ISIS Selling Church Artifacts, Irish to Vote on “Gay Marriage,” Mongols Turn to Christ

"Jesus chose to come to the world as part of a family" — Pope Francis 
VATICAN NEWS

Clergy and Seminarians to gather in Rome for International Colloquium — Over one hundred bishops, priests, deacons and seminarians will meet in Rome in January 2015 for the Second International Conference of the English-speaking Confraternities of Catholic Clergy 
RADIO VATICANA

Obama announces new Cuban openness – and a future embassy in Havana, as Castro frees American Alan Gross in three-for-two prisoner swap for Cuban spies 
DAILY MAIL

No Santa for Massachusetts — A Massachusetts school that advertises itself as an “inclusive community” banned Santa Claus from its annual Christmas concert in the hometown of Harvard University after someone complained 
FOX

Islamic State selling church artifacts worth millions to western collectors — Western collectors are thought to be in direct contact with Islamic State looters, who have taken artifacts worth millions from ancient churches across Iraq and Syria (The shame of ISIS being matched by the unscrupulous purveyors of "trade" in our Western culture who care not that the goods they buy are acquired with the spilled blood of thousands of innocent men, women and children 
CHRISTIAN TODAY

The silent cries of migrants in the US reach the Pope — Guatemalan film director Luis Argueta gave Francis two documentaries that capture the paradoxes of the failed US immigration system, with crude realism 
VATICAN INSIDER

Bishop laments opening of immigrant detention center — The chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration decried the opening of a family detention center, the largest of its kind, for those who have entered the United States illegally. “It is inhumane to house young mothers with children in restrictive detention facilities, as if they are criminals,” said Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle 
CATHOLIC CULTURE

Jeffress calls out NPR for "blasphemous" joke — "I can guarantee you one thing, that if this host had been ridiculing Muhammad or Islam, he would have been out overnight. Look at what they did to Juan Williams just a few years ago. But when it comes to Christianity, it’s open season." 
CHARISMA

"Every religious organization should be worried" as Kentucky seeks to force Christian organization to hire non-Christians 
CHRISTIAN NEWS

New Bishops: The Pope has appointed Msgr. Adelar Baruffi as Bishop of Cruz Alta and Father Onecimo Alberton as Bishop of Rio do Sul in Brazil 
VIS

The Chavez Revolution is over — The cult of Chavez portrays him as a holy figure to Venezuela’s poor and to its military officers who are the last firewall of a collapsing government which needs soldiers and street thugs to protect Maduro  
FRONT PAGE

World turns against Israel — Wednesday was a difficult day for tiny Israel on the stage of world politics and diplomacy, with the tide of opinion, especially in Europe, turning squarely in favor of the Palestinians at the small country’s expense (Sadly, this isn’t really news. Every generation since time began seems to have expressed its disdain for those the Bible says are "God’s chosen") 
BIN

Opponent calls for Putin’s exit while public panics as ruble collapse shakes Russian economy — (If the ruble does collaspse we can expect to see some interesting (read alarming) political maneuvers by Russia in an effort to stave off complete disaster. This may include alliances with some "unlikely" nations) 
GOSPEL HERALD

Battered Ukraine wary of wounded Russian bear! — The Russian bear is wounded, with Russia’s economy crumbling as oil prices plummet. Its vulnerable neighbor, Ukraine, puts the blame for this latest crisis squarely on Moscow, accusing Russian leaders of invading their territory and backing gunmen who now control large areas of Donetsk and Luhansk 
CBN

Russian Patriarch: Islamic State "demonizes" Islam — “I cannot stop thinking that the Arab Spring and the emergence of radical Islamic paramilitary forces and their public executions of people — all this is aimed at demonizing Islam in the eyes of global public opinion” 
CATHOLIC CULTURE

Putin: 
Russians killed fighting in Ukraine were "volunteers"
CNN

The Russians fighting a "holy war" in Ukraine — Since the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine eight months ago, the Kremlin has denied any direct involvement, including sending Russian troops. But there are Russian fighters on the ground who are proud to announce their presence — and to discuss their ideas of "holy war" 
BBC

Meghan Murphy’s article on 
"Sex Trafficking" highlights some of the technicalities between "trafficking" and "prostitution" in US law and points to Canada’s recent introduction of the
"Nordic Model" which criminalizes buyers of sexual services. “We’re really looking to Canada with a great amount of hope,” Leidholdt says. “The fact that our Northern neighbors are on the verge of embracing the 
Nordic Model is inspiring us to move in that direction.” 
ALETEIA

Read Aleteia’s 
"Recommended Books for Christmas" for an eclectic mix of reading material with titles ranging from "Scholastic Metaphysics" (bound to help on those nights one has difficulty getting to sleep) to "The Animal’s Merry Christmas" (a children’s book) .. and many others in between! 
ALETEIA

North Sea oil industry "close to collapse" says industry leader — "Oil companies and service providers are cutting staff and investment to save money" said Robin Allan, chairman of the independent explorers’ association Brindex, who said the industry was "close to collapse." Almost no new projects in the North Sea are profitable with oil below $60 a barrel, he claims (This of course is utter nonsense. The truth is that the oil companies have become so dependent on fat profits  than when these are slimmed down to more reasonable levels they throw their hands up in panic because they lack the will to discover how to operate more frugally — and it is you and I who must pay at the pumps for this gross mismanagement of our resources)  
BBC

15 year old Brit was off to join jihadis .. and was stopped as her plane was about to take off! 
DAILY MAIL

Miliband praises UK Christians and their role in society — Labour leader Ed Miliband has praised Christians for their work in promoting social cohesion and fighting hunger and inequality 
THE WAY

One female bishop is not enough, the church must behave more like Jesus (Ah yes, London’s Guardian, where would we be without their incessant Church-bashing critique!?) 
THE GUARDIAN

Retired nurse, 88, died from horrific burns after shouting "too hot, too hot" as she was lowered into bath at care home. (Shameful that these so-called "carers" were not handed hefty prison sentences)  
DAILY MAIL

Spanish diocese criticized for not publicizing cathedral’s Islamic past — Stating that tourism is being harmed, the government of the southern Spanish region of Andalusia has criticized the Diocese of Córdoba for not doing more to highlight the Islamic past of its cathedral 
CATHOLIC CULTURE

Radio Pacis, leading the way in northern Uganda — Father Tonino Pasolini found himself celebrating his golden jubilee of priesthood in a somewhat unexpected way this past November when he received the European Solar Prize 2014 for his work with the Ugandan radio station, Radio Pacis 
RADIO VATICANA

Mass grave containing 230 bodies uncovered in Syria after ISIS slaughtered members of tribe who tried to fight back 
DAILY MAIL

150 women executed after refusing to marry ISIS militants — At least 150 women who refused to marry ISIS militants have been executed in the western Iraqi province of Al-Anbar  
TURKISH PRESS

Lebanese parish reaches out to Christian Iraqi refugees for Christmas — The sadness behind their polite smiles was evident when they arrived on two buses for a Mass and luncheon in their honor. As an expression of solidarity and to share the hope of Christmas, the Maronite Catholic Cathedral of the Resurrection in Rabieh, an affluent suburb north of Beirut, hosted the group of Christian Iraqi refugees. 
CNS

Supplies running low for displaced Iraqis — As millions of displaced Iraqis are caught in the dead of winter, the international community has a long way to go to cover their basic needs 
CNA

"Muslim Reformers:" Forever talking the talk, but never walking the walk — Due to its rarity, it’s always notable whenever a top Islamic leader publicly acknowledges the threat of Islamic radicalism and terror.   And yet, such denunciations never seem to go beyond words—and sometimes not even that 
BIN

"We have killed all the children, now what do we do?" Taliban death squad’s frantic request for instructions after slaughtering 132 innocents 
DAILY MAIL

"We will finish Christianity in India by 2021"— Rajeshwar Singh 
ABP

Are Mongolians coming to know our Lord and Christ? — Just 20 years ago there were only an estimated four Christians out of Mongolia’s three million people. By 2010, more than 40,000 Christians were gathered in 600 churches across the country, which is roughly the size of Alaska. Today, Mongolia has the eighth fastest growing Church in the world 
BCN

Myanmar trial begins over ‘Buddha insult’ — New Zealander accused over flyer promoting drinks event depicting Buddha with headphones. (I wonder what would happen if Christians took everyone to task each time Christ was insulted!) 
BBC

Crowd dispersal, Chinese style: Beijing unveils portable microwave ray gun that makes victims feel as if their skin is on fire 
DAILY MAIL

Chinese villagers sign petition to banish HIV-positive boy — Over 200 Chinese villagers in the southwestern province of Sichuan have signed a petition to banish a HIV-positive eight-year-old boy from their village 
CNN

China warms to Catholic university’s mission — The University of Notre Dame has signed collaboration pacts with institutions across China, including a joint master’s in non-profit administration with Renmin University in Beijing. Its next undertaking is its most ambitious yet: “serious discussions” about a joint liberal arts college with Zhejiang University at the Chinese institution’s international campus in Haining 
THE

Nort
h Korea behind Sony hacking — US officials have announced that the North Korean government ordered the hacking attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment 
NBC

Pregnant college girls should not have to choose between child and education — Becoming unexpectedly pregnant while in college can be a scary situation for most women, and many of these students have no idea about the resources available to them on their college campuses to help them stay in school and parent their children 
CHRISTIAN POST

Hook-ups, binge drinking, and violent porn .. and we’re surprised by campus rape culture? 
LIFE SITE

The gay inspiration underlying the Vatican synod’s interim report — The truth is that the homosexuality-paragraphs of the report did not disappoint the gay lobby but wounded and confounded many ordinary Catholics and non-Catholics, including Catholics struggling with homosexuality 
LIFE SITE

~ ~ ~

Botched Jesus painting causes tourism boom in tiny Spanish town (Personally, I see it as vandalism!) 
CHRISTIAN TODAY

What would you say to someone who claims, 
"I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian?"
CHRISTIANITY

It’s a commercial, and it promotes a product
.. but its a good story .. and appropriate for the season! 
LIFE IT

Today in Church History: 
The Bolshevik assault upon the Orthodox Church
CHRISTIANITY

Christianity is no "DIY" project! — Bishop James Johnston 
CPC