SATANIC TEMPLE OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED AS A CHURCH

[brwn]

https://www.ewtn.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChM ... gI2UfD_BwE


SATANIC TEMPLE OFFICIALLY
RECOGNIZED AS A CHURCH

On April 25th, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officially recognized the Satanic Temple as a church, granting the organization the same tax-exempt status and legal protections as Catholic churches.
"For the very [first] time in history, a satanic organization has been recognized by the United States federal government as being a church," the Satanic Temple announced triumphantly on its Instagram page. "Satanism is here to stay," added Lucien Greaves, the spokeman for the organization. Groups such as the Satanic Temple have seen rapid growth, claiming some twenty chapters in the United States as well as affiliate groups in Canada, Australia, Germany, and England.

A CALL TO BATTLE

The world is under attack by Satan, as our Lord said it would be (1 PETER 5:8-14). This battle is occurring in the Church herself, and the devastation is all too evident. Since AD 2,000, 14 million Catholics have left the faith, parish religious education of children has dropped by 24%, Catholic school attendance has dropped by 19%, infant baptism has dropped by 28%, adult baptism has dropped by 31%, and sacramental Catholic marriages have dropped by 41%. This is a serious breach, a gasping hole in Christ's battle lines. While the Diocese of Phoenix has fared better these national statistics, the losses are staggering.

One of the key reasons that the Church is faltering under the attacks of Satan is that many Catholic men have not been willing to "step into the breach" ---- to fill this gap that lies open and vulnerable to further attack. A large number have left the faith and many who remain "Catholic" practice the faith timidly and are only minimally committed to passing the faith on to their children. Recent research shows that large numbers of young Catholic men are leaving the faith to become "nones"---- men who have no religious affiliation. The growing losses of young Catholic men will have a devastating impact on the Church in America in the coming decades, as older men pass away and young men fail to remain and marry in the Church, accelerating the losses that have already occurred.

These facts are devastating. As our fathers, brothers, uncles, sons and friends fall away from the Church, they fall deeper and deeper into sin, breaking their bonds with God and leaving them vulnerable to the fires of Hell. While we know that Christ welcomes back every repentant sinner, the truth is that large numbers of Catholic men are failing to keep the promises they made at their children's baptisms ---- promises to bring them to Christ and to raise them in the faith of the Church.

This crisis is evident in the discouragement and disengagement of Catholic men like you and me. In fact, this is precisely why I believe this Exhortation is needed, and it is also the reason for my hope, for God constantly overcomes evil with good. The joy of the Gospel is stronger than the sadness wrought by sin! A throw-away culture cannot withstand the new life and light that constantly radiates from Christ. So I call upon you to open your minds and hearts to Him, the Savior who strengthens you to step into the breach!