News

By Jane Clark Scharl, Crisis Magazine – On February 13, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the dull-sounding H.J. Res 79. Despite its name, this resolution indicates a dangerous attempt to disregard constitutional order and states’ rights for the purpose of codifying a progressive dogma: the alleged “right” to abortion… For progressives, the inconvenient truth is that abortion rights in America stand on shaky ground. A single Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade, alleged that such a “right” lurked in the “penumbras of emanations” of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

By Msgr. Charles Pope – None of us likes to think we are prideful. It’s always someone else; that guy over there is the arrogant one. One way of gauging is to ponder how well we accept being corrected. Consider the following verses from Proverbs:
He who corrects an arrogant man earns insult; and he who reproves a wicked man incurs opprobrium. Reprove not an arrogant man, lest he hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Instruct a wise man, and he becomes still wiser; teach a just man, and he advances in learning (Proverbs 9:7-12).

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – During the Democrat presidential debate last night, Democrats slammed former mayor Mike Bloomberg over his treatment of women. The billionaire has come under fire for telling his pregnant employee to “kill it” after she disclosed her pregnancy, according to a lawsuit she filed… The allegations emerged following a 1997 lawsuit which accused Bloomberg of numerous inappropriate behaviors in the workplace. His comments have now re-surfaced for further public scrutiny following his candidature for the Democratic presidential nomination.

By Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow – One of the nation’s leading pro-life Christian activist organizations finds it “shocking” that taxpayers are paying for abortion training… The abortion industry has struggled for years with not having enough doctors available to terminate preborn children. Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue tells OneNewsNow that is why the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health in San Francisco was set up… “There was, in the opinion of these people, a need to train new abortionists in order to keep these abortion clinics open and to promote this ideology that was the basis for this group,” Sullenger relays. “That ideology is really population control.”

By Ed Condon, CNA – On Feb. 18, Vatican officials raided the home and office of Msgr. Alberto Perlasca, the chief prosecutor at the Church’s highest ecclesiastical court… Vatican police seized documents and computers for an ongoing investigation into financial misconduct at the Secretariat, the curia’s most influential department… The raid on Perlasca’s home is the most recent in a steady flow of stories about questionable Vatican finances, involving a London property development, shell companies, tax havens, opaque investment funds, and shuttered banks in Italy and Switzerland.

By uCatholic – It’s that time of year when all Catholics start to think about what they will give up for Lent. Many will choose chocolate or social media or alcohol. For those who really desire to grow in holiness over the forty days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, it is beneficial to look to the saints for inspiration… Here’s what some of the most beloved saints did during Lent.

By Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky, The Catholic Thing – Parishioners notice many uncomfortable details about priests, ranging from personal hygiene to personality quirks. Depending upon circumstances, a pastor may have a duty to affirm or deny rumors for the sake of tranquility, and transparency. These acknowledgments can be painful but necessary. So here is one of my many secrets: I am a conservative…. I prefer the term “Catholic.” But since I have an obligation before God to conserve and preach what I have received, after careful consideration, I have come to accept the conservative characterization.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – With Ash Wednesday just one short week away, I have been thinking about the need for repentance: not just my own need (which is great), but the need of the whole universal Church. For all of us, acutely conscious of the scandals within the Church, Lent is a good time to recall the words of St. Peter to religious leaders who had betrayed the Messiah: “Repent, therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”

By Stephen Beale, EWTN News – Although the recent sex-abuse scandals in the Church have shaken the faithful and have caused many to question its authority and teachings on celibacy in the priesthood, there are men who see the crisis as an opportunity to strengthen their commitments to their faith and future vocations… Several seminarians who spoke with the Register said they grew in their love for the priesthood, thanks to the support and example they received within their seminaries.

By Fr. Mike Schmitz, Ascension Presents – Just because you desire something deeply doesn’t mean it’s God’s plans for you. Sometimes our desires and God’s will are different. Our desires are not predictors of the future and they’re not the voice of God. We are supposed to tend to our desires and discern what is being revealed through them, but letting them dictate your path in life is not wise.

By Dr. Maike Hickson, LifeSiteNews – On February 12, Monsignor Nicola Bux, a prominent theologian and former consulter to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith during Benedict XVI’s pontificate, commented on Pope Francis’ new post-synodal exhortation Querida Amazonia, saying that the document has “problematic openings that are perhaps far greater than the theme of celibacy itself.”

By Jules Gomes, Church Militant – Eight popes over 200 years in a barrage of 20 legal interdicts have condemned Freemasonry, pronouncing automatic excommunication against any Catholic who becomes a member of a masonic lodge… Now, a new book by an official of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue is claiming that a practicing Catholic can simultaneously be a Freemason and that the penalty of excommunication may “certainly not” be applied to “Catholic Freemasons.”… Father Michael Heinrich Weninger launched his 500-page study… last Wednesday in Vienna, accompanied by Austrian Lodge Grand Master Georg Semler on the dais.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – The abortion industry has a friend in billionaire Michael Bloomberg… And if the former New York City mayor is elected to the White House, that relationship certainly will continue… Bloomberg, a pro-abortion Democrat, has a long record of both public and private support of abortion on demand, including almost $14 million in donations to the abortion giant Planned Parenthood within the past several years, CBN News reports.

By Paul Smeaton, LifeSiteNews – A Catholic priest who says he prayed that God would grant him some suffering that he could offer on behalf of victims of clerical sexual abuse is offering to pray for victims by name after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor… Fr. John Hollowell, who recently defended the Church’s practice of priestly celibacy on an episode of The Dr. Taylor Marshall Show, and who blogs regularly at On This Rock, announced yesterday that he has been diagnosed with a tumor and wrote that he embraces the suffering willingly.

By Yael Halon, Fox News – Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton responds to accusation of pushing a conspiracy theory linking Chinese government to coronavirus outbreak… Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. stood by his earlier suggestion that the deadly coronavirus may have originated in a high-security biochemical lab in Wuhan, China, telling “The Story” Tuesday that we “need to be open to all possibilities” in exploring the origins of the outbreak that has sickened more than 75,000 people around the world.

By R.M. Fields, Crisis Magazine – According to Mr. Buttigieg, “I know that the difference of opinion that you and I have is one that we have come by honestly, and the best I can offer… is that if we can’t agree on where to draw the line, the next best thing we can do is agree on who should draw the line, and in my view it’s the woman who’s faced with that decision.”… This position is a false compromise. Like most pro-choice language, it plays on an equivocation between morality and preference. Because we can’t agree on the underlying moral principles.. we should let individuals choose the option they think best suits their particular life situation.

By John Gravino, NewWalden Blog Post – Nowhere in the pope’s new apostolic exhortation, Querida Amazonia, does the pope explicitly endorse the admission of married men to the priesthood or women to holy orders. The big fear was that the pope would accede to the desires of the Amazon synod, as they were expressed in the final document, and rubber-stamp these two proposals in his own apostolic exhortation… As other commentators have already pointed out, the pope actually seems to disfavor such suggestions…

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – A federal judge has blocked a pro-life rule instituted by President Donald Trump protecting Americans from having to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. The rule shut down one of the many avenues for federal taxpayer funds that Planned Parenthood has accessed over the years… Title X grants fund family planning services for low-income individuals and, to direct tax dollars to legitimate organizations and away from the Planned Parenthood abortion company, the Trump administration finalized a new rule that prohibits recipients from providing or promoting abortions.

By Ryan Ellis, Washington Examiner – It seems the U.S. bishops are the only people in America who aren’t benefiting from the booming Trump economy. Gallup has released a series of poll findings this week which indicate people are feeling pretty good about the country and their own financial affairs. About 61% of people think they are better off than when President Trump was elected three years ago… About 69% expect their financial situation to improve over the next year… Consumer confidence is reported at levels not seen in several decades.

By Edwin Benson, Return to Order – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is mounting a worldwide campaign to promote abortion and contraception, and they want you to pay for it. Their 2019 Report asks for $264 billion. The United States pays twenty-two percent of the expenses of the U.N. Combine those two numbers, and the U.S. share is a shade over $58 billion. That money ultimately comes from your federal taxes… A quick look at the UNFPA web site quickly reveals the feminist orientation of the organization. The first line on the page is “Ensuring rights and choices for all.”

By Rachel Alexander, The Stream – Thanks to his billions, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is getting some traction in the Democratic presidential race. But as he becomes more visible, so does his past. He’s given his opponents good reason to dig up dirt on him… And boy is there a lot of dirt… Not even farmers are safe from Bloomberg’s contempt. He belittled them four years ago on a panel at Oxford University. “I could teach anybody, even people in this room, no offense intended, to be a farmer…It’s a process. You dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, add water, up comes the corn. You could learn that.”

By Msgr. Charles Pope – In yesterday’s post, we considered the twelve steps of pride set forth by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. In escalating ways, the twelve steps draw us to an increasingly mountainous and enslaving pride… St. Bernard also enumerates the twelve steps to deeper humility and it is these that we consider today. As with yesterday’s post, the list by St. Bernard is shown in red, while my meager commentary is shown in plain, black text. To read St. Bernard’s reflections, consider purchasing the book Steps of Humility and Pride.

CNA – Vatican authorities have seized documents and computers belonging to a senior curial official as part of an investigation into financial misconduct, the Holy See announced on Tuesday… In a statement issued Feb. 18, the Vatican press office confirmed that investigators had raided the office and home of Msgr. Alberto Perlasca, the former head of the administrative office at the First Section of the Secretariat of State. The raid is part of an ongoing investigation into financial misconduct by officials at the secretariat.

By Jim Hale, LifeSiteNews – Until recently, Cardinal Zen held back from making critical comments about Pope Francis, but that has changed, and now for the first time, Cardinal Zen had strong words of criticism for the Pope… “Unfortunately in all these years he never had any critical word about what’s happening in China, always praising the Chinese government,” he shared… And there is no doubt that Cardinal Zen thinks Pope Francis has hurt the people of Hong Kong who have been fighting the Chinese government’s brutal crackdown on freedom. “He [the Pope] said, ‘oh yes, there are difficulties in Hong Kong, in France, South America, and I’m not possessing all the elements, so I just pray for peace.’ So, he said nothing again.”

CNA Daily News – In 2006 the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, with the approval of Benedict XVI, removed Maciel from public ministry and ordered him to spend the rest of his life in prayer and penance. The congregation decided not to subject him to a canonical process because of his advanced age, and he died in 2008… Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Valasio De Paolis, a highly respected canon lawyer, to lead the religious order in 2010… De Paolis, who died in 2017, has faced criticism for leaving much of the leadership of the congregation from Maciel’s time in place and failing to investigate claims of cover-up.

By Karen Cross, LifeNews – One of the President’s first acts in office was to restore the Mexico City Policy, which prevents tax funds from being given to organizations that perform abortions or lobby to change abortion laws of host countries. Later, the president expanded this policy to prevent $9 billion in foreign aid from being used to fund the global abortion industry… The Trump Administration also cut off funding to the United Nations Population Fund because of that agency’s involvement with China’s forced abortion program… On this day we celebrate fewer tax dollars going toward pro-abortion policies because of President Trump’s policies.

By John Burger, Aleteia – “Fake news” is a concept that has circulated in American politics for the past several years, but the use of propaganda is as old as the history of international relations, perhaps. It was certainly a tool used by the National Socialists of Germany as Hitler took over parts of Europe between 1939 and 1945. Now, 75 years after the end of World War II, a scholar is detailing the ways the Nazis’ “fake news” was countered — agressively, he says — by another news outlet on the European Continent: Vatican Radio.

By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV, Catholic Exchange – The devil is the antithesis of God. The Letter of Saint John describes God as Love. The devil, on the contrary, is the epitome of hatred; the devil hates God, he hates all of humanity and all of us individually, and the devil even hates himself… Lucifer and the other devils with him are fallen angels. (Rev 12) Even though the devils are evil incarnate, their intellects are still very keen, though bent on perversity, evil, and destruction. Plotting and conniving day and night, the devil strives to use all of his astute strategies to the eternal flames of hell forever.

By Charles Coulombe, Crisis Magazine – But the further removed the elite are from either or both, the more grotesque the situation becomes… House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tearing up of her copy of the State of the Union address to show her disapproval of its contents. This infantile display of pique is highly unlikely to win her votes in the upcoming election—although it is at least consistent behavior for her. One can only wonder what would have been the reaction had President Obama received the same treatment from Speakers Boehner or Ryan.

By Amy K. Hall, The Stream – The full craziness of election season will soon be upon us. As a Christian, how will you view it? How will you respond to it? How will you interact with others when its topics and controversies fill your social media feeds? The answer may depend on how you view politics itself… In “Millennials and the False Gospel of Politics,” John Stonestreet and Shane Morris reflect on how our view of politics is evolving…

By Craig Bannister, CNSNews – Democrat presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg has advocated raising taxes on poor people in order to more effectively control their behavior to ensure they live longer… “People say, ‘Oh, we don’t want to tax the poor,’” but raising taxes on them “should have a bigger impact on their behavior” – for their own good – former New York City Mayor Bloomberg told a Spring 2018 meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

By Rodney Pelletier, Church Militant – One of the marks of Pope Francis’ pontificate is his predilection for surrounding himself with cardinals and archbishops who openly oppose Church teaching. Investigative journalist George Neumayr comments in “All the Pope’s Men”: “We have seen time and time again clerics rise under Pope Francis not in spite of their corruption but because of it.”… The pope has within his gang of close advisers, Cdl. Óscar Maradiaga, Cdl. Oswald Gracias and Cdl. Reinhard Marx, among others. These three men hold to and promote teachings contrary to Church doctrines.

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing – “If I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you,” says Jesus to the Apostles at the Last Supper, according to John (16:7). “As if He said plainly,” writes Gregory the Great, “If I withdraw not My body from your eyes, I cannot lead you to the understanding of the Invisible, through the Comforting Spirit.”… History and tradition, for example, and the whole “deposit of faith” can only be seen “spiritually.” Indeed, the Spirit gives this “understanding of the invisible” to the Church – and even, in some times of crisis, as Newman pointed out, primarily to the laity.

By Most Rev. Joseph Strickland, The Wanderer – I write this column on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, one of many Marian memorials in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. That is because Mary is, and always has been, deeply loved and honored by Catholic and Orthodox Christians. It was only in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation, that this special love and honor began to diminish among some other Christians… There are many reasons for this, but it is a sad turn of events. Because to love and honor the Mother of the Lord Jesus does not detract, but rather enhances, our love for her Son and Savior, Jesus Christ.

By Michael Hichborn, President, Lepanto Institute – In early December, the Lepanto Institute learned that the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States (Abp. Christophe Pierre) is scheduled to participate in the annual assembly of a heretical priestly association called the Association of United States Catholic Priests (AUSCP). Since the Lepanto Institute has conducted multiple investigations of the AUSCP since 2015, we decided to contact Abp. Pierre to present him with some of our findings and to urge him to withdraw from the AUSCP’s Annual Assembly this Spring.

By Msgr. Charles Pope – A while back on this blog we reflected on the puzzling truth that we can endure more pain than pleasure. We seem to be able to endure a lot of pain, but we can endure only a little pleasure at a time. In fact, too much pleasure actually brings pain: sickness, hangovers, obesity, addiction, laziness, and even boredom… the point is that pleasures and good things are only enjoyed in moderation.

By Tim Busch, USA Today – There’s a crisis in the Roman Catholic Church no one’s talking about. It’s not abuse. It’s not cover-ups. It doesn’t spring from Vatican infighting. It starts much closer to home, with the shepherds who guide the flock. Many good and godly Catholic priests are struggling with their vocation… I realized this in January after hosting a conference for nearly 200 American priests. At a similar event in 2019, I could tell that morale was low. It hadn’t been that long since the summer of shame, when the Pennsylvania grand jury report peeled back the curtain on terrible abuse, mostly during the 20th century, and former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was removed from ministry for abusing children and seminary students.

By Christopher Manion, The Wanderer – At the USCCB’s annual meeting last November, America’s bishops considered updating their document entitled Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizens… The debate centered on the content of a letter introducing this year’s version of the document. On one side, Blase Cardinal Cupich of Chicago and Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego sought to remove the depiction of abortion as a “preeminent issue.” Their proposal was criticized by Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, who insisted that the term remain in the document, and Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., who cited the views of Pope Francis in endorsing the term’s prominence in the text.

By Thomas Gallatin, Patriot Post – “Total household debt now stands at a massive $14.15 trillion, which is $1.5 trillion above the prior record from 2008 as the financial crisis was hitting,” the Washington Examiner’s Quin Hillyer reports. “Credit card debt, at $930 billion, is likewise at an all-time high… For people aged 18-29, that rate of serious delinquency stood at a 10-year high of 9.36%. Of those with credit card debt in this age cohort, a whopping 67% of them report feeling serious stress about it.”… Is it any wonder Millennials in particular have responded positively to Bernie Sanders’s socialist siren song of “free college” and Medicare for All?

By Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews – In a powerful commentary in the Feb. 3 edition of The Wall Street Journal, biologists Colin Wright and Emma Hilton explain that, scientifically, there are only two sexes, male and female, and there is no sex “spectrum.” They also stress that “biologists and medical professionals” must stop being politically correct and “stand up for the empirical reality of biological sex.”… With the phenomenon of some men saying they “identify” as women and some women saying they “identify” as men, or any “gender identity” combination therein, “we see a dangerous and anti-scientific trend toward the outright denial of biological sex,” state the biologists Wright and Hilton.

By Fr. Frank Pavone, LifeNews – In his now infamous appearance on ABC’s “The View” earlier this month, Democratic presidential hopeful, former South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, was asked when in pregnancy an abortion would become unthinkable to him… In a response worthy of Pontius Pilate, the would-be-president said, “My point is that it shouldn’t be up to the government official to draw the line. It should be up the woman who is confronted with that choice.”… The studio audience erupted into predictable applause…. Pundits on both the right and left had a field day parsing his Buttigieg’s meaning.

By Madeleine Kearns, National Review – In 2019, China “celebrated” 70 years of Communist Party rule. China’s economic growth was at the lowest it’s been in three decades. And it faced the added political challenge of the Hong Kong protests, as well as the economic strain of an escalating trade war with the United States. Nevertheless, 2020 brought a more urgent challenge… The Chinese government’s recent quarantine of 60 million people — roughly the size of Italy — is unprecedented… Since no cure has yet been found, the most effective means of preventing further spread is isolation.

By Christopher Manion, The Stream – “Immigration turns red states blue,” writes the Stream’s John Zmirak. How? Well, Hispanics constitute by far the largest group of immigrants in recent years, and they are likely to vote for Democrats… Immigrants Bring Their Broken Cultures with Them – Economist Thomas Sowell has studied immigration for years. He emphasizes one fact we can’t ignore. “When immigrants cross a border, they bring their culture with them,” he writes. Politicians can turn a blind eye, but Sowell insists, “Some immigrant groups seek to bring to America the very cultures whose failures led them to flee to this country.”

By Jim Russell, Crisis Magazine – Recently, Bishop Robert Barron floated a trial balloon notion of having the episcopacy require a “mandatum” for Catholic writers who claim to be presenting the truths of Catholic teaching online… The question now facing me and many other concerned Catholics is a similar one: to write or not to write?… Is this the hill we should be dying on as professional writers who love our Church and wish to see its institutional human face more closely resemble the spotless Bride of Christ we are called to be?… After a lot of thought… my answer is an unequivocal yes.

By Susan Jones, CNSNews – The coronavirus that originated in China is not a pandemic yet, but it may become one, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health… “Well, a pandemic is when you have multiple countries throughout the world that have what’s called sustained transmission from person to person to person, multiple generations,” Fauci told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Fr. Mark Goring, Companions of the Cross, Feb. 17, 2020

By Michael Voris, Church Militant – This papacy, in fact, has demonstrated an unbelievable willingness to inject itself into the American political process — really like no other papacy ever. In fact, a very sound case can be made that affairs of the world are of a much greater focus of this Vatican than anything else actually spiritual, and that focus entails the usurping of the Church’s spiritual authority to advance an agenda which much more resembles socialism or Marxism than Catholicism.

By John Horvat II, Return to Order – While the Catholic left prefers other issues like climate change, social revolution, and illegal immigration, it is hard to argue against the missing 60 million Americans. These issues pale in comparison to the magnitude of death caused by the sin of abortion. Thus, abortion has long occupied the preeminent place on the American Catholic political scene… a key Catholic figure is directly disputing abortion’s preeminent place as a non-negotiable issue for faithful Catholic voters… Speaking at the University of San Diego on February 6, Most Rev. Robert McElroy, Bishop of San Diego, cast doubt on abortion’s preeminent position, especially in light of the upcoming elections. …

By Emily Jashinsky, The Federalist – ‘The Chosen’ is pioneering an innovative delivery method with potentially groundbreaking implications for content creators, particularly faith-based ones… “The Chosen” is both an app and a television series. It is both the largest ever crowdfunded entertainment project, and a Christian program about the life of Jesus. It’s also flying under Hollywood’s radar. That’s quite alright by creator Dallas Jenkins, who says his team’s outsider status allows the show “to be really nimble.”

By Tom Hoopes, The Gregorian Institute – Archbishop Joseph Naumann… cited words from Pat Pettey, a Catholic senator from his archdiocese, who defended her vote to quash the amendment by saying, “These measures are a violation of the core principles my Catholic faith teaches — namely, the priority of conscience, the importance of social justice, and the respect for religious freedom.”… “Sadly, Sen. Pettey’s statement is fraught with multiple errors in logic and Catholic teaching,” wrote Archbishop Naumann. “By invoking her Catholic faith for her reason for voting against the amendment, the senator actually created an even more serious moral problem for herself. ….”

By Rita Dunaway, The Stream – Today’s American president is unlikely to be in the woods where soldiers need help with literal “heavy lifting.” But we should seek one who is neither too lofty to be concerned with the needs and problems of regular people, nor so prideful as to think of others as helpless dependents… There is another aspect of humility, too, that is essential to good leadership. It’s the willingness to learn from others; the teachable spirit. In other words, it takes a measure of humility to become wise.

By Msgr. Charles Pope, National Catholic Register – I am convinced that just as we were spared from serious error in Humanae Vitae, so the Holy Spirit spared the Church in Querida Amazonia… You may recall I wrote the following in the National Catholic Register back on Oct. 27 at the close of the Synod: In the final document of the synod are included proposals for married priests on a wide scale and women ‘deacons.’ The Church is currently deeply divided and, I would argue, on the brink of schism, if the Pope includes such proposals in his apostolic exhortation and plan.

By Fr. George Rutler, Church Militant – Dietrich von Hildebrand wrote in 1967: Enamored of our present epoch, blind to all its characteristic dangers, intoxicated with everything modern, there are many Catholics who no longer ask whether something is true, or whether it is good and beautiful, or whether it has intrinsic value: they ask only whether it is up-to-date, suitable to “modern man” and the technological age, whether it is challenging, dynamic, audacious, progressive.

By Dr. Christopher Manion, Ph.D., Church Militant – Church Militant recently reported on the arrest of a Buffalo cyberstalker who had threatened ABC affiliate WKBW reporter Charlie Specht. The story hits pretty close to home with me — not just because the accused was a mild-mannered professor, but because his alleged death threats targeted a reporter who was hot on the trail of homosexual hijinks and malfeasance in the Buffalo diocese.

By Solène Tadié, EWTN News – In his youth, Serge Abad Gallardo joined Freemasonry with the conviction he could contribute to make the world a better place. He turned 24 years later to Christ, convinced he had been serving the wrong cause and, above all, the wrong Master… His last work “Masonic Secret or Catholic Truth,” Artege, 2019), sheds light on the problematic dimension of secrecy in Freemasonry, especially its consequences on societies and democracy… While discussing his personal journey with the Register, Gallardo explains why Masonic activities are deeply incompatible with the Christian faith.

By Paul Smeaton, LifeSiteNews – A Catholic priest who says he prayed that God would grant him some suffering that he could offer on behalf of victims of clerical sexual abuse is offering to pray for victims by name after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor… Fr. John Hollowell, who recently defended the Church’s practice of priestly celibacy on an episode of The Dr. Taylor Marshall Show, and who blogs regularly at On This Rock, announced yesterday that he has been diagnosed with a tumor and wrote that he embraces the suffering willingly.

By Jim Graves, EWTN News – Monday mornings at a restaurant in Irvine, California, volunteers from nearby St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (SEAS) Parish meet with two to seven unemployed job seekers to offer them helpful tips so that they may find new jobs. The SEAS Employment Ministry was launched during the 2008 recession and has since helped hundreds find gainful employment… Church might not be the first place people think of when they need help finding a job, said Michael Aimola, co-director of the ministry with Virginia Sullivan and Brian Wolf and a volunteer since its launch, “but we have people sitting in the pews Sunday after Sunday who need help finding jobs, so why not offer them the help they need?”

By Eddie Scarry, Washington Examiner – DeVos proposes in the budget that the department cease overseeing nearly $20 billion in federal money that goes to various K-12 public school programs such as “Indian Education” and “21st Century Community Learning Centers.” Instead, that money would roll into one block, and states would receive their share to spend on the local level… For teachers unions, the utterance of the word “local” is akin to throwing holy water on the possessed. “Local” means cutting out high-level bureaucrats and shrinking the power of lobbyists…

By Msgr. Charles Pope – The commercial below shows a glimpse of the special kind of love that we call familial love. The Greeks called it storge (στοργή), and the Romans called it pietas. Both words refer to familial love, the natural or instinctual affection between parent and child. Michelangelo’s “Pieta,” depicting Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus with tenderness and sorrow, demonstrates beautifully the meaning of pietas.

By John C. Goodman, Townhall – Under socialism, the government does much more than set prices. It determines what will be produced, how it will be produced, where it will be produced and under what circumstances people will be able to consume what is produced. Since prices are not allowed to clear markets, inevitably there is rationing by waiting for food, clothing, housing, medical care and other necessities. People spend enormous amounts of time and effort trying to circumvent the rationing bureaucracies.

By Christopher Whalen, The American Conservative – China’s had a difficult year in 2019, balancing political unrest in Hong Kong and among oppressed Muslims with its trade dispute with the United States. All this has already caused the Chinese economy to slow considerably, with a spillover into the global economy that has still not been fully appreciated by investors and policymakers… This year began with the explosion of the coronavirus crisis in Wuhan, a health disaster caused by China’s indifference to the basics of civil sanitation and hygiene. In both cases, what should have been a manageable challenge became a global crisis because of the inefficiency of authoritarian rule by the Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”).

By David Limbaugh, The Stream – I am uniquely blessed to be Rush Limbaugh’s brother, in ways too numerous to count, and I am blessed to be in the special position of witnessing firsthand the outpouring of love and prayers from his family, friends and fans. His wife, Kathryn, has been amazing and a rock throughout his illness… When Rush began his nationally syndicated radio show, the liberal media monopolized television news. His show became an oasis and a lifeline for millions who felt their voices had been ignored. He gave them a sense of community, as they came to realize that the principles they believed in, their love for America and its founding ideas, were still commonly held.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – U.S. House Democrats jammed through a resolution Thursday to revive a constitutional amendment that could end all abortion restrictions and allow unborn babies to be aborted for any reason up to birth… The Democrat-controlled House passed House Joint Resolution 79 in a 232-183 vote in an attempt to nullify the seven-year deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) that expired in 1979. Five Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the resolution.

By Sean Stevens, Ph.D, CatholicTherapists – Many threads make up the theology of Catholic marriage. Some threads do overlap with Protestant thought – e.g., marriage as an image of the union of Christ and the Church. Other threads tend not to, particularly those that focus on marriage as a pathway to holiness; as a “school” of sacrificial love; and as a microcosm of the Body of Christ – because Protestant thought tends not to emphasize holiness, sacrifice, and the Body of Christ. And any theology based on marriage as a sacrament, of course, is foreign to Protestantism.

Fr. Mark Goring, Companions of the Cross

By Chad Groening, OneNewsNow – “There is tremendous poverty in Brazil, as there is throughout Latin America; there is rampant crime, but those are not grounds for political asylum in the United States,” Mehlman asserts. “Political asylum is reserved for people who are being singled out for persecution by their governments based on a series of considerations such as race, religion, [or] political beliefs. What we’re seeing in Brazil is the same phenomenon that we have seen from other countries, where people recognize that the asylum system in the United States is easily taken advantage of.”

By Krystina Skurk, The Federalist – The Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act is not about restricting abortions but about giving newborns a chance to survive no matter where they are born, said Sen. Ben Sasse, the bill’s lead co-sponsor, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday… During the hearing, called “The Infant Patient: Ensuring Appropriate Medical Care for Children Born Alive,” Republican senators questioned why a baby born in a hospital should be treated differently than a baby born in an abortion facility. Democrats, lacking an answer, changed the subject.

By Maike Hickson, LifeSiteNews – Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, one of the two remaining dubia cardinals, has just published in the German Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost a thorough analysis of the German synodal path’s preparatory document that deals with the question of power. As he shows, this document has been permeated by arguments that are similar to the ones used by Martin Luther in the 16th century and is undermining the Church’s hierarchical structure as it was established by Jesus Christ Himself.

By Catholic News Agency – Rhode Island’s Catholic bishop has responded to controversy over a series of remarks from a priest in his diocese, which began with the Eucharist and pro-choice politicians, and seemed eventually to diminish the gravity of child sexual abuse… “In the context of the present public discussion, it is important to affirm that both the sexual abuse of minors and abortion are horrific, immoral actions that have very serious, harmful consequences,” Bishop Thomas Tobin said in a Feb. 13 statement… “It is never acceptable to underestimate the harm caused by sexual abuse of minors,” Bishop Tobin added.

By Martin Bürger, LifeSiteNews – German Cardinal Gerhard Müller said that now that Pope Francis has refused to allow female deacons and married priests in the Amazon region, the German bishops should perform a “religious about-face.”… “Above all,” continued Müller, “the universal Church and the Holy Father must be asked for forgiveness for the schismatic act of putting the decisions of a body unauthorized for doctrinal questions above the teaching of the Church and thus above Revelation, as if one had never heard of Vatican II.”

By Trent England, Opinion contributor, USA Today – Should rural and small-town Americans be reduced to serfdom? The American Founders didn’t think so… Credit the American Founders with setting up a system of limited government with lots of checks and balances. The U.S. Senate makes sure all states are represented equally, even low-population rural states like Wyoming and Vermont. Limits on federal power, along with the Bill of Rights, are supposed to protect Americans from overreaching federal regulations. And the Electoral College makes it impossible for one population-dense region of the country to control the presidency.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – Today’s Democrat “moderates” are no moderates at all… When placed next to a socialist like Bernie Sanders, fellow Democrat presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg may seem less extreme. But he is no moderate, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee pointed out this week in a column for Fox News… Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is now a front-runner in the Democratic primary. Though he has been touted as one of the more moderate candidates, his actual political positions are quite extreme.

By Rebecca Mansour, Breitbart – Perhaps the biggest concern is over medical supplies. China produces and exports a large amount of pharmaceuticals to the U.S., including 97 percent of all antibiotics and 80 percent of the active ingredients used to make drugs here. Penicillin, ibuprofen, and aspirin largely come from China… the blood pressure drug valsartan also saw shortages recently, thanks to tainted active ingredients at one Chinese plant. The combination of supply chain disruptions and increased demand at hospitals if coronavirus spreads to the U.S. could prove devastating.

By Patrick J. Buchanan – Biden, Buttigieg and Klobuchar are all now headed for the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 22, where Sanders is favored… Sanders, however, is not without his own problems… From the day he entered the race, Joe Biden was the great hope of the Democratic establishment to spare them from the horrifying prospect of a 2020 race between The Donald and Bernie Sanders… Today, that same establishment wants Joe out of the race… Why has Biden suddenly become an albatross?

By John Horvat II, Author, Return to Order – Economics is also a science of measurements. By calculating profits and losses, businessmen can plan for the future. On a larger scale, international standards of measurement help economists develop monetary policy, make economic forecasts, and monitor growth. But greed, fraud, and theft can easily find their way into financial transactions. That is why economics must be subject to those higher normative sciences like ethics that regulate all human behavior.

By Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews – To deal with the often confusing and politically charged issue of gender identity and transgenderism, Bishop Thomas Paprocki, head of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Ill., has issued a “pastoral guide” on the topic, which clearly states that “a person cannot change his or her gender” and that sex-reassignment surgery is “a type of mutilation and intrinsically evil.”

By Jennifer Roback Morse, EWTNNews – Committed pro-life activists are often accused of being too focused on abortion: “If you really cared about babies, you would also care about Issue X!”… True, children need many things to survive and thrive, and pro-lifers should work on those issues as well as the abortion issue. But the “Seamless Garment,” as a rhetorical strategy, is often perceived by pro-lifers as a subtle or not-so-subtle attempt to undermine them. All too often, these suspicions are well-founded. So my next statement may surprise you: The pro-life movement needs a Seamless Garment of its own. Let me explain.

By Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing – Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation (released yesterday) is, at a first reading, a mostly pleasant surprise. It shows little of the freewheeling radicalism that bulked large – in the synod hall and Vatican gardens, and even on the streets, during the Synod last October. He quotes copiously from his own texts, to be sure, but also from St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. So much so that Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, a powerful voice in current Church debates, has called the Exhortation an effort at reconciliation.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – Pro-life advocates gathered Wednesday to mourn for the lives of 2,411 babies who were aborted and then stored in an Indiana abortionist’s garage with complete disregard for their humanity… Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill’s Office organized the memorial service at Southlawn Cemetery and Palmer Funeral Home in South Bend. Many national and local pro-life leaders attended the graveside service. Their burial is marked with a small headstone that reads, “In memory of the 2,411 precious unborn buried here on Feb. 12, 2020.”

By Paul Smeaton, LifeSiteNews – In section 78 of Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis states that people should “not be quick to describe as superstition or paganism certain religious practices that arise spontaneously from the life of peoples.” In section 79, the Pope continues that it is “possible to take up an indigenous symbol in some way, without necessarily considering it as idolatry,” adding that a “myth charged with spiritual meaning can be used to advantage and not always considered a pagan error.”

By di Sandro Magister, L’Espresso – What is most striking in the post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Querida Amazonia,” made public today, February 12 2020, is its total silence on the most anticipated and controversial issue: the ordination of married men… Not even the word “celibacy” appears in it. Pope Francis desires “to configure ministry in such a way that it is at the service of a more frequent celebration of the Eucharist, even in the remotest and most isolated communities” (no. 86). But he reiterates (no. 88) that only the ordained priest can celebrate the Eucharist, absolve from sins and administer the anointing of the sick… And it says nothing about the extension of ordination to “viri probati.”

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – The Virginia Mercury reports the Rev. Dr. Robert M. Grant Jr.’s opening prayer for the state legislature condemned abortion and warned about God’s “wrath” if abortion activists do not repent… The local news did not provide direct quotes from Grant’s prayer, but he apparently was cut short after Democrats began to walk out… Grant defended his prayer against pro-abortion Democrats’ accusations afterward… “I think that the statehouse belongs to all the citizens. And all the citizens have a voice,” Grant said. “If it’s my turn to have a voice, and I am a pastor, what do you expect from me? If you don’t want to hear what a pastor has to say, then don’t invite one.”

By John Zmirak, The Stream – Imagine if during this 2020 election season, Pope Francis had hosted Steven Bannon and his European allies as speakers. If they’d given him a platform, flush with bishops and cardinals nodding and applauding. Prelates clapping and smiling at his message. Namely, that the Democrats and their platform were a threat to the human species itself. Well, that just happened, except it was abortion promoting globalist Jeffrey Sachs, warning against Donald Trump. 

By Matt Hadro, CNA – Cardinal Joseph Zen, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has said that the situation of the Church in China is dire. The cardinal also predicted the end of the underground Church… “The situation is very bad. And the source is not the pope. The pope doesn’t know much about China,”… “The Holy Father Francis shows special affection to me,” Zen said, but added that he is in confrontation with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State… “I’m fighting Parolin. Because the bad things come from him,” Zen added… But, the cardinal told CNA, “you cannot compromise” with the Chinese Communist Party, whom he called “persecutors” of the faith… “They want complete surrender. That’s communism.”

By Martina Moyski, Church Militant – The bishop of the Oakland diocese is dismayed at the results of a poll finding almost 70% of Catholics are ignorant of Church teaching on the Holy Eucharist — and is fighting back… “As bishop of the diocese of Oakland, I find this shocking,” Bp. Michael Barber, S.J… As part of the bishop’s response to the findings, he has called for a diocesan-wide Eucharistic Congress on June 19–20 at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California… The theme of the congress is “Stay with us, Lord,” from Luke 24:29: “But they constrained Him, saying: Stay with us, because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent. ….

By Nate Church, Breitbart – House Bill 177 passed with a 51-46 vote in the Democrat-majority House after being handed off by the Privileges and Elections Committee last week. Should the Senate also approve, Virginia will officially become part of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact… “Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia,” a bill summary states… So far, 15 states, along with Washington D.C., have joined. The idea gained momentum as an answer to President Donald Trump’s electoral college victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016, despite her approximately three million popular vote lead.

By Chris Woodward, OneNewsNow – “What we’re dealing with as conservatives and Christians is that for 50 years we’ve allowed the Left to structure our society in a way in which we are actually funding the attack on our values,” says Black. “2nd Vote for nine years has been focused on retail dollars and donated dollars trying to educate people on how this is structured and to, whenever possible, stop putting your dollars into basically the offering plate to these radical efforts.”

By Anne Marie Williams, Live Action – The 50-minute documentary “Strings Attached,” produced by Culture of Life Africa founder and president Obianuju Ekeocha exposes the funding pipeline from Western countries to African nations, specifically for abortion and contraceptive “services,” and shares first-hand accounts of the harm countless women have experienced at the hands of global abortion giant Marie Stopes International… In the fall 2019 issue of American Life League’s Celebrate Life magazine, Ekeocha said that the documentary’s title “Strings Attached” is meant to “capture[] the nature of the ‘gifts’ of some of Africa’s wealthiest donors.”

By Josh Shepherd, The Stream – “There are no easy answers,” said David Kinnaman, president of The Barna Group. “Everyone in church ministry is really struggling to know how to practice faith leadership in a divided culture.”… The Barna Group released results of an extensive national survey of Protestant pastors. Fully 72 percent of pastors ranked “watered-down gospel teachings” as their greatest concern… “It’s interesting how two of the top three issues are about the church’s own faithful witness,” said Kinnaman in a phone interview. “Then the other big concern is about the cultural shift to secularism.”

By Msgr. Charles Pope – So you think the idea of the “Twelve Steps” is new? Well, if you think you’ve got a new idea, go back and see how the Greeks put it, or in this case how the Medieval Latins put it. St. Bernard of Clairvaux identified twelve steps up the mountain of pride in his work Steps of Humility and Pride… In today’s post, we focus on the Twelve Steps of Pride. Tomorrow, we’ll tackle the Twelve Steps of Humility (from St. Benedict’s rule). Below, I list the Twelve Steps of Pride briefly and then provide some commentary. ….

By Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews – Expressing shock and disappointment that some presidential contenders, such as socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), support abortion on demand, no restrictions, and Marxist ideas such as nationalization of industry and Cuban-style health care, Rev. Franklin Graham urged Christians “to pray for our nation” and the “upcoming elections.” He added that Americans need to register to vote, “otherwise we will lose our country.”… In a Feb. 12 post on Facebook, the evangelical leader said, “The Democratic Party has changed so much that it’s hard to believe. Just a few days ago Bernie Sanders declared that ‘being pro-choice is an absolutely essential part of being a Democrat.’ ….

By Phil Lawler, LifeSiteNews – In making his proposal Bishop Barron said: “I do think that the shepherds of the Church, those entrusted with supervising the teaching office, can and should point out when people on social media are harming the Body of Christ.” But his proposed solution — which has been dubbed online a “yellow check” system — is mainly a reaction against the dangerous level of vitriol that is unfortunately evident in some corners of the Catholic blogosphere. The proposal does not distinguish carefully between two different sorts of offenses: offenses against civility and offenses against doctrine.

By Stephen P. White, The Catholic Thing – As Bishop McElroy points out elsewhere in his remarks, abortion is an intrinsic evil, but this is not what makes abortion such a grave threat to our common life. Other moral evils, such as lying, are also intrinsically evil. Would anyone suggest that a politician’s affinity for fibbing ought to weigh as heavily on the consciences of voters as his support for legal abortion? Not likely. The point here is not that lying is no big deal – it is – but that what sets abortion apart is the gravity of the evil and the scale of the slaughter: more than 60 million killed since Roe v. Wade.

By Emily Jashinsky and Madeline Osburn, The Federalist – #8. Approaching Abortion as Population Control – “Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders answered ‘yes’ and spoke about abortion when asked at a CNN town hall event Wednesday night if population control would play a part in his administration’s policy for dealing with climate change,” RealClearPolitics reported in September.

By Felipe Moura Brasil for Prager University – American millennials, take note… Many American millennials seem to be drawn to socialism. They came out in big numbers for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primaries. They rail against capitalism on their college campuses. They wear Che Guevara t-shirts to signal their socialist virtue… I know a lot about socialism. I live in Rio de Janeiro, and I work throughout Brazil as a journalist for a popular magazine… In the early 2000s, Brazil’s economy was growing rapidly. …

By Doug Mainwaring. LifeSiteNews – In a sensitively worded but thoroughly-grounded-in-truth pastoral guide regarding the handling of gender identity issues in his diocese, Bishop Thomas Paprocki declared unequivocally, “A person cannot change his or her gender,” and “should accept and seek to live in conformity with his or her sexual identity as determined at birth.”… While the diocese encourages professional counseling for those who suffer from gender dysphoria, Bishop Paprocki has made clear that certain policies regarding the Diocese of Springfield are non-negotiable. …

By Craig Bannister, CNSNews – Victims of Venezuelan socialism who have come to America recently attended a Venezuela Freedom Rally in Washington, D.C., where Campus Reform asked them for their message to Americans who support socialism… “Bernie Sanders is your enemy. Do not ever, ever get involved with this individual or any of the other socialists,” one man who escaped Venezuelan socialism warned. “People are eating from trash bags in the streets,” one woman said. “In Venezuela, there is no food, no medicine, education. No, nothing, nothing,” another woman added.

By Dave Alsup and Theresa Waldrop, CNN – Four boys who went missing for more than a day during a blizzard in rural Alaska were found alive on Monday, and were resourceful when it came to protecting the youngest and most vulnerable to the elements. The children, who range in age from 2 to 14, were found about 20 miles outside the village of Nunam Iqua, on Alaska’s west coast … “The kids are doing fine,” the representative said. “I talked to the grandpa. They were cold and hungry.”.. The boys reportedly huddled around the youngest boy.

By Anthony Esolen, Crisis Magazine – As the plague in Europe had its occasional years of acute virulence, so in the United States the election season is upon us again. And as the plague arrived in 1348 and would not be eliminated for five hundred years, and Europe was more or less always beset by plague, so the United States is now always in electoral dysfunction. And just as hanging posies around your neck did not help then, so the sweet platitudes of democratic procedure do not help now. For our problem is not procedural.

By Neil Munro, Breitbart – “Let us state the reality upfront and as clearly as possible,” AG William Barr told the National Sheriffs’ Assoc. meeting in D.C. on February 10: When we are talking about sanctuary cities, we are talking about policies that are designed to allow criminal aliens to escape. These policies are not about people who came to our country illegally but have otherwise been peaceful and productive members of society. Their express purpose is to shelter aliens whom local law enforcement has already arrested for other crimes. This is neither lawful nor sensible… It is not lawful because the Constitution vests the federal government with the sole authority to make and enforce immigration law.

By Shane Idleman, The Stream – The 2016 election caught Democrats off guard, but they won’t let that happen again. My concern is that the 2020 election will catch Republicans off guard this time. Complacency may lead to apathy when the economy is good and the president’s approval rating is high. We can’t become comfortable thinking that Trump will easily take it again… If God wants Trump re-elected, as I’m convinced is the case, He wants us to trust in Him, not in opinion polls and the economy. Be clear on this: amid voter fraud, ballot harvesting, and media giants railing against Trump, only a sovereign act of God can bring about a re-election.

By Dr. Christopher Manion, Ph.D., Church Militant – Under Abp. Gómez’s leadership, the USCCB will also ignore the fraud, coverups, financial scandals, and homosexual perfidy in its own ranks. Instead, it will accelerate efforts to create a “more Hispanic Church.”… As archbishop of Los Angeles, Gómez has pursued that goal relentlessly for years. He spelled out his vision in detail at the Napa Institute in 2011, describing his plans for the “Next America,” a United States which will be superior to the America we have now because Hispanics, specifically illegal aliens, will build in America a better society, devoted to faith and family.

By Msgr. Charles Pope – As Lent approaches consider that it is often easier to abstain from something entirely than to moderate its use. It’s also easier to measure the success or failure of abstinence. When I “give up something for Lent,” my approach is to stay away from it entirely during Lent. I don’t exempt Sundays or solemnities that occur in Lent. The “on again, off again” approach just doesn’t work for me… However, there is something to be said about using Lent to moderate behavior as well. There are some things we cannot simply abstain from, and learning to moderate them is an important virtue to cultivate.

By Mary Margaret Olohan, LifeNews – Lawmakers gathered Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to discuss the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, Republican-led legislation that would require doctors to provide care to babies who survive abortions… Republican lawmakers.. emphasized the need for this legislation in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing; however, Democratic lawmakers focused on infant mortality rates and racial biases in health care while suggesting that Republican lawmakers were pushing the bill out of anti-abortion bias… “It’s pretty straightforward. Babies ought to get the care they deserve,” Sasse told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

By Edward Pentin, EWTN News – Amid great hopes and anxious fears, the post-synodal letter has arrived. It refers to the final document of the Amazon Synod on October 6-27, 2019, and the Pope does not draw from it any dramatic and disconcerting conclusions… The letter is divided into four chapters, each representing a dream, or vision, for the important and magnificent region of Amazonia: 1. A Social Dream.. 2. A Cultural Dream.. 3. An Ecological Dream.. 4. An Ecclesial Dream.. The Conclusion presents an overall view of the challenges and opportunities for this country. The Pope concludes with a beautiful and profound prayer to Mary, Queen of the Amazon, in whose spirit we recognize, proclaim and spread the universal reign of God in Jesus Christ, her Son.

By Patrick J. Deneen, First Things – Michael Lind’s The New Class War is sure to be one of the most important political books of the new decade. Like many recent publications, The New Class War explains the rise of populism and the decline of liberalism across the West. But it succeeds where others fail. The managerial elite has sought to blame anyone but themselves for the rise of populism… The elite’s high ideals combined with their base self-interest have precipitated a widening gap between winners and losers in the developed world.

By Doug Mainwaring, LifeSiteNews – The USCCB has released a series of five short videos aimed to “inspire prayer and action in political life and to help Catholics apply the Church’s teaching as handed down by Pope Francis,” as the U.S. moves deeper into the 2020 election year… the videos fail to acknowledge the pre-eminence of abortion as the most significant life issue continuing to face the Catholic Church in the U.S… they redirect the attention of U.S. Catholics to other issues — such as immigration and “climate change” — which are more dear to liberal prelates and the pontiff… The seamless garment has prevailed…

By Msgr. Charles Pope – In his recent book, Christus Vincit, Bishop Athanasius Schneider writes, The crisis in the Church today is due to a neglect of the truth and specifically a reversal of the order of truth and love. Today a new principle of pastoral life is being propagated in the Church, which says: love and mercy are the highest criteria and truth has to be subordinated to them. According to this new theory, if there is a conflict between love and truth, truth must be sacrificed. This is a reversal and a perversion in the literal sense of the word (p. 166).

By John Horvat II, CNSNews – The (Superbowl) halftime show is not the only sign that things are worse. There are others that are also terrifying in their corrupting power… One of these is the ever-growing presence of drag queens, especially in their story hours that target pre-school children in public libraries and elementary schools. The scandalous scenes of garish drag queens are everywhere, exposing small children to highly sexualized and revealing shows… Once again, we sense the desire to corrupt. The drag queen spokesmen are very clear in what they desire and who they wish to reach. They seek out children, some as young as three years old.

By Staff Reporter, Catholic Herald – Cardinal Reinhard Marx has announced that he will not seek a new term as chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference… The Archbishop of Munich and Freising said in a statement that it was time for the “younger generation” to take charge when the bishops meet for their spring General Assembly early next month… Cardinal Marx pointed out that if he were to serve a second term, he would be 72 by the time it finished, almost at retirement age.

By Fr. Shenan J. Boquet, Human Life International – Secretary Azar did not couch his words in the sterile and ambiguous diplomatic language that infects international politics, but rather laid out a crystal-clear agenda. “I stated this fact at the United Nations this past September, and I’ll repeat it here: there is no international human right to abortion,” he said. “On the other hand, there is an international human right to life”. He added: “President Trump has been clear, at the U.N. and on the world stage: Health care exists to improve health and preserve human life—the universal goal we all share.”

By Pat Buchanan, Townhall – In a way, Donald Trump might be called The Great Uniter… Bear with me. No Republican president in the lifetime of this writer, not even Ronald Reagan, united the party as did Trump in the week of his acquittal in the Senate and State of the Union address… According to the Gallup Poll, 94% of Republicans approve of his handling of his presidency, in his fourth year, despite the worst press any president has ever received and the sustained hostility of our cultural elites… Only Bush I in the first months of the 1991 Gulf War and Bush II in the first months of the 2003 Iraq War registered support like this.

By Gerard V. Bradley, Public Discourse – “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.” When Abraham Lincoln uttered these words on April 18, 1864 to a Baltimore audience, he contrasted those who meant by “liberty” each person’s proper moral self-government, “with others, [for whom] the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor.” Lincoln declared, “Here are two not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name—liberty.”

By Rod Dreher, The American Conservative – In Rome this past week, I had lots of conversations with informed Catholics. It’s fair to say my interlocutors were all on the orthodox (that is, theologically conservative) side of things, and that most of them were Italian. Every single one was deeply concerned — I mean profoundly concerned — about the present and future of the Catholic Church… Nobody I talked to saw this as anything other than a crisis that strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Catholic… in the next few weeks, the Vatican will finally release the findings of its investigation of Cardinal McCarrick — but whatever they say, nobody will believe it, even if it’s the gospel truth, because the institutional Church has shot its credibility on sex abuse.

By John Zmirak, The Stream – Some thoughtful pieces at The Stream recently have talked about the Christian duty to “love your enemy.” This in the context of President Trump’s press conference after the failed impeachment vote, and various remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast… I’m no theologian, and we’re dealing with deep Christian mysteries here. So instead of trying to answer my colleagues, I’d like to raise some simple questions. In resolving those questions, I think we can find some helpful insights on a command that has challenged every Christian since the beginning… From them, I think we’ll see that President Trump’s anger in the wake of his impeachment wasn’t actually so pagan, after all….

By Rodney Pelletier, Church Militant – The U.S. bishops have cost faithful Catholics nearly $4 billion in sex abuse payouts — money Catholics thought were funding charities, seminaries and parishes. But now that the homosexual cleric abuse epidemic has been exposed, bishops continue to ask for more money and shelter diocesan assets… Bishop Michael Bransfield, head of the diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia from 2005–2018, stole millions from the coffers of one of the poorest dioceses in the United States. He has a nearly 14-year track record of frivolous and wasteful spending, blowing millions to live a luxurious lifestyle while lay Catholics in the diocese struggled.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – Indiana authorities plan to bury the remains of 2,411 aborted babies Wednesday in South Bend after they were discovered last fall on the property of the late abortionist Ulrich Klopfer… In September, authorities found 2,246 medically preserved remains of aborted babies stored in boxes in the former Indiana abortionist’s garage in Illinois. A few weeks later, they found 165 more babies’ remains in a vehicle stored on one of his properties. Klopfer’s family reported finding the remains shortly after he died Sept. 3. Indiana and Illinois authorities have been working together to investigate the gruesome discovery.

By Dorothy Cummings McLean, LifeSiteNews – A respected Italian theologian has signaled that Pope Francis is failing in his duty to protect the doctrine of the Catholic faith… “My impression is that Francis doesn’t listen much to Benedict who, in my estimation, had undertaken a line of reform more balanced than that of Francis, more in accordance with … the interpretation that sees the doctrine of the [Second Vatican] Council in continuity, even if more advanced, with the preceding Magisterium,” Cavalcoli stated.

By Most Rev. Joseph Strickland, The Wanderer – The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC, n. 1131). This simple but powerful statement should shake us to the bone, and draw us to our knees in prayer and gratitude. Jesus Christ is not dead. He is alive. And, He is ministering to us in every sacrament of His Church. He dispenses His Divine Life to us, through them!

By Danielle Kennedy, NBC 10 News – Just days after the 47th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling, the Rev. Richard Bucci of Sacred Heart Church in West Warwick said Rhode Island lawmakers who supported the state’s abortion bill should be barred from receiving Communion… Bucci told NBC 10 News on Monday that he placed a letter in the weekend bulletin at the end of January listing lawmakers by name, saying they should not be allowed to receive Communion, serve as godparents, witness marriages, or serve in other church functions… He said the news is not a surprise, since the church has been taking a pro-life stance for more than 2,000 years… “This is pro-choice, this is not pro-abortion,” said Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, D-Narragansett.

By Fr. Mike Schmitz, Ascension Presents – There’s justice and prudence and temperance and fortitude, faith, and hope, and love. But do you recall the social virtues at all? Thankfulness and affability are some social virtues that show us how Catholics should connect with others in social situations… Thankfulness is the social virtue by which we acknowledge people and their generosity. It’s not just a customary expression of thanks when someone does something nice. It means going out of your way to show people your gratitude for them going out of their way for you.

By Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing – This week may mark a watershed in modern Catholicism. On Wednesday, the Amazonia Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation will be released… we have seemed to be headed to major changes on priestly celibacy, deaconesses, and – in several respects – the very nature of the Church… It’s rumored in Rome that Pope Francis may have retreated a bit on those issues now, perhaps owing to the controversy over the Cardinal Sarah/Benedict XVI book defending priestly celibacy. The Exhortation may “only” recommend establishing a commission on celibacy. If true, we’ll still have yet another case of papal ambiguity. The faithful will be left trying to determine whether the commission is intended really to “study,” or to create an expectation – as happened in the 1960s, with the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control.

By  Solange Reyner, NewsMax – “Mayor DeBlasio, the members of the NYPD are declaring war on you! We do not respect you, DO NOT visit us in hospitals,” the SBA tweeted in response to de Blasio’s statement condemning the attacks. “You sold the NYPD to the vile creatures, the 1% who hate cops but vote for you. NYPD cops have been assassinated because of you. This isn’t over, Game on!”… “Police are being targeted. The anti cop tone infecting our city & state is causing bloodshed….

By Martin M. Barillas, LifeSiteNews – The Trump administration has announced a new International Religious Freedom Alliance that joins more than two dozen countries to push for religious tolerance and an end to religious persecution… At an event on Wednesday, secretary of state Mike Pompeo stated while country representatives listened, “Together, we say that freedom of religion or belief is not a Western ideal, but truly the bedrock of societies,” adding that it is outlined in the alliance’s Declaration of Principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Together, we have pledged to uphold the Declaration of Principles,” a joint statement read, “solidifying our collective commitment to object and oppose, publicly and privately, all abuses or violations of religious freedom.”

By Stephen Kokx, LifeSiteNews – Conservative scholar Charles Murray is not optimistic about the future of the United States… In an interview.. (he) said the American experiment in constitutional government is “dead as a doornail” and that without a religious awakening, the United States may last only a few more decades… “I think America is showing what post-America looks like,” Murray said. “People who call themselves conservatives … believe things that would horrify the Founders.”… “The American way of life” is now “meaningless.” America today is “just another rich, powerful country.”

By The Vortex Church Militant – Back in 1982 when Joseph Bernardin became archbishop of Chicago, and eventually cardinal, he went about setting up a so-called house of formation for South American seminarians being funneled into American dioceses. The name of the facility was Casa Jesus and was, in reality, a house for homosexual seminarians being cultivated for eventual placement in dioceses around the country… Shortly after that, Theodore McCarrick joined in the party and started importing gay South American seminarians for his diocese of Metuchen as well as other dioceses.

By Patrick Goodenough, CNSNews – “Being pro-choice is an absolutely essential part of being a Democrat,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Saturday, in the clearest repudiation yet by a major 2020 presidential candidate of voters who support the Democratic Party and hold pro-life views… “Is there such a thing as a pro-life Democrat, in your vision of the party?” MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle asked Sanders at a presidential forum in Concord, N.H. on Saturday focused on the federal judiciary.

By Msgr. Charles Pope – The Definitiveness of His Proclamation– The text says, You are the Salt of the earth. … You are the light of the World. … But if salt goes flat it is good for nothing. … No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket… The Lord is definitive in two ways. First, He says, “You.” He is not talking just to people long ago or to the person next to you. He is not merely talking to your pastor or the Saints. He is talking to you. You are salt. You are light.

By Paul Murano, Church Militant – Wassel also claimed: “With the lessening of eucharistic adoration, crimes have greatly increased because Satan becomes more present and powerful, as St. Peter Julian told us.” As examples, he pointed to the many innocent children being shot and killed in our schools, as well as the countless killed in abortion… Nature (as well as supernature) abhors a vacuum. As our first two parents — Adam and Eve — found out the hard way, when God is kicked out, something immediately fills the spiritual void to take His place… If Catholics were truly Catholic our abortion society would not exist.

By Dorothy Cummings McLean and Pete Baklinski, LifeSiteNews – The Bishop of San Diego has made the case that “climate change” could be considered “uniquely preeminent in Catholic social teaching” since the potential death toll due to man-made temperature rise is “larger” than abortion and “threatens the very future of humanity.”… In a speech titled “Conscience, Candidates and Discipleship in Voting,” which Bishop Robert J. McElroy delivered at the University of San Diego yesterday, the bishop said that Catholic voters need to discern where their priorities lie in the upcoming 2020 election… “Frequently in discussions of the application of Catholic social teaching to voting, the question is raised whether one issue has a unique priority among all of the other issues in its claim upon believers in the current election cycle. Some have categorized abortion in that way. Others, climate change. This question deserves deeper scrutiny,” he said.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – An Australian mom is being deluged with insults from mainstream news personalities and online commenters simply for choosing to serve her husband and children… Brooke Smith, of Brisbane, recently posted a comment in an online moms group about her daily routine, which includes waking up at 4:30 a.m. to make her husband breakfast, Newshub reports… “I always make sure I don’t go to bed until everyone’s lunches are packed, their clothes are set out for the next day including my husband’s and the house is clean,” the mother of four wrote.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture – Remember this suggestion that Christ’s headship is for the Church. We will see two similar references as the letter sweeps along. But now, in chapter 2, Paul wants the Ephesians, as Gentiles, to know that they too have been made alive in Christ, though they were dead through sin. Thus the old way of living must give way to the grace of Christ, for “by grace you have been saved through faith”, which is “the gift of God” (2:5,8). Paul reminds them of their former condition—that as Gentiles (non-Jews) they were not only in sin but cut off even from the promises, “having no hope and without God in the world” (2:11-12).

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – Father James Martin, SJ, who tirelessly promotes the acceptance of homosexuality, regularly boasts that his book on the subject carries endorsements by two American cardinals. I have no doubt that he would quickly win a yellow check… Indeed it is widely assumed that Bishop Barron had some of my journalistic colleagues in mind when he proposed the yellow-check system. In short I fear that the Barron Proposal would, in practice, be a means by which American bishops would seek effectively to censor certain viewpoints, to silence certain critics.

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register -And, in advance of next Wednesday’s release of Pope Francis’ post-apostolic exhortation on the Pan-Amazon synod, Cardinal Sarah, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, also explains how the exception proposed at the synod is different to previous exceptions and the situation with the Eastern Churches, and he notes that even when there were married priests in the early Church, they lived chaste lives… He also discusses what he sees as one of the most serious problems facing the priesthood today: lack of apostolic fervor in the Church and lukewarmness. He urges radical discipleship and priests who are “radically saints.”

By Daniel J. Mahoney, National Review – Political correctness — and hostility to the West as the West — pervades a good deal of what this papacy says and does. This is a papacy that has been largely silent about the decimation of ancient Christian communities in the Arab and Islamic Middle East. The Koran, Pope Francis insists, is incompatible with “every form of violence.” This is false, and everyone knows it. Where Bishop Sánchez Sorondo sees social justice and Catholic social teaching at work in China, others, as Robert Royal has noted, see intensified persecution of Catholics and other religious believers, environmental damage that is unprecedented in the East or West, a cruel forced-abortion policy, Orwellian surveillance of dissidents and of every expression of independence in civil society, and the rounding up in concentration camps of over 1 million Muslim Uighurs in the northwest.

By Charles Camosy, New York Post – When we showed them that pro-life Democrats would beat Republicans in certain districts, it didn’t matter. Even when we called for more reproductive choices for women with difficult pregnancies through services like perinatal hospice care, party leaders ignored us… Anything even hinting that abortion is less than good now violates party orthodoxy… Normally, Democrats are the party of energetic government protecting the vulnerable from violence. But when it comes to abortion, elite Democrats turn into hard-core libertarians, believing the state has no business getting involved in the private choices of individuals….

By Austin Ruse, Crisis Magazine – The annual Rainbow Shakedown of America’s corporations continues. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has released its Corporate Equality Index for 2020. They announced it at Davos, no less. The Corporate Equality Index is the annual threat to corporate America that they better step into line with the gay elite because hell hath no fury as a rainbow scorned. It is reminiscent of what Jesse Jackson used to pull back in the day when his Rainbow Coalition had a slightly different meaning.

By David Catron, American Spectator – President Trump’s continued success in the face of unprecedented opposition from the Washington ruling class is obviously a source of considerable mystification for the Democrats, but the puzzle isn’t difficult to solve for any politician brave enough to look beyond the Beltway and observe what is happening in the day-to-day lives of ordinary Americans. The vast majority of the public can see that they are far better off now than they have been in a very long time. They are actually experiencing the genuine progress reported Tuesday by President Trump in the State of the Union address…

By Phil Lawler, LifeSiteNews – But let’s look beyond the “seamless garment” debate — a debate that the USCCB rehashes every election year — and look at the more specific plan of action issued by Archbishop Joseph Naumann, the head of the bishops’ pro-life committee. Focusing on the needs of women who face difficult pregnancies… Catholic hospitals and charitable agencies do wonderful work — for women who have decided to continue their pregnancies. But the pregnancy care centers (CPCs) are the shock troops in the battle against abortions. They deserve top billing.

By J.M. Phelps, OneNewsNow – On the one hand, Westrop explains that ICNA provides a number of services, including “running mosques, welfare services, international aid charities, women’s shelters, and youth groups all around the country.” He adds: “ICNA seeks to be a complete service for the Muslim community.”… On the other hand, Westrop is quick to point out that ICNA is “a proxy for a South Asian Islamist movement called Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI),” adding that “its provision of all these cultural, welfare, and religious services for American Muslims is part of the large-scale effort to impose JeI’s ideology on America’s Islam.” JeI is a Deobandi-linked organization.

By Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Ph.D., Catholic Exchange – As a Catholic teen growing up in one of the most Catholic areas of the US, I never would have considered abandoning my faith.  But neither would I ever have considered getting excited about it.  Why should I?  Nobody else in my parish seemed excited.  The teens in the parish went wild at the rock concerts we attended, and the adults got excited about New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl parties.

By Margot Cleveland, The Federalist – For more than three years, Democrats, Never Trump Republicans, and the left-leaning media proved themselves willing to destroy the country to destroy one man: Donald J. Trump. From foreign affairs to counterintelligence to law enforcement, from domestic governance to congressional oversight to separation of powers, Trump’s enemies manipulated and misused our government powers because Americans dared to elect the wrong leader.

By Lauretta Brown, National Catholic Register – Independent of the coronavirus outbreak, China’s Catholics are facing increased government restrictions on religious services, including on religious funerals, because of the government’s revised “Regulations on Religious Affairs,” which officially came into force Feb. 1. The rules state that “clerical personnel are not allowed to participate in funerals” at homes, and “no more than 10 family members of the deceased are allowed to read Scriptures or sing hymns in a low voice,” according to the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News).

By Marina Medvin, Townhall – “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” -Karl Marx, 1875… This Marxist socialist principle refers to forced redistribution of goods, capital and services to those the governing body in charge deems in need. Marxism is the philosophy that has led to the darkest levels of poverty for the Soviets, East Germans, Venezuelans, and all others who tried it. But the neoliberals of the United States have decided to ignore things such as historical examples of utter failure, and instead chose to take a Utopian, pollyanna approach to the fairytale they crafted of socialism.

By Rodney Pelletier, Church Militant – In 2007 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued the first edition of its document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.”… The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family and because of the number of lives destroyed. At the same time, we cannot dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty and the death penalty… Some bishops, however, took issue with the use of the term “pre-eminent” — namely, San Diego Bp. Robert McElroy, Chicago’s archbishop Cdl. Blase Cupich, and Lexington, Kentucky Bp. John Stowe.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – On Wednesday, Rhode Island Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin joined a crowd of voices in questioning the party’s allegiance to the abortion industry, rather than its own voters, Breitbart reports… “As the presidential primary shifts to New England, it’s sad to note that all of the major Democratic candidates are pro-abortion, supporting even partial-birth abortion,” Tobin wrote Wednesday on Twitter… “Where are pro-life Democrats supposed to turn? Or are pro-life voters not welcome in the Democratic party?” Tobin asked Wednesday.

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register – The American economist Jeffrey Sachs has used the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences to launch a scathing attack on the Trump administration, accusing it of threatening multilateralism by bullying other nations and saying President Trump’s possible re-election in November would be “absolutely dangerous.”… Sachs, a regular participant at the academy and a papal adviser on sustainable development despite his support for population control, told delegates at the Vatican conference on fostering new economic forms of solidarity that the Trump administration is operating with “complete lawlessness,” blocking “every multilateral initiative” since 2017.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – “As we pray for all who are sick, we know America is constantly achieving new medical breakthroughs. In 2017, doctors at St. Luke’s hospital in Kansas City delivered one of the earliest premature babies to ever survive. Born at 21 weeks and six days and weighing less than a pound, Ellie Schneider was a born fighter. Little Ellie kept on winning the battle of life. Today, Ellie is a strong and healthy 2-year-old girl sitting with her amazing mother, Robin, in the gallery. We are glad to have you with us tonight,” he said… And he reminded everyone watching that every single human being has inherent worth, dignity and value… “Every child is a miracle of life,” President Trump said.

By Dr. Peter Kreeeft, Integrated Catholic – Why do we all seem to have no time for anything, much less for prayer?… I am constantly feeling guilty about this, and I suspect most of you are too. I think the single biggest obstacle to our relationship with God (after sin, of course) is “no time.” If I gave my children as much time as I give God, I could be prosecuted for child neglect and abuse. If I spent as little time with my wife as I spend with God, she’d have grounds for divorce for desertion.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – In case you missed the announcement, despite Brexit the Catholic bishops of the United Kingdom will continue to participate in COMECE. COMECE, in case you’ve forgotten (or never knew) is the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union. So the bishops of the UK—which is not a member of the EU—will remain active in an umbrella organization for bishops of countries in the EU.

By Carl R. Trueman, First Things – When I reflect on Archbishop Chaput, three particular things stand out. The first is that he has taken consistently courageous and unpopular stands on matters of pressing concern. In Philadelphia, he was decried by the press, mainstream and LGBTQ, for his views on sexuality. The pope apparently spoke disparagingly of him as “ideological.” And the usual suspects in the Catholic press derided and sneered at him. His crime in each case? Taking seriously the catechetical teaching of his church.

By Mary Margaret Olohan, The Stream, (Daily Caller) – A pro-life Catholic filed a complaint against her labor union bosses for forcing her to fund the union despite her religious beliefs and interrogating her over these beliefs… J&J Worldwide Service employee Dorothy Frame filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) saying that officials with the Laborers Local Union 576 (LIUNA) discriminated against her by forcing her to continue to pay union dues that support abortion against her religious beliefs, according to a Tuesday press release from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

By Melanie Arter, CNSNews – “I’m pretty sure she did not want to do this, but the fact that she was pulled into this direction against what appeared to be her political instincts a year ago underscores that this was a purely political exercise. Now having been dragged into something she instinctively felt was a mistake, then the second impulse was, let’s get this over with as quickly as possible. Get it out of here, get it over to the other body, and let them deal with it,” McConnell said after Trump’s acquittal on both articles of impeachment.

By Kevin Burke, Crisis Magazine – If you support Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, or Bernie Sanders, you’d better pay close attention to what they are saying about the transgender movement. If elected in November, their administration will have a direct impact on your son’s or daughter’s long-term emotional and physical health, especially if they are on the autism spectrum… Wrapped in the manipulative mantle of civil rights, politicians are advancing this radical ideology that is literally mutilating and poisoning our youth… Joe Biden tweeted: “Let’s be clear: Transgender equality is the civil rights issue of our time. There is no room for compromise when it comes to basic human rights.”

By Francis X. Rocca, The Catholic Thing – Every year, Catholics around the world donate tens of millions of dollars to the pope. Bishops exhort the faithful to support the weak and suffering through the pope’s main charitable appeal, called Peter’s Pence… What the church doesn’t advertise is that most of that collection, worth more than €50 million ($55 million) annually, goes toward plugging the hole in the Vatican’s own administrative budget, while as little as 10% is spent on charitable works, according to people familiar with the funds.

By Dennis Prager,  The Stream – If you want to understand a human being or the human condition, what is the single most important question you should ask?… Most religious people would probably ask, “Do you believe in God?”… The most important question most secular people, especially progressives, could imagine asking is probably a policy question. Today it would be “Do you support Donald Trump?” Otherwise it might be “Do you support abortion rights?” or “Do you support gay marriage?”…

Msgr. Charles Pope – There is a remarkable statement at the end of the eleventh chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews. It speaks to the unity of the mystical Body of Christ and to the treasury of merit, which extends both backward and forward in time. Hebrews 11 is devoted to reciting the glory of many Old Testament saints. That litany concludes with the following verses: These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. Since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect (Heb 11:39-40).

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – During his State of the Union address this evening, President Donald Trump called on Congress to ban late-term abortions ending the lives of thousands of unborn babies every single year… “I am also calling upon numbers of Congress tonight to pass legislation finally banning the late-term abortion of babies,” the president said. “Whether we are Republican, Democrat, or independent, surely we must all agree that every human life is a sacred gift from God.”

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing – Hell is on my mind, and it is not even November.  Presumably, any one of the Four Last Things can serve as matter for reflection any time of year.  But after my last column, which was on David Bentley Hart’s denial of the traditional notion of eternal punishment, some readers said that they wished I had spent more time on what Jesus said on Hell. So this time I want to oblige them by discussing, paradoxically, what Jesus did not say.

By John Zmirak, The Stream – Imagine, a president speaking to his countrymen about the welfare of their nation. Pointing to the fact that their fellow Americans are thriving. That the jobless are finding work. That those who’d despaired of work are once more seeking it. That deaths from despair and addiction are finally falling. And their foreign fanatical enemies’ cynical schemes for raping and killing the innocent are failing. Because he has carefully targeted the masters of terror, without killing thousands of innocent civilians ….

The agenda I will lay out this evening is not a Republican agenda or a Democrat agenda. It’s the agenda of the American people… Many of us have campaigned on the same core promises: to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers; to rebuild and revitalize our nation’s infrastructure; to reduce the price of healthcare and prescription drugs; to create an immigration system that is safe, lawful, modern, and secure; and to pursue a foreign policy that puts America’s interests first… There is a new opportunity in American politics, if only we have the courage, together, to seize it. Victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country.

By Mary Margaret Olohan, Daily Caller – Pres. Donald Trump highlighted a premature baby born at 21 weeks and called on lawmakers to ban late-term abortion Tuesday night at the SOTU… Trump delivered the SOTU address to Congress Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., where he discussed the birth of Ellie Schneider, a baby born at 21 weeks and six days… “In 2017, doctors at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City [Missouri] delivered one of the earliest premature babies ever to survive, 21 weeks and 6 days and weighing less than a pound,” the president said. “Ellie was a born fighter. Through the skill of her doctors and the prayers of her parents, she won the battle of life.”

By Joseph Pearce, Crisis Magazine – Apart from his unhealthy interest in atheistic scientism, Jeffrey Epstein was also a major figure amongst the globalist elite. According to his lawyer, Gerald B. Lefcourt, he was “part of the original group that conceived the Clinton Global Initiative,” which forces underdeveloped countries around the world to conform to the values of the culture of death. Even more ominously, Epstein was a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations, two of the key institutions responsible for fostering and engineering the globalist grip on the world’s resources.

By Marina Medvin, Townhall – A well-educated, keen child is less likely to fall victim to the revisionist movement that has claimed the Millennial generation. Millennials have been brainwashed into adoring socialism, with 70 percent saying they would vote for a socialist. They have not been taught about the Holocaust. Millennials have been conditioned to sympathize with terrorists. They oppose free speech for those who disagree with them. Generation Z, the Millennial successor, is likely to unwittingly fall deeper and deeper into the propaganda movement that followed Obama’s election. Don’t let the next generation, our elementary school children, get trampled by leftist ideologues.

By Melanie Arter, CNSNews – Among the guests of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump for the State of the Union address Tuesday night will be Jody Jones, a California man whose brother was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant… Rocky Jones was murdered by 36-year-old Gustavo Garcia, an illegal alien, on Dec. 17, 2018 in Tulare County, Calif… “The criminal alien who committed this brutal murder had previously been arrested for violent crimes and had been deported twice. The criminal alien was arrested in December 2018 for the sixth time, but because of California’s sanctuary state policy, he was released from jail,”…

By John-Henry Westen, LifeSiteNews – In that heroic document, His Excellency, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, said that, “To keep silent about these and the other truths of the Faith and to teach people accordingly is the greatest deception against which the Catechism vigorously warns. It represents the last trial of the Church and leads man to a religious delusion, ‘the price of their apostasy’ (CCC 675) it is the fraud of Antichrist. ‘He will deceive those who are lost by all means of injustice, for they have closed themselves to the love of the truth by which they should be saved.’ (2 Thess: 2-10)”

By Fr. Roger Landry, EWTN News – In the Gospel, Jesus would regularly huddle the apostles after they had returned from the journeys on which he had sent them out to preach and heal, so that they might report all they had done and taught (Mark 6:30-31)… Something similar happened in Lexington, Kentucky, Jan. 21-23, as the Missionaries of Mercy from the U.S. and Canada convened, in a spirit of prayer and fraternity, to speak with the Lord and each other about the fruits and challenges of four years of work witnessing to the Gospel of mercy.

By Diane Montagna, LifeSiteNews – Pope Francis has the duty to prevent bishops in Germany from leading clergy and faithful down the “synodal path” over the precipice of heresy, Bishop Athanasius Schneider has said… the auxiliary of Astana, Kazakhstan, argued that the “synodal path” is “an attempt” to officially sanction the “heretical doctrine and practices” that have been corrupting the Church in Germany for decades… “The decisive problem in this tragic event,” he said, “is the fact that Pope Francis, by his silence, seems to tolerate those German bishops… who openly profess heretical doctrines and practices.”

CNA Daily News, Catholic World Report – Vatican CitA text presented Friday by Roberto de Mattei of Corrispondenza Romana as a portion of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation following the Amazon synod is a draft, and not necessarily the final version, according to a Vatican source… “What is now circulating is one draft, which was distributed for review and comment as the final text is developed,” a source in the Dicastery for Communication told CNA Jan. 31… The text provided by de Mattei is substantially identical to article 111 of the final document of the Amazon synod, which calls for the ordination of married men as priests.

By Ben Peterson, Public Discourse – Rubio is not the first American politician to reference CST in support of a reorientation of economic and social policy. In a speech in Detroit in 1932, then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt quoted from Pius XI’s Quadragesimo anno (1931), calling it “one of the greatest documents of modern times,” and saying that it was “just as radical as I am.” Roosevelt quoted passages criticizing the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, which the pope described as creating a form of “dictatorship” and “domination.”

By Joseph M. Hanneman, Church Militant – By Fr. Shaughnessy’s definition, the Bp. Ryan situation and the hierarchy’s response are classic examples of episcopal corruption. “I define as corrupt, in a sociological sense, any institution that has lost the capacity to mend itself on its own initiative and by its own resources — an institution that is unable to uncover and expel its own miscreants,” Shaughnessy wrote. “As an agency, the episcopacy has lost the capacity to do its own housecleaning, especially, but not exclusively, in the arena of sexual turpitude.”

By Charles Lipson, Spectator – The Monday night caucuses were the biggest moment in four years for Iowa Democratic Party. They screwed it up beyond belief. They had one task: to produce timely, accurate, and reliable vote totals, and they failed completely. TV anchors sat around filling time, waiting for Godot to show up with election returns. None appeared. The candidates themselves began flying off to New Hampshire for next week’s primary… It was a fiasco, a huge embarrassment not only for state officials but for the national party. It denied the winners their big moment before the TV cameras on election night—and the fundraising bonus that goes with it.

By Anthony Esolen, Crisis Magazine – The sexual revolution was a calamity—and the calamity continues. It is based upon a deliberate ignoring of what is real… People talk as if sexual congress properly speaking were not essentially the child-making act. Indeed that is its sole biological purpose. The child is not an accident. It is what you get when everything is working as it should. Contraception is not medical, because it does not remediate. It shields against no communicable disease. It cures no disease already caught. It heals no limb. It restores no function to an organ. The problem is not that the organs are not working, but that they are, all too well.

By Most Rev. Joseph Strickland, The Wanderer – In order to help the faithful to understand the effects of the sacraments, the Church, as Mother and Teacher, places the seven sacraments into three groups. The three Sacraments of Christian Initiation are linked together, Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist… We have examined all three in our past columns. Now we will consider the Sacraments of Healing and Forgiveness. There are two, Penance and the Anointing of the Sick. These two sacraments are also linked together.

By Patrick J. Buchanan – Reality: The impeachment of Trump was an attempted — and failed — coup that not a single Republican supported, only Democrats in the House and their Senate caucus. The impeachment of Trump was an exercise in pure partisanship and itself an abuse of power… What was the heart of the Democrats’ case to remove Trump?… Trump failed to invite Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskiy to the White House, and held up military aid to Kyiv for several months, to get Zelenskiy to hold a press conference to announce that Kyiv was looking into how Hunter Biden got on the board of a corrupt energy company at a retainer of $83,000 a month while his father . . . .

By Janet E. Smith, National Catholic Register – Early on I was persuaded of the malignity of Father Maciel when nine men who as boys had been abused by him came forward with credible accusations. As I became more familiar with the Legion, the cultish atmosphere around Father Maciel and the “cookie cutter” appearance and somewhat robotic behavior of the seminarians and priests made me uneasy… When the terrible truth about Maciel was acknowledged, many insisted that the order needed to be disbanded. They argued that orders need a charism given by the founder, and since the Legion’s founder has been thoroughly discredited, the Legion has no charism and no reason for existence.

By Msgr. Charles Pope – At Mass on Sunday for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord,  we read a text from Hebrews that describes our most basic and primal fear. Our inordinate fear of what people think of us is rooted in an even deeper fear, one that is at the very core of our being. The Hebrews text both names it and describes it as being the source of our bondage. In order to unlock the secret of the text, I want to suggest to you an interpretation that will allow its powerful diagnosis to have a wider and deeper effect.

By Edward Pentin, EWTN News – On Feb. 5, the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences will be hosting a conference on “fraternal inclusion” whose keynote speaker will be Jeffrey Sachs, the SDGs’ chief architect and population-control advocate who advised Pope Francis on his 2015 environment encyclical, Laudato Si (Care for Our Common Home). A very regular fixture at the Vatican for the past six years, Sachs is praised there for his vision of a sustainable future while his views on contraception and

By Shelby Talcott, LifeNews – Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, he announced on “The Rush Limbaugh Show” Monday… The 69-year-old added that treatment may force him to miss some days on the show, Joe Concha, a reporter for The Hill, tweeted. Limbaugh said he hopes to be back on the show Thursday.

By Stephen Beale, Catholic Exchange – According to Catholic theologian Erich Przywara, there are four such terms: kerygma, mysterium, kairos, and oikonomia (a framework that he has adopted from another theologian, the Lutheran philosopher Paul Tillich, reworking it according to the Thomistic tradition). Put simply: kerygma refers to the proclamation of the gospel; mysterium involves those things which are hidden; kairos is God’s timing; and oikonomia concerns God’s dispensation or administration of things.

By Donald DeMarco, Crisis Magazine – Reason connects us with reality. Liberty is one of its offspring. We are not free if we cannot see where we are going. In fact, we are lost, and lost without a compass or a map. For G. K. Chesterton, “modern man has lost his address.” We are lost because we disregarded reason (i.e., what science says regarding the nature of the unborn human and what it observes concerning the adverse effects of abortion, especially for women) and expected liberty to bloom in a vacuum.

By Dorothy Cummings McLean, LifeSiteNews – Fr. James Martin, S.J, 59, discusses his beliefs concerning the Catholic faith and homosexuality on this week’s video… “In the US, the Church must stop firing married [sic] LGBT people from their positions in Catholic institutions,” the Catholic priest said… “Because if you’re going to fire people for not following Church teaching that would include a lot more than just married [sic] LGBT people,” Martin continued… “Otherwise, you’re not enforcing Church teaching: you’re engaging in discrimination.”

By Msgr. Charles Pope – Recently (in Dennis Prager, “Fireside Chats” episode 112) he chose to ponder why the rate of depression among college students is the highest ever recorded. Prager provided the following insight: … just about everything that can give you joy and meaning—and they are related—is gone… In large part I think he’s right, at least when you look at college kids as a group. He lists four things that give joy and meaning to life, and he notes that they are mostly lacking in the lives of college students today. I would like to take each of the four and add my own thoughts.

By Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB, SpiritualDirection – As a spiritual director, I regularly journey with people who are seeking God’s will in their lives. Young people frequently ask the question of whether they are called to marriage, religious life or priesthood. Young people who are already dating ask whether this is “the one”. Young people who are drawn to religious life ask which religious community is the right one for them. These are all important questions, but they often lose sight of the more foundational question.

By Susan Jones, CNSNews – Graham chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he says that’s the place to look into issues that arose at President Trump’s impeachment trial… As they talk to Bolton, I’m going to bring in State Department officials and ask them, why didn’t you do something about the obvious conflicts of interest Joe Biden had?… Joe Biden’s effort to combat corruption in the Ukraine became a joke… What about your son, Vice President Biden, sitting on the most corrupt board in Ukraine, Burisma, receiving $3 million?

By Fr. George Rutler, Church Militant – Few today remember the Isthmian games of the Greeks, or the cheers in the Roman circus. But those games also warn thinking people of the dangers in giving sports a cultic status. When the amateur is overwhelmed by professionals who are paid mind-boggling salaries, inflating the cost of tickets, and whose lives and deaths distract from the great events of the day, a culture’s perspective becomes irrational.

By K.V. Turley, EWTN News – Tyburn Convent is situated in the heart of London, at the end of the busiest shopping street in Europe, Oxford Street, and facing the city’s Hyde Park. There is endless noise from the never-ending throng that passes the front of the convent, where, paradoxically, a special peace reigns inside its walls… The name “Tyburn” is known to Catholics the world over. Tyburn Tree was the gallows where, during the years of intense persecution, 350 British Catholics were martyred, often hung, drawn and quartered, starting in 1535…

By Helen Raleigh, The Federalist – It is heartbreaking to see the millions of Wuhanese who are being cut off from the outside world as the result of the Chinese government’s unprecedented lockdown procedure. My weekend has been consumed by nonstop updates about the coronavirus outbreak in China. Based on journalist reports and eyewitness accounts, it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that the Chinese government, both central and local, utterly failed the people of Wuhan.

By Dr. Robert Moynihan, The Moynihan Letters – Once again Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has issued an extremely important open letter which reveals intrigues in the Vatican to control and determine the next papal conclave… Someone has persuaded Pope Francis to place the next papal election in the hands of a man who was, according to Viganò, complicit in the cover-up of the horrible crimes of Father Marcial Maciel, the disgraced founder of the Legionaries of Christ, who died in 2008… Once again we owe a debt of gratitude to Archbishop Viganò for taking the difficult decision to defend the Church and the most innocent members of the Church from “business as usual,” which has in so many cases, unfortunately, meant the cover-up by “the old boys’ network” of terrible, soul-destroying crimes.

By Austin Ruse, Crisis Magazine – It is always painful to criticize someone you admire and consider a friend. But Jonathan Last—now the executive editor of The Bulwark, one of these new NeverTrump websites—has allowed his Trump skepticism to color his attitude, not just toward the March for Life but the pro-life movement in general. He gets a lot wrong along the way.

By Diane Montagna, LifeSiteNews – Catholic historian Roberto de Mattei is claiming, based on documents he has received from “several bishops,” that Pope Francis’ post-synodal exhortation on the Amazon Synod will open the door to abolishing priestly celibacy in the Latin church… De Mattei argues that the positive inclusion of this text in the apostolic exhortation would effectively “open the door” for the German Bishops, and others, to create a married clergy. “There is no reason to prohibit in other regions of the world what will be permitted in some parts of the Amazon,” he writes.

By John Zmirak, The Stream – I’m watching the same duration of the Trump impeachment as I did of the O.J. trial: zero minutes, zero seconds. I find out more than enough from snippets on Twitter. Since impeachment isn’t my beat, I’m not obliged to slog through this farce. But I’m grateful to The Stream’s Al Perrotta, and Will Chamberlain of Human Events, for their patient analyses. We need honest, patriotic journalists parsing the details, so the rest of us don’t have to.

By Msgr. Charles Pope, EWTN News – I pray that I will always be willing to suffer for the truth of the Gospel and the treasure of faith and doctrine handed down. Meanwhile, I seek always to preserve unity with my own bishop and to love and pray for the Holy Father. Ultimately, I must stand before the Lord on my last day. I pray that I get the balance right and that I please Almighty God. It’s a harder needle to thread these days, but prudence and courage demand it.

By Jason Scott Jones, LifeSiteNews – Bishop Barron said he believes the bishops should consider exercising their authority in the digital sphere “just as John Paul II, in Ex Corde Ecclesiae, called for the bishops to exercise greater supervision of universities operating under the aegis of the Church.”… Bishop Barron suggested that it may be time for bishops “to introduce something like a mandatum for those who claim to teach the Catholic faith online, whereby a bishop affirms that the person is teaching within the full communion of the Church.”

By Patti Armstrong, National Catholic Register – The announcement of your resignation took many by surprise. Why are you leaving?… I believe it is God’s will for me. My discernment has been heavily influenced by my declining health. I have had health issues my whole life, and I suffer with chronic lung disease that is life-threatening. If I didn’t play injured, I wouldn’t have played at all, so I never let it determine the course of my life. But the most recent battle has been different. I have been hospitalized a lot in the last three years.

By Greg Richter, NewsMax – The White House need not worry if Republicans are not able to muster enough votes to prevent witnesses in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, Alan Dershowitz, Harvard law professor emeritus and member of the Trump defense team, told Newsmax TV… “Look, I like Joe Biden – he’s a terrific guy, I have known him for years… “But Hunter Biden’s conduct and whether or not there was an attempt to suppress an investigation is extremely relevant to the state of mind to the president when he made his call to the president of Ukraine… “So, I can’t imagine, under the Constitution, a ruling that says Bolton gets called and Hunter Biden does not.”

AP – President Donald Trump’s legal team argued forcefully against the relevance of testimony from Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday as the lawyers wrapped their defense and the Senate braced for debate on whether to summon Bolton and other witnesses into the impeachment trial… Attorney Jay Sekulow took a dismissive swipe at an unpublished book by Bolton that is said to contradict a key defense argument about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – A new organization dedicated to sharing abortion survivors’ stories wants pro-life advocates to make their voices heard to FOX Sports ahead of the 2020 Super Bowl… Faces of Choice leaders said they have been trying for more than six months to purchase ad time during the Super Bowl, but FOX has repeatedly ignored them. Their powerful new ad premiered at the March for Life last week, and it featured the stories of more than a dozen people who survived abortions.

By Wesley J. Smith, American Spectator – China is the world champion at “cancel culture.” Only when the communist tyranny cancels you, you aren’t just hounded off social media or pushed out of a job in the media or academia. You are literally canceled; executed, organ harvested, imprisoned, forced into a concentration camp, or excluded from all social participation in society… Nina Shea, Director for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, says that the Chinese regime is moving against religion to consolidate its power. “The ultimate goal is to eradicate religion by either squeezing or crushing it out,” Shea says.

By Jane Clark Scharl, Crisis Magazine – In the midst of some of the most divided, rancorous politics America has ever seen, there is one area of intriguing bipartisan agreement: paid family leave. What in the past has been decried by the Right as socialism and by the Left as unnecessary has, in the past few years, become an unexpected rallying point for lawmakers and culture leaders from opposite ends of the political spectrum.

By Msgr. Charles Pope – One of the great mysteries of our life in this world is that we can endure more pain than pleasure. Indeed, we can endure only a little pleasure at a time. In fact, too much pleasure actually brings pain: sickness, hangovers, obesity, addiction, laziness, and even boredom. Yet we seem to be able to endure a lot of pain. Some of our pain, whether physical or emotional, can be very intense and go on for years… Why is it that we can endure more pain than pleasure?

By Patrick J. Buchanan – So, too, the impeachment of Donald Trump is not really about his 10-week delay in shipping arms to Ukraine or his postponing of a visit by Ukraine’s president until he announced an investigation of Burisma Holdings and Joe and Hunter Biden… Even before the 2016 election, Democrats, collaborating with a like-minded media, were using the instruments of power they possess, to first prevent and then to overturn the election results of 2016… Russiagate, the James Comey FBI investigation, the Mueller probe — aborting a Trump presidency has always been the goal.

“La Verita” interview with Professor Roberto de Mattei – You invited German Catholics to stop paying the Kirchenstauer, namely, the Church tax, didn’t you?… de Mattei, “Yes, I did. It is an obligatory ecclesiastical tax between 8 and 10% of [one’s]income. This is very grave. In my opinion it is spiritual blackmail, since those who don’t pay are de facto excommunicated.”… “In Germany the State asks you if you are Catholic and if so, the levy is automatically taken and transferred to the Church. Those who don’t pay cannot baptize their children or have the funeral of a relative in church. It is an act of simony; the payment of an ecclesiastical tax cannot be the criteria for the adhesion or the abandonment of the Catholic faith. Heretics, if they pay the tax remain inside the Church. If Orthodox Catholics don’t pay it, they are expelled.”

By James T. Majewski, Catholic Culture – In honor of his feast day today, we’re featuring, for the first time on this podcast, St. Thomas Aquinas. Known as the “Angelic Doctor”, St. Thomas Aquinas is, arguably, the most influential theologian and philosopher that the Church has ever seen… St. Thomas lived well past the time of the Church Fathers, but his magnum opus, The Summa Theologica, is greatly indebted to the Fathers. Along with the Bible and the works of Aristotle, the Church Fathers are cited by him throughout the Summa as among the most authoritative sources.

By Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th., Church Militant – Football’s New Orleans Saints and the archdiocese of New Orleans are fighting to keep private e-mails between them which discuss how to downplay the publication of a list of archdiocesan clergy accused of sex abuse… Attorneys for roughly two dozen men, alleged victims of sex abuse at the hands of archdiocesan clerics, have filed suit against the Saints to publicize e-mails contained in 276 documents, according to media reports on Friday… “Obviously, the Saints should not be in the business of assisting the archdiocese, and the Saints’ public relations team is not in the business of managing the public relations of criminals engaged in pedophilia,” read the attorneys’ court filing….

By Chad Groening, OneNewsNow – According to The Christian Post, 43 faculty members of a Catholic college in Ontario are up in arms after the pro-life film Unplanned was screened on campus January 9th. The professors of King’s University College at Western University in Ontario are demanding an apology for the free showing… Dr. Charles McVety, president of Canada Christian College and of the Institute for Canadian Values, says the school is really Catholic in name only… “This school was taken over by the government back in the ’60s and is owned and operated by the government,” he tells OneNewsNow…

By Willis L. Krumholz and Robert Delahunty, The Federalist – Of course, much remains unknown about the coronavirus. Accordingly, we can’t be certain about its political and economic effects. Nonetheless, it is not too early to begin considering what those effects might be. But the coronavirus plague might not turn out to be a passing phenomenon like the avian flu, which left little mark on world affairs. Even China’s President Xi Jinping has admitted China is facing a “grave situation,” and officials in China are saying the virus will spread further before it is stopped.

By Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews – Cardinal Burke replied, “Well, no devout Catholic, no practicing Catholic can be in favor of abortion, can justify voting for legislation policies that promote abortion, and he has a consistent record of being pro-abortion.”… “And it’s not that he — this isn’t a question of a confessional belief,” said Burke. “This has to do with the natural law. The first precept of natural law is the defense of human life.”… Burke continued, “And so, you can’t say why privately I think it’s wrong — imagining he means by that as a Catholic he thinks it’s wrong — but then in his public life that he can act as if it’s not morally evil… It’s one of the greatest moral evils,” said the cardinal.

By Dan Burke, Catholic Exchange – In Teresa I found a kindred soul — one that understood what a real relationship with Jesus looked like. In de Caussade I found a way to see a vision of God in all things, in every moment. These writers helped to reinforce my commitment to prayer and to filling my mind with truth. This helped me to better see God and yield to Him as I experienced circumstances and situations that brought fear, anxiety, and despair to the surface — to be healed. ….

By Fr. Benedict Kiely, Crisis Magazine – Recently the nonagenarian environmentalist, Sir David Attenborough, familiar to viewers of BBC America over many years for his nature shows, warned in bloodcurdling terms that it was almost too late to save the world from the horrors of the “climate crisis.” I remember as a child watching similar warnings during the early 1970s, of the perils the world would face by the millennium.

By John Horvat II, LifeSiteNews – Christendom! It may seem shocking since its days seem long past. We are supposed to be in a post-Christian era. However, the urgency of our times call for it. We need a Christian civilization if we are going to overcome the present crisis. It needs to be at least considered… Because our problems are moral, our solutions must also be moral. The rich treasury of Western thought and traditional Church teaching prove that the natural law and Christian morality are the norms that are best suited to our human and social nature. We find our greatest happiness inside institutions and social structures that take us to the end for which we are created—God.

By Lianne Laurence. LifeSiteNews – Archbishop Joseph Naumann, archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas, and chairman of the USCCB’s committee on pro-life activities.. said the bishops approved a document in November that provides “guidance to Catholics as they exercise their responsibility as voters.”… And while Catholics must consider “many important societal issues with great moral significance,” such as immigration reform, care for refugees and the poor, health care, religious liberty, and the “care for creation,” the bishops “affirmed that the protection of the unborn remains the preeminent priority,” Naumann said, to a burst of applause.

By Elizabeth Yore, The Fatima Center – Connecting the dots… An Unholy Alliance: the UN, Soros, and the Francis Papacy

By Dr. Brent Bole, The Stream – It is easy to see through pro-abort lies if only you think about it for just a moment. This message board truck was parked outside of the hotel that was the headquarters for March for Life 2020 in Washington, D.C… The messages are downright Orwellian. And completely nonsensical… “Abortion is Health Care”.. Uhm, no… The Prime Directive of Healthcare is ‘Primum non nocere.’ First, do no harm. It is the opposite of ‘No Harm’ to starve or poison with chemicals or crush and dismember with instruments a living, innocent, helpless member of the human race.

By George Neumayr, The American Spectator – If Trump doesn’t appear with Catholic leaders as frequently as he appears with Evangelical ones, that’s because his Catholic support comes not from the top of the Church but from its grass-roots. The U.S. bishops are too politically and theologically liberal to appreciate Trump. They would rather pal around with Joe Biden. But rank-and-file, Mass-going Catholics don’t care. They long ago stopped taking their political cues from the bishops.

By Fr. George Rutler, Church Militant – It is harder to make silence than noise. Because of modern cacophony, especially in what passes for music in the form of amplified “rock” sounds, young people are growing increasingly deaf. In urban areas, silence is so uncommon that one becomes suspicious of silence, rather like the dog that did not bark in Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of Silver Blaze” detective story… Satan and his evil spirits are noisy. Jesus told an evil spirit to be silent (Mark 1:25)… Our Lord always was precise. So should we be, in order to hear God. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

By Msgr. Charles Pope – There is a brief line in the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel that simply and completely sums up what we all are doing, even if we’re not aware of it. The setting of the passage is the outskirts of Capernaum in the early morning… The prior day Jesus had healed a great many people at the house of Simon Peter. As the new day dawned there was already a multitude gathered in hopes of seeing this healer. Word must have spread quickly about Jesus… But where was He? The text says that Jesus had slipped away to a deserted place to pray.

By Jennifer Hartline, The Stream – Abortion advocates vary in their willingness to acknowledge that the child in the womb is indeed a human being, and that abortion does, in fact, kill an innocent human being. Most refuse to even go there in a debate or conversation. Those are dangerous waters to tread for someone who wants the killing to remain legal, without any restriction whatsoever… Instead, they will plant themselves firmly on the mount of women’s rights. A woman has a right not to be pregnant if she doesn’t want to be pregnant, and that settles it, they will say. End of discussion.

By J.M. Phelps, OneNewsNow – The president’s team of lawyers had promised a vigorous effort to be made in their opening statements of Trump’s Senate impeachment trial. On Saturday morning, they delivered… White House counsel Pat Cipollone (pictured) argued the Democrats did not meet the burden of proof and failed to provide sufficient evidence for impeachment. Day 5 of the Senate impeachment trial would center around the facts of the case. And the facts, Cipollone assessed, “will find that the president did absolutely nothing wrong.”

By Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Ph.D., Catholic Exchange – Flick on the television, turn to the news, and notice how hopeless it all looks. Terrorists kill hundreds and intimidate millions. Governments push their authority as we seem to move towards war… Things did not appear much better in first century Galilee. The king was an irreligious adulterer and a lackey of the hated Romans. Traitorous tax collectors took a big cut of the little money people managed to earn. The Sea of Galilee was really only a moderate sized lake and competition to catch its few fish was stiff. Only two things were (and still are) inevitable: death and taxes.

By Joseph M. Hanneman, Church Militant – “Bishop Ryan raped me!” If anyone thought Daniel L. Ryan’s removal from public life would stop the sex scandals surrounding the retired Illinois prelate, they were sadly mistaken. A woman in the 1400 block of Guemes Court on the northwest side of Springfield called 911 after a crying, frantic man came to her door at 6 a.m. stating Ryan raped him… According to the Springfield Police Department incident report, the alleged sexual assault actually occurred several months earlier. The complainant, Timothy R. Hugo, 44, said Bp. Ryan invited him to his home after Hugo called a diocesan helpline.

By Patrina Mosley, Family Research Council – The Mifeprex abortion pill regimen is used for aborting babies that are up to 10 weeks old (see above image), at which point the baby already has a head, hands, feet, fingers, and toes. The baby also has a heartbeat and brain activity… The number of abortions being performed in the United States continues to decline annually and is currently at its lowest level since Roe v. Wade. Yet the rate of chemical abortions in the United States is at an all-time high. This rapid increase is primarily being driven by the abortion industry, which regards drug-based, do-it-yourself abortions as the best way to get around the many state-level pro-life laws being enacted around our country.

By Joseph Pronechen, National Catholic Register – As a person, as a country, as a world, do we not need God’s mercy more and more in these times? For the sake of our souls, can we afford not to listen to what Jesus told us through St. Faustina about his mercy and what our response to is should be?… Benedict told us “It is a really central message for our time: Mercy as the force of God, as the divine limit against the evil of the world.”… Let’s remind ourselves right now. Or learn the highlights for the first time. Divine Mercy Sunday is the perfect day to start listening to what Jesus himself tells us…

By Fr. Gerald E. Murray, The Catholic Thing – The publication of From the Depths of Our Hearts – Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church written by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Robert Cardinal Sarah, caused great unease among promoters of the ordination of married men to the priesthood in the Amazon region (and, surprise, everywhere else). Now that the controversy over the joint authorship has receded, it’s worth looking at what the two distinguished churchmen actually said on the subject.

By Rita Joseph, Public Discourse – All ideological fads eventually fade and collapse into disrepute, because they have no foundation in truth. “Pro-choice” ideology had its rise, which was based on the crude, reductionist falsehood that a human being in the womb is an anonymous, generic “bunch of cells.” Now, its central lie has been unmasked, and Roe is ripe for reversal… Forty-seven years after Roe v. Wade, several hundred thousand Americans still March for Life every year in Washington, D.C. and other cities, protesting this infamous decision.

By LifeSiteNews staff – For 47 years, Americans of all backgrounds have traveled from across the country to stand for life… And today as President of the United States, I am truly proud to stand with you… I want to welcome tens of thousands – this is a tremendous turnout – tens of thousands of high school and college students who took long bus rides to be here in our nation’s capital. And to make you feel even better, there are tens of thousands of people outside that we passed on the way in. If anybody would like to give up their spot, we can work it out…

By Michael Warren Davis, Crisis Magazine – I’m ambivalent about that most common pro-life argument: that, because life begins at conception, to abort a pregnancy is to commit murder. That’s not to say I don’t believe it’s true. On the contrary: it’s not only true, it’s obviously true. It’s one of the few points upon which credible scientists and ethicists can agree. What gives me pause about this argument is what inevitably follows from it.

By David Carlin, The Catholic Thing – One of the distinctive things about Catholic moral doctrine is that it has a number of absolute or exceptionless rules, many of them involving or at least associated with sexual matters… Most people, I believe, including most people who are on the whole sympathetic to the prohibitions just outlined, feel that some exceptions should be made to the above prohibitions. But their sympathies are partly misguided, and warrant serious clarification…

By Archbishop Aquila, Denver Catholic – It is truly a wonder that we have the gift of the Bible, through which God speaks to us, convicts us, heals us and nourishes us on our journey. In recognition of the importance of the Scriptures, on Jan. 26 the Church will celebrate the first “Sunday of the Word of God.”… The Word of God is essential to our identity as Christian. It gives us strength, healing and nourishment… How many of us can say that in the last day or even week we have read these holy and transformative words? Do we love the Word of God and allow it to be written on our minds and hearts by prayerfully and frequently reading it? Is God’s Word part of the fabric of our lives?

By Dr. Brent Boles, The Stream – In 2014, the state of Louisiana enacted a law which requires doctors performing abortions in their state to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. This law is a response to the universal opposition to oversight and accountability that the abortion industry has always shown… Medicine is perhaps the most highly regulated industry in America, with good reason. The safety and lives and health of each and every patient are at stake. No one opposes safeguards when they are having other kinds of surgery or procedures.

By Msgr, Charles Pope – Most of us struggle with the fact that God allows bad things to happen to us. Why does He not intervene more often to protect us from attacks of various kinds and from events that cause sadness, setbacks, or suffering?… While mysterious, the clearest answer is that God allows suffering in order that some greater blessing may occur. To some degree I have found this to be so; some of my greatest blessings required that a door slam shut for me or that I endure some suffering. If my college sweetheart had not ended things, I would most likely not have the very great blessing of being a priest today.

By Kathy Schiffer, National Catholic Register – “We cannot know what our citizens yet unborn will achieve, the dreams they will imagine, the masterpieces they will create, the discoveries they will make,” said President Trump on Friday. “But we know this: Every life brings love into this world.”… Whatever one might think about President Trump and his policies, it would be difficult to argue that any president, either Democratic or Republican, has done more than Trump to protect the life of the unborn.

Patriot Post, Political Editors – President Donald Trump today became the first sitting president to attend and speak at the annual March for Life rally. Over its 47-year history, no Republican president (and obviously no Democrat) has made an appearance at the nation’s largest pro-life rally. Though George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan did offer brief supportive remarks via phone and satellite to the marchers, they always maintained a degree of separation.

By Pope St. John Paul II – The Gospel of life is something concrete and personal, for it consists in the proclamation of the very person of Jesus. Jesus made himself known to the Apostle Thomas, and in him to every person, with the words: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life’… This is a fundamental truth that the community of believers is called, today more than ever, to defend and promote. The Christian message about life, “written in the heart of every man and woman, has echoed in every conscience “from the beginning’, from the time of creation itself, in such a way that, despite the negative consequences of sin, it can also be known in its essential traits by human reason”

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Pres. Donald Trump will address the March for Life on Friday in live remarks to hundreds of thousands of pro-life people attending the event from across the country. He will be the first president ever to attend the March for Life in person, having addressed the March via video previously… That will be a marked contrast from our last president, Barack Obama. In 2013, he attended a Planned Parenthood rally. Obama became the first sitting president to address the Planned Parenthood abortion business… (Obama promoted) abortion on demand and rally hundreds of abortion activists, Obama made a comment that achieved disgusting notoriety. He called on God to bless the abortion giant.

By Christine Niles, M.St. (Oxon.), J.D., Church Militant – Disturbing details have emerged about Bp. Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, revealing what appears to be a dark side… Church Militant obtained 1,800 pages of court documents in a defamation lawsuit filed by Fr. Richard Kirkham, a Fort Worth priest, against Olson. In the file is a sworn statement by one Diane Cluley, a 90-year-old woman who has been described as Olson’s “surrogate mother”… Cluley became something of a confidant to Olson, who frequently called her on the phone. According to her testimony, she said that while their relationship was fine throughout his seminary and priest years, he abruptly changed once he became bishop…”[H]e became obsessed with his power,” she said. His phone calls also became increasingly “violent.”

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – The Kaiser poll, and another Marist survey released this week, show that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that abortion should be restricted. True, only a small minority supports a complete ban on abortion. But few Americans—roughly one in four, according to these polls—believe that abortion should be legal under all circumstances. Even among those who identify themselves as “pro-choice,” nearly half—47%, according to the Marist poll—support some legal restrictions.

By Steven Ertelt, Lifenews – President Donald Trump is launching a coalition of pro-life leaders that will bring together pro-life voters from across the nation who support President Trump’s re-election. The coalition will be announced tomorrow and the “Pro-Life Voices for Trump” coalition will be led by Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser… Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America and others will join the list of pro-life advocates leading the campaign… “From appointing pro-life judges to defunding Planned Parenthood, President Trump’s track record demonstrates he’s the most pro-life President in history,” Dannenfelser said in a statement provided to Fox News.

By Bevil Bramwell, OMI, The Catholic Thing – Sentimentalism often moves some Catholics to vote for a party with policies that are anti-Catholic and anti-human. Perhaps it was owing to feelings or habit or convenience or some kind of superficial identification with a candidate. Again, the perspective Catholic voters actually need comes from divine revelation. Correcting the imbalance between reason and feelings involves consciously bringing political decisions back under the umbrella of Catholic moral theology – real concepts capturing real truths.

By Craig Bannister, CNSNews – After all his claims that turned out to be “exactly wrong,” how can senators be expected to believe Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) claims during the Senate impeachment trials, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) asked Wednesday… Rep. Jordan tweeted video of his comments to reporters following Impeachment Manager Schiff’s two-plus hours of allegations against President Donald Trump at the trial… In his press briefing, Rep. Jordan explained why each of Schiff’s seven claims proved to be “exactly wrong” – and asked them how “We’re supposed to believe Adam Schiff today – everything he’s saying?”

By Aldo Maria Valli, Church Militant – It is a reality that we already have right before our eyes. Today we have a reigning pontiff who uses the same language as the world and proposes the same theses as dominant secularist thought. On more than one public occasion the pope has avoided giving a blessing using the Trinitarian formula in order not to offend the sensibilities of non-believers and those of other faiths. All this is in obvious contrast to the evangelical command to announce the message of salvation from the rooftops. It is a betrayal of the faith.

By Br. Alexis Bugnolo, From Rome – These are two questions which are in the forefront of the minds of all the faithful right now. Most of us are currently in shock at the open and widespread wave of apostasy among the Clergy of the Church not only at the highest levels but even down to the local parishes… Even the best clergy seem incapable of admitting the problem. And none of them are as of yet proposing to do anything about it — with one notable exception, the Most Rev. Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi, USA (who blogs at abyssum.org), who from February 2013 has been warning his brother Bishops, but who like us, is shaking his head at the non-action of them all.

By Shane Schaetzel, Blog, Complete Christianity – On the theological Left is the Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (German Bishops Conference), which has been the driving force behind liberal Catholicism for a generation. Now they’re taking things to the next level. Initiating their own Synod, against Rome’s wishes… On the theological Right is the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) which is anything but “conservative,” and is in fact very liberal about a great many things. However, the conference is still dominated by theologically-conservative bishops who won’t tolerate a hard leftward shift no matter how much liberal bishops in the conference would like to see that happen….

By John Zmirak, The Stream – Amateurs at the art of persuasion (rhetoric) sagely tell us we must understand our opponents’ arguments. This is true, but only trivially. Yes, before you play chess you must learn how the pieces move. But learning the reasons people give for what they believe doesn’t take you very far… That’s because most of the time, the beliefs come first, and the arguments later. The “logic” people offer, and the analogies they use, are typically things that they’ve clutched at, to decorate or disguise the actual reasons for their beliefs. The ornaments on a Christmas tree don’t tell you what species it is, much less where it grew and why.

By Peter Kwasniewski, LifeSiteNews – In his comments, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments returned to a favorite theme of many of his speeches and writings: the urgent need to recover a reverent manner of distributing and receiving Holy Communion. Like Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Sarah is a strong proponent of reception on the tongue by faithful who are kneeling. The consistent good example and lucid teaching on this matter from Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Arinze, Cardinal Cañizares, Cardinal Burke, Cardinal Sarah, and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, among others, have led countless Catholics to return to the traditional manner of receiving Our Lord.

By Dan Burke, Crisis Magazine – There is no arguing that we are facing a crisis of immense proportions in the Church. We most likely wince at the daily headlines of scandal, accusations, cover-ups, doublespeak, and unfaithfulness to vows, teaching, and immorality within the hierarchy of the Church—all of which leave her vulnerable and disreputable at exactly the time when the world most desperately needs her moral leadership… If you suspect that our enemy is employing a deliberate and tauntingly ironic strategy, you are correct.

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture – But when God’s law is clearly violated, we expect priests to stand up in opposition to evil and, as necessary, suffer the consequences. The largest number of imprisoned priests in history—over 2,000—was in the Dachau concentration camp during World War II, because these priests had opposed the Nazis. On the other hand, we are disappointed to learn that Nazis and Communists successfully bullied many priests and bishops into silence.

By Chad Groening, OneNewsNow – Illegal crossings across the border have plummeted following the Trump administration’s requirement that asylum seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. court. More than 55,000 asylum seekers were returned to Mexico to wait for hearings through November — ten months after the policy was introduced in San Diego… “We’ve seen an almost 80 percent decline in the number of Central American apprehensions at the U.S. border, and that’s because they’re all bottled up down in south Mexico, or they’ve gone home, or they’re not even trying anymore,” Bensman explains.

The American TFP.April 19, 2000 – “To be delivered from the slavery of these heresies, those whom the merciful love of my Son has destined for this restoration will need great will-power, perseverance, courage, and confidence in God. To try the faith and trust of these just ones, there will be times when all will seem lost and paralyzed. It will then be the happy beginning of the complete restoration…. “In those times the atmosphere will be saturated with the spirit of impurity which, like a filthy sea, will engulf the streets and public places with incredible license.… Innocence will scarcely be found in children, or modesty in women… “He who should speak seasonably will remain silent.

By Pete Baklinski, LifeSiteNews – For the first time in history, a U.S. president will attend in person and speak at the annual March for Life that is happening in Washington D.C. on Friday… President Trump announced today that he will be speaking at the 2020 March for Life on January 24, an annual event attended by hundreds of thousands to protest legal abortion… “We are deeply honored to welcome President Trump to the 47th annual March for Life,” said Jeanne Mancini, President of March for Life… “He will be the first president in history to attend and we are so excited for him to experience in person how passionate our marchers are about life and protecting the unborn,” she continued.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – The Trump administration gave another victory to mothers and babies this week when it granted a Texas waiver to defund Planned Parenthood and use tax dollars to support real women’s health care instead… On Wednesday, however, the HHS reversed an Obama-era decision and restored $350 million in federal funding to the Healthy Texas Women program, The Statesman reports. The program provides medical care for low-income women, including cancer screenings, family planning, pregnancy tests, counseling and more.

By Msgr. Charles Pope – In the secular world, a “mystery” is something that baffles or eludes understanding, something that lies undisclosed. And the usual attitude of the world toward mystery is to solve it, get to the bottom of, or uncover it. Mysteries must be overcome! The riddle, or “who-done-it” must be solved!… In the Christian and especially the Catholic world, “mystery” is something a bit different. Here, mystery refers to the fact that there are hidden dimensions in things, people, and situations that extend beyond their visible, physical dimensions.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture – It seems clear that how we answer the question of whether two religious groups worship the same God depends largely on the groups in question. Despite painful and, to some degree, even ludicrous differences, we can usually affirm that the various Christian groups do indeed worship the same God. On the basis of Divine Revelation, it is also true that Christians and Jews worship the same God, the problem now being that they understand the very nature of the Godhead in very different ways

By Kristine Christlieb, Church Militant – In a Jan. 20 audience with Pope Francis — his first — Bp. Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas asked the pontiff about the status of the promised report on former cardinal Theodore McCarrick… Bishop Strickland is noted among conservative Catholics for his commitment to accountability. In August 2018, when Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò released his statement to the press about his knowledge of corruption in the Catholic Church and the hierarchy’s long-standing acceptance of McCarrick’s sexual exploitation of seminarians and minors, Strickland was the first bishop to call for an investigation.

By Marc R. Stanley, Stanley Law Group – The lawsuit alleges that USCCB routinely asks Catholics throughout the country to donate money to the annual Peter’s Pence collection to “help victims of war, oppression, natural disaster, or disease,” but the money actually goes into funds which invest in such ventures as luxury condominium developments and Hollywood movies. Plaintiff David O’Connell claims USCCB is liable under theories of common law fraud, unjust enrichment, and breach of fiduciary duty.

Issued on: January 21, 2020, by Donald J. Trump – Every person — the born and unborn, the poor, the downcast, the disabled, the infirm, and the elderly — has inherent value.  Although each journey is different, no life is without worth or is inconsequential; the rights of all people must be defended.  On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our Nation proudly and strongly reaffirms our commitment to protect the precious gift of life at every stage, from conception to natural death.

By Diane Montagna, LifeSiteNews – Eugenio Scalfari’s latest “interview” with Pope Francis, which came out at the height of the recent Benedict XVI-Cardinal Sarah book controversy, was a “loose reconstruction” of the Italian journalist’s recollection of the meeting, the Vatican has said… In the January 16 “interview,” published in the left-leaning Italian daily La Repubblica, 95-year-old Scalfari, who is regarded as Francis’s preferred interviewer, portrayed “From the Depths of Our Hearts” as an opposition campaign launched by Cardinal Robert Sarah against the current pontificate. He also claimed that, for Francis, once Benedict had shown solidarity with him by reportedly denying co-authorship of the book, “the issue with Ratzinger was closed.”

By Randall Smith, The Catholic Thing – Here’s my radical proposal. Every student should learn a skill with a master craftsman. It could be such skills as plumber, electrician, bricklayer, farmer, auto mechanic, carpenter, furniture maker, or any number of others. The primary goal would be to introduce the students to a practice requiring discipline and excellence, where the results are concrete and obvious.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – What was the lesson to be drawn from this incident? At the time, in the early aftermath of last year’s March for Life, it seemed that the leftist agitators had won a sweeping victory. They could disrupt a pro-life rally, shifting the focus of public attention to the alleged misbehavior of the pro-lifers rather than the slaughter of unborn children. It seemed inevitable that pro-abortion activists would flood the streets of Washington this year, ready to provoke new confrontations and generate stories similar to the Covington Catholic narrative…. But then Nicholas Sandmann sued.

By Jennifer Bilek, First Things – Gays and lesbians were underdogs, vastly outnumbered and loosely organized, sometimes subject to discrimination and abuse… Today’s movement, however, looks nothing like that band of persecuted outcasts. The LGBT rights agenda—note the addition of “T”—has become a powerful, aggressive force in American society. Its advocates stand at the top of media, academia, the professions, and, most important, Big Business and Big Philanthropy. Consider the following case.

By Dorothy Cummings McLean, LifeSiteNews – Pressure from LGBT activists may be behind the cancellation of talks in Ireland by a well-known U.S. Catholic chastity speaker, but this hasn’t stopped his message from getting out… “Yesterday our web traffic at chastity.com went up 150% in one day,” (said) Jason Evert, founder of The Chastity Project… “We’re very grateful for all the additional youtube hits and people clicking through our videos,” he added, indicating that the Irish media’s attempt to keep him from speaking may have been futile.

By Fr. George W. Rutler, Catholic Exchange – All that we are is because there is a God — a Three-in-One and One-in-Three. To deny that is to enter into the biggest lie of all: that life itself is an accident. If we don’t understand that life is a gift, we will only be able to see death as a curse. We know the desultory grief of watching others die, and we know the anxiety of contemplating our own death.

By Edward Pentin, EWTN News – To combat neo-paganism in Europe and guarantee the continent’s future, Catholics must follow the example of St. Agnes of Rome and courageously witness to the faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller has said… Referring to recent controversies, the prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith also said a politician who “symbolically holds up the Rosary is more to be trusted than one who literally takes down the Cross of Christ.”… He recalled how Catholics admire the “heroic courage” of St. Agnes, who suffered martyrdom at the age of 12 during the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian, and the fact that in childhood she was able to “distinguish between the unique and true God and the many false gods of the pagans.”

By Henry Tricks, The Economist – It is here, in March 2020, that Pope Francis will host a gathering of students, academics and socially conscious entrepreneurs. They will draw up what the dark-robed friars of Assisi’s Sacred Convent hope will be a magna carta for a new type of economy: one that reproduces the small-scale market economy and social harmony of Assisi. “The economy of Francesco” will be named in homage to the nature-loving saint… The explicit aim is to find more sustainable ways of living that ease the burden on the poor, via the development of a “circular economy” in which all benefit, including the planet. The implicit one is to explore alternatives to the free-market capitalist system—even if that model has helped lift swathes of humanity out of poverty.

By Susan Jones, CNSNews – Cipollone said he and others on the president’s team “came here today to address the false case brought to you by the House managers.”.. We’ve been respectful of the Senate. We’ve made our arguments to you. And you don’t deserve and we don’t deserve what just happened. Mr. Nadler came up here and made false allegations against our team. He made false allegations against all of you. He accused you of a cover-up. He’s been making false allegations against the president…. The only one who should be embarrassed, Mr. Nadler is you, for the way you’ve addressed this body. This is the United States Senate. You’re not in charge here.

By Lauretta Brown, National Catholic Register – Louisiana state Sen.-elect Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, has long defied the abortion lobby’s stereotypes as a pro-life Democrat who has spoken many times at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. As she prepares to speak at the 47th-annual March for Life Jan. 24, Jackson is also eagerly anticipating oral arguments in June Medical Services LLC v. Gee, a case that began with a law she authored during her time as a state representative, which required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within a 30-mile radius.

By Bishop Joseph Strickland, The Wanderer Newspaper – Jesus still tells His disciples what He taught the first disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you,” to which many of the disciples responded, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” As a result of this, “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him” (John 6: 22-71).

By Patrick J. Buchanan – Americans have a long history of breaching laws in the name of a higher law or God-given rights… The patriots of Boston gathered an arsenal at Concord in defiance of the British. To protest a tea tax imposed by parliament, they dressed as American Indians and threw shiploads of imported tea into Boston Harbor… Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts, to protest debt collections in 1786-87, and the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania, to protest a tax, both had to be crushed with force… Abolitionists supported the violation of fugitive slave laws, the enforcement of which Lincoln endorsed in his first inaugural as a national necessity to restore and preserve the Union.

By Thomas Jipping, Elizabeth Slattery, HeritageFoundaiton – The House of Representatives has chosen members to participate in the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, and they have presented the articles of impeachment to the Senate… This is only the third impeachment trial of a president in our nation’s history, with the others occurring in 1868 for Andrew Johnson and 1999 for Bill Clinton… Here are eight things you need to know as the Senate prepares to begin Trump’s impeachment trial… 1. When Will the Trial Begin, and How Long Will It Last? ….

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing – Why Do Christians Believe in Hell? Because Christendom has affirmed it, Jesus clearly teaches the reality of Hell in the Bible, and Hell’s reality resonates with an honest account of our own experience… That’s not the answer theologian David Bentley Hart gave earlier this month, when the New York Times offered him a perch to discuss the misguided beliefs of his fellow Christians. The Bible is so unclear about Hell, he wrote, while it is clear about universal salvation, that the doctrine of Hell must be purely an expression of the ill will of Christians. They hate their fellow human beings so much that they want them to spend eternity in torment.

By Joseph M. Hanneman, Church Militant – “We are in schism.” Father John A. Hardon, S.J., minced no words when summing up the situation between Rome and the Catholic Church in the United States in the late 1990s. Few understood the inner machinations of the Holy See better than Hardon, a highly respected theologian and author of dozens of books on the Catholic Faith… After unsuccessfully lobbying the curia of Pope St. John Paul II to remove Illinois Bp. Daniel L. Ryan for sexual misconduct, Fr. Hardon told associates the pope felt powerless to force reform on the American bishops. “The Holy Father wants to prevent a de facto break — a formal, explicit schism — with Rome,” he said.

By Michael Vlahos, The American Conservative – Today, the Commonwealth of Virginia, home to four of our very first presidents—framers and founders who shaped the nation we are today—triumphantly reaffirmed its place as a leader-state… Delegate William Wampler’s office confirmed to me that at least 25-30,000 Second Amendment supporters surrounded the state capitol on Monday. This had to be the largest gun rights rally ever, entirely surpassing the 10,000 people that the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) was anticipating in front of the Capitol, while VCDL lobbied legislators inside the building… This was “lobby day”—a longstanding tradition—after all.

By Jeff Poor, Breitbart – Carlson acknowledged economic metrics, and a lackluster Democratic presidential field favored Republicans. However, he also said the days of landslide elections were over given the polarization in American politics… The Fox News host also offered one reason as to why many Americans reject Democratic Party policy positions, which he argued rejected norms that have existed in the United States since its founding. That, according to Carlson, reflected the “revolution” Democrats want.

By Msgr. Charles Pope – In Sunday’s Gospel (John 1:29ff) John the Baptist speaks of Jesus, calling him superior, pre-existent, and anointed by the Holy Spirit. But what also stands out is that twice he says, “I did not know him.” This seems odd given that they were cousins. While it is possible that the text merely means they were not well acquainted, it is likely the text means something more, something deeper. It is as if he is saying, “I knew him, but I never really knew him. I never really saw until now the full depths of him, I did not fully realize his glory; not until God showed me. ”

By Thomas D. Williams, PH.D., Breitbart – Last month the pope stated that a multilateral and globalist approach to geopolitics is the key to world peace… “It is necessary to recognize ourselves as members of a single humanity and take care of our earth that, generation after generation, has been entrusted to us by God in custody so that we cultivate it and leave it in inheritance to our children,” Francis said… “The commitment to reduce contaminating emissions and for an integral ecology is urgent and necessary: let us do something before it is too late,” he added.

By Dennis Prager, Townhall – America — and much of the rest of the West, but I will confine my discussion to America — was founded on two sets of values: Judeo-Christian and American. This combination created the freest, most opportunity-giving, most affluent country in world history. This is not chauvinism. It is fact. And it was regarded as such throughout the world. That is why France gave America — and only America — the Statue of Liberty. That’s why people from every country on Earth so wanted to immigrate to America — and still do.

By Mary Margaret Olohan, The Stream – The study, published by JAMA Psychiatry and led by Dr. Corinne H. Rocca, found that 99% of women do not regret their abortions five years after obtaining one. The study also found that most women experienced emotions of relief rather than regret after abortion… But doctors, academics and pro-life activists told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the study is flawed and funded by those with a stake in the abortion movement… “These conclusions are based on extremely flawed statistics, with small numbers of actual participants, self-selected to participate,”….

By George Neumayr, American Spectator – In one of his last speeches before abdicating in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI decried the liberalism that had seeped into the Church after Vatican II. To this liberalism, he traced “so many problems, so much misery, in reality: seminaries closed, convents closed, the liturgy was trivialized.” But he then proceeded to hand the Church to the very liberals responsible for these problems and to a successor set upon liberalizing the Church even more.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – A “pro-choice” scientist is urging the medical community to put politics aside and consider growing evidence that unborn babies may feel pain as early as 12 weeks of pregnancy… In a January article in the “Journal of Medical Ethics,” Stuart Derbyshire, a professor at the National University of Singapore and expert in the science of pain, said the issue deserves further consideration… Pro-life advocates have been pointing to the evidence of early fetal pain for years, with the hopes of persuading the public to recognize the cruelty of abortion.

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register – Lay faithful from around the world stood for an hour in silent prayer in the center of the Bavarian city of Munich today to ask Pope Francis and Germany’s bishops for “clarity and coherence” and an end to “dissimulation and deception.”… The group of around 130 laity, including Germans, Italians, Americans, Austrians, Brazilians, Canadians and Chileans, made the appeal due to concerns about the German bishops’ two-year “synodal path” that fully gets underway with its first general assembly on Jan. 30.

By Michael Swartz, Patriot Post – With their legislative majority firmly established, a governor limited to one term, and the 2018 Charlottesville strife still fresh in their minds, Virginia Democrats decided to begin this year with a virulently anti-Second Amendment gun-control agenda. Perhaps having seen this writing on the wall, a vast majority of Virginia’s counties and independent cities have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, vowing not to enforce draconian gun-confiscation laws if passed.

Fr. Mark Goring, CC: A Sign of the Reality of Hell

By Peter Van Buren, American Conservative – Most agenda journalism victims are expected to disappear in shame. But this time it was different. Sandmann sued a range of journalists, including Maggie Haberman, Ana Navarro, and Shaun King, for slurs they threw at him on Twitter. Included in the swath of additional lawsuits by Sandmann were CNN, MSNBC’s parent company, the AP, Gannett, HuffPo, Slate, and The Washington Post. In the words of the suit, they “brought down the full force of corporate power, influence, and wealth on Nicholas by falsely attacking, vilifying, and bullying him despite the fact that he was a minor child.”

By Ava Lalor, Our Sunday Visitor – In an interview with Our Sunday Visitor, Gress, who received her doctorate in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, explains how we live in a culture that is anti-virgin and anti-mother — ultimately anti-Mary, the Virgin Mother herself. Sharing insights from her most recent book, “The Anti-Mary Exposed” (TAN Books, $27.95), Gress gives hope that our Blessed Mother is the antidote to this culture of death.

By Jules Gomes, Church Militant – Paolo Becchi, journalist and professor of philosophy of law at the University of Genoa, remarks: The Church is going through a difficult time and what is the Pope doing? He gives an interview to a partisan newspaper, not realizing that he looks like the head not of the Church but of a political faction. May the Lord save the Church from the sins of men of the Church… “It is now certain that Scalfari is a meme created by Bergoglio, a way to troll his traditionalist enemies,” Maurizio Crippa lashes out in Il Foglio.

By Joseph Pronechen, National Catholic Register – First, Christians “must realize that a moment of crisis is not a time of despair, but of opportunity. The more we can anticipate the doom, the more we can avoid it. Once we recognize we are under Divine Wrath, we become eligible for Divine Mercy. It was because of famine the prodigal said: ‘I will arise, and will go to my father.’ The very disciplines of God create hope. The thief on the right came to God by a crucifixion. The Christian finds a basis for optimism in the most thorough-going pessimism, for his Easter is within three days of Good Friday.”

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – The Little Sisters of the Poor are headed back to the Supreme Court to protect themselves from being forced to fund abortions under Obamacare… In May 2016, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a lower court ruling against the Little Sisters of the Poor and granted them an exemption from the Obama HHS contraceptive mandate, which required the nuns to fund abortion-causing drugs in their health care plans or pay millions of dollars in fines.

By Marco Tosatti, Church Militant – Lord, save us! We are perishing! The Lord sleeps while the tempest rages. He seems to abandon us to the waves of doubt and error. We are tempted to surrender to despair. The waves of relativism are submerging the Barque of the Church. The Apostles were afraid. Their faith grew cold. The Church, too, at times seems to waver. In the heart of the tempest, the faith of the Apostles in the power of Jesus seems to become less. We also are living this mystery. We feel a deep peace, however, because we know that the one who guides the Barque is Jesus. We are aware that it can never sink, that it can only lead us to the port of eternal salvation. ~Benedict XVI and Robert Cardinal Sarah

By Doug Mainwaring, LifeSiteNews – Cardinal Robert Sarah attempted to settle once and for all the controversy that has swirled around his and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s co-authorship of a book on priestly celibacy… Some had accused Sarah of manipulating Pope Benedict, said that Benedict was not really a co-author of “From the Depths of Our Hearts”.. and said that the Pope Emeritus’ name did not actually belong on the cover… The fire of controversy seemed destined to become a full-fledged conflagration when Antonio Socci, an Italian Catholic journalist, reported on social media that Pope Francis was infuriated with Pope Benedict’s involvement with the book… “The end of the world broke out in the Vatican because Bergoglio was furious,” wrote Socci.

By Rodney Pelletier, Church Militant – While, for the most part, it’s been high-level cardinals and archbishops who made a back-door, secret agreement with the Communist Chinese government regarding China’s growing Catholic population, Pope Francis bears ultimate responsibility for their betrayal… Details of the negotiation between the Vatican and the Chinese government have been kept secret by the man directly under Pope Francis, Cdl. Pietro Parolin… Hong Kong’s retired archbishop, Cdl. Joseph Zen, has been petitioning Pope Francis to review the agreement. Zen met with the Pope in July 2019 and handed him a letter outlining his concerns regarding the Vatican’s 2018 deal with China… One of the main architects was disgraced homosexual predator ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

By Lianne Laurence, LifeSiteNews – A Chinese Catholic bishop is homeless and sleeping on the doorstep of his former residence after he and the priests who work with him were evicted by communist authorities earlier this week, Asia News reported Thursday… Chinese authorities evicted Msgr. Vincenzo Guo Xijin, 61, and an undisclosed number of priests from their curial house in Luojiang on the grounds that the building violated fire regulations.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture – Let’s face it: We moderns are nurtured in a culture of individual desire in the land of make-believe. This has horrendous repercussions because we actually do have a given nature, and we are incapable as finite beings of escaping our fundamental giftedness. Our pride and concupiscence balk at the notion of gift, for it requires a giver. We hide in our own darkness, finding it increasingly difficult—to cite but one example—to sense the given moral law as a framework of being that is not arbitrary but rooted in the very nature of what we call “the real”.

By Jennifer Kabbany, The College Fix Editor – When Jorge Galicia and Andrés Guilarte tell college students socialism is no utopia, they speak from experience… The two young intellectuals were born and raised in Venezuela and over the last decade saw their country transformed into a place they barely recognize… As exiles seeking asylum in America today, they’re telling any young person who will listen: the virus is socialism… “No one else can know what happened in Venezuela but a Venezuelan, and we are experts on that,” said Guilarte, 25… Galicia, 24, adds “I definitely see America committing a lot of the same mistakes Venezuela committed.”

By Mary Beth Bonacci, Denver Catholic – I just came back from the FOCUS conference in Phoenix. It was awesome, incidentally, and I highly recommend that you all look into it for next year. Yes, it is sponsored by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. And yes, there are a lot of college kids there. But there is also a marvelous adult track, with wonderful speakers and fabulous activities… But I digress. The very first speaker was Father Mike Schmitz, and the theme of his talk was that Jesus is not “optional.” It was a wonderful talk and gave me so much spiritual food for thought.

By HLI Staff, Human Life International – Here is a hypothetical question for you: What would you do if your government said they would pay you to promote the Culture of Death?… Well, this actually happened to someone I know very well… Let me introduce you to Dr. Rene Bullecer — HLI’s country director in the Philippines. He is a faithful Catholic and dedicated pro-life warrior just like you, and he knew what the secular response would do to his beloved homeland of the Philippines… He is a pro-life warrior and an HLI missionary.

By Doug Mainwaring, LifeSiteNews – Naumann told Catholic News Service (CNS) that the Pope agreed with the U.S. bishops “identifying the protection of the unborn as a preeminent priority.”… Naumann reported that Pope Francis was then “truly kind of stunned” when Naumann told him that an estimated 61 million abortions have taken place in the United States… Near the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis said in a 2013 interview that the Church was “obsessed” with opposing “abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods.”

By Ed Condon, CNA – The Holy See has delayed announcing its pick for the next bishop of Hong Kong, CNA has learned, amid concerns that local clergy and lay Catholics will see Rev. Peter Choy Wai-man as too sympathetic to the Chinese Communist government… The Diocese of Hong Kong has been without permanent leadership since January 2019, when Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung died unexpectedly. Since Yeung died, the diocese has been led temporarily by Cardinal John Tong Hon, Yeung’s predecessor, who retired from the post in 2017.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Today Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) and its partner super PAC, Women Speak Out PAC, announced plans for the 2020 Campaign that include boots on the ground, voter contact mail, phone calls, and digital ads, and is part of the organizations’ overall $52 million budget for the 2020 cycle… The massive campaign is designed to turn out as many pro-life voters as possible to support candidates, especially for President Donald Trump — who will face opposition from a radical Democrat nominee who wants to force abortions up to birth at taxpayer expense on the entire nation.

By Dr. Susan Berry, Breitbart – The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Homeland Security (DHS) proposed rules Thursday that would implement President Donald Trump’s executive order that protects the religious freedom of faith-based organizations… The proposed rules, announced on Religious Freedom Day, would ensure religious and secular groups are treated equally and rescind Obama-era rules currently in force that place regulatory burdens on faith-based organizations.

By Antonio Socci, Church Militant – Joseph Roth wrote his novel The Antichrist in 1934, at the time of totalitarianism, and he speaks of the Antichrist as an icy poison that infects everyone, corrupting souls and even language itself, which has now lost contact with reality itself and confuses black and white, true and false. “The ideal subject of the totalitarian regime,” wrote Hannah Arendt, “is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but the man for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”

By Diane Montagna, LifeSiteNews – Benedict XVI said he could not remain silent in his new book because he sees the voices of those who wish to abolish priestly celibacy as a “great danger” for the Church, Cardinal Gerhard Müller has said… Elaborating on the “danger” Benedict sees, (Müller) pointed to forces within the Church that are ready to use the Amazon Synod to weaken the Catholic priesthood… “The Synod discussed the possibility of ordaining married men, but the Amazonian bishops represent only a small part of the world episcopate,” the cardinal told Corriere. “The Catholic priesthood is at stake here. Some, as in Germany, are beginning to say: why not elsewhere? If you destroy a principle, then everything falls.”

By Lianne Laurence, LifeSiteNews – U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar reiterated in a private meeting with foreign health leaders Thursday that there is an “international right to life” but “no international right to abortion.”… However, that won’t stop relentless international lobbying to secure this illusory right, Azar warned representatives of 35 “like-minded” countries who met at Washington’s historic Blair House to discuss their continuing efforts as a “pro-life, pro-family, pro-sovereignty coalition” on the global stage.

By Mark Levin, CNS News – “I’m disgusted with the Republicans in the Senate. You got five of ‘em who want witnesses – so, that means they want to give their imprimatur, their seal of approval, their rubber stamp to the process that went on in the House… “I know, they’re going to say, ‘Oh, it was terrible, but, we’re going to have’ – and I keep hearing the Republicans say this – ‘we’re going to have a fair trial and a just trial.’.. “There should be no trial!”… “Fair and just trial? When you get corrupt articles of impeachment from a corrupt Democrat party in the House?… “It’s a set-up!”

By Msgr. Charles Pope – I have said the Traditional Latin Mass for all of my many years of priesthood. Back in the late 1980s, only a few priests were “permitted” to do so and there were few resources available to learn it. About the only visual help was the Fulton Sheen film from the 1940s describing the Mass. So, I trained under a few older priests during my seminary years. I moved from being part of the schola in the choir loft, to serving as sub-deacon, then deacon, and finally as priest-celebrant.

By Rob Bluey, Daily Signal – “There’s a lot of hostility to religious beliefs,” says Joe Grogan, director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House… “These views are protected by the First Amendment and people who are offended by public expressions of faith need to get over it,” he adds… In this exclusive interview at the White House, Grogan outlines what the Trump administration is doing to ensure Americans remain free to live in accordance with their beliefs. Read the lightly edited transcript, pasted below, or listen to the interview…

By Father Raymond J. de Souza, EWTN News – But the more puzzling question is this: Why is it assumed by the liberal Catholic press that Benedict is undermining Pope Francis on priestly celibacy when he agrees with him? The protests of those considered to be connected to Pope Francis’ inner circle — Austen Ivereigh, author of two biographies of the Holy Father; Gerard O’Connell of America magazine who, with his wife, Argentinian journalist Elisabetta Piqué, have been friends of the Pope since before his election — assume that Benedict defending priestly celibacy is frustrating the agenda of Pope Francis.

By Austin Ruse, Crisis Magazine – The court points out that Varner’s request cites no legal authority. The hilarious and meaty part of Varner’s motion simply states, “I am a woman,” and that when others don’t refer to him as a woman, it “leads me to feel that I am being discriminated against based on my gender identity.” He goes on to say that “referring to me simply as a male and with male pronouns based solely on my biological body makes me very uneasy and disrespected.”

By Denise McAllister, The Stream – Abortion violates a body’s natural process. It’s anything but normal. Yet, a New York art exhibit begs to differ by highlighting its presentation of feminist art with the title “Abortion is Normal: An Emergency Art Show.”… The display was created by a group of feminist artists in response to Republicans asking the Supreme Court to take another look at the court case that made abortion legal. The display is also protesting a new law in Alabama that makes most abortions illegal.

By Alan Scott, Catholic Exchange – Remember, the more virtuous response to life is not offering to others only what we feel we are able to give, but instead, breaking past our comfort zones and giving what is needed of us… I look back on the time I spent caring for my mother, and I realize I was in the exact moment I needed to be. Right where I was needed… Right where God wanted me to be.

By Patrick J. Buchanan – But the articles of impeachment on which the Judiciary Committee and the House voted do not contain a single crime required by the Constitution for impeachment and removal. There is no charge of treason, no charge of bribery or “other high crimes and misdemeanors.”… So weak is the case for impeachment that the elite in this city is demanding that the Senate do the work the House failed to do… Mitch McConnell should let the House managers make their case, and then call for a vote to dismiss, and treat this indictment with the contempt it so richly deserves.

By David Warren, The Catholic Thing – (climate change) is one of innumerable “crisis” factoids. It is constantly repeated. Notwithstanding, it is laughably untrue. But it was manufactured to promote the crisis… By now, only schoolteachers believe it, and not always those. That the world will end in several years, unless a communist dictatorship is promptly declared, and encouraged to impose a high-tech reign of terror, has become an article of faith for many of the young.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – The abortion giant Planned Parenthood will pour at least $45 million into the 2020 election to push pro-abortion Democrats to power… “[The Trump Administration] has managed to undo so much over the last three years,” Planned Parenthood Votes executive director Jenny Lawson told CBS. “The fact that this summer the Supreme Court might gut Roe v. Wade is an indicator of their intention and they’ve never been so bold.”… Planned Parenthood, a $1.6 billion dollar “nonprofit” that did more than 345,000 abortions last year, wants the unrestricted, unregulated abortion landscape of Roe to stay.

By Diane Montagna, LifeSiteNews – In the wake of the controversy surrounding the genesis of Cardinal Robert Sarah’s new book with Benedict XVI on priestly celibacy, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has released a testimony denouncing Archbishop Georg Gänswein for what he calls his “abusive and systematic control” of the pope emeritus… “It is time to reveal the abusive and systematic control exercised by Archbishop Georg Gänswein over the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI since the beginning of his pontificate,” Archbishop Viganò writes in the one-page testimony released on January 16 (see official English text below).

By Francis X. Maier, First Things – (Sarah) is uncompromisingly frank in arguing that “he who has not given himself totally to God is not given perfectly to his brethren,” and that many of the current attacks on the value of priestly celibacy “show a terrible intellectual dishonesty.” He adds, “I am convinced that if a large number of Western priests or bishops are willing to relativize the greatness and importance of celibacy, it is because they have never had the concrete experience of the gratitude of a Christian community.”

By Bree A. Dail, Blog Post – One month after a group of renowned exorcists called for a worldwide day of prayer, fasting and penance, “for the purpose of driving out any diabolic influence within the Church that has been gained as a result of recent events,” I have been contacted with an update and statement from the group… The exorcists, who must remain anonymous due to ongoing cases directly connected and impacted by these events, state that the prayers offered on December 6, 2019—the Feast of St. Nicholas—”seem to have mitigated” the spiritual repercussions, consequences of the “Pachamama rituals” witnessed by the world during the recent Amazon Synod.

By Stephen P. White, The Catholic Thing – The “Catholic vote” is a myth. The notion that Catholics vote as an identifiable bloc of the national electorate hasn’t been true for decades. Still, there are enough Catholic voters – one out of every four or five, nationally – that even a marginal shift in one slice of the Catholic electorate can tip a national election. This being a presidential election year, and with the real possibility of a Catholic on the top of the Democratic ticket, many Americans will be paying close attention to see what the bishops in the United States say (or don’t say) about public policy in the coming months.

By Gabby Orr, Politico – Three years ago, Catholic voters helped carry Donald Trump into the White House. Then they hardly heard from him… Until Trump carried 52 percent of their votes in 2016, American Catholics supported the Democratic nominee in all but four presidential cycles since 1952. But after betting it all on the thrice-married Manhattan businessman — Trump won white Catholics by a 23-point margin, compared with Mitt Romney’s 19-point victory in 2012 — they never received so much as a “thank you” from the 45th president.

By Steve Jordahl, OneNewsNow – A constitutional amendment mandating voter ID in the Tar Heel State was struck down on the last day of 2019. Even though North Carolina voters approved the measure by a ten-point margin in 2018, Federal District Judge Loretta Copeland Biggs unilaterally struck it down, ruling that it constitutes voter suppression and reflects the state’s “sordid history of racial discrimination.”

By Paul Smeaton, LifeSiteNews – A number of upcoming talks in Ireland by well-known Catholic chastity speaker Jason Evert — two of them at Catholic schools — have been abruptly canceled, allegedly because the speaker upholds Catholic teaching on homosexuality and contraception… Evert is a founder of The Chastity Project and gives talks around the world on sexual ethics – discussing issues such as marriage, dating, pornography, homosexuality and contraception. He and his wife Crystalina claim to have spoken to “more than one million people on six continents about the virtue of chastity”.

By Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews – Commenting on the left’s hatred of President Trump, Rev. Franklin Graham said the impeachment of the president is a “never-ending charade” like the “Russia hoax,” and that the “liberal media” and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “have lied and continue to lie” about Trump… The evangelical leader also called on Americans to pray for the president and vice president and ask God to “watch over their families and protect them from the lies and false accusations of the left.”

By Sean Fitzpatrick, Crisis Magazine – Pro-life America will march the Washington Mall on January 24, 2020, to protest the Supreme Court’s 1973 (Roe v. Wade) and 1992 (Planned Parenthood v. Casey) rulings to make abortion accessible without “undue burden” of law. Though January marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, this year the March for Life is looking ahead to March, when the Supreme Court will hear arguments for a Louisiana law that comes with a congressional appeal to consider overturning the two landmark rulings on abortion.

By Jules Gomes, Church Militant – Francis is hoping that the “Economy of Francesco” conference, named after the saint of Assisi, will draft a “covenant” to “change today’s economy and to give a soul to the economy of tomorrow.”… The pontiff, who excoriates capitalism as the “dung of the devil,” expects the covenant to complement Laudato Sí, his 2015 encyclical on “climate change.”… “That won the pontiff a strong following among environmentalists. The follow-up is unlikely to do the same for economists,” notes The Economist.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Protections for unborn babies are among Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ top priorities for the legislative year, she said Tuesday in her 2020 Condition of the State address… The pro-life Republican said she wants every Iowan to have the opportunity to succeed, including babies in the womb, CBC Online reports. She urged lawmakers to pass a state constitutional amendment that makes it clear there is no “right to abortion” in Iowa… “We must protect life by making it clear through an amendment that our constitution does not grant a right to abortion,” Reynolds said…

By Edward Pentin, EWTN News – As the day of promulgation approaches, the cardinal says the bishops will receive the exhortation “via e-mail under embargo,” and an event will be held to communicate the document in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall where the synod was held… “You might as well start planning a press conference or other event as soon as possible after the promulgation,” Cardinal Hummes advises. “For example, it might be appropriate to present the exhortation in your area with an indigenous representative, whenever feasible, a responsible pastoral expert (ordained or religious, or layman or laywoman), an expert on environmental issues, and a young person engaged in youth ministry.”

By Most Reverend Bishop Joseph Strickland, The Wanderer – “The fact that the Church is the ‘universal sacrament of salvation’ shows how the sacramental economy ultimately determines the way that Christ, the one Savior, through the Spirit, reaches our lives in all their particularity. The Church receives and at the same time expresses what she herself is in the seven sacraments, thanks to which God’s grace concretely influences the lives of the faithful, so that their whole existence, redeemed by Christ, can become an act of worship pleasing to God.”

By Chilton Williamson, Jr., Crisis Magazine – The United States has relatively higher rates of physical assault and homicide than a number of other Western countries, but nothing that faintly approaches those in the Latin American nations. In Mexico, Central America, and many South American nations, violence—both the personal and organized sort—is endemic, and in Mexico it is still rising. Figures released at the beginning of August 2019 reported more than 17,000 people killed in the first six months of the year, or 94 every day. Last November, six women and three children, members of a Mormon community of American heritage, were murdered by cartelistas for trying to keep the thugs out of their town.

By Kevin Jones, CNA – “He would say ‘some bishops build cathedrals; the Sisters of Life are my cathedral’,” said Sister Maris Stella, who entered the Sisters of Life in 2006. She is now based in Denver, where the sisters work in college outreach… O’Connor was Archbishop of New York from 1984 until his death on May 3, 2000. He was a major figure of American Catholicism and an outspoken advocate for the unborn and for other pro-life issues. In 1991 he founded the Sisters of Life, a contemplative, active Catholic community of women who profess vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, plus a fourth vow to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life.

By Matthew Schmitz, First Things – Benedict and Sarah consider it their “sacred duty to recall the truth about the Catholic priesthood. For through it, the whole beauty of the Church is being called into question.” This solemn duty extends to all Christians. “It is urgent and necessary for everyone—bishops, priests and lay people—to stop letting themselves be intimidated by the wrong-headed pleas, the theatrical productions, the diabolical lies and the fashionable errors that try to put down priestly celibacy,” they write. “Let us speak up boldly to profess the faith without fear of being uncharitable.”

By Walter E. Williams, CNSNews – For decades, the problems of blacks could be laid at the feet of racial discrimination. Our ancestors started a civil rights struggle and won. Today, the most devastating problems of blacks are entirely self-inflicted such as high illegitimacy, family breakdown and unsafe communities. These problems have little to do with civil rights. But as long as blacks buy into the notion that white racism is the source of their problems, the solutions will be elusive forever.

By John Clark, EWTN News – First, we Americans may not be sick of politics, but whether we realize it or not, we are sick with politics—and we need the help of priests to heal… Referencing the Church in the 1980s, Peggy Noonan wrote, “The Catholic Church could not decide if its job was public policy or the redemption of souls, so it failed at both, offering pilgrims hungry for sustenance tepid homilies on defense spending.”… Forty years later, things are far worse. Politics and policy (of which seemingly everyone now considers himself a noted expert) is the consuming subject at children’s birthday parties, wedding receptions and New Year’s Eve countdowns.

By Msgr. Charles Pope – In Bible Study in my Parish we have been reading through Genesis. This past evening we read of Lot and the horrifying results of his decision to pitch his tent toward Sodom. We also see in his life a significant spiritual problem: sloth, one of the seven deadly sins. Sloth is a sorrow, sadness, or aversion to the good things God offers. Rather than being joyful and zealous to obtain these gifts, the slothful person sees them as too much trouble to obtain and is averse to the changes such gifts might introduce into his life.

By Melanie Arter, CNSNews – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott notified Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week that his state will no longer accept any more refugees – a decision that has roiled some Catholic bishops… Abbott told Pompeo that “the state and nonprofit organizations have a responsibility to dedicate available resources to those who are already here, including refugees, migrants and the homeless – indeed, all Texans.”… The Associated Press reports that Texas has taken in an estimated 88,300 refugees since FY 2002, according to the Pew Research Center, second only to California.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture – It has been said that “all politics is local”, and this is a valuable axiom for winning public office. Unfortunately, after such victories, politics mostly proceeds from the top down. This creates a huge temptation to seek change by leaping over what is local in an effort to control high-level socio-political policies. In the Church, this temptation tends to take its most virulent form in the role by national episcopal conferences. I began an assessment of such conferences last week in On funding (or dissolving) episcopal conferences. Today I take up their tendency to substitute a thirst for political influence for each soul’s thirst for God.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – The new video from Project Veritas reveals that a paid Iowa Field Organizer for the Bernie Sanders Presidential Campaign, Kyle Jurek, says cities will burn if President Trump wins re-election, and calls for the mass murder of anyone who opposes a socialist revolution… “In Nazi Germany, after the fall of the Nazi Party, there was a s—-ton of the populace that was f—— Nazified,” says Jurek. “Germany had to spend billions of dollars re-educating their f—— people to not be Nazis,” he continues. “We’re probably going to have to do the same f—— thing here. That’s kind of what all Bernie’s whole f—— like, ‘hey, free education for everybody’ because we’re going to have to teach you to not be a f—— Nazi.”

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register – The controversy regarding the book on the priesthood and priestly celibacy with parts penned by Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah has produced plenty of heat but not much light… So what are the hard facts, as far as we know? Perhaps the first place to look is precisely what Cardinal Sarah and Benedict had previously agreed upon concerning the book entitled From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church.

By Mary Margaret Olohan, Daily Caller – The president has focused significant attention on Evangelical voters but now recognizes that he must devote similar attention to Catholic voters if he wishes to secure the 2020 presidential election, Politico reports. Many members of Trump’s staff are Catholics, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Attorney General William Barr, and White House counsel Pat Cipollone… “Catholics were of secondary importance to the Trump campaign in 2016, behind evangelicals…” ….

By John-Henry Westen, LifeSiteNews – The letter, which was leaked to LifeSiteNews and confirmed as authentic, was signed by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the General Rapporteur of the Synod on the Amazon. It informs the prelates that another letter will come to them in about 10 days with more instructions and that they will be sent an embargoed copy of the exhortation prior to its public release… The Apostolic Exhortation is to have the same name as the preparatory document for the Synod: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology.

By Catholic News Agency – Cardinal Robert Sarah said Monday that claims Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI did not co-author with him a new book on priestly celibacy are “defamations of exceptional gravity.”… The publisher of the book told CNA that critics suggesting that the pope emeritus did not co-author the book, or authorize its publication, are wrong…. “Are these people really implying that Cardinal Sarah is involved in a conspiracy to distort the truth?” Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, editor-in-chief of Ignatius Press, asked Jan. 13.

By Ken Blackwell, The Stream – Democrats have no good response to the President’s popularity and his accomplished record, so they turn to dark money-funded smear campaigns to try to discredit him and his supporters. Politico reports one such dark money group — Future Majority — is prepared to invest $60 million in swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan in 2020 to try to defeat the President.

By David Nussman, Church Militant – This year marks the 100th anniversary of women in the United States obtaining the right to vote — one of several reasons why commentators are calling 2020 “the year of the woman.”.. Another reason is the prominent role that women will have on election day this year — both as candidates and as voters… The 2016 election saw a sharp divide between the sexes. Exit polls showed men voted for Donald Trump at a significantly higher rate than women.

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register – The English philosopher Sir Roger Scruton, who died yesterday at the age of 75… In 2009, he attended a Rome conference titled “God Today: With Him or Without Him, That Changes Everything” that brought together thinkers, artists and Church leaders… While in Rome, Scruton, who had been a professor of aesthetics, discussed his theory that the deeper reasons for the ugliness of modern and contemporary art are attributable to a general loss of the Christian faith and the sacred. “I think we are losing beauty and there is a danger that, with it, we will lose the meaning of life,” he warned in an acclaimed BBC documentary on the same theme.

By Steve Hilton, FOX News – But his strategy has been consistent from day one. He is anti-war, but he is also anti-weak. No, he doesn’t want to invade deserts of sand like the neocons, but he doesn’t want to put his head in the sand, like the isolation nuts, either… It was the same over Syria — withdrawing troops from a conflict that is someone else’s business, but a missile strike if you use chemical weapons… You saw it with North Korea — fire and fury and then historic negotiations… This is the Trump Revolution: Pragmatic, non-ideological. He approaches issues as a problem-solving businessman… … The establishment Republican Party is not coming back. It is dead, killed by their policy failure and Donald Trump’s policy success.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – Abortion will be condemned someday as “one of the greatest travesties in the history of humankind,” Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox said Saturday… “I truly believe that at some point in the future, future generations will look back on us today, and they will…look at abortion the way we look at slavery. It will go down in history as one of the greatest travesties in the history of humankind,” Cox said, Newsweek reports.

By Joseph M. Hanneman, Church Militant – Decorated U.S. Marine veteran Frank J. Kelly was fed up. Outside the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington D.C., Kelly spotted the U.S. papal pro-nuncio, who a year earlier did his best to deep-six the sexual-misconduct investigation of Illinois Bp. Daniel L. Ryan. The no-holds-barred Kelly strode up to Abp. Agostino Cacciavillan, poked a finger in his chest and boomed, “You belong in jail for what you did to protect Daniel Ryan!” A nervous Cacciavillan said nothing and quickly retreated to his car.

By Rich Noyes, Bill D’Agostino, LifeNews – In the first 100 days since House Democrats began their impeachment push on September 24, ABC, CBS and NBC have aggressively aided the effort. A Media Research Center analysis finds the Big Three evening newscasts have battered the President with 93% negative coverage and promoted impeachment at the expense of nearly all other Trump news… At the same time, the broadcast networks donated at least 124 hours of wall-to-wall live coverage as they pre-empted regular programming in favor of House Democrat-led impeachment activities…

By John Zmirak, The Stream – Socialism Replaces God and Kills the Church… But as I’ve argued for some time, the worst effects of socialism have nothing to do with economics. The cancer it spreads is spiritual. Back in 2017, I considered why the U.S. is at once more violent, more competitive, and more religious than other Western lands… Religion, violence, fertility, and the free market all go together. Socialism doesn’t just suppress one of those things, but all of them inextricably and at the same time. That’s why most of the nations in the European Union simultaneously….

By Msgr. Charles Pope – But there are significant omissions in the modern Breviary. This is true not merely because of the loss of the texts themselves, but that of the reflections on them. The verses eliminated are labeled by many as imprecatory because they call for a curse or wish calamity to descend upon others… Here are a couple of examples of these psalms: Pour out O Lord your anger upon them; let your burning fury overtake them. … Charge them with guilt upon guilt; let them have no share in your justice (Ps 69:25, 28).

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register – According to a Jan. 13 exclusive by Le Figaro’s Rome correspondent Jean-Marie Guènois, who has seen an advance copy of the book, Benedict draws on Christianity’s Jewish roots, dismisses Martin Luther’s theses in favor of married clergy and shows that priesthood and celibacy are part of the “new covenant” instituted by Christ in which “total oblation is the model.”… “The conjugal state concerns man in his totality, and since the service of the Lord also requires the total gift of man, it does not seem possible to realize the two vocations simultaneously,” Benedict writes, according to quotes in Le Figaro. “Thus, the ability to renounce marriage in order to place oneself totally at the disposal of the Lord is a criterion for the ministry if it is to be carried out simultaneously.”

By John Zmirak, The Stream – “Right now, those who are best implementing the social doctrine of the Church are the Chinese,” Sorondo told the Vatican Insider, applauding China’s efforts to follow the green initiatives spelled out in Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si. Sorondo also accused President Donald Trump of allowing himself to be manipulated by global oil firms and praised China for defending Paris Climate Accord… The “Sorondo” above is Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo. He’s the highest authority at the Vatican in charge of Catholic social teaching. Pope Francis never corrected him. So as of now, that’s the official Vatican position. Good luck getting people to take “Catholic social teaching” seriously after this.

By Jules Gomes, Church Militant – Asked what Catholics should do in a time of confusion, Burke urged the faithful “to fall back on the constant teaching of the Church, which is contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in the official magisterial teaching of the Church.”… Denouncing as “preposterous” the idea of a “Francis Magisterium,” Burke lauded the heroic example of St. Athanasius, who “at the cost of great suffering” was sent into exile and was excommunicated by Pope Liberius “for the sake of truth,” but nevertheless “remained steadfast in fighting for the truth” against the Arian heresy, at a time when the majority of Catholic bishop had become Arians… “That is precisely what needs to happen again today,” he insisted.

By Leah Barkoukis, Townhall – Despite the Iranian government’s brutal crackdown on protesters in recent months, throngs of Iranians showed up this weekend to march against the regime after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps admitted it shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 on board. The remarkably brave protesters chanted about how they have been lied to concerning who the true enemy is and students at Beheshti University in Tehran refused to walk on American and Israeli flags.

By Fr. Mark Goring, Companions of the Cross – Watch Video

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – The United States marks 47 years of legalized abortion in all fifty states at any time for any reason throughout pregnancy on January 22nd, the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Since that time, there have been an estimated 61,628,584 abortions that have destroyed the lives of unborn children… A new analysis published by the National Right to Life Committee indicated there have been an estimated 61,628,584 abortions since the Supreme Court handed down its 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision allowing virtually unlimited abortions.

By Josh M. Shepherd, The Stream – “We lost everything we loved and worked so hard to build.”.. Those words from an Oregon mom came after the latest hearing in a seven-year legal battle… The religious liberty case has captured the nation’s attention … and has already been considered once by the U.S. Supreme Court… On Thursday, Aaron and Melissa Klein appeared before the Oregon Court of Appeals in Salem, Oregon to defend their rights and livelihood… In January 2013, frequent customer Rachel Cryer entered the Kleins’ family-owned bakery. When she asked them to create a custom cake to celebrate her same-sex wedding ceremony, they declined.

By Solange Reyner, NewsMax – President Donald Trump says he “couldn’t care less” if Iran wants to negotiate… His comments follow White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien’s statement that despite recent aggression from Iran, a combination of sanctions and protests from its citizens will force officials back to the table for a nuclear deal… “I think the maximum pressure campaign is working,” O’Brien told “Fox News Sunday.”… “Iran is being choked off, and Iran is going to have no other choice but to come to the table.”

By Claire Chretien, LifeSiteNews – A Virginia Democrat has introduced a resolution to enshrine “the individual right to personal reproductive autonomy” in the commonwealth’s Constitution, as well as a bill to repeal several moderately pro-life laws… The Democrat-controlled legislature is also pushing forward the so-called Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would enshrine abortion and the elimination of sex distinctions into the U.S. Constitution. …

By John Binder, Breitbart – Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is the first governor in the United States to halt refugee resettlement in his state, a move that comes as the state has been inundated over the last three decades with mass immigration… For Fiscal Year 2020, President Donald Trump will continue cutting refugee admissions by reducing former President Barack Obama’s refugee inflow by at least 80 percent. This reduction would mean a maximum of 18,000 refugees can be resettled in the U.S. between October 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020. This is merely a numerical limit and not a goal federal officials are supposed to reach.

By Dr. Gregory Popcak, Catholic Exchange – Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:16-18)… That’s a tall order St Paul lays on us. It can be hard to remain joyful even when times are good, but it’s especially challenging when life becomes complicated or downright difficult. The first thing to remember is that while joy and happiness are related, they aren’t the same thing. Happiness is more fleeting and dependent upon our environment, while joy is a state of being that allows us to hold on to a sense of rightness, connectedness and peace even through difficult times.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – The Holy Father devoted more attention to his own proposal for a “global compact on education”—an initiative that will be launched at a “worldwide event” on May 14. The Pontiff described this effort as a bid “to rekindle our commitment to and with young people,” to provide for “a process of education and the creation of an educational village capable of forming a network of open and human relationships.”… This grand papal plan—a response to what Pope Francis called an era of “epochal change”—would involve a serious bid to address climate change, to protect the environment, to stimulate “ecological conversion” of the sort contemplated by the Amazon Synod.

By Mary Margaret Olohan, Daily Caller – Pope Francis caused widespread confusion among Catholics when he agreed to recognize bishops appointed by the authoritarian Chinese government in 2018. Over a year later, the pope has kept silent as China continues religious persecution, imprisons priests, and destroys Muslim graveyards… “Francis continually denounces Western countries for any efforts at border control, but stays silent on China’s genocide against the Uighur Muslims; on its persecution of Christians; on its escalating crackdown on Hong Kong,” Catholic author and commentator John Zmirak told the Daily Caller…

By Msgr. Charles Pope – Today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a moment to reflect not only on the Lord’s Baptism but on our own. In an extended sense, when Christ is baptized, so are we, for we are members of His Body. As Christ enters the water, He makes holy the water that will baptize us. He enters the water, and we who are members of His Body go with Him. In these waters He acquires gifts to give us.

By Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing – The Vatican, by its accord with an evil government, has essentially told Chinese Catholics that they are wrong to remain independent of a regime they see quite clearly is murderous and hell-bent on forcing the Church to be re-defined along lines that will make it harmless to government interests… Reliable sources say that the same instruments of manipulation officials used so effectively in imposing the “one-child policy” are now carrying out the sinicization of religious bodies… So where are the bold Catholic voices protesting the intimidation and taming of the Church?

By Patricia Gooding-Williams, LifeSiteNews – “Pilgrimages bring us closer to our faith and thus bring us true peace. Not going on pilgrimages means losing contact with our salvation.” Cardinal Raymond L. Burke shared his thoughts and some personal reflections on the importance of pilgrimages which became a significant part of the Catholic tradition in the 4th century, when Christians traveled to different places that were part of Jesus’ life or the tombs of martyrs and saints. Here are a few extracts from the conversation with him.

By David Nussman, Church Militant – Faithful Catholics are increasingly troubled by a Vatican event coming up in May, where world leaders and young people will meet with Pope Francis to forge a so-called Global Education Alliance… When the Pope announced plans for the education meeting last September, he said the purpose is to foster peace around the world, and raise concern about the environment… Pope Francis: “We need a global compact on education, aimed at developing a new universal solidarity and a new humanism.”

By Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews – “If you’ve got the keys to the jail, you control it, and then you determine who is going to go in it and who is going to stay out of it,” said Maginnis. “And I tell you, Christians are the ones that are going to go in it first. They really hate us, and it goes back to what I said earlier. …”… “We are the salt and light in this culture, and we are the targets,” said Maginnis. “The progressives hate us to the point that they would do exactly what the Nazis did to the Jews on Kristallnacht in November of 1938.”… “They would go after them, and they would incarcerate them, and they would kill them if possible,” he said. “We’re at a turning point, and it’s a very critical turning point. People need to understand history; history has a terrible way of repeating itself.”

By Doug Mainwaring, LifeSiteNews – Published online Dec. 23 by the The Washington Post, the 60-page “privileged and confidential” investigative report – produced at a reported cost of $500,000 to the beleaguered diocese – pulls back the curtain not only on the out-of-control prelate but on a dysfunctional chancery where senior staff turned their eyes away from Bransfield’s behaviors, enabling him to treat diocesan funds as a personal piggy bank and “to operate the chancery as his personal fiefdom.”

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture – The recent bare-minimum vote to increase the diocesan allocations in support of the USCCB ought once again to prompt deep thought among Catholics about the wisdom of episcopal conferences. When you look at the number of sub-divisions listed at the bottom of the USCCB’s website you will see immediately how easily a local bishop—and the US Church as a whole—can be overshadowed by the sheer weight of the Conference…

By Calvin Freiburger, LifeSiteNews – This morning, the House voted on a motion to recommit HR 535 offered by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). It was shot down by a 187-219 vote… “Most importantly, it protects the unborn child, something I hope everyone in this room can agree should be one of our greatest priorities: to protect people before they are born, and at every stage of their lives,” she said on the House floor. “I urge my colleagues to support science by supporting my motion to recommit.”

By Vladimir Mauricio-Perez, Denver Catholic – “Since the states have a responsibility to defend their citizens, they have a right to use force [when necessary]. War can then be justified if it is an act of justice – if it is trying to make sure that each gets its due and peace is restored,” Dr. Wright explained… The just-war theory consists of two parts: jus ad bellum and jus in bello. The first one refers to legitimate reasons a state may engage in war and the second to how it must be carried out to remain just.

By Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow – A pro-life organization has released a provocative documentary tying abortion to Satanism after winning a fight with Hollywood to re-release the film… “Abortion: A Doctrine of Demons” uses numerous eye-opening video clips to reveal the dark and sinister pro-abortion cause, using everyone from Satanists to abortion-supporting clergy to highlight the spiritual fight… The 21-minute film (see below), in fact, features members of the Satanic Temple explaining why they support abortion: our bodies are “subject” to a person’s own decisions, hence “reproductive rights” is considered “worship through activism”….

By Nancy Flory, The Stream – When we turn on our televisions or smart phones we are bombarded with news that brings us down. Where are all the good stories? They’re still there. Here’s one that we hope will bless you… When a six-year-old boy in Newbury, Ohio, received his final chemotherapy treatment, he returned to school to a standing ovation from students, faculty and staff… John Oliver Zippay, known as J.O., was diagnosed in 2016 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He spent 18 days in the hospital and then had three years of chemotherapy treatment. His last treatment was two days after Christmas.

By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews – Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar slammed pro-life Christians for “trying to impose their beliefs on society” while she herself advocates for aborting unborn babies and forcing taxpayers to fund abortions… Omar spoke out against pro-life legislation on the House floor last year… “Religious fundamentalists are currently trying to manipulate the State laws in order to impose their beliefs on an entire society, all with complete disregard for voices and the rights of American women,” she said May 22… A pro-abortion Democrat, she described pro-life Christians as hypocrites who just want to control women.

By Diane Montagna, LifeSiteNews – “For this reason,” the Pope continued, “I have planned a worldwide event to take place on 14 May next with the theme: Reinventing the Global Compact on Education.”… When he launched the initiative last September, Pope Francis said that “a global educational pact is needed to educate us in universal solidarity and a new humanism.”… A Vatican-backed website to promote the pact added: “Educating young people in fraternity, in learning to overcome divisions and conflicts, promote hospitality, justice and peace: Pope Francis has invited everyone who cares about the education of the young generation to sign a Global Pact, to create a global change of mentality through education.”

By Fr. Raymond de Souza, Catholic Herald – The impact on the credibility of bishops has been significant. Cardinal Wuerl’s successor in Washington, Archbishop Wilton Gregory, felt constrained to begin his ministry with a promise to tell the truth, previously assumed to the case for a bishop. It is not assumed any longer… It is not hard to find priests – to say nothing of journalists – who are inclined not to believe anything their bishops say without corroboration. And bishops know it, which is why reviews of diocesan files are entrusted to law firms, or retired judges, or former law enforcement personnel… Any data provided by a bishop is suspect without independent verification.

By Cheryl Sullenger, Operation Rescue – A total of 36 abortion facilities closed nationwide in 2019, according to a survey of every abortion facility in the U.S. conducted by Operation Rescue… While the number of closures shows that in certain areas, abortion suppliers have outstripped the demand, as abortion numbers and rates continue to drop nationwide, according to the Center for Disease Control… Other noteworthy facts were revealed by Operation Rescue’s survey… Since 2013, 367 surgical abortion facilities have permanently closed.

By Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews – Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report, for 2018-2019, shows that the abortion giant performed a record 345,672 abortions in fiscal 2018 and received a record $616.8 million in government reimbursements and grants in the year that ended on June 30, 2019… “Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) and is not a private foundation (Tax ID #13-1644147),” states the annual report. “Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent available under the law. Planned Parenthood affiliates have the same tax status.”

By Claire Dwyer, FOCUS – How do you help a layperson begin to learn the art of prayer?… Fr. Mike: One of my friends has a saying, “Catholics are not taught to pray. They are taught how to repeat.” It is a good way to start—Jesus was taught the psalms, after all! But it is not enough. Not even all seminarians are taught how to pray. Fr. Jacques Philippe talks about how prayer can’t be merely a technique. If it is a technique, then there will be people who will be better at it or worse at it. Prayer is something other than method.

By Marcel LeJeune, Catholic Missionary Disciples – Humanity is broken, wounded, sinful, and messed up. It is also beautiful, redeemed, and loved by God. This means that every single community (this side of heaven) will be the same. Mixed up in both human failures and God’s grace. This comes with good and bad attached, with no way to do it differently… So, what does Christian community look like? A big mess, with Jesus in the middle… Why is it so hard for Catholic parishes, organizations, apostolates, etc to help form Christian community? We are sinners… But, that isn’t the end of the story. We shouldn’t just settle for dysfunction.

By Joseph Pronechen, Catholic Exchange – “All people of good will can and must say the Rosary every day,” Lucia counsels. “Why? In order to put ourselves in contact with God, to thank Him for His benefits and ask for the graces we need. It is the prayer which places us in familiar contact with God, like the son who goes to his father to thank him for the gifts he has received, to talk to him about special concerns, to receive his guidance, his help, his support and his blessing.”

By Deacon Keith Fournier, The Wanderer – In the Catholic Church we end the Christmas season this Sunday with the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism in the Jordan. Some of the most beautiful readings in the Office of Readings are found in the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayer of the whole church, on the days between the Feast of the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord… The Liturgy of the Hours is also called the Breviary. It is the sort of baseline prayer of all Clergy, Bishops, Priests and deacons, as well as those in the consecrated life. However, since the last great Church Council, Vatican II this official Prayer of the Church is recommended for all Christians….

By Eric Sammons, Crisis Magazine – For Catholics, if religion was “very important” in the family, then 73 percent of the time the kids remained Catholic after leaving the house. If it was “not too/not at all important,” only 38 percent remained Catholic. This shouldn’t be surprising to most people involved with youth outreach; they know it from experience. This is why many look for ways to involve parents in their youth activities. However, the model remains directed toward the kids, separate from their parents.

By Church Militant, ChurchMilitant – Our sources tell us that they believe McCarrick may be in that house, somewhere in the Jacksonville area. Church Militant is looking and searching for that house… The timing of all of this is raising a lot of speculation because the Vatican investigation into the McCarrick scandal is due to be released soon, and Church Militant has learned further from sources that “soon” may be as early as this coming weekend… Our sources inform us that the actual investigation is concluded and the formal report itself is at some stage of being translated into Italian for Pope Francis to review.

By David Carlin, The Catholic Thing – I am astonished at the success the Great Progressive Propaganda Machine (GPPM) has had at promoting the moral acceptability of abortion and homosexuality… Homosexual practice, on the other hand, is widely seen to be a good in itself, at least for those persons deemed to have been “born that way.” More than half the nation believes that it is not just a tolerable thing, but a positively good thing, for two men or two women to have sexual intercourse with one another; for in doing so they are acting in accordance with their nature…

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – the Covington students are now filing suit against other abortion advocates and liberal media types who lied about him and his friends… Robert Barnes, attorney for the Covington boys, announced he was suing Reza Aslan, the disgraced former CNN commentator who called Nick’s face “punchable” in a tweet that he finally deleted yesterday after getting served with the lawsuit. Aslan’s tweet from January 19, 2019 features the now viral image of Sandmann and asks his followers: “Have you ever seen a more punchable face than this kid’s?”

By Claire Dwyer, EWTN News – I asked Father Mike Schmitz, one of the keynote speakers for the conference and the director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, and the chaplain for the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, if there was any saint who’d been trying to get his attention. He smiled. “Some years I’ve done the saint-generator thing,” he admitted. “Or pulled a patron saint out of a hat. But that never seemed to work out. This year, St. Joseph keeps showing up!”

By Fr. Robert Altier, Youtube – Fr. Robert Altier offered this important homily at midnight Mass on New Year’s Day.

By Diane Montagna, LifeSiteNews – Cardinal Joseph Zen, the leading voice for persecuted Catholics in China, has sent a letter to the College of Cardinals imploring them to denounce the recent agreement the Vatican signed with China’s communist government… Together with the letter, the 87-year-old bishop emeritus of Hong Kong has also shared with his brother cardinals several “dubia” that he gave to Pope Francis in July 2019, following the Vatican’s June release of new guidelines concerning the civil registration of clergy in China. Those dubia were publish