Meanwhile in Brazil: Watch what you blog

When I think of "woke" ideology, Brazil never comes to mind, but not so according to The European Conservative, 

 “The Ministry of Human Rights, in partnership with the NGO Aliança Nacional LGBTI+, launched a platform aimed at holding legally accountable authors of publications considered to be disinformation or hate speech against LGBTI+ people and other gender identities,” reported Gp1, a major Brazilian news outlet.

The ‘Platform of Respect’ initiative was funded by a R$300,000 (around €50,000) parliamentary amendment sponsored by Erika Hilton, a trans-identifying male politician. According to Gp1, the “system uses an artificial intelligence tool called Aletheia, which, according to its official website, seeks to ‘track the origin of disinformation, report its impact, and enable accountability for authors and disseminators.’”

The ‘disinformation’ the AI platform will be tracking includes ‘misgendering’ politicians. Isabella Cêpa, a gender-critical women’s rights activist, was recently granted refugee status in an unnamed European country after correctly referring to Hilton as a male and facing up to 25 years in prison as a result. Hilton, who was elected to a municipal position in São Paulo in 2020, filed a report with the police.

In 2019, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court ruled that discrimination against the “LGBTQ Community” is a form of “racism” under the country’s anti-racial discrimination laws, thus constituting “transphobia” as an offence under Brazil’s Penal Code. Since then, there have been a number of high-profile investigations and prosecutions of Brazilian citizens for “transphobia,’ with some facing hefty prison sentences as a result.

“Initially, the project presents itself as a hybrid fact-checking agency, bringing together legal and communications professionals to work over 18 months to combat fake news on social media,” reported Gp1. “During the launch, held in Brasília on September 16, Jean Muksen, the platform’s coordinator, explained that the main objective is to continuously monitor profiles and media outlets, identifying ‘problematic’ content and eventually filing criminal complaints.” 

“We created a platform with several artificial intelligence tools that continuously monitor pages, profiles, websites, and blogs,” Muksen said. He noted that “the technology analyzes discourse, intentions, and nuances of the Portuguese language, including irony and sarcasm, which traditional methods don’t automatically detect” and “when it identifies alleged fake news or a post containing hate speech, the system stores the content in a repository, which can be forwarded to the courts after evaluation by a lawyer hired by the NGO.”

In short, the new system will constantly scan online conversations and, when it identifies an interaction that might constitute “disinformation” or “hate speech” as defined by the state—which includes affirming the sex binary and rejecting the idea that men can become women—it sends the “evidence” to be reviewed for potential criminal prosecution. It is a fusion of totalitarian LGBT ideology and AI technology.

The “Platform of Respect” will also “monitor the profiles of members of Congress and state assemblies, as well as influencers, blogs, and news sites,” and “was developed by a startup, while the LGBTI+ Alliance’s permanent team consists of four professionals: a coordinator, a lawyer, a journalist, and a designer, with an annual maintenance cost of R$140,000.” The persecution of ordinary citizens on behalf of the LGBT movement will be funded by the state—that is, by the taxpayers being targeted.

Brazil... another place where you have to keep your mouth and social media shut. 

More Lectionary Edits

This Sunday's reading from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) is 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18. I have highlighted in red the verses that will not be heard in churches that use the RCL.

6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

9 Do your best to come to me soon, 10 for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. 12 I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will pay him back for his deeds. 15 You also must beware of him, for he strongly opposed our message.

16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever.

I suspect that Paul got too negative for the lectionary editors when he condemned Alexander the coppersmith and warned Timothy to beware of him.

The people in the pews shouldn't hear that!

When in Spain... keep your mouth shut

El Cid is turning in his grave right now. 

From Life Site,

Mon Oct 6, 2025 - 10:05 am EDT

(LifeSiteNews) — Sentencing for a Spanish priest who this past week was found guilty of making “Islamophobic” comments more than seven years ago has Catholics as well as free speech advocates concerned.

In February, Father Custodio Ballester was summoned by a regional court in Spain to respond to charges that he had committed a “hate crime” for calling attention to the unjust treatment Christians receive in Islamic majority countries.

Ballester, who serves as a parish priest in Barcelona, was charged with violating Spanish law in 2020 when the state prosecutor in Catalonia claimed that an article Ballester wrote in 2016 titled “The Impossible Dialogue with Islam” met the criteria of a “hate crime.”

Ballester wrote his essay in response to a pastoral letter by his superior, the archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan José Omella, titled “The Necessary Dialogue with Islam.” In his rebuttal, Ballester wrote: “This new reactivation of Christian-Muslim dialogue, paralyzed by the alleged ‘imprudences’ on the part of the late Pope Benedict XVI, is very far from becoming a reality. Islam does not allow dialogue. For Islam, either you believe, or you are an infidel who must be subdued one way or another.”

Ballester has also previously made remarks critical of LGBT ideology.

Ballester’s case involves Father Jesús Calvo and journalist Armando Robles. They had been accused of making “Islamophobic” remarks on a 2017 podcast by the Association of Spanish Muslims Against Islamophobia. The Málaga Provincial Court handed down its ruling earlier this week.

Ballester told Catholic News Agency that his statements “have never been discriminatory or hateful.” He also said, “they want to use me as an example so that others censor themselves.”

Violating Spain’s hate crime law carries a penalty of anywhere from one to four years in prison with additional financial penalties. Ballester says that he expects his sentencing may be delayed due to political pressure, and that he will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights if he is sentenced with jail time.

Several dozen supporters held signs at the courthouse when the decision was handed down. Law firm Abogados Cristiano has collected nearly 30,000 signatures on a petition supporting Ballester’s innocence. Clergy in Spain have largely remained silent, however. CNA reports that Cardinal Omella “has only offered private words of support, without issuing a public statement.”

“People are very angry about the excessive sentences being sought for ‘hate crimes,’ which are comparable to those sought for sexual assault or leaving someone paralyzed in a fight,” Ballester told CNA.

In an update received today, the pair were acquitted, but read some of the language in the ruling as translated for CNA, the Catholic News Agency,

Two priests and a journalist who were tried for criticizing radical Islam have been acquitted by the Provincial Court of Malaga in Spain. 

The priests, Custodio Ballester and Jesús Calvo, along with the director of a digital media outlet, Armando Robles, were accused of committing hate crimes on a talk show in 2017.

The public prosecutor’s office had requested a four-year prison sentence for Robles along with a 10-year ban from teaching and a 3,000-euro ($3,500) fine. In the case of the priests, the prosecutor sought a three-year sentence.

According to Europa Press, the ruling, after verifying that the defendants had not retracted their words and writings, which were treated as proven facts, focused its analysis on whether the spoken and written words were crimes. 

Specifically, the court determined whether the men’s statements criticizing radical Islam qualified as hate crimes under the law or were merely protected instances of freedom of expression.

The court determined that the elements of a hate crime were not present, “no matter how despicable and perverse the message” or how “clearly offensive” or “unfortunate” the statements.

“Not only is there speech protected by freedom of expression, but we could even accept that there is intolerant speech that also exists within the scope of freedom of expression, even though it may be offensive, not only to the group or person to whom it is directed but even to the person listening to it,” the ruling stated.

Regarding Ballester’s statement, the court determined that “no matter how despicable and perverse the message or its author may be, if it is not accompanied by a clear and manifest promotion of hatred toward one of the groups protected by [the existence of] such a crime,” it is not criminal.

In the case of Calvo, the court noted that his statements “could well be classified, at least in large part, as delirious,” in the sense of “a verifiable reality resulting from the delirious ideas and psychological ailments suffered by the accused.”

In 2017, the Association of Muslims Against Islamophobia filed a complaint with the Special Service for Hate Crimes and Discrimination of the Barcelona prosecutor’s office. The petition requested an investigation into comments made by the three men during a television talk show.

Since the program in question was located in Málaga, the case was transferred to that province. There, prosecutor María Teresa Verdugo not only evaluated the comments made during the discussion but also considered an article published in 2016 by Ballester. The text, titled “The Impossible Dialogue with Islam,” was written in response to a pastoral letter from the then-archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Cardinal Juan José Omella, titled “The Necessary Dialogue with Islam.”

The trial, initially scheduled for September 2024, had to be postponed because Ballester’s lawyer had another trial that took priority. The hearing was ultimately rescheduled for Oct. 1 of this year.

In a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, shortly before the trial, Ballester said he felt at peace: “As Jesus Christ says, they will take us to the synagogue and the courts, and there the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom that our adversaries cannot counteract.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA. 

 Acquitted, but defamed and called lunatics by the court.

The time has come

 In this Sunday's reading from 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, we are warned about something that was yet to come but now has arrived.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

The time has definitely come for the Organization that calls itself the CofE to fall because they have accumulated false teachers and turned away from listening to the truth.

The time has come for the Global Anglican Communion to arise and affirm that,

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work."

Leather and Beeswax: It is not what you think

From Premier Christian News,

Animal rights campaigners have written an open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury Designate, asking her to ban church items made using animal products. 

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) requested that Dame Sarah Mullally “modernise the church,” by swapping leather bible covers for plant leather, and beeswax candles with soy wax.

The group claimed that “candles symbolising Jesus Christ would better represent hope for bees,” with a wax swap.

“Bees can feel stress and pain,” the group said. “To procure beeswax, bees are intensively farmed, and queen bees’ wings are often cut off to disable them.”

They also requested that garments be made from plant wool or linen, saying: “Gentle, clever sheep, who represent God’s people, deserve better than being thrown around wool sheds, stood on, punched and kicked.”

Yet, certain vegan leather products have been criticised for being less durable than cow's leather, with leather book covers lasting for centuries if stored correctly.

The Church of England has already been attempting to “modernise” elements of its traditional services, with members of the General Synod discussing alternatives to wheat flour and alcohol in Holy Communion bread and wine. Current church rules stipulate that some trace of “reduced” alcohol or wheat content is required to constitute communion, but levels are so low that it is often still appropriate for those with intolerances to consume.

I read somewhere that soy wax candles produce less soot, so maybe PETA should focus on that angle. 

As for those clever sheep, this from Fauna Facts,

Despite the popular belief that sheep are not very smart, sheep do have some social intelligence. Their intelligence is seen through their ability to learn and remember the faces of other sheep.

However, as domesticated animals, their instincts have become dull. Through the generations, we’ve bred sheep to become docile and uncritical. They’re given food, safety, and shelter by humans, and so they don’t need to exercise their brains much.

As sheep have evolved as domesticated animals, they’ve learned to stay in herds and follow others to seek safety. They have learned that sticking with the herd will mean they stay safely close to their shepherd and, therefore, find safety.

But what about that shearing process? This from New Life on a Homestead,

Domesticated sheep have been bred over many generations to produce more wool than they need and also to retain that wool.

They literally do not shed; their wool just grows and grows.

If their wool is not removed, it can cause several problems, such as overheating, irritation, and even blindness if the wool covers their eyes.

In some cases, the weight of the wool can cause the sheep to fall over and be unable to get back up.

If sheep are not sheared, their wool continues to grow, and eventually, it becomes matted and entangled.

This can trap moisture, dirt, and feces against their skin, leading to skin infections and lots of other problems as detailed above.

In severe cases, the sheep may even die from the weight of their overgrown wool.

Invariably, shearing a sheep that is badly matted and neglected will be far more precarious for the shearer and also for the poor sheep so afflicted.

This is why it’s so important to make sure that you’re keeping your sheep well- groomed and sheared regularly.

Take that PETA! It is cruel and unethical to not shear your sheep! 

 

God's plan for the Church of England

I kind-of expected the appointment of Sarah Mullally or someone like her to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury. The trajectory over the past 20 years of the institution has been to slowly accrete more and more revisionist ideas and revisionist clergy into its soul. The same thing happened here in the U.S.A. with the Episcopal organization. 

So what's wrong with Sarah Mullally as Archbishop? She is,

1) Pro-abortion according to LifeNews,

"In interviews and public comments, Mullally has explicitly stated, 'I would suspect that I would describe my approach to this issue as pro-choice rather than pro-life.'

During her tenure as Chief Nursing Officer for England (1999–2004), when she advocated for NHS provision of abortion – where the British government was literally killing babies at taxpayer expense in hospitals and clinics."

2) Pro same-sex blessings according to The Gospel Coalition,

"...she voted for the introduction of same-sex blessings (liturgical blessings for same-sex couples) into the Church of England and 'has repeatedly promoted unbiblical and revisionist teachings regarding marriage and sexual morality.'  Mullally led the Living in Love and Faith project, a dialogue process on sexuality questions that created havoc in the English church."

 3) Not in line with the Apostolic faith according to 1Timothy 3.

"The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,  not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,  for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?  He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil."

Is Sarah Mullally part of God's plan for this what is now called, "That Organization in England"?

Probably so if His plan is to let it go its own way.

And the Bible tells us over and over again what happens when we go our own way.

Nothing good.

The bright side may be that many orthodox clergy and lay people won't follow this new leader. That may mean leaving their historic church buildings, their pensions, and the graveyards that contain the bones and ashes of their ancestors just like we had to do here in the States. Let all those things go, shake the dust from your feet, and follow Jesus. 

He will guide you into greener pastures.

Going above and beyond

 This Sunday's reading from Luke 17:5-10 might be a tough pill to swallow.

 The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.

‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’

I don't remember any of the apostles uprooting a mulberry tree using their faith, but I do recall that after they received the Holy Spirit following Jesus' post resurrection appearances, they went above and beyond what they ought to have done, and that cost most of them their lives. 

We are called to do more than just the bare minimum.

We are called to go above and beyond the call of duty. 

Antisemitism on the rise in Europe

 From The European Conservative,

"What do the numbers show now? A record number of 144 antisemitic incidents were reported in Belgium in 2023, the highest since monitoring began in 2001, according to data from antisemitisme.be. But this isn’t a unique Belgian phenomenon. Dutch Jews said they had documented 421 antisemitic incidents last year, a record tally that surpassed the previous all-time high, reported in 2023, by 11%. The number of antisemitic incidents in Germany almost doubled last year, reported the semi-official German body that tracks antisemitism. The Federal Research and Information Point for Antisemitism (RIAS) said it had registered 8,627 incidents of violence, vandalism, and threats against Jews in Germany last year, almost twice the 4,886 recorded in 2023, and far ahead of 2020’s 1,957. France saw nearly 1,600 anti-Semitic acts in 2024, perhaps a slight dip from the year before, but still at levels unseen in recent years, the country’s main Jewish organization said. Britain suffered its second-worst year for antisemitism in 2024, with more than 3,500 incidents being recorded, the Jewish body advising communities on security reported in February."

Why the rise you ask? The article focuses on the answer: Islam. 

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli believes that Jews have no future in Belgium. In a tweet, Chikli “highly recommended” that “the Jewish community in Belgium” leave the country, declaring that it “has been seized by Islamist mobs chanting for Hamas and Hezbollah.” He added, “Re-enactments of October 7 horrors and open death threats to Jewish leaders go unanswered. Hezbollah operatives operate in the country with complete impunity.” Concluding his message, Chikli wrote, “Belgium has surrendered!” and reiterated his warning: “I highly recommend the Jewish community in Belgium to leave—this country has lost its sovereignty and can no longer protect its Jews.” 

 Governments must crack down on antisemitism so that people do not have to leave their countries to the mobs, and if that means cracking down on Islamist mobs, then so be it.