Stop acting like children. This reminds me of the USA election. I am with Heidi this is a classic liberal progressive tactic. Satan must be laughing at all of us. Only united can we defeat the evil forces. Let us pray,we are almost in Lent.
I don't know of any way to rig the vote myself. I wonder would anyone bother. This reminds me of the USA Elections when Donald Trump said he would want an enquiry into vote rigging if he lost and the Dems said he was insane. Then when he won the Dems wanted inquiries and The Donald said they were nuts. But I feel kind of sad that someone would seriously suggest such a thing. It is a grave libel. But, nevertheless , I'll not take it too seriously. Still anyone who would suggest vote rigging on a Catholic Forum like this...well...it's insulting at best.
The old forum software allowed to view who voted but when I applied the upgrade the new software had changed the voting system to be done in private,,I would need to go in and add the permission to every member which would be an absolute pain to do..so unless it's an absolute necessity I will leave it as it is ???
My own take on what is happening on the forum is somewhat different. I have noticed a definite sea change in opinion towards folks being gravely , very,very gravely concerned about what is happening in the Church. You can even see it on EWTN . Also I believe our visitors numbers are rocketing because there are not that many places in cyber space or ordinary space you can discuss there issues without being demonised or shouted down. That is because the big status quo Catholic places are running scared. But ordinary Catholics are very,very,very concerned. There can be no doubt about it. I don't need to rig votes to prove it. It's out there. Ask priests, ask the people in your local Parish. Go and ask questions of folks, see for yourself.
Well I voted to allow posting. Americans believe in free speech ( well, at least the conservatives do
If today I follow the Pope. I am in complete union with the Holy Mother Church and God himself. So, I would ask Brian to quit saying I am in error. That is not only ecclesiastically wrong but anti-Christian. Brother al Note: I need a safe space because Brian is bullying me. Please send me a teddy bear.
https://mobile.twitter.com/CardinalBCupich/status/831620428280057857 View attachment 6123 Read the comments! View attachment 6122
Maybe Padraig can create a "safe space" box on the forum where we can retreat to when needed and talk about balloons and puppy dogs I am sure I would visit it from time to time
My 2 cents on the forum.... The dominant threads are all anti-pope. I understand the fear and worry but most are not called to worry over things outside of their control and influence. Life has enough challenges without wasted hours worrying about the pope/cardinals/communion changes. We can pray and hope. I believe God loves a heart felt prayer for more than hours arguing on a forum. We all know the church will go through it's own Calvary and mimic Jesus in it's death and resurrection. Many come here to feed their souls, or at least look for nuggets or holy spirit inspired posts to draw on and even contribute to. A much more difficult task as of late since new posts are always on the side listing and even good threads drop off the top 20 quickly. Sorry, but this list should be 50 minimum, digging through the category lists on the main page is an option, somehow I just can't be bothered. I bet most don't. The strongest Catholics I know are not worried at all. They are filled with the holy spirit and exude love and peace. I'm heartened when I run into older people that haven't grown bitter and angry. So many grow older and spend all their time stuck in a rut complaining about worldly things, politics, government, religions, etc. etc. This is why reading these excessively worried and fearful posts makes me wonder, why so much fear here? Living our faith properly excludes excessive worry which dominates threads here. Is this fruit for lurkers, armchair Catholics or even devout Catholics? If I was trying to figure out the faith as a newcomer I'd come here and think, what a mess. This is the anti-pope forum, move on. Unless you dig. Padraig may see this as a successful part of MOG forum, I certainly wouldn't call it that. If BrianK as moderator is believed by Padraig to be cleaning up the forum, I would argue it could likely clean out some of the forum members. Something Brian seems happy to do in his power position as he stated clearly. Padraig has never stated rules and threats quite like Brian just did. Concerning. No offense intended Brian, you are a hound dog and you clearly know it as do most others. I agree Brian is often right but it's such that if I see BrianK's name I know it's anti-pope, it's almost all he talks about. Fact. I would be heartened to see more faith based threads from Brian to at least show some balance and share his clearly strong faith. Moderation required balance. Power positions are also open to critique, just like the pope . To his credit no one fights for the orthodox laws of the church quite like Brian. I don't even think Jesus did, hahaha! No one knows what God's plan is fully. No one knows the full depth of God's mercy or how He will used anyone on earth in anyway He wants to bring about His plan for salvation. Love conquers a multitude of sins. It's the second of the 2 great commandments, yet the love of neighbor seems much more rare around here now. Only God knows someone's heart, intent, will or destiny. We are all part of the same body, and not just Catholics or Christian but all the people on earth. We are all God's creation. Some won't answer the call, some won't hear the call, some will align themselves with evil and not escape BUT we don't know who. Only God knows. Of course we must stand firm in the faith but pray for the salvation of all souls. How many souls might we pluck from the grasp of hell by our prayers and sacrifices? Anyway, I still find some good posts here that really bring fruit to my spiritual journey but not like it did before. I hope the true heart of this forum stays warm but there is a chill in the air.
There are many many places on the internet where the faithful can freely discuss topics of importance to them. But there are very few forums, if any, where people are free to discuss the elephant in the room, namely this division and disunity in the Church, which is a direct result of this pope's personal agenda. This is certainly a fulfillment of prophecy, and therefore a topic of utmost importance to this forum. For better or for worse, and regardless of the prior nature of this forum, it has served as a vehicle to wake faithful Catholics from their slumber, and allow them to discuss how to persevere and survive this storm. In addition to what its been in the past, it must faithfully fulfill this role now too, like it or not. And those who choose to pursue this should be able to do so here without constant harassment and insult from other forum members. Thats the point we're at now, lets play our part. If you disagree that the pope is the source of this problem, fine, by all means avoid this subforum. But leave us in peace here. If you agree we are in the midst of a chastisement in the Church, and the pope's role in this is integral, start thinking and praying how to survive this and share it here. Thats now a primary purpose of this subforum.
I'm ashamed to say I didn't even see the poll until right now and so I didn't vote. However, may I weigh in on wanting very much to keep it open? Padraig is right. It is such a relief to come to a Catholic forum and be able to air all views and express our concerns and support each other. I think minus a few little unfortunate blips on the radar screen, people are very charitable. Honestly, we all are in the same barque of Peter. There is no private territory to protect here, so there's no need for animus. We all want the triumph of the Cross and the reign of the Immaculate Heart.
