Have not posted in years. Came here to share my disgust with an Orthodox figure I had previously come to respect and admire above all others. No longer. For the first time I consider perhaps the holy men on Mt. Athos are truly the last hope for us all.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021...ver-russian-orthodox-church-warns-a74430

May God forgive Met. Hilarion. I am Eastern Catholic and this discourages and disappoints me 100x more than anything Pope Francis might say.

Who is left? The walls close in. Hold fast.

Respectfully, you shouldn't place your confidence in men. I understand our shepherds are ordained and given an abundant grace to lead us to Christ by their pastoral example. The Church needs her heroes. Better to hold to the saints for heroes, and understand anyone still breathing has not reached the goal yet and, as such, is susceptible to fall. The covid nonsense is becoming a very divisive point in the Church, I'm sad to say. As if we Catholics weren't pulled into a million and one separate camps already.

As for the men of Mt Athos, they are indeed holy. Though they are far from perfect themselves. Their monasteries are not immune to all the problems facing other churches, monasteries, etc (homosexuality, false preaching, etc).

All I'm trying to say is that you should leave your faith in Christ and His saints. Putting your faith in anyone else (even just a little bit) is always going to lead to disappointment. I learned that lesson a long time ago as a Roman Catholic.

Very wise words, I appreciate them greatly. It seems I have placed too much faith in our earthly shepherds, this felt like a betrayal I was not prepared for. To your point, the saints cannot fail us. May they continually intercede on our behalf!

Well said! It's a lesson I'm still learning.

It is very sad when our religious leaders, who should be on top of the events surrounding them and their congregations, are completely unaware of the lies that are being told to us.

As this has veered from News to commentary, I'm moving the thread to Town Hall

Would the lot of you stop the self-righteous posturing and just get vaccinated. For God sake, you put a Band-Aid on when you get cut, and perhaps, even, take a Tylenol when you're not feeling well. Tell the police officer all about your personal freedom the next time you get stopped for running a "STOP" sign.

When the SARS 1 virus came out, a vaccine was developed. After 25 deaths --- 25 DEATHS!!! -- the distribution of the vaccine was halted. Look at the numbers below and tell me why you are so hell bent on me playing Russian Roulette with my health???

The NVIC is a nonsense site funded mainly by a handful of rich anti-vaxxers, they site actual CDC and NIH data inaccurately and conclude absurd outcomes which the data does not show.

For example - total bunk:

Another 2018 published study found that the influenza virus may be spread simply by breathing (i.e., no coughing or sneezing required) and that repeated vaccination increases the amount of influenza virus released into the air. Study authors reported that “Little is known about the amount and infectiousness of influenza virus shed into exhaled breath. This contributes to uncertainty about the importance of airborne influenza transmission,” and “We show that sneezing is rare and not important for—and that coughing is not required for—influenza virus aerosolization.”

This study also found that a recently vaccinated individual who received the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) may potentially shed and transmit the virus. According to the study, people who were vaccinated for influenza shed more than six times more virus into the air than those who were not:

“Self-reported vaccination for the current season was associated with a trend toward higher viral shedding in fine-aerosol samples; vaccination with both the current and previous year’s seasonal vaccines, however, was significantly associated with greater fine-aerosol shedding in unadjusted and adjusted models.

In adjusted models, we observed 6.3 times more aerosol shedding among cases with vaccination in the current and previous season compared with having no vaccination in those two seasons.”

More investigation is needed given that annual vaccination may increase aerosol viral shedding and result in reduce vaccine effectiveness. Study authors reported:

“The association of current and prior year vaccination with increased shedding of influenza A might lead one to speculate that certain types of prior immunity promote lung inflammation, airway closure, and aerosol generation. This first observation of the phenomenon needs confirmation. If confirmed, this observation, together with recent literature suggesting reduced protection with annual vaccination, would have implications for influenza vaccination recommendations and policies.”

It is likely possible that after vaccination, a person may become a contagious silent carrier of influenza. A person with symptoms of influenza (i.e. body aches, fever, cough) would likely stay at home. However, a vaccinated individual who is silently contagious would continue to go to public places such as work, school, and stores, and be unaware that they are spreading the virus, even with regular breathing.

In June 2019, the CDC reported that the 2018-2019 seasonal flu vaccine offered no protection against the circulating H3N2 flu strain which emerged in late February and overall flu vaccine effectiveness was reported at only 29 percent. Among adults hospitalized for the flu, the vaccine’s effectiveness against the H3N2 strain was reported at -43 percent. A negative percentage indicates that persons who were vaccinated with the 2018-2019 seasonal flu vaccine were more likely to be hospitalized for flu, than those who were not.

A 2020 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense found that the influenza vaccine increases the risks from coronavirus by 36 percent.

Thank you, Michael. It's about time a note of reality was injected into this thread.

The NVIC is an inept entity that masquerades as an official federal agency by the use of a name patently intended to convince readers of the truth of the manipulated data that it publishes. Were it still operating under its original moniker, Dissatisfied Parents Together, no one would ever look twice at the erroneous information that it uses to push its anti-vaxxer agenda.

By the way, distribution of the SARS-1 vaccine ended because the virus ceased to be a viable threat. There were about 800 deaths from the virus, worldwide, none in the US, where there were only 28 confirmed cases. The fact that SARS-1 produced symptomology almost immediately, as opposed to COVID, which often lingers, unsymptomatic and thus untreated, was a major factor in the quick elimination of SARS-1 by invoking quarantine and other measures. There were, in total, slightly more than 8,000 confirmed cases of SARS-1 recorded - of which 5,000+ originated in China.

Many years,

Neil

And HOW do you know this is "total bunk?" Are you a doctor? Viriologist?

So what you are saying is that the world-class doctors, peer-reviewed scientists, and other experts in viriology who oppose the "vaccine" and who are claiming that this is an overblown lie are all liars themselves? In other words, you choose to believe the people who have aligned themselves with the liars, despite the evidence of lies. Then you call the experts, such as Dr. Malone who helped invent the MrNA "vaccine" and now has serious concerns about it, liars.

That is just. . . . . . precious!

Well, you choose to believe who you want. My exploration has taken me to sources respected around the world while you have every right to believe world-class liars and get the jab. Just don't come whining to me when you die from bloot clots or some other blessing that this so-called "vaccine" is dropping on the unsuspecting and gullible public.

I suppose this site from Europe is also bogus?

https://stuartbramhall.wordpress.co...se-drug-reactions-for-covid-19-vaccines/

I received the vaccine based on two of brother priests who are also doctors. One is OCA and a cousin of my late wife. Another us Greek Old Calendar. Also, my bishop got it. Most of my parishioners did, as well But I would not demand of the one or two who didn't , that they get it.

Thank you, Father. I respect your decision and I hope you have no side effects. I respect those who wish to get this vaccine. What I am having problems with is a government that is threatening me with various censures and other acts if I do not take the vaccine because I have concerns about it. I am in an age group which is experiencing rather high side effects, I do have an underlying condition which concerns me, and I am bothered by the reports I hear of side effects. My decision is what I feel is right for me, based on these factors. Unfortunately, this makes me a pariah for about half of the adult population in this country.

My God keep you and bless you, Father.

Yes.. Total nonsense site. You shouldn't use WordPress opinion sites as a counter to medical journals or scientific findings.. No one would site this 'Health Impact News' quackery in a research paper nor take these conclusions as anything more than the rantings of a lunatic:
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/health-impact-news/

The site is owned and run by two private parties that have no research or scientific background

Well there are plenty of peer reviewed "scientific" studies and articles that support the idea that there are more than two genders? If we trust the "science" behind that, then God was wrong. God taught us definitively that there are only two genders, male and female. I would take God's Word over the fallible "scientific" interpretation of today. Especially since the only science involved in the covid mess and lgbtq world is "political science."

This is a false equivocation and completely ignores the data changes topics, and knocks down a strawman you just created