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Officials Believe 11 Mexicans Beheaded as Part of Death-Saint Ritual
The heads of 11 decapitated bodies discovered in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula last week may have been burned in a ritual, investigators said.
Police said they found an altar to the skeletal figure of the "Santa Muerte," an unofficial patron saint of death, in the home of two men arrested in connection with the slayings and discovered several scorched spots in a nearby clearing.
A Public Safety Department statement sent late Sunday said police suspect the heads were burned in the clearing, though it did not say what evidence they had to support that theory. Public Safety officials declined to give further details Monday, citing an ongoing investigation.
Decapitations have become more frequent in battles between Mexico's powerful drug cartels. The 11 corpses appeared to be the largest group of beheadings since gunmen tossed five human heads into a bar two years ago.
The bodies were found piled on top of each other Thursday in a field outside Merida, a city in the Yucatan Peninsula that had largely been spared from drug violence.
The next day, police arrested three suspects with a bloody hatchet and other weapons after a shootout and a highway chase. Police say they acknowledged belonging to the Zetas, a group of hit men tied to the Gulf cartel. The suspects have not yet been charged.
The Santa Muerte is one of several unofficial folk saints worshipped in Mexico. The cult has become popular among criminals in Mexico, many of whom believe that the "saint" — not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church — can keep them from getting caught or killed. Many people not engaged in criminal activities also worship the Santa Muerte in hopes of gaining favors or intercession.
Rituals performed for the Santa Muerte include offerings of cigarettes, candy and prayers based on a modified version of catholic rites, but do not normally include any kind of blood sacrifice.
If police suspicions about the ritual burning prove true, it would recall the 1989 killing of a Texas college student and 12 other people by a drug trafficking cult.
Student Mark Kilroy's mutilated body was unearthed a month after the 21-year-old vanished while on spring break in Matamoros, a border town across from Brownsville, Texas. The cult believed human sacrifice would protect it from police and rivals. Its high priestess and four of her followers were sentenced to more than 60 years in prison in 1994.
Mexicans are increasingly angry about rising violence, and on Saturday well over 100,000 people marched in cities nationwide to demand the government put an end to daily killings, kidnappings and shootouts. The heads of 11 decapitated bodies discovered in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula last week may have been burned in a ritual, investiga... more -
Gay sex is a sin, say most Protestants in the U.K
"Most Protestant Christians in Britain believe gay sex is a sin and that practising gays should not be ordained, according to a new survey.
A survey of 517 Christians found that only 3% of non-Catholic Christians believe homosexuality is not a sin, while 81% say it is and 15% say “it is more complicated than this”, reports The Times.
Taking into account all Protestant denominations, 81% believe that gay sex is sinful.
The survey was published as the Government granted asylum to a leading Nigerian gay Christian activist, Davis MacIyalla.
The Archbishop, preaching at St Dunstan's Church in Canterbury this week, had some criticism for the Church: "Our Anglican family badly needs to find some ways of resolving its internal tensions that will set it free to be more confidently what God wants it to be.""
How does your religion affect your view of gay people? "Most Protestant Christians in Britain believe gay sex is a sin and that practising gays should not be ordained, according to a n... more -
SPIRITUALITY vs. RELIGION
I did not write this although I do agree with it.
SPIRITUALITY vs. RELIGION:
Spirituality says that God is within us, and that we do not need anyone else to make this particular divine connection for us.
Religion says that we are separated from God, and that we need to communicate with and worship this ascended entity in order to make the divine connection.
Spirituality says that we are free to make choices on our own, and that we must accept personal responsibility for our actions.
Religion says that we must make their choices and act their way, depending upon a given religious denomination's belief systems.
The theme of spirituality is fellowship through the employment of unconditional love.
The theme of religion is fellowship through fear and guilt.
Spirituality does not require us to make donations.
Religion has become a big business.
Spirituality says there is no Hell, no judgment, no angry God, and that we are loved unconditionally.
Religion says there is a Hell, God gets angry and judges us. Therefore, we are not loved unconditionally.
Spirituality says we are free to choose our own path to God.
Religion commands us to do it their way, depending upon a particular religious denomination's beliefs.
Spirituality says we go to God to lighten our burden.
Religion has taught us to fear their God, depending upon a particular religious demonination's beliefs.
Spirituality says we should not be ashamed of our sexuality. Rather, it should be a sacred celebration of love.
Religion has taught us to feel ashamed, guilty and dirty about our sexualty.
Spirituality teaches us to honor and respect Mother Earth.
Religion has told us to "Be thou fruitful, multiply and subdue the Earth." I repeat, "... subdue the Earth."
Spirituality reminds us that we are one with God and one with each other.
Religion teaches disunity and separation which is the opposite of God.
Spirituality says God is within everyone and everything.
Religion says God and His messengers reside in Heaven and that "they" are the only intermediaries for us.
Spirituality says we are born in innocence and purity.
Religion says we are born with sin.
Spirituality teaches that we are on a long spiritual adventure and journey which will ultimately end by reuniting with our Source.
Religion says we have got one life to get it all right, and there is nothing but Heaven or Hell after that.
Spirituality says we are free to express.
Religion, over time, fostered the dreaded inquisition.
Spirituality teaches unconditional love for all.
Religion, over time, fostered the Crusades in which many were killed and slaughtered in the name of God.
Spirituality teaches that we should love one another unconditionally and always honor the rights and choices of others.
Religion treated Native Americans, the Mayans and other indigenous cultures as savage primitives who "must be saved."
Spirituality teaches peace and harmony.
Religion has caused more wars and more killing than any other reason.
Spirituality says respect all living things.
I have never once heard any religion say stop slaughtering millions of trees every year for Christ's birthday.
Spirituality teaches us to have faith in ourselves.
Religion teaches us to have faith in them.
Spirituality says we have all the answers, that we can find them by "going within."
Religion teaches us that it has all the answers and only its answers are the right ones.
Spirituality teaches us to search for the Universal Truths, wherefrom our hearts will tell us when we have found them.
Religion teaches we have no choice but to accept their version of the Truth.
Which one feels better to you? Spirituality or religion?
Go to the depths of your heart for the answer for, indeed, it will never lie to you, my friend. I did not write this although I do agree with it. SPIRITUALITY vs. RELIGION: ... more -
Vatican: Excommunicate all female priests
The Vatican has decided to excommunicate all female priests and the male Bishops who ordained them. Analysts say it is meant to be a warning to all Catholics who want female priests.
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"The decree was written by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and published in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, giving it immediate effect."
"A Vatican spokesman said the decree made the church's existing ban on female priests more explicit by clarifying that excommunication would follow all such ordinations.'
"Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, said he thought the decree was meant to send a warning to the growing number of Catholics who favor admitting women to the priesthood."
"I think the reason they're doing this is that they've realized there is more and more support among Catholics for ordaining women, and they want to make clear that this is a no-no," Reese said
End of Excerpt
Sources: MSNBC, Reuters The Vatican has decided to excommunicate all female priests and the male Bishops who ordained them. Analysts say it is meant to be ... more -
How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?
Author of The God Delusion in person is a lot more open-minded than his critics would have you believe. Peter McKnihgt decided to ask him about the first, and in particular about the many criticisms levelled at him and his most recent book, the bestselling The God Delusion. Author of The God Delusion in person is a lot more open-minded than his critics would have you believe. Peter McKnihgt decided to ask ... more
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Lutheran Bishop inspires interfaith groups to join EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day ...
(Chicago, Illinois) - Faith leaders across eight Great Lakes states are urging their members to participate in an Earth Day 2008 challenge to collect one million pounds of electronics and more than one million pills because trust is needed between all people to stop “an environmental crisis.”
The U.S. EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in high gear with more than 100 projects involving hundreds of communities collecting pharmaceuticals, electronics and household poisons.
An EPA grant to the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) is mobilizing religious communities in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.
A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in numerous interfaith Earth Day recycling projects hopes people of all faiths will help protect the environment.
“We are in an environmental crisis in many ways,” said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). “The Great Lakes watershed is really kind of a mother to all of us" in the Midwest.
Interfaith environment projects like the challenge will help ensure a better future for all humans, Skrenes said, adding “sometimes it's trusting each other that really counts in environmental work.”
“The culture, the society and the environment are now connecting in some fantastic new ways to build relationships between people,” Skrenes said. “We are building trust along and across denominational lines.”
The EHI is a coalition of American Indian tribes and a "partnership of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together and sharing their projects and resources to heal, protect and defend the environment,” said founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
Saying “it’s not your grandfather’s environment movement anymore,” Skrenes said that environmental work is now more mainstream and no longer “an obscure thing for a certain group of people” unlike 40 years ago when he was in high school “and I dare say some of my relatives said it was kind of a hippie movement.”
“The church is called to bring people together to be part of the healing,” Skrenes said. “This interfaith earth healing effort is really a great gift that has been given to all of us."
Interfaith organizations assisting the EHI include the University of Minnesota Lutheran Campus Ministry, the Arrowhead Interfaith Council in Duluth, the Marquette University Ministry outlets in Milwaukee, several Catholic interfaith groups and the ELCA office of Ecumenical Formation and Inter-Religious Relations.
The interfaith EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan including the Earth Keepers, who removed more than 370 tons of e-Waste, pharmaceuticals and household poisons during three Earth Day clean sweeps.
The northern Michigan Earth Keeper project involves the congregations of over 150 churches and temples representing ten faith communities: Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Zen Buddhist and the Religious Society of Friends commonly known as the Quakers.
The EHI is coordinating the same interfaith relationships. For more info call 906-401-0109 (Chicago, Illinois) - Faith leaders across eight Great Lakes states are urging their members to participate in an Earth Day 2008 chall... more -
Catholics waver on faith but like pope
U.S. Catholics give high marks to Pope Benedict XVI and they're more satisfied with their bishops than four years ago, but they're still drifting from church teachings and practices, a study released Sunday shows.
On the eve of Benedict's first papal trip here, 82% of U.S. Catholics say they are satisfied with his leadership, according the study, which was conducted by the church's research arm in the USA.
Esteem for bishops rose to 72%, up from a low of 53% in May 2002, when the question was first asked. The clergy sexual abuse scandal, when many Catholics felt bishops had failed to protect children, exploded in January 2002. Bishops had their highest rating, 74%, in 2005 when Benedict was elected.
Even so, only 43% of Catholics say they look to church teachings, the pope and their bishops "in deciding what is morally acceptable," according to the study, Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice among U.S. Catholics. U.S. Catholics give high marks to Pope Benedict XVI and they're more satisfied with their bishops than four years ago, but they&#... more -
Pope: Want to be a Priest? Pedophiles need not apply
"We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," he told reporters accompanying him on his first trip as pope to the United States. "We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," he told reporters accompanying him on his first trip as po... more
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Earth Healing Initiative: Menominee Indian Tribe of WI in Great Lakes 2008 Earth D...
Youth and adults at the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin plan three events as part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
(Keshena, Wisconsin) - As the students of all ages plan a major hands-on clean up of a tribal community and the recycling of electronics and proper disposal of unwanted medications to honor Earth Day 2008, adult members of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin in Keshena, WI have already turned in several thousand pounds of electronic waste as part of a national Earth Day Project.
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin is collecting e-Waste all month including during the tribe's regular curbside bulk items Spring Cleaning collection on April 21-24 (Monday thru Thursday).
"We are getting lots of electronics right now," said Diana Wolf, the MITW Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator.
The projects are part of the eight-state Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge sponsored by the USEPA. The events are being promoted by the interfaith Earth Healing Initiative that teams numerous faith communities and American Indian tribes with local challenge organizers to be volunteers and participants in the projects spread across the Great Lakes basin.
During the first week of April, the tribe’s drop-off sites collected several thousand pounds of electronics including 919 pounds of "low-grade circuit boards" removed from TV sets, stereos, high quality computers, cassette players and other electronics.
Wolf estimated that about two tons (4,000 pounds) of electronics will be turned in by the end of the month.
“We will do whatever it takes to do cradle to grave recycling,” Wolf said. "We are not making a profit off of it but it is the right thing to do."
On April 25 students at the Menominee Tribal School (k-8) will be cleaning the area around the school of litter and recyclables and other downtown areas of Neopit. The tribe's 234,000-acre reservation includes the communities of Keshena, Zoar and South Branch.
"The students will be picking up litter and recyclables - and anything that's on the roads or sidewalks or the yards," Wolf said, adding the students will be planting 50 saplings.
"We are inviting the parents to bring a potluck and there will likely be wild rice and other Native American dishes," Wolf said.
The lunch will include a drama performance and include Native Music involving the "Wind Eagle Drum" or the "high school drum" consisting of students who are learning the music of the Menominee tribe's history.
"Our school is very much a cultural-motivated school," Wolf said. "The school teaches about the Menominee culture and language. The students learn about our Menominee history and our language amongst the non-native teaching."
"My children speak fluent Menominee because they have been in the school for three years," Wolf said.
Menominee tribal college students are doing their part to protect the planet with e-Waste and pharmaceutical collections.
The College of Menominee Nation (State Hwy. 47/55) in Keshena, is accepting e-waste and unwanted medicines on April 22 from 9 a.m. to noon and accepting e-Waste from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the commons building.
The college’s Implementing Sustainable Development class is hosting the collection with help from the tribe's solid waste coordinator.
The e-Waste collection will accept electronics including old/broken computers, cell phones and batteries.
The pharmaceutical collection is accepting old and unwanted medications that must be in their original bottle or container.
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org/keshena.html
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
http://www.menominee.edu
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov/earthWeekFlyer.pdf Youth and adults at the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin plan three events as part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge ... more -
Our Family
Meet Thad and Amy, your typical twenty-somethings...except for their four kids in eight years of marriage.
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Theology On Tap
All the wholesomeness of Sunday morning mass, but with a light buzz. "Theology on Tap" is a lecture series presented by the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. This evening's topics include the distinction of church and state, centrism vs. extremism, and inevitably, lager vs. ale. All the wholesomeness of Sunday morning mass, but with a light buzz. "Theology on Tap" is a lecture series presented by the... more
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