States To Prepare For World War 3 With Supplies And ‘Survival Kits’ As War With Russia Grows Ever Closer

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The European Union is ready to order all of its citizens to prepare survival kits with 72-hours worth of supplies in the face of a looming World War 3 threat as NATO warned Russia it faces a “devastating” revenge strike if they attack any part of the EU

With each passing day, the drumbeats of war grow louder and louder as a military conflict between the European Union and Russia now seems unavoidable. NTEB has told you from the beginning of the war in Ukraine, that Putin is not trying to win the war, his goal is to keep it percolating at a nice, little simmer until he can draw everyone else into it. Last week, it was just the nation of France issuing the World War 3 ‘Survival Guide’, and today it’s all 27 member states who will get them. That’s progress, and that’s the memo.

“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Psalm 9:17 (KJB)

The headlines are also blaring a possible coming conflict between the United States and Iran, warning signs include but not limited to military buildup, Iranian proxies, sanctions, military muscle flexing, and imposed deadlines. The Trump administration seems intent on two things at the moment. One, they want to impose a ‘peace deal’ on Ukraine negotiated with the Russian without Ukraine input, and two, a military conflict in the Middle East. In the meantime, Putin sits fat and happy watching the rest of the world readjusting itself to suit his agenda.               

EU to order ALL citizens to ready WW3 survival kits as NATO warns Putin faces ‘devastating’ revenge if he attacks Europe

FROM THE SUN US: European Union bureaucrats are pushing for every household in the 27-nation bloc to prepare the kit for war and natural disasters. It is expected that will be part of a union’s broader “preparedness strategy” amid the threat from Russia. Key items they will ask the bloc’s 450 million citizens to gather includes water, energy bars and a flashlight.

And meanwhile, NATO boss Rutte issued one of his strongest rebukes to Putin yet as he vowed a “fierce” response to any attack on Europe. Speaking in Warsaw, Poland, the ex-Dutch Prime Minister warned of any settlement to end the war in Ukraine that would be “favourable” to Putin.

He said: “Eastern Europe fear such an outcome would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to rebuild his country’s forces and threaten other countries in the region in the coming year.”

“If anyone were to miscalculate and think they can get away with an attack on Poland or on any other ally, they will be met with the full force of this fierce alliance. Our reaction will be devastating.”

“This has to be very clear to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and anyone else who wants to attack us.”

Rutte’s comments come as Europe has been put on notice by the White House – with new US President Donald Trump determined to find a quick end to the war in Ukraine and putting Europe on notice. Trump is calling on Britain and the EU to up their military spending so they no longer have to “rely” on the US for protection.

Elsewhere, in a chilling show of force, the Kremlin fired the cruise missiles from its Ufa attack sub in the Sea of Japan. Russian state media boasted claims that the missiles hit a land target over 620 miles away in the Khabarovsk region, as well as a naval target. And after the agreement yesterday of a ceasefire in the Black Sea, both Russia and Ukraine accused the other of breaching the deal.

President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of “manipulations and threats” and warning: “We don’t believe them. The world really doesn’t believe Russia.” Zelensky added: “Unfortunately, even now, even today, on the very day of negotiations, we see how the Russians have already begun to manipulate.” READ MORE

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Continue Reading

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