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For months, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has been under intense pressure from scores of its own members to demonstrate more robust support for Palestinians, especially in Gaza. But a terrorist attack at a synagogue on Thursday in Manchester, England, which led to the deaths of two people during prayer services on Yom Kippur, exposed a competing political reality for Mr. Starmer: the growing anger among Jews in Britain who believe his government is doing far too little to protect them from hate and antisemitism. The police have said the synagogue attack was carried out by Jihad al-Shamie, a...

The prime minister has called for protesters to “respect the grief of British Jews this week” after the Manchester synagogue attack. Ahead of a planned demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action this Saturday, Keir Starmer wrote in the Jewish Chronicle that activists should recognise this is a time of mourning. “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy – and there is justified concern about the suffering in Gaza – but a minority have used these protests as a pretext for stoking antisemitic tropes,” he wrote. “I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the...

[Catholic Caucus] Study finds priests aligned with Pope Francis are more likely to approve of sodomy‘Approval of Pope Francis is negatively associated with the belief that homosexual sex is always wrong,’ researcher Lucas Sharma found.A recently published study shows that priests’ approval of Pope Francis during his lifetime is associated with the moral acceptance of homosexual sex.“Approval of Pope Francis is negatively associated with the belief that homosexual sex is always wrong,” researcher Lucas Sharma found using data from the 2020-2021 Survey of American Catholic Priests.In his study, Sharma also found that priests’ disapproval of homosexual activity — which the...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis’ hatred of the Latin Mass evidenced in his new memoirOn this episode of Faith and Reason, the panel discusses Pope Francis’ new memoir, specifically his criticism of priests and faithful devoted to the Traditional Latin Mass and his alleged comparison of Trump to Hitler, and much more.On this episode of Faith and Reason, John-Henry Westen, Father Charles Murr, and Frank Wright discuss Pope Francis’ new memoir, specifically his criticism of priests and faithful devoted to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) and his alleged comparison of Trump to Hitler, pro-LGBT Cardinal McElroy’s appointment as the new archbishop...

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Saturday and awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the nation's highest civilian honor, the White House said. It was the first time during his four years in office that Biden awarded the medal "with distinction," it said. Biden, 82, leaves office on Jan. 20. To oversee the federal response to the fires in California, he canceled a trip to Rome this week, where he was due to meet Francis in person. A lifelong Catholic who has met the pope several times, Biden told reporters on Friday that he...

‘Is the Pope a Catholic?’ The rhetorical question that’s losing axiomatic power(Pope Francis kisses the hand of the Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar after an interreligious meeting with religious leaders at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta on September 5, 2024.) “Is the Pope a Catholic?” is old and well-used rhetorical repartee. It doesn’t require and answer. Or it didn’t until recently.After Pope’s Francis recent remarks about inter-religious dialogue in Singapore, theologians and laity are questioning whether what he said was authentically Catholic.As so often, when the Pope shoots from the hip, he causes either excitement or chaos depending...

Pope Francis says tax billionaires, stop sports betting in fiery economics speechPope Francis encouraged the leaders of the popular movements to stand up to “the dehumanization” that is spreading in today’s world and to fight against injustice wherever it rears its ugly head in a passionate talk on social justice this morning, Sept. 20. “It is often precisely the wealthiest who oppose the realization of social justice or integral ecology out of sheer greed,” he said.The pope traveled from the Vatican to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the Palazzo San Calisto in Trastevere to give this talk....

ROME — Pope Francis commemorated Earth Day on Monday by warning that the planet is “falling into ruin” thanks to humanity’s failure to protect it. “Our generation has bequeathed many riches, but we have failed to protect the planet and we are not safeguarding peace,” the pontiff chided on X (former Twitter) “We are called to become artisans and caretakers of our common home, the Earth which is ‘falling into ruin,’” he declared, followed by “#EarthDay.”

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Sarah: African bishops ‘have spoken for the whole Church’ by rejecting homosexual ‘blessings’Cardinal Sarah issued a stirring call to the African episcopacy, urging them to ‘speak in the name of unity of faith’ as ‘many Western prelates are paralyzed by the idea of opposing the world.’MVOLYÉ, Cameroon (LifeSiteNews) –– Warning that the “Church is dying,” Robert Cardinal Sarah has issued a striking call to action for African Catholics to be the “defenders of the universality of faith” especially at the Synod on Synodality, while also praising them for their rejection of same-sex blessings. Speaking in Cameroon as...

Israel's Chief Rabbi David Lau addresses letter to Pope Francis after Pope accuses Israel of engaging in terrorism just like Hamas.Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau addressed a letter today (Sunday) to Pope Francis in which he called on the Pontiff to retract comments made during a conversation with President Isaac Herzog last month in which he appeared to accuse both Israel and Hamas of “terrorism” in the ongoing war that started with the Hamas massacre of over 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7. During the conversation, Pope Francis said that it is “forbidden to respond to terror...

Francis’ New Book Hails Islam as a ‘Religion of Peace’Pontiff claims Islamic State terrorist outfit is a creation of the West In a new book recounting the last 10 years of his pontificate, Pope Francis is defending Islam as a "religion of peace" and suggesting the possibility of making celibacy optional for Latin rite priests. Non Sei Solo: Sfide, Risposte, Speranze (You Are Not Alone: Challenges, Answers, Hopes), published in Italian and released Tuesday, is a series of dialogues with journalists Sergio Rubin and Francesca Ambrogetti. The pontiff calls upon Europe to integrate Muslim migrants, insisting that "radical Islam is...

Pope Francis called on Palestinian militant group Hamas to free hostages abducted from Israel, adding that he is “concerned” over Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip. “I continue to follow what is happening in Israel and Palestine with tears and apprehension: many people killed, others injured,” Francis said Wednesday in his address to the general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. “I pray for those families who have seen a feast day transformed into a day of mourning, and I ask that the hostages be released immediately.” “It is the right of those who are attacked to defend...

[Catholic Caucus]On Eve of Vatican Synod, Bishop Warns of Move to Impose ‘Counterfeit Church’ROME — Kazakh Bishop Athanasius Schneider has joined the many Catholic prelates warning of nefarious plotting behind the scenes of the upcoming Vatican “Synod on Synodality.”O Lord, “prevent the enemies of the Church from exulting in a victory over the authentic Catholic Church obtained by imposing a counterfeit church under the guise of ‘synodality,’” Bishop Schneider wrote in a September 29 prayer for the synod.“For where sin and apostasy in the Church abounds, the victory of Your grace will abound the more,” the bishop added.In his prayer,...

Pope Francis on Imperialism: Is Russia a Special Case?A month after Pope Francis spoke in favorable terms about Russia’s imperial past, the diplomatic ramifications still reverberate. Last week, the Holy Father received the credentials of the new Russian ambassador, a rather routine encounter, though with a Vatican statement about how friendly the meeting was.A few days later, on Friday, the Holy Father received the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See in a private audience, which is absolutely not a routine encounter. Ambassadors to the Holy See get two meetings with the pope, both pro forma — one when they present...

Pope Francis urges Chinese Catholics to be ‘good citizens’As Pope Francis concluded Mass on Sunday in the Hun Theatre in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, he took a moment to invite two Chinese bishops to stand with him at the altar for a moment.The Pope greeted Cardinal John Tong Hon, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, and Cardinal-elect Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, bishop of Hong Kong.As he held up their hands, Pope Francis sent greetings to the “noble people of China” and wished “all the people the best.”He encouraged the people of China to “strive ahead, always advancing.”Turning to the faithful...

The Church’s morals didn’t change until Vatican II in the 1960s. Before that, you had nearly two thousand years of consistency. If you speak to neo-Catholics now, they will tell you that there was a great revelation in the 20th century, and they realized that morality is constantly in flux, and that basically, all the fundamental premises of the historic Church are wrong. The Pope has gone from promoting gay anal to now actively attacking the people pushing back on it. He must be feeling he’s in a good position, to move from encouraging gay sex to actively organizing anyone...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis speaks out against his critics in the U.S. Catholic ChurchIn his recent conversation with Portuguese Jesuits in Lisbon during World Youth Day, Pope Francis commented that the situation in the Catholic Church in the United States is “not easy,” where “there is a very strong reactionary attitude” that “is organized and shapes the way people belong, even emotionally.”He also spoke about what should be the pastoral attitude toward L.G.B.T. persons and much else, as revealed in the transcript of the conversation published today in La Civiltà Cattolica, by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., the magazine’s editor, who was...

Pope Francis blasted what he described as groups of "very strong, reactionary" American Catholics, warning against becoming "backwardists" who oppose change in the Catholic Church. "The situation in the United States is not easy: There is a very strong, reactionary attitude. It is organized and shapes the way people belong, even emotionally," said the pope. "I want to remind these people that backwardism is useless, and it is necessary to understand that there is a correct evolution in the understanding of questions of faith and morals."

“Christians should imitate Jesus in being steadfast — not inflexible — in their convictions, thus being open to change for the good of others, Pope Francis said on Sunday. “This is what God is like: He is love, and the one who loves does not remain rigid,” the pope said on Aug. 20. “You stand firm, you stay firm, not rigid.” The Christian, he added, “does not remain rigid in his own positions but allows him or herself to be moved or touched. He or she knows how to change plans. It’s creative love.” Pope Francis said: “We Christians want...

[Catholic Caucus] Flourishing Latin Mass Community Targeted Outside St. LouisAbove: inside the church of St. Barnabas the Apostle. Parish Website.In 2013, St. Barnabas the Apostle Parish in O’Fallon, MO—about 40 minutes outside of St. Louis—was dying. The pastor, Fr. Ray Hager, was told that the parish would be closed in about five years unless things turned around quickly.In response, Fr. Hager introduced the regular celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. Over the course of the next decade, the TLM grew rapidly until a majority of the parish consisted of those who attended the old rite. In 2021, St. Barnabas received...