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A Latin Expert’s Odyssey, From the Vatican to the Gay Rights MovementPALERMO, Italy — Years after he lost his dream job in the Vatican’s Latin department, left the priesthood, came out as gay, went public with sensational accounts of rampant sex among clergy in Rome and reinvented himself as a gay rights activist and journalist with a column in Latin, Francesco Lepore returned to the Vatican to discuss a new gig.In November, Mr. Lepore, 45, accepted an invitation to the office of Andrea Tornielli, the Vatican’s influential editorial director, who complimented him profusely on his Latin and asked if he...

Would anyone like some reading this evening? 35 pages! It seems to codify them going after their political opponents. Bookmark. PDF ...

A NEW volcano may be forming beneath Mexico after hundreds of small tremors occurred in the west of the country, experts have revealed. Between May 1 and June 8 of this year, 242 microseisms shook Michoacán. Most of the earthquakes were not noticeable to humans, but the increased activity has led scientists to believe something larger is happening. A similar phenomenon occurred in the same place, which is known as a volcanic hotspot, 1997, 1999, and 2006. Researchers from the Institute of Geophysics at the National Autonomous University (UNAM) also said there were more than 300 micro-quakes in the same...

Nearly 3,000 approved applicants, all women and people in groups deemed most in need, were told they wouldn't get their funds following legal challenges to the selection process. By Peter Romeo on Jun. 15, 2021…… The 2,965 operators are all women, persons deemed socially and economically disadvantaged, or military veterans. They had applied for federal relief during the first 21 days of the Revitalization program, when priority was given to those groups because they were regarded as particularly in need of financial assistance. Given those developments, the SBA alerted 2,965 female and disadvantaged applicants via letter that they would not...

As Democrats warn of an ongoing assault on democracy and some Republicans continue to downplay the effects of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and former President Donald Trump's stolen-election rhetoric, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has seemingly dismissed it all — even racist 20th-century Jim Crow laws — as just a side effect of the democratic system. Paul "[embraces] the notion" that minority party pushback is the "essence" of America's representative democracy, "distinguishing it from direct democracy, where the majority rules and is free to trample the rights of the minority unimpeded," per a The New York Times article published Monday....

For years it has been a key part of liberal dogma that requiring voter ID really means voter suppression. However, magically in the last few days, liberals including Stacey Abrams and many media outlets have "discovered" that, hey, voter ID does not suppress the vote in any significant way. Of course, there is an ulterior motive in this "discovery" as we shall see.Among those who have somehow found out very conveniently that voter ID requirements does not suppress the vote is someone who until recently was vehemently against such a requirement to the extent that he railed against in in...

John Newton was an Anglican clergyman and former slave ship master. It took him a long time to speak out against the Slave Trade but he had an influence on many young evangelical Christians, particularly William Wilberforce. At just 11 years old, Newton went to sea with his father. In 1743 he was on his way to a position as a slave master on a plantation in Jamaica, when he was pressed into naval service. He became a midshipman but after demotion for trying to desert, he requested an exchange to a slave ship bound for West Africa. Eventually he...

The trajectory of trans-Pacific spot rates brings to mind the retail-trader catchphrase “to the moon.” Carriers implemented general rate increases (GRIs) on June 1. Spot rates rose. They enacted more GRIs on Tuesday. Rates jumped again. Another wave of GRIs is set for July 1. Add fallout from China port congestion to the mix, and it’s a recipe for rates to keep climbing. “Despite record highs, rate levels continue to sharply increase,” said Lars Jensen, CEO of consultancy Vespucci Maritime. Past predictions on spot rates have been repeatedly proved wrong — and far too conservative. Last September, carriers met with...

Explanation: Nights grow shorter and days grow longer as the summer solstice approaches in the north. Usually seen at high latitudes in summer months, noctilucent or night shining clouds begin to make their appearance. Drifting near the edge of space about 80 kilometers above the Earth's surface, these icy clouds were still reflecting the sunlight on June 14. Though the Sun was below the horizon as seen north of Forrest, Manitoba, Canada, they were caught in a single exposure of a near midnight twilight sky. Multiple exposures of the foreground track the lower altitude flash of fireflies, another fleeting apparition...

Massachusetts state officials recently announced the launch of the “voluntary” MassNotify app, which monitors the spread of COVID-19 in the state. The only problem is the app appears to be installing itself on residents’ and their kids’ smartphones, unbeknownst to users, and without their consent. The news creates a disturbing new dimension to privacy laws and even private property concerns as hundreds of users have reported their Android phones have had the app surreptitiously installed, without their prior knowledge. “Thank you MA/Google for silently installing #MassNotify on my phone without consent. But I have a request: Can you also silently...

When the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, a day after the Senate rushed the measure through unanimously, 14 House members, all Republicans, voted against the proposal. President Biden signed the measure into law on Thursday afternoon. In anticipation of President Joe Biden signing a law that made Juneteenth a federal holiday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi participated in an awkward singing of “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” with Black politicians to celebrate the occasion on Thursday. Video below: Twitter LinkHere’s the moment where she s looking at everyone else to see what word...

On July 4, 1776, the United States of America declared themselves free and independent states, commencing a long journey to give the world a shining example of a nation in which limited government existed solely to secure the liberty of its individual citizens. This journey took a long time to accomplish. First, a War of Independence, then an economic retooling of the nation, then a long fight to find some way to eliminate the inhuman way that one class of Americans – the slaves - were treated under the law. Some call slavery “the original sin” of the American republic....

On Wednesday, Mexico revealed that it had received 34 pre-Columbian artifacts that were owned by two German citizens. The two citizens, who were not identified but who live in western Germany, contacted the Mexican Embassy in Germany about returning the objects that had been owned by their families. The objects were handed over to the embassy in May. Over the past few years, conversations around repatriation in Germany have reached a fever pitch. Though those discussions have largely focused on returning objects to Africa, they also spurred people in the country to begin sending back artifacts to other parts of...

The president and first lady Jill Biden released a joint statement that the 13-year-old German Shepherd "passed away peacefully at home." President Biden posted in a statement on Twitter: "He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family. Even as Champ's strength waned in his last months, when we came into a room, he would immediately pull himself up, his tail always wagging, and nuzzle us for an ear scratch or a belly rub. "He loved nothing more than curling up at our feet in front of a fire at...

A European collector has bought a 17th century copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting for 2.9 million euros ($3.4 million), a record for a Mona Lisa reproduction, in an auction at Christie's in Paris on Friday. Known as the "Hekking Mona Lisa," after its owner who unsuccessfully argued that a copy he had bought in the 1950s was the real thing, is one of many reproductions of the original, which hangs in the Paris Louvre museum. "This is madness, this is an absolute record for a Mona Lisa reproduction," a Christie's spokeswoman said. She said there had been...

Antifa activists brought chaos as they descended Friday on the annual Western Conservative Summit in Denver, drawn by favorite targets such as Oregon journalist Andy Ngo and Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican. Videos posted by Mr. Ngo and the Blaze’s Elijah Schaffer showed multiple altercations, including a brawl between a man who confronted dozens of protesters outside the Hyatt Regency Denver, site of the two-day conference hosted by the Centennial Institute. Protesters, some with bullhorns, harassed people entering and exiting the hotel. Activists blocked traffic, prompting one driver to jump out of her car and accuse them of throwing a...

A rise in the number of trauma cases, organ transplants and elective surgeries requiring blood products over recent months have depleted the nation's blood inventory, causing the American Red Cross to appeal to Americans for immediate action. Hospitals are responding to an atypically high number of traumas and emergency room visits. Compared to 2019, the Red Cross has seen red cell demand from hospitals with trauma centers climb by 10% in 2021. Between 20-40% of trauma deaths that occur after hospital admission involve massive hemorrhaging. In such circumstances, doctors may need hundreds of blood products, depending on the severity of...

Every time I place Communion in someone's hand or tongue, it is an act of faith -- on my part and on that of the communicant. I say the words, "the body of Christ," to which the response is "Amen," meaning "it is true" or "let it be so" -- not always said with certainty but, often, with hope. This revered sacrament of Communion is meant to signify what the word means: with oneness, with unity. The contentious debate of this week's American Catholic bishops' meeting threatens to have this sacrament become a symbol of division and a political and...

The stories in the mainstream media this past week about the broadening campaign to ban critical race theory in public schools have been fascinating — and particularly in how they describe what CRT is. Here’s the ’s benign summary of CRT: “recent reexaminations of the role that slavery and segregation have played in American history and the attempts to redress those historical offenses.” NBC News calls it the “academic study of racism’s pervasive impact.” NPR calls CRT: “teaching about the effects of racism.” The New York Times calls it, with a straight face, “classroom discussion of race, racism” and goes...

One of California’s most critical hydroelectric plants is at risk of closing for the first time in five decades as water levels continue to sink. A megadrought and scorching heat, both worsened by La Nina weather effects, have depleted some of the water supply at Northern California’s Lake Oroville. The lake’s current water levels are hoovering around 700 feet above sea level, but if 640 feet is breached, then officials “will likely be forced to close the Edward Hyatt Power Plant for the first time since it opened in 1967,” California Energy Commission spokesperson Lindsay Buckley told CNN. The lake’s...