Opioid deaths, the hidden epidemic obscured by Covid
Opioid deaths increased in the first three months of 2020 in the United States. From 1999 to 2017, opioid overdose deaths totalled nearly 400,000. The extremely potent fentanyl and others are ranked 5th in causes of preventable deaths. And there is the suspicion that existing users may step up their use if they test positive for Covid.
"The world should know that my brother wants to live"
They are killing a conscious disabled man: «At Christmas when he saw us he started to cry and his eyes followed our every movement. But after we went to court to save his life, they won’t let us visit him anymore». This is what RS's sister has to say about her disabled Polish brother whom the British health and legal system has left to die of hunger and thirst.
RS dies of starvation, condemned to death by a Soros judge
RS is expected to die at any moment now that the hospital in Plymouth, England, has disconnected his nutrition and hydration. Yet, a last urgent appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) reveals that the ECHR's final judgment, which sentenced the Polish citizen to death, was issued by a judge, Yonko Grozev, a pro-euthanasia activist who served in George Soros’ foundations. A recent report, denounces that in the last ten years as many as 22 judges nominated to the ECHR have all been "sons of Soros".
Mary and Joseph, the couple that prefigures Christ and the Church
From the earliest centuries of Christianity, saints and ecclesiastical writers have seen in the virginal marriage of Joseph and Mary a figure of the spousal union between Christ and the Church, the loftiest historical sign of the great mystery of which Saint Paul speaks. Hence the opportunity for a new celebration of the "Feast of the Marriage," which would be a valuable aid for pastoral work on marriage.
340 million Christians persecuted: Islam the prime culprit
The annual World Watch List was presented last week: in 2020 there were 340 million Christians persecuted because of their faith, 309 million of them very severely. The number of Christians killed increased by 60%: from 2,983 to 4,761, an average of 13 per day. 4,277 believers were arrested without trial and 1,710 kidnapped. Islam remains the main matrix of persecution. Religious nationalism and, especially in China, communism, also weigh heavily. North Korea is still the worst performer. Among the factors responsible for the greatest difficulties for Christians, especially where they are a minority, Open Doors identifies Covid.
The mysterious pomegranate in the Holy Scriptures
Moses spoke of the pomegranate, but it is also found in the Song of Songs, and in Exodus it is even presented as a decorative fruit. Beautiful, unique, and delicious, it has inspired artists, poets, traditions and religions that see it as a source of both fertility and well-being. This is why it is included in so many recipes.
Müller’s warning: the Papacy is in grave danger
The power of the media has contributed to the present considerable confusion in the Church about the meaning of the Papacy. On the one hand, the renunciation of Benedict XVI has engendered the idea of the coexistence of ‘two Popes’, which is absolutely inconceivable. On the other hand, Pope Francis, between the relativisation of his role and ‘paradigm shifts’, risks preaching ‘a human brotherhood without Jesus Christ’ and engaging in a dialogue with Islam under the banner of religious relativism. It is necessary to rediscover the Christ-centred character of the Papacy. Cardinal Gerhard L. Müller publishes an article on the true meaning of the Papacy.
Another no from the ECHR condemns RS to death
The European Court of Human Rights for the second time, in less than a week,has rejected an appeal to avoid the death in the United Kingdom of the Polish citizen RS, in a vegetative state. Family members and doctors acting on their behalf presented evidence to demonstrate his condition has improved.
Yes to female "readers and acolytes," puts Diaconate in danger
By virtue of his motu proprio Spiritus Domini, The Pope's decision to modify Canon 230 opens the Lectorate and Acolytate to women as well. Down through the centuries, these have always been ‘ministries’ conferred to males alone, because, like the other ancient minor orders, they emanate from the Diaconate. In this way, having broken the bond with tradition, the latter can also be attacked.
"Free until I say so." 'Socialcracy' is a problem
If a private corporate and commercial entity, lacking in democratic legitimacy and public authority, meddles forcefully in the exercise of rights guaranteed by national and international legal systems, it means that serious questions should be posed regarding the nature of the Internet and rules needed to prevent further showdowns by Big Tech. With Trump, whose accounts were recently blocked by Facebook and Twitter, a debate is now underway concerning the role of social media networks. Are they censors or publicists? Watchdogs or publishers? Even a publicly appointed authority would be risky, though the phenomenon must be tackled with moral equilibrium.
Trump: Democracy’s anarchist put the system in lockdown
Before Trump’s own eyes, America’s system of power went into lockdown, proving it was no longer a democracy because now it is a given that freedom can be bought. When John Paul II and Benedict XVI spoke of democracy as a potential totalitarian system, this is what they were referring to. Instead, Trump while doing so in unfashionable style, made arguments that lay the foundation for freedom and which make it unable to be bought by the system: arguments about life, God, the nation as a natural community, faith, and natural law. He was a rebel. An anarchist of democracy.
