(LifeSiteNews) — Colombia will be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13. The consecration will take place as part of the fourth national rosary for peace and reconciliation. The event is organized by Catholic lay groups and has the support of the Colombian Catholic bishops. It will be held under the theme, “Colombia’s Peace and Reconciliation Are Built Upon the Conversion of Your Heart” as the country suffers the ravages of decades of drug trafficking and violent Marxist guerrilla groups. The event will feature two main parts on May 13. At 11 a.m., the rosary will be recited, and Holy Mass will be celebrated at Bogotá cathedral. Afterward, the president of Colombia’s bishops’ conference, Archbishop Francisco Javier Múnera, will consecrate the country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The second part of the event will commence at 5 p.m. in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar with a candle procession, the recitation of the rosary, and Eucharistic adoration. The organizers said that they will ask the Blessed Mother to intercede “for the conversion of Colombians, in order to achieve peace and reconciliation.” Múnera invited Colombians living both in the country and abroad to “join in on May 13 for the great act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary.” “We will ask the mother of the Lord to rekindle hope within us, sustain unity, and intercede for the reconciliation and peace of all Colombians,” the archbishop stated. On the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, the Catholic Church celebrates the first apparition of Our Lady to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, on May 13, 1917. During the apparitions, which occurred every 13th day of the month for six months, until October 13, 1917, Our Lady urged the faithful to pray the rosary daily – especially for peace and the end of World War I – as well as to pray and to make acts of penance for offenses against God, and to observe the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. As part of her message, Our Lady of Fatima promoted devotion to her Immaculate Heart and asked that the pope, together with all the bishops, would consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart so that the country may be converted and a period of peace may be granted to the world.

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, May 13, 2026Getty Images A Georgia school district is facing a lawsuit for allegedly abolishing a released-time program for religious education because of a Facebook post by the pastor who oversees the off-campus religious education. In a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia last Friday, the Sweet Onion Christian Learning Center and its director, Gady Youmans, alleged that Vidalia City Schools in Vidalia, Georgia, as well as its superintendent and school board, engaged in unconstitutional behavior by terminating its relationship with the organization after Youmans spoke out against a proposed tax increase in the school district.  For more than a decade, Sweet Onion has provided voluntary off-campus religious instruction to the district’s students during the school day. Students have had the option to take five classes offered by the organization, which count toward high school graduation requirements. Sweet Onion’s relationship with Vidalia City Schools reportedly deteriorated following a Sept. 12, 2025, Facebook post by Youmans in response to a proposed tax increase in the school district. Assuring the school board “you don’t need more money,” Youmans cited testimony from one of his friends who works as a teacher in the school district, asserting that “The BoE office keeps hiring admins we don’t need with near $100,000 salaries,” and called on the school district to let them go rather than raise taxes. In a second Facebook post published that same day, Youmans lamented that the 20 highest-paid employees in the school district made a combined $2.2 million as he continued to express concerns about the tax increase.Responding to a comment on the post, Youmans noted that students have told him, “We have to teach ourselves in several classes.” Five months later, Vidalia City Schools Superintendent Sandy Reid informed Youmans that the school district would no longer offer the released-time program beginning in the next school year. After Youmans requested a meeting with Reid, she informed him that complaints about the Facebook posts played a role in her decision. According to the minutes of the school board’s Nov. 11, 2025, work session, Reid “noted that parents have previously expressed concerns about the course content, specifically a perception that some instruction reflected a particular interpretation of the Bible rather than presenting information in a neutral or well-balanced manner.”“A few parents have chosen to remove their children from the class for this reason, though the majority of enrolled students complete the course,” the minutes added. “She also reported a recurring concern related to the instructor, who has publicly expressed criticism of public schools and has posted negative comments about the district and staff on social media. The Board briefly reviewed these issues and inquired about possible options for the course.” According to the complaint, only one parent removed their child from the released-time program, which occurred in nearby Montgomery County, Georgia, not in the Vidalia City School District, and was due to a parent objecting to the center not exclusively using the King James Version of the Bible.The center no longer offers the released-time program to students in Montgomery County and only has a working relationship with the Vidalia City School District. The lawsuit alleges that, in addition to harming students by depriving them of the opportunity to receive religious education during the school day, the rescission of the released-time program threatens Youmans’ livelihood because the sole purpose of the center is to provide such instruction, and donors have opted to cut ties with the organization following news that the program will no longer continue. The complaint maintains that the school district’s actions, cutting ties with Sweet Onion, constituted content and viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as unconstitutional retaliation and a violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. It also claims that the school district violated the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.The lawsuit asks for a decision ruling that the school district’s decision to cut ties with the center was unconstitutional, ensuring that the released-time program can continue and providing nominal damages and attorneys’ fees.Alliance Defending Freedom, the nonprofit legal organization that has won First Amendment cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, is representing Youmans and the center.“Every American has the right to publicly criticize the government — that’s what makes the First Amendment guarantee of free speech so special and the envy of the world,” said ADF Legal Counsel Mercer Martin in a statement.“Vidalia city schools can’t punish Rev. Youmans — or his ministry providing high school students with free religious education — for simply sharing his opinion of a proposed tax hike. We are urging the court to reinstate Sweet Onion’s released-time program and restore Rev. Youmans’ constitutional freedoms.” The Vidalia City Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday included an executive session to discuss this issue. 

By Ian M. Giatti, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, May 13, 2026Actor Zach Galifianakis in a May 4 episode of the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast. | Screenshot/YouTube/@Team CocoActor and comedian Zach Galifianakis says he is "very afraid" about whether the seemingly unstoppable rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is paving the way for another “Garden of Eden” moment in human history.Best known for the “Hangover” movie trilogy, Galifianakis, 56, made the comments in a May 4 episode of the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast in which he expressed reverence for God’s creation and questioned, as a self-identified agnostic, why humanity would not honor creation if a Creator indeed exists. “I want you to pay attention to how much concrete is around you versus greenery,” he said. “If there's a God that made all this stuff, why not respect it and the other things that this God has made?”He quickly added that he posed that question as “someone that has no idea if there's a God or not. But if there is, why is it the simplest thing to respect the Earth and the humans and the animals on it?Galifianakis, who was reportedly baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church as a child, singled out the broader push for AI into all spheres of human existence as a sort of modern reenactment of the biblical Fall, invoking the image of Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.“This is where humans are going with AI,” Galifianakis said. “I don't know if I'm old-fashioned or maybe it's ‘cause I'm 56 now, but I think this whole AI thing, and I don't mean for medicine, it’s got a lot of great things. Otherwise, though, I think it's another, like, biblical, in the biblical term of ‘biting the apple’ again. I just am very afraid of it. “ Beyond the “Terminator” scenario of a rogue AI, Galifianakis said his concerns extend far beyond show business, particularly “the dudes that are designing it,” an apparent reference to AI entrepreneurs like Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who are locked in a legal battle over the future of the company the pair co-founded in 2015.Galifianakis said men like Musk and Altman “have math minds” that may not always work in the best interest of the world at large.“There's very little wisdom coming out of that pocket of the world,” he said. “Almost none.”Likening the current era to the chaotic “OK Corral phase” of a new technological frontier, Galifianakis voiced optimism that increased regulation — and potentially hard-learned lessons — will eventually bring guardrails to the AI boom, similar to collective responses to other historic disruptive innovations like the printing press.“I worry about the lack of human connection with that stuff. And maybe it just is not as needed as we think it is,” he said. “But this world, this tech stuff, I've always worried about it.”The former "Between Two Ferns" host appeared on “Conan” to promote “This Is a Gardening Show,” his new Netflix series based on his 25 years of gardening experience, which features short 15-minute episodes in which Galifianakis learns various self-sustenance techniques and ends each episode with the tagline “The future is agrarian.”

With as many as 130 million Chinese Christians and the continuing explosive growth of the underground church, there are now more Christians in China than members of the Chinese communist party.  The Chinese government's persecution of Christians has only led to even more church growth, causing the Communist Party to now target the Bible itself, with what it calls an "update" with "socialist values," and removing passages that don't reflect communist beliefs. "The Chinese are no longer content with all of these attempts to try to forcibly get Christians to deny their faith," says Tina Ramirez, the founder of Hardwired Global. "And so now they've just taken it to a new level where they're trying to rewrite the scripture and what the Bible says, to confuse them and to prevent them from becoming Christians."  ***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.*** One example from a high school textbook, a Communist Party revision of John, Chapter Eight, about the woman caught in adultery, perverts the true biblical account of Jesus. It now says:      Jesus once said to the angry crowd who was trying to stone a woman who had sinned, "He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her." When his words came to their ears, they stopped moving forward. When everyone went out, Jesus stoned the woman himself, and said "I am also a sinner." Bob Fu, the president of ChinaAid says, "So, this is happening right now. We have seen the escalation. Bibles for children is totally forbidden. And all the Bible apps and Bible-related apps were forcefully removed from every e-commerce app store. Millions of Chinese Christian children were forced to sign a form renouncing their faith in public." "The issue for the Chinese Communist Party is control. It is always about control," says Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs. "And they see the Gospel, they see the Christian message as something that would take control away from the Communist Party. And so this new socialist translation of the Bible is just another step for the Chinese Communist Party as they try to control the church and really co-opt Christianity as a means of controlling the people and helping them serve the party's interests." But one Chinese pastor was quoted as saying, "...the (Communist Party) rulers have chosen an enemy that can never be imprisoned. They are doomed to lose." * Escaped Spy Reveals How Beijing Hunts Dissidents in US: 'Constant Threats' * China's Big Brother 'Social Credit System' Now Tracks People in North America Too with Video Surveillance * 'The Perfect Police State': China's Digital Dictatorship Goes Global * This story was first published in 2023, but was confirmed in May 2026 by new sources

(LifeSiteNews) —Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández has just released a “declaration” stating that a planned act of consecrating bishops without a “papal mandate” will be a “schismatic act” and that “formal adhesion to schism is a serious offense to God. This “Declaration of His Eminence Card. Victor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith” was published on the morning of May 13, 2026. It addressed the plans of the traditionalist society of Catholic priests founded by Archbishop Lefebvre, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (FSSPX), to ordain four new bishops in Écône, Switzerland, on July 1 of this year. Developing…

Jinja, Uganda. Ilona1001, Creative Commons Muslim relatives of a man in eastern Uganda who accepted Christ in March cut off his hands on April 17 in an attack over his new faith, sources said. Kalegeya Faruku, 40, was recovering from severe injuries after the attack at about 7 p.m. at his family home in Jinja, in the district of the same name. “I gave my life to Jesus in early March 2026, and my family members were not happy,” Faruku told a Morning Star News contact. “They became very angry and started sending me threatening messages about taking my life.” Faruku said that on April 17 he returned home briefly to collect personal belongings before relocating to a safer place. He intended to travel to Busembatia Town Council in Bugweri District, where a friend who had shared the gospel with him resides. Relatives ambushed him upon arrival, he said. “I found my brothers waiting for me, as if they had been informed,” Faruku said. “My elder brother approached me and pretended to ask about my whereabouts. Suddenly, he grabbed me, and others surrounded me.” They took him into the house and cut off his hands while reciting Islamic scripture, he said. Morning Star News has seen photos of the severed limbs. The relatives later transported him about five kilometers away and abandoned him near a crossroads, severely injured, Faruku said. “I thank God that a stranger found me and raised an alarm,” he added. “People came and rushed me to a nearby clinic for medical attention.” He was receiving medical treatment at a health facility whose name is withheld for security reasons. An assistant pastor of an evangelical church in the district said Faruku had been attending worship services at his church. The names of the church and assistant pastor are withheld for security reasons. Faruku is still undergoing treatment the health facility. His father, Lubega Issa, justified the attack by saying, “That is what sharia [Islamic law] instructs us to do to those who deny the religion of Allah,” according to the assistant pastor. Police had not released a statement about the incident at this writing, and it remained unclear whether any arrests had been made. Christian community members and leaders have called for a thorough investigation and for renewed emphasis on peaceful coexistence and freedom of belief. The attack was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented. Uganda’s constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate one’s faith and convert from one faith to another. Muslims make up no more than 12 percent of Uganda’s population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country.

 Photo by Ismael Paramo / Unsplash The International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) launched a new podcast series on Thursday, May 7, aimed at helping the global church understand and engage Generation Z. The four-part mini-series, titled Gen Z Insights, features voices from more than a dozen countries, including Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Bolivia. It explores how Christian leaders can engage a generation that makes up about 25% of the world’s population and is often described as spiritually open. “There’s been much debate about the rumblings of revival among Gen Z in the West, and this podcast series amplifies global voices in that critical ministry conversation,” said Annette Arulrajah, associate general secretary of IFES and host of the English-language version of the series. “Come and listen in on what God is doing among spiritually hungry university students around the world and be inspired, challenged and propelled to engage, disciple and empower this influential new generation.” The podcast builds on findings from a December 2025 report, Gen Z Insights for Global Student Ministry, published by IFES. Each episode focuses on one of four defining traits of Gen Z: digital immersion, cultural awareness, pursuit of well-being and spiritual openness. Because most Gen Zers live in the Majority World, IFES designed the series to move beyond Western perspectives. Each episode pairs an IFES staff member with a Gen Z student or recent graduate to provide a grassroots view of student ministry. The series also features guest speakers from the broader Christian landscape, including author and Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God host Justin Brierley and Jason Watson, host of the Lausanne Movement podcast. The series addresses topics such as how to distinguish biblical authority from personal preference in an age of fluid spirituality, and how to move students from digital information overload to authentic encounters with Jesus. Other episodes focus on student mental health and the balance between self-care and spiritual growth. The first episodes are available in English, French and Spanish on major podcast platforms and on the IFES Gen Z Insights webpage. IFES will release additional English episodes weekly. The International Fellowship of Evangelical Students is a global network of student-led Christian movements present in nearly every country. It works to build communities of disciples transformed by the gospel.

 Photo by Freepik Alberta has passed legislation adding safeguards to medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in a move praised by evangelical leaders. The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) commended policymakers for passing Bill 18, the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act, on April 22. Under the new rules, MAiD is allowed only for adults who are expected to die within 12 months. The law also limits access where mental illness is the sole medical condition. Julia Beazley, director of the EFC Centre for Faith and Public Life, told Christian Daily International that the move sets an example for other Canadian provinces. “We're encouraged to see Alberta pass this legislation adding much-needed limits and safeguards to the delivery of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in their province,” said Beazley. “Alberta’s legislation doesn’t change the federal law, which allows MAiD as an exception under the homicide laws in certain circumstances. Provinces regulate how they deliver health care, and this is an example for other provinces of ways to protect Canadians in vulnerable circumstances.” Beazley, on behalf of the EFC, sent a letter of commendation on April 27 to Mickey Amery, minister of justice and attorney general for the Government of Alberta, strongly supporting the bill. In the letter, Beazley said the law helps promote life-affirming care and puts in place safeguards to protect Albertans in vulnerable circumstances. Beazley emphasized the importance of the law in complementing recommendations by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to repeal Track 2 MAiD, which assists people to die whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness. She made a similar point about UN recommendations against MAiD for mature minors. “We firmly believe that in order to protect persons from feeling pressured to request hastened death in moments of vulnerability and to avoid undue influence by medical professionals, it is essential that conversations about medical assistance in dying be patient-initiated,” wrote Beazley. “Many faith-based institutions provide senior care, extended care and hospice care. The care they offer is an expression of the deeply held beliefs of the communities that provide the care. We are thankful these institutions will not be compelled to facilitate or allow assisted death on their premises. “It is essential to maintain MAiD-free spaces where patients are not offered MAiD and do not feel pressured to seek it, and where medical professionals who object to MAiD are not required to participate in it. These spaces are a protection for both patients and staff.” Alberta’s move follows similar restrictions in Quebec and comes ahead of the federal expansion of MAiD eligibility for mental illness, scheduled for March 2027. However, Alberta is the first province to restrict MAiD for patients who are not dying. Derek Ross, executive director of Christian Legal Fellowship, in a March 23 article for The Globe and Mail, said about 76,000 Canadians have died from MAiD since it was legalized in 2016. He said 5% of all deaths in Canada in 2024 occurred through MAiD, with reasons including “isolation, loneliness or being a perceived burden on others” cited by many who chose assisted dying. “Some may feel that they have no other choice to escape their socioeconomic distress,” added Ross. He pointed out that federal law only decriminalized MAiD in certain circumstances. “The Criminal Code does not automatically add MAiD to provincial health care systems, nor could it, as that is a matter of provincial jurisdiction,” wrote Ross. “The essence of Alberta’s legislation is to exclude certain forms of MAiD from health care in the province.” Ross added that because the Criminal Code does not prohibit an act, it does not mean a province must perform, facilitate or fund it. “While the federal government gets to determine what counts as a crime, each province gets to determine what counts as health care, and they may choose — as Alberta has done — to prioritize life-affirming care for patients,” he said. Ross questioned how Canada can be committed to suicide prevention and supporting people with mental health issues at the same time as “offering them state-sponsored death.” He added that any idea of MAiD offering “durable, error-free safeguards” is illusory. He referred to 428 cases of MAiD in Ontario alone between 2018 and 2023 where assisted dying may have been provided illegally. “We ignore these reports at our own peril,” he added. The legal expert said the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not require provinces to offer MAiD within health care systems for mental illness or for patients who are not dying. “Given how MAiD has unfolded in Canada, it is increasingly difficult to argue that provinces are ever required to offer it as health care,” he wrote. “Alberta is the first province to robustly challenge this idea. We hope it is not the last.”

American singer Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009) relaxes under a tree, April 1970. Little did he know that what he experienced in these early years would lead to an identity pursuit that would end in tragedy. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Michael Jackson has sold over 500 million records. He redefined popular music and could fill stadiums on every continent. Yet he struggled desperately with his own identity, saying in a 2003 interview with British journalist Martin Bashir, “I am one of the loneliest people on this earth… I guess you could say that it hurts to be me.”  What about us?   All the fame and success couldn’t fulfill a deep need inside him. Which got me thinking... what about us?   How do you see yourself? Are you secure in your identity as a child of God—loved, purposeful, grounded in the immense promise of a risen Savior? Or, like many, do you sometimes feel less steady, confident one moment and unsure the next, wrestling with who you are and what your life is meant to be?  It is deeply human to feel unsettled at times.  If that’s you, you’re far from alone. It is deeply human to feel unsettled at times—shaken by life’s challenges, the words of others or overwhelmed by the pace of the world. These moments can distort how we see ourselves, how we relate to others and how we interpret the world around us.  I found myself thinking about this recently as the world once again turns its attention to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. With the BBC documentary "Michael Jackson: An American Tragedy" trending, and the biopic "Michael" breaking box office records, the predictable cycle of fascination, admiration, and controversy has resurfaced.  I should confess: "Bad" was the first album I ever owned. I played the cassette endlessly on my not-quite-Sony Walkman. I was too young to experience "Off the Wall" or the cultural earthquake of "Thriller", but "Bad" made me a fan for life. Jackson’s music, rhythm, and the way he danced were magical.  As a young teen, I couldn’t understand how someone... could appear so intent on self-destruction.  As I grew older, I also witnessed some of the most troubling chapters of his life: the first allegations of child abuse, the infamous moment when he dangled his baby over a balcony railing, the increasingly erratic behavior, the dependence on medication and visible frailty. As a young teen, I couldn’t understand how someone with such extraordinary talent who seemed to have the world at his feet could appear so intent on self-destruction.  He was at war with his own identity. His appearance drew the most attention at first: the changing skin tone, the surgeries, the transformation into someone almost unrecognizable. It was painful to watch. Despite everything he had achieved, he was at war with his own identity, trying to erase every trace of the boy he once was. And, even with an entourage around him, he often described feeling incredibly lonely.  The abuse Michael and his siblings endured from their father, Joe Jackson, is well documented. Michael often said he longed to please him but never felt good enough. That early wound shaped him profoundly and could explain why he so often sought affirmation from fans, sometimes in dramatic ways, such as the incident with his baby. His erratic behavior led to the tabloid press dubbing him "Wacko Jacko". Most of us don’t share his fame or resources, but we do understand what it feels like to question who we are. Michael Jackson’s story is extreme, but the underlying struggle is not. Most of us don’t share his fame or resources, but we do understand what it feels like to question who we are, to look for validation in the wrong places and to feel lonely even when surrounded by people. These are deeply human struggles and ones that ultimately only find their true answer in Christ. These are deeply human struggles and ones that ultimately only find their true answer in Christ. Identity and our need for connection are some of the themes we explore in our new digital pathway, Ethos. Have you tried it yet? You can take a short quiz to discover how secure you are in four areas of what it means to be human: identity, relationships, reality, and purpose. You’ll then receive a personalized profile and recommended spiritual practices to help you grow in any areas where you feel less grounded. You can explore it at ethos.beinghumanlens.com.  The King of Pop is no longer here to take it, of course, but what if someone had helped him see that identity isn’t built on what you achieve but on the unshakeable truth that we are already known and deeply loved by the God who made us? Originally published by Being Human. Republished with permission. Heather Carruthers is the project co-coordinator for the Evangelical Alliance's Being Human initiative. The Evangelical Alliance in the United Kingdom is made up of hundreds of organisations, thousands of churches and tens of thousands of individuals, joined together for the sake of the gospel. Representing our members since 1846, the Evangelical Alliance is the oldest and largest evangelical unity movement in the UK. United in mission and voice, we exist to serve and strengthen the work of the church in our communities and throughout society. Highlighting the significant opportunities and challenges facing the church today, we work together to resource Christians so that they are able to act upon their faith in Jesus, to speak up for the gospel, justice and freedom in their areas of influence.

Interest in tarot cards, horoscopes and other forms of divination is increasingly entering mainstream entertainment culture in South Korea, prompting concern among some Christian leaders who warn that shamanistic practices are becoming normalized even among churchgoers. Unsplash / Camila Vélez A recent survey showing that one in five churchgoing Protestants in South Korea used shamanistic services within the past three years has prompted concern among Korean Christian scholars and pastors. One in four church members also indicated they did not strongly object to carrying a talisman, pointing to what some Korean church leaders describe as the “shamanization of faith,” according to reporting by Christian Daily Korea. They said the trend reflects a mix of popular culture, anxiety about the future, prosperity-oriented religion and weakened trust within church communities. Shamanistic practices, including fortune-telling, saju — a Korean form of divination based on birth data — horoscopes and talismans, have long existed in Korean society. But Christian Daily Korea reported that such practices are increasingly appearing in mainstream entertainment, YouTube, social media and AI-based content, where younger people often encounter them as a form of amusement rather than religion. Dr. Kim Young-han, president of the Christian Academic Society and professor emeritus at Soongsil University, told Christian Daily Korea that the spread of shamanistic content should be understood in the context of what he called a “post-Christian” cultural moment shaped by postmodernism and religious pluralism. Kim said Korea’s shamanistic traditions predate Christianity and remain embedded in the culture. Even Christians, he said, may be influenced when they are repeatedly exposed to shamanistic themes through secular media. “Religious pluralism claims that all religions are equally paths to salvation, but the Korean church must preserve the essence of biblical Christianity,” Kim said. “The church can maintain its reason for existence only when it stands on evangelical faith and faith centered on the Word.” Pastor Lee Chun-sung, secretary-general of the Korea Christian Ethics Institute and an associate pastor at Woori Church in Bundang, said the most significant shift is that fortune-telling is increasingly treated as entertainment. “In the past, visiting fortune tellers or consulting saju was something people wanted to hide and felt ashamed about,” Lee said. “But now, especially among younger generations, there is a strong tendency to consume saju and horoscopes simply as entertainment or fun.” Lee said some young Christians now approach fortune-telling with the attitude that “it’s just for fun,” weakening the sense that such practices conflict with Christian teaching. He also expressed concern about AI-generated horoscopes and online saju services, saying they can begin as entertainment but grow into dependence. “At first it begins as entertainment, but eventually people become increasingly dependent on it in order to relieve anxiety about the future,” Lee said. “In that process, there is a danger that people come to rely more on divination and shamanistic elements than on God.” Dr. Jung Jae-young, a sociology of religion professor at Seoul Theological University of Practical Studies and director of the 21st Century Church Research Institute, told Christian Daily Korea the issue should not be viewed only as individual compromise. He said it also points to weaknesses in church community life. Jung said some saju cafés and fortune-telling venues function as places where people can talk openly about private fears and decisions. Churches, he said, do not always provide that same sense of safety. “The problem is that many church members feel unable to safely share their deep concerns and wounds within the church,” Jung said, adding that when prayer requests or counseling details spread within a congregation, people may look elsewhere for comfort. He said divination can be appealing because it offers quick answers and practical direction in times of uncertainty. He also linked the trend to prosperity-oriented faith, saying material success and personal well-being can become so central that the line between seeking God’s blessing and seeking spiritual help elsewhere becomes blurred. Dr. Seo Chang-won, chairman of the Korea Institute for Reformed Preaching and a former professor at Chongshin Theological Seminary, gave a sharper theological warning. “I believe that people who call themselves believers while visiting fortune tellers or dabbling in shamanistic beliefs are falling into the sin of idolatry forbidden by God,” Seo said. “Someone who accurately predicts the past is not necessarily able to predict the future. The future belongs to God.” Seo said Christians should fear God, trust Scripture and reject dependence on spirits or divination. The experts cited by Christian Daily Korea said the issue reflects more than a temporary cultural trend. They pointed to several overlapping factors: the weakening of biblical teaching, the rise of religious pluralism, the influence of entertainment media, material-centered forms of faith and declining trust in church communities. They said Korean churches face a dual challenge: teaching more clearly on the gospel and Christian doctrine while also becoming communities where believers can speak honestly about anxiety, wounds and uncertainty without fear of exposure.

Jesus stepped down in love.He knelt down in obedience.He sat down in victory.Scripture tells this story in verbs—of a Son who came down (John 6:38), humbled himself (Phil. 2:8), and now is seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 1:3).We know how to celebrate the first two.We sing of the night heaven bent low, when glory wrapped itself in flesh and arrived crying and cold. We linger at the manger with candles and carols, marveling that the Son of God would step down into our world at all. Then we slow our pace again in Holy Week, following Jesus into the garden where he kneels in obedience, his will yielded to the Father’s. We sit with the weight of the cross—the cost of love, the obedience that carried him through suffering and death. The church gives words, space, and time to these moments. Rightly so.The manger drew him close. The cross pinned him down. The throne is where he now sits in victory.And yet this part of the story is the one we often rush past. Christmas fills our sanctuaries with song, and Holy Week slows us to a reverent hush. But after Easter, the church calendar grows strangely quiet. Ascension Day slips by almost unnoticed. Still, Scripture insists this is where we are meant to live—not craning our necks toward heaven but settling our lives under a King who has already taken his seat.When the resurrection appearances fade, and the forty days of teaching end, Jesus leads his disciples out once more. He lifts his hands in blessing. And then—quietly, without spectacle—he is lifted up. No trumpets. Just a cloud taking him from their sight, and a handful of followers left staring into the sky. Luke tells us that as they stood watching, angels interrupted their gaze, reminding them that the same Jesus who ascended would one day return (Acts 1:9–11).We confess it in the creed—he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father—but we rarely linger there, as if the Ascension were an addendum to Easter rather than its fulfillment.Yet Scripture insists on its significance. Jesus did not rise only to walk again among his friends. He rose to reign. He did not ascend to disappear, but to sit down. And his sitting down was not rest born of exhaustion—it was the posture of victory, authority, and completion.When Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, something decisive happened not only in heaven, but for us. When we lose sight of that throne, discipleship begins to feel heavier than it was ever meant to be.Maybe you, like me, have stood by the kitchen sink late at night, the house finally quiet, praying the same prayers you’ve prayed for years—over children, over aging parents, over a life that isn’t unfolding quite the way you imagined. I believe Christ is risen. But I confess there are times when I wonder whether my faithfulness is truly built on solid rock.Or maybe you are like a friend of ours—a father, brother, and uncle—sitting in his car in the church parking lot long after the service has ended, hands resting on the steering wheel, staring through the windshield. Not because he doubts what he heard, but because he is tired of trying to live it.This is the long middle of discipleship—the space where belief is steady, but energy is not; where obedience continues, but joy feels deferred.The Weary Disciple and the Gap We FeelMost Christians do not struggle because they doubt that Jesus lived, died, or rose again. The trouble comes later—after the truths are learned, after the habits are formed, after faith has settled into the long middle of life.This is where discipleship begins to feel like effort without lift. We keep showing up. We pray sometimes haltingly. We open Scripture even when it feels dry. We attempt obedience that looks ordinary and unseen—choosing patience, telling the truth, resisting cynicism, loving people who do not change quickly. And a quiet question begins to form beneath the surface of faithful lives: Is this really going anywhere?Our prayers rise. Our obedience stretches upward. And slowly—almost imperceptibly—we begin to wonder—not whether these practices matter, but whether anyone is actually seated there to receive them.The Ascension answers that quiet question with a picture the church has too often overlooked: a throne, and a King who has already taken his seat.The language of the Christian life subtly shifts. We speak more about discipline than delight, more about endurance than joy. We know the story of salvation well enough to affirm it, but not always well enough to draw strength from it. Part of the problem is not that we expect too much—but that we expect too little.When the Ascension fades from view, discipleship is reduced to imitation without participation. Jesus becomes our example more than our representative. His obedience becomes something we try to reproduce rather than something we are meant to live from. And so, the Christian life begins to feel like a strain—an effort to copy the life of Jesus rather than to draw life from him.The New Testament offers a different picture—one that depends not only on what Jesus has done for us, but on where he is now. Hebrews insists that Christ’s work did not end with sacrifice, or even with resurrection. It reached its climax when he sat down. After offering himself once for all, Christ took his seat at the right hand of God—not because the work ceased, but because it was finished. The posture matters. The priests in the temple never sat—only a priest who declares the work complete sits.Hebrews returns to this image with deliberate insistence: “After making purification for sins, he sat down” (Heb. 1:3). “When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down” (Heb. 10:12). This is not theological ornamentation. It is given for weary believers—those who pray faithfully and still wonder whether their prayers have anywhere to land.The point is not simply that Jesus reigns in heaven, but that our lives are bound to someone who reigns for us. Our obedience unfolds beneath a finished work. Our weakness is carried into the presence of God by one who knows it from the inside.When discipleship feels stalled, the problem is often not a lack of faithfulness but a lack of perspective. We live as though the throne were empty. Scripture asserts otherwise. A seated Christ guarantees the future of the world, and his intercession upholds our lives in the present, in this very moment. We often remember the kneeling but forget the sitting.This does not remove the cost of obedience. It relocates its meaning. Obedience still costs, but it is no longer fragile or wasted because it unfolds beneath an occupied throne. We do not strive upward to reach heaven. We walk forward because Christ has already taken his seat.Seated at the Right Hand: King and PriestTo say that Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Father” is to name a role, not merely a place. The right hand is the seat of authority—the place of one who acts with the ruler’s full power. Psalm 110 gives the church its language: a Lord invited to sit beside the LORD until every enemy is placed beneath his feet (v.1).Yet Hebrews adds something unexpected. The one who sits is not only King but Priest. Earthly kings sit because they rule; earthly priests stand because their work is never finished. Jesus alone sits as both King and Priest—because his sacrifice is complete.And yet his seated priesthood is not distant. Hebrews speaks of ongoing intercession—authority exercised in compassion. The one who reigns is the one who bears scars, not as evidence of defeat but as credentials of mercy.Here, kingship and priesthood converge. He reigns with the authority to rule, and he intercedes with the intimacy of shared humanity. His prayers are not appeals rising from uncertainty; they are the petitions of the Son, offered from the place of favor.For disciples, this reframes everything. If Christ were only King, obedience might feel like submission to power. If he were only  Priest, obedience might feel like gratitude without direction. But because he is both—seated, reigning, interceding—obedience becomes participation rather than performance. We are not trying to secure an undecided future. We are learning to live in alignment with a reign already established.Beneath an Occupied ThroneWhen the angels speak to the disciples in the opening chapter of Acts, they do not scold them for looking up; they redirect them. The risen Christ has not vanished into uncertainty. He has taken his place. And because he has, the disciples are free to return and wait—not in paralysis, but in hope.This is the posture the Ascension gives the church. Not escape from the world, but endurance within it. The Ascension does not remove the slow work of discipleship—it changes the air we breathe while we do it.When Christians grow weary, it is often because they imagine themselves alone on the road, responsible not only for faithfulness but for outcomes. The Ascension corrects that illusion. The one who walked the road before us now reigns ahead of us. History is not drifting toward uncertainty. The throne toward which it moves is already occupied—and occupied by one who bears scars.So, disciples, keep walking. Not because progress is always visible, but because the destination is secure. Not because obedience guarantees immediate fruit, but because it unfolds beneath a finished work.Our brother in the parking lot is not sitting beneath an indifferent sky. I don’t send my prayers into silence. Above us—above every ordinary act of obedience that feels unseen—there is a throne already occupied.Jesus stepped down in love.He knelt down in obedience.He sat down in victory.And because he sat down, we can stand—day after ordinary day—without fear that our faithfulness is wasted or our labor unseen. The Ascension does not remove us from the long middle of discipleship. It anchors us within it, giving us hope, assuring us that above every weary step there is a reigning Christ, and from his throne flows grace enough to carry us all the way home.

I was never a toy-train kid, but my son sure was! I got him his first wooden train tracks when he was two-and-a-half years old. It was so adorable watching him say, “Here we go! Choo-choo!” as he raced his engine over (and sometimes above) the tracks. Even though I never had playsets like that as a kid, I immediately understood the appeal. I had so much fun coming up with new routes, which of course led me to look for even more sets to buy. I loved finding new bridges or buildings or unique splits, and of course: new trains themselves. For many months, I was the only one who put the tracks together and then later reconfigured them. After a while, my son was not only excited to watch me assemble them, he wanted to help. I had a choice to make. I could either stop him from basically taking my job… or support him. I really enjoyed putting the tracks together myself, but this was ultimately for him. Yet choosing to support him had another benefit. Years later, he would have little brothers. As they grew older, they would become interested in trains as well. Even more satisfying than watching my oldest construct a layout for his own benefit was watching him put one together for him and his brothers to enjoy! This satisfaction (to a significantly greater degree) was felt by John the Baptist, which he expressed like this: “It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” (John 3:29-30 NLT) This is another example of the upside-down kingdom of God. For many months, John the Baptist was the only one preaching about that kingdom. He was known and respected far and wide. He had a glorious job to do that was announced by an angel before he was even conceived. Why would anyone in such an elevated place want to “become less and less”? Because he knew when the time came to support the true Messiah, everything was ultimately for Him. We often pray for God’s purpose in our lives—like a torch we are uniquely equipped to hold that we can hold high. But how often do we pray for God’s purpose in passing that torch? Choosing to support Him has so many benefits, many we do not even consider in the moment. As John modeled: letting God put our routes together—in times of leading and in times of supporting—will put us on track to being filled with so much joy. ~ Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.  

(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Frank Leo delivered a strong pro-life message before the 29th annual Canadian National March for Life on May 14 in Ottawa, reiterating the Catholic Church’s full opposition to abortion, IVF, artificial birth control, and euthanasia. “As faithful pro-lifers from across the country prepare to meet on Parliament Hill, I would like to encourage you and reflect together on the witness we are to bear to the inviolable dignity of human life,” wrote Cardinal Leo, who serves as the Archbishop of Toronto. Cardinal Leo said that “Jesus reveals that authentic freedom is found not in self-assertion detached from truth but in self-gift rooted in love (Evangelium Vitae, 96; CCC 1733).” “To follow our Lord is an invitation to see reality as God sees it – especially the dignity of human life – to banish false gods, self-deception, and live life to its fullest (cf. Jn 10:10),” he added.  The cardinal noted that the dignity of human life as God and the Church see it has “profound implications when considering issues such as abortion, in vitro fertilization (IVF), artificial conception and euthanasia.” “Each of these reflects a broader cultural tendency to place human control at the centre of life’s beginning and end,” he wrote. Cardinal Leo said that when it comes to abortion, it “asserts a right to decide whether a life is worthy to continue (CCC 2270; Didache, 2, 2).” “IVF, while often motivated by a deep desire for children, treats human life as a product rather than a gift that is received, and tears asunder the miracle of life,” he added. Regarding contraception, Cardinal Leo said that “artificial birth control denies a crucial dimension of the very profound meaning of married sexuality and harms the unity in which the couple is called to nourish as it undermines the total, mutual gift of two persons in its integrity, separating, as it were, the unitive and procreative ends of marriage.” He then talked about euthanasia, which has become rampant in Canada, saying it “presents death as a solution to suffering, suggesting that some lives are no longer worth living (Iura et Bona, II; CCC 2277).” Cardinal Leo said that Canadians gathering at the March for Life in Ottawa on May 14 is a sign that we “stand firmly, yet compassionately, for the sacrosanct dignity of every human person from conception to natural death (Evangelium Vitae, 57).” “It is to affirm the fundamental truth that life is not ours to create or destroy at will, but a sacred trust given to us by God. This stance is not merely a set of prohibitions; it is a coherent vision of love and true freedom – one that recognizes each human being as willed for his or her own sake and called to live in God (Gaudium et Spes 24).” Organizing Canada’s March for Life is Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), which stated that the event marks Canada’s 1969 Day of Infamy when the Liberal government’s Omnibus Bill unleashed legal abortion on the nation. The theme of this year’s March for Life is “Follow Me,” a reference to Jesus’s call in Matthew 4:19 to His disciples: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Full details on the March, including exact dates, times, and locations, can be found on the National March for Life website.

By CP StaffTuesday, May 12, 2026An IDF soldier photographed placing a cigarette into the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary, in a Christian village in southern Lebanon. | Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian @manniefabian/XTwo Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers involved with desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon will spend weeks in military prison for the act, which comes after a separate IDF desecration of a crucifix in the same region.After the photo of an IDF soldier putting a cigarette in the Mary statue's mouth went viral on social media and drew widespread condemnation, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Ariella Mazor said in a statement on X that following an investigation, "the soldier documented carrying out the act was sentenced to 21 days of military prison, and the soldier who filmed the incident was sentenced to 14 days of military prison." Mazor added that the Israeli military "views the incident with great severity and respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities. Procedures regarding conduct around religious institutions and religious symbols are routinely reinforced to troops prior to entering the relevant areas."The IDF views the incident with utmost severity and emphasizes that the conduct of the soldier completely deviates from the values expected of its personnel.Following an initial review, the image in question was taken several weeks ago. The incident will be investigated, and… https://t.co/fi2gQXzdYj— LTC Ariella Mazor (@LTC_Ariella) May 6, 2026 George Deek, who serves as Israel's special envoy to the Christian world, said the Mary incident "was treated with the seriousness it deserves.""Such behavior stands in direct contradiction to the values of the State of Israel, which is committed to respecting freedom of religion, holy sites, and religious symbols of all faiths and communities," Deek said. "The IDF has also reinforced procedures and guidelines regarding conduct around religious institutions and symbols for forces operating in relevant areas."The incident comes weeks after two other IDF soldiers were removed from their units and sentenced to military prison when one of them smashed a crucifix with a sledgehammer while another photographed the act in the southern Lebanese village of Debel.Following an inquiry into the incident, the IDF determined that "the soldiers' conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values," according to a statement."The IDF expresses deep regret over the incident and emphasizes that its operations in Lebanon are directed solely against the Hezbollah terrorist organization and other terrorist groups, and not against Lebanese civilians," the IDF added.Israeli forces have taken control of southern Lebanon after launching a ground invasion there during their conflict with Hezbollah in the region, which started on March 2 when Iranian-backed proxies fired missiles into Israel after the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.Despite a week-long truce, Israeli forces have remained in Lebanon, where approximately a third of its 5.5 million people are Christians.Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with a group of Christian soldiers serving in the IDF, praising their service to the Jewish state and assuring that anti-Christian acts by some IDF soldiers are contrary to its values."I'm here in the Prime Minister's Office with an extraordinary group of young men and women," Netanyahu said in a video released during the meeting. "These are Christian soldiers, men and women, in the Israeli Defense Forces. They fill all the important positions in our incredible military, and they do incredible work."Netanyahu acknowledged the uproar caused by the actions of some IDF soldiers, but noted the contributions of Christians to the Israeli military."This is completely contrary to what is presented outside. It's not only that Israel fights for the rights of Christians around the Middle East, but that Israel has Christian soldiers who fight for the defense of Israel and for our Christian brethren throughout the area, throughout the region and beyond," Netanyahu said.

(LifeSiteNews) — In a luncheon talk at The Club at Pelican Preserve in Fort Myers, Florida, on May 8, Bishop Joseph Strickland reflected on Isaiah 5:20: “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.” Bishop Strickland observed that the prophet warns his hearers to be alert to the ways that language gets twisted to change meaning. Too often these days language is manipulated, “denigrating the good and lifting up the evil.” “The sacred becomes mocked and called evil or worthless, and the profane is raised up as freedom and opportunity,” he added. ‘We need to stand for the truth that we know.’ The luncheon was sponsored by a local Catholic pro-life group, United Prayer Vigils for Life, which gathers daily to recite the Holy Rosary and other prayers in front of the Fort Myers Planned Parenthood. Prior to the luncheon, Bishop Strickland joined nearly 100 faithful Catholics on the sidewalk in front of this abortion clinic to lead the Rosary and prayers of deliverance. The bishop urged on all those who defend life and truth: “We are still in these Easter days celebrating the resurrection of Our Lord. This is what gives us strength. All of you are prayer warriors and life warriors in a time when it takes strength. We need to stand for the truth that we know.” He reminded the faithful of their responsibility. “If the bishops won’t stand up, then the faithful have to. That is not rebellion, that is not disobedience. It is deeply obedient to stand with the truth. And we need you.” EXCLUSIVE: Bishop Strickland says ‘real obedience is to be obedient to the truth that is Jesus Christ’ Real charity is always the truth, he said. Yet we have to humbly acknowledge that the truth we speak, however charitably it may be offered, may not be received and embraced. How often in the gospels is Christ speaking truth that is outright rejected? “But how does he respond? With charity. With patience. He does not go on the attack,” the bishop stated. We must always use His words and actions as our model. ‘She is always the Mother of Life like her Son is the Lord of Life.’ His Excellency also reflected on the Virgin Mary who carried Jesus Christ in her womb. The Son of God was fertilized into existence, and “from that moment she has been bearing Christ into the world.” Our Lady is always pointing us to Jesus. “Any authentic honoring of Mary will take us closer to the Sacred Heart of her Son.” He observed that these words from Psalm 139 remind us of the wondrous beauty that is present in every life: “For you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well.” The bishop proposed that these words “are the secret to proclaiming the sanctity of human life to our world, to our nation, to our families, to every aspect of the human community.” Our broken world can fall into not believing that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” The Blessed Mother knows the meaning of these words because she is full of grace, Bishop Strickland said. “I believe the Blessed Virgin Mary is that voice that guides us to know what true language we need to use to proclaim the sanctity of life, always with love and charity, always with strength and clarity. But always, day in and day out, doing our best to proclaim that life is sacred because God has made it so,” he stated, indicating that through these words of Psalm 139, we and others can embrace the wonderful gift that life is. “Too often our sin tempts us to remake ourselves in a worldly image, but thankfully the Lord will always forgive us, if only we will repent, if we will return to these words and embrace them once again. No matter how often we let go of them and wander into darkness, we can always return, we can always be strengthened to know that the Lord ‘knit us together’ in our mother’s womb and that we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made.’”