‘Sign Of Great Hope’: Religious Leaders See A ‘Fourth Great Awakening’ As Americans Flock To Christianity
'Sign of great hope for the nation'
Trump to attend Notre Dame reopening celebration
President-elect Donald Trump will attend the grand reopening ceremony at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, this weekend, marking his first international trip since winning re-election.
In 2019, during Trump's first term, the 800-year-old cathedral, one of the most awe-inspiring sites in all of Christendom, tragically caught fire, and much of the interior and exterior grandeur was damaged or destroyed.
Now, after more than five years of careful restoration efforts, the magnificent church is once again ready to return to its regular schedule and to welcome visitors from around the world to join in the worship and to admire the beauty and wonder of the structure.
The service will include the rite of reopening the doors and a rite to 'awaken the grand organ,' the cathedral website said. The archbishop will also lead the faithful in the chanting of the office.
To mark the occasion, clergy and French officials have arranged a series of events this week. On Saturday, Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will preside over a reopening service attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, donors, members of parishes across the archdiocese, and about 50 statesmen and other dignitaries from around the world — including President-elect Trump.
"It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago," Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday evening.
"President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!"
The service will include the rite of reopening the doors and a rite to "awaken the grand organ," the cathedral website said. The archbishop will also lead the faithful in the chanting of the office, which consists of "a hymn, a psalm, the Magnificat, prayers for the world, and the Lord’s Prayer."
The service will be followed by musical performances from several high-profile artists, including French opera singer Julie Fuchs and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who was born in Paris.
The first official Mass will be held on Sunday. That first Mass will also initiate the "octave of reopening" — eight days of celebrations at the cathedral.
Trump's trip to Notre Dame — French for "Our Lady" — follows multiple public statements he has made about the Virgin Mary and other Catholic figures. On September 8, the feast day of the birth of the Virgin Mary, Trump shared the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with the message "Happy Birthday Mary!" Three weeks later, he tweeted out the prayer to St. Michael.
Melania Trump is Catholic, as is Vice President-elect JD Vance. Trump was baptized a Presbyterian, but he later described himself as a "nondenominational Christian."
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
'AI Jesus' enters the confessional: Blasphemy or bold experiment?
Critics have accused a historic Catholic church in a woke Swiss bishop's diocese of engaging in blasphemy and heresy for having a pseudo-AI masquerade as Christ in a confessional.
The controversial project, which has an animated depiction of Jesus on a computer monitor field questions from parishioners, is the result of a collaboration between Marco Schmid, the resident theologian at St. Peter's Chapel in Lucerne, and a duo from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts' Immersive Realities Research Lab, Philipp Haslbauer and Aljosa Smolic.
According to the university, the project, which was launched in August, explores "the use of virtual characters based on generative artificial intelligence in a spiritual context."
"This installation allows visitors to interact with an artificial Jesus Christ in a hundred different languages, who will respond to their questions and offer answers," the university continued in its release. "Can a machine address people in a religious and spiritual way? To what extent can people confide in a machine with existential questions and accept its answers? How does AI behave in a religious context? The 'Deus in Machina' project encourages us to think about the limits of technology in the context of religion."
On Wednesday, the chapel once again referred to its Jesus-themed chatbot as "God in the machine," using the Latin, "Deus in machina," and characterized it further as a "heavenly hologram" and "experimental art installation" that "opens up a space of intimacy."
According to the chapel, one supposed benefit of having the multilingual "AI Jesus" spit out data scraped from the internet is that because "AI is based on data and algorithms, it could provide answers that are free from personal or cultural biases, which can be surprising, especially in controversial or sensitive topics."
Schmid, who maintains that the graven image effectively mocking the sacrament was placed in the confessional for pragmatic not sacramental reasons, told the Guardian, "We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk with him about? Would there be interest in talking to him? We're probably pioneers in this."
When discussing who they would like to see parrot answers generated by a machine, Schmid and his collaborators initially considered persons other than Jesus Christ. "We had a discussion about what kind of avatar it would be — a theologian, a person, or a saint? But then we realized the best figure would be Jesus himself," said Schmid.
St. Peter's Chapel is playing with fire with its placement of the chatbot in the confessional and ascription of computer-generated answers to a potentially "idiotic" avatar depicting Christ.
The chapel admitted at the outset that its "AI Jesus" could "give incomprehensible, and in some cases stupid and idiotic answers."
'It has nothing to do with a sacramental encounter.'
Incomprehensibility on the part of the chatbot is hardly the worst that could happen. The bot's reliance on online sources makes it susceptible to passing off views contrary to Catholic teaching. As a result, the nominal Catholics behind the project might have unwittingly installed a heretical machine with a Jesus mask to answer theological questions in the chapel.
Furthermore, while Schmid stressed, "We are not intending to imitate a confession," they came dangerously close.
Rev. Thomas Rausch, a professor of theology at Loyola Marymount University, recently told USA Today that the installation is in no way a substitute for the sacrament of reconciliation, citing canon laws 965 and 966, which underscore only priests can hear confessions.
"Confession, or 'Reconciliation' as it is usually termed today, is an ecclesial sacrament, always private, celebrated with a penitent and a priest who has been authorized by the Church to proclaim God's forgiveness," said Rev. Rausch. "AI is a non-ecclesial, impersonal set of technologies, which assembles collections of data into a programmed readout. It has nothing to do with a sacramental encounter."
David DeCosse, a religious studies professor and ethics expert at Santa Clara University, told the paper, "It's almost a textbook case of the limits of AI in terms of all that we miss when we depart from the bodily, the interpersonal, the face, the subtleties, and feelings of human memory."
While the installation may be radical, Bishop Felix Gmür, the Swiss bishop who oversees the dioceses, is similarly unorthodox.
The Catholic News Agency indicated that Gmür has called for the ordination of women, the end of priestly celibacy, and a decentralization of the church. He has also called for the church to "find meaning" for homosexual unions.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Biden awards highest civilian honor to 'merchant of death' who oversaw nearly 4 million abortions
President Joe Biden, whom Cardinal Wilton Gregory of the Archdiocese of Washington deemed a "cafeteria Catholic" on Easter Sunday, has awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to Cecile Richards, a woman who made millions of dollars helping snuff out millions of American lives.
Pro-life critics have suggested a society that valued life would arrest, not award, Richards.
"With absolute courage, she fearlessly leads us forward to be the America we say we are — a nation of freedom," wrote Biden. "Through her work to lift up the dignity of workers, defend and advance women's reproductive rights and equality, and mobilize Americans to exercise their power to vote, she has carved an inspiring legacy."
'We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver.'
According to the White House, the award is "presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public, or private endeavors."
Richards, the daughter of the late Democratic Texas Gov. Ann Richards and a former deputy chief of staff for Nancy Pelosi, served from 2006 to 2018 as president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America — an organization founded by the infamous eugenicist Margaret Sanger, who stressed the need to "apply a stern and rigid policy of sterilization, and segregation to that grade of population whose progeny is already tainted or whose inheritance is such that objectionable traits may be transmitted to offspring."
The abortion tallies in Planned Parenthood's annual reports indicate that under Richards' leadership, the organization slaughtered over 3.87 million babies. In her final year, when the organization killed 332,757 babies, Richards' salary was $1,033,274, having fallen short of seven figures the previous fiscal year by roughly $42,000.
The organization under Richards reportedly created the super PAC Planned Parenthood Votes and expanded its lobbying arm, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, lining the coffers of Democratic lawmakers on the one hand and pushing for increased access and federal funding to abortion services on the other.
Leftists have also credited Richards with seeing the organization through the scandal that arose over pro-life citizen journalist and Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden's undercover videos in 2015 showing Planned Parenthood officials callously talking about butchering, playing with, and trafficking baby parts.
The CMP posted a video on July 14, 2015, showing a senior director of medical services at Planned Parenthood, Deborah Nucatola, state matter-of-factly over wine and lunch, "We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that 'I'm not gonna crush that part, I'm gonna basically crush below, I'm gonna crush above, and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact.'"
"I'd say a lot of people want liver. And for that reason, most providers will do this case under ultrasound guidance, so they'll know where they're putting their forceps," continued Nucatola. "The kind of rate-limiting step of the procedure is calvarium. Calvarium — the head — is basically the biggest part."
Richards stressed in the aftermath of the video's release, "Our donation programs — like any other high-quality health care providers' — follow all laws and ethical guidelines," reported the New York Times.
After 12 years making money off death and sterilizations, Richards co-founded Supermajority, a leftist female-led PAC that quickly netted millions of dollars from George Soros.
Richards was diagnosed in 2023 with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain tumor with an average survival time of just over a year.
'Scary place to be.'
"Cecile Richards presided over the abortions of 3.9 million babies as president of Planned Parenthood," tweeted Live Action president Lila Rose. "She belongs in jail. Not in the White House receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"She is literally a merchant of death," wrote Dan McLaughlin of National Review. "Hard to think of a living person who has killed more Americans."
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro noted, "Her legacy is millions of dead unborn children."
'This honor marks a dark chapter in the late stages of one of the darkest presidencies in American history.'
Kristan Hawkins, presidents of Students for Life, tweeted that with Richards at the helm, some of Planned Parenthood's victims' bodies were "dissected and sold to the highest bidder. Planned Parenthood representatives haggled over prices for livers and brains. Planned Parenthood’s abortions skyrocketed under Richards even as the organization’s number of total clients plummeted year after year. Cecile Richards is anything but honorable. What a disgrace."
Pro-Life Wisconsin pointed out that "ironically, the babies aborted under Cecile Richards' watch will never have freedom. Their rights were stripped as they were killed in ... what should have been the greatest place of safety — their mother's womb."
Edward Feser, a Catholic professor of philosophy at Pasadena City College, suggested Biden conferring the medal upon Richards showed his true colors: "The 'personally opposed, but …' Catholic Democrat line on abortion was always rank dishonesty, but to commend a ghoul like this is to drop even pretense. Biden's effectively using the last days of whatever cognitive clarity he has left to destroy his conscience. Scary place to be."
Blaze News previously reported that Cardinal Raymond Burke, a canon lawyer and former prefect of the Catholic Church's highest court, said in 2020 that Biden "is not a Catholic in good standing and he should not approach to receive Holy Communion."
"This is not a political statement," continued Burke. "I don't intend to get involved in recommending any candidate for office, but simply to state that a Catholic may not support abortion in any shape or form because it is one of the most grievous sins against human life and has always been considered to be intrinsically evil and therefore to in any way support act is a mortal sin."
Biden reiterated that he is a "practicing Catholic."
"This honor marks a dark chapter in the late stages of one of the darkest presidencies in American history when it comes to protecting mothers and unborn children," Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, told the Washington Times. "Planned Parenthood has used billions of taxpayer dollars to profit from the tragic extermination of millions of children, while exploiting the health and well-being of countless women."
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
USCCB Distorts Church Teachings To Cajole Catholics Into Voting For Open Borders
There is nothing Christian about facilitating the erosion of national identity.Harris' attempt to pander to Christians after insulting them goes very badly: 'You're at the wrong rally'
Kamala Harris' latest attempt to pander to a group she has alienated with her politics and prejudices appears to be going very badly.
After attempting to win back those black male voters now abandoning her and the Democratic Party en masse with the promise of federally legalized marijuana, Harris set her sights more broadly on Christian voters, insinuating that "putting faith into action" means casting a vote for her — despite her zealous support of abortion and gender ideology, her past anti-Christian remarks, and her efforts to run roughshod over religious liberties.
The online component of Harris' "souls to the polls" campaign, which corresponded with her visits Sunday to churches in Georgia, was overwhelmingly met with ridicule.
Harris tweeted an image of herself standing on a church platform with crosses in the background, stating, "We each have the power to make a difference — in our communities and in this election. Now is the time to come together to show faith in action and service."
Despite netting nearly 2 million views on X, the post received fewer than 8,000 likes.
'This is such disgusting, superficial, disingenuous pandering, it's beyond words.'
BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey quipped, "Christian Nationalism is so scary."
Auron MacIntyre, the host of BlazeTV's “The Auron MacIntyre Show” who helped "ratio" the vice president's post, responded, "I think you're at the wrong rally."
MacIntyre's comment, which received roughly 9,000 more likes than Harris' post by the time of publication, referred to the vice president's remarks at her campaign event last week in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
On Thursday — the day Harris blew off the Archdiocese of New York's 79th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner — the vice president reportedly told a pair of Christian college students who yelled "Jesus is Lord" that they were "at the wrong rally."
Grant Beth, one of the pro-life students mocked by Harris and elements of her crowd, told "Fox & Friends," "This is what you are going to get with a Kamala Harris presidency."
"You are going to get the Kamala Harris that alienates over 50% of the U.S. population that is Christian," continued Beth. "You're going to get the Kamala Harris that skips the Al Smith Memorial Dinner."
When an audience member yelled, "Jesus is King," at a campaign event for Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Trump's running mate said, "That's right. Jesus is King!"
"Christians won't be fooled," tweeted Trump campaign adviser Alex Bruesewitz wrote in response to Harris' "souls to the polls" post.
Popular YouTuber David Freiheit wrote, "4 days after telling a rally-goer who said 'Jesus is Lord' that they were 'at the wrong rally', Cackling Kamala puts out this message. This is such disgusting, superficial, disingenuous pandering, it's beyond words. And if it works on you, you are an idiot."
One user wrote, "Christians are voting for Trump."
Harris told members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, on Sunday, "Our country is at a crossroads, and where we go from here is up to us as Americans and as people of faith," reported CNN.
'She has done nothing to support people of faith and what we believe and what we stand for.'
"We face this question: What kind of country do we want to live in?" said Harris. "A country of chaos, fear, and hate, or a country of freedom, compassion, and justice?"
Like the booster group Evangelicals for Harris, the vice president attempted to use scripture to paint her political cause as morally righteous, casting herself, for example, as the protagonist in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
This might be a big reach for a great many American Christians, including Billy Graham's son, Franklin Graham.
Blaze News recently reported that Franklin Graham said his dad would never have supported a candidate like Harris, highlighting how her positions are antithetical to Jesus Christ.
"My father was a strong conservative all of his life, theologically as well as politically," Graham told Premier Christian News. "He would have never voted for or supported someone like Kamala Harris — someone who is almost anti-Christ in her positions. She has done nothing to support people of faith and what we believe and what we stand for."
Harris has found numerous ways to alienate Christians, including
- suggesting that Catholic judicial nominees who embrace the Vatican's moral teaching should be disqualified from serving on federal courts;
- co-sponsoring the "Equality Act," which Kenneth Craycraft, the James J. Gardner Chair of Moral Theology at Mount St. Mary's Seminary and School of Theology, indicated would compel Christian hospitals "to perform gender transition surgeries, open women's restrooms to men, and force girls and women to compete against boys and men in athletic competitions";
- introducing and sponsoring the Do No Harm Act, which would force religious individuals and organizations to engage in activities that directly violate their firmly held religious beliefs;
- attacking abstinence education;
- supporting overturning the Hyde Amendment, thereby freeing up federal funds for abortions; and
- authorizing a raid on the home of a pro-life activist who exposed Planned Parenthood's alleged trafficking of baby parts.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Today's top stories
freebeacon.com
www.theblaze.com