If you're British or Irish, join the UK & Ireland Orthodox chat on Telegram! - Please share! 🇬🇧☦🇮🇪☦🇬🇧

t.me/britishorthodox

If you're Italian, join the Italian Orthodox chat on Telegram! - Please share! 🇮🇹☦🇮🇹☦🇮🇹

t.me/OrtodossiaItaliana

If you're Dutch or Flemish, join the Dutch Orthodox chat on Telegram! - Please share! 🇳🇱☦🇳🇱☦🇳🇱

t.me/Nederlandse_Orthodoxie

If you're Polish, join the Polish Orthodox chat on Telegram! - Please share! 🇵🇱☦🇵🇱☦🇵🇱

t.me/prawoslawny

If you're Brazilian or Portuguese, join the Portuguese-language Orthodox chat on Telegram! - Please share!
🇧🇷☦🇵🇹☦🇧🇷

t.me/OrtodoxiaPortugues

If you're Spanish or from Latin America, join the Spanish-language Orthodox chat on Telegram! - Please share! 🇪🇸☦🌎☦🇪🇸

t.me/CristianismoOrtodoxo

⬆️ These group chats, which are catered to Orthodox Christians (and inquirers) from a variety of different countries, languages and cultures have been set up for the purpose of spreading the Orthodox faith but in more recent times can also act as a place to find like-minded company to talk to as COVID mandates, often to insane extents, are on the horizon for many people. If there's ever a time to find friends and allies in the fight who are in your area or country, then it's now. Start coordinating, start meeting fellow Orthodox Christians and I would also recommend that you consider thinking about establishing men's groups at your parishes.

Please join and make the most of these groups as much effort was put into setting them up 🙏🏻

NOTE: Australians, we haven't forgotten you! Soon we will have a chat for Australians and New Zealanders set up, we know how bad the situation is down there and we will definitely be starting a group where you can all communicate with each other. Same goes for Americans, we should have some US regional group chats established shortly - God bless!

🇨🇦 @canadianorthodox
🇫🇷 @Foi_Orthodoxe
🇩🇪 @Deutsche_Orthodoxie
🇬🇧 @britishorthodox
🇮🇹 @OrtodossiaItaliana
🇳🇱 @Nederlandse_Orthodoxie
🇵🇱 @prawoslawny
🇵🇹 @OrtodoxiaPortugues
🇪🇸 @CristianismoOrtodoxo

So i suppose most of you are aware of the French report that dropped today with regards to acts of pedophilia commited by Roman Catholic priests and the numbers are very high and the conclusions are dreadful.

1) The main thing the report wants to achieve is to tell people to stop coping, the document specifically admits a systemic paedophilia problem in the RCC with several Roman Catholic institutions being complicit. This report is not made by leftist activist but by the commission of the Bishops of France, their goal is to admit there's a real problem and to start heal it rather than deny it.
That's what should be pointed out to the classic denial arguments, such as the higher numbers of paedophiles in public education, the document is explicit in showing the rate in the RCC is higher despite a limited number of priests.

2) From the Orthodox side people should not be making the argument that clergy celibacy naturally leads to paedophilia, clergy and ecclesial celibacy is praised as a valid (yet difficult path) by most Church Fathers. The problem here is mandatory clergy clelibacy, which deprives the shepherds of God from a freedom and a path they enjoyed since apostolic times.
A better "target" would also be to point out links between some sexual orientations which infiltrated their church as a lobby and such acts, as well as the greater protection provided to the guilty by a more centralised and powerful structure.

3) Finally i would point out some interesting solutions that were put forward by the dossier, which for example recommends for the RCC to (re)adopt an Eastern Orthodox style of relation between the priesthood and the faithful :

"While the debates within the Church remain lively among the supporters of a Church represented as a "hierarchical society" or the incarnation of the meeting of the faithful and the "people of God", pastoral practice as reported to CIASE shows that the hierarchical principle remains primary. The reflections on synodality, in the perspective of the next synod which should to conclude in Rome in the fall of 2023, are a sign that the question of governance remains open with the desire to establish a more open and participatory concept: the secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Mario Grech, indicates as well as "the time has come for a wider participation of the people of God in a decision-making process", in a way of reconnecting with "a typical practice of the Church of the first millennium, perpetuated in the Orthodox Church" and which had started to be rediscovered with Vatican II. "

- Rapport CIASE (2021), p. 431

Pointing out these conclusions and following the instructions hereby provided might be more helpful to the Orthodox dialoguing with Roman Catholics on more a respectful and (hopefully) productive bases.

🚨 Subscribe to this new Brazilian Orthodox channel on YouTube 🇧🇷🇧🇷

https://youtu.be/PgStuu0yYFI

Congratulations @RobynRiley!! 🇨🇦☦

https://gofund.me/9598644e An Orthodox Christian named Samina Mariam lost her husband recently who had an outstanding loan owed to their muslim landlord for $3000 USD. The landlord is blackmailing her with the loan demanding either payment in full or he will try to force her to marry his muslim servant and become a muslim. On behalf of Fr. Farooq and the Parish community of Archangel Michael Mission in Sargodha, Pakistan, I humbly ask everyone to please donate whatever you can to help our innocent sister in Christ whose suffering for her faith.

🇺🇸 FLORIDA ORTHODOX CHAT

A new group chat for Floridian Orthodox Christians has just been set up. If you live in Florida or on the outskirts of the Sunshine state, or perhaps you're even thinking of relocating there due to its laid back COVID situation under Governor DeSantis, then consider joining the group chat using the link below.

Like @HellenicGroyper's efforts to create a strong Orthodox missionary presence and movement in Montana, this group hopes to the lay the groundwork for a similar vision in Florida. 🇺🇸☦🇯🇪☦🇺🇸☦🇯🇪☦🇺🇸

https://t.me/OrthodoxFL

"[The Zionists] want to rule the earth. To achieve their ends they use black magic and satanism. They regard satan-worship as a means to gain the strength they need to carry out their plans. They want to rule the earth using satanic power."

🇬🇷 Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

Uh oh

We updated our health impacts article to replace a banned YouTube video on vaccine impacts on fertility with a nurse whistleblower. COVID patients are being treated with Remdesivir and stuck on ventilators, and it’s killing them.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/true-health-impacts-of-covid-vaccines-multiple-resources/#murder

"You will own nothing, and you will be happy."

PFIZER LEAKS: Whistleblower Goes On Record, Reveals Internal Emails from Chief Scientific Officer & Senior Director of Worldwide Research Discussing COVID Vaccine ...

‘We Want to Avoid Having the Information on the Fetal Cells Floating Out There’

#PfizerLeaks

CLICK TO TWEET: https://ctt.ec/il31f

YouTube: https://youtu.be/FUXGB5FzhPc

PFIZER LEAKS: Internal Email From Vanessa Gelman, Senior Director of Worldwide Research

‘We Want to Avoid Having the Information on the Fetal Cells Floating Out There’

#PfizerLeak

#PfizerLeaks Is Making Waves