Male Nurse Commits Suicide at Hospital

IOL News:

A nurse committed suicide at Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital in Johannesburg, the Gauteng health department said on Monday.

“Around lunch time yesterday (Sunday), other students noted that Musawakhe Mazibuko, a third year male student nurse, was planning to commit suicide and they called internal security personnel immediately,” spokesman Sello Mokoena said.

They called the police, including a negotiator, paramedics, the nursing manager on duty and Musawakhe’s sister Thandeka, after he asked to see her.

The 24-year-old jumped from a 12th floor window.

Gauteng health MEC Ntombi Mekgwe sent her condolences to the Mazibuko family.

“Our prayers are with you during this difficult time and we will continue to ask the Lord to give you strength to deal with your loss.”

Mass for Liberal Believers Angers Archbishop

Saying there were significant abuses at a mass held Sunday by liberal Catholics, Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron will commission a “careful and thorough review” of the services led by a local Catholic priest, a church spokesman said.

Defying Vigneron’s orders, the Rev. Bob Wurm, 78, a retired Catholic priest from Ferndale, presided over a mass at Cobo Center attended by about 1,500 Catholics. Most of them were liberals seeking to reform the church.

They were in Detroit for a conference led by the American Catholic Council, an umbrella group of 30 liberal Catholic organizations.

In a stern letter sent to clergy before the conference, Vigneron said that any priest or deacon who took part in the planned mass could face punishment and be defrocked. He said the conference would feature speakers who contradict Catholic doctrine and would not conduct a proper mass.

But that didn’t stop Wurm from leading the mass. And dozens of additional Catholic priests from metro Detroit attended.

“There were several, serious liturgical abuses at that service,” said Ned McGrath, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Detroit. “There will be — has to be — a careful and thorough review.”

It’s too early to say what exact punishment Wurm might face, McGrath said…

The above and more here.

Unacceptable behaviour by rebellious, derisive Church folk…

Israel Defence Force: We Must Keep the Next War Short!

A fair warning:

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Benny Gantz recently stated that in a future war Israel will have to make sure that it secures a “swift” and decisive victory, because “we know that our ability to decide the battle depends on the Home Front’s resilience.”

It is well known that Israel’s enemies have been stockpiling missiles for the sole purpose of targeting Israeli cities with the most condensed population. Military intelligence officials predict that Tel Aviv would be a front in the next war. 

With the U.S.’s financial assistance, Israel has developed the most advanced missile defense systems in the world. Nonetheless, even the most advanced defense system, such as the Iron Dome, will not eradicate the threat of incoming missiles.

Israelis are well aware of the gravity of the situation, and we often contemplate where we will find shelter in case of war. Many Israelis do not have adequate bomb shelters, and many people living in major Israeli cities are vulnerable to missile attack.

Therefore, with God’s help, it will be the IDF’s responsibility to ensure a swift and decisive victory in order to keep targeted and vulnerable civilian populations safe.

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Byzantine Church Discovered in Acre

Discovery of public structure in north Israel city is breakthrough, first time Christian structure has been unearthed in Acre, a city said to have been highly influential in early years of Christianity.

Fantastic! Haaretz has more:

The Israel Antiquities Authority has had a breakthrough discovery, unearthing a public structure from the time of the Byzantine Empire in the northern Israeli city of Acre.

The structure is about 1,500 years-old and it is believed to have served as a church. The structure was uncovered during a rescue excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority following an unauthorized dig in the area that uncovered the structure.

The excavation was done approximately 100 meters west of a mound located in the eastern part of Acre, close to the area in which the future Azrieli shopping mall is being built.

 

Nurit Page, head of the excavations in the area under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority said that the city’s bishop was known in Christian scriptures as someone who was extremely influential in the development of Christianity as a religion.

This discovery is the first concrete proof of Acre’s role in early Christianity. “This is an important discovery for the study of Acre,” Page said, adding that it is of particular significance “considering no remnants from the Byzantine Period had been found other than living quarters near the [Mediterranean] sea.”

The Antiquities Authority says that the size of the building and its impressive style show that this was a public building that was used in the bishop’s city of Acre during the Byzantine Period. Archaeologists have pointed to other indicators that the excavations are in fact of Christian origin, including the roofing tiles used on the structure, the bits of ornate marble and the shards and rings they found nearby.

More here.

Five Myths About Worship in the Early Church

Check them out here.

Speaking of the Pope: Pray for his Safety

Rorate Caeli has the snippet:

Security was considerably increased in the Vatican yesterday after direct threats against the Holy Father were made in a recently-released video by a member of an extreme Islamist group. The Pope and the Italian Prime Minister were called “easy  targets” in the video.

 

[Source: various Italian agencies, including AGI.]

 

Let us pray for the Holy Father.

 

 

A New Comic Book Hero: Pope Benedict XVI

Move over, Spider-Man. Here come some new comic-book heroes.

Among this new breed of heroes are Pope Benedict XVI, St. Paul and Old Testament figure Judith.

They are the stars of comic books done in a style older generations never saw in the comic-book rack at the neighborhood drugstore growing up. The genre is called manga, a Japanese genre of cartoons and comic books, and Jonathan Lin, who runs Manga Hero, may well be the world’s only publisher of Catholic manga comics. A 32-page Pope Benedict manga comic will be distributed in August during World Youth Day in Madrid. Lin said he expects to have 300,000 copies produced in Spain to meet demand. He hopes it will whet World Youth Day participants’ appetites for a longer Pope Benedict manga to be produced this fall in the United States…

More here.

Harold Camping Suffers a Stroke

Was he smoted?

Harold Camping, president of Family Radio, a Christian radio ministry, suffered a severe stroke on Thursday night and had to be hospitalized, triggering concerns as to whether his followers will ever be able to hear his enigmatic voice broadcast over 66 stations anymore.

The 89-year-old radio evangelist was rushed to hospital from his Alameda, California home and although he is out of danger now, his friends and family fear that the stroke, which was on Camping’s right side, may affect his ability to speak.

Camping’s neighbor has told the Oakland Tribune that Camping is fine but the stroke has left his speech slurred.

Charles Menut, the regional manager for Family Stations Inc., the parent company of Family Radio, has requested everyone, including the media, not to contact him or his family members but pray for them and his quick recovery.

Menut said Family Radio will “publicly update everyone on Monday” about Camping’s health…

So the question all are asking is, is it punishment or just old age?

His wife says he is doing well:

Doomsday preacher Harold Camping is “doing very well” days after he was admitted to a hospital for a stroke, his wife said Sunday evening.

When The Christian Post visited Camping’s home in Alameda Sunday, a woman claiming to be Camping’s wife, Shirley, answered the door but never revealed her face.

Asked about Camping’s condition, the presumed Mrs. Camping reported to CP, “He is doing very well – not a serious stroke at all!”

Mrs. Camping didn’t reveal which hospital her husband was admitted to. But asked if he was still in the hospital, she responded, “The hospital doesn’t allow people in. So, I can’t tell you. Alright?”

She also said she has “no idea” when Camping would be released from the hospital, commenting “that’s too soon.”

The 89-year-old Camping was admitted to a hospital Thursday night after he suffered a stroke, the Oakland Tribune reported…

More here.

Apparently, he might not be able to host his radio show anymore. This may be a good thing considering all the false prophecy he has been spewing!