The cardinal heading the Church's council for Christian Unity has expressed his hope that Pope Francis' upcoming visit to Turkey will help strengthen existing Catholic-Orthodox relations.

"The ecumenical vision of the patriarch is very helpful for me because we have some tendencies in the dialogue to avoid the theological questions and to handle other questions," Cardinal Kurt Koch told CNA Oct. 22. "His holiness, the patriarch, helped me to sustain that we have (the need) for theological dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, (and) in this sense I think this visit can deepen our relationships," he observed.
 
It will take place largely in response to an invitation sent to Pope Francis by Patriarch Bartolomew I of Constantinople, asking him to participate in the celebration of the feast of St. Andrew, patron of the Orthodox world.  While relations between Catholic and Orthodox Churches are already on good terms, the cardinal explained that the Pope's trip will be an opportunity to take these relations further through dialogue on theological points of diversion.

Henry Kissinger, Bilderberg kingpin and architect of overthrowing democratically elected governments, is keen to establish a global mercenary army to fight terrorists, according to Fox News big mouth Bill O'Reilly, who has heartily endorsed such a notion on recent programming.
 
"I was with Henry Kissinger last night," O'Reilly said Sunday on ABC News' This Week.

"And he told me my idea of a worldwide anti-terror force paid for by the coalition of nations under the supervision of Congress - Kissinger has endorsed that for years.

"Bill O'Reilly and Henry Kissinger on a mercenary force?" Stephanopoulos asked. "Simpatico," O'Reilly answered.

O'Reilly was speaking in context of a new book he's flogging regarding the life and death of General Patton. Asked how Patton would deal with the ISIS uprising in Syria and Iraq, O'Reilly stated "he would be saying to President Obama, 'Give me the Third. I'll go into Syria, and I'll wipe 'em all out,'"
 
It's not surprising to hear that Kissinger heartily endorses the idea of a world mercenary army under the guise of fighting terrorism. He directly oversaw coups against elected governments in South America and elsewhere, as well as the slaughter in Vietnam and Cambodia, all under the justification of combating the rise of Communism.

Anglican and Oriental Orthodox Churches have taken a major step towards reconciliation with a joint statement on the incarnation of Christ.
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The Oriental Churches include the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The issue of how to describe the incarnation has divided them from the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, and hence from the Protestant tradition, since the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. At issue was how to express the belief that Christ was both human and divine in a theologically accurate way.

FacePhi Biometrics announced it has signed a deal with Coopeservidores to install its facial recognition system for the Costa Rican financial institution's mobile banking service. Coopeservidores selected FacePhi's facial recognition technology after performing several tests in different scenarios and platforms.
 
As one of the largest credit unions in Costa Rica, Coopeservidores has 26 offices throughout the country that manage more than Euros 600 million in assets.
With this new operation, FacePhi continues its expansion in Latin American according to its business plan.

One Oklahoma church is offering up frosty beers this Sunday to those who would like to worship the old fashioned way through hymns. East Side Christian Church in Tulsa posted on its marquee out front that it is offering Beer and Hymns Sunday night as part of a weekend-long discussion about the future of the Christian church around the world.
 
"I think it's a little surprise for some people here in Oklahoma, but we like to rattle the cage a little bit," said Evan Taylor, outreach pastor at East Side Christian Church. Though the event is turning heads of those who drive by, East Side Christian Church isn't alone in the festivities. The event is actually a part of a weekend of beer sipping and theological discussion.
 
"It's a chance to reach a wide demographic of people to ask the questions of what's happening in our Christian world, what's happening in our churches, and what's happening in our community," said Michael Riggs, senior pastor at First Christian Church of Downtown Tulsa.

Pope Francis is telling those committed to Christian unity that they should pray and work together now, and not wait for theologians to reach agreement. 
 
Vatican Radio reported that the Pope said this during an Oct. 10 private meeting with the Ark Community, which was founded by his late friend, Tony Palmer.
 
Palmer was recognized globally as a friend of the Pope when he facilitated the recording of a papal message sent to Kenneth Copeland Ministries in February.
Palmer died suddenly in July when he was in a traffic accident.

The Spanish government said it is concerned that terrorists could use the Ebola virus as a biological weapon against the West. A close eye is being kept on online chat rooms, where such attacks are reportedly discussed among jihadist groups.
 
Extremists connected to the Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS) have been considering using Ebola as a weapon against the West, Spain's State Secretary for Security, Francisco Martinez, said in an address to the parliament.

Today at Money20/20, Toronto startup Bionym announced a technology trial that will see users making real life purchases with their heartbeats.

Will Judaism and Christianity meet in Ramat Gan? Bar-Ilan University President Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz suggested during a meeting with Pope Francis last week that the Israeli university would serve as a home base for an interfaith dialogue, which the Catholic leader and former president Shimon Peres agreed to work together to advance. 
 
During a visit to the Vatican with a delegation of businessmen and businesswomen from South America and Spain visited the Vatican, Prof. Hershkowitz explained that "as a microcosm of Israeli society, Bar-Ilan's doors are open to students of all races and religions.
 
"Through a variety of ongoing dialogue programs aimed at fostering understanding and acceptance, Bar-Ilan University has been working to bridge gaps between various sectors of Israeli society for many years. "It is, therefore, a deep privilege to be meeting with and honoring the pope, who has taken it upon himself to undertake this tremendous task on a worldwide scale."

Here is a translation of the Pope's address today to members of the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships, on the occasion of their 16thInternational Conference on the theme: "Charismatic Praise and Adoration for a New Evangelization" (Rome, October 30-November 2, 2014).
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters, welcome.
 
I would like to reflect on some subjects that I think are important. Unity in diversity. Uniformity is not Catholic, it is not Christian. Unity in diversity. Catholic unity is diverse but it is one. It is curious! What makes for diversity is the same as what then makes for unity: the Holy Spirit. He does both things: unity in diversity. Unity is not uniformity, it is not to do by obligation everything together, or think in the same way, or lose one's identity. Unity in diversity is precisely the contrary; it is to recognize and accept joyfully the different gifts that the Holy Spirit gives each one and to put them at the service of all in the Church.

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 29 the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, expressed the hope that the newly inaugurated 69th session of the body would work together for a more fraternal and united world. After mentioning a range of problems such as violence, terrorism, and a lack of respect for religious freedom Cardinal Parolin called for the promotion of a culture of peace.
 
Globalization needs to benefit everybody Archbishop Auza declared in his Oct. 27 address on the theme of globalization and interdependence. Globalization can bring great benefits, but it can also have negative effects on some groups, he mentioned. "Indeed, as with most human endeavors, globalization works for good or ill, depending on the underlying ethic and policies driving the process," he said.

MasterCard is pioneering a new range of contactless credit cards that allow you to pay using your fingerprint instead of a Pin.  It has joined forces with biometrics company Zwipe to develop the technology, which will include a biometric sensor, the cardholder's fingerprint data and a scanner.
 
When the time comes to pay, rather than enter your Pin, you can simply place your finger over the scanner. If the scanner recognises your fingerprint, it will make a contactless payment for the goods or services you are purchasing.