Posts by Earnest

45

The pope's cousin is a JW

by loosie in

.

sorry i can't get the file attachment to work

Earnest

Thanks for these references, +. It does put a slightly different complexion on things.

An English translation of the Zeit Online report of 1 June 2023 reads :

Cousin of Benedict XVI apparently rejects inheritance because of lawsuit

Not much is known about Benedict XVI's estate – only that a civil lawsuit is part of it. According to a report, a cousin therefore does not want to accept the inheritance.

According to media reports, a cousin of the late Pope Benedict XVI will not accept the inheritance because of a claim for damages against the former head of the church. This is reported by Correctiv and Bayerischer Rundfunk, citing the cousin's daughter, who represents her mother because of her advanced age.

According to the daughter, the former private secretary of the late Pope, Georg Gänswein, had written to her mother in April and introduced himself as Ratzinger's "executor". Gänswein had written in the letter, which BR and Correctiv have obtained, that Ratzinger had "not named a personal heir". Therefore, according to the "Vatican-Italian succession regulation, the closest relatives" would come into question as heirs.

The clergyman wrote to the cousin that she would co-inherit the pending civil lawsuit against Ratzinger if she accepted the inheritance. How high Ratzinger's inheritance is and how many heirs share it, Gänswein reportedly did not write.

Lawsuit against four defendants

The background is a civil lawsuit by an abuse victim against the alleged perpetrator and representatives of the Catholic Church. This so-called declaratory action is directed against four defendants: the repeat offender Priest H., the archdiocese and the former archbishops Cardinal Friedrich Wetter and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

After the death of the Pope Emeritus, however, the proceedings against him are suspended until it is clear who will succeed him. The Traunstein Regional Court had postponed a first hearing date in March because no heirs of Ratzinger had been identified by then.

9

bomb for jehova italy

by andr in

italy meets another bomb in front of the kingdom hall, after having caused a scandal on tv, now it is also dangerous to go to the hall.

here is the image of the press release.

Earnest

Balaamsass2 : What was the scandal?

A journalist of the Italian Mediaset program, Zona Bianca, had visited the same Kingdom Hall with a hidden camera and included her report on national television during one of six episodes of their "Investigation into the World of Jehovah's Witnesses" in February and March this year. It may have been the program of 16 March to which the branch office refers. There was a thread on these programs in February.

127

What does the Catholic church think of JW?

by Halcon in

on a trip to rome a few years ago i asked my friend (who is roman and jw) what the catholic faith thinks of jw.

he simply stated that jw is tolerated by the church but that really not much thought is given to them.

is there an official stance on jw by the catholics?

Earnest

Habemus Papam!

12

Christians and War and the Role of Conscience (a work in progress)

by Terry in

christians and war and the role of conscience ______________ christian integrity vs duty to superior authority from the federal government’s povthe u.s. government saw jw’s as one group within a larger group of men refusing military service within existing law - for reasons of deeply held convictions.

we jw brothers weren’t the only ones affected, as evidenced by this list.. quakers.

jehovah’s witnesses.

Earnest

Sea Breeze : I think any man who "categorically" refuses to protect his family (and his neighbors) from harm is a coward.

The man who you gave as an example of courage was neither defending his family or his neighbours. He was fighting against those his government had declared were the enemy. You are confusing cowardice with conscience, and murder with courage.

12

Christians and War and the Role of Conscience (a work in progress)

by Terry in

christians and war and the role of conscience ______________ christian integrity vs duty to superior authority from the federal government’s povthe u.s. government saw jw’s as one group within a larger group of men refusing military service within existing law - for reasons of deeply held convictions.

we jw brothers weren’t the only ones affected, as evidenced by this list.. quakers.

jehovah’s witnesses.

Earnest

Sea Breeze : Fortunately, not everyone is a coward.

What an ignorant comment. Are you suggesting that all those who refuse to kill others or to engage in war are cowards? Or that it requires more courage to kill others than to refuse to do so?

127

What does the Catholic church think of JW?

by Halcon in

on a trip to rome a few years ago i asked my friend (who is roman and jw) what the catholic faith thinks of jw.

he simply stated that jw is tolerated by the church but that really not much thought is given to them.

is there an official stance on jw by the catholics?

Earnest

slimboyfat : On a tangent, I’m interested in the claims floating around that pope Benedict’s resignation in 2013 was invalid because of the wording he used and therefore Francis was an anti-pope.

That is interesting, slim, but I think it is just a fringe movement in conservative Catholicism and without widespread support. I am by no means an authority on this, but I understand there are a number of conservative Catholics who don't accept the Second Vatican Council and believe that all subsequent popes, including Pope John XXIII, are heretical. If I am to draw an analogy with JWs, I would say this is akin to not accepting that the GB is in itself the "faithful and discreet slave", rather than the entire remnant as was understood prior to 2012.

2

The Watchtower's Distortion of Proverbs 11:9: Replacing 'Godless' with 'Apostate'

by raymond frantz in

from this week's life & ministry:.

in proverbs 11:9, the new world translation reads:.

"by his mouth the apostate brings his neighbor to ruin, but by knowledge the righteous are rescued.".

Earnest

raymond frantz : The Watchtower, however, chooses to substitute "apostate," a word that does not appear in the original Hebrew, inserting it into the Old Testament text where it simply does not belong.

Strong's Lexicon says :

The Hebrew verb "chaneph" primarily conveys the idea of moral and spiritual corruption or pollution. It is used to describe actions or attitudes that deviate from the holiness and righteousness expected by God. The term often implies a turning away from the covenantal relationship with God, leading to a state of defilement or apostasy.

72

Did the Fred Franz style of writing cease after he died?

by SydBarrett in

jw
friends

i was completely out by 1991 and 1989 would have been the last time i had to attend regularly.

that over the top franz writing style was still there in the 1980's although i've heard he wasn't actually doing much writing by then.

but his style was definitely picked up and imitated for many years beyond its wacky, outlandish peak of the the 50's - 70's.

Earnest

While I keep in mind that this thread is about the writing style of Fred Franz rather than the legitimacy or otherwise of the Catholic Church, I would just note the similarity between the stance of the Watchtower that when something is right then it is due to study of the Bible and direction of the holy spirit and when it is wrong it is because they are not inspired and can make mistakes, and that of the Catholic Church which declares it is right because it can trace its authority back to Peter but when it gets it wrong then it is just human failure and nothing to do with the church. Both are a cop-out.

72

Did the Fred Franz style of writing cease after he died?

by SydBarrett in

jw
friends

i was completely out by 1991 and 1989 would have been the last time i had to attend regularly.

that over the top franz writing style was still there in the 1980's although i've heard he wasn't actually doing much writing by then.

but his style was definitely picked up and imitated for many years beyond its wacky, outlandish peak of the the 50's - 70's.

Earnest

False end-time dates have been predicted every century since Christianity began, often by Catholic spiritual leaders such as Hippolytus of Rome, Irenaeus, Pope Sylvester II, Pope Innocent III, Pierre d'Ailly (a cardinal), and Nicholas of Cusa (a cardinal). It may be that none of these prophecies were spoken ex cathedra, but the suggestion that Catholics have never predicted the time of Christ's coming or the end of the world simply doesn't account for human nature.

13

Loyalty to the Governing Body? Timeline to Change

by blondie in

jw
friends

https://jwfacts.com/watchtower/governing-body.php .

here is an example how the wts has "adjusted" scripture.

the governing body has gone as far as to change the text of micah 6:8 in their 2013 new world translation of the holy scriptures (nwt) in order to be able to demand loyalty.

Earnest

joey jojo : I would like to see the reasoning behind how they arrived at obedience instead of mercy.

It is never translated as "obedience", although the translation of "loyal love" or similar may be used to imply obedience is required. You may remember in the 1984 NWT the word was usually translated as "loving-kindness" with the footnote showing "loyal love". As discussed previously, there is no English word which conveys both thoughts in the same word.

It may be expressed as ‘goodness’ or ‘kindness’ or ‘mercy’, but it also conveys a sense of loyalty and mutual obligation within the context of relationships. In fact it is only used where there is a relationship between the parties concerned. But it is between individuals, or between God and man, not an organization.