Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Marian Theologians Renew Appeal to Cardinal Fernández Over Vatican Doctrinal Note A year after the publication of Mater Populi Fidelis, the International Marian Association says its detailed criticisms remain unanswered.A year after the Vatican published its controversial instruction Mater Populi Fidelis, a group of leading Marian theologians has sent a new letter to Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández noting that he has yet to respond to criticisms they had made of the document last December.The Theological Commission of the International Marian Association (IMA) also mentioned in their Nov. 4 letter to the Vatican’s prefect of the Dicastery for the...

From weight-loss drugs like Wegovy to cholesterol-lowering Leqvio, injectable drugs are reshaping modern medicine—with new risks and higher costs.Injectables are already an $800 billion a year market.One popular injectable costs $70,000 a year.Today, a growing number of new medications are being delivered via injection rather than as oral pills. It’s a trend driven by advancements in biotechnology, the idea that it’s easier for patients, and pharmaceutical industry profits.But what are the trade-offs when it comes to cost and safety, and what does it mean for patients and the industry?Why Injections Over Pills?The rise of injectable drugs is largely tied to...

The Russo-Ukrainian War is now three years old, and the third Z-Day, on February 24, 2025, was marked by a substantively different tone than prior iterations. On the battlefield, Russian forces stand significantly closer to victory than they have at any point since the opening weeks of the war. After reversals early in the war as Ukraine took advantage of Russian miscalculations and insufficient force generation, the Russian army surged in 2024, collapsing Ukraine’s front in southern Donetsk and pushing the front forward towards the remaining citadels of the Donbas. At the same time, 2025’s Z-Day was the first under...