Threats, alliances, elections: 2021 in the Middle East
The only thing that is certain about the next early elections in Israel, the fourth in two years, is the date: March 23rd. Otherwise, 2021 already looks like a year full of uncertainties. First and foremost: will Iran follow up on its threats against the US?
Racism in football, stories of waffle
Uruguayan international footballer Edinson Cavani has been forced to defend himself against a slanderous accusation of racism after thanking a friend with 'gracias negrito', a Spanish term of endearment. What is really behind anti-racist militancy?
Incarnation and Redemption are founded in the feast of the Epiphany
The adoration of the Child Jesus by the Three Kings and the gifts they offer Him attest to His true identity, the person of God the Son in whom divine nature and human nature are united for the salvation of the world. How contemporary the Feast of the Epiphany is, the feast of the light of Christ shining in Christian hearts for the salvation of the world! Today, the darkness that could deceive us and lead us away from the Light that is Christ has entered the Church itself.
Another "unworthy" life in England. This time the clash is with Poland
Another victim has fallen foul of the UK’s principle of "best of interests". A Polish citizen residing in the United Kingdom, in a vegetative state, has received the death sentence from doctors and judges. The government in Warsaw has appealed to the European Court, which must decide by January 7. The case raises serious issues about patients' rights abroad.
Holy Land, cradle of vine cultivation
The land of Jesus is a land of wines. The biblical roots of wine-growing date back three thousand years before Christ, and ancient Canaan became a place where vines were grown a good two millennia before wine culture reached Europe. The wine and the chalice also highlight the dimension of sacrifice. This is why Jesus chose this drink for the institution of the Holy Eucharist.
- THE RECIPE: MULLED WINE
Mary's divine Motherhood that gives way to redemption
When we think of the mother of God we tend to "shift" to our level of experience, reducing Mary to a carnal mother. Instead, the Church teaches that it is precisely by our asserting her title of Dei Genetrix that we can defend the truth of the two natures of the One Divine Person. Moreover, Mary's "yes" to the Incarnation includes her "yes" to participate in the redemptive work of her Son. That is why she is Co-Redeemer and not merely a most virtuous woman.
Development: UN cares about the planet, not people
The new United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Report adds environmental parameters to the Human Development Index. An ideological change that leads to a new conception of development, which requires sacrificing humanity.
Vaccine and aborted fetuses, the Vatican’s betrayal
Inside the Vatican, a health official has announced the distribution of a Covid vaccine, for which its research utilised cell lines from aborted fetuses. Just yesterday the Pontifical Academy for Life’s president, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, lauded the European Union’s Vaccine Day, saying there was now “a light shining in a tunnel that, until now, has been very dark." This is a vaccination campaign involving a concerted decision to not deny the media’s interpretation of the “Note” released by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a document which has proven to be a turning point in the moral debate. Now the Church accepts vaccines derived from cells of aborted fetuses. This is a very grave decision which will have dramatic repercussions for the defence of life.
The ‘holy’ vaccine, a leap into the void that won’t save us
27 December 2020 will go down in history as V-Day, Vaccination Day: the day when the vaccine counter-offensive was unleashed against Covid across Europe. Announced in emphatic and rhetorical terms for a colossal propaganda operation, the antidote became ‘light and hope’. But none of the Phase III studies have been structured to prove the effectiveness of the vaccines in reducing serious outcomes such as hospitalisations, intensive care need, or deaths. Their isn’t sufficient evidence to assess their benefits and damages.
Milk, mankind’s first nourishment
For every latitude and religion, mother's milk is an extension of the special relationship between the child and the mother. In the Holy Scriptures, milk is mentioned several times, as in the theophany at the Oaks of Mamre, where Abraham serves the Lord milk and meat together, implicitly giving an answer on the Jewish dispute between what is allowed (kosher) and forbidden (terefah) to eat. In reality, food prohibitions are primarily cultural.
- THE RECIPE: CRÈME CARAMEL
