Tag: Catholic

Catholic Health Care System Partners with Pro-Abortion Virtual Women’s Health Clinic

The Daily Signal

The Catholic health care system CommonSpirit partners with an online women’s health clinic that offers abortion pills and referrals for surgical abortions.

CommonSpirit Health announced in 2021 it would partner with Ask Tia to create “a new front door to health care for women.” The partnership, uncovered by the pro-life organization Save the Storks, “enables the two health care leaders to launch Tia-branded women’s health clinics together that will provide comprehensive, blended virtual and in-person care.”

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Zelensky Meets with Pope Francis During His Tour Promoting a ‘Victory Plan’ amid War with Russia

Just the News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Francis on Friday during his European tour where he is touting a “victory plan” for Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia.  Francis and Zelensky met privately and talked for 45 minutes, according to The Associated Press. 

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Catholic Healthcare System Plays Outsized Role in Transgender Surgery, Drugs for Kids: Database

Just the News

America’s fourth-largest Catholic healthcare system performed so-called gender affirming surgeries on 81 children and prescribed puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to 113 over the past five years, according to a national database launched Tuesday by Do No Harm, which fights identity politics in “medical education, research and clinical practice.”

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Commentary: Gen Z Is More Religious than You Think

Virginia Star Staff
Rosary

Many Americans believe our world’s becoming more secular. While that’s true, many of today’s fastest-growing religious denominations aren’t progressive—they’re traditional. Here’s what the data show.

In the 1990s, 90 percent of Americans identified as Christians on Pew surveys. Today, that number has fallen to about 67 percent. Among young adults, over 40 percent are religiously unaffiliated.

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Missouri AG Claims Kansas City Doxxed Chiefs Kicker over Religious Views

Just the News
Harrison Butker

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey accused Kansas City on Thursday of doxxing one of its NFL players over religious comments he made at a college over the weekend, where he criticized President Joe Biden for being a pro-abortion Catholic.

The city of Kansas City, which is primarily in Missouri, posted a since-deleted “reminder” that Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker lives in Lee Summit on Wednesday, but replaced it with an apology for the “error.” The city account did not include a physical address in the original post.

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Commentary: Cabrini Film Calls Audiences to Dedicated Service and Unwavering Faith

Virginia Star Staff
Cabrini Film

On International Women’s Day, March 8, Angel Studios’ latest film, Cabrini, was released in theaters across America. The movie tells the incredible true story of the first American saint, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, and her mission to help vulnerable, impoverished, and destitute immigrants in the United States. 

In the late 19th and early 20th century, millions of Italian immigrants came to America, most through Ellis Island, in search of their American dream. But many who journeyed in search of opportunity were met with poverty, desperation, and difficulty. Italian immigrants were ostracized from society, perceived to be of inferior intelligence, and struggled to speak English.

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‘Did Not Align with Our Mission’: Catholic University Fires Professor Who Brought in ‘Abortion Doula’

Virginia Star Staff
Rachel Carbonneau

Catholic University confirmed to The Daily Signal that it has terminated the contract of the professor who invited a self-declared “abortion doula” to speak to students about coaching women through abortions and “pregnant men” through a “seahorse birth.”

Catholic University President Peter Kilpatrick announced to students on Jan. 30 that the university “terminated our contract with the professor who invited the speaker” after obtaining “clear evidence that the content of the class did not align with our mission and identity.”

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‘Seahorse Births’: Abortion Doula Normalizes ‘Pregnant Men’ Giving Birth in Lecture to Catholic University Students

Virginia Star Staff
Catholic University of America

A self-declared “abortion doula” spoke this week to Catholic University of America students about her experiences coaching women through delivering or aborting babies, as well as coaching “pregnant men” to deliver in what she called a “seahorse birth,” according to audio of the class lecture obtained by The Daily Signal. 

A Catholic University nursing student described Tuesday’s lecture to The Daily Signal, saying the guest speaker said she also practices Reiki, a controversial Japanese method of spiritual healing and self-improvement.

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Commentary: 100 Canadian Churches Torched or Damaged Following Indian Residential School Graves Hoax

Virginia Star Staff
St Jean Baptiste

To its credit, the London-based tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail recently carried a story most corporate news outlets have been avoiding: The Indian Residential School Graves hoax.

The paper, whose article titles are characteristically long and descriptive, leaves little mystery in the scandalous story’s headline: “Nearly ONE HUNDRED churches across Canada have been torched or damaged after activists lied that 200 indigenous children were buried under Catholic schools.”

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Commentary: Americans Embrace Religion, Reject Religious Bigotry

RealClearWire
People Praying

More than half a century ago, Time magazine famously asked, “Is God Dead?” The black and red cover, the magazine’s first to include only text, sparked countless angry sermons and thousands of letters from readers accusing Time of engaging in tasteless nihilism, Marxist pandering, and outright blasphemy.

The question, which typified the counter-culture movement and the intellectual radicalism of the 1960s, was far off the mark both then and now. The United States has always been and remains a very religious nation despite steep declines in attendance at churches, synagogues, and mosques – trends that have captured far more headlines in recent years than the nation’s enduring faith. America is also a majority Christian nation, though other religious groups and affiliations and those identifying as non-believers are growing.

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Catholic All-Girls College Reverses Trans Policy After Backlash

Virginia Star Staff
Saint Mary's College

Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, is backtracking on its decision to allow men who identify as transgender women to enroll in the formerly all-female, Catholic institution.

The Daily Signal reported in November that Saint Mary’s College would allow men who identify as women to enroll at the college in the fall of 2024. That news was first reported by the Notre Dame student newspaper, The Observer.

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Trad Catholic Family Dragged Out of Home at Gunpoint, Locked in Van After FBI ‘Goaded’ Teen to Post Offensive Memes, Dad Says

Virginia Star Staff

A traditional Catholic family was allegedly “dragged out of their home at gunpoint, handcuffed and locked in a van” earlier this year after the FBI “goaded” their 15-year-old son to post  “offensive memes” online. The teen, a volunteer firefighter and altar boy, was then hospitalized on mental health pretenses, according to his father, Jeremiah Rufini.

The FBI’s aggressive “investigation” only resulted in a misdemeanor conviction against the boy for breach of peace, but financially devastated the family with substantial legal expenses.

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Catholic All-Girls College Will Admit Men Who Identify as Trans Women

Virginia Star Staff

Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, will begin allowing men who identify as women to enroll at the college in the fall of 2024, an email obtained by The Daily Signal shows.

President Katie Conboy told faculty in an email sent Tuesday afternoon that “Saint Mary’s will consider undergraduate applicants whose sex assigned at birth is female or who consistently live and identify as women.” That news was first reported by the Notre Dame student newspaper, The Observer.

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Anti-Catholic, Queer Nuns Apologize After Former ‘Probationary’ Member Arrested for Masturbating in Public

Virginia Star Staff

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), a group of queer “nuns” that regularly mock the Catholic faith, offered their “profound apologies” after a former “probationary” member was arrested in August for masturbating in public.

Clinton Monroe Ellis-Gilmore allegedly exposed himself on Aug. 12 in his truck with the door open, where the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department in California found him and arrested him, according to a police report obtained by The Daily Wire. Ellis-Gilmore was formerly a member of SPI’s Eureka chapter, who told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the behavior was “not representative of our Order, our values, or the hundreds of individuals who serve as Sisters,” according to a prepared statement.

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School District Misled Court on Why It Banned Opt-Out for LGBTQ Lessons, Religious Groups Say

Just the News

Newly revealed teacher-training materials and sworn affidavits show Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools misled the federal court hearing a lawsuit by religious families against the district’s no-exemptions policy for gender and sexuality instruction in the English Language Arts curriculum, a national Muslim group claims.

School officials in the affluent suburb bordering Washington, D.C. told a judge last month it rescinded opt-outs and parental notification this spring because of the logistical challenges created by too many families choosing to remove their children from the “Pride storybooks,” which teach children as young as 3 about sex workers, kink, drag, gender transitions and prepubescent same-sex romance.

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Pope Francis Warns About the ‘Disruptive Possibilities’ of Artificial Intelligence

Just the News

Pope Francis is warning about the possible adverse effects of artificial intelligence and the need to monitor the technology in his message for World Day of Peace.

The cautionary message came Tuesday when the Vatican released the theme of the pope’s message for World Day of Peace, which is Sept. 21.

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Iraq Summons U.S. Ambassador over State Department Comments on Treatment of Catholic Priest

Virginia Star Staff

The Iraqi government called U.S. Ambassador Alina Romanowski to Baghdad after the State Department made critical remarks about the government’s dismissal of a Vatican-appointed bishop, according to Reuters.

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid recently rescinded a decree recognizing Cardinal Louis Sako the head of the Chaldean Catholic church in Iraq and all of its assets, claiming that no other state entity should appoint religious leaders in Iraq, according to Reuters. Rashid called Romanowski to Baghdad Wednesday after  State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. was disturbed by the Iraqi government’s decision.

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Commentary: Religious Conviction in Woke Sports

RealClearWire

When the University of Oklahoma softball team showed up for the College World Series last week, reporters expected to hear pride and camaraderie from a squad on the way to winning its third consecutive national championship.  

But several star Sooners players startled the press and went viral online by declaring that their joy in Christianity trumped their considerable athletic accomplishments.  

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Catholic College Fundraises to Cut Ties with ‘Intrusive,’ ‘Hostile’ Federal Government

Virginia Star Staff

A Catholic college is raising money to end its affiliation with the federal government and become financially independent, arguing the government has become “hostile to faith,” according to its website.

Belmont Abbey College (BAC), located in North Carolina, is operating a campaign called “Made True” that aims to raise $55 million to cut ties with the federal government and restore its purpose as a faith-based institution, its website reads. The money will “create innovative new financial structures and stewardship programs” with the intent of graduating students without debt as well as create public policy and health science programs that align with the college’s mission.

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Catholic University in Virginia Drops Theology Degree, Nine Others

Virginia Star Staff

The Board of Marymount University unanimously voted on Friday to eliminate ten degree programs in the humanities and social sciences, including English, History, and Theology and Religious Studies.

Founded as the first Catholic college in Virginia in 1950, Marymount is affiliated with the Sacred Heart of Mary and serves approximately 3,500 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs.

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Authorities Punish Catholic Priest for Silently Praying Outside Abortion Clinic

Virginia Star Staff

Authorities in the United Kingdom charged a Catholic priest with violating a censorship zone when he silently prayed outside an abortion clinic while holding a sign that said “praying for free speech.”

Father Sean Gough, a pro-life priest stationed in Wolverhampton, England, had also parked his car in the area near the abortion clinic, which is covered by a Public Spaces Protection Order, according to Alliance Defending Freedom International. Authorities also took issue with Gough’s car, which has an “unborn lives matter” bumper sticker on it, ADF said.

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Commentary: Frank Pavone and the Fading Power of Pope Francis

Star News Staff

There’s been a flurry of commentary in Catholic circles since Pope Francis decided to defrock pro-life advocate and priest Frank Pavone. One suggestion I’ve seen from many Catholic writers is that Francis is punishing Pavone because he believes clergymen should not be involved in politics. It’s a laughable argument. Francis is very frequently involved in politics and regularly encourages (leftist) priests in their activism.

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Commentary: Nicaragua’s Brutal Catholic Crackdown

RealClearWire

For millions of Christians around the world, the official religious Christmas season kicked off this week with a renewed sense of normalcy – an abundance of colorful lights, parades and processions, family and church gatherings, and even fireworks in some areas.

Many believers in countries where Christians are religious minorities such as China and India are embracing the festivities with new enthusiasm. Early December marks the first time annual public and private advent gatherings have been allowed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Man Attacks Catholic Cathedral with Fire and a Sword

Virginia Star Staff

A man used fire and a sword to attack an Oklahoma Catholic cathedral while school was in session on Wednesday, the school told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Daniel Edwards, carrying a large ice chest, attempted to break into the cathedral of Holy Family Cathedral School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while students were outside taking school pictures, the school told the DCNF. Edwards then threw a flaming object into the side of the building and used a sword to attack the school’s front desk attendant when he confronted Edwards.

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Pennsylvania GOP Gubernatorial Candidate: Biden DOJ ‘Trying to Intimidate’ Conservatives Through Arrest of Catholic, Pro-Life Father

Virginia Star Staff

Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Doug Mastriano warned Monday that President Joe Biden’s administration sought to “intimidate” anyone “on the political opposition” through the arrest of a Catholic, pro-life father last week.

Mastriano referred to the early Friday morning arrest of Mark Houck, whose wife told Life Site News that 25-30 FBI agents entered their home around 7 a.m. with “big, huge rifles” to arrest her husband as their children watched, crying and screaming, from the top of the stairs.

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60 Catholic Democrats Accuse Bishops of Weaponizing Eucharist Against Biden

Virginia Star Staff
Catholic church worship

Catholic congressional Democrats are accusing U.S. Catholic bishops of weaponizing the Eucharist against President Joe Biden.

Sixty Catholic Democrats issued a “Statement of Principles” Friday warning U.S. bishops against “the weaponization of the Eucharist.” Signers included Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and New York Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez.

Most of the Democrats who signed the statement appear to publicly support abortion in direct conflict with Catholic Church teaching.

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China Will Control Appointment of Chinese Catholic Clergy Without Input from Vatican

Virginia Star Staff

New rules from the Chinese government indicate that China will exercise control over the appointment of Catholic clergy without any input from the Vatican.

The “Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy,” which will go into effect May 1, clarified that the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) will select candidates for clergy who will then be “approved and  consecrated by the Chinese Catholic Bishops’ Conference.”

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Parents, Educators and Activists Fight Back Against Radical School Curriculums: Trend

Virginia Star Staff

Parents, educators and activists are taking on left-leaning school curriculums in a variety of ways, from speaking out and filing lawsuits to crowdsourcing solutions and creating alternative educational resources.

In California, for example, a group called “Educators for Excellence in Ethnic Studies” has banded together to lobby for the removal of critical race theory from the state’s ethnic studies model curriculum.

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Pro-Life Leaders Condemn ‘Devout Catholic’ Biden over His Vow to ‘Codify’ Roe V. Wade

Virginia Star Staff

Pro-life leaders heavily criticized President Joe Biden on Friday, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, after the Catholic president vowed to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land.

“Joe Biden repeatedly insists he is a devout Catholic,” tweeted Live Action founder and President Lila Rose. “He used this claim frequently during his campaign. He just released a statement praising Roe v Wade, but wouldn’t even use the word ‘abortion.’ His deception is disgusting. The violence of what he proudly supports is horrific.”

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Passionately Catholic: Don’t Give to Caesar What Belongs to God

Virginia Star Staff

Ponder this…

The pandemic has brought with it many mandates on how we are to live, work, and play. And well, there’s not much playing right now. We must keep our distance, put on our mask, and avoid most gatherings. This is for our own safety and the safety of others, as we are continually reminded.

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Commentary: The Clarence Thomas-ing of Amy Coney Barrett

Virginia Star Staff

Former Vice President Joe Biden blurted out this reality not long ago when he told a black talk-show host that “if you’re for Trump you ain’t black.”

But as Judge Amy Coney Barrett is finding out this week, the idea of blacks as political property on the liberal plantation isn’t limited to blacks — it also includes women. (And, for that matter, Hispanics and gays.)

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Cardinal Says Biden ‘Not a Catholic in Good Standing,’ Should not Receive Communion

Virginia Star Staff

Cardinal Raymond Burke said Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who describes himself as a “devout Catholic,” is “not a Catholic in good standing” and “should not approach to receive Holy Communion.”

In an interview with Catholic Action for Faith and Family released last week, Burke said he doesn’t intend to endorse any political candidate, but simply wants to state that “a Catholic may not support abortion in any shape or form because it is one of the most grievous sins against human life, and has always been considered to be intrinsically evil and therefore to in any way support the act is a mortal sin.”

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Passionately Catholic: Fear Is in the Air

Virginia Star Staff

Ponder this…

Are you in a state of fear due to the coronavirus outbreak? Just a simple trip to the grocery store can strike fear into your otherwise calm spirit. People wearing face masks and gloves, empty shelves that are normally fully stocked, and people standing six feet apart at the checkout are unsettling images.

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Passionately Catholic: Embrace Life

Virginia Star Staff

Ponder this…

There are new terms that have recently entered our daily vocabulary. One of these rather annoying terms is social distancing. Who would have imagined that there would be six foot markers on the floors of commercial retail and even religious establishments, indicating our limitations to access one another.

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Passionately Catholic: Work Has Great Dignity

Virginia Star Staff

Ponder this…

We hear from many of the people running for public office, the promise of free stuff, free healthcare for all, free education for all. Free cell phones, free food, and the list goes on and on. Many of us have bought into the idea that we deserve free stuff. But have we really thought about what the Lord has said about this?

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Trump Promises Navy, DOD Will ‘Not be Cancelling’ Contract with Catholic Priests

Virginia Star Staff

President Donald Trump promised Wednesday that neither the Navy nor the Department of Defense will cancel contracts with Catholic priests allowing serving military members.

“The United States Navy, or the Department of Defense, will NOT be cancelling its contract with Catholic Priests who serve our men and women in the Armed Forces so well, and with such great compassion & skill,” the president tweeted Wednesday morning, tagging the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan. “This will no longer be even a point of discussion!”

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Mass Celebrated after Fire Damages Centuries-Old Church

The Associated Press

Mass was celebrated Sunday on the grounds of a historic Catholic church in Southern California that had been heavily damaged by fire a day earlier.

The blaze early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of San Gabriel Mission, which was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration.

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Fire Destroys Much of 249-year-old Church in California

The Associated Press

A fire early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration.

Fire alarms at the San Gabriel Mission rang around 4 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke rising from the wooden rooftop in one corner of the historic structure, San Gabriel Fire Capt. Paul Negrete said.

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Conservatives Praise Supreme Court for Ruling States Can’t Discriminate Against Religious Schools

Anthony Gockowski

The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that states can’t cut religious schools out of programs that send public money to private education in a 5-4 ruling. 

Hailed as a victory for religious freedom, the justices upheld a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling in which almost all the recipients attend religious schools.

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Video Appears to Show Mob Attacking Catholics Praying at St. Louis Statue

Anthony Gockowski

Multiple videos recorded after a Saturday prayer vigil in St. Louis appear to show Black Lives Matter agitators assaulting Catholics who participated in the event.

“Yesterday, while praying for peace and unity in our city and the protection of the St. Louis statue, Black Lives Matter protesters started to harass, berate, and assault the Catholics that were peacefully praying. We did nothing in retaliation,” Conor Martin, a candidate for Bedford Township Republican committeeman, claimed on Twitter.

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Catholic Charities Leader: ‘My Catholic Church and Catholic Charities Organization Is Racist’

Virginia Star Staff

In a video expressing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement last week, the CEO of Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington denounced his own church and charitable organization as “racist.”

“In America, racism is no longer a question. But rather, it’s the toxic water in which we all swim,” said Rob McCann, president and CEO of the Spokane-based nonprofit. “My Catholic Church and my Catholic Charities organization is racist.”

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