The “science of wine” has a patron saint in Portugal
Saint Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal, is the only patron saint of oenologists and her personal history is intertwined with wine. Living at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, she called upon Don Edoardo de Aviz, a famous oenologist of the time, to help the nuns of the convent she had founded to produce a good wine, destined to be used for Mass in all the churches of Portugal.
- THE RECIPE: FISH AND SEAFOOD STEW
The prince who wanted to become a deadly virus
He founded the WWF and to save the environment would have gladly sacrificed a part of humanity, even declaring that he wanted to be reincarnated as a lethal virus. Infused with neo-Malthusian ideology, he inherited and promoted eugenic culture. This is the lesser known side of Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip of Edinburgh, whose funeral takes place today.
Withdrawing troops from Afghanistan spells defeat for the West
The U.S. has apparently taken the final decision to withdraw all its armed forces from Afghanistan. The symbolic date to complete the operation is September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Meanwhile on the ground, the Taliban are not defeated and local armed forces are not prepared. Therefore, this spells defeat.
Johnson&Johnson vaccine suspended, yet another blow to vaccine Messianism
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided to suspend the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The cause: dangerous reactions linked to blood clots that occurred within two weeks of its being administered to six women aged 18-48. In Europe, the EMA is stalling any pronouncements on the causal connection, as it had initially done with AstraZeneca. The reality is that for commercially-developed Covid vaccines, normal approval times have gone into "warp speed." Better pharmacovigilance is needed while Australia’s University of Queensland has issued a warning about vaccine-centric strategies.
Poverty in a communist sauce is not Christianity
On Mercy Sunday Pope Francis delivered a homily about how early Christians in the Acts of the Apostles pooled their wealth. The media then "flavoured up" what the pope preached by saying that anyone who does not share their possessions with the poor is not a true Christian. Certainly Christians have a moral obligation to help the needy, but Christianity calls for detachment of the heart from material goods, but it is not a call to poverty. St. Thomas teaches us his evaluation of "what is necessary."
Cells from aborted fetuses, does anyone still care?
The Holy See, Bishops and a number of Catholic intellectuals are the first to promote mass vaccination by ignoring Church documents on the requisites for the use of cells from aborted foetuses to be considered morally legitimate. This is an opportunity lost for the Church to evangelise.
Covid in Brazil: media epidemic spreads against Bolsonaro
Not a day goes by that we don't hear about Covid carnage in Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil. But does Brazil really "deserve" it? Brazil has the second highest number of Covid-related deaths, but compared to its large population the situation isn't so dramatic. Worse than Brazil are Italy and most of Europe. As usual, we are dealing with manipulative politically-oriented data.
Amandus of Maastricht, patron saint of vinegar producers
Vinegar is the drink that was given to Jesus on the cross: a gesture of mercy, not torture, because water mixed with vinegar (posca) was used by Roman soldiers as a thirst-quenching drink. Along with ‘posca’, ‘sapum’, the forerunner of balsamic vinegar, was also used in ancient Rome. And vinegar producers have as their patron Saint Amandus of Maastricht, a hermit, later a missionary and bishop, who evangelised Belgium and northern France.
- THE RECIPE: EASTER SALAD WITH POACHED EGG AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR
Hans Küng, the theologian who sowed the seeds for Vatican III
The Swiss theologian Hans Küng has died. His name often made front page headlines when he fired hard at Catholic doctrine. A Hegelian by training, Küng wanted the ecumenical and democratic reform of the Church. While he sowed in silence, there are fruits we reap today: many think that we are already in the era of the Vatican Council III that he dreamed of.
“John Paul II and I, what joy the cause for his sainthood”
“Among the witnesses there were both lay people and priests, they all spoke of Wojtyla as ‘our Pope’. It is striking that they were people from all walks of life and from all over the world, but with a deeply rooted opinion of his saintliness.” The Compass interviews Monsignor Sławomir Oder, returning to Poland after 36 years in Rome and well-known postulator of the cause for canonisation of John Paul II, whose 16th anniversary of death fell on 2 April.
God saved us from Covid. He is better than any vaccine
Vaccines have become part a new religion. It is a religion with its own sacraments (hygiene, social distancing), saints (vaccinated people), commandments (Thou shall immunize thyself; Thou shall not covet your neighbor’s vaccination). Yet it is a false religion. This is the opinion of a person – a nun – who was on oxygen for a month and a half with very severe Covid-related pneumonia. Yet, her entire Shalom Community was saved thanks to the prayers and assistance of a volunteer nurse. Let everyone choose freely whether or not to get vaccinated, but leave us free to live our faith and, especially, not to adhere to any deviant form of faith.
