Bird Flu a Terrible Worldwide Threat

The web site www.theage.com.au published an article on July 10, 2004, titled, “Bird flu a danger of pandemic magnitude.” The article pointed out: “The bird flu strain that killed 24 people in East Asia earlier this year and has resurfaced in recent weeks is now endemic to the region, and the virus could trigger a global health crisis if it goes unchecked, a study says. In the study published by the London-based science journal Nature, researchers led by a Hong Kong microbiologist found that domestic ducks in southern China had played a key role in the creation of the H5N1 influenza virus, while wild birds had probably helped its spread through Asia. Early this year, the virus raged through Asia’s poultry farms and transferred to humans in cases that were mostly traced to direct contact with sick birds, killing 16 people in Vietnam and eight in Thailand. Health officials raised concerns about the illness mutating into a strain that could easily be passed between humans, but said there was no sign that had happened. New outbreaks from the same deadly strain re-emerged in eastern China and two central Thai provinces this week, and Chinese and Thai officials are slaughtering thousands of chickens to halt its spread. Vietnam also has been dealing with bird flu outbreaks in recent weeks.”

Israel’s Barrier and Europe’s Hypocrisy

Reuters reported on July 9, that the “World Court strongly condemned Israel’s West Bank barrier Friday, saying it had illegally imposed hardship on thousands of Palestinians and should be torn down. The court said in a nonbinding ruling hailed by Palestinians and rejected by Israel that the barrier violated international humanitarian law. It called on the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly to stop its construction. But the United States, which has vetoed Security Council resolutions against the Jewish state in the past, dismissed the court’s intervention and an American judge on the 15-member panel did not back the ruling. Israel was forthright in its rejection of the ruling, saying not one Palestinian suicide bomber had managed to slip into the Jewish state wherever the barrier had already been constructed.”

At the same time, according to israelnationalnews.com of July 4, 2004, the “European Union funds a separate fence” in Northwest Africa. The article pointed out: “…while the European Union attacks Israel mercilessly for the partition fence it’s building to protect Jewish lives, the EU itself funds and operates a similar fence designed only to protect itself from illegal immigrants.”

The article went on to explain: “The fence is located in a Spanish enclave in northwestern Africa, the coastal city of Ceuta just across the Straits of Gibraltar from Spain. Unknown to most of the world, when Spain handed over most of northern Morocco to the newly independent kingdom in 1956, Spain retained Ceuta and Melilla (about 250 kilometers further east) – thus that the European Union is present in Africa as well. Poverty-stricken Moroccans attempting to cross into Ceuta, from where they will then be able to work anywhere in Europe because of the EU’s no-checkpoints policy, are stopped in their tracks by the eight-meter-high, double layer fence. Funding for the fence, some 60 million Euros, came from European Union coffers.” The article concluded: “The EU continues to oppose Israel’s fence, constructed to protect against murderous terrorists and suicide bombs – even as it plans to build another fence of its own around Spain’s second enclave in northern Africa, the Moroccan town of Melilla.”

No Right to Life for a Fetus

The web site news.bbc.co.uk reported last week: “A woman whose pregnancy was wrongly terminated in a French hospital has lost her fight at the European Court to enshrine a foetus’ right to life.” The article continued to report about this outrageous incident, as follows: “Mrs Thi-Nho Vo went to the court after French courts said the doctor could not be prosecuted for homicide as the foetus did not have the right to life. She said it had that right under the European Convention on Human Rights. But the Court of Human Rights ruled against her, and involuntary abortion did not constitute manslaughter. The ruling sets a precedent on the legal status of unborn babies that will be applied across European countries… Mrs Vo argued that the foetus is protected by article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees a right to life… Nuala Scarisbrick of the pro-life charity Life, told BBC News Online: ‘This is not a surprising decision. But it is a disgusting one. It is morally bankrupt. It’s a disgraceful situation that a child of that stage, who is perfectly viable, is not given the right to life.'”

Biblical Truth and Worldly Persecution

World Net Daily reported last week that “A Swedish court has sentenced Ake Green, a pastor belonging to the Pentecostal movement, to a month in prison, under a law against incitement, after he was found guilty of having offended homosexuals in a sermon, according to Ecumenical News International. Green had described homosexuality as ‘abnormal, a horrible cancerous tumor in the body of society’ in a 2003 sermon. Soren Andersson, the president of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights, said on hearing Green’s jail sentence that religious freedom could never be used as a reason to offend people. ” We wonder whether the Swedish Court, bowing to pressures from homosexuals, would have sentenced the apostle Paul to prison as well (compare Romans 1:20-32)?

The Vatican and the American Catholic Bishops

NewsMax.com reported on July 7, 2004 about a private memorandum from Cardinal Ratzinger, telling American bishops that Communion must be denied to Catholic politicians who support legal abortion. The article continued: “While never mentioning Sen. John Kerry by name, the memo implicitly aims at the pro-choice Catholic Massachusetts senator and presidential candidate. Ratzinger’s ban is broad and includes all other pro-abortion Catholic politicians who are defying the church’s ban on abortion. According the Culture of Life Foundation, which obtained a copy of the confidential document, the Cardinal began by stressing the serious nature of receiving Communion and the need for each person to make ‘a conscious decision’ regarding their worthiness based on ‘the Church’s objective criteria.’ But the Cardinal adds that it is not only the responsibility of the pro-abortion politicians such as Kerry to make a judgment about their worthiness to receive Communion. It is also up to those distributing Communion to deny the sacrament to those in conflict with the Church’s prohibition of abortion and the duty of office holders to oppose the procedure.”

In an interview on the Larry King Live Show which was broadcast last week, Senator Kerry explained that he has been receiving communion from Catholic Bishops — it, therefore, seems that Cardinal Ratzinger’s memorandum is presently being ignored by most American Catholic Bishops.

The article continued that Ratzinger’s “document also address the issues of the death penalty and war, contrasting these issues… with abortion. ‘Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia … There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia,’ Ratzinger wrote.”

We would like to say that there cannot and MUST NOT be “legitimate diversity of opinion” among TRUE Christians about waging war. God condemns the wars of this world that are being fought by humans. The Biblical teaching on this issue is abundantly clear.

Germany in the News

During the last several weeks, interesting information was reported in the German press, related to Germany’s position within the EU and toward the rest of the world.

Die Rhein Neckar-Zeitung (RNZ) stated on June 28 and 29, 2004, that Chancellor Schroeder reconfirmed his position not to send any German soldiers into Iraq. At the same time, he said that he was willing to train Iraqi soldiers at German academies.

Bild ran a commentary, dated June 29, 2004, telling President Bush to keep his nose out of European affairs. It stated: “Europe alone decides — not the United States — whether and when Turkey becomes a European member.”

The RNZ wrote on June 11, 2004: “Sunday remains holy… Sunday rest is part of the fundamental values of the [German] Constitution and cannot be revoked.” On June 12, the paper added that the German prohibition against driving of trucks on Sundays remains the law, at least for the time being.

In addition, as the euobserver reported on July 7, 2004, “the socialists have elected Martin Schulz to head their group in the European Parliament. The German was overwhelmingly chosen – by 158 votes out of 179 – to head the group following a meeting on Monday (5 July). The 48-year old, who came to European-wide fame last year after being insulted with a Nazi slur by Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, will take over from Spaniard Enrique Baron Crespo. He was also the only candidate for the post.” The article continued to point out: “Monday’s vote also means that the two biggest groups in the European Parliament, the centre-right European People’s Party and Socialists, will be headed by Germans as Hans-Gert Pöttering was voted in by his group last week.”

The predominant role of Germany in the European Parliament, under the new Constitution, was also explained and stressed in the following article by www.iop.org/news/776, dated July 1, 2004: “As Britain prepares to make its mind up over the proposed European Constitution, Physics World reveals new research by physicists in Poland that claims the most controversial aspect of the new constitution, the voting rules at the EU Council of Ministers, are fatally flawed and will give some countries unfair clout in the decision-making process.

“Karol Zyczkowski and Wojciech Slomczynski, physicists from the Jagielonian University in Krakow, have used existing techniques in game theory to calculate how much power each country will have if the new constitution is adopted, i.e., what their ability to influence the decisions of the Council of Ministers will be… The key problem is that voting power does not relate to the number of votes a member state has, but rather depends on their ability to get decisions passed by forming coalitions with other states to push decisions through the Council… Under the proposed new constitution, new legislation will only have to satisfy two criteria to pass into law: the member states voting for it must account for at least 65% of the total population of the EU; and at least 15 member states must vote for it. Zyczkowski and Slomczynski have shown that this system is effectively the same as one in which ‘voting weight’ is directly proportional to population, and that such a system gives an unfair advantage to larger countries. If the proposed new constitution is adopted, Germany will gain the most voting power by far, followed by France, the UK and Italy. Spain and Poland will be the biggest losers.”

For those of you who have not yet read “Europe in Prophecy,” we encourage you to review this startling booklet that reveals the sobering Biblical prophecies of the rise and future role of Europe. “Europe in Prophecy” can be viewed at www.eternalgod.org

France in the News

France’s president Chirac becomes more and more America’s opponent. As RNZ reported on June 30: “Chirac has taken the leading role to unambiguously oppose Bush. The [French] president has become more and more Bush’s opponent, and he thereby puts the brakes on any reconciliation between Europe and the U.S.”

U.S. in the News

In regard to America’s dealings with the torturers in Iraqi prison camps, Bild wrote on June 22, 2004:

“America is an old democracy… Crime is not dismissed or ignored. Crime is being punished… America lives because of its Constitution, its humanity, its honor… This is not self-evident. Great critics of America, especially in Europe, had to learn through the bitter lessons of war what law means. They should look at America and be astonished.”

On June 11, 2004, Bild wrote, commenting on the meeting between President Bush and Chancellor Schroeder:

“Friends again?… We should have no illusions… Let us hope that the German governments will never again jeopardize our friendship with the United States. And that America will nurture its relationship with Europe better in the future.”

On July 3, 2004, Associated Press published an article, reporting about Europe’s reassessment of its relationship with the United States. The article pointed out: “The question across the Old Continent is not the oft-asked, ‘Why do they hate us?’ In fact, not that many Europeans do. More thoughtful Americans ask, ‘Why have they lost respect for us?’ Iraq is the obvious short answer. In polls and conversations, a clear majority of Europeans excoriate President Bush for charging on alone into a widening quagmire that is reshaping the world around them.”

The article continued: “But analysts see something many describe as deep and troubling, a sea change from the usual ups and downs of trans-Atlantic sentiment. This is particularly critical now, they say, as 25 European states are trying hard to build a more perfect union that is largely shaped, even if often at an unconscious level, on the American model. ‘When Europeans look over at the roots they planted in America, they see root rot,’ said Barry Goodfield, an American psychotherapist and conflict specialist who has worked in Europe since 1972… By giving Europe a take-it-or-leave-it option on Iraq, Goodfield said, Bush insulted old allies at a deep level. ‘We bypassed the U.N. and diplomacy, and they’re reacting to a slap in the face,’ Goodfield concluded. ‘They see us as not playing by the rules, ignoring institutions that stand for justice and morality.'”

The article added the following comments: “For many in Europe, it is a question of style and attitude. At an official level, European diplomats say, Bush manages to jab continually at sore spots. Just as EU leaders reached a fragile accord on expansion, he visited Istanbul and told them they left out Turkey. Yet, unlike earlier times when U.S. and European governments disagreed on issues, feelings run deep into every level of society. European newspapers carry accounts of outraged travelers to the United States who end up in handcuffs and overnight cells before being sent home for what turns out to be a simple mistake. While EU airport police barely glance at U.S. passports before stamping six-month entry permits, U.S. authorities require fingerprints and visas with pages of questions delving far into the past. Americans familiar with Europe over the years almost invariably describe symptoms of a changing attitude.”

The Catholic Church in the News

The Vatican regretted the wording of the European Constitution, according to RNZ of June 21, due to Europe’s failure to make a clear reference to Christian, that is, Catholic beliefs. Bild wrote on June 20: “It is too bad that there is no place for God in Europe… Only Poland was determined until the end to include a reference to God in the Constitution… The European house must stand on a firm foundation; otherwise it is built on sand, as the Bible says. It is absurd not to mention God and Christianity… The common goals and values are dictated by the Bible and Christianity… When there are no roots, we can’t survive… To mention God in the Constitution would be good, because it would make a reference to the Judeo-Christian roots, and it would clarify that our conduct is always secondary and preliminary, and that no human being must take to himself absolute power. When man does not realize that he is second at best, then very soon the devil is there.”

On June 21, 2004, Bild wrote: “Worldwide, religion is on the rise, headed by Islam, and sadly, also by its radical components. Only the Europeans think that they can live without their Christian roots… Only he who knows of his roots will be accepted by others.”

Porn Law Falls!

“The Supreme Court [of the United States] ruled Tuesday that a law meant to punish pornographers who peddle dirty pictures to Web-surfing kids is probably an unconstitutional muzzle on free speech” (www.comcast.net, 6/29/04).

The First Amendmendment rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution served as a basis for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) winning this descision. Quoting an ACLU spokesperson from the above article, ” ‘The Status quo is still with us and the court made it safe for artist, sex educators and Web publishers to communicate with adults without risking jail time.’ “

A spokesman for the Justice Department denounced the ruling citing the continuing opposition of the High Court in the serious matter of protecting children from obscenity. Summarizing, the above article noted that “Material that is indecent but not obscene is protected by the First amendment. Adults may see or purchase it, but children may not.”

Moral decadence has been an ongoing issue in most Western societies–especially is the skyrocketing influence of vulgar entertainment propigated by the mass media such as movies, television and music videos. Now, with the advent of computers and the ubiquitious internet, filthy and depraved images are arriving as unwanted spam–an issue beyond those who specifically seek to personally experience such vile imagery!

It is simply BECAUSE OF THESE KINDS OF PRACTICES which are in such blatant defiance of God’s way that our nations along with all the nations will be brought into account by God! Speaking through Isaiah, God gives us this warning: ” ‘…Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths’ ” (Isaiah 3:12).

Isaiah also records this powerfull rebuke from God: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).

Is it any wonder that there is such great resistance to the idea of “Democracy” among the Moslem world? Freedom of speech–in fact any kind of so-called freedom–is destined to engulf its practioners in vain leaderless futility unless it is derived from the true way revealed in the unbreakable word of God!

Pity Sudan!

Caught up in the midst of unspeakable cruelty, the nation of Sudan has this week received some world attention through the visit of Secretary of State Colin Powell. As reported in FT.com (6/30/2004): “Diplomatic pressure on Sudan to stop violence and facilitate relief work in its western Darfur region intensified yesterday as both Colin Powell, US secretary of state, and Kofi Annan, United Nations secretary-general, visited the country.”

The article continues: “About 1m [million] people have been displaced and at least 10,000 are thought to have died in a wave of repression following the emergence of local insurgent movements early last year.” This tragedy comes on the heels of several decades of dismal violence: “The ongoing conflict has left 2 million people dead and forced an estimated 4 million to flee their homes, leaving Sudan with the highest internally displaced population in the world” (www.careusa.org 6/30/2004).

The immediate future is absolutely bleak for Sudan. From www.worldnetdaily.com (6/22/2004): “Amnesty International has predicted 350,000 are ‘most likely to die’ during the upcoming rainy season. The French group Doctors Without Borders has declared ‘the whole population [of Darfur] is teetering on the verge of mass starvation.'” Continuing from this report: “‘We estimate right now if we get relief in, we’ll lose a third of a million people, and if we don’t the death rates could be dramatically higher, approaching a million people,’ said USAID chief Andrew Natsios after a high-level U.N. meeting in Geneva this month.”

Sudan, while posing a ghastly case of genocidal suffering and destruction, is certainly not the only troubled area of Africa. AIDS is devastating whole nations with the inevitable time-bomb of agonizing death. A radio report from the BBC mentions that there are 300,000 young gang members in a part of South Africa all growing in ways patterned after United States gangs. Tribal and religious rivalries are so rampant that they spill across borders and destabilize fragile governments already tested by poverty.

While the world focuses on the Middle East and the U.S. and British led war on terror, the words of Jesus Christ found in Matthew 24 continue to find their fulfillment. Noting verse 7, we find this overview of a world in profoundly desperate straights: “‘For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.’ “

However, the good news is that there is real hope for the future. God has promised to send His Son back to this earth to bring His Kingdom and true peace! A further promise of God is found in Isaiah 2, verse 4. In times of bleakness and discouragement, these words are recorded for our encouragement: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.”

New EU Leader

Following up swiftly on its constitutional agreement, the European Union leaders have chosen Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, prime minister of Portugal, as the next European Commission chief. This appointment is for five years and comes at a pivotal moment in Europe’s emerging alignments.

From www.reuters.co.uk 6/30/2004, Barroso “vowed to make the EU ‘stronger, even more cohesive and just, and MORE INTERVENING ON THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE’ ” (emphasis added). It appears that the test for these strategic appointments is whether or not one will lead as a “European”–with individual national interests less important than the overall goals of the new Europe!

The Seattle Post-intelligencer (6/29/04) reported that, “As prime minister of Portugal, Jose Durao Barroso has gained a reputation as resolute and unbending.” A few weeks after Mr. Barroso takes office, the issue of whether to pursue talks with Turkey as an additional member of the EU will be formally discussed.

Although Mr. Barroso has been openly supportive of the U.S. and even to some extent the war on terror, his views are not held by the most powerful members of the EU. He will inherit a growing divisive relationship with the United States and Europe. Following a two-day NATO summit in Istanbul, Turkey, “U.S. President George W. Bush has repeated a call for the European Union to admit Turkey, despite criticism of France’s President Jacques Chirac that he was meddling in EU affairs” (CNN.com 6/29/2004).

This same CNN report had this ominous quote from the U.S. president: “Bush said Tuesday that Turkey belongs in the EU and that Europe is ‘NOT THE EXCLUSIVE CLUB OF A SINGLE RELIGION…” (emphasis added). However, as the future will show, this is exactly what the United States of Europe will become — and voices are already being heard, in addition to that of Mr.Chirac, telling Mr. Bush, who is extremely unpopular in Europe and especially in France and Germany, to keep “his nose out of European affairs.”

EU Constitution Moves Forward

In a sweeping victory for Europe’s long-held dream for unification, a first-ever constitution was agreed upon this past June 18, 2004. Reuters reported that “EU leaders clinched a landmark deal on a first constitution for Europe Friday, ending months of tortuous negotiation over power-sharing in a bloc that now stretches into formerly communist Eastern Europe” (www.reuters.com 6/18/04).

The Reuters’ article continues: “The accord on a constitution for the newly enlarged 25-nation European Union of 450 million citizens will be seen as a victory by the leaders after a wave of public apathy and Euroskepticism in last week’s European Parliament elections.

“But the threat of rejection by any one of several member states due to hold a referendum on the treaty could still sink the constitution, over which outstanding disputes were wrapped up at the end of a two-day summit.”

Highlights of the constitution include provisions in law that would allow a member state to leave the bloc if it so chooses. Although successfully tempered by Britain’s efforts to preserve national vetoes on key policy areas such as taxation, social security, foreign and defense policy and criminal law, the new constitution establishes that EU law shall have primacy over national legislation.

Underlying this summit was the shadow of resentment from Germany and France as well as the other nations who remain opposed to the Iraqi war–especially to the U.S. and Great Britain’s roles. That divisive spirit may well be behind the failure to agree on a new president for the European Union’s Council.

The role of religion received only vague mention in the preamble to the constitution. The Vatican and Roman Catholic countries such as Spain and Poland had lobbied for a reference to “Europe’s Christian heritage.”

These events are the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. Note Daniel 2 and the all-encompassing vision of world dominion portrayed in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. We find this timely revelation in verses 42 and 43: ” ‘And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be PARTLY STRONG AND PARTLY FRAGILE. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.’ “

Because there is this tenuous union of nations with widely differing interests, it will take something more emphatic than a new constitution to bring Europe to its fullest power. The Bible also reveals that a strong governmental leader will arise along with the backing of an individual of great religious office and influence. These key events are moving swiftly and they will soon change the world as we know it!

Anti-Semitism Grows!

From www.worldnetdaily.com (6/20/04): “How bad is anti-Semitism in France? A French Nazi hunter says it’s so bad, the best way to keep up the fight is to leave the country. Six decades after the end of the Holocaust, the prominent French Nazi-hunter Serge Klarsfeld told the Jerusalem Post that French Jews should pack their bags and get out.”

This same article points out that, “With 6 million Muslims and 600,000 Jews, France has both the largest Muslim and Jew[ish] populations in Europe.”

Even in Canada we find more widespread hate-crimes against Jews. “A Jewish leader in Ottawa reacted angrily to anti-Semitic grafiti found at Beth Shalom West synagogue, saying it’s part of an ‘epidemic’ sweeping the country'” (ottawa.cbc.sc 6/21/04).

At the present time, Jews primarily either move to the U.S. or Israel if they choose to uproot and leave dangerous neighborhoods or unfriendly nations. However, the great freedom enjoyed by Jewish populations following World War II to live peaceful lives in many nations is rapidly shrinking. Unfortunately, the time ahead for both Jews and the modern descendants of Joseph (The British nations and the United States) will grow worse and worse. What we are now witnessing is only the beginning of a great and final world conflict that only the intervention of Almighty God will be able to bring to an end!

How Dry It Is!

A recent article from www.cnn.com (6/18/04) presents this staggering and mind-numbing statement: “The drought gripping the West could be the biggest in 500 years, with effects in the Colorado river basin considerably worse than during the Dust Bowl years, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday.”

This drought affects literally millions of people in the West and that includes populous Southern California.

Although recent weather patterns are bringing rain for this part of the year, the drought has been so prolonged that replenishing normal water reserves may take several seasons of above average precipitation.

A recent headline from NBC News for June 21, 2004, stated, “Cuba suffers through worst drought in history.”

World news tells of upside down weather patterns that are ravaging populations around the globe–either too much or not enough!

The weather that this earth is now experiencing is in God’s control. God promised to bless those who diligently obey Him. Note Deuteronomy 28:12: ” ‘The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand.’ ”

The Middle East – A Boiling Cauldron!

Now a THIRD individual has been beheaded! “Islamic militants Tuesday beheaded a South Korean who pleaded in a heart-wrenching videotape that ‘I don’t want to die’ after his government refused to pull its troops from Iraq” (www.comcast.net 6/22/04).

Broading its fight beyond Israeli Jews, “The radical Lebanese Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah has been moving fighters to Iraq in recent months to battle American troops, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

“The report attributes the information to U.S. intelligence sources who say the transfer of fighters has been carried out through Syria, following an Iranian initiative. The transit through Syrian territory is permitted by Damascus along its porous border with Iraq” (WorldNetDaily 6/20/04).

From www.taipeitimes.com (6/20/04) we find a report that shows Iran positioning itself defiantly against U.S. and coalition interests–and EU influence as well: “Iran proclaimed yesterday that it was no longer committed to the agreements made last October with the EU trio of Britain, France and Germany and would resume uranium enrichment.”

Added to this, Iran arrested an eight-man British Royal Navy unit for straying into its territorial waters along the border it shares with Iraq. The captured men were blindfolded and humiliated into making a public confession.

Singled out as one of three nations President George Bush labeled “an axis of evil,” Iran seems to be mounting a renewed hard-line posture. Iran may well become a new battlefield in the war on terror. However, without the support of Europe, a widening effort to place the troops and equipment necessary for the U.S. and Great Britain may simply overwhelm even the resources of these powerful nations.

Inquisition Misreported?

From the Guardian, June 16, 2004: “For centuries people were burned at the stake, stretched to death or otherwise tortured for failing to be Roman Catholic. But, if research released by the Vatican is right, the Inquisition was not as bad as one might think.”

As justification for the reportedly high numbers that historians have recounted, the article points out that “What the church initiated as a strictly regulated process, in which torture was allowed for only 15 minutes and in the presence of a doctor, got out of hand when other bodies [governmental officials] were involved.” Continuing, “The church does not deny its responsibility for atrocities committed by Catholics in its name. In 2000 the Pope publicly apologised for the unnecessary ‘violence’ used. But he is not keen to be made to repent for sins the Vatican can prove it did not commit.”

In the aftermath of the highly publicised sexual molestation scandals by priests in the U.S., openness has certainly not been the order of the day on the part of church officials. A case in point is surfacing in Denver, Colorado, as the U.S. Conference of Bishops meets with one of their topics being sexual abuse by clergy. Representatives of SNAP (Survivors Nework of those Abused by Priests) are calling for open meetings–all to no avail! The Rocky Mountain News (6/12/04) reports: “SNAP national director David Cohessy of St. Louis said the bishops have been more defensive than ever, giving only partial reports, providing as little information on abuse allegations as possible and fighting new legislation that requires immediate reporting of child abuse.”

Others complain that those responsible have actually been rewarded rather than punished for their poor leadership in these cases! One case in point is noted in a report from www.katc.com on May 27, 2004: “Pope John Paul II on Thursday gave Cardinal Bernard F. Law an official position in Rome, naming the former Boston archbishop who resigned in the sex abuse scandal as head of a basilica. Law will have the title archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica, a largely ceremonial post often given to retired prelates. The 72-year-old Law resigned Dec. 13, 2002, to quell an outcry over his handling of sex abuse crisis.”

We note that as the Catholic Church gains renewed influence over the affairs of state in Europe, we also are witnessing a revival of an increasingly authoritative role from the office of the Pope along with Rome now playing crucial and pivotal functions in major world events.

Europe’s Crucial Negotiations

Reeling from implacable differences over voting rights and other key issues that occurred six months ago, European Union leaders are meeting in a two day summit in Brussels to hammer out a final European constitution. Poland and Spain blocked the constitutional agreement during the last session, because they would have lost more favorable deals secured in previous agreements.

According to BBC News, “Britain is one of the countries entering the talks defiantly defending so-called ‘red lines’, where they refuse to give up traditional veto powers.” The very fact that the EU has increased from 15 to 25 members since its last meeting poses a real challenge to the unanimity necessary to forge a constitution. Even if ratified, this new constitution will have to be approved by voters in the various countries.

Key to the whole process may be partially dependant on exactly who emerges as a consensus choice as successor to replace outgoing President of the European Commission Romano Prodi.

Among other topics on their agenda, the EU will also discuss terrorism, security, and the Iraqi situation. Europe now feels entitled to be heard in these issues. Coming on the heels of widespread and deeply rooted resentment toward US policies in these areas, the EU leadership continues to harden its rejection of America’s dominant policies–especially in its pre-emptive strategies regarding terrorism.

Iran Next for the US?

A report from the washingtontimes.com/upi for June 15, 2004, states that “Iran reportedly is readying troops to move into Iraq if U.S. troops pull out, leaving a security vacuum.” The article continues: “Iran moved part of its regular military forces towards the Iraqi border in the southern sector at a time its military intelligence agents were operating inside Iraqi territory.”

Indeed, recent news reports speculate that Iranian insurgents are actively trying to destabilize the emerging governmental structure in Iraq. Iran is also seen as a safe retreat for the most violent terrorist now fomenting turmoil in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Another article quotes this ominous move by the U.S. House: “Undeterred by the results of pre-emptive war in Iraq, the House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution May 6 authorizing pre-emptive military strikes against Iran. The vote was 376-3” (www.raidersnewsupdate.com).

With the combination of extreme militant Islamic groups and the ever widening military involvement of the United States and Great Britain, the rest of the world is becoming more and more at odds with these two western nations. As a consequence, Israel is taking steps to shore up its own standing–especially in the European powerbloc. “Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom yesterday asked the European Union to adopt ‘a more balanced attitude’ towared the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling for an end to the previously unrestrained backing of the PLO leader Yasser Arafat” (WorldNetDaily.com 6/16/04).

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)

Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president, died last Saturday at 93 of pneumonia, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Mr. Reagan’s daughter, Patti Davis, reported that “at the last moment, when his breathing told us this was it, he opened his eyes and looked straight at my mother. Eyes that haven’t opened for days did, and they weren’t chalky or vague. They were clear and blue and full of love” (Reuters, June 8, 2004).

When the late human leader of the Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong, died on January 16,1986, President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, sent the following telegram: “To the congregation, Worldwide Church of God: Nancy and I join all those mourning the loss of Herbert W. Armstrong. As founder and leader of the Worldwide Church of God, Mr. Armstrong contributed to sharing the word of the Lord with his community and with people throughout the nation. You can take pride in his legacy. Our prayers are with you. God bless you.”

As a small tribute to former President Ronald Reagan, we are quoting excerpts from his remarks at a breakfast in Dallas, Texas, on August 23, 1984, as published by the Drudge Report, dated June 7, 2004:

“I don’t speak as a theologian or a scholar, only as one who’s lived a little more than his threescore ten — which has been a source of annoyance to some… and as one who has been active in the political life of the Nation for roughly four decades and now who’s served the past 3 1/2 years in our highest office. I speak, I think I can say, as one who has seen much, who has loved his country, and who’s seen it change in many ways.

“I believe that faith and religion play a critical role in the political life of our nation — and always has — and that the church — and by that I mean all churches, all denominations — has had a strong influence on the state. And this has worked to our benefit as a nation.

“Those who created our country — the Founding Fathers and Mothers — understood that there is a divine order which transcends the human order. They saw the state, in fact, as a form of moral order and felt that the bedrock of moral order is religion. The Mayflower Compact began with the words, ‘In the name of God, amen.’ The Declaration of Independence appeals to ‘Nature’s God’ and the ‘Creator’ and ‘the Supreme Judge of the world.’ Congress was given a chaplain, and the oaths of office are oaths before God. James Madison in the Federalist Papers admitted that in the creation of our Republic he perceived the hand of the Almighty. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, warned that we must never forget the God from whom our blessings flowed. George Washington referred to religion’s profound and unsurpassed place in the heart of our nation quite directly in his Farewell Address in 1796. Seven years earlier, France had erected a government that was intended to be purely secular. This new government would be grounded on reason rather than the law of God. By 1796 the French Revolution had known the Reign of Terror.

“And Washington voiced reservations about the idea that there could be a wise policy without a firm moral and religious foundation. He said, ‘Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man (call himself a patriot) who (would) labour to subvert these . . . finest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere Politician . . . (and) the pious man ought to respect and to cherish (religion and morality).’ And he added, ‘… let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion.’ I believe that George Washington knew the City of Man cannot survive without the City of God, that the Visible City will perish without the Invisible City.

“Religion played not only a strong role in our national life; it played a positive role. The abolitionist movement was at heart a moral and religious movement; so was the modern civil rights struggle. And throughout this time, the state was tolerant of religious belief, expression, and practice. Society, too, was tolerant. But in the 1960’s this began to change. We began to make great steps toward secularizing our nation and removing religion from its honored place. In 1962 the Supreme Court in the New York prayer case banned the compulsory saying of prayers. In 1963 the Court banned the reading of the Bible in our public schools. From that point on, the courts pushed the meaning of the ruling ever outward, so that now our children are not allowed voluntary prayer. We even had to pass a law — we passed a special law in the Congress just a few weeks ago to allow student prayer groups the same access to schoolrooms after classes that a young Marxist society, for example, would already enjoy with no opposition.

“The 1962 decision opened the way to a flood of similar suits. Once religion had been made vulnerable, a series of assaults were made in one court after another, on one issue after another. Cases were started to argue against tax-exempt status for churches. Suits were brought to abolish the words ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance and to remove ‘In God We Trust’ from public documents and from our currency… The truth is, politics and morality are inseparable. And as morality’s foundation is religion, religion and politics are necessarily related. We need religion as a guide. We need it because we are imperfect, and our government needs the church, because only those humble enough to admit they’re sinners can bring to democracy the tolerance it requires in order to survive.

“A state is nothing more than a reflection of its citizens; the more decent the citizens, the more decent the state. If you practice a religion, whether you’re Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or guided by some other faith, then your private life will be influenced by a sense of moral obligation, and so, too, will your public life. One affects the other. The churches of America do not exist by the grace of the state; the churches of America are not mere citizens of the state. The churches of America exist apart; they have their own vantage point, their own authority. Religion is its own realm; it makes its own claims…

“Without God, there is no virtue, because there’s no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we’re mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

“If I could just make a personal statement of my own — in these 3 1/2 years I have understood and known better than ever before the words of Lincoln, when he said that he would be the greatest fool on this footstool called Earth if he ever thought that for one moment he could perform the duties of that office without help from One who is stronger than all. I thank you, thank you for inviting us here today. Thank you for your kindness and your patience. May God keep you, and may we, all of us, keep God.”

Kohl Praises Reagan

As Associated Press reported on June 6, 2004, “former Chancellor Helmut Kohl praised Ronald Reagan on Sunday as ‘a great friend of the Germans’ for his role in bringing down communism and ending Europe’s Cold War division. Kohl said he would never forget standing next to the U.S. president in 1987 when Reagan challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to ‘tear down this wall,’ the last high point of Cold War rhetoric in West Berlin. ‘Ronald Reagan was a man who achieved great things for his country,’ Kohl said in a statement. ‘He was a stroke of luck for the world, especially for Europe.’

“Reagan stood before the wall’s concrete and barbed wire on June 12, 1987, and delivered a speech at the Brandenburg Gate that dared the reform-minded Gorbachev to pressure East Germany’s Stalinist regime. By the summer of 1989, communism was
crumbling in eastern Europe and East Germans started fleeing to the West via other Soviet bloc countries. On Nov. 9, East Germany threw open the wall under pressure from massive pro-democracy protests, allowing people to go west once again without fear of being shot at the border. On Oct. 3, 1990, Germany — and with it, Berlin — reunited, the communist east merging with the capitalist west. ‘His determined support for freedom contributed decisively to overcoming the division of Europe and of Germany,’ Kohl said. ‘We Germans have a lot to thank Ronald Reagan for.’

“The two leaders’ 1985 visit to a German war cemetery in Bitburg — highly controversial at the time because SS soldiers are buried there — was a ‘great gesture of friendship’ and reconciliation 40 years after the end of World War II, Kohl said. In 1987, the wall erected by East Germany to keep its citizens from fleeing to the West had been in place for 26 years, stretching 160 kilometers (100 miles) around West Berlin, its barriers reinforced by electric fences, dog runs and watchtowers. West Berlin was a capitalist island encircled by Soviet-backed East Germany and its capital, East Berlin. Reagan, like John F. Kennedy more than two decades before, made his critical point in German in his 1987 speech, expressing “this unalterable belief: ‘Es gibt nur ein Berlin’ — There is only one Berlin.”

“‘General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate,’ Reagan said. ‘Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.'”

President Bush Visits the Pope

On June 4, 2004, President Bush visited the Pope in Italy. We are setting forth excerpts from their addresses, as published by Zenit and Associated Press on June 4:

Excerpts from George Bush’s Address to John Paul II:

“Your Holiness, …we are honored to be here; perhaps the best way I can express my country’s gratitude to you and our respect to you is to present to you the Medal of Freedom from America and, if you might, allow, I’d like to read the citation attached to that honor. ‘A devoted servant of God, His Holiness Pope John Paul II has championed the cause of the poor, the weak, the hungry, and the outcast. He has defended the unique dignity of every life, and the goodness of all life. Through his faith and moral conviction, he has given courage to others to “be not afraid” in overcoming injustice and oppression. His principled stand for peace and freedom has inspired millions and helped to topple Communism and tyranny. The United States honors this son of Poland who became the Bishop of Rome, and a hero of our time.'”

Excerpts from the Pope’s Address to U.S. President Bush:

“… Mr. President, your visit to Rome takes place at a moment of great concern for the continuing situation of grave unrest in the Middle East, both in Iraq and in the Holy Land. You are very familiar with the unequivocal position of the Holy See in this regard… In the past few weeks other deplorable events have come to light which have troubled the civic and religious conscience of all, and made more difficult a serene and resolute commitment to shared human values: in the absence of such a commitment neither war nor terrorism will ever be overcome. May God grant strength and success to all those who do not cease to hope and work for understanding between peoples, in respect for the security and rights of all nations and of every man and woman… A fuller and deeper understanding between the United States of America and Europe will surely play a decisive role in resolving the great problems which I have mentioned, as well as so many others confronted by humanity today… God bless America!”

Germany and France

As Bild Online reported on June 7, 2004, “60 years after D-Day, World War II has ended.” The article continued: “It was the most important gesture during the D-Day celebrations: A heartfelt, trusting embrace between France’s Premier Jacques Chirac and Germany’s Head of State, Gerhard Schroeder…. Newspapers all over Europe celebrated this gesture…. France’s President Chirac said to Chancellor Schroeder, the first German Chancellor having been able to participate in D-Day celebrations: ‘The French are accepting you on this day of memory and hope more than just a friend. They accept you as a brother.’… The Paris paper ‘Liberation,’ wrote: ‘The key word during these days was reconciliation…. This Sunday, Germany’s change was celebrated and sealed by all….’ The British ‘Guardian’ commented that the time had arrived for all British to leave the war behind.”

Sadly, as the Bible prophesies, the times of the past will return to haunt us in the future. Although the world hopes for peace, there will be no peace. Only when Christ returns will things change — but sadly, not before then.

Support the Gay Community?

In the UK, the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday the 8th of June that a museum to extol gay campaigners and acclaim homosexual lifestyles is to be set up and funded with public money. The future of the scheme was guaranteed after all the major candidates in the London mayoral election backed the idea. Tory hopeful Steve Norris said yesterday: “I’m afraid whoever you elect, you are going to get it.” But critics said the decision to give public cash to a project devoted to the interests of a highly-politicized minority group is deeply questionable. The museum supporters want it in the former Bow Street police station in the prime tourist district of Covent Garden. This is likely to cost £20 million to establish. Its appearance would be seen as setting the seal on the respectability of the gay lobby, which has moved into the political mainstream under the Labour government. Supporters say it should detail the history of gay life, including recent political campaigns for the repeal of Section 28, the law that until last year banned gay propaganda from schools. It should also house records of campaign groups and provide a meeting place for them, they say. Supporters of the museum want taxpayer funding to go into it alongside lottery money and business donations.

U.S. and Europe Differ on Fight Against Terrorism

Associated Press reported on May 28, 2004:

“Their countries are among the richest, most powerful on Earth. But politically, European leaders heading to the United States for a summit with President Bush are walking wounded. Taking part in the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq has hurt the British and Italian prime ministers, Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi, at home. The leaders of Germany and France are burdened by sluggish economies. Only Russian President Vladimir Putin, re-elected in a March landslide, looks strong… France and other opponents of the war have no desire to see Iraq plunge deeper into chaos. Germany is helping train a new Iraqi police force, and European and American security agencies work closely in investigating, tracking and shutting down terrorists. But European governments don’t necessarily agree with Washington that the war on terrorism must be global, encompassing not only Iraq and al-Qaida, but perhaps even Iran and North Korea, countries Bush once labeled ‘an axis of evil.’ On terrorism, ‘there are two completely different visions,’ said Pascal Boniface, director of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations in Paris. ‘We agree on the goal, but disagree totally on how to get there.'”

Europe Condemns U.S. Tortures

Russia’s Pravda ran this article on May 29, 2004: “Latin America and Europe condemn US tortures in Iraq.” It continued: “In a joint statement, leaders from all Latin American and European nations condemned US tortures of Iraqi prisoners… Leaders and top diplomatic officials from 33 Latin American countries and 25 European nations [met] in the Mexican city of Guadalajara to blast the US-led campaign in Iraq. The 58 nations signed a joint declaration which denounces ‘the abuse of prisoners in Iraq’, and delivered criticism of the United States for its refusal to cooperate with the United Nations. As it was expected, neither British Prime Minister Tony Blair, nor his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi, attended the meeting. In a declaration… officials attending the Third Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union condemned unilateral actions contradicting international law and outlined ‘our horror at the recent evidence of mistreatment of the prisoners in Iraqi prisons… We energetically condemn all forms of abuse, torture and other cruelty, degrading and inhumanly treating people, including prisoners of war, in whatever location they occur,’ states the document. ‘We express our horror at the recent evidence of mistreating prisoners in Iraq. These abuses go against international law, such as the Geneva Convention.’…”

The article went on to say: “At a stopover in Mexico City on May 25, on the way to the Guadalajara summit, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder produced some important remarks on the U.S.-British draft UN Security Council resolution on Iraq. Mr. Schroeder said that the current draft version must be modified, and added that Germany wants a ‘real handover of sovereignty’ in Iraq. Germany — together with Russia, France and China — is proposing major changes to the resolution, which would give Iraq’s interim government control over the Iraqi army and police and require the U.S.-led multinational force to consult on military actions except for self-defense. [As Der Spiegel Online reported on June 1, 2004, President Bush called Chancellor Schroeder for support of the U.S. resolution. Details of the phone conversation were not made public]. French President Jacques Chirac, visiting Guatemala before the summit, said the U.S.-British resolution needed to be improved, adding that Iraq should have sovereignty over its armed forces and natural resources starting June 30. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, in turn, when meeting with Mexico’s Vicente Fox, praised Mexico’s ‘bravery’ in refusing to back the Iraq war and lauded Mexico’s calls for multilateral foreign policy actions. Trade issues also dominated the summit’s agenda, with the EU and the four Mercosur nations — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — saying they intend to sign an ‘ambitious’ free trade accord in October. However, they did not agree in crucial points, as the total liberalization of the agricultural trading.”

Earthquakes Linked?

Associated Press reported last week that “a major earthquake that hit Alaska in 2002 set off a flurry of smaller quakes in far-off Yellowstone National Park and changed eruption intervals in several geysers… Scientists say that the Denali fault earthquake, which registered a magnitude of 7.9 and hit in November 2002, is believed to be the first in modern times in North America to trigger large-scale changes in geysers and hot springs so far away.”

U.S. Catholic Church Under Attack?

As the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on May 28, 2004, “Cardinal Bernard Law was appointed by the pope yesterday to a ceremonial but highly visible post in Rome, outraging many in the archdiocese Law left in disgrace at the height of the clergy sex scandal [Law and other church officials had shifted child-molesting priests from parish to parish for decades] … Bob Bowers of St. Catherine’s church in Charlestown said he was astonished the Vatican would ‘reward’ Law.”

The paper also reported that a watchdog group asked the IRS to revoke tax-exempt status of the Roman Catholic diocese in Colorado Springs over the bishop’s threat to withhold communion from those who vote for politicians who disagree with the church’s religious teachings on abortion rights and other topics. The watchdog group claims that “the church uses its resources for political purposes.” It is only hoped that the IRS will not fall for such ridiculous argumentation, lest a church is no longer permitted to teach and engage in its religious beliefs.

The Pope and the Beetle

Zenit reported on May 26, 2004, that “the last Volkswagen Beetle made in Mexico has been given to John Paul II. The car, one of a limited series of 30,000 was given to the Pope today… John Paul II blessed the car… The light blue Beetle, which will have a Vatican City license plate (its initials are SCV), is the last in this series of cars whose origins date back to the 1930s. [In fact, it was Adolph Hitler who was instrumental for and supportive of the mass manufacturing and production of the “bug” or “Volkswagen” — meaning, the “people’s car.”] Some 21 million ‘bugs’ have been produced over the years. Their production stopped in Europe in 1978, but continued in Mexico until last July 30.”

An Example of Futility

The San Diego Union Tribune reported on June 1, 2004, about an unbelievable situation in California and in the United States that punishes the innocent and rewards the evildoers. We speak of the concept of punitive damages in civil suits. As the paper pointed out, “The irony of current tax policy is that while the innocent victims who receive punitive damages must pay taxes on them, the payors — those who commit malice and oppression — can write off the payments as tax deduction… Exxon’s $1.1 billion settlement with the U.S. government over the Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation cost Exxon a maximum of $524 million after the oil company’s tax deductions. The Congressional Research Office found that more than half of the civil damages totaling $900 million could be written off on Exxon’s federal tax return.”

Truly, this world has it all backwards…

U.S. Lost in Afghanistan

On June 1, 2004, the San Diego Union Tribune reprinted an interesting article from the Chicago Sun-Times, titled, “Barely holding on in Afghanistan.” While the world’s attention is mainly focused on Iraq, the article pointed out how the situation in Afghanistan is equally troublesome for the U.S. The article explained:

“The handful of valiant American warriors fighting the ‘other’ war in Afghanistan is not a happy band of brothers. They are undermanned and feel neglected, lack confidence in their generals and are disgusted by Afghan political leadership. Most important, they are appalled by the immense but fruitless effort to find Osama bin Laden for purposes of U.S. politics… [The] overlooked war continues WITH NO END IN SIGHT. Narcotics trafficking is at an all-time high. If U.S. forces were to leave [Afghanistan], the Taliban — or something like it — would regain power. THE UNITED STATES IS LOST IN AFGHANISTAN, BOUND TO THIS WILD COUNTRY AND UNABLE TO LEAVE. The situation in Afghanistan… looks NOTHING like a country alleged to be PROGRESSING TOWARD representative DEMOCRACY under American tutelage. Harrid Karzai, the U.S. sponsored Afghan president, is regarded by U.S. troops as hopelessly corrupt and kept in power by U.S. force of arms… The basic U.S. strength in Afghanistan is 17,000 troops of ‘straight-legged’ infantry — conventional forces ill-prepared to handle irregulars…” The article’s conclusion: “Being lost in Afghanistan transcends politics and is a LONG-TERM AMERICAN BURDEN.”

UN Condemns Israel

Associated Press reported on May 22, 2204: “A 3-year-old Palestinian girl was shot dead Saturday as a senior U.N. official toured a battle-scarred refugee camp where Israeli troops continue the hunt for weapons-smuggling tunnels and militants. The United Nations condemned the ‘completely unacceptable’ destruction of houses, which has left 1,650 Palestinians homeless in the last 10 days. In the West Bank, four people were wounded by a Palestinian suicide bomber near an Israeli army checkpoint. On Friday, Israeli troops pulled back from the Brazil and Tel Sultan neighborhoods of Rafah, leaving behind dozens of damaged or destroyed buildings, torn-up roads and flattened cars. The army said it was redeploying forces and that its offensive — aimed at capturing militants and uncovering tunnels that stretch across the nearby Egyptian border — would continue… Israel says its offensive has resulted in the arrest of dozens of militants and the killing of a local leader of the armed group Hamas. The army also said it had discovered one arms-smuggling tunnel during the operation.”

Anti-American Demonstrations

Associated Press reported on May 21, 2004: “Thousands of Shiite Muslims demonstrated in Beirut Friday to warn the United States against attacking holy sites in Iraq. Smaller groups rallied in three other Mideast nations, with protesters in Bahrain clashing with police. Wearing white shrouds symbolizing their readiness to die in defense of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, demonstrators marched through Beirut’s suburbs. Many chanted ‘death to America, death to Israel.’… In Manama, Bahrain, police fired tear gas to disperse about 5,000 demonstrators, but the angry crowd broke through the police blockade and continued its march to protest the fighting in Karbala and Najaf, shouting, ‘Death to America!’… The nearly two-mile march had been approved by security authorities, but police tried to stop the demonstrators halfway through, but protesters kept on moving and turned over an empty police car and set it on fire. Bahrain’s king Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa fired his interior minister, saying the march should have been allowed to go on… The U.S. military has said it is doing its best to avoid damage to the shrines in Iraq. In fighting last week, the Imam Ali mosque received four holes in its golden dome, and both sides blamed each other for the damage. The mosque is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, who is revered by Shiites.”

United States’ Certain Future

The outcry regarding the prison scandal in Iraq does not cease, especially, as more and more gruesome and terrible details come to light. President Bush’s passing remarks regarding the scandal in his speech of May 24, 2004, will and did do little to calm the waves of condemnation of the United States. As Zenit reported on May 18, 2004, “The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ International Policy Committee says the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers is a challenge to reflect on larger moral issues. ‘The abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners have brought shame upon our nation, is an affront to our most basic ideals, and will undermine legitimate efforts to confront the very real threats faced by our nation and the world,’ said Bishop John Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, in a statement.”

Maybe, the American Catholic Church’s condemnation won’t contribute much, substantially, to the criticism, given their own sad history of scandals involving their clergy in this country. Furthermore, as we recently reported in our Updates, not all is bad in Iraq, and considerable improvements have been made. However, perception is important, even if it does not conform with reality. The overall worldwide perception is that the American adventure in Iraq was a devastating debacle. President Bush’s highly anticipated, but disappointing speech did little to provide a reasonable perspective of hope for the future of Iraq. Statements like, “If they need more troops, I will send them,” did not only diminish any hope of a military withdrawal any time soon, but raised and confirmed again the nightmarish fear of a potential draft, to be instituted, perhaps, after the next Presidential election.

Many European and American politicians and newscasters have reported in highly critical and condemnatory ways about the American war with Iraq, its gruesome aftermaths, and the terrible prison scandals. These are some of the recent headlines: “Tortured to Death?” (Focus, May 18, 2004); “Protocol of Horror” (Der Spiegel Online, May 21, 2004); “US Torture the biggest success of Terrorists” (Der Spiegel Online, May 21, 2004, quoting German Republican, Heiner Geissler); “Eye Witness describes death through U.S. Torture in Iraq” (Der Spiegel Online, May 21, 2004); “At least eight deaths through torture” (Spiegel Online, May 22, 2004); “Welcome in Hell” (Der Spiegel Online, May 23, 2004); “[Red Cross] concerned for Detainees in Secret U.S. Jails” (Reuters, May 21, 2004); “Deserting U.S. soldier receives same penalty as torturer” (Der Spiegel Online, May 22, 2004).

Why this condemnation of the United States — when considering all the atrocities and unspeakable crimes that Saddam Hussein and his supporters committed against their own people, including their own relatives? There are, of course, “human” explanations — the fact that the U.S. went ahead with the war, in spite of the opposition of the U.N. Security Council; as well as the reasons given for the war: the unsubstantiated claim that Iraq posed an immediate danger for the security of the United States through Saddam’s alleged possessions of weapons of mass destruction (which was recently admitted by Secretary of State Colin Powell as having been “in error”); and the stated high moral ground of bringing freedom and democracy to a violated Iraq (which cause was now all but shattered in light of the Iraq prison scandal). However, the REAL reason is identified in the Bible. We ARE living in the last days. And the Bible prophesies that, in the last days, the United States will be hated in all the world, and that it will NOT be successful in its military endeavors. God says that HE will break the pride of their power, and that HE will turn His back on the U.S. and give them over to their enemies, because THEY have forsaken their Maker.

Knowing the Bible and Biblical prophecies, we could and did publicly pronounce at the very beginning of the Iraq war that the United States of America will not win its war against terrorism. The late human leader of the Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong, who died in 1986, pointed out that the United States HAS WON its last war. He UNDERSTOOD that the Bible would not ALLOW the United States in the very last days to be victorious in battle, because GOD will not be blessing their battles. The only exception would be if the United States of America would REPENT of their sins that cry to high heaven. However, there is little hope that this will be the case.

To learn more about the prophesied future of the United States of America, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Eastern Wall of Temple Mount to Collapse?

On May 19, 2004, the New Jerusalem Post reported that “the eastern wall of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount is in danger of immediate collapse, which could cause a ‘domino effect’ and bring down other sections of the ancient compound… The rare public warning, made at a meeting of the Knesset’s Interior Committee, came one month after a team of senior Egyptian and Jordanian engineers began to carry out tests to determine the stability of the eastern wall.[These] public comments on the issue Tuesday followed a classified report issued by the Israel Antiquities Authority earlier this year, which stated that the 2,000- year-old wall was in danger of immediate collapse as a result of a February earthquake that rattled the region. The report says that the February 11 earthquake damaged the eastern wall of the Temple Mount to such an extent that sections of the wall are liable to cave in on the underground architectural support of the mount, known as Solomon’s Stables.”

The Catholic Church and Europe

The Vatican Information Service reported on Wednesday, May 19, 2004, that on his 84th birthday, Pope John Paul received Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, his wife and an entourage of fellow Poles. The Pope was quoted as follows: “I… remind everyone that, through the centuries, Europe’s spiritual and cultural patrimony was formed and defended even at the cost of the lives of those who believe in Christ and those who in their religious belief go back to Abraham. It seems necessary to remember this in the context of the formation of the constitutional basis of the European Union, of which Poland recently became a member… Poland cannot forget this and must remind those who, in the name of the secular nature of democratic societies, seem to forget the contribution of Christianity in building their own identity.”

As Die Welt Online and Zenit reported on May 21, 2004, “Seven countries of the European Union are asking that the Constitutional Treaty make reference to the continent’s Christian roots, a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry said. The seven countries — Poland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia — sent their request in a letter to the rotating EU presidency, now held by Ireland. The signatories state in the text that the list is not final and hope that ‘other countries will adhere to this initiative.'” France, Belgium, Slovenia, Denmark and the UK objected to the proposal, and Spain has abandoned its call for a reference to Christianity in the constitution (Associated Press and euobserver.com, May 25, 2004).

On May 20, 2004, Zenit published an article, reflecting on the reasons for “Marian apparitions.” It was pointed out by an “expert” that “In Mary’s case, there is also her particular presence next to Christ as Virgin assumed into heaven… Mary’s apparitions can be a means of the Church to confirm in the faith, to assure of her presence and maternal protection, particularly at certain times of history in which there is need to reinforce faith and hope… The list of supposed revelations and apparitions of the Virgin Mary is so large that it is not possible to give an account of them here… The message of Lourdes seems obvious to me. … Lourdes is a charismatic place where the Virgin Mary, through the Church’s ordinary pastoral care acts mysteriously also as source of grace and light for the physical, psychic and spiritual health of those who approach it with faith, hope and love.”

These excerpts show the kind of “Christianity” that we can expect to see in Europe, if the Catholic Church has it her way. Suffice to say that Mary is not in heaven, but she is still dead and buried, in her grave, awaiting the resurrection from the dead together with all the other converted Christians who died in the faith. Therefore, it is clearly not “Mary” who is appearing to people “in visions” or “apparitions.” To learn more about this important biblical truth, please read our free booklets, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” and, “Angels, Demons, and the Spirit World.”

United States’ Trade Deficit

Associated Press reported on May 12, 2004, that “The United States posted a record trade deficit in March, reflecting Americans’ voracious demand for foreign-made goods as well as the most expensive crude oil since 1983. The $46 billion deficit reported Wednesday by the Commerce Department represented a hefty 9.1 percent increase from February’s imbalance and came despite the fact that U.S. exports climbed to an all-time high in March… The United States’ $5.6 billion trade deficit with oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, was the highest on record. The average price of imported crude oil rose to $30.64 a barrel in March, the highest since February 1983, another factor in the swollen trade gap… March’s big trade gap may mean that the economy’s 4.2 percent growth rate for the first quarter of this year could be lowered, economists said. The government’s second estimate of first-quarter GDP is released on May 27.”

VATICAN AGAINST MIXED MARRIAGES

Reuters reported on May 14, 2004:

“The Vatican warned Catholic women on Friday to think hard before marrying a Muslim and urged Muslims to show more respect for human rights, gender equality and democracy. Calling women ‘the least protected member of the Muslim family,’ it spoke of the ‘bitter experience’ western Catholics had with Muslim husbands, especially if they married outside the Islamic world and later moved to his country of origin. The comments in a document about migrants around the world… said the Church discouraged marriages between believers in traditionally Catholic countries and non-Christian migrants.

“It hoped Muslims would show ‘a growing awareness that fundamental liberties, the inviolable rights of the person, the equal dignity of man and woman, the democratic principle of government and the healthy lay character of the state are principles that cannot be surrendered.’ When a Catholic woman and Muslim man wanted to marry, it said, ‘bitter experience teaches us that a particularly careful and in-depth preparation is called for.’ It said one possible problem was with Muslim in-laws and advised future mothers that they must insist on Church policy that children born of a mixed marriage be baptized and brought up as Catholics.”

The article continued:

“Pope John Paul has broken ground in dialogue with Muslims and even prayed in a mosque in Damascus. He won plaudits in the Muslim world for his strong opposition to the Iraq war. But Vatican officials and leading Catholic prelates have expressed increasingly critical views about the spread of Islam and the challenge this poses for Catholicism.”

ANTI-AMERICANISM IN AUSTRIA

According to an article by the Associated Press on Friday, May 14, 2004, “Austrians Praise Schwarzenegger in U.S.”
The article stated: “When Austrians vent about the United States, the key word nowadays is ‘no’ to things American, with only a few exceptions — including praise of Arnold Schwarzenegger. ‘Except for Arnie, that country has a real problem,’ says Robert Biber, echoing sentiments across Austria roused by images of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners. ‘How can anyone ever believe them again when they say they are the guardians of democracy and fairness?’

“With its foreign policy and pop culture clout, the United States’ overwhelming world presence has left Austrians and other Europeans dependent on — but mildly resentful of — their trans-Atlantic ally for decades. The invasion of Iraq and perceptions of a blatantly pro-Israeli Middle East policy heightened that unease over the past year. But it took the prisoner abuse scandal to turn the love-hate relationship into outright anti-American sentiment.

The article continued: “The Republican governor’s father was a member of the Nazi party, but the bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-politician has always distanced himself from that part of his background. On a recent visit to Israel, he described Austria as ‘a country where we have seen a history of prejudice that resulted in terrible atrocities.’ Official Austria has turned in the past two decades from depicting itself as a victim of Hitler to acknowledging its major role in the Holocaust.”

CATHOLIC DIRECTIVES…

As the San Diego Union Tribune reported on May 14, 2004, “The Roman Catholic bishop of Colorado Springs has issued a pastoral letter saying that Catholic Americans should not receive Communion if they vote for politicians who defy church teachings by supporting abortion rights, same-sex marriage, euthanasia or stem-cell research. Several U.S. bishops have warned that they will deny Communion to Catholic politicians [such as Senator John Kerry, a Catholic who has consistently favored abortion rights] who fail to stand with the church, but Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs is believed to be the first to say he would extend the ban to Catholic voters.”

TORTURED TO DEATH?

Der Spiegel Online, Bild Online and Focus Online published very disturbing articles to the effect that American and British soldiers might have tortured Iraqi prisoners to death. Focus Online stated that the information has been obtained from Amnesty International, and that at least four Iraqis were tortured to death. Der Spiegel Online conducted its own investigation and broadcast its findings on Sunday, May 16, on German television (over RTL). The 10 minute report has been posted, in German, on the Website of Der Spiegel Online. The report showed pictures of an Iraqi prisoner who died in American custody. The pictures appeared to show drastic signs of torture. The reporter interviewed an Iraqi who claimed to have been a witness of the alleged torture. Der Spiegel Online stated in its report that they had asked the Pentagon for comments, but that the Pentagon did not respond.

Focus Online stated in its article that the reputation of President Bush has reached an all-time low in Germany. According to a national poll, 75% of all Germans have little or no confidence in President Bush. In addition, only 12% have a positive impression of the United States, while 44% have a negative impression. 69% think that U.S. influence on German politics, economy and culture is too high, while only 4% think that the influence is appropriate. 47% feel that the American torture of Iraqi prisoners is the main reason for the negative German impression of America.

SUICIDE BOMBINGS IN IRAQ

The Scotsman reported on May 15, 2004:

“British troops in southern Iraq are braced for a fresh wave of suicide bombings after the country’s holiest Shia shrine was damaged in fierce fighting between United States troops and supporters of the rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the city of Najaf. Sadr’s representative in Basra, Sheikh Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli, said he would form suicide squads to carry out attacks against coalition forces, and urged residents to register for the squads. In the British-run city of Amarah, a Sadr representative, Farqad al-Mousawi, warned Iraqi police and civil defence corps members that they risked assassination if they helped coalition soldiers fight the cleric’s Mahdi militia. Fighting erupted in the heart of Najaf early yesterday morning as US commanders finally lost patience with Sadr and ordered troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships to assault his stronghold in the Iraqi holy city. Despite weeks of warnings from British commanders that an attack on the shrine of Imam Ali, Shiite Muslims’ most sacred site, could trigger widespread unrest throughout southern Iraq, the golden dome of the mosque was hit several times as US forces and militia traded fire.”

On May 17, 2004, it was reported that the chief of the Iraqi Governing Council was assassinated in a homicide car bombing Monday near a U.S. checkpoint in central Baghdad. Six other people apparently died in the blast; one of them apparently the bomber, according to a doctor at Yarmouk Hospital. Six Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers were injured in the explosion near the U.S.-led coalition headquarters, according to Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt. Three cars waiting in line at the headquarters were destroyed. Meanwhile, fighting between coalition troops and insurgents — particularly those who are part of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s army — continued in the southern cities of Nasiriyah, Karbala and Najaf, according to Fox News. The news agency stated: “Meanwhile, fighting persisted the Shiite heartland in southern Iraq, where American jets bombed militia positions in the city of Nasiriyah early Monday after fighters loyal to al-Sadr, the radical cleric, drove Italian forces out of a base there. Residents said seven fighters were killed in overnight battles.”

PRISON SCANDAL IN THE U.S.

On May 14, 2004, nationalreview.com published an interesting editorial by Rich Lowry, titled, “The Other Prison Outrage.” In it, he stated: “If we insist on having an orgy of self-flagellation about the prison abuses at Abu Ghraib, we might as well gain something from it. That something [should be] reform of the ongoing scandal that is the U.S. prison system… Our prisons… tend to be pits of sexual violence, madness, and drug abuse. They are at once too brutal and too lax. Fixing them is not something we owe the international community or anyone else — besides ourselves… How do we improve our prisons? The most important change has to be in our attitude… A message should be sent from the very top, i.e. governors, that the abuse of prisoners, by fellow inmates or by guards, will not be tolerated. It is especially important that… acts of abuse by guards be punished, even if powerful look-the-other-way prison-guard unions don’t like it. Overcrowding, which overwhelms guards… should be alleviated. Meanwhile, as criminal-justice expert Eli Lehrer argues, while prisoners are under our control we might as well try to do some good for them. Work programs in prison can get prisoners in the habit of working and reduce recidivism. More than ten percent of prisoners test positive for drugs at any given time. Coercive treatment programs should attempt to wean them of addiction. Finally, prisoners tend to be simply dumped on the streets when they are released. More intensive post-prison monitoring can help keep them from going back. It is understandable that Abu Ghraib has raised such an outcry. The abuses there will get more American soldiers killed. But there is something odd about a country that gets more exited about the treatment of foreign prisoners than the treatment of its own.”

REBELLION IN U.S. PUBLIC SCHOOLS

On May 15, 2004, WorldNetDaily published an article about the terrible school system in many public schools in the United States, titled, “U.S. Public Schools: Where Rebellion Rules.” In the article, it was pointed out:

“This past week, a nationwide survey was released showing how rowdy and undisciplined students are interrupting the learning environment in many public schools… Yet, what makes this situation in today’s public schools different from the previous classroom environments in American history is how parents are now supporting the behavior of their unruly children… Yet, discipline is required! In a proper learning environment, students must be disciplined. For a teenager especially, they need to hear who’s boss. When teachers let up, the classroom transforms from a learning environment into a rowdy circus… Adding to these problems is a society that exalts rebellion. Teens pick this up in the lyrics streaming through speakers, the tube in the living room and the flicks projected onto the wide screen. America’s young people also pick this up from uninvolved parents. The very reason some teens are unruly is because their parents aren’t involved. More than that, because their parents are not involved, many don’t want to deal with the punishment, so they allow their kids to continue. The key aspect of this breakdown is how some parents will back their unruly kids up with litigation — which is setting precedents that will begin to turn schools into completely unproductive institutions… Whatever the case, the exaltation of rebellion in the life of an average teen, the teachers who won’t or can’t discipline, the uninvolved parents and the legal support of disruptive students are all breaking down American schools. When will it end?”

EDITORIAL NOTE:

The most recent developments involving the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners, as well as the terrible murders and “executions” of American civilians and soldiers in Iraq, are shocking and appalling without description. Many newspapers, magazines and newscasts present in graphic detail the horrible crimes committed. Although the reason for the world’s condemnation of these atrocities might not be fully comprehended without the total and full knowledge of the specifics, we felt that it could not be the task of God’s church, to pass on those terrible atrocities, although we would be delinquent in our duty, if we were to fail to show how these events have deepened anti-Americanism in the world, in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. In regard to the specifics, let it suffice to quote the principle, as set forth in Ephesians 5:11-12: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose [reprove] them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.”

TORTURE IN IRAQ WIDE-SPREAD?

Reuters reported on May 7, 2004, that “The Red Cross discovered ‘serious violations’ of the rights of Iraqi prisoners, with abuse so widespread it may be considered to have been tolerated by the U.S.-led coalition, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday. In a confidential 24-page document, which was seen by the financial newspaper, the International Committee of the Red Cross said treatment in some cases was ‘tantamount to torture,’ particularly when interrogators were seeking information or confessions.”

Reuters continued: “The use of ill-treatment ‘went beyond exceptional cases and might be considered a practice tolerated’ by coalition forces, the newspaper quoted the ICRC as saying. That differs sharply from the view of senior officials in the administration of President Bush that military higher-ups had not condoned abuse, the newspaper said… Three former military policemen at the prison told Reuters on Thursday that abuse was commonplace.”

WAS TORTURE PART OF STRATEGY?

On Saturday, May 8, 2004, the British newspaper, “The Guardian,” claimed that “the sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison [the same prison formerly used by Saddam Hussein to torture prisoners] was not an invention of maverick guards, but part of a system of ill-treatment and degradation used by special forces soldiers that is now being disseminated among ordinary troops and contractors who do not know what they are doing, according to British military sources. The techniques devised in the system, called R2I – resistance to interrogation – match the crude exploitation and abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad.

“One former British special forces officer… said British and US military intelligence soldiers were trained in these techniques, which were taught at the joint services interrogation centre in Ashford, Kent, now transferred to the former US base at Chicksands. [A method used in the Iraqi prison] is one of the methods taught on both sides of the Atlantic under the slogan ‘prolong the shock of capture’, he said… ‘[The] whole experience is horrible. Two of my colleagues couldn’t cope with the training at the time. One walked out saying “I’ve had enough”, and the other had a breakdown. It’s exceedingly disturbing.'”

The Austrian “News Networld” Webpage claimed on May 8, 2004, that, according to a written report by Major General Antonio Taguba, issued to the US Military Investigation Committee, the terrible acts which were described in detail were part of a strategy by the U.S. Secret Service and perhaps the CIA, to intimidate prisoners to make them more cooperative. Taguba’s report speaks of “the Secret Service and other U.S. agencies.” News Networld claims that the term “other U.S. agencies,” identifies, in a military context, the CIA. Subsequently, Taguba testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, stating that the atrocities were NOT committed “pursuant to a policy.” He pointed out that it “involved only a hand full” of perpetrators, although he also testified that “there were others, but we could not track them down.” He stated that there were no “classified terrorists” in the prisons under investigation.

Major General Antonio M. Taguba’s entire lengthy report was posted on the website of MSNBC. Taguba’s report included the following conclusion: “Several US Army Soldiers have committed egregious acts and grave breaches of international law at AbuGharib/BCCF and Camp Bucca, Iraq. Furthermore, key senior leaders in both the 800th MP Brigade and the 205th MI Brigade failed to comply with established regulations, policies, and command directives in preventing detainee abuses [at those prisons] during the period August 2003 to February 2004.”

NO REVENGE?

AFP reported on May 12, 2004 that “The White House rejected any link between the abuse of Iraqi detainees by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison and the ‘brutal, barbaric’ [video-taped murder] of [a] US citizen by terrorists.” U.S. governmental spokesman Scott McClellan “rejected their [terrorists’] claim that they were avenging the mistreatment at the facility near Baghdad.” He continued to say, according to the article: “There simply is no justification for the deliberate and brutal killing of an innocent civilian… The brutal barbaric action of these terrorists shows their true nature.”

AFP added: “Reaction in Baghdad to the slaying was mixed. ‘As Muslims we can’t accept it, but we don’t blame them. It was a natural reaction to the human rights violations we have seen at Abu Ghraib. What the Americans are doing now is terrible,’ said a 45-year-old woman dentist. ‘Since the men came here to do something good for Iraq, it was shameful. Whoever comes to serve this country will be treated kindly by Iraqis, but I blame the Americans for being behind such activities,’ said restaurant worker Falah Faisal, 30.”

THE EFFECT OF WAR!

On May 7, 2004, ABC News published an insightful article, discussing the horrible effects of war. The facts presented in this article should be persuasive, all by themselves, to convince a true Christian that he must not be a participant in war, nor in the preparation of war. The article stated:

“The specifics of the incidents at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq remain to be sorted out. But the answer seems apparent for experts in the psychology of war and other mental health professionals contacted by ABC NEWS — such behavior is not uncommon in a time of military conflict and the potential to abuse others may lie in all of us. ‘In war, things do happen, often from emotion of the moment, exhaustion, frustration — a buddy killed, a unit hurt,’ maintains Samuel Watson, a former infantry officer in the Vietnam War who is now associate professor of public health at University of Pittsburgh… And Dr. Carlyle Chan, professor of psychiatry at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, says prisoner abuse is probably more prevalent than we would like to believe, given the trauma soldiers can experience.”
The article continued to ask: “What drives soldiers to abuse others in time of war? The key, believe these experts, is ‘the MILITARY CULTURE’ the soldiers and guards were immersed in.

“In war, ‘the enemy is not represented as a similar human being to oneself, but rather as a brute who is savage and single-minded in destructive intentions,’ says Rona M. Fields, director for cognitive sciences at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. This depersonalization, explains Evans, is a psychological defense against the horrible events soldiers witness during war. But once the enemy is seen as LESS THAN HUMAN, it can be easy to treat them accordingly.

“Another motivation for U.S. soldiers to mistreat Iraqi prisoners may have been simple RETALIATION, suggests Dr. Paul Ragan, a Navy psychiatrist during Desert Storm and now associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. ‘The emotional center of the brain, or the limbic system, wants to strike back…'”

ABC News asked this question: “But what if the leadership itself is commanding soldiers to behave in abusive ways? Would normal individuals be willing to follow morally abhorrent orders?”

The history of man has proven that the answer, tragically, is affirmative. Nazis, working at and supervising concentration camps, defended their brutal tortures and murders with these words: “I only followed orders.” And so, ABC News continued, in quoting another expert: “Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process… Even when the destructive effects of their work become patently clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality.”

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH GETS INVOLVED…

Reuters reported on May 12 that “The scandal of prisoner abuses by U.S. soldiers in Iraq has dealt a bigger blow to the United States than the Sept. 11 attacks, the Vatican foreign minister told an Italian newspaper.”

The article continued: “In an interview published Wednesday in the Rome daily La Repubblica, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo described the abuses as ‘a tragic episode in the relationship with Islam’ and said the scandal would fuel hatred for the West and for Christianity. ‘The torture? A more serious blow to the United States than Sept. 11. Except that the blow was not inflicted by terrorists but by Americans against themselves,’ Lajolo was quoted as saying in La Repubblica.”

Reuters added: “The Vatican paper, L’Osservatore Romano, has also run some harsh comments in the past days. On Monday, it criticized what it called a Pentagon cover-up… President Bush is scheduled to hold talks with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican on June 4.”

Der Spiegel Online commented:

“In Germany, criticism continued as well. Gernot Eller, second in command of the Social Democratic Party… claimed that the torture in Iraq is no longer an internal American problem…. He said that the whole Western world has become inadvertently accused… He continued that the USA does not have the right to ask questions of other societies, but does have to answer for itself.”

US FACES LASTING DAMAGE ABROAD

The Washington Post published an article on May 7, 2004, pointing out the terrible damage abroad caused by the atrocities in Iraq. It stated:

“The United States faces the prospect of a severe and enduring backlash not just in the Middle East but also among strategic allies… The White House is so gloomy about the repercussions that senior adviser Karl Rove suggested this week that the consequences of the graphic photographs documenting the U.S. abuse of Iraqi detainees are so enormous that it will take DECADES for the United States to recover, according to a Bush adviser.”

The article continued:

“‘It’s a blinding glimpse of the obvious to say we’re in a hole,’ conceded Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage. He said the backlash in Europe is even greater than in the 22-nation Arab world. ‘For many of our European friends, what they saw on those horrible pictures is tantamount to torture, and there are very strong views about that,’ he said yesterday on CNN’s ‘Paula Zahn Now’ show. ‘In the Arab world, there is general dismay and disgust, but in some places we were not real popular to start with. So I think I’m actually seeing a EUROPEAN REACTION quite strong — quite a bit stronger.’

“In public and private communications, European officials have become critical or DISDAINFUL of the United States.”

“EUROPE AND AMERICA DRIFTING APART”

This was the headline of an article published by The San Diego Union Tribune on May 5, 2004 — even before the news hit regarding the most recent atrocities in Iraq. When describing the acceptance of ten new European countries by the EU on May 1, 2004, the newspaper pointed out: “The U.S. media paid scant attention; it was no big deal. IN EUROPE, IT WAS A GARGANTUAN DEAL.” It continued: “Opposition to the United States also distracts from Europe’s own problems. There’s a growing collision between generous welfare benefits and poor economic growth… The 10 countries received membership on grudging terms: economic aid and farm subsidies were limited; immigration rights were curtailed. The truth is that Europe is too weak to lead and too proud to follow.”

This may be true right now, but Europe understands this situation much better than most Americans do. Europeans realize that they are too weak to lead at this point — but they are determined to overcome that weakness. European leaders of the past, including Charlemagne, Otto the Great, Charles V. of Hapsburg, Napoleon I and III, Wilhelm IV., Mussolini and Hitler, have had a strong conviction that “God,” or a “higher power,” or “destiny,” had selected and ordained them to fulfill a certain predetermined role. Today, this persuasion may not exist in many European leaders. This, however, will change.

“Modern” Europe descended from ancient Rome. After the Roman Empire fell, it went through several “historical revivals.” In the Middle Ages, the “Holy Roman Empire” was born under Charlemagne. Later, it was called the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation,” under Otto the Great. In more recent times, Mussolini claimed that he had resurrected the ancient Roman Empire.

On April 30, 2004, Die Welt published an interview with French historian Jacques Le Goff. He stated that the word “Europa” or “Europe” was originally adapted from Greece. It comprised the peoples of the Roman Empire and the so-called “barbarians.” The Moors called the Europeans “Franks.” Goff claimed that Turkey does not belong, historically, to Europe, but to the Orient. He stated that in the Middle Ages, European emperors traveled to Rome to be crowned there. Europeans traveled without passports, and the upper class used a common language — that of Latin. It did not make any difference in which European city one studied. Goff suggested that today’s European concept of “open borders” goes back to the Middle Ages. He concluded: “I am filled with joy that the descendants of the Carolingian Empire [under Charlemagne], Germany and France, are playing today a major role in Europe.”

An article by the San Diego Union Tribune, dated May 1, 2004, is quite remarkable in this context. It reminded the readership of the “historic roots of Europe,” stating: “East and West Europe have been divorced from each other for most of history. UNDER THE ROMANS, CHARLEMAGNE, THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, NAPOLEON AND HITLER PARTS OF IT WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER BY FORCE OF ARMS OR RELIGION. NEVER BEFORE, THOUGH, HAVE EAST AND WEST JOINED TOGETHER LEGALLY AND DEMOCRATICALLY AS THEY NOW HAVE DONE.”

The article made this interesting remark: “What the new 25-nation EU will become IS NOT CERTAIN.”

However, the Bible describes in VERY CERTAIN terms what the future holds for Europe — and the United States of America. The article of the Union Tribune claimed: “Whatever new problems it poses, today’s expansion should be welcomed by Americans…. It has been the policy of every U.S. government for a half century to support European unity.” And indeed, this policy may make sense from a human standpoint. However, America’s and Europe’s future will not be, as many might expect. For a thorough and insightful look into the destinies of these two power blocs, please read our free booklets: “Europe in Prophecy” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

PASSPORT PROBLEMS BETWEEN US AND EU

Reuters reported on May 12, 2004, that “the European Union expects to start issuing new biometric passports with digital photographs and fingerprints by the end of 2005 and hopes the United States will continue to allow visa-free travel as a result, a top EU official said on Wednesday. Under current U.S. legislation, visa-free travel for 27 U.S. allies — including many European Union states — is in jeopardy. It requires all new passports from these ‘visa waiver’ countries to contain a biometric identifier, like a fingerprint or a face-scan, from Oct. 26, a deadline most of the states say they cannot meet.”

The article continued: “Both European and U.S. officials are eager for Congress to extend the deadline. Unless this happens, the United States risks a huge shortfall in traveler spending and a consular nightmare when millions of visitors suddenly require visas. Some 15.1 million people came into the United States under the visa waiver program last year, and their spending accounted for about two-thirds of spending by overseas visitors. The Department of Homeland Security has asked Congress to give visa waiver countries two more years to start issuing biometric passports… The Oct. 26 deadline only applies to passports issued after that date. Citizens of visa waiver countries who hold valid passports issued before Oct. 26 will be grandfathered, allowing them visa-free travel until their passports expire.”