lifesitenews--2020-07-17--Are Chinese communists using forced abortion, sterilization to wipe out minority population?

July 17 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – As the only Western eyewitness to the Chinese Communist Party ’ s ( CCP ) brutal one-child policy , I applauded when it finally ended in 2016 .
But what the CCP is now doing to slash birth rates among its Uyghur and Kazakh minority in China ’ s Far West is arguably worse .
While it involves the same horrific practices of forced abortion and sterilization that I first documented in 1980—practices that the Nuremberg Tribunal declared to be crimes against humanity—there is one stark difference : It is only being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Turkish speaking Uyghurs of the region known as Xinjiang .
That ’ s right .
For the past few years , while Communist China ’ s leaders have been encouraging Han Chinese women to have more children , they have been ordering Uyghur women to have fewer .
Hundreds of thousands of Uyghur women have been forced to have abortions , undergo sterilization , or wear IUDs to reduce the Uyghur birth rate .
Those who resist are sentenced to concentration camps , where they are sterilized anyway .
The CCP ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slow motion .
The Party is not killing off the Uyghur people in quick-time by , say , herding them into gas chambers .
But by eliminating the majority of the next generation they will achieve the same end over time—a greatly reduced number of this ancient people , who will then be more easily dispersed and assimilated .
Until recently , we had only anecdotal accounts of this new population control campaign .
An Uyghur woman named Mihrigul Tursun testified in 2018 that she and other women in a Chinese concentration camp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former inmate , Rakhima Senbay , reported having an intrauterine contraceptive device ( IUD ) involuntarily inserted ( Washington Post , October 5 , 2019 ) .
A third , Zumrat Dawut , had to pay a hefty fine and undergo sterilization after having a third child ( Washington Post , November 17 , 2019 ) .
What we didn ’ t know , with any certainty , was how widespread the campaign was , and the extent to which it was driven by the central government .
Thanks to a just-published investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have the answers to such questions .
We now know , for example , that the population control campaign underway in Xinjiang is even more coercive than that imposed for decades on the majority of the Han Chinese population .
Chinese government documents obtained by Zenz state that the punishment for violating the Planned Birth regulations is internment in Xinjiang ’ s sprawling network of concentration camps .
As severe as the earlier campaign was , violators were not subjected to long prison terms .
Uyghur women are .
From the very beginning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign , targets and quotas set by senior officials have been used to goad local officials into action .
They are being used again in Xinjiang to great effect .
Zenz reports that county-level documents from 2019 reveal plans to sterilize up to one-third of all the women of childbearing age in a single year .
Uyghur women with more than one child were to be targeted .
Those Uyghur women who were not surgically sterilized—which is to say those with only one child -- were forced to accept an IUD , Zenz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of every five IUDs implanted in all of China were done on Uyghur and Kazakh women , even though these two minorities constitute less than 1 percent of China ’ s population .
These severe measures have had , for the Chinese Communist Party , the intended result .
Population growth in Xinjiang has dramatically declined to a fraction of its former level .
But the CCP authorities continue to drive down the birth rate even further .
As Zenz writes , “ For 2020 , one Uyghur region set an unprecedented near-zero @ @ @ @ @ @ @ achieved through “ family planning work ” .
The overall goal of the population control regime imposed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) in Xinjiang is , Zenz concludes , to reduce the Uyghur population in Xinjiang relative to the numbers of ethnic Han Chinese—and thereby to promote more rapid Uyghur assimilation into the “ Chinese Nation-Race ” ( 中华民族 , Zhonghua Minzu ) .
I believe that the goal of CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping , however , may be even more ambitious .
The Draconian nature of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Uyghur women—along with the incarceration of between one to three million Uyghur men—suggests to me that he is not merely trying to ensure Han Chinese ethno-racial domination .
There is no question that he has done that already given that Han Chinese account for 94 percent of China ’ s population .
Rather , Xi is intent upon committing genocide , which is to say the elimination of the Uyghurs as a separate people from the face of the earth .
Whether that will be the long-term consequence of the brutal population campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be seen .
But it is already safe to conclude that what is happening in China violates the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide ( United Nations , December 9 , 1948 ) .
As Dr. Zenz points out , his findings “ provide the strongest evidence yet that Beijing ’ s policies in Xinjiang meet one of the genocide criteria , namely , ‘ imposing measures intended to prevent births within the [ targeted ] group ’ ” The new report comes on the heels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rights Act , which President Donald Trump on June 17th signed into law .
The Act , passed on a rare bipartisan basis , authorizes sanctions against Chinese officials who participate in “ human rights violations and abuses such as the systematic use of indoctrination camps , forced labor and intrusive surveillance to eradicate the ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uyghurs and other minorities.
” The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo followed up on July 9th by announcing that `` The United States will not stand idly by as the CCP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ethnic Kazakhs and members of other minority groups in Xinjiang to include force labor , arbitrary mass detention and forced population control and attempts to erase their culture and Muslim faith . ''
Not only did Pompeo condemn what he called the “ horrific practice ” of “ forced population control ” , he went on to sanction four Chinese individuals , including Chen Quangguo , the Party Secretary of Xinjiang , who as a member of the 25-man Politburo , is one of the CCP ’ s top leaders .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reacted with fury .
The spokesman for China ’ s Foreign Ministry first derided stories of population control atrocities as “ fabricated ” and “ fake news , ” claiming that the CCP Party-State treats all ethnicities equally and protects the legal rights of minorities .
Not long thereafter , it announced it would retaliate by sanctioning four U.S. officials in turn .
Those who received this back-handed “ badge of honor ” from the CCP are well known to those in pro-life circles .
They are Congressman Christopher ( R , N.J. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , TX ) , Senator Marco Rubio ( R , FL ) , and the U.S .
Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback .
( Note that not a single member of the Democrat Party is being sanctioned . )
By “ sanctioning ” U.S. officials , however , the leaders of the CCP have perhaps admitted more than they intended .
Perhaps they have `` admitted '' that they , not local Xinjiang officials , are behind the Uyghur genocide .
I believe that the decision to commit genocide was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of course is headed by its General Secretary , Xi Jinping .
It is time to move from sanctioning local officials Xinjiang to sanctioning those who are in fact responsible : The leaders of the criminal enterprise that is the Chinese Communist Party .
Our allies should do the same .
As I mentioned above , the CCP genocide of Uyghurs is a violation of the `` Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide '' .
And under the convention , nations have a duty `` to prevent and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is committed .
The Trump administration has acted .
Other nations must follow .
Steven W. Mosher is the President of the Population Research Institute and the author of Bully of Asia : Why China ’ s Dream is the New Threat to World Order .

URGENT PETITION: Tell the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade! Sign the petition here.
July 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – As the only Western eyewitness to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) brutal one-child policy, I applauded when it finally ended in 2016.
But what the CCP is now doing to slash birth rates among its Uyghur and Kazakh minority in China’s Far West is arguably worse. While it involves the same horrific practices of forced abortion and sterilization that I first documented in 1980—practices that the Nuremberg Tribunal declared to be crimes against humanity—there is one stark difference: It is only being imposed on ethnic minorities, namely the Turkish speaking Uyghurs of the region known as Xinjiang.
That’s right. For the past few years, while Communist China’s leaders have been encouraging Han Chinese women to have more children, they have been ordering Uyghur women to have fewer. Hundreds of thousands of Uyghur women have been forced to have abortions, undergo sterilization, or wear IUDs to reduce the Uyghur birth rate. Those who resist are sentenced to concentration camps, where they are sterilized anyway.
The CCP’s new policy is genocide, albeit in slow motion. The Party is not killing off the Uyghur people in quick-time by, say, herding them into gas chambers. But by eliminating the majority of the next generation they will achieve the same end over time—a greatly reduced number of this ancient people, who will then be more easily dispersed and assimilated.
Until recently, we had only anecdotal accounts of this new population control campaign. An Uyghur woman named Mihrigul Tursun testified in 2018 that she and other women in a Chinese concentration camp were chemically sterilized by injection. Another former inmate, Rakhima Senbay, reported having an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) involuntarily inserted (Washington Post, October 5, 2019). A third, Zumrat Dawut, had to pay a hefty fine and undergo sterilization after having a third child (Washington Post, November 17, 2019).
What we didn’t know, with any certainty, was how widespread the campaign was, and the extent to which it was driven by the central government. Thanks to a just-published investigation by researcher Adrian Zenz, we now have the answers to such questions.
We now know, for example, that the population control campaign underway in Xinjiang is even more coercive than that imposed for decades on the majority of the Han Chinese population. Chinese government documents obtained by Zenz state that the punishment for violating the Planned Birth regulations is internment in Xinjiang’s sprawling network of concentration camps. As severe as the earlier campaign was, violators were not subjected to long prison terms. Uyghur women are.
From the very beginning of Communist China’s Planned Birth campaign, targets and quotas set by senior officials have been used to goad local officials into action. They are being used again in Xinjiang to great effect. Zenz reports that county-level documents from 2019 reveal plans to sterilize up to one-third of all the women of childbearing age in a single year. Uyghur women with more than one child were to be targeted.
Those Uyghur women who were not surgically sterilized—which is to say those with only one child–were forced to accept an IUD, Zenz found. In 2018, four out of every five IUDs implanted in all of China were done on Uyghur and Kazakh women, even though these two minorities constitute less than 1 percent of China’s population.
These severe measures have had, for the Chinese Communist Party, the intended result. Population growth in Xinjiang has dramatically declined to a fraction of its former level. But the CCP authorities continue to drive down the birth rate even further. As Zenz writes, “For 2020, one Uyghur region set an unprecedented near-zero population growth target … intended to be achieved through “family planning work”.
The overall goal of the population control regime imposed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Xinjiang is, Zenz concludes, to reduce the Uyghur population in Xinjiang relative to the numbers of ethnic Han Chinese—and thereby to promote more rapid Uyghur assimilation into the “Chinese Nation-Race” (中华民族, Zhonghua Minzu).
I believe that the goal of CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, however, may be even more ambitious. The Draconian nature of the population control program he has unleashed upon Uyghur women—along with the incarceration of between one to three million Uyghur men—suggests to me that he is not merely trying to ensure Han Chinese ethno-racial domination. There is no question that he has done that already given that Han Chinese account for 94 percent of China’s population. Rather, Xi is intent upon committing genocide, which is to say the elimination of the Uyghurs as a separate people from the face of the earth.
Whether that will be the long-term consequence of the brutal population campaign that the CCP has embarked upon remains to be seen. But it is already safe to conclude that what is happening in China violates the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (United Nations, December 9, 1948).
As Dr. Zenz points out, his findings “provide the strongest evidence yet that Beijing’s policies in Xinjiang meet one of the genocide criteria, namely, ‘imposing measures intended to prevent births within the [targeted] group’ ”
The new report comes on the heels of the passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Act, which President Donald Trump on June 17th signed into law. The Act, passed on a rare bipartisan basis, authorizes sanctions against Chinese officials who participate in “human rights violations and abuses such as the systematic use of indoctrination camps, forced labor and intrusive surveillance to eradicate the ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uyghurs and other minorities.”
The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo followed up on July 9th by announcing that “The United States will not stand idly by as the CCP carries out human rights abuses targeting Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs and members of other minority groups in Xinjiang to include force labor, arbitrary mass detention and forced population control and attempts to erase their culture and Muslim faith.”
Not only did Pompeo condemn what he called the “horrific practice” of “forced population control”, he went on to sanction four Chinese individuals, including Chen Quangguo, the Party Secretary of Xinjiang, who as a member of the 25-man Politburo, is one of the CCP’s top leaders.
The leaders of the CCP, predictably, reacted with fury. The spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry first derided stories of population control atrocities as “fabricated” and “fake news,” claiming that the CCP Party-State treats all ethnicities equally and protects the legal rights of minorities. Not long thereafter, it announced it would retaliate by sanctioning four U.S. officials in turn.
Those who received this back-handed “badge of honor” from the CCP are well known to those in pro-life circles. They are Congressman Christopher (R, N.J.), Senator Ted Cruz (R, TX), Senator Marco Rubio (R, FL), and the U.S. Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback. (Note that not a single member of the Democrat Party is being sanctioned.)
By “sanctioning” U.S. officials, however, the leaders of the CCP have perhaps admitted more than they intended. Perhaps they have “admitted” that they, not local Xinjiang officials, are behind the Uyghur genocide. I believe that the decision to commit genocide was made in the Politburo itself, which of course is headed by its General Secretary, Xi Jinping.
It is time to move from sanctioning local officials Xinjiang to sanctioning those who are in fact responsible: The leaders of the criminal enterprise that is the Chinese Communist Party.
Our allies should do the same. As I mentioned above, the CCP genocide of Uyghurs is a violation of the “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”. And under the convention, nations have a duty “to prevent and to punish” any instance where genocide is committed.
The Trump administration has acted. Other nations must follow.
Steven W. Mosher is the President of the Population Research Institute and the author of Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream is the New Threat to World Order.
Follow Steven Steven Mosher is an internationally recognised authority on China and population issues as well as an acclaimed author and speaker and founder and head of the Population Research Institute. He was the first American social scientist to visit mainland China in 1979 where he witnessed women being forced to have abortion under the new “one-child-policy” which he then exposed to the world. Mr. Mosher was a pro-choice atheist at the time, but witnessing these traumatic abortions led him to reconsider his convictions and to eventually become a practicing, pro-life Roman Catholic. Mosher has appeared numerous times before the US Congress as an expert in world population, China and human Rights abuses. He has also made TV appearances on Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, The Today Show, 20/20, FOX and CNN news, as well as being a regular guest on talk radio shows across the nation. He is the author of the best-selling A Mother’s Ordeal: One woman’s Fight Against China’s One-Child-Policy. His latest book is Bully of Asia, exposing the threat of China to the entire world at this time. Articles by Steve have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, The New Republic, The Washington Post, National Review, Reason, The Asian Wall Street Journal, Freedom Review, Linacre Quarterly, Catholic World Report, Human Life Review, First Things, and numerous other publications. Steven Mosher lives in Virginia with his wife, Vera, and their nine children.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-17--You don’t save souls by locking people up and closing Churches

Formerly Heart to Heart with Mother Miriam , Mother Miriam Live brings you inspiration and solutions for life ’ s @ @ @ @ @ Miriam is a Catholic nun on a mission to bring hope to a world that @ @ @ @ @ let her share that hope and joy with you !
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Watch Mother Miriam's Live aired on 7.17.2020. In today's episode, Mother Miriam speaks about the importance of persisting in our faith during these trying times. She highlights the importance of our spiritual health over our bodily health. She also continues reading from the Baltimore Catechism as part of her series on learning the faith.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-17--Facebook, Instagram to ban all promotion of ‘conversion therapy’ as ‘hate’

PETITION : Tell Trump Christians can ’ t accept SCOTUS ruling imposing LGBT ideology !
Sign the petition here .
July 17 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Facebook and its photo platform Instagram are banning any content advertising or promoting treatment to overcome unwanted same-sex attraction , the internet giant announced .
The ban comes under the auspices of its policies against “ hate speech , ” CNN reported , and follows a controversy over the UK-based Christian organization Core Issues Trust , which “ works with people who voluntarily seek to change from a ‘ gay ’ lifestyle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Church of Christ has a responsibility to support , with patience , understanding , sensitivity and respect , individuals who chose to work through those issues that have led to the homosexual impulse , ” the group says .
“ The process of change is often exceedingly painful and requires the support of skillful mentors and a loving community in order to promote wholeness and restoration.
” That stance is hateful , according to Instagram .
`` We do n't allow attacks against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity and are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of conversion therapy services , '' said Tara Hopkins , Instagram 's public policy director for Europe , the Middle East and Africa .
`` We have removed violating content from @ coreissuestrusttv .
We are always reviewing our policies and will continue to consult with experts and people with personal experiences to inform our approach.
” Despite common left-wing insistence that so-called “ conversion ” therapy is junk science ( based largely on associating professional counselors with examples of fringe , outdated practices such as electric shock ) , there are studies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attest to , reparative therapy ’ s success in improving their lives .
The latter , such as Angel Colon and Drew Berryessa , say they want others currently struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction to have access to the same help overcoming it .
“ We ’ re not talking about taking choices off the table , ” said an attendee of a 2018 rally of ex-gays and transgenders outside the California statehouse , a former lesbian who ’ s now happily married to a man and has two children .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the table.
” “ We 've had this treatment now from Mailchimp , from PayPal and from Facebook .
And in each case it 's been instant and unilateral in response to complaints , ” Core Issues Trust founder Mike Davidson told Christianity Today .
“ I also think this censorship flags up the totalitarian nature of the LGBT left-wing movement ( ... ) It may seem at the moment like conversion therapy is only relevant to a few people in the country .
In fact , it has great significance because once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only go further and there will be no stopping them .
“ We are effectively seeing the blossoming of cultural Marxism , ” he warned .
“ It 's a Marxist revolution right in front of our eyes but this is not being discerned by the Church , which tries to blend , appease and comply -- to its detriment .
”

The ban comes after a controversy over a Christian organization that 'works with people who voluntarily seek to change from a ‘gay’ lifestyle to a gender-affirming one.'
PETITION: Tell Trump Christians can’t accept SCOTUS ruling imposing LGBT ideology! Sign the petition here.
July 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Facebook and its photo platform Instagram are banning any content advertising or promoting treatment to overcome unwanted same-sex attraction, the internet giant announced.
The ban comes under the auspices of its policies against “hate speech,” CNN reported, and follows a controversy over the UK-based Christian organization Core Issues Trust, which “works with people who voluntarily seek to change from a ‘gay’ lifestyle to a gender-affirming one.”
“The Church of Christ has a responsibility to support, with patience, understanding, sensitivity and respect, individuals who chose to work through those issues that have led to the homosexual impulse,” the group says. “The process of change is often exceedingly painful and requires the support of skillful mentors and a loving community in order to promote wholeness and restoration.”
That stance is hateful, according to Instagram.
“We don't allow attacks against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity and are updating our policies to ban the promotion of conversion therapy services,” said Tara Hopkins, Instagram's public policy director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We have removed violating content from @coreissuestrusttv. We are always reviewing our policies and will continue to consult with experts and people with personal experiences to inform our approach.”
Despite common left-wing insistence that so-called “conversion” therapy is junk science (based largely on associating professional counselors with examples of fringe, outdated practices such as electric shock), there are studies that indicate, and former homosexuals who attest to, reparative therapy’s success in improving their lives.
The latter, such as Angel Colon and Drew Berryessa, say they want others currently struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction to have access to the same help overcoming it.
“We’re not talking about taking choices off the table,” said an attendee of a 2018 rally of ex-gays and transgenders outside the California statehouse, a former lesbian who’s now happily married to a man and has two children. “We are talking about putting more choices on the table.”
“We've had this treatment now from Mailchimp, from PayPal and from Facebook. And in each case it's been instant and unilateral in response to complaints,” Core Issues Trust founder Mike Davidson told Christianity Today. “I also think this censorship flags up the totalitarian nature of the LGBT left-wing movement (…) It may seem at the moment like conversion therapy is only relevant to a few people in the country. In fact, it has great significance because once it's banned, the left will only go further and there will be no stopping them.
“We are effectively seeing the blossoming of cultural Marxism,” he warned. “It's a Marxist revolution right in front of our eyes but this is not being discerned by the Church, which tries to blend, appease and comply — to its detriment.”
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lifesitenews--2020-07-17--Twitter Bitcoin hack reveals platform’s secret tools to blacklist search results, trends

July 17 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Wednesday ’ s hack of more than 130 Twitter accounts by Bitcoin scammers sent the internet into a temporary panic , but the aftermath brought a more alarming revelation : evidence of Twitter ’ s ability to shadow-ban trends as well as users , as well as the implication that it has the power to directly hijack users ’ accounts .
On Wednesday afternoon , numerous high-profile accounts such as those of former President Barack Obama , celebrity Kim Kardashian , Microsoft head Bill Gates , and companies such as Apple and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars in exchange for sending money to Bitcoin addresses , the BBC reported .
According to Twitter , a total of 130 accounts were compromised by hackers who had managed to gain access to the platform ’ s internal administrative tools , though it remains unconfirmed whether hackers took control remotely or got someone within Twitter to do so .
The FBI has opened an investigation into the incident over potential national-security concerns .
After the attack , leaked screenshots surfaced of an internal Twitter control panel , which includes buttons labeled “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Vice reported .
Twitter has taken to deleting copies of the screenshot posted on the platform .
The screenshots , as well as the implication that some Twitter employees have the capability to directly post from users ’ accounts without their knowledge or consent , sparked a new wave of concern across social media : Twitter has been the subject of numerous free-speech and political discrimination controversies for years , most recently with its aggressive measures to to police dissenting viewpoints on COVID-19 under the guise of “ preventing misinformation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ glorifying violence ” warnings added to tweets by President Donald Trump .
Of particular concern has been the practice of shadow-banning , or preventing a user ’ s content from appearing in other users ’ feeds , but giving the target no indication that his account has been flagged , restricted , or otherwise affected .
In 2018 , Twitter came under fire over revelations that numerous prominent Republicans had been excluded from its drop-down menu meant to simplify searching for specific people ( with the victims ’ Democratic counterparts not being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Project Veritas captured Twitter Trust & Safety policy manager Olinda Hassan saying “ we ’ re trying to get the shitty people to not show up , ” and contains former Twitter software engineer Abhinav Vadrevu admitting , “ Our strategy is to shadow ban so that you have ultimate control .
”

'Trends Blacklist' and 'Search Blacklist' appeared in screenshots of a Twitter control panel, according to a Vice report, before copies of the shots were taken down.
July 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Wednesday’s hack of more than 130 Twitter accounts by Bitcoin scammers sent the internet into a temporary panic, but the aftermath brought a more alarming revelation: evidence of Twitter’s ability to shadow-ban trends as well as users, as well as the implication that it has the power to directly hijack users’ accounts.
On Wednesday afternoon, numerous high-profile accounts such as those of former President Barack Obama, celebrity Kim Kardashian, Microsoft head Bill Gates, and companies such as Apple and Uber tweeted suspicious messages offering thousands of dollars in exchange for sending money to Bitcoin addresses, the BBC reported.
According to Twitter, a total of 130 accounts were compromised by hackers who had managed to gain access to the platform’s internal administrative tools, though it remains unconfirmed whether hackers took control remotely or got someone within Twitter to do so. The FBI has opened an investigation into the incident over potential national-security concerns.
We know they used this access to take control of many highly-visible (including verified) accounts and Tweet on their behalf. We’re looking into what other malicious activity they may have conducted or information they may have accessed and will share more here as we have it. — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 16, 2020
We’re working with impacted account owners and will continue to do so over the next several days. We are continuing to assess whether non-public data related to these accounts was compromised, and will provide updates if we determine that occurred. — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 17, 2020
After the attack, leaked screenshots surfaced of an internal Twitter control panel, which includes buttons labeled “Trends Blacklist” and “Search Blacklist,” Vice reported. Twitter has taken to deleting copies of the screenshot posted on the platform.
The screenshots, as well as the implication that some Twitter employees have the capability to directly post from users’ accounts without their knowledge or consent, sparked a new wave of concern across social media:
I can't post the linked screenshots from Twitter's admin panel but I have to ask What is “search blacklist” and “trends blacklist” pic.twitter.com/f6DAw3zzqu — Tim Pool (@Timcast) July 16, 2020
BREAKING: Alleged leaked pictures from the Twitter admin control panel that was compromised showcase the buttons ‘Trends Blacklist’ and ‘Search Blacklist’, indicating Twitter DOES have the ability to shadowban it’s users. — Mike Coudrey (@MichaelCoudrey) July 16, 2020
So Twitter controls accounts and has easy-to-use buttons to throttle accounts they don't like, blacklist people from search. I wonder what else they can do. It's not algorithms, it's young people deciding who and what gets heard, seen, and shared. — Melissa Mackenzie (@MelissaTweets) July 16, 2020
Twitter has been the subject of numerous free-speech and political discrimination controversies for years, most recently with its aggressive measures to to police dissenting viewpoints on COVID-19 under the guise of “preventing misinformation,” and its “fact-check” and “glorifying violence” warnings added to tweets by President Donald Trump.
Of particular concern has been the practice of shadow-banning, or preventing a user’s content from appearing in other users’ feeds, but giving the target no indication that his account has been flagged, restricted, or otherwise affected. In 2018, Twitter came under fire over revelations that numerous prominent Republicans had been excluded from its drop-down menu meant to simplify searching for specific people (with the victims’ Democratic counterparts not being similarly affected). An undercover video from Project Veritas captured Twitter Trust & Safety policy manager Olinda Hassan saying “we’re trying to get the shitty people to not show up,” and contains former Twitter software engineer Abhinav Vadrevu admitting, “Our strategy is to shadow ban so that you have ultimate control.”
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lifesitenews--2020-07-17--Catholic bishops need a reality check on communist Black Lives Matter movement

July 17 , 2020 ( Crisis ) — The first step on the way to solving a problem is to understand what the problem is .
Consequently , we can ’ t look to America ’ s bishops to offer solutions to our nation ’ s most pressing problem because most of them simply don ’ t get it .
The biggest problem we currently face is an attempt to overthrow our country ’ s system of government .
In the words of one Black Lives Matter leader , we “ should burn down this system and replace it.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nobody knows for sure .
But judging by the fact that leftists , Marxists , anarchists , and nihilists are heavily involved in the movement , the “ replacement ” society won ’ t be a pleasant one .
It ’ s not only the United States that the protesters wish to take down , but also the Western Christian tradition upon which American society was built .
Shaun King , a far-left activist and Black Lives Matter supporter with a large following , tweeted that “ all murals and stained-glass windows of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and their white friends should also come down .
They are a gross form of white supremacy .
Created as tools of oppression .
Racist propaganda.
” So beneath the “ black lives matter ” hype , the main agenda is still , “ Hey !
Hey !
Ho !
Ho !
Western civ has got to go !
” But apparently many bishops haven ’ t been paying attention .
They seem to believe that the current crisis is all about racism .
They seem to think that if only we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nation will heal .
To them it ’ s the sixties all over again and this is their chance to show their solidarity with the civil rights marchers of yore .
Only , the current protests aren ’ t led by people whose primary interest is ensuring civil rights — but , rather , by people who want to bring down the system that guarantees civil rights .
WATCH : Catholics rally to defend priest suspended for speaking against Black Lives Matter The numerous statements about racism that appeared on the USCCB @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s death were careful to note that the majority of police are good men and women , and that violent protests are self-defeating .
Nevertheless , all the statements assumed that eliminating racism ( that is , white racism ) was the major motivating force behind the nationwide protests and rioting .
Some of the statements even echoed the “ structural racism ” and “ systemic racism ” themes that had become major talking points on the media .
Some bishops have gone even farther and declared their solidarity with Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ realize that BLM is , among other things , a pro-abortion organization that is unconcerned about the lives of unborn black children .
BLM is also pro-LGBT , anti-Semitic , and anti-family .
The BLM online manifesto opposes the “ Western-prescribed nuclear family structure ” and seeks to free “ ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking.
” What else ?
Oh yes , BLM was founded by avowed Marxists .
In short , BLM is not the kind of organization that Catholic prelates ought to pledge allegiance to .
Whatever some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be confused with the Civil Rights movement led by Dr. King in the Sixties .
Nevertheless , Baltimore Archbishop William Lori recently hired BLM supporter Howard Ross as a consultant to help him “ grapple with racial tension ” in the city .
That ’ s like hiring the Amalgamated Union of Flamethrowers to help with the city ’ s arson problem .
There is , however , always hope .
Archbishop Lori announced the hire on June 5th .
Now that a month has passed , and more has been revealed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have second thoughts .
But don ’ t count on it .
Bishops , both in the U.S. and Europe , have shown a propensity for chasing after red herrings while ignoring the real culprits .
They ’ ve convinced themselves that “ Islamophobes ” are a greater danger than Islamic terrorists , that white nationalists are a greater threat than black-clad Antifas , and that clericalists rather than homosexualists are to blame for the sex-abuse crisis .
So , it ’ s not surprising that the bishops would once again be thrown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leftism problem for a racism problem .
There is , of course , a racism component to the problem .
But much of that is manufactured racism — a deliberate attempt by leftists , academics , and the media ( e.g.
, The New York Times ’ “ 1619 Project ” ) to create the impression that racism is far more pervasive and far deeper than it really is .
The bishops , along with many others in our society , have been tricked into thinking Jim Crow and Bull Connor when they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gulag Archipelago .
More specifically , they ought to be thinking about events like the Bolshevik Revolution and Mao ’ s Cultural Revolution .
This will be asking a lot of them because , by and large , the bishops see no enemy on the left .
It sometimes seems as though the last bishop who worried about the threat from Marxism was Fulton Sheen .
There are signs , though , that some bishops are beginning to realize that the left is not their friend .
Archbishop Thomas Wenski , the Chairman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Committee , recently spoke of the rising intolerance toward Christians in terms of a “ soft despotism.
” But part of that soft despotism is a form of mind control to which many of the bishops themselves have succumbed .
The thought control is quite a bit more subtle than the kind portrayed in 1984 because giant tech , media , academic , and financial institutions have put themselves at the service of the leftist cultural revolution .
So , while the nation is being turned into a giant electronic re-education camp , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focused not on the threat from leftist totalitarians , but on the possibility that they may unconsciously harbor some trace of “ implicit bias.
” Thus , Rob McCann , the CEO of Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington , confessed to the global commune : Since logic itself is now considered to be a white supremacist ploy , we can ignore Mr. McCann ’ s faulty logic .
We can also admit that racism is still around , and that , in fact it seems to be making a comeback .
But the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more complex than Mr. McCann supposes .
Like other liberal Catholics , he is forever focused on the racism of the past — that is , white racism against blacks .
Indeed , some liberals subscribe to the juvenile notion that only whites can be racists .
But , of course , that is not the case .
For example , Yusra Khogali , a Toronto-based BLM leader , has said that “ white people are genetic defects.
” And Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan thinks that white people are the result @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As Dr. Carol M. Swain — a former professor at Vanderbilt University , and a black woman — puts it : “ If there is systematic racism today , it is racism against white people , in the sense that white people are held responsible for all the evils in the world.
” Many blacks subscribe to this anti-white racism , but so also do many whites .
By denouncing the white race , they prove their virtue and their wokeness .
Whether or not there is more anti-white racism than anti-black racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that the protests over the death of George Floyd were quickly hijacked by people who see the toppling of statues as a prelude to the toppling of America .
Black Lives Matter is not primarily a black movement , it ’ s a Red movement — “ Red ” as in “ Reds , ” communists , leftists , and Marxists .
As Dr. Swain observed : “ It ’ s very clear to me that the Black Lives Matter organization is about something bigger than black people , that it really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In other words , BLM ’ s primary allegiance is to Marxism .
It is therefore quite willing to sacrifice black lives for the higher communist cause .
BLM ’ s agenda of eventually abolishing the police and the nuclear family will , of course , do nothing but harm to black people .
The recent spike in crime and violence in big city black neighborhoods resulting from police defunding and disengagement gives us a preview of what will happen should the BLM movement ever achieve its goals .
That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that some bishops are taking a more sensible and less simplistic view of race in America .
CNA reports that in response to Rob McCann ’ s off-the-rails confession of racism , the Bishop of Spokane , Thomas Daly , called McCann in for a talk and then issued a statement .
It read in part : Let us hope that more bishops will adopt this more realistic view of BLM .
Let ’ s also hope that they begin to see the Red behind the Black façade .
This article originally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ edition of Crisis .
It is published here with the author ’ s permission .

The biggest problem we currently face is an attempt to overthrow our country’s system of government. Apparently, many bishops haven’t been paying attention.
July 17, 2020 (Crisis) — The first step on the way to solving a problem is to understand what the problem is. Consequently, we can’t look to America’s bishops to offer solutions to our nation’s most pressing problem because most of them simply don’t get it.
The biggest problem we currently face is an attempt to overthrow our country’s system of government. In the words of one Black Lives Matter leader, we “should burn down this system and replace it.” Replace it with what? Well, nobody knows for sure. But judging by the fact that leftists, Marxists, anarchists, and nihilists are heavily involved in the movement, the “replacement” society won’t be a pleasant one.
It’s not only the United States that the protesters wish to take down, but also the Western Christian tradition upon which American society was built. Shaun King, a far-left activist and Black Lives Matter supporter with a large following, tweeted that “all murals and stained-glass windows of white Jesus, and his European mother, and their white friends should also come down. They are a gross form of white supremacy. Created as tools of oppression. Racist propaganda.” So beneath the “black lives matter” hype, the main agenda is still, “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Western civ has got to go!”
But apparently many bishops haven’t been paying attention. They seem to believe that the current crisis is all about racism. They seem to think that if only we can overcome the sin of racism, the nation will heal. To them it’s the sixties all over again and this is their chance to show their solidarity with the civil rights marchers of yore. Only, the current protests aren’t led by people whose primary interest is ensuring civil rights — but, rather, by people who want to bring down the system that guarantees civil rights.
WATCH: Catholics rally to defend priest suspended for speaking against Black Lives Matter
The numerous statements about racism that appeared on the USCCB website in the wake of George Floyd’s death were careful to note that the majority of police are good men and women, and that violent protests are self-defeating. Nevertheless, all the statements assumed that eliminating racism (that is, white racism) was the major motivating force behind the nationwide protests and rioting. Some of the statements even echoed the “structural racism” and “systemic racism” themes that had become major talking points on the media.
Some bishops have gone even farther and declared their solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Perhaps they don’t realize that BLM is, among other things, a pro-abortion organization that is unconcerned about the lives of unborn black children. BLM is also pro-LGBT, anti-Semitic, and anti-family. The BLM online manifesto opposes the “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure” and seeks to free “ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking.” What else? Oh yes, BLM was founded by avowed Marxists. In short, BLM is not the kind of organization that Catholic prelates ought to pledge allegiance to. Whatever some ill-informed bishops might think, BLM should not be confused with the Civil Rights movement led by Dr. King in the Sixties.
Nevertheless, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori recently hired BLM supporter Howard Ross as a consultant to help him “grapple with racial tension” in the city. That’s like hiring the Amalgamated Union of Flamethrowers to help with the city’s arson problem. There is, however, always hope. Archbishop Lori announced the hire on June 5th. Now that a month has passed, and more has been revealed about the BLM movement, he may have second thoughts.
But don’t count on it. Bishops, both in the U.S. and Europe, have shown a propensity for chasing after red herrings while ignoring the real culprits. They’ve convinced themselves that “Islamophobes” are a greater danger than Islamic terrorists, that white nationalists are a greater threat than black-clad Antifas, and that clericalists rather than homosexualists are to blame for the sex-abuse crisis.
* * *
So, it’s not surprising that the bishops would once again be thrown off the scent, mistaking a radical leftism problem for a racism problem. There is, of course, a racism component to the problem. But much of that is manufactured racism — a deliberate attempt by leftists, academics, and the media (e.g., The New York Times’ “1619 Project”) to create the impression that racism is far more pervasive and far deeper than it really is.
The bishops, along with many others in our society, have been tricked into thinking Jim Crow and Bull Connor when they ought to be thinking 1984 and The Gulag Archipelago. More specifically, they ought to be thinking about events like the Bolshevik Revolution and Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
This will be asking a lot of them because, by and large, the bishops see no enemy on the left. It sometimes seems as though the last bishop who worried about the threat from Marxism was Fulton Sheen. There are signs, though, that some bishops are beginning to realize that the left is not their friend. Archbishop Thomas Wenski, the Chairman of the USCCB’s Religious Liberty Committee, recently spoke of the rising intolerance toward Christians in terms of a “soft despotism.”
But part of that soft despotism is a form of mind control to which many of the bishops themselves have succumbed. The thought control is quite a bit more subtle than the kind portrayed in 1984 because giant tech, media, academic, and financial institutions have put themselves at the service of the leftist cultural revolution.
So, while the nation is being turned into a giant electronic re-education camp, Catholic leaders along with Catholic laymen are focused not on the threat from leftist totalitarians, but on the possibility that they may unconsciously harbor some trace of “implicit bias.” Thus, Rob McCann, the CEO of Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington, confessed to the global commune:
I am a racist… My Catholic Church, and my Catholic Charities organization, is racist. How could they not be? Our Catholic faith tradition is built on the premise that a baby, born in a manger in the Middle East, was a white baby.
Since logic itself is now considered to be a white supremacist ploy, we can ignore Mr. McCann’s faulty logic. We can also admit that racism is still around, and that, in fact it seems to be making a comeback. But the reality of the new racism is much more complex than Mr. McCann supposes.
Like other liberal Catholics, he is forever focused on the racism of the past — that is, white racism against blacks. Indeed, some liberals subscribe to the juvenile notion that only whites can be racists. But, of course, that is not the case. For example, Yusra Khogali, a Toronto-based BLM leader, has said that “white people are genetic defects.” And Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan thinks that white people are the result of a science experiment gone wrong.
* * *
As Dr. Carol M. Swain — a former professor at Vanderbilt University, and a black woman — puts it: “If there is systematic racism today, it is racism against white people, in the sense that white people are held responsible for all the evils in the world.” Many blacks subscribe to this anti-white racism, but so also do many whites. By denouncing the white race, they prove their virtue and their wokeness.
Whether or not there is more anti-white racism than anti-black racism is beside the point. The point is that the protests over the death of George Floyd were quickly hijacked by people who see the toppling of statues as a prelude to the toppling of America.
Black Lives Matter is not primarily a black movement, it’s a Red movement — “Red” as in “Reds,” communists, leftists, and Marxists. As Dr. Swain observed: “It’s very clear to me that the Black Lives Matter organization is about something bigger than black people, that it really is pushing a socialist, Marxist agenda.”
In other words, BLM’s primary allegiance is to Marxism. It is therefore quite willing to sacrifice black lives for the higher communist cause. BLM’s agenda of eventually abolishing the police and the nuclear family will, of course, do nothing but harm to black people. The recent spike in crime and violence in big city black neighborhoods resulting from police defunding and disengagement gives us a preview of what will happen should the BLM movement ever achieve its goals.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that some bishops are taking a more sensible and less simplistic view of race in America. CNA reports that in response to Rob McCann’s off-the-rails confession of racism, the Bishop of Spokane, Thomas Daly, called McCann in for a talk and then issued a statement. It read in part:
His [McCann’s] support of the Black Lives Matter organization (BLM), albeit now modified, puzzles me. BLM is in conflict with Church teaching regarding marriage, family, and the sanctity of life. Moreover, it is disturbing that BLM has not vocally condemned the recent violence that has torn apart so many cities. Its silence has not gone unheard. One need not stand with BLM to stand for black lives.
Let us hope that more bishops will adopt this more realistic view of BLM. Let’s also hope that they begin to see the Red behind the Black façade.
This article originally appeared in the July 14, 2020 edition of Crisis. It is published here with permission from William Kilpatrick. For more of Dr. Kilpatrick's recent articles, visit his website, turningpointproject.com.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-17--Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

July 17 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – In response to the crisis unfolding in our world and in the Church , LifeSite is offering Catholics throughout the world a chance to be united daily in prayer , in the Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Crusade .
Catholics from all over the world—from Israel , Uganda , Italy , France , Germany , Ireland , Pakistan , Singapore , the Philippines , India , Indonesia , Australia , New Zealand , Thailand , the United Kingdom , the U.S. , Canada , Brazil , and other countries—are gathering daily to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anthony Pillari , J.C.L.
, an American priest currently studying in Italy .
Our goal is , by means of this daily rosary and by embracing and living out the message given by the Virgin Mary at Fatima , the triumph of Our Lady ’ s Immaculate Heart .
To help obtain that goal , Bishop Athanasius Schneider graciously composed the following prayer for this worldwide rosary crusade : O Immaculate Heart of Mary , you are the holy Mother of God and our tender Mother .
Look upon the distress in which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are living because of the spread of materialism and the persecution of the Church .
In Fatima you warned against these errors , as you spoke about the errors of Russia .
You are the Mediatrix of all graces .
Implore your Divine Son to grant this special grace for the Pope : that he might consecrate Russia to your Immaculate Heart , so that Russia will be converted , a period of peace will be granted to the world , and your Immaculate Heart will triumph , through an authentic renewal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purity of the Catholic Faith , of the sacredness of Divine worship and of the holiness of the Christian life .
O Queen of the holy Rosary and our sweet Mother , turn your merciful eyes to us and graciously hear this our trusting prayer .
Amen .
+ Athanasius Schneider , Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana To learn more about the urgency of responding to Our Lady ’ s message at Fatima , and about what you can do , please read Cardinal Burke ’ s 2017 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ https : //voiceofthefamily.com/full-text-cardinal-burkes-historic-call-for-consecration-of-russia/ ) .
As St. Padre Pio once said , “ The rosary is the weapon for these times.
” Through prayer , God can shape history , change the world , and bring about a great time of renewal and peace for the Church and for the world , through the triumph of Our Lady ’ s Immaculate Heart .
Join us today !
If you would like to follow along with the prayers said during this rosary , you can access them via this PDF .
This document also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the daily rosary on LifeSite led by Fr .
Pillari .
Send photos or videos of you and your family praying the rosary with Father Pillari to [ email protected ]

(LifeSiteNews) — In response to the crisis unfolding in our world and in the Church, LifeSite is happy to promote Regina Angelorum Press’s Daily Rosary, which is offering Catholics throughout the world the chance to be united daily in prayer, in the Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Crusade.
Catholics from all over the world — from Israel, Uganda, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Pakistan, Singapore, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and other countries — are gathering daily to pray the Rosary, led by Father Pillari, JCL, MCL, STL, an American priest currently studying in Italy.
The Daily Rosary is being offered each day at 12noon EST through Regina Angelorum Press’ YouTube Channel to which you can subscribe HERE.
The goal is, by means of this Daily Rosary and by embracing and living out the message given by the Virgin Mary at Fatima, the triumph of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.
To help obtain that goal, Bishop Athanasius Schneider graciously composed the following prayer for this worldwide Rosary crusade:
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, you are the holy Mother of God and our tender Mother. Look upon the distress in which the Church and the whole of humanity are living because of the spread of materialism and the persecution of the Church. In Fatima you warned against these errors, as you spoke about the errors of Russia. You are the Mediatrix of all graces. Implore your Divine Son to grant this special grace for the Pope: that he might consecrate Russia to your Immaculate Heart, so that Russia will be converted, a period of peace will be granted to the world, and your Immaculate Heart will triumph, through an authentic renewal of the Church in the splendor of the purity of the Catholic Faith, of the sacredness of Divine worship and of the holiness of the Christian life. O Queen of the holy Rosary and our sweet Mother, turn your merciful eyes to us and graciously hear this our trusting prayer. Amen. + Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana
To learn more about the urgency of responding to Our Lady’s message at Fatima, and about what you can do, please read Cardinal Burke’s 2017 address at the Rome Life Forum.
As St. Padre Pio once said, “The Rosary is the weapon for these times.” Through prayer, God can shape history, change the world, and bring about a great time of renewal and peace for the Church and for the world, through the triumph of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. Join us today!
If you would like to follow along with the prayers said during this Rosary, you can access them HERE. The document also includes a brief F.A.Q. pertaining to the daily Rosary.
You can send your prayer requests to https://reginangelorumpress.com/prayer-intentions/
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lifesitenews--2020-07-17--DC think tank calls on US govt to sanction Nigerian president over slaughter of Christians

WASHINGTON D.C. , July 17 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – A new report from the Family Research Council ( FRC ) is calling for the U.S. government to adopt hard-hitting sanctions against Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in light of reports of more than 1,200 Christians killed by Islamic terrorists in the country since the start of this year .
Lela Gilbert , Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom at the FRC , has published a new paper titled ‘ The Crisis of Christian Persecution in Nigeria ’ in which she reviews numerous reports and studies highlighting the targeting of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State ’ s West Africa Province ( ISWAP ) and Fulani herdsmen .
One recent report cited in the study estimates that 11,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since June 2015 .
In a recent interview regarding her report , Gilbert says that she believes the true numbers of Christian deaths are in reality far higher .
“ We just do n't know the exact numbers , because the records are very difficult to keep , ” she told FRC ’ s Tony Perkins .
As one antidote for that Gilbert suggests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ Special Envoy for Nigeria , who would ensure that reports of Christian persecutions are “ accurate and are not lost somewhere between the incident sites , the U.S. Embassy in Abuja , and the corridors of power in Washington , D.C. ” Gilbert criticises Western media outlets for frequently depicting the killings as “ effects of climate change , local feuds , or internecine religious wars for which both sides bear equal responsibility.
” Rather , she insists that what is actually occurring is a genocide , as noted by two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the International Committee on Nigeria ( ICON ) and the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group ( APPG ) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief .
`` The truth is , these jihadis come in in the night , ” she told Perkins .
“ They sweep through communities .
They kill randomly .
They kill women .
They sometimes kidnap young women .
They slaughter people and mutilate them , and then kill the men off and burn the villages ...
They 're not even taking over the villages so they have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extremely violent and extremely terrible . ''
Gilbert says that President Buhari ’ s membership of the Fulani tribe is seen as “ one of the major roadblocks to reform , particularly with regard to the Fulani jihadi massacres ” and argues that “ [ h ] ard-hitting sanctions against President Buhari ” are “ essential ” and that the international community should also consider cuts in foreign aid .
“ It is past time for both U.K. lawmakers as well as those in the U.S. and Europe to reconsider the ominous threat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even now , ” she concludes her report .
“ All too well we remember Rwanda , where we failed to stop a genocide in which one million were slaughtered .
Not too long ago , we finally recognized that a genocide took place in Iraq—several years too late .
May this not happen again.
” Nigeria is the 12th worst country in the world for persecution of Christians , according to Open Doors USA ’ s 2020 World Watch List .
In 2018 , President Donald Trump promised that his administration would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to end the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria .

The Family Research Council is calling for 'hard-hitting' sanctions to pressure Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to stop terrorist killings of Nigerian Christians
PETITION: Ask bishop to remove 'Catholic' from the University of Notre Dame if they refuse to rescind Pete Buttigieg's fellowship! Sign the petition here.
WASHINGTON D.C., July 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – A new report from the Family Research Council (FRC) is calling for the U.S. government to adopt hard-hitting sanctions against Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in light of reports of more than 1,200 Christians killed by Islamic terrorists in the country since the start of this year.
Lela Gilbert, Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom at the FRC, has published a new paper titled ‘The Crisis of Christian Persecution in Nigeria’ in which she reviews numerous reports and studies highlighting the targeting of Christians by Boko Haram, the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Fulani herdsmen. One recent report cited in the study estimates that 11,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since June 2015.
In a recent interview regarding her report, Gilbert says that she believes the true numbers of Christian deaths are in reality far higher.
“We just don't know the exact numbers, because the records are very difficult to keep,” she told FRC’s Tony Perkins.
As one antidote for that Gilbert suggests the deployment by the U.S. government of a “Special Envoy for Nigeria, who would ensure that reports of Christian persecutions are “accurate and are not lost somewhere between the incident sites, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, and the corridors of power in Washington, D.C.”
Gilbert criticises Western media outlets for frequently depicting the killings as “effects of climate change, local feuds, or internecine religious wars for which both sides bear equal responsibility.”
Rather, she insists that what is actually occurring is a genocide, as noted by two recently published large reports on Nigeria by the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON) and the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief.
“The truth is, these jihadis come in in the night,” she told Perkins.
“They sweep through communities. They kill randomly. They kill women. They sometimes kidnap young women. They slaughter people and mutilate them, and then kill the men off and burn the villages…They're not even taking over the villages so they have a new place to live. It's extremely violent and extremely terrible.”
Gilbert says that President Buhari’s membership of the Fulani tribe is seen as “one of the major roadblocks to reform, particularly with regard to the Fulani jihadi massacres” and argues that “[h]ard-hitting sanctions against President Buhari” are “essential” and that the international community should also consider cuts in foreign aid.
“It is past time for both U.K. lawmakers as well as those in the U.S. and Europe to reconsider the ominous threat of another genocide taking place in Africa even now,” she concludes her report.
“All too well we remember Rwanda, where we failed to stop a genocide in which one million were slaughtered. Not too long ago, we finally recognized that a genocide took place in Iraq—several years too late. May this not happen again.”
Nigeria is the 12th worst country in the world for persecution of Christians, according to Open Doors USA’s 2020 World Watch List. In 2018, President Donald Trump promised that his administration would work “very, very hard” to end the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-17--Vatican’s COVID-19 Commission echoes globalist environmental concerns, sidelines sacraments

July 17 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — The Vatican is adding its voice to that of globalist institutions such as the United Nations and the World Economic Forum in view of “ collective action ” for the rebuilding of society — or rather , the building of a new society with many utopian undertones .
The U.N. and the Davos WEF , together with Prince Charles of England , recently announced global reflections that will lead to a “ Global Reset ” conference at the beginning of next year .
The Vatican COVID-19 Commission is promoting the same kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ green ” response that will involve a profound change to the economy in the wake of Laudato si ’ , universal health care , and other global “ solutions ” in harmony with the U.N. ’ s Sustainable Development Goals ( the 2030 SDGs ) .
In an interview published on July 1 by Our Sunday Visitor , Fr .
Augusto Zampini , assistant secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and coordinator of the COVID-19 task force , used precisely the same language .
“ We need leaders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to press the reset button — to once and for all realize that the way we have been living our lives until now is not sustainable , ” he said .
Zampini said the Vatican COVID-19 Commission , under Pope Francis ’ leadership , is busy making the most of this “ unprecedented opportunity to reflect on the shortcomings of our institutions and development models ” to draw up proposals “ to envision a better future ” post-pandemic .
At a more recent press conference at the Vatican , the COVID-19 task force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that reports directly back to him offered its suggestions for the “ post-COVID ” world .
These include spending more on ( socialized ) healthcare and less on weapons and calling for a global ceasefire .
The July 7 press conference , under the title “ Preparing the future , building peace in the time of COVID-19 , ” was led by the special task force ’ s president , Cardinal Peter Turkson .
He is also prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development .
Cardinal Peter Turkson told journalists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the only way to reduce injustice and inequality.
” “ Armed violence , conflict and poverty are in fact linked in a cycle that impedes peace , fosters human rights violations and hinders development , ” he said .
However , conflicts are in no way directly linked with the spread of a pandemic .
And while it is true that many suffer because of them , it is idealistic to imagine that they will disappear like snow in hot weather because some well-meaning leaders say they should .
Also , conflicts are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just wars and evil aggressors , if only because human nature is flawed and has been since the Fall .
In the same vein , Cardinal Turkson spoke out during the press conference against spending on weapons and the military : today , such spending is “ unprecedented , ” he said , insisting that it should instead be used for international aid and the funding of health care .
Sister Alessandra Smerilli , an economist by training who is the coordinator of the Vatican ’ s Commission for COVID-19 on the economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the press it would be useful to convert weapon companies into health care enterprises helping to find treatment for “ communicable diseases.
” “ Pope Francis asked us for creative solutions .
So we ask ourselves : what if instead of making the arms race , we made the race towards food , health and work safety ?
What are the citizens asking at this moment ?
Do they need a militarily strong State , or a State that invests in common goods ?
” she said .
Such pacifist talk looks pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reminiscent of the disarmament movement during the Cold War .
Not unsurprisingly , many so-called grassroots anti-arms movements were financed at the time by the Soviet Union .
Protecting citizens from invaders and aggressors requires preparedness , for the common good of their nation .
But the whole point of the globalist argument is that the “ common good ” is no longer considered to be the good of the family , or the family of families that is the nation , but that of the so-called “ Common Home ” that includes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the whole of nature .
The Vatican is clearly supporting this approach , using the COVID-19 pandemic in view of a constructivist view of politics , in which “ ecology ” plays a major role .
“ There can be no healing without peace .
Now is the time to build a world that better reflects a truly integral approach to peace , human development and ecology , ” said Cardinal Turkson .
Like Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum , António Guterres , secretary general of the United Nations ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) or Prince Charles and other world leaders , the Vatican COVID-19 is making very clear its desire to capitalize on the havoc wrought by the almost universal response to the Chinese coronavirus to implement a new , revolutionary society .
Fr .
Augustino Zampini , told Revista Ecclesia , the news magazine of the Spanish Bishops ’ Conference , that we are in “ a unique moment to make a deep change , to build a healthier and more equitable world and planet with healthy people and institutions.
” The Vatican task @ @ @ @ @ @ @ objective of working as a “ catalyst to help global responses to the crisis to be interconnected , and that local responses should have a global mark.
” “ You don ’ t move out of a pandemic without strong connection , without universal solidarity.
” Fr .
Zampini added that “ the structural issue of inequality is both a cause and a consequence of the pandemic , ” quoting the difficulties faced by the poor who live from day to day and can not afford to stop working in countries where there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He also recalled Pope Francis ’ s mention of “ the possibility of implementing a universal basic wage : ” “ we studied this financial instrument in depth , ” he said .
Historically , having recourse to a guaranteed universal income has shown to be “ easily implemented , ” he said , “ all the while sticking to a policy of promoting dignified and sustainable employment , of course , ” he added .
The genuine suffering and destitution of many because of lockdown policies implemented all over the world certainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who are more fortunate ( and also , but the Vatican does not say so , for the aid of the true faith and the sacraments , and perhaps an end to the sanitary dictatorship that is destroying economies ) , but not the institutionalization and internationalization of redistribution of wealth and public health care — or , to call it by another name , international socialism .
In fact , in the same way that masks blur faces and identities and social interaction , institutionalized “ social nets ” erase the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no longer seen as a freely given gift from people to people .
The Commission ’ s globalist approach is very clear in the work themes of the fourth of its five groups : “ Supporting governance to promote global solidarity.
” On the ecological front , the message being sent out by the Vatican COVID-19 task force is that the COVID-19 pandemic “ is a crisis with nature.
” This is the title of one of the Commission ’ s weekly newsletters dating back to April 27–May 3 , giving specific news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The newsletter opened with these lines : “ The coronavirus crisis can be seen as the result of humanity ’ s increasingly disharmonious relationship with the natural world .
This latest coronavirus , like its predecessors , is a ‘ zoonotic ’ disease — an infection that has jumped from animals to people , often due to pathogens passing from wild animals to humans and then leading to human-to-human transmission.
” As with the climate-change narrative , human beings are being called responsible for all the bad things happening or said to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 task force newsletter spoke about “ mass extinction , ” “ biodiversity , ” and global warming : “ Humanity has just a few years left to ensure that global temperatures do not cross the critical 1.5°C threshold.
” The pandemic is “ a clear warning shot from nature , ” it said , compounding the fear of climate change–linked announced catastrophes with the fear of death because of COVID-19 or even more lethal viruses later on .
To date , COVID-19 has caused fewer global deaths than the ordinary yearly flu @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infections every year .
But the Vatican goes along with the mainstream narrative .
Speaking with La Croix International , the English-language issue of the unofficial daily of the French bishops , Fr Zampini said : He also said that “ if policy-makers continue to pursue the rhetoric of ‘ recovery , ’ by ‘ resuming ’ what was unequal , unjust and unsustainable , the poor will continue to suffer the consequences.
” Zampini added that “ the healing of societies and policies creates universal solidarity that can overcome national egoism , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In this way , we can in turn heal the economy.
” What is “ religious egoism ” ?
Perhaps it has something to do with preferring one ’ s own faith and believing that it is true , and that therefore other faiths can not be true at the same time .
Perhaps it refers to considering eternal salvation as the true concern of the spiritual realm , which is the realm of the Church .
Surely , Zampini does not himself answer that question .
But what is evident is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not particularly anxious to spread the true faith or to work on anything , “ for the post-COVID world , ” other than “ ecology , economy , safety and health and using Laudato si ’ as a guiding framework.
” Those are Zampini ’ s words .
He added : “ We do this in collaboration with other groups and institutions , addressing issues ranging from disarmament to finance , from women to technology.
” How convenient that the solutions of the COVID-19 Vatican Commission line up so neatly with those of @ @ @ @ @ @

Such pacifist talk looks pretty from the outside, but it is reminiscent of the disarmament movement during the Cold War.
July 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican is adding its voice to that of globalist institutions such as the United Nations and the World Economic Forum in view of “collective action” for the rebuilding of society — or rather, the building of a new society with many utopian undertones. The U.N. and the Davos WEF, together with Prince Charles of England, recently announced global reflections that will lead to a “Global Reset” conference at the beginning of next year. The Vatican COVID-19 Commission is promoting the same kind of action: global disarmament, a “green” response that will involve a profound change to the economy in the wake of Laudato si’, universal health care, and other global “solutions” in harmony with the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (the 2030 SDGs).
In an interview published on July 1 by Our Sunday Visitor, Fr. Augusto Zampini, assistant secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and coordinator of the COVID-19 task force, used precisely the same language. “We need leaders in public, private and civil sectors to press the reset button — to once and for all realize that the way we have been living our lives until now is not sustainable,” he said.
Zampini said the Vatican COVID-19 Commission, under Pope Francis’ leadership, is busy making the most of this “unprecedented opportunity to reflect on the shortcomings of our institutions and development models” to draw up proposals “to envision a better future” post-pandemic.
At a more recent press conference at the Vatican, the COVID-19 task force created at the initiative of Pope Francis and that reports directly back to him offered its suggestions for the “post-COVID” world. These include spending more on (socialized) healthcare and less on weapons and calling for a global ceasefire.
The July 7 press conference, under the title “Preparing the future, building peace in the time of COVID-19,” was led by the special task force’s president, Cardinal Peter Turkson. He is also prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Cardinal Peter Turkson told journalists that “the reduction of conflicts is the only way to reduce injustice and inequality.” “Armed violence, conflict and poverty are in fact linked in a cycle that impedes peace, fosters human rights violations and hinders development,” he said.
However, conflicts are in no way directly linked with the spread of a pandemic. And while it is true that many suffer because of them, it is idealistic to imagine that they will disappear like snow in hot weather because some well-meaning leaders say they should. Also, conflicts are not evil per se: there are just wars and evil aggressors, if only because human nature is flawed and has been since the Fall.
In the same vein, Cardinal Turkson spoke out during the press conference against spending on weapons and the military: today, such spending is “unprecedented,” he said, insisting that it should instead be used for international aid and the funding of health care.
Sister Alessandra Smerilli, an economist by training who is the coordinator of the Vatican’s Commission for COVID-19 on the economic front, went even farther, telling the press it would be useful to convert weapon companies into health care enterprises helping to find treatment for “communicable diseases.”
“Pope Francis asked us for creative solutions. So we ask ourselves: what if instead of making the arms race, we made the race towards food, health and work safety? What are the citizens asking at this moment? Do they need a militarily strong State, or a State that invests in common goods?” she said.
Such pacifist talk looks pretty from the outside, but it is reminiscent of the disarmament movement during the Cold War. Not unsurprisingly, many so-called grassroots anti-arms movements were financed at the time by the Soviet Union. Protecting citizens from invaders and aggressors requires preparedness, for the common good of their nation.
But the whole point of the globalist argument is that the “common good” is no longer considered to be the good of the family, or the family of families that is the nation, but that of the so-called “Common Home” that includes the whole of humanity and, indeed, the whole of nature.
The Vatican is clearly supporting this approach, using the COVID-19 pandemic in view of a constructivist view of politics, in which “ecology” plays a major role. “There can be no healing without peace. Now is the time to build a world that better reflects a truly integral approach to peace, human development and ecology,” said Cardinal Turkson.
Like Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum, António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations (and former president of the Socialist International) or Prince Charles and other world leaders, the Vatican COVID-19 is making very clear its desire to capitalize on the havoc wrought by the almost universal response to the Chinese coronavirus to implement a new, revolutionary society.
Fr. Augustino Zampini, told Revista Ecclesia, the news magazine of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, that we are in “a unique moment to make a deep change, to build a healthier and more equitable world and planet with healthy people and institutions.”
The Vatican task force, he said, has the objective of working as a “catalyst to help global responses to the crisis to be interconnected, and that local responses should have a global mark.” “You don’t move out of a pandemic without strong connection, without universal solidarity.”
Fr. Zampini added that “the structural issue of inequality is both a cause and a consequence of the pandemic,” quoting the difficulties faced by the poor who live from day to day and cannot afford to stop working in countries where there are no social provisions for them.” He also recalled Pope Francis’s mention of “the possibility of implementing a universal basic wage:” “we studied this financial instrument in depth,” he said.
Historically, having recourse to a guaranteed universal income has shown to be “easily implemented,” he said, “all the while sticking to a policy of promoting dignified and sustainable employment, of course,” he added.
The genuine suffering and destitution of many because of lockdown policies implemented all over the world certainly call for the help and solidarity of those who are more fortunate (and also, but the Vatican does not say so, for the aid of the true faith and the sacraments, and perhaps an end to the sanitary dictatorship that is destroying economies), but not the institutionalization and internationalization of redistribution of wealth and public health care — or, to call it by another name, international socialism.
In fact, in the same way that masks blur faces and identities and social interaction, institutionalized “social nets” erase the personal face of charity, which is no longer seen as a freely given gift from people to people.
The Commission’s globalist approach is very clear in the work themes of the fourth of its five groups: “Supporting governance to promote global solidarity.”
On the ecological front, the message being sent out by the Vatican COVID-19 task force is that the COVID-19 pandemic “is a crisis with nature.” This is the title of one of the Commission’s weekly newsletters dating back to April 27–May 3, giving specific news from the “Ecology task force.”
The newsletter opened with these lines: “The coronavirus crisis can be seen as the result of humanity’s increasingly disharmonious relationship with the natural world. This latest coronavirus, like its predecessors, is a ‘zoonotic’ disease — an infection that has jumped from animals to people, often due to pathogens passing from wild animals to humans and then leading to human-to-human transmission.”
As with the climate-change narrative, human beings are being called responsible for all the bad things happening or said to be happening to nature. Interestingly, the COVID-19 task force newsletter spoke about “mass extinction,” “biodiversity,” and global warming: “Humanity has just a few years left to ensure that global temperatures do not cross the critical 1.5°C threshold.”
The pandemic is “a clear warning shot from nature,” it said, compounding the fear of climate change–linked announced catastrophes with the fear of death because of COVID-19 or even more lethal viruses later on.
To date, COVID-19 has caused fewer global deaths than the ordinary yearly flu and a good deal less than respiratory infections every year. But the Vatican goes along with the mainstream narrative.
Speaking with La Croix International, the English-language issue of the unofficial daily of the French bishops, Fr Zampini said:
Pope Francis stressed in Laudato si’ that the social is ecological, and vice versa. COVID-19 proves it: our health depends on the health of our ecosystems, on the solidarity with which we take care of each other and of our planet. Laudato si’ emphasizes the profoundly ecological nature of the current crisis, in that it is a crisis of relationships. To counter it, we need to radically re-imagine the relationships between ourselves and with Creation, overcoming the dichotomies between environment and prosperity, politics and economics, health of people and health of systems[.] … The encyclical is a solid foundation for building inclusive, caring and healing responses to the pandemic. It reminds us that in this time of social change, we can regenerate relationships with our neighbors and our environment. The response to the crisis is an act of ecological imagination.
He also said that “if policy-makers continue to pursue the rhetoric of ‘recovery,’ by ‘resuming’ what was unequal, unjust and unsustainable, the poor will continue to suffer the consequences.”
Zampini added that “the healing of societies and policies creates universal solidarity that can overcome national egoism, corporate egoism and even religious egoism. In this way, we can in turn heal the economy.”
What is “religious egoism”? Perhaps it has something to do with preferring one’s own faith and believing that it is true, and that therefore other faiths cannot be true at the same time. Perhaps it refers to considering eternal salvation as the true concern of the spiritual realm, which is the realm of the Church. Surely, Zampini does not himself answer that question. But what is evident is that the Vatican’s COVID-19 Commission is not particularly anxious to spread the true faith or to work on anything, “for the post-COVID world,” other than “ecology, economy, safety and health and using Laudato si’ as a guiding framework.”
Those are Zampini’s words. He added: “We do this in collaboration with other groups and institutions, addressing issues ranging from disarmament to finance, from women to technology.”
How convenient that the solutions of the COVID-19 Vatican Commission line up so neatly with those of the globalist powers that be.
Follow Jeanne Jeanne Smits has worked as a journalist in France since 1987 after obtaining a Master of Arts in Law. She formerly directed the French daily Présent and was editor-in-chief of an all-internet French-speaking news site called reinformation.tv. She writes regularly for a number of Catholic journals (Monde & vie, L’Homme nouveau, Reconquête…) and runs a personal pro-life blog. In addition, she is often invited to radio and TV shows on alternative media. She is vice-president of the Christian and French defense association “AGRIF.” She is the French translator of The Dictator Pope by Henry Sire and Christus Vincit by Bishop Schneider, and recently contributed to the Bref examen critique de la communion dans la main about Communion in the hand. She is married and has three children, and lives near Paris.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-17--US bishop overcome with emotion offering first traditional Latin Mass in 35-year priesthood

TYLER , Texas , July 17 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — Bishop Joseph Strickland was so overcome by emotion while offering his first traditional Latin Mass on the feast of Corpus Christi that he could scarcely speak .
“ There ’ s nothing but awe .
Just the beauty of the corporal and how the Host and the chalice are treated — and I have to say [ long pause ] I could hardly say the words of consecration because I became so filled with emotion , so deeply struck by those words , ” the bishop of Tyler @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Bree Dail in a lengthy interview .
“ Thank God we only must whisper them in this rite , because I am not sure I would have been able to speak above that whisper , so struck I was at the profundity , ” he added .
“ It was the first time in my life that I had ever said those words in Latin , and I could hardly get them out .
It ’ s indescribable , really.
” Known for his candor , orthodoxy , and pro-life witness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one traditional Latin Mass in his 35 years as a priest , and when he entered the seminary in 1977 at age 18 , “ the Latin Mass had been all but relegated to history .
The rite was not spoken of , not alluded to , not studied — just gone.
” In its stead was the Ordinary Form , or Novus Ord0 Mass , promulgated in 1969 by Pope Paul VI .
Strickland told Dail that he “ only really began to understand the desire ” for the traditional Latin Mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proprio Summorum Pontificum on July 7 , 2007 , which insisted that Catholics are entitled to access to the traditional Latin , or Extraordinary Form of , the Mass .
Tyler ’ s bishop at the time brought the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter to the diocese “ to establish a little community here , ” Strickland recalled .
The Fraternity later founded a parish in the diocese , and “ one of the very first things I did as bishop was to celebrate confirmation for them in Latin , ” which takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rite , he said .
“ They joked my Latin had a Spanish accent !
” Strickland , 61 , described how his desire for the traditional Latin Mass grew out of his practice of twice-daily Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament , which , since he was consecrated bishop seven and a half years ago , “ has become the center of my life.
” His devotion to the Blessed Sacrament inspired Strickland to declare 2020 a “ Year of the Eucharist ” in his diocese , with one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christi , which honors the Most Holy Body of Christ .
PETITION : Support priest who was suspended for calling out the Black Lives Matter organization !
Sign the petition here .
He was also inspired to learn the traditional Latin Mass .
“ Praying before Christ in the Blessed Sacrament drew me to this rite , ” he said .
“ So , all through Advent , I was praying , and this desire kept growing .
I wanted to do something to honor Jesus Christ .
I kept thinking about trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the traditional feast of Corpus Christi , ” he told Dail .
“ It ’ s so clear that this liturgy is not about us — it ’ s fully about Him .
I want to honor Him.
” That became more apparent to Strickland as he began to study the rite .
“ Understand that , before January of this year , I hadn ’ t even read the prayers of the extraordinary form .
I was literally starting from scratch , ” he said .
He was tutored by a young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watched YouTube videos , and read Fr .
John Zuhlsdorf ’ s blog , Strickland said , adding that priests and bishops who are considering learning the form must be prepared for homework .
“ It takes concentration and effort at first , but you will find there is so much grace involved .
It ’ s so worth learning , ” he said .
His “ sense of wonder and awe ” continued to grow “ throughout the entire process , ” he told Dail .
“ I had , of course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latin before , but I really didn ’ t know how they fit as deeply as they do in the extraordinary form .
It ’ s almost like there were a few pieces in a puzzle that were missing , and I only realized they were when I finally said the Mass , ” said Strickland .
“ The realization you get as a priest , of the deep meaning of these prayers , these words , I can understand now in a profound way.
” Strickland was clear that there is “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t be reverent — it ’ s Him !
” and he used a music analogy to compare the two .
“ The way that I describe it is that the ordinary form is like the ‘ basic melody ’ of a symphony .
It is recognizable .
The extraordinary form is the same melody accompanied by the full orchestra , ” he said .
The bishop appealed to Catholics who attend the traditional Latin Mass to avoid a “ reactionary response ” to any lack of reverence they may witness in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ persecution for their reverence they may experience .
“ I think this is where the devil seeps in , distracting this community from the focus on Jesus to a focus on the ritual , on legalism and even elitism .
It ’ s a subtle deception , “ Strickland said .
“ I encourage those in the traditional congregations to remember why they love the liturgy , why and how the reverence points to Him , ” he said .
“ There is such a great opportunity for setting an example of simple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” He also urged Catholics to attend the traditional Latin Mass .
“ After what I have experienced , as bishop , I can not help but encourage everyone towards meeting Jesus in wonder , within the beauty of the extraordinary form of the Mass , ” Strickland said .
The full interview is available here .

'It was the first time in my life that I had ever said those words in Latin,' Bishop Joseph Strickland reported, 'and I could hardly get them out.'
TYLER, Texas, July 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Joseph Strickland was so overcome by emotion while offering his first traditional Latin Mass on the feast of Corpus Christi that he could scarcely speak.
“There’s nothing but awe. Just the beauty of the corporal and how the Host and the chalice are treated — and I have to say [long pause] I could hardly say the words of consecration because I became so filled with emotion, so deeply struck by those words,” the bishop of Tyler, Texas, told the Catholic Register’s Bree Dail in a lengthy interview.
“Thank God we only must whisper them in this rite, because I am not sure I would have been able to speak above that whisper, so struck I was at the profundity,” he added.
“It was the first time in my life that I had ever said those words in Latin, and I could hardly get them out. It’s indescribable, really.”
Known for his candor, orthodoxy, and pro-life witness, Bishop Strickland had previously attended only one traditional Latin Mass in his 35 years as a priest, and when he entered the seminary in 1977 at age 18, “the Latin Mass had been all but relegated to history. The rite was not spoken of, not alluded to, not studied — just gone.”
In its stead was the Ordinary Form, or Novus Ord0 Mass, promulgated in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.
Strickland told Dail that he “only really began to understand the desire” for the traditional Latin Mass when Pope Benedict XVI released the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum on July 7, 2007, which insisted that Catholics are entitled to access to the traditional Latin, or Extraordinary Form of, the Mass.
Tyler’s bishop at the time brought the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter to the diocese “to establish a little community here,” Strickland recalled.
The Fraternity later founded a parish in the diocese, and “one of the very first things I did as bishop was to celebrate confirmation for them in Latin,” which takes place outside the Mass in the traditional rite, he said. “They joked my Latin had a Spanish accent!”
Strickland, 61, described how his desire for the traditional Latin Mass grew out of his practice of twice-daily Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, which, since he was consecrated bishop seven and a half years ago, “has become the center of my life.”
His devotion to the Blessed Sacrament inspired Strickland to declare 2020 a “Year of the Eucharist” in his diocese, with one of the encouraged activities being Eucharistic processions on Corpus Christi, which honors the Most Holy Body of Christ.
PETITION: Support priest who was suspended for calling out the Black Lives Matter organization! Sign the petition here.
He was also inspired to learn the traditional Latin Mass.
“Praying before Christ in the Blessed Sacrament drew me to this rite,” he said.
“So, all through Advent, I was praying, and this desire kept growing. I wanted to do something to honor Jesus Christ. I kept thinking about trying to learn the traditional Latin Mass for the traditional feast of Corpus Christi,” he told Dail.
“It’s so clear that this liturgy is not about us — it’s fully about Him. I want to honor Him.”
That became more apparent to Strickland as he began to study the rite.
“Understand that, before January of this year, I hadn’t even read the prayers of the extraordinary form. I was literally starting from scratch,” he said.
He was tutored by a young priest familiar with the Latin Mass, watched YouTube videos, and read Fr. John Zuhlsdorf’s blog, Strickland said, adding that priests and bishops who are considering learning the form must be prepared for homework.
“It takes concentration and effort at first, but you will find there is so much grace involved. It’s so worth learning,” he said.
His “sense of wonder and awe” continued to grow “throughout the entire process,” he told Dail.
“I had, of course, heard many of the terms in Latin before, but I really didn’t know how they fit as deeply as they do in the extraordinary form. It’s almost like there were a few pieces in a puzzle that were missing, and I only realized they were when I finally said the Mass,” said Strickland.
“The realization you get as a priest, of the deep meaning of these prayers, these words, I can understand now in a profound way.”
Strickland was clear that there is “no reason that the ordinary form can’t be reverent — it’s Him!” and he used a music analogy to compare the two.
“The way that I describe it is that the ordinary form is like the ‘basic melody’ of a symphony. It is recognizable. The extraordinary form is the same melody accompanied by the full orchestra,” he said.
The bishop appealed to Catholics who attend the traditional Latin Mass to avoid a “reactionary response” to any lack of reverence they may witness in Novus Ordo Masses, or to any persecution for their reverence they may experience.
“I think this is where the devil seeps in, distracting this community from the focus on Jesus to a focus on the ritual, on legalism and even elitism. It’s a subtle deception,“ Strickland said.
“I encourage those in the traditional congregations to remember why they love the liturgy, why and how the reverence points to Him,” he said. “There is such a great opportunity for setting an example of simple, joyful reverence in the extraordinary form.”
He also urged Catholics to attend the traditional Latin Mass.
“After what I have experienced, as bishop, I cannot help but encourage everyone towards meeting Jesus in wonder, within the beauty of the extraordinary form of the Mass,” Strickland said.
The full interview is available here.
Share