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[Catholic Caucus] Is There Really Hope for JudasThese last few Maundy Thursdays, my feed has been populated by various musings presenting Judas as a pitiable figure who may not be in hell after all. I thought it rather diabolical that a day of sympathy for our Lord is now turning into a day of sympathy for His betrayer. But as I considered this transformation or, rather, deformation, I saw that sympathy for Judas is about far more. It is about the redefinition of divine mercy. This year’s reconsideration of Judas was sparked at least in part by an article at...

A Jordan Peterson post about JK Rowling has gone viral, following rumors that the British author could be investigated under Scotland's new hate crime law. SNIP In response to the rumors, Peterson shared one of Rowling's recent posts blasting trans activist Beth Douglas. Rowling shared screenshots of past tweets from Douglas, in which she held an axe and a knife, along with the caption: "I heard yall hate trans women, knives and axes. Love from Glasgow." SNIP In his repost of Rowling's tweet, Peterson said: "What in the world has happened in Scotland? "Keep it up @jk_rowling. Let the fools...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government wants to rein in the number of temporary immigrants coming to the country, saying the situation needs to be brought “under control.” “Whether it’s temporary foreign workers or whether it’s international students in particular, that have grown at a rate far beyond what Canada has been able to absorb,” Trudeau said at a housing announcement in Dartmouth, N.S. “To give an example, in 2017, two per cent of Canada’s population was made up of temporary immigrants. Now we’re at 7.5 per cent of our population comprised of temporary immigrants. That’s something we need...

Documents for Donald Trump's $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case were rejected by a court because a current financial statement was not included. On Wednesday, a message on the New York State Supreme Court's electronic filing system showed Trump's "Bond/Undertaking" had been "returned for correction."New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled in February against Trump; his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump; and others associated with the Trump Organization. They were accused in a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James of inflating the former president's net worth and the...

Four pro-life activists have been convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and now face prison time and thousands of dollars in fines. According to a Department of Justice statement released on Wednesday, the pro-lifers face a “maximum of six months in prison, five years of supervised release, and fines of up to $10,000.” The four activists — Eva Edl, 87; Eva Zastro, 24; James Zastro, 25; and Paul Place, 24 — were convicted of FACE Act violations in federal court on Tuesday for a protest held at a Tennessee abortion clinic in March 2021....

Former President Donald Trump and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen are calling on the state’s Legislature to change the way Nebraska doles out its Electoral College votes, a move that would almost certainly benefit Trump in his 2024 presidential bid. While most states dole out all their Electoral College votes to the statewide winner of the presidential vote, Nebraska and Maine give out one electoral vote to the candidate who wins each congressional district.

Jerrod Carmichael recently opened up to Esquire magazine about tensions with fellow comedian Dave Chappelle. Carmichael, who is making the press rounds in support of his new HBO series, generated headlines in June 2022 when he criticized Chappelle, who had already been earning backlash for making jokes about the transgender community. “Chappelle, do you know what comes up when you Google your name, bro?” Carmichael asked during a GQ magazine profile at the time, referring to the comedian’s comments about trans people. “That’s the legacy? Your legacy is a bunch of opinions on trans ---? It’s an odd hill to...

From 2019 and 2022, Scott Pelley's investigation into neurological symptoms and serious brain injuries reported by U.S. diplomats, intelligence agents and troops around the world and even on the grounds of the White House.

[Catholic Caucus] Francis: Cardinal Sarah Is "Bitter" and Archbishop Gänswein "Has Hurt Me"Archbishop Georg Gänswein "did some very difficult things to me", the vengeful Francis claims in his interview book 'El Sucesor'.His example: When he replaced a head of a Vatican department, whose name he doesn't mention, the decision sparked controversy: "In the midst of all the noise, the secretary took the initiative to take him to see Benedict, because this person wanted to greet him. Since the retired Pope was very friendly, he accepted".The problem was that "the photo of this meeting was circulated, as if Benedict had reacted...

So I've been thinking about this for a while, and it's time for a change.

Father Raffray is a well-known priest who has a growing apostolate on the internet and social media aimed especially at young French-speaking people.The French government has initiated a series of legal measures against Father Matthieu Raffray for calling homosexual relations sinful and for describing homosexuality as a “weakness.” On March 15, the priest of the Institute of the Good Shepherd — created in 2006 in Rome for “the defense and dissemination of Catholic Tradition in all its forms,” according to the website of this society of apostolic life — posted a video on Instagram in which he encouraged the faithful...

Former President Donald Trump vowed to create a “Christian Visibility Day” following President Biden’s declaration of “Transgender Day of Visibility,” which happened to land on Easter Sunday this year. “And what the hell was Biden thinking when he declared Easter Sunday to be Trans Visibility Day?” Trump asked his supporters during a campaign rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Tuesday. “Such total disrespect to Christians.” The presumptive Republican nominee for president promised that Nov. 5 would be “Christian Visibility Day” if he is elected. “And on Nov. 5, it is going to be called something else. You know, it’s going...

President Biden’s campaign manager has insisted that the chief executive is not talking “about shutting down the border” — despite Biden’s past overtures to Republicans about doing exactly that. Julie Chavez Rodriguez told the Washington Post in a profile published this week that “the president doesn’t talk about shutting down the border” and is “not advocating for shutting down the border.” Earlier this year, however, while seeking to corral Republicans into backing a bipartisan Senate supplemental spending bill that included money for border security, Biden, 81, suggested that he would crack down on migration across the US-Mexico frontier. “It’ll also...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia’s military plans to draft some 300,000 new troops over the next two months. “I can say that Russia is preparing to mobilize an additional 300,000 military personnel by June 1,” Zelensky said during a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, according to the news outlet RBC Ukraine. He did not provide further details about the alleged recruitment campaign or state the source of the information. Later Wednesday, the Kremlin denied Zelensky's claim. “This isn't true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Moscow drafted some 300,000 reservists during a “partial” mobilization drive...

Luke 24:13-35 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus enlightens the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Have you ever tried to solve a puzzle and then were surprised when the various pieces suddenly fell into place? Well, this is what happens to these disciples as Jesus begins to speak: “How slow of heart [you are] to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”The whole of Christianity is hanging here in the balance.The disciples didn’t get it at first. They didn’t get the secret, the mystery, the...

The music icon said she somewhat agreed with her two sons who strongly disliked “Barbie,” suggesting that it was a piece of pop culture that robbed “men of their possibility to be men.”Shakira graces the cover of Allure magazine and holds nothing back when asked about her thoughts on “Barbie,” the Greta Gerwig-directed blockbuster that topped the 2023 box office with $1.4 billion worldwide and earned eight Oscar nominations, including best picture. The music icon said she somewhat agreed with her two sons who strongly disliked “Barbie,” suggesting that it was a piece of pop culture that robbed “men of...

A federal judge admonished a Jan. 6 rioter during his sentencing Wednesday after the man downplayed the severity of the riots and his violent conduct. “This cannot become normal. … We cannot condone the normalization of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot,” Judge Royce Lamberth said during the sentencing of Taylor James Johnatakis, CNN reported. Johnatakis, a self-described “sovereign citizen,” was found guilty of assaulting a police officer and other felony and misdemeanor charges related to the riot, and he was sentenced to seven years in prison. After his conviction last year, he repeatedly downplayed the riots in interviews, calling...

Wausau voters ousted Mayor Katie Rosenberg, electing conservative challenger Doug Diny with 52 percent of the vote. Wausau spent millions modifying a new water treatment facility after testing in 2022 found all city wells contained elevated PFAS levels. The city instituted new filtration systems in early 2023, but facility costs led to skyrocketing water bills that became an issue in the local race. Diny, who was elected to Wausau City Council in 2020, won 5,222 votes to Rosenberg’s 4,798. Like many local races, the nominally nonpartisan race was characterized by ideological spending on both sides. According to WisPolitics, the state...

Francis and His Collaborators Reject More of Vatican II Than Traditional Catholics DoChrist is the goal of human history; He is the focal point of the longings of history and of civilization; He is the center of the human race; He is the joy of every heart and the answer of all its yearnings; He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end; and it is the Church’s “single intention” that God’s kingdom may come. Thus says Vatican II, and yet the “great defenders of Vatican II” persecute Traditional Catholics because we assert...

Israel faces the prospect of a U.S.-backed “color revolution” in the middle of its war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza as the opposition backs street protests against government, and a key cabinet minister has demanded new elections. A “color revolution” is a coup d’état accomplished through mass protests targeting the existing government, elected or not, with the assistance of the media — and, usually, with backing from foreign powers, including the United States. For the six months since the October 7 terror attack, Israel had seen remarkable unity, with protests — mostly centered in Tel Aviv — against Israeli Prime...