Monday 28th September 2020

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Divergent Paths

September 27, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on Divergent Paths

By DONALD DeMARCO To the general public, National Basketball Players can seem larger than life. However, can this perceived stature, in any way, translate into political effectiveness? On the night of August 26, six NBA teams boycotted their games as a reaction to the ongoing social justice that victimizes African-American citizens. The boycott spread to other NBA teams as well as to baseball and hockey squads.The question arises: How powerful is professional sports to Americans? Can professional athletes be more effective in combatting social injustice than elected political leaders? Their effort may be admirable, but is it a real solution? Can athletes succeed where legislators and politicians have failed?On that same night, Sr. Deirdre Byrne, POSC, offered a radically different…Continue Reading

Last Best Chance to Capture Supreme Court

September 26, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on Last Best Chance to Capture Supreme Court

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are on the cusp of making history.With Trump having named two justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, they have an opening to elevate a third justice to fill the seat of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, thereby securing the constitutionalism of the court for a generation.Trump and McConnell need only persuade 50 of the 53 Senate Republicans to vote to confirm the nominee Trump says he will send up at week’s end, following the days of mourning for Ginsburg.Two Republican senators, however, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have said that they will not vote to confirm a justice nominated this…Continue Reading

U.S. Commission Says… Vatican-China Deal Should Focus On Religious Freedom

September 25, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on U.S. Commission Says… Vatican-China Deal Should Focus On Religious Freedom

(CNA) — Religious freedom must be the result of any renewed Vatican agreement with China, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom emphasized on September 15, noting that underground Catholics in the country remained “persecuted.”On September 14, the Vatican’s secretary of state, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, said that a renewal of the Holy See’s 2018 deal with China on the appointment of bishops was likely and would help “normalize the life of the Church” there.In response, Gary Bauer — a commissioner with USCIRF, a bipartisan federal advisory body — warned that the persecution of underground Catholics by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must stop if the Vatican-China deal is renewed.“Communist China continues to persecute Chinese Catholics. USCIRF hopes any future deal…Continue Reading

93-Page “Biden Report”. . . Exposes Democrat Candidate’s Strongly Anti-Catholic Platform

September 24, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on 93-Page “Biden Report”. . . Exposes Democrat Candidate’s Strongly Anti-Catholic Platform

By MARTIN BURGER MADISON, Wis. (LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic advocacy group has released a 93-page report detailing how Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, a baptized Catholic, has a record of embracing policy positions contrary to the Catholic faith. CatholicVote will be spending almost $10 million, targeting Catholic voters in key swing states, to expose Biden’s agenda.“The organization also announced that it has full-time staff in six states and over 2,000 community captains representing unique Catholic parishes across these states, and thousands of volunteers,” a press release stated.“CatholicVote plans to reach over 5 million active Catholics in battleground states during this election cycle.”A 30-second ad released by CatholicVote features Sr. Deirdre Byrne of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of…Continue Reading

A Book Review… A Hefty Work, But Worth Its Heft

September 23, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on A Book Review… A Hefty Work, But Worth Its Heft

By JOHN LYON Michael Burleigh, Earthly Powers: The Clash of Religion and Politics in Europe from the French Revolution to the Great War. Harper Collins: 2005. Each of us comes to a substantial historical work such as this with particular predispositions and preconceptions relevant to the subject matter and the manner in which it will be presented. If we are seeking anything other than self-congratulation and confirmation of prejudices in the process, a work such as Burleigh’s ought to disperse the former and modify the latter. It does.Burleigh moves us toward significantly greater comprehension of issues we either were merely aware of or antecedently thought we were in control of. And the issues are most important ones. In ten chapters…Continue Reading

U.S. Commission Says… Vatican-China Deal Should Focus On Religious Freedom

September 22, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on U.S. Commission Says… Vatican-China Deal Should Focus On Religious Freedom

(CNA) — Religious freedom must be the result of any renewed Vatican agreement with China, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom emphasized on September 15, noting that underground Catholics in the country remained “persecuted.”On September 14, the Vatican’s secretary of state, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, said that a renewal of the Holy See’s 2018 deal with China on the appointment of bishops was likely and would help “normalize the life of the Church” there.In response, Gary Bauer — a commissioner with USCIRF, a bipartisan federal advisory body — warned that the persecution of underground Catholics by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must stop if the Vatican-China deal is renewed.“Communist China continues to persecute Chinese Catholics. USCIRF hopes any future deal…Continue Reading

After Almost A Month Of Captivity . . . Two Sisters Safely Released By Rebels In Mozambique

September 21, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on After Almost A Month Of Captivity . . . Two Sisters Safely Released By Rebels In Mozambique

ROME (ZENIT) — The General Council of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambéry announced with deep gratitude that on Sunday, September 6, two of their sisters, from Brazil, Sr. Maria Inez Leite Ramos and Sr. Eliane Costa Santana, were safely released after 24 days of being held by the rebels in Mocimboa da Praia, Mozambique.After release, the sisters stayed outside of the Cabo Delgado area where they rested and were attended to by medical personnel.The congregation is very grateful for the work of Bishop Luis Fernando Lisboa of Pemba, Mozambique, and others, who along with other governmental agencies, were able to secure their safe release.Sisters Eliane and Maria Inez, and the congregation, ask for prayers for all of the…Continue Reading

Chasing Humility

September 20, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on Chasing Humility

By DONALD DeMARCO I believe it was Albert Einstein who said that the universe is filled with neutrons, protons, electrons, and morons. Perhaps I have slightly misquoted him. I am firmer ground, however, when I quote him as saying, “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure of the former.” Frank Zappa may not have read Einstein, but he did state that “there is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life.”Stupidity is pandemic, systemic, and endemic. That is to say, it is universal, cultural, and personal. It is a malady that afflicts all of us. Is there a ready cure available? Probably not. We stumble and fumble…Continue Reading

Are the Forever Wars Really Ending?

September 19, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on Are the Forever Wars Really Ending?

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN “There is no sound reason for the United States to continue sacrificing precious lives and treasure in a conflict not directly connected to our safety or other vital national interests.”So said William Ruger about Afghanistan, our longest war.What makes this statement significant is that President Donald Trump has ordered a drawdown by mid-October of half of the 8,600 troops still in the country. And Ruger was just named U.S. ambassador to Kabul.The selection of Ruger to oversee the U.S. withdrawal came as General Frank McKenzie of Central Command announced plans to cut the U.S. troop presence in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 by the end of September.Is America, at long last, really coming home from the…Continue Reading

A Movie Review… Fr. Patrick Peyton Speaks To Our Times

September 18, 2020 Featured Today Comments Off on A Movie Review… Fr. Patrick Peyton Speaks To Our Times

By REY FLORES The new film PRAY: The Story of Patrick Peyton is “the inspiring true story of a poor Irish immigrant who sets sail for America in 1928 with dreams of becoming a millionaire but, with the help of the most iconic celebrities of Hollywood, ends up spending his life championing the message, ‘The family that prays together stays together’.”Patrick Peyton’s parents, John and Mary, were the first messengers of the faith to their children and they did so by bringing them together in daily prayer. Their example left a lasting imprint on Patrick’s soul and inspired him to work to bring those graces to families — the Domestic Church — on a global level.I know most Catholics know…Continue Reading