Imperfect Greatness By Judd Garrett Objectivity is the Objective June 27, 2021 (emphasis added) Hat Tip: Rip McIntosh I watched a documentary on legendary, but highly volatile NFL coach Vince Lombardi the other day. In his first meeting with the Packers, Lombardi told his players, “Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence.” Lombardi brought extremely high standards to the Packers, and he demanded that his players live up to those standards because he believed that was the best way to bring out their greatness. Lombardi was loud, stubborn, and irrational at times. He had a quick-temper, and wore his emotions on his sleeve, but he was universally loved and revered by his players, not because he was a perfect coach, but because he believed in the greatness of his players which brought out the best in each and every one of them, turning a 1 & 13 team into five-time NFL champions. Lombardi was described as, “an imperfect man, trying to create something perfect.” That description reminded me of our country’s founders; imperfect men who tried to create “a more perfect union.” Our founders had many personal flaws, but their ideals, their principles which became the vision and foundation of our nation were as close to perfect as possible. And even though they did not live up to those ideals in their lives, the system they created has continually moved our nation closer and closer to the perfection of their original vision. People are not perfect, but principles can be. And the founding principles of America are as close to perfect as possible. Unlike Lombardi though, modern historians judge our founders on how imperfect they were as human beings, and not on how close to perfect what they created is.  This is the way we judge many of our political leaders. Donald Trump, like Lombardi, is a flawed man, who believed in our founders’ vision of America. Trump strived to make America great again, because he believed in American greatness, and in the greatness of theAmerican people. Time and again, he stood up for America against forces trying to tear it down, both foreign and domestic. By believing in American greatness, Trump was able to bring the best out of Americans. Prior to the pandemic, America had the lowest unemployment in 30 years, the lowest Black and Hispanic unemployment in history, and the highest wages. We had become energy independent, were winning on trade, and bringing peace to the Middle East. But like our founders, Trump has been judged on his imperfections as a person, and not on his production as President.  Our current President, Joe Biden is judged more-kindly than his predecessor, only because he is viewed as a less imperfect man. But Biden lacks the ability to bring out the greatness of our country, because he rarely acknowledges American greatness. He chooses to focus on America’s flaws. On June 6, President Biden refused to recognize the heroism, the sacrifice that many Americans displayed on the beaches of Normandy on that date in 1944 which helped liberate Europe from totalitarianism. Instead of honoring the greatness of America on that day, Biden chose to focus on a racist incident in our past by double downing on the Tulsa Massacre in 1921 that he had just spoken about days before. That is like a child bringing home an A+ in Geometry, and the father only pointing out that he got an F in Algebra two years prior. Focusing on the worst in people, only serves to bring out the worst in them. You cannot lead and inspire people if you do not believe in them. Former President Barack Obama did not believe in the inherent goodness of America. He believed that America was fundamentally flawed. That is why he aspired to “fundamentally change” America. He started his Presidency by traveling to the Middle East apologizing to terrorist nations for America having given them reasons for committing terrorist acts against us. Even though, outwardly, Obama was a “perfect” President; checking all of the superficial boxes of a President, he only saw the imperfections and the flaws of America and in Americans. He could not see the greatness in America, nor did he believe in the greatness of Americans, so he could not lead America to greatness. It is not a mystery why race relations are worse today in America than they were 12 years ago when we elected our first black President. Obama’s vision of an inherently, irreparably evil and flawed America has spawned the promotion of “The 1619 Project” and “Critical Race Theory”, racist ideologies that teach that America and white people specifically, are fundamentally racist and evil, which only makes race relations worse, and our country more divided. The United States is not a perfect nation, but it is a great nation. And the list of American greatness is long and distinguished, from our Constitution and Bill of rights, to the abolition of slavery, to liberating Europe from totalitarian rule, to the passing of Civil Rights legislation, to taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees every year, to billions of dollars of foreign aid we give to poverty-stricken nations, to protecting the free world, and the list goes on and on. Leaders who only focus on the worst of those they are leading bring out the worst, not the best in them. Even imperfect, volatile, demanding head coach Vince Lombardi knew that. Hall of Fame guard Jerry Kramer told the story of one practice when Lombardi chewed him out so badly for a simple mistake that he was completely demoralized. But after practice, Lombardi went up to Kramer, patted him on his head, and told him, “One day, you’re going to be the best guard in the NFL.” Kramer said, that was the time that he realized how good he could be, and when he started playing like a Hall-of-Famer. That is what it is to bring outthe best in others. That’s what leaders do. They don’t simply point out flaws and imperfections; they see, believe in, and help bring out the greatness of everyone despite their flaws.

BuildingtheTruth.org Presents the founders weekly article . School Boards Ignore ParentsPart 1 I have for the last twenty years have been calling for the schools to be put back into the control of the states and the parents. We have seen the federal government take over control of the schools ever since Jimmy Carter established a full federal office for a Department of Education. Up until 1979, the Department of Education was hidden in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The only problem with that is there is no constitutional provision for the federal government to be in control of education. None! The Democrats lie about controlling education by stating that the federal government doesn’t set any curriculum and they are right about that however, Democrats do set the testing standards, and that sets the curriculum. Democrats think we are all as dumb as their base voters.  Most of us can see through their lies.Too many School Boards today believe that they have the right to control everything that goes on in the school. They have been elected to keep it organized and functioning so that our children get a well-rounded education. What has happened is these boards have been overly influenced by the teacher’s union whose policies have dumbed down our children so bad that they come out of school with hardly an education but very heavily indoctrinated into a political ideology that has been an abject failure all throughout history. The children know very little about the history of this nation and the sacrifices that the Founders made to give us the greatest nation the world has ever seen. They are indoctrinated into an ideology that celebrates globalism, not individualism, a one-world order not the sovereignty of our nation. They are being taught that the freedoms we enjoy in America are selfishness, the prosperity that we enjoy is nothing more than greed. They are being taught to hate this nation and the color of their skin but only if they are white. They are taught that all white people are racist.So, it is easy to tell that what our children are being taught are outright lies. I’m always seeing bumper stickers that encourage us to support public education. I can understand a teacher doing that because that is their livelihood.  But the problem is public schools do not educate our children. Private schools do a much better job but are still restricted by the SATs. Not many public-school teachers embrace private or even homeschooling. Most oppose both schools and believe that they should be outlawed. Progressive teachers, judges, and politicians are doing all they can to eliminate any and all competition for public schools: 1.    Destroy Home Schooling.The bills – AB 2756 in California and HB 1798 in Maryland – would create new rules, regulations and home inspections that:would violate parental rightswould not accomplish their stated purpose of protecting children from abuseare not necessaryOn the surface, the new requirements in these bills may seem sensible and harmless … but they begin a process of government review … oversight … intrusion … and control.They will effectively end home schooling in both Maryland and California.Imperil Parental Privacy Rights.Both bills allow government officials – for the first time ever – to enter a private home without having a reason to suspect there’s a situation in the home requiring their intervention.The proposed legislation provides no protections against invasion of privacy by the home school inspectors once they are inside a home.Create legislation under the false pretense of “protecting children.”The authors of the proposed bill claim that the goal of the legislation is to “protect children” from parental abuse … yet the home inspections are to be conducted by appointment.If a parent was committing child abuse and knew that an inspector was coming at a certain time … the parent would send the children out of the home on a “field trip” and remove any evidence of abuse before the inspector arrived.1If this isn’t evidence that progressives, i.e. Democrats, demand zero competition I don’t know what is. Some public schools are attempting to not allow parents to pull kids from a public school for homeschooling: T.J. Schmidt, a lawyer for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which provides legal services to help parents meet requirements for transitioning children from public school to homeschool, said he’s noticed an uptick in the number of parents trying to pull their kids from public school.And public schools, he said, are pushing back.”We see this across the country,” Schmidt said. “I’ve had school officials attempt to prevent or dissuade parents from pulling their kids out.”He said schools have been unable to process the paperwork to withdraw students from the public school system. 2I would like to point out a Democrat-controlled city whose education system is as pathetic and ineffective as Chicago’s gun laws are. That city is Baltimore. The school system there should be considered a worst-case scenario for fraud and child abuse. Baltimore Schools- four high schools and one middle school do not have a *single student* who is considered proficient at math or reading. Not one. This is fraud. This is failure. It’s a tragedy.New Hope is a small school with nearly 120 students, 90% black, and the drop out rate is over 70% It’s also considered a special education school for Maryland. 100% of the enrolled students are eligible for free lunches. I don’t know what it means for them to be a special education school- are the students mostly kids with learning disabilities, emotional issues, or kids with mental disabilities? But let’s set this school aside for now.Achievement High School is an alternative school with just under 400 students. They are there because of learning problems and/or emotional issues.  The middle school is supposed to be wonderful. Only 258 kids, a student teacher ratio of 11 to 1. But those kids, grades 6-8, can neither read nor do math at their grade level. They have been failed by their families, every teacher they have ever had, every principal they have ever had, every person on the school board, every person who has had fingers on the money that goes to their schools. 3Baltimore has one of the worst school systems in the country. There are 13 high schools that have no students that are proficient in math. Project Baltimore analyzed 2017 state test scores released this fall. We paged through 16,000 lines of data and uncovered this: Of Baltimore City’s 39 High Schools, 13 had zero students proficient in math.Digging further, we found another six high schools where one percent tested proficient. Add it up – in half the high schools in Baltimore City, 3804 students took the state test, 14 were proficient in math.4This has been going on for decades and the parents are finally taking a stand and demanding input into their children’s education and the teachers and school boards don’t like it. They have forgotten they are our representatives, not our overlords. Foot Notes1.    https://www.electionforum.org/education/banning-home-schooling/  2.   https://www.foxnews.com/us/coronavirus-school-online-kids-covid3.   http://thecommonroomblog.com/2019/07/five-baltimore-schools-do-not-have-a-single-student-who-is-reading-at-grade-level.html4.   https://www.educationviews.org/13-baltimore-city-high-schools-students-proficient-math/ ©Roger Anghiswww.buildingthetruth.org

Israeli researchers: ‘Rare autoimmune disease’ linked to Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

“The accumulation of cases did not fit. It was not what we would expect to see in a normal year.”

Tags: Vaccine

Arutz Sheva Staff , Jun 24 , 2021 2:41 PM

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Israeli researchers this week pointed to a link between the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine and a “rare autoimmune disease.”

The researchers, associated with the Department of Hematology at the Shamir Medical Center, found an increased incidence of acquired Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (aTTP) in Israel over a one-month period, and noted that the cases appeared in those who had received the Pfizer vaccine up to a month before.

Researcher Dorit Blickstein explained to Channel 13 that TTP is “a disease which, in its classic form, is deadly – 90% of those sick would die. Today, with the help of new treatments, which […] must be administered as quickly as possible, most patients recover.”

She said the researchers investigated a possible connection to the vaccine after seeing an increased concentration of cases of aTTP in Israel. They had noticed 4 cases in a month, while there are typically 2-3 cases a year.

“In Israel, there are two or three cases a year in any hospital. In March, we started to receive too many cases, and so we asked why.

“We essentially finished the yearly amount in one month, and that’s not logical. So we started to ask what all the patients had in common. And it turned out that all of them had received the coronavirus vaccine that is accepted and exists in Israel within a timetable of 5 to 28 days.”

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“This caused us to suspect there was an association, some sort of connection, between this super-rare disease and the vaccine.”

She noted that most patients with the disease are young and that, in their study as well, the ages ranged between 28 and 45. Half were men, half women.

“In any event, it arouses attention, because the accumulation, the concentration did not fit. It is not what we expect to see in a normal year.”

Blickstein added that “with the help of the serological tests,” the researchers knew that “the patients were not patients sick with coronavirus, but rather patients who received the vaccine.”

“This was a red flag for us.”

She said there must be a red flag for “healthy people who received the vaccine and start to develop phenomena like a tendency to internal bleeding or, Heaven forbid, headaches, dizziness, loss of words, chest pressure or stomach aches,” in which case they should “call for medical assistance immediately.”

“It could be that they are not regular vaccine phenomena, but an expression of a rare disease.”

Blickstein finally noted that the incidence is “not only in Israel. There is, at the moment, a report of an identical response to the same vaccine in Belgium and Italy.”

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The US National Library of Medicine defines TTP as “a rare disorder that causes blood clots (thrombi) to form in small blood vessels throughout the body. These clots can cause serious medical problems if they block vessels and restrict blood flow to organs such as the brain, kidneys, and heart.”

“Complications resulting from these clots can include neurological problems (such as personality changes, headaches, confusion, and slurred speech), fever, abnormal kidney function, abdominal pain, and heart problems.”

A report released by the Health Ministry at the beginning of June concluded that hundreds of cases of heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis) were probably caused by the coronavirus vaccine administered as part of Israel’s mass vaccination campaign.

The vast majority of cases were reported among young men and teenage boys. Most of the cases were reported among males ages 16 to 30, with the highest proportion found among male teens aged 16-19. Ninety percent of all the myocarditis cases linked to the vaccine were reported in males.

MAIKE HICKSON

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After meeting with Pope Francis, the head of German bishops says pontiff invited them to help the Church

Cardinal Gerhard Müller provided LifeSite with an exclusive response to this news.Thu Jun 24, 2021 – 6:05 pm EST

June 24, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Today, Bishop Georg Bätzing, the head of the German bishops’ conference, met with Pope Francis in a private audience, the second audience since his election as head of the German bishops. Right after this meeting, the German bishops published a statement by Bätzing, in which he states that the Pope “encourages” the German Synodal Path and even asks the Germans to “help shape” the three-year work of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality that the Pope announced.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, in a statement requested by LifeSite (see full statement below), criticizes this new press release of the German bishops, calling it a “well-sophisticated self-praise.” He points out “that the agenda of the Synodal Path is diametrically opposed to the Catholic faith in form and content.”

Bishop Bätzing, in his official statement after his meeting with the Pope, explains that he has “extensively informed” Francis about the “state of the Synodal Path” and that he told him that “insinuations, according to which the Church in Germany is intending to enter independent, particular paths [‘Sonderwege’] are made up out of thin air.”“The Pope encouraged us to continue the to walk the Synodal Path as chosen by us, to discuss openly and honestly the open questions and to come to recommendations for another conduct of the Church,” the German bishops adds.“At the same time,” Bätzing says, “he invited the Church in Germany to help shape the Path of Synodality that will lead to the Synod of Bishops in 2023, as announced by him [Pope Francis].”

Unless Pope Francis issues a correction of this official German statement within a very short time – which is highly improbable – one may conclude from this meeting and message that which many concerned observers were worried about for years now: namely, that Pope Francis supports the German Synodal Path. And that Synodal Path is currently questioning many of the Church’s irreformable doctrines (such as on an all-male priesthood, the clerical governance of the Church, and the ban on blessings of homosexual couples, cohabitation, and contraception).SUBSCRIBEto LifeSite’s daily headlinesSUBSCRIBEU.S. Canada World Catholic

Only last month, a strange event took place: Cardinal Reinhard Marx offered his resignation as archbishop of Munich-Freising to Pope Francis, saying that he sees the Church at a “dead end” with regard to the sexual abuse crisis and the lack of reform. The Pope had met with Marx, discussed the matter with him, yet still allowed him to publish his letter offering his resignation which the Pope then rejected only a few days later.

As many observers said at the time: this very much seemed like a staged event that would give Pope Francis the chance to give Cardinal Marx an official approval for having started, in 2019, the controversial Synodal Path that has rocked the Catholic Church in Germany ever since.

Should anyone have had doubts as to where Pope Francis stood with regard to the German path of heterodoxy and worse, his approval of Marx, as well as his own decision to start an international Synodal Path for the entire Catholic Church – after starting a Synodal Path in Italy – should put any doubts to rest. No one, after seeing the recklessness of the German proposals for reform (including the blessing of homosexual couples, which provoked a statement from the Vatican rejecting it), would ever dare opening up more of those paths within the Church.

This new international Synodal Path, which will be multi-staged, was announced last month by Mario Grech, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. The bishops’ gathering will begin in Rome in October of this year, followed by six months of meetings at the diocesan level, next at the national level, and then at the continental level. These meetings will take in the opinions of religious communities, lay associations, and Catholic universities.

Should Pope Francis ever have been seriously concerned that the Synodal Path of the Catholic Church in Germany is proclaiming heretical ideas and practices, he would have had the moral duty of the Supreme Shepherd to stop them, for the good of the souls. And he certainly would not ask them to help “shape” the Church’s international Synodal Path.There are many aspects of the Catholic faith at stake. As Cardinal Müller in today’s statement points out, “the agenda of the Synodal Path is diametrically opposed to the Catholic faith in form and content,” and he reminds us that the German Synodal Path is “on a collision course with the Catholic Faith.” Furthermore, the German prelates reminds us of the hierarchical-sacramental structure of the Catholic Church and also of an all-male priesthood.“The threefold Sacrament of Holy Orders presupposes, among other criteria, the male gender of its recipient. This truth is definitive teaching of the Church and must not be secularized in the logic of prestige and power,” he explains.Cardinal Müller also rejects the German Synodal Path’s claim that celibacy is one of the root problems of the current clerical sex abuse crisis. Finally, he calls for a genuine Catholic life and good shepherds, which is the only way for regaining strength and conviction in the Catholic Church.Below is the full statement by Cardinal Gerhard Müller:The press release of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) of June 24, 2021 on the visit of its chairman Bishop Bätzing to the Pope contains in diplomatic phrases well-sophisticated self-praise. It intends nothing other than the well-known tactic of appeasing the critics of the Synodal Way and concealing its anti-Catholic agenda. As always, one feels highly encouraged by the Pope and fully encouraged to continue on the previous path until the (blessed or bitter) end. Summa summarum: Much ado about nothing and all excitement in vain! For the Bishop of Limburg has finally “made it clear” to the successor of Peter, “whom Christ placed at the head of the Apostles and in him instituted a perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of faith and communion” (Lumen gentium 18), that circulated attributions according to which the Church in Germany wants to go down particular paths are made up out of thin air.”So the warnings of a confrontational course concerning the unity of the Church and its revealed doctrine of the faith can only have been invented by devious or incompetent cardinals, bishops and theologians from all over the world in order to worry the Pope in Rome or even to instrumentalize him for a Catholicism that does not want to take note of the realities of life today?But only those who enjoy the gift of infinite naiveté still believe in the fairy tale of the good, forward-pushing Pope and his evil, slowing-down collaborators (Ladaria, Koch and even Kasper). Does this mean that they just wanted to test how far they could go, or has the realization grown that the agenda of the Synodal Path is diametrically opposed to the Catholic faith in form and content? What is Catholic does not result from the combined majority of subjective opinions, but objectively from the binding doctrinal documents of the Catholic Church guided by the Pope and the bishops in communion with him (Lumen gentium 8).In order that communion of the faithful may not “depart from the path of faith,” the bishops, as successors of the apostles, must “preserve the good entrusted to them” (1 Tim 6:20), i.e., remain in the “teaching of the Apostles.” (Acts 2:42). With regard to the agenda of the Synodal Path, which is on a collision course with the Catholic Faith, its most important points are mentioned once again for the sake of clarity:The informal assembly of German bishops with representatives of lay organizations, called Synodal Way, has no teaching authority in matters of Catholic faith and is not above the sacramental (=hierarchical) constitution of the Church. (“Hierarchy” here is only the equivalent of sacramentality and has nothing to do with a political-sociological super- and subordination in a secular ruling body).It is untruthful and dishonorable to attribute the sexual offenses of individual persons (clergy and laity in church service) causally to the celibacy of priests, the vows of religious orders and the sexual ethics of the Church rooted in the Christian image of man of the Commandments of God. Since the evangelical counsels are gifts of the Holy Spirit, the materialistic thesis of the irresistibility of the sexual instinct or its automatic discharge in perversions would mean that God himself would have to be declared the author of sin. The believer, however, is enabled by the grace of God to fulfill the Commandments of God in free will and to fulfill the promise of abstinence.The apostolic authority of the pope, bishops and priests to teach, guide and sanctify the faithful does not come from a claim to power in the secular sense, but has been conferred upon them by Jesus as a participation in His Messianic Authority and mission. Priests and laity are united in Christ the High Priest and work together in building up the Body of Christ, the Church.The threefold Sacrament of Holy Orders presupposes, among other criteria, the male gender of its recipient. This truth is definitive teaching of the Church and must not be secularized in the logic of prestige and power.The Church can regain her credibility only through a genuinely Christian life of Catholics. The apostolic ministry becomes a witness to Christ when priests see themselves as good shepherds and live according to the example of Jesus, who gave his life for his sheep.

Neoslavery and Black Lives Matter 

By Theodore Wilson

June 26, 2021

(emphasis added) 

Hat Tip: Rip McIntosh

           The critical race theory of Derrick Bell, Harvard Law Professor, has swept the United States coast to coast and become the Axis of Indoctrination in public schools and universities. 
It defines whitism as the source of Black suppression and places the blame on white society for the black crime rate, dependency on the government for sustenance, and lack of interest in education. 
The National Democratic Party and Biden Administration ignore the historical facts and abandon intellectual principles. They are embracing Derrick Bell’s philosophy and have dropped the cross to champion the doctrines of Black Lives Matter. 
           According to Bell, all whites claim they rank superior in nature, status, authority, and power. He labels their whiteness as systemic racism and this movement as the great awakening. 
           White Americans today had no ties to slavery, and they have embraced the cause of civil rights. They work with Blacks, share the same neighborhoods, develop deep friendships, and intermarry. Bell’s theory causes them to scratch their head wondering why he insists they become “woke.”
 History proves the Critical Race Theory to be a fallacy. The ugly facts show that Africa’s slave trade has existed for over a thousand years. The first documented slave traders, also called sea dogs, Francis Drake and his cousin, John Hawkins from England, were pirates in the middle sixteenth century. The French also brought slaves to North America before the English.
           On March 1, 1780, Pennsylvania abolished slavery as part of the movement to establish a democracy in the United States. In 1850 there were 18 free states, and the majority of the population in the 15 slave states had nothing to do with the institution of slavery.
           John Brown, a poor white farmer who formed an army that massacred hundreds of helpless white families, was a hero of the free states. When he was hung, the John Brown song became a popular theme sung in the Union Army.
           The anti-slavery movement was instrumental in the formation of the Republican Party and the election of Abraham Lincoln. 
Although history declared Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation as the end of slavery, it was actually the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^thAmendments championed by the Republican Party that ended slavery, provided citizenship, and gave Blacks the right to vote.
           These Constitutional Amendments didn’t just free the slaves from their masters, they now had ownership of their own identity, the opportunity to determine their own destinies, and a choice in the development of character. Morality, work ethic, good sportsmanship, fortitude, and all the characteristics that help us become the very best to achieve are a matter of choice in a free world. 
           Bell’s concept of white supremacy creates a breakdown in the firewall of truth. Character cannot be a black and white issue because skin color plays no role in determining the outcome in the classroom, on the gridiron, basketball court, golf course, in a swimming pool, behind a chessboard, or any other arena where we perform.
In 2018, 44.8 million residents in our country were foreign-born, or 1 out of every 8 people. People are flocking to this country, not leaving. Since 1980, 4.2 million Blacks have immigrated to the United States. In 2015, 619,000 of them were here illegally. 
           Why? Slavery still exists in five African countries: South Africa, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and Mauritania. An estimated 9.2 million Blacks live in servitude today and the atrocities Africans have endured overshadow anything experienced by Blacks beyond that continent. 
Idi Amin, military dictator of Uganda, ranks as one of the most brutal despots in the history of the world. His cruelty had no margin. He maintained a meat locker with the bodies of children because he liked to eat delicate body parts. Brutal mass murders have taken place periodically across the African continent over the past 150 years, and the numbers add up to a holocaust.
           The economy of the United States has always been attractive to foreigners. In 1900, the average wage earner in Italy earned about $4.50 for a 60-hour week. Wages were about $7.00 here. Today, we have the wealthiest Black population in the world. South Africa is known for its wealthy natural resources, especially precious metals and gems. The average family income there is $34,000 and they eliminate those people bonded to servitude to get that figure. The average income of a Black family in the United States is $45,438.
Black immigrants from Africa are more likely to earn a college degree, most likely because they did not grow up under the Democratic Party’s Great Society Program that encourages black families to stay on the nipple of the government. 
In 2019, the poverty level in the United States was 10.5 % nationally, but 18.8% were black, 15.7% Hispanic, and Asians and Europeans were 7.2%. Foreign-born Blacks have a significantly lower poverty level than native African citizens.
The ultimate goal of the partnership between Black Lives Matter and the communist party centers on the establishment of Marxism in the United States. To accomplish this, they must have the support of the 81% of the Blacks who are prosperous to gain control of the political power. 
Bell’s Critical Race Theory offers the perfect weapon to divide the country. It thrives on the imaginary horrid picture that stereotypes whites as cruel and oppressive to prevent Blacks from becoming the very best they can. The theory fosters resentment and hatred toward the three white races and demands that all whites must be punished. In principle, by mandating a shared guilty verdict against all whites, it justifies punishment for resistance and encourages violence.
That record accompanies the history of every country that established a totalitarian government and the quiet genocide of slave labor camps like those now existing in China.
Black racism is about power and Black Lives Matter sits in the driver’s seat driving the black revolution referred to as Freedom’s Way. 
California is building an entire community with government funding and whites are not allowed. Blacks are receiving small business loans and whites cannot apply.
If you watch CNN or any other mainstream television station, you will never learn the truth. In other words, as we are edging toward civil war, most people are not realizing the reality of a possible confrontation when Marxists attack the constitution.
The answer to one major question remains unpredictable. Will the educated and hard-working successful Blacks of the United States who thrive because of their strong character traits give away ownership to their identity. Will they abandon their “right of choice” to determine their destinies for a new master under a Marxist neo-slavery government?Under totalitarian leadership, they will live under the constant surveillance of authority that will dictate how to think and act. 
Will Blacks turn their heads or will they watch when their white teachers, coaches, doctors, friends, and neighbors are persecuted? 
When Europe was divided by the iron curtain, people who lived behind the communist wall risked their lives to escape to freedom, and nobody was trying to get in. How will the Black population respond when the George Floyd types are confronted by communist police? 
Bell and Black Lives Matter are now writing a new fairy tale. The main character that represents the Black population combines the profile of Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White. The villain portrays Christianity and the Republican Party as the evil stepmother and the big bad wolf.  We don’t know the ending yet, but we are wondering, who is it in the story that is really asleep and needs to wake up.

THE CATHOLIC MONITOR

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Vigano: Francis Teaching “Blatant Heresy… a Very Serious Apostasy & a Terrible Blasphemy” & Has “Francis has Lost the Papacy”?

June 26, 2021

– Doctor of the Church St. Francis de Sales totally confirmed beyond any doubt the possibility of a heretical pope and what must be done by the Church in such a situation:

“[T]he Pope… WHEN he is EXPLICITLY a heretic, he falls ipso facto from his dignity and out of the Church, and the Church MUST either deprive him, or, as some say, declare him deprived, of his Apostolic See.”
(The Catholic Controversy, by St. Francis de Sales, Pages 305-306)

Last year, CNS News reported that “Archbishop Carlo Vigano, the former Vatican ambassador to the United States, said this idea [of Francis] is a ‘blatant heresy’ and a ‘terrible blasphemy'”:

In reference to a document signed by Muslim Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb and Pope Francis that says the “diversity of religions” in the world is “willed by God,” Archbishop Carlo Vigano, the former Vatican ambassador to the United States, said this idea is a “blatant heresy” and a “terrible blasphemy.”

That specific teaching in the document has also been denounced by Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American, Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan, and numerous Christian scholars…

[… ]

“In his Abu Dhabi declaration, Pope Francis said that God wants all religions,” commented Archbishop Vigano.  “Not only is this a blatant heresy, it is also a very serious apostasy and a terrible blasphemy.”

 “Saying that God wants to be worshipped as something other than how He revealed Himself means that the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Savior are completely meaningless,” said Vigano.

“It means that the reason for founding the Church, the reason for which millions of holy Martyrs gave their lives, for which the Sacraments were instituted, along with the priesthood and the papacy itself, are all meaningless,” he added. [https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/michael-w-chapman/arbp-vigano-pope-francis-teaching-blatant-heresy-terrible-blasphemy]

Dr. Taylor Marshall on his YouTube show explained why after Archbishop Vigano said that the Francis Abu Dhabi statement is “blatant heresy” that it is possible “Francis has lost the papacy”:

“[Vigano said] this [the Abu Dhabi statement] is a blatant heresy… Let’s pause there. This gets into St. Robert Bellarmine where he says a manifest heretic immediately and de facto loses the papacy. So, if Bellarmine is right and Vigano is right that means that Francis has lost the papacy… then Bellarmine would also say there is a general council that then declares the deposition that the pope has fallen for manifest heresy.”
(Dr. Taylor Marshall YouTube Show, “Archbishop Vigano calls on Pope and Bishops to Repent Amidst Corona Crisis,” April 1, 2020, 16:16-16:58)

However, theologian Cardinal Raymond Burke disagreed with the YouTube podcaster Marshall’s claim that a “general council” is needed when the Catholic World Report (CWR) asked him:

“CWR: Who is competent to declare him to be in heresy?”

“Cardinal Burke: It would have to be members of the College of Cardinals.”
(Catholic World Report, “Cardinal Burke : ‘No, I am not saying that Pope Francis is in Heresy.” December 19, 2016)

Note that Burke said “members of the College of Cardinals,” not the whole College of Cardinals many of whom may be presumed to apparently be heretics. That sounds like a imperfect council not a “general council.”  

Stop for a moment of silence, ask Jesus Christ what He want you to do now and next. In this silence remember God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost – Three Divine Persons yet One God, has an ordered universe where you can know truth and falsehood as well as never forget that He wants you to have eternal happiness with Him as his son or daughter by grace. Make this a practice. By doing this you are doing more good than reading anything here or anywhere else on the Internet.

Francis Notes:

– Doctor of the Church St. Francis de Sales totally confirmed beyond any doubt the possibility of a heretical pope and what must be done by the Church in such a situation:

“[T]he Pope… WHEN he is EXPLICITLY a heretic, he falls ipso facto from his dignity and out of the Church, and the Church MUST either deprive him, or, as some say, declare him deprived, of his Apostolic See.”
(The Catholic Controversy, by St. Francis de Sales, Pages 305-306)

Saint Robert Bellarmine, also, said “the Pope heretic is not deposed ipso facto, but must be declared deposed by the Church.”
[https://archive.org/stream/SilveiraImplicationsOfNewMissaeAndHereticPopes/Silveira%20Implications%20of%20New%20Missae%20and%20Heretic%20Popes_djvu.txt]

– “If Francis is a Heretic, What should Canonically happen to him?”: http://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2020/12/if-francis-is-heretic-what-should.html

– “Could Francis be a Antipope even though the Majority of Cardinals claim he is Pope?”: http://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2019/03/could-francis-be-antipope-even-though.html

 –  LifeSiteNews, “Confusion explodes as Pope Francis throws magisterial weight behind communion for adulterers,” December 4, 2017:

The AAS guidelines explicitly allows “sexually active adulterous couples facing ‘complex circumstances’ to ‘access the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.'”

–  On February 2018, in Rorate Caeli, Catholic theologian Dr. John Lamont:

“The AAS statement… establishes that Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia has affirmed propositions that are heretical in the strict sense.”

– On December 2, 2017, Bishop Rene Gracida:

“Francis’ heterodoxy is now official. He has published his letter to the Argentina bishops in Acta Apostlica Series making those letters magisterial documents.”

Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church by the bishops by the grace of God.

Election Notes:  

– Intel Cryptanalyst-Mathematician on Biden Steal: “212Million Registered Voters & 66.2% Voting,140.344 M Voted…Trump got 74 M, that leaves only 66.344 M for Biden” [http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2020/12/intel-cryptanalyst-mathematician-on.html?m=1]

– Will US be Venezuela?: Ex-CIA Official told Epoch Times “Chávez started to Focus on [Smartmatic] Voting Machines to Ensure Victory as early as 2003”: http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2020/12/will-us-be-venezuela-ex-cia-official.html– Tucker Carlson’s Conservatism Inc. Biden Steal Betrayal is explained by “One of the Greatest Columns ever Written” according to Rush: http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2021/01/tucker-carlsons-conservatism-inc-biden.html?m=1 – A Hour which will Live in Infamy: 10:01pm November 3, 2020: 
http://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2021/01/a-hour-which-will-live-in-infamy-1001pm.html?m=1 What is needed right now to save America from those who would destroy our God given rights is to pray at home or in church and if called to even go to outdoor prayer rallies in every town and city across the United States for God to pour out His grace on our country to save us from those who would use a Reichstag Fire-like incident to destroy our civil liberties. [Is the DC Capitol Incident Comparable to the Nazi Reichstag Fire Incident where the German People Lost their Civil Liberties?: http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2021/01/is-dc-capital-incident-comparable-to.html?m=1 and Epoch Times Show Crossroads on Capitol Incident: “Anitfa ‘Agent Provocateurs‘”: 
http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2021/01/epoch-times-show-crossroads-on-capital.html?m=1] 
Pray an Our Father now for the grace to know God’s Will and to do it.   

For Pope Francis, the Holy Eucharist Is the “Bread of Sinners,” for Saint Thomas Aquinas, It Is “Panis Angelorum”

June 23, 2021 | Luiz Sérgio Solimeo 

For Pope Francis, the Holy Eucharist Is the “Bread of Sinners,” for Saint Thomas Aquinas, It Is “Panis Angelorum”

Corpus Christi is the grand and solemn liturgical feast in praise of the Blessed Sacrament. Inspired by Saint Juliana of Mont Cornillon (1193–1258), it originated in the Middle Ages. Pope Urban IV approved it with the Bull Transiturus of September 8, 1264, and asked Saint Thomas Aquinas to compose its liturgical office.

Hence, we owe to Saint Thomas’s theological genius (he was also an inspired poet) the beautiful hymn Lauda Sion, that is part of the new feast’s Mass. In its verses, we find the beautiful expression “Ecce panis angelorum” (behold the Bread of angels), which came to be used frequently to designate Holy Communion. That is easy to understand because one can receive it only in the state of grace, which renders men similar to angels.

On the Feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Francis Turns the “Bread of Angels” Into “Bread of Sinners”

Pope Francis took advantage of the commemoration of the Feast of Corpus Christi on June 6 to change the meaning of the Sacrament of the Eucharist into one entirely contrary to the Church’s perennial teaching. Thus, changing the poetic but theologically safe formulation of Saint Thomas, he transforms the designation “Bread of Angels” into “Bread of sinners.”

As he had done on another occasion,¹ at the Angelus on that feast day, Pope Francis presented Judas, the traitor, as an example of divine mercy. He said that, at the Holy Supper, Jesus knew of Judas’s betrayal. And “what does Jesus do? He reacts to the evil with a greater good. He responds to Judas’s ‘no’ with the ‘yes’ of mercy. He does not punish the sinner but rather gives His life for him.”²

Pope Francis adds, “When we receive the Eucharist, Jesus does the same with us: he knows us; he knows we are sinners; and he knows we make many mistakes, but he does not give up on joining his life to ours.”

Concluding his thought, he says that Jesus “knows that we need it, because the Eucharist is not the reward of saints, no, it is the Bread of sinners. This is why he exhorts us: ‘Do not be afraid! Take and eat.’”

A Doctrine Contrary to the Council of Trent

The above words and the example of Judas when designating the Eucharist as “bread of sinners” make one wonder if Pope Francis suggests that the proper effect of Holy Communion is to forgive mortal sins, not just venial ones. That would run counter the Council of Trent: “Can. 5. If anyone says that the special fruit of the Most Holy Eucharist is the remission of sins, or that from it no other fruits are produced: let him be anathema.”³

Another error equally opposed to that Council and the Scriptures, and seemingly insinuated in Pope Francis’s words, is that being in the state of grace is not required to receive Holy Communion. However, quoting Saint Paul, the Council of Trent says:

[A]ssuredly, the more the holiness and divinity of this heavenly sacrament are understood by a Christian, the more diligently ought he to give heed that he approaches not to receive it but with great reverence and holiness, especially as we read in the Apostle those words full of terror: He that eat and drink unworthily, eat and drink judgment to himself (1 Cor. 11:29). Wherefore, he who would communicate ought to recall to mind the precept of the Apostle: Let a man prove himself.⁴

The moralists Antonio Lanza and Pietro Palazzini explain, “[by] divine right, all who are in mortal sin cannot licitly approach Communion.”⁵

Effects of the Sacrament of the Eucharist

These moral theologians summarize the effects of Eucharistic Communion as follows: “The specific effects of Holy Communion are: a) uniting us with Jesus Christ and His Mystical Body, the Church, in a more intimate way; b) increasing sanctifying grace in us; c) nurturing and fortify our spiritual life; d) weakening concupiscence; e) giving us a sign of eternal life. The effects will be all the more abundant the better are the dispositions [with which one receives It].”⁶

Holy Communion can indirectly erase a mortal sin when a person, unaware that he is in sin, receives Communion piously. In these cases, “theologians incline to the opinion, that in such exceptional cases the Holy Eucharist can restore the soul to the state of grace.”⁷

Communion in Amoris Laetitia

Given Pope Francis’s new designation of the Holy Eucharist as the “bread of sinners,” one understands better why, in his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, he opened in a footnote the possibility for people living in adultery to receive Holy Communion.⁸

In that Apostolic Exhortation, he says that a person can be in an “objective situation of sin” but still “living in God’s grace, can love and can also grow in the life of grace and charity, while receiving the Church’s help to this end.” In a note, he states, “In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments” because the Holy Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”⁹

Learn All About the Prophecies of Our Lady of Good Success About Our Times

The bishops of the Buenos Aires Pastoral Region made entirely clear what Amoris Laetitia said confusingly. They say that in certain cases when the first marriage cannot be the object of annulment, “Amoris Laetitia opens the possibility of access to the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist (see notes 336 & 351). In turn, these dispose the person to continue maturing and growing with the power of grace.”¹⁰

In his response to these bishops, Pope Francis praises their pronouncement and adds, “The writing is very good and makes fully explicit the meaning of chapter VIII of Amoris Laetitia. There are no other interpretations.”¹¹

Pope Francis thus deems authentic the interpretation of the Argentine bishops, according to which married couples in adultery can receive sacramental absolution and Communion without abandoning their sinful situation. This is perfectly consistent with seeing the Holy Eucharist as the “bread of sinners.”

It is good to add that, according to the traditional doctrine sanctioned at the Council of Trent, a confession made without repentance and the firm purpose of abandoning sin is invalid and a profanation of the sacrament.¹²

Unanswered Dubia

On September 19, 2016, four cardinals of Holy Church—Carlo Caffarra, Joachim Meisner (both deceased), Raymond Burke, and Walter Brandmüller—addressed to Pope Francis a request for clarification in the form of dubia (doubts) on the new doctrines contained in Amoris Laetitia, especially on the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance. They wrote:

It is asked whether, following the affirmations of Amoris Laetitia (300-305), it has now become possible to grant absolution in the sacrament of penance and thus to admit to Holy Communion a person who, while bound by a valid marital bond, lives together with a different person more uxoriowithout fulfilling the conditions provided for by Familiaris Consortio, 84, and subsequently reaffirmed by Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, 34, and Sacramentum Caritatis, 29. Can the expression “in certain cases” found in note 351 (305) of the exhortation Amoris Laetitia be applied to divorced persons who are in a new union and who continue to live more uxorio [as husband and wife]?¹³

To this day, almost five years later, Pope Francis has not responded to the dubia. His silence in this regard is now public and notorious throughout the Catholic world.

The following year, on July 16, 2017, a group of Catholic theologians and intellectuals published a document titled Correctio filialis de haeresibus propagatis. They showed the same concern as the cardinals. They wrote forcefully, “Several passages of Amoris Laetitia, in conjunction with acts, words, and omissions of Your Holiness, serve to propagate seven heretical propositions.”¹⁴

The Sacrament and Repentant Sinners

Is it not a blasphemy to call the Holy Eucharist “bread of sinners”? The sacraments bestow grace on those who receive them worthily. None of them can be given to an adult who is not in a condition to receive them. Even for Penance or Confession (currently called the Sacrament of Reconciliation), to produce its effects of restoring a sinner to the state of grace, he needs to seriously confess his sins with perfect or at least imperfect repentance (attrition) and a firm resolve to abandon sin.

According to Lanza-Palazzini, “Whoever consciously receives the Sacrament without the proper dispositions, commits a serious sin of sacrilege because it renders useless the rite that Christ instituted as an effective sign of grace.” They conclude: “The profanation of a very holy thing is a grave insult against the Divine Founder. Concretely, the state of grace is required to receive the Sacraments of the living;¹⁵ if that is missing, sacrilege is committed.”¹⁶

Abortion and Eucharist

Objectively, in the external forum, it is quite evident that not only those who procure and those who perform an abortion are in a state of sin. The legislators or judges who turn pro-abortion measures into law are as well. They commit at least the sin of scandal by denying, in practice, a doctrine always taught by the Church and based on natural law.

Angels’ Adoration of the Holy Eucharist, cupola fresco by Giuseppe Rollini (1889-1891) in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, Turin, Italy.
Photo Credit: © Renáta Sedmáková – stock.adobe.com

Pope Francis’s singular teaching that the Holy Eucharist, the “Bread of Angels,” is the “bread of sinners” has serious practical consequences. No one can deny that he is at least silent on this matter regarding the dubia. Furthermore, instead of supporting courageous bishops who take Catholic doctrine seriously and publicly state how allowing such politicians to receive Holy Communion is incompatible with Catholic doctrine, Pope Francis consistently favors concessive prelates.

Ecce Panis Angelorum

Let us close with the verses of Saint Thomas Aquinas recited in the Sequence of the Mass of the Feast of Corpus Christi:

Behold the Bread of Angels,

For us pilgrims food, and token

Of the promise by Christ spoken,

Children’s meat, to dogs denied.

Shewn in Isaac’s dedication,

In the manna’s preparation:

In the Paschal immolation,

In old types pre-signified.

Jesu, shepherd of the sheep:

Thou thy flock in safety keep,

Living bread, thy life supply:

Strengthen us, or else we die,

Fill us with celestial grace.

Thou, who feeds us below:

Source of all we have or know:

Grant that with Thy Saints above,

Sitting at the feast of love,

We may see Thee face to face.

Amen. Alleluia.

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Photo Credit (Top):  © Antoine – stock.adobe.com94

Footnotes

1. Luiz Sérgio Solimeo, “Pope Francis and His Obscene Judas Painting,” TFP.org, Apr. 22, 2021, https://www.tfp.org/pope-francis-and-his-obscene-judas-painting/.
2. Pope Francis, Angelus (June 6, 2021), https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2021/documents/papa-francesco_angelus_20210606.html.
3. Denz. 887.
4. The Council of Trent, sec. 13, chap. VII, accessed June 13, 2021, http://www.thecounciloftrent.com/ch13.htm.
5. Antonio Lanza-Pietro Palazzini, Sacramentos y Vida Sacramental, vol. 3 of Principios de Teologia Moral (Madrid: Ediciones Rialp S.A., 1958), 166.
6. Ibid., 148.
7. Joseph Pohle, s.v. “The Blessed Eucharist as a Sacrament,” in The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909), accessed June 13, 2021, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05584a.htm.
8. Luiz Sérgio Solimeo, “Because of Its Grave Errors ‘Amoris Laetitia’ Should Be Rejected,” TFP.org, May 4, 2016, https://www.tfp.org/because-of-its-grave-errors-amoris-laetitia-should-be-rejected/; Luiz Sérgio Solimeo, “Asking Pope Francis to Address ‘Doubts’ About ‘Amoris Laetitia’ and Communism,” TFP.org, Dec. 2, 2016, https://www.tfp.org/asking-pope-francis-to-address-doubts-about-amoris-laetitia-and-communism/.
9. Pope Francis, post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Lætitia (Mar. 19, 2016), nos. 305, 351, https://www.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia_en.pdf.
10. “Carta Del Santo Padre Francisco A Los Obispos De La Región Pastoral De Buenos Aires En Respuesta Al Documento ‘Criterios Básicos Para La Aplicación Del Capítulo VIII De La Amoris Laetitia’” (Sept. 5, 2016), https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/es/letters/2016/documents/papa-francesco_20160905_regione-pastorale-buenos-aires.html#Criterios_basicos.
11. Ibid.
12. On the Most Holy Sacrament of Penance, canons 4, 5, http://www.thecounciloftrent.com/ch14.htm.
13. Edward Pentin, “Full Text and Explanatory Notes of Cardinals’ Questions on ‘Amoris Laetitia,’” National Catholic Register, Nov. 4, 2016, http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/full-text-and-explanatory-notes-of-cardinals-questions-on-amoris-laetitia.
14. “Correctio filialis de haeresibus propagates,” accessed June 13, 2021, Correctiofilialis.org.
15. The sacraments are divided into “sacraments of the dead” and “sacraments of the living.” The former, such as Baptism and Penance, infuse the primary grace or restores to grace those who are spiritually dead through sin. All other sacraments are administered to the living, i.e., those who are spiritually “alive,” and increase the grace they already possess. The Holy Eucharist is the most sublime of them.
16. Lanza-Palazzini, Sacramentos y Vida Sacramental, 40–41.

The Health Sciences Institute

COVID: The Vaccine Numbers ProblemThe race is on… and it’s all we seem to hear about these days.  There’s a massive effort to vaccinate billions of people around the world against this deadly coronavirus.  Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg and the New York Times all have global vaccination trackers so we can follow the rest of the world’s progress.  But are these global vaccine numbers as reliable as they seem? Do they really mean what we think they mean? If you ask me, our global vaccination figures are deeply flawed… and far too rosy.  And there’s a very simple reason why.  Warning Shots Hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens have been injected with China’s vaccines, such as the Sinopharm and CoronaVac jabs.  And these shots have been distributed throughout the developing world and are being used heavily in countries like Turkey and Brazil.  The problem is that there are lots of questions about how well these vaccines work, and how long the protection lasts. In one of CoronaVac’s trials, it was only about 50% effective.  That’s better than nothing, sure. But you can see the problem… many of the people we’re counting as vaccinated may not have the protection we think.  All the way back in April, the head of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention admitted that the Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates.”  And he seems to be right. The African nation of Seychelles saw a spike in coronavirus cases even after vaccinating most of its residents, and the nation had to go back into a lockdown.  The primary vaccine they were using was the Chinese Sinopharm jab.  Now, talking about coronavirus vaccines always stirs up a lot of emotions in people. Some people believe they’re a gift to modern medicine, and some wouldn’t touch them with a 10-foot pole.  But facts are facts. And the fact is, the United States has access to much better vaccines than much of the rest of the world. And that’s not something we need to apologize for, by the way. America had arguably the worst coronavirus outbreak on Earth, and American taxpayers helped fund the rapid development of vaccines.  But this does leave us with a problem… I think you can argue that the number of people we’re claiming as vaccinated worldwide is inflated. The real number of people who have true, legitimate protection could be much lower, due to inferior vaccines.  And that’s troubling for a couple of reasons. We know that the more this coronavirus spreads, the more opportunities it has to mutate.  But there are also serious logistical problems. There’s plenty of talk about wealthy nations, including the United States, donating higher quality vaccines around the world.  That will help with people who haven’t been vaccinated… but what do you do about people who may have inferior shots in their arms already? Can you really convince them to roll up their sleeves again… and is it even medically sound and safe to give them another vaccine? There are no easy answers here.  We’ve seen lots of good progress in our fight against coronavirus in America. But we need the rest of the world to succeed, too, or their problems could become our problems.  And right now, I think we have to admit that we don’t know if many countries are successfully protecting themselves from the virus or not. We’re going to have to keep focusing on the metrics that really matter, like hospitalizations and deaths.  Because these countries’ vaccination numbers may say one thing… but the reality on the ground could prove very different.  To Your Health, Sarah Regan Health Sciences Institute

Archbishop Cordileone’s response to Democrat Legislators – A Teaching MomentIOnce again, Archbishop Cordileone steps up to speak out as a bishop who teaches clearly, perseveringly as all successors of the apostles are called to, in season and out of season, even when it leads to ridicule, gnashing of teeth, threats, or ultimately, martyrdom. Censecrated bishops have a terrible, grave, urgent responsibility to their flock, and most importantly, to our Lord and Savior. Date: 6/24/21 9:40 PM (GMT-06:00) Archbishop Cordileone response to Democrat Legislators  The history of Catholic immigrants to the United States and their descendants is exemplary of the American dream, and intertwined with the Democratic party. I myself am a typical example of this Catholic Democratic legacy. My grandparents were immigrants, arriving here dirt-poor from Sicily. My father grew up in his father’s trade and was a commercial fisherman; my maternal grandfather was a cement mason. They were classic working-class people. Both of my parents were registered Democrats—New Deal Democrats—their whole lives. What the Democratic party, with its vital support for labor unions, brought to our country at the time helped my family survive and thrive, and made possible even greater opportunities for my siblings, my cousins, and myself.  It was a bit disconcerting, then, when on June 18, sixty Democratic members of Congress, all Catholics, issued a significant “Statement of Principles” in response to a decision by U.S. Catholic bishops to develop a teaching document on the nature of the Eucharist and its proper reception. In their statement, the members of Congress argue that “the Sacrament of Holy Communion is central to the life of practicing Catholics, and the weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory.” They go on to “solemnly urge” the bishops “to not move forward and deny [lawmakers] this most holy of all sacraments” over one issue.The statement raises many troubling questions. While I speak only for myself in this column, the public nature of the statement invites a public response and provides an excellent opportunity for candid dialogue. In that spirit, allow me to begin the dialogue with comments on some specific passages from the statement.Item one:As Catholic Democrats in Congress, we are proud to be part of the living Catholic tradition–a tradition that unfailingly promotes the common good, expresses a consistent moral framework for life, and highlights the need to provide a collective safety net to those individuals in society who are the most vulnerable.A “consistent moral framework for life” would logically seem to exclude laws that enable the killing of the most vulnerable and innocent in society: the unborn. Surely the members of Congress know, as committed Catholics, that the early Church described abortion as a form of homicide, and that the Christian community condemned abortion as early as the first century in the Didache. Nor can we ignore the pain caused to many women, and others in their networks of relationships, by the emotional scars of abortion.  Item two:. . . we work every day to advance respect for life and the dignity of every human being.Except, that is, those human beings who are still in the womb, or even partially born.Item three:We are committed to making real the basic principles that are at the heart of Catholic social teaching: helping the poor, disadvantaged, and the oppressed, protecting the least among us and ensuring that all Americans of every faith are given meaningful opportunities to share in the blessings of this great country.One of the “basic principles” of Catholic belief is rather blunt and simple: Don’t intentionally kill, or collude in enabling others to kill, innocent human life. Catholic principles build systematically on one another. The protection of innocent, defenseless life is first and foundational.Item four:That commitment is fulfilled in different ways by legislators but includes: reducing the rising rates of poverty, particularly child poverty; increasing access to education for all; pressing for access to universal health care; recognizing the dignity of all humans; and repairing long-standing racial and gender inequities in our society.These are admirable words, but if they are also sincere convictions, then why would Catholic members of Congress support laws that have the effect of destroying the natural family through marriage redefinition, no-fault divorce, and other similar policies? More than fifty years of social science data show the devastating effect that family fragmentation has on children, especially in situations of fatherlessness. Not only is the broken family a leading cause of poverty, but it also results in a host of other social ills, such as youth violence, incarceration, and substance abuse.Item five:We envision a world in which every child belongs to a loving family and agree with the Catholic Church about the value of human life.What does a “loving family” mean when lawmakers redefine “family” to be whatever consenting adults want it to be, reimagining the natural family out of existence? Again, all reliable studies show that children do best with a (male) father and (female) mother in a stable, low-conflict, life-long commitment of marriage. Instead of advocating for policies that promote this proven model, why would any self-described “Catholic” lawmaker advance policies that dismantle it, even punishing adoption agencies that will only place children for adoption in homes with these kinds of parents? Moreover, their agreement “with the Catholic Church about the value of human life” excludes the value of human life in the womb.Item six:Each of us is committed to reducing the number of unintended pregnancies and creating an environment with policies that encourage pregnancies to be carried to term and provide resources to raise healthy and secure children. We believe this includes promoting alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, improving access to children’s healthcare and child care, and creating a child benefit through the expanded and improved Child Tax Credit.It’s worth asking what Catholic lawmakers have actually done to promote adoption. Or to create “an environment with policies that encourage pregnancies to be carried to term.” Such an environment would be a robust marriage culture, and that is exactly what too many Catholic legislators have helped to destroy. It’s also worth asking how many and which of the statement’s signers have positive ratings from NARAL and Planned Parenthood. Abortion is not just a controversial social issue, or a debate about “choice” vs. life in the womb; in the United States, abortion is a lucrative industry with a vigorous lobby. Adoption and other policies that help women bring their children to term reduce sales for Planned Parenthood. Perhaps that’s why we find so little evidence for them.Item seven:In all these issues, we seek the Church’s guidance and assistance but believe also in the primacy of conscience.It’s hard to see this passage as anything less than evasion. Conscience is not deciding what’s right or wrong for oneself. We don’t invent truth; we search it out with “the Church’s guidance,” and then submit ourselves to it. Conscience is the faculty to know and do what’s right in concrete situations, whether we find it politically convenient or not.  Item eight:In recognizing the Church’s role in providing moral leadership, we acknowledge and accept the tension that comes with being in disagreement with the Church in some areas.Disagreement in some areas? As in, the legitimacy of enabling and tolerating the killing of 66,000,000 unborn children in a fifty-year period? The abortion issue involves not just a tactical disagreement on a policy matter. This is a heinous evil. It’s comparable to “disagreeing” on the evil of lynching or human trafficking. Item nine:We also urge the Church to heed the words of Our Holy Father Pope Francis, who wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel,” that “the Eucharist although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” I would offer a similar reminder from the Second Vatican Council: “Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes” (Gaudium et spes 51; emphasis added). Nowhere does Francis suggest otherwise, nor could he; his predecessor Pius XI, to cite just one of many examples, called abortion “the direct murder of the innocent.” Nor does Francis anywhere endorse the specific kind of “decisions in conscience” suggested by the congresspersons’ statement. How any lawmaker claiming to be Catholic might consistently tolerate policies enabling not merely an injustice, but an ongoing form of intentional homicide, is unclear to me.Item ten:As legislators, we too are charged with being facilitators of the Constitution which guarantees religious freedom for all Americans.True and admirable words, but then why would any Catholic lawmaker fail to protect the Little Sisters of the Poor, Catholic Charities adoption agencies, or Catholic schools seeking to ensure the integrity of their mission by not retaining faculty who are working against or publicly living as a counter-witness to it?Item eleven:We believe the separation of church and state allows for our faith to inform our public duties and best serve our constituents.Agreed. The trouble is that so many of the statement’s legislators seem to conform and restrict their faith to the platform of the Democratic party.Item twelve:The Sacrament of Holy Communion is central to the life of practicing Catholics, and the weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory.It is rather the statement’s signers who “weaponize” the Eucharist precisely by issuing their public letter. And this suggests a regrettable level of calculated cynicism. The bishops’ motivation is pastoral: the salvation of souls and reparation of scandal. There is nothing punitive in stating and restating the truth of Catholic belief, and its implications for an authentically Catholic life.Item thirteen:No elected officials have been threatened with being denied the Eucharist as they support and have supported policies contrary to the Church teachings, including supporting the death penalty, separating migrant children from their parents, denying asylum to those seeking safety in the United States, limiting assistance for the hungry and food insecure, and denying rights and dignity to immigrants.Very true. These are serious, pressing matters that demand our attention and action. But they are different in kind, not simply in degree, from issues like genocide, infanticide, deliberate violence against civilian populations in war, euthanasia, and abortion. None of the issues listed by the lawmakers, important as they are, involves the sustained, intentional killing of innocent human life.Item fourteen:To pursue a blanket denial of the Holy Eucharist to certain elected officials would indeed grieve the Holy Spirit and deny the evolution of that individual, a Christian person who is never perfect, but living in the struggle to get there.No one is suggesting a “blanket denial” of Communion to dissenting lawmakers, and the statement’s signers surely know it. This is not what the bishops’ proposed document is for; it would rather serve as a resource to a bishop in guiding his deliberations in this matter. It has been stated quite clearly and repeatedly that this document will not mention any particular individuals. Note too that I would warmly welcome any evidence of any of the statement’s signers struggling to come to understand the Church’s vision of what being pro-life really means, and accepting that.Item fifteen: We believe the Church as a community is called to be in the vanguard of creating a more just America and world.Amen—and the right to life is the foundational human right. The most vulnerable and defenseless must be protected; that’s the first step to a just society. Without it, everything else is just a band-aid on fatal wounds.We need faithful Catholics in both political parties to fight for a ci

Biden administration to sue Georgia over its GOP-enacted voter restrictions

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The Justice Department is suing the state of Georgia over its controversial voting rights bill, a person familiar with the department’s plans confirmed.

Republican state legislators around the country have pushed a host of provisions that would make it more challenging for people to vote — moves that have targeted Democratic-leaning voters and disproportionately affect people of color. 

Georgia’s Election Integrity Act, which was passed on a party-line vote and signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in late March, contained a slew of changes to election laws in the state. Perhaps most notably, it stripped Georgia’s secretary of state of power on the state elections board, making the board majority-appointed by the state legislature.

Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state, clashed repeatedly with former President Donald Trump following the 2020 election. Trump tried to pressure Raffensperger into trying to overturn the results in the state, but Raffensperger pushed back privately and publicly, insisting the election was a free and fair one.

The state elections board is also now able to remove local election administrators from their posts.

The new law also changed how voters can cast their votes. It replaced the state’s signature verification system for absentee ballots with an ID-based system and tightens the window that those ballots can be requested. It codified the use of dropboxes in state law, while severely restricting their use in and around the Democrat stronghold of Atlanta, compared to the emergency authorization during the 2020 election.

The law also drastically shortened the runoff period in Georgia, after Republicans lost a pair of high-profile Senate races earlier this year. The law does expand in-person early voting in many smaller counties in the state, while maintaining the status quo in larger counties that already had more expansive options.

One of the provisions of the bill that caught the most attention was a prohibition on the practice of “line warming” — the practice of sharing food and water with voters waiting in line.

As all this has unfolded, the Justice Department has grappled for ways to combat the state-level trends. Earlier this month, Garland announced that the department’s Civil Rights Division would double the number of people it has focused on protecting voting rights. He also said the department was scrutinizing new laws limiting access to voting, as well as post-election audits.

The Justice Department announcement came as voting rights attorneys and political operatives are awaiting the outcome of two pending Supreme Court cases from Arizona that are likely to lay out standards for future litigation over voting-process rules and changes in states across the country.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/25/biden-administration-to-sue-georgia-over-its-gop-enacted-voter-restrictions-496280

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