Quote of the Week - Archbishop Michael Ramsey

"The faith to which we are called will always be folly and scandal to the world, it cannot be in the usual sense of the word popular; it is a supernatural faith and it cannot adapt itself to every passing fashion of human thought. But it will be a faith alert to distinguish what is shaken, and is meant to go, and what is not shaken and is meant to remain." -- Archbishop Michael Ramsey

Quote of the Week- Statement of the ICCA

This International Congress invites all Anglicans throughout the world (a) to a reexamination of the doctrine of the Church and (b) to a further consideration of areas of continuing ecclesial contention, for instance, the ordination of women, deemed by some to be a first order issue. This is necessary so that there may be a revival of Catholic Faith and Order, and a return to a biblical, credal, and conciliar fidelity. Only through honest discussion, ongoing prayer, and ultimate agreement will faithful Anglicans discern fully what God is doing in the great realignment taking place globally. This International Congress prays also that in God’s good providence there will be a truly Ecumenical Council of the whole Church to address contentious issues facing Christians and churches and to strengthen the faith of the Church.

Statement of the International Catholic Congress of Anglicans. Read the full statement here.

Quote of the Week - J.I. Packer

In 2002, the synod of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster

authorized its bishop to produce a service for blessing same-sex unions, to be used in any parish of the diocese that requests it. A number of synod members walked out to protest the decision. They declared themselves out of communion with the bishop and the synod, and they appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Anglican primates and bishops for help. 

J. I. Packer was one of the people who walked out.

When asked why he walked out, he answered, "Because this decision, taken in its context, falsifies the gospel of Christ, abandons the authority of Scripture, jeopardizes the salvation of fellow human beings, and betrays the church in its God-appointed role as the bastion and bulwark of divine truth.”

Quote of the Week - Alexis de Tocqueville

"The Union was formed by the voluntary agreement of the States, and in uniting together they have not forfeited their nationality, nor have they been reduced to the condition of one and the same people. If one of the States chose to withdraw from the compact, it would be difficult to disprove its right of doing so, and the Federal government would have no means of maintaining its claims directly either by force or right." --Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America.

Quote of the Week - Kevin Cochran

“People of any faith, when they’re strong in their faith, they would choose to live out their faith over keeping their job,” Cochran said. “But that should not even be a dilemma for any American in this country.”

Kevin Cochran was fired as the Atlanta Fire Chief after gay activists attacked him for a book he wrote titled Who Told You You Were Naked?

“In the United States of America, we are guaranteed the freedom to live without fear of being terminated or experiencing any adverse action for the free expression of our beliefs and thoughts,” Cochran said. “It was an injustice against me on that basis.”

Related reading: Gay Activists and Civil Rights; Homosexuals Protest Against Gay Marriage in France; Activists Make Noise, Not Sound Arguments; Gene Robinson: TEC Must Celebrate Gay Marriage

Quote of the Week - Patriarch Kyril

The general political direction of the [Western political] elite bears, without doubt, an anti-Christian and anti-religious character. We have been through an epoch of atheism, and we know what it is to live without God. We want to shout to the whole world, ‘Stop!'-- Patriarch Kyril of Moscow and all Russia

According to Fr. Patrick Reardon, priests in the Russian Church Abroad are no longer given blessing to sign any civil marriage documents in the United States.

Belgium's Big Business: Organ Harvesting

Belgium is plagued by a culture of death and has been for many decades. By a vote of 50 to 17, the Belgian Senate approved euthanasia for children in December 2013. In a case that attracted world attention, Belgian doctors killed 45-year-old deaf identical twins who were going blind in 2013. Since before 2011, Belgium doctors have been harvesting the organs of euthanised patients. It is a big business there.

In the latest news from Belgium, a 24-year-old woman who is suffering from depression but is otherwise healthy will be euthanised.

She qualifies for "the right to die" under the Belgian law, even though she does not have a terminal or life-threatening illness.

The 24-year-old woman, known simply as Laura, has been given the go-ahead by health professionals in Belgium to receive a lethal injection after spending both her childhood and adult life suffering from "suicidal thoughts", she told local Belgian media.

Laura has been a patient of a psychiatric institution since the age of 21 and says she has previously tried to kill herself on several occasions. She told journalists: "Death feels to me not as a choice. If I had a choice, I would choose a bearable life, but I have done everything and that was unsuccessful." The date of Laura's death is yet to be decided.

Read more here.

Related reading: Belgium Approves Euthanasia for Terminal Children; Insane Conversations in Belgium; Organ Harvesting in Belgium