lifesitenews--2020-12-18--Pope Francis teams up with UN to educate world on sustainable lifestyles, gender equality, global ci

Pope Francis teams up with UN to educate world on sustainable lifestyles, gender equality, global citizenship

VATICAN CITY , December 18 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Pope Francis launched a new partnership between the Vatican and United Nations ( UN ) this week that aims at educating the world in “ sustainable lifestyles , ” “ gender equality , ” and “ global citizenship , ” among other goals .
The launch of the collaboration between the Pope ’ s own Global Pact for Education and the UN ’ s Mission 4.7 took place this week during the Vatican Youth Symposium .
Amongst the speakers at the launch were pro-abortion globalists Jeffrey Sachs , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former Secretary General of the U.N. Ban Ki-Moon , who were joined by Pope Francis .
The symposium was co-hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences ( PASS ) and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network ( SDSN ) / SDSN Youth .
The Symposium aims to bring about the “ instilling ” of the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) , the Paris Climate Agreement , and the Pope ’ s encyclicals Fratelli Tutti and Laudato si .
The Vatican ’ s Youth Symposium promotes the SDGs even though targets 3.7 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health services , ” what pro-life critics point out are euphemisms for abortion and contraception .
Its co-host , the SDSN , was founded by Ban Ki-Moon in 2012 and its donors include the pro-abortion , pro-LGBT Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation .
Jeffrey Sachs , one of the moderators of the 2020 Vatican Symposium , is the president of the SDSN and an ardent proponent of abortion and population control .
Mission 4.7 , itself launched at the Youth Symposium , is so styled due to its focus on SDG target 4.7 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into global practice this bold vision ” of target 4.7 .
The point in question reads : “ By 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development , including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles , human rights , gender equality , promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence , global citizenship , and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture ’ s contribution to sustainable development.
” Leading the group is pro-abortion and pro-LGBT Audrey Azoulay , the Director General of UNESCO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chancellor for the PASS and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences , Monsignor Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo , is one of the Co-Chairs .
In his official capacity in Mission 4.7 , Mgr .
Sorondo represents the Pope .
LifeSiteNews co-founder John Henry Westen has previously written about Sorondo ’ s influence in the Vatican , highlighting his close relations with pro-abortion globalists , as well as his opposition to traditional , Catholic doctrine .
Earlier this year , Sorondo defended his decision to give Holy Communion to the pro-abortion president of Argentina and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vatican , arguing against Canon Law in doing so .
Despite the pro-abortion connections of the various organizations and members involved , Pope Francis welcomed the collaboration .
In a video message to the event , Francis said that the gathering was “ an act of hope ” which can promote a “ new good climate of educational opportunities based on social justice and reciprocal love.
” He praised the UN , saying that it offered “ a unique opportunity for governments and civil society of the world to unite both in hope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The Pope also alluded to the new style of fraternity which he called for in Fratelli Tutti , saying : “ The Global Compact on Education and Mission 4.7 will work together for the civilisation of love , beauty and unity .
Allow me to tell you that you are the poets of a new human beauty , a new fraternal and friendly beauty , as well as of the preservation of the earth we tread.
” Despite the SDG ’ s promotion of both contraception and abortion , the Pope expressed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ recommitted themselves ” to the UN ’ s agenda , through adopting the “ 2030 Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals , in synergy with the Global Compact on Education.
” He has previously noted how “ gratified ” he was that world nations adopted the SDG ’ s .
Speaking after the pontiff , Mgr Sorondo also highlighted his pleasure at being involved in the movement , “ especially after this very important speech by the Pope , that recognizes the need to re-establish global and universal # education.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4.7 was “ a vital initiative to advocate for all learners to acquire the values , knowledge , and skills to promote global citizenship & sustainable development.
” Despite his own support for abortion and LGBT ideology , Ban Ki-Moon has been invited to the Vatican by the Pope a number of times , previously thanking the Pope for his role in promoting adherence to the pro-abortion 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDG ’ s .
Pope Francis has had a number of UN engagements in the last week .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ for a change of direction , ” pledging to reduce the Vatican to “ zero ” carbon emissions by 2050 .
Whilst failing to mention Jesus Christ , or anything remotely religious , in his appearance at the summit , the Pope chose to base his statements on “ fraternity and the alliance between the human being and the environment.
” Furthermore , he promised that the “ Holy See is committed to promoting education in integral ecology , ” explaining that this means that “ [ p ] olitical and technical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process that favors a cultural model of development and sustainability.
” Days before that , on December 8 , he joined forces with major global corporations to promote a new “ economic system ” of capitalism based on the SDG ’ s .
The new “ Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican ” is fundamentally committed to promote “ environmental , social , and governance measures ” in order to “ achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
” The Council “ challenges business and investment leaders of all sizes ” to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s ever closer support and links with globalist corporations and leaders lends further credence to his alignment with the globalist call for a “ Great Reset.
” In 2019 , he made a speech advocating for globalist world practices , calling for “ globalization to be beneficial for all.
” Referring to a “ supranational common good , ” the Pope added that “ there is need for a special legally constituted authority capable of facilitating its implementation.
” At the beginning of December , Pope Francis then used the phrase “ build @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has become synonymous with globalist polices to “ push the reset button ” on the global economy .
The phrase is also the name of Joe Biden ’ s website , BuildBackBetter.gov , on which he claims to be “ restoring American leadership.
” Klaus Schwab , head of the World Economic Forum , is a prominent proponent of the Great Reset .
He stated : “ In short , we need a ‘ Great Reset ’ of capitalism.
” Schwab has published a book titled “ COVID-19 : The Great Reset , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changes ” necessary for a more “ sustainable world going forward.
” LifeSiteNews ’ John-Henry Westen has also noted that Pope Francis ’ opinion piece published in The New York Times on Thanksgiving Day “ echoed the sentiments of Joe Biden and other pushers of the so-called Great Reset , calling for the world to ‘ build a better , different , human future ’ .
”

The launch of the collaboration between the Pope’s own Global Pact for Education and the UN’s Mission 4.7 took place this week during the Vatican Youth Symposium
VATICAN CITY, December 18, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis launched a new partnership between the Vatican and United Nations (UN) this week that aims at educating the world in “sustainable lifestyles,” “gender equality,” and “global citizenship,” among other goals.
The launch of the collaboration between the Pope’s own Global Pact for Education and the UN’s Mission 4.7 took place this week during the Vatican Youth Symposium. Amongst the speakers at the launch were pro-abortion globalists Jeffrey Sachs, the director general of UNESCO, and the former Secretary General of the U.N. Ban Ki-Moon, who were joined by Pope Francis. The symposium was co-hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (PASS) and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) / SDSN Youth.
The Symposium aims to bring about the “instilling” of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Pope’s encyclicals Fratelli Tutti and Laudato si. The Vatican’s Youth Symposium promotes the SDGs even though targets 3.7 and 5.6 include “sexual and reproductive health services,” what pro-life critics point out are euphemisms for abortion and contraception.
Its co-host, the SDSN, was founded by Ban Ki-Moon in 2012 and its donors include the pro-abortion, pro-LGBT Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the moderators of the 2020 Vatican Symposium, is the president of the SDSN and an ardent proponent of abortion and population control.
Mission 4.7, itself launched at the Youth Symposium, is so styled due to its focus on SDG target 4.7 and has been established to “put into global practice this bold vision” of target 4.7. The point in question reads: “By 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”
Leading the group is pro-abortion and pro-LGBT Audrey Azoulay, the Director General of UNESCO, alongside Ban Ki-Moon, whilst the chancellor for the PASS and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Monsignor Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, is one of the Co-Chairs.
In his official capacity in Mission 4.7, Mgr. Sorondo represents the Pope. LifeSiteNews co-founder John Henry Westen has previously written about Sorondo’s influence in the Vatican, highlighting his close relations with pro-abortion globalists, as well as his opposition to traditional, Catholic doctrine. Earlier this year, Sorondo defended his decision to give Holy Communion to the pro-abortion president of Argentina and his mistress during their recent visit to the Vatican, arguing against Canon Law in doing so.
Despite the pro-abortion connections of the various organizations and members involved, Pope Francis welcomed the collaboration. In a video message to the event, Francis said that the gathering was “an act of hope” which can promote a “new good climate of educational opportunities based on social justice and reciprocal love.” He praised the UN, saying that it offered “a unique opportunity for governments and civil society of the world to unite both in hope and in action for a new education.”
— Article continues below Petition — PETITION: Ask Pope Francis to clarify and rectify scandalous remarks on homosexual civil unions Show Petition Text 22787 have signed the petition. Let's get to 25000 ! Thank you for signing this petition! Add your signature: Show Petition Text Country... State... Sign this Petition Remarks attributed to Pope Francis (and, not denied by the Vatican) in support of homosexual civil unions have caused grave scandal to the faithful. Please SIGN this urgent petition which asks Pope Francis to clarify and rectify these heterodox and scandalous remarks on homosexual civil unions, and which will be delivered both to the Vatican and to the Papal Nuncio of the United States (the Pope's official representative in the U.S.). As the last guarantor of the Faith, the Pope should clarify and rectify these remarks, which go against the perennial teaching of the Church, even including the teaching of his living predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. "What we have to create is a law of civil coexistence [meaning civil union law, for homosexuals]...," Pope Francis is reported to have remarked, in what is arguably his clearest statement of public support for a practice morally prohibited by official Catholic Church teaching. In fact, the Church has been crystal clear in Her opposition to homosexual unions. Just in 2003, Pope Saint John Paul II approved a document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, titled 'Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons' and written by Cardinal Ratzinger (now, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), which concludes with the following: "The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behaviour or to legal recognition of homosexual unions. The common good requires that laws recognize, promote and protect marriage as the basis of the family, the primary unit of society. Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behaviour, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity. The Church cannot fail to defend these values, for the good of men and women and for the good of society itself." It could not be more clear: the Church is calling people to repentance, not to be left to indulge in grave sin. Since becoming public, several senior prelates as well as other notable Catholic figures have voiced their opposition to these remarks attributed to the Pontiff. Cardinal Raymond Burke stated: "It is a source of deepest sadness and pressing pastoral concern that the private opinions reported with so much emphasis by the press and attributed to Pope Francis do not correspond to the constant teaching of the Church, as it is expressed in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition." Cardinal Gerhard Müller commented: "Where there is tension between the plain and obvious Word of God and the infallible interpretation on the one hand, and private expressions of opinion even by the highest church authorities on the other, the principle always applies: in dubio pro DEO [When in doubt, be in favor of God]." And, Catholic theologian and apologist Scott Hahn, without directly quoting Pope Francis, shared on Facebook the 'Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons,' published by the CDF in 1986, with the statement: "Holy Father, respectfully and humbly, I beg to differ... if that is indeed what you said. In any case, please clarify and rectify your statement, especially in view of the official teaching of our Lord through the magisterium of His Church." But, the silence from the Vatican has been deafening, with no clarification forthcoming. We must, therefore, ask the Pope for clarification in this serious matter. Please SIGN and SHARE this petition which asks Pope Francis to clarify and rectify remarks attributed to him in support of homosexual civil unions. FOR MORE INFORMATION: 'Cdl. Burke: Pope’s homosexual civil union remarks ‘contrary’ to Scripture, Tradition' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/cardinal-burke-on-popes-homosexual-civil-union-remarks-contrary-to-the-teaching-of-sacred-scripture-and-sacred-tradition 'Cardinal says Catholics ‘can and should’ disagree with Pope’s ‘opinion’ on gay civil unions' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/cdl.mueller-popes-words-on-gay-civil-unions-purely-private-expression-of-opinion-which-every-catholic-can-and-should-freely-contradict 'Archbishop Vigano, Bishops Tobin and Strickland respond to Pope’s approval of homosexual civil unions' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/archbishop-vigano-and-bishops-tobin-strickland-respond-to-popes-approval-of-homosexual-civil-unions 'Pope’s comments on gay civil unions cause shockwaves around the world' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/deepest-sadness-cardinal-burke-condemns-pope-franciss-remarks-supporting-civil-unions Hide Petition Text Sign this Petition
The Pope also alluded to the new style of fraternity which he called for in Fratelli Tutti, saying: “The Global Compact on Education and Mission 4.7 will work together for the civilisation of love, beauty and unity. Allow me to tell you that you are the poets of a new human beauty, a new fraternal and friendly beauty, as well as of the preservation of the earth we tread.”
Despite the SDG’s promotion of both contraception and abortion, the Pope expressed his “satisfaction” that governments have “recommitted themselves” to the UN’s agenda, through adopting the “2030 Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in synergy with the Global Compact on Education.” He has previously noted how “gratified” he was that world nations adopted the SDG’s.
Speaking after the pontiff, Mgr Sorondo also highlighted his pleasure at being involved in the movement, “especially after this very important speech by the Pope, that recognizes the need to re-establish global and universal #education.”
Meanwhile Ban Ki-Moon declared that Mission 4.7 was “a vital initiative to advocate for all learners to acquire the values, knowledge, and skills to promote global citizenship& sustainable development.” Despite his own support for abortion and LGBT ideology, Ban Ki-Moon has been invited to the Vatican by the Pope a number of times, previously thanking the Pope for his role in promoting adherence to the pro-abortion 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDG’s.
Deepening Vatican ties with the UN
Pope Francis has had a number of UN engagements in the last week. It was only last weekend that he called “for a change of direction,” pledging to reduce the Vatican to “zero” carbon emissions by 2050. Whilst failing to mention Jesus Christ, or anything remotely religious, in his appearance at the summit, the Pope chose to base his statements on “fraternity and the alliance between the human being and the environment.”
Furthermore, he promised that the “Holy See is committed to promoting education in integral ecology,” explaining that this means that “[p]olitical and technical measures must be united with an educational process that favors a cultural model of development and sustainability.”
Days before that, on December 8, he joined forces with major global corporations to promote a new “economic system” of capitalism based on the SDG’s. The new “Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican” is fundamentally committed to promote “environmental, social, and governance measures” in order to “achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.” The Council “challenges business and investment leaders of all sizes” to adopt its principles.
The Pope’s ever closer support and links with globalist corporations and leaders lends further credence to his alignment with the globalist call for a “Great Reset.” In 2019, he made a speech advocating for globalist world practices, calling for “globalization to be beneficial for all.” Referring to a “supranational common good,” the Pope added that “there is need for a special legally constituted authority capable of facilitating its implementation.”
At the beginning of December, Pope Francis then used the phrase “build back better,” the slogan that has become synonymous with globalist polices to “push the reset button” on the global economy. The phrase is also the name of Joe Biden’s website, BuildBackBetter.gov, on which he claims to be “restoring American leadership.”
Klaus Schwab, head of the World Economic Forum, is a prominent proponent of the Great Reset. He stated: “In short, we need a ‘Great Reset’ of capitalism.” Schwab has published a book titled “COVID-19: The Great Reset,” in which he outlines the “changes” necessary for a more “sustainable world going forward.”
LifeSiteNews’ John-Henry Westen has also noted that Pope Francis’ opinion piece published in The New York Times on Thanksgiving Day “echoed the sentiments of Joe Biden and other pushers of the so-called Great Reset, calling for the world to ‘build a better, different, human future’.”
Share


lifesitenews--2020-12-18--Judge allows San Diego restaurants to open up, overturns Gov. Newsom’s stay-at-home order

SAN DIEGO , California , December 18 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – A judge in southern California delivered an early Christmas present to restaurant owners in San Diego , issuing a ruling allowing them to resume on-site dining and ignore Governor Gavin Newsom ’ s stay-at-home order .
Judge Joel Wohlfeil of California ’ s Superior Court issued on Wednesday a preliminary injunction in a case two strip-clubs brought against San Diego County , California Governor Newsom , and county and state health departments on Wednesday , and then reaffirmed his decision on Thursday after the county sought an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The injunction directed state authorities to cease enforcing the State 's Regional Stay Home Order not only for the two establishments who were the plaintiffs in the case , but for every restaurant in San Diego County .
Wohlfeil asserted that the state and county failed to provide adequate evidence that restaurants were responsible for the spread of COVID-19 .
“ The court ’ s intention is that all businesses which provide restaurant service , meaning all restaurants in the county of San Diego , are encompassed within the scope of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said at Thursday ’ s hearing .
“ Christmas came early for us , ” said San Diego restaurant owner Nicholas Kacha , in a live interview with local TV station , KUSI .
“ Everyone is super happy , ” said Kacha of the restaurant ’ s employees and patrons .
“ We all want to work , we all want to make our living , we don ’ t want to fall behind in our bills , ” continued Kacha .
While the judge ’ s ruling has allowed Kacha ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service , COVID-19 mask and social distancing protocols remain in place .
Jim Desmond , a San Diego County Supervisor who has long advocated for businesses to be allowed to reopen , called the judge ’ s decision “ a victory for the working people in San Diego County , ” according to KUSI .
Acting on behalf of Gov .
Newsom , California Attorney General Xavier Becerra , had issued a cease and desist order to the complaining clubs last week , saying that by operating they were violating state policy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden has indicated that should he become president , pro-abortion Becerra would be his choice to head Health and Human Services .
The state of California plans to appeal Judge Wohlfeil ’ s ruling .

'Christmas came early for us,' said San Diego restaurant owner Nicholas Kacha.
SAN DIEGO, California, December 18, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – A judge in southern California delivered an early Christmas present to restaurant owners in San Diego, issuing a ruling allowing them to resume on-site dining and ignore Governor Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
Judge Joel Wohlfeil of California’s Superior Court issued on Wednesday a preliminary injunction in a case two strip-clubs brought against San Diego County, California Governor Newsom, and county and state health departments on Wednesday, and then reaffirmed his decision on Thursday after the county sought an emergency hearing seeking to maintain COVID-19 lockdowns.
The injunction directed state authorities to cease enforcing the State's Regional Stay Home Order not only for the two establishments who were the plaintiffs in the case, but for every restaurant in San Diego County.
Wohlfeil asserted that the state and county failed to provide adequate evidence that restaurants were responsible for the spread of COVID-19.
“The court’s intention is that all businesses which provide restaurant service, meaning all restaurants in the county of San Diego, are encompassed within the scope of the court’s order,” Wohlfeil said at Thursday’s hearing.
“Christmas came early for us,” said San Diego restaurant owner Nicholas Kacha, in a live interview with local TV station, KUSI.
“Everyone is super happy,” said Kacha of the restaurant’s employees and patrons.
“We all want to work, we all want to make our living, we don’t want to fall behind in our bills,” continued Kacha.
While the judge’s ruling has allowed Kacha’s Rudford’s Restaurant to resume service, COVID-19 mask and social distancing protocols remain in place.
Jim Desmond, a San Diego County Supervisor who has long advocated for businesses to be allowed to reopen, called the judge’s decision “a victory for the working people in San Diego County,” according to KUSI.
Acting on behalf of Gov. Newsom, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, had issued a cease and desist order to the complaining clubs last week, saying that by operating they were violating state policy.
Both Newsom and Becerra are Democrats. Joe Biden has indicated that should he become president, pro-abortion Becerra would be his choice to head Health and Human Services.
The state of California plans to appeal Judge Wohlfeil’s ruling.
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lifesitenews--2020-12-18--Nurse collapses on live TV after receiving COVID-19 vaccine

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CHATTANOOGA , Tennessee , December 18 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – In a video that ’ s now gone viral , a nurse collapsed on live television in a Tennessee hospital just minutes after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine .
The live event shows masked doctors administering the jab to five hospital staff of the Chattanooga Heart Institute Memorial Hospital ( CHI ) in Hamilton County , Tennessee .
Nurse Manager Tiffany Dover was answering questions at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine when she suddenly started to look dizzy before saying “ sorry ” and subsequently fainting ; the event took place about 17 minutes after she was inoculated .
After recovering from her fall , Dover said : “ [ it ] just hit me all of a sudden , I could feel it coming on .
I felt a little disoriented , but I feel fine now , and the pain in my arm is gone.
” Staff at CHI were quick to divert any association between Dover ’ s adverse reaction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tucker , medical director of critical care medicine , saying “ [ it ] is a reaction that can happen very frequently with any vaccine or shot.
” He went on to say that there ’ s no “ reason to suspect that that 's due to the vaccine whatsoever.
” However , this event has not happened in isolation .
Just two days ago , two healthcare professionals who received the same Pfizer vaccination developed painful side-effects within minutes of being injected .
According to the New York Times , one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that began 10 minutes after receiving the vaccine , ” experiencing “ a rash over her face and torso , shortness of breath and an elevated heart rate.
” The second worker had an equally shocking reaction , developing “ eye puffiness , light-headedness , and a scratchy throat 10 minutes after the injection.
” Again , local doctors appeared to be unperturbed by the incidents , with the chief medical officer of Alaska , Dr. Anne Zink , stating that there are “ no plans to change our vaccine schedule , dosing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the first country to authorize the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for public use .
Last week , after beginning a mass rollout program of the vaccine , two British nurses also suffered adverse reactions to the injection .
Subsequently , the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA ) delivered an added advisory notice to vaccine distributors that “ any person with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine , medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine , ” adding that a “ second dose should not be given to anyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first dose of this vaccine.
” Dr. James Lyons-Weiler , President and CEO of The Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge , in a scathing speech delivered to the Pennsylvania Medical Freedom Press Conference , declared that “ historically vaccines for coronaviruses have had a terrible safety record.
” He also criticized vaccine manufacturers for leapfrogging standard safety procedures , saying “ [ t ] he FDA , absolutely ignoring [ the ] safety margin , in a stunning decision , decided to allow Moderna and other vaccine manufacturers to skip the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus which is the animal trials.
” The Food and Drug Administration ’ s ( FDA ) report into the safety of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine revealed that 27 % of trial participants reported an adverse event within one month of receiving the vaccine .
Four participants reported a period of Bell ’ s palsy , a “ temporary weakness or lack of movement affecting one side of your face , ” including a drooping of the eyelids and the corners of the mouth .
The FDA recommended an emergency use authorization on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the benefits “ outweigh its risks for use in individuals 16 years of age and older.
” Yesterday , an FDA advisory panel also recommended emergency use authorization of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine .
LifeSiteNews has produced an extensive COVID-19 vaccines resources page .
View it here .

Staff at the hospital were quick to divert any association between Dover’s adverse reaction and the vaccine. Dr. Jesse Tucker, medical director of critical care medicine, claimed there’s no 'reason to suspect that that's due to the vaccine whatsoever.'
LifeSiteNews is facing increasing censorship. Click HERE to sign up to receive emails when we add to our video library.
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, December 18, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – In a video that’s now gone viral, a nurse collapsed on live television in a Tennessee hospital just minutes after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
The live event shows masked doctors administering the jab to five hospital staff of the Chattanooga Heart Institute Memorial Hospital (CHI) in Hamilton County, Tennessee.
Nurse Manager Tiffany Dover was answering questions at a press briefing shortly after receiving the vaccine when she suddenly started to look dizzy before saying “sorry” and subsequently fainting; the event took place about 17 minutes after she was inoculated.
Tiffany Dover, a nurse in the Covid-19 unit passes out on live TV after taking vaccine in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is feeling better. ����#COVID19 #vaccine #Tennessee
pic.twitter.com/Bq2IAvAYwL — ~ Marietta (@MDavisbot) December 18, 2020
After recovering from her fall, Dover said: “[it] just hit me all of a sudden, I could feel it coming on. I felt a little disoriented, but I feel fine now, and the pain in my arm is gone.”
Staff at CHI were quick to divert any association between Dover’s adverse reaction and the vaccine, with Dr. Jesse Tucker, medical director of critical care medicine, saying “[it] is a reaction that can happen very frequently with any vaccine or shot.” He went on to say that there’s no “reason to suspect that that's due to the vaccine whatsoever.”
However, this event has not happened in isolation. Just two days ago, two healthcare professionals who received the same Pfizer vaccination developed painful side-effects within minutes of being injected. According to the New York Times, one of the workers “had an anaphylactic reaction that began 10 minutes after receiving the vaccine,” experiencing “a rash over her face and torso, shortness of breath and an elevated heart rate.”
The second worker had an equally shocking reaction, developing “eye puffiness, light-headedness, and a scratchy throat 10 minutes after the injection.” Again, local doctors appeared to be unperturbed by the incidents, with the chief medical officer of Alaska, Dr. Anne Zink, stating that there are “no plans to change our vaccine schedule, dosing[,] or regimen.”
Britain was the first country to authorize the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for public use. Last week, after beginning a mass rollout program of the vaccine, two British nurses also suffered adverse reactions to the injection. Subsequently, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) delivered an added advisory notice to vaccine distributors that “any person with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine,” adding that a “second dose should not be given to anyone who has experienced anaphylaxis following administration of the first dose of this vaccine.”
Dr. James Lyons-Weiler, President and CEO of The Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge, in a scathing speech delivered to the Pennsylvania Medical Freedom Press Conference, declared that “historically vaccines for coronaviruses have had a terrible safety record.” He also criticized vaccine manufacturers for leapfrogging standard safety procedures, saying “[t]he FDA, absolutely ignoring [the] safety margin, in a stunning decision, decided to allow Moderna and other vaccine manufacturers to skip the most important step in vaccine safety for coronavirus which is the animal trials.”
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) report into the safety of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine revealed that 27% of trial participants reported an adverse event within one month of receiving the vaccine. Four participants reported a period of Bell’s palsy, a “temporary weakness or lack of movement affecting one side of your face,” including a drooping of the eyelids and the corners of the mouth.
The FDA recommended an emergency use authorization on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on December 10, claiming that the benefits “outweigh its risks for use in individuals 16 years of age and older.” Yesterday, an FDA advisory panel also recommended emergency use authorization of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
LifeSiteNews has produced an extensive COVID-19 vaccines resources page. View it here.
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lifesitenews--2020-12-18--Trump’s defense chief orders stop to transition meetings with Team Biden

WASHINGTON , D.C. , December 18 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller directed the Pentagon to stop cooperating with the presidential transition team of former Vice President Joe Biden late Thursday evening .
Officials are claiming it ’ s simply a matter of holiday scheduling while activists are wondering if something more is at work .
Axios reports that Miller “ stunned ” Pentagon officials by ordering a halt to all scheduled transition meetings , a move of which a “ top Biden official was unaware.
” “ We had fewer than two dozen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next week , ” a Pentagon official told the publication .
`` The DoD [ Department of Defense ] staff working the meetings were overwhelmed by the number of meetings . ''
“ These same senior leaders needed to do their day jobs and were being consumed by transition activities , ” the source continued .
“ With the holidays we are taking a knee for two weeks .
We are still committed to a productive transition.
” Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell assailed the story as “ click bait @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current Pentagon team has given more transition meetings than were given in 2016.
” Despite the mundane official explanation , there are many on both sides who suspect the move is actually related to President Donald Trump ’ s refusal to concede the presidential election until his avenues to challenge Biden ’ s victory are fully exhausted .
The Supreme Court unanimously rejected Texas ’ s lawsuit disputing the legality of mail voting in four states .
Trump ’ s final hope may rest with the possibility of Republicans challenging the outcome when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ January 6 .
Last month , Trump ordered the US General Services Administration to release limited funds to Biden for preliminary transition work .
The president is slated to meet with Miller in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon .

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 18, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller directed the Pentagon to stop cooperating with the presidential transition team of former Vice President Joe Biden late Thursday evening. Officials are claiming it’s simply a matter of holiday scheduling while activists are wondering if something more is at work.
Axios reports that Miller “stunned” Pentagon officials by ordering a halt to all scheduled transition meetings, a move of which a “top Biden official was unaware.”
“We had fewer than two dozen remaining meetings on the schedule today and next week,” a Pentagon official told the publication. “The DoD [Department of Defense] staff working the meetings were overwhelmed by the number of meetings.”
“These same senior leaders needed to do their day jobs and were being consumed by transition activities,” the source continued. “With the holidays we are taking a knee for two weeks. We are still committed to a productive transition.”
Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell assailed the story as “click bait reporting,” noting that the “current Pentagon team has given more transition meetings than were given in 2016.”
Despite the mundane official explanation, there are many on both sides who suspect the move is actually related to President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the presidential election until his avenues to challenge Biden’s victory are fully exhausted. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected Texas’s lawsuit disputing the legality of mail voting in four states. Trump’s final hope may rest with the possibility of Republicans challenging the outcome when Congress counts the Electoral College votes on January 6.
Last month, Trump ordered the US General Services Administration to release limited funds to Biden for preliminary transition work. The president is slated to meet with Miller in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon.
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lifesitenews--2020-12-18--Pro-death group recruits Satanists in attempt to take over Canadian pro-life palliative care hospice

DELTA , British Columbia , December 18 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — Euthanasia activists campaigning to take over a Canadian hospice society because it refuses to lethally inject sick patients are now recruiting memberships from the Satanic Temple .
Since April 2020 , a local group called Take Back Delta Hospice , aided by euthanasia lobby group Dying with Dignity , has been attempting a hostile takeover of the Delta Hospice Society by going door-to-door in the west coast community and signing up pro-euthanasia members .
The takeover attempt is part of a relentless campaign by euthanasia activists and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hospice society that began shortly after Canada legalized euthanasia in 2016 .
They insist that because the non-profit , private society is not faith-based , it can not claim a religious exemption from what they allege is its legal obligation to allow euthanasia onsite at its 10-bed Irene Thomas Hospice .
The hospice society , however , is standing firm in its refusal to do so , citing its constitution , which does not allow any measures that would hasten a patient ’ s death , and the fact that euthanasia is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the takeover attempts , the Delta Hospice Society launched a nationwide membership drive asking pro-life Canadians to buy a $ 10 membership to the society .
With a majority of pro-life members , the private society can then vote to amend its bylaws to stipulate that individuals who support euthanasia are not eligible to join .
But now euthanasia activists are ramping up efforts to sell hospice society memberships to pro-euthanasia individuals and focusing on atheists and members of the Satanic Temple .
Recently , the moderator of the pro-euthanasia Take Back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2,387 of the society ’ s now 6,119 members were from Delta .
“ The current DHS board led by Angelina Ireland has used outside networks to sign up thousands from outside of Delta , ” wrote Sharon Farrish .
“ We were afraid of this loss of control and accountability to Delta ’ s own residents and what this might mean for the kind of care we can access in our community , ” she added .
One member of the group stated that she had canvassed members of the Satanic Temple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope I don ’ t get hate for this but I have reached out to the Satanic Temple for help getting the word out to push it the other way ( they are not what people think they are ) , ” wrote Billie Meech on the Facebook page .
“ I will be reaching out to Dying With Dignity Canada and Freedom From Religion Foundation in the next few days , ” as well as contacting “ some atheist authors I know to see if they ’ ll make a post on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hospice Society board chair Ireland said she was “ disturbed , shocked , traumatized ” by these developments .
“ We were all very confused about this group ’ s name ‘ Take Back Delta Hospice.
’ Take it back for whom , we wondered ?
Now I guess we have our answer , ” she told LifeSiteNews .
“ This is the level to which these people would go in order to push euthanasia into a palliative care facility , ” said Ireland , adding that Take Back Delta Hospice is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work to undermine and poison the community against us.
” Although the hospice society board members are Christian , and she is a practicing Catholic , the battle has been about palliative care and not about religion , Ireland said .
“ It just so happens that we are people of faith and we believe in the palliative care medical discipline , and we believe in the sanctity of life.
” But euthanasia activists and many in the media have been “ trying to make it very personal , and that it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beliefs , ” and “ to provoke the community and incite hate , bigotry , hatred against us , ” she said .
Moreover , the leaders of the Take Back Delta Hospice group — Farrish , Chris Pettypiece and Jim Levin — took the society to court in June to stop it from launching a mail-in vote of its then 1,500 members to change to a faith-based organization .
B.C .
Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick cancelled the meeting and ruled that the private society could not exclude membership applications from euthanasia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the court ’ s authority , so “ we have to go with our hat in our hands and plead for a meeting of our members , and the Court will decide when , ” said Ireland .
The B.C .
appeal court upheld Fitzpatrick ’ s decision on November 14 .
The hospice society is now preparing to seek leave to the Supreme Court of Canada .
The NDP government has also been pressuring the hospice society , to the extent that Health Minister Adrian Dix announced in February 2020 that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 1.5 million public funding effective February 2021 .
Significantly , neither the Supreme Court of Canada nor Parliament have mandated that euthanasia be made available in all places at all times .
With the euthanasia activists recruiting atheists and members of the Satanic Temple , the spiritual aspect of battle is starkly revealed , but “ I believe that the Blessed Mother will be with me and that the Lord will take care of us , ” Ireland told LifeSiteNews .
However , concrete assistance in the form of pro-life members remains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ courts ruling that anyone who pays the $ 10 fee can become a member , the society has opened up memberships across Canada , Ireland said .
“ We need pro-life people to be members of our society that stand with us , ” so that when the court grants permission for a general meeting , “ they can participate virtually and vote to strengthen our bylaws , so we can keep people who want to push euthanasia out of our society , ” she explained .
“ It ’ s our last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals.
” Please buy a $ 10 Delta Hospice Society membership and encourage your family and friends to do likewise .
To buy a membership , go to www.savedeltahospice.com .
There is no deadline to buy a membership .

Euthanasia activists are reaching out to their allies including Satanists and atheists in an attempt to force the hospice to lethally inject sick patients.
DELTA, British Columbia, December 18, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Euthanasia activists campaigning to take over a Canadian hospice society because it refuses to lethally inject sick patients are now recruiting memberships from the Satanic Temple.
Since April 2020, a local group called Take Back Delta Hospice, aided by euthanasia lobby group Dying with Dignity, has been attempting a hostile takeover of the Delta Hospice Society by going door-to-door in the west coast community and signing up pro-euthanasia members.
The takeover attempt is part of a relentless campaign by euthanasia activists and the province’s NDP government against the hospice society that began shortly after Canada legalized euthanasia in 2016.
They insist that because the non-profit, private society is not faith-based, it cannot claim a religious exemption from what they allege is its legal obligation to allow euthanasia onsite at its 10-bed Irene Thomas Hospice.
The hospice society, however, is standing firm in its refusal to do so, citing its constitution, which does not allow any measures that would hasten a patient’s death, and the fact that euthanasia is incompatible with palliative care.
In response to the takeover attempts, the Delta Hospice Society launched a nationwide membership drive asking pro-life Canadians to buy a $10 membership to the society.
With a majority of pro-life members, the private society can then vote to amend its bylaws to stipulate that individuals who support euthanasia are not eligible to join.
But now euthanasia activists are ramping up efforts to sell hospice society memberships to pro-euthanasia individuals and focusing on atheists and members of the Satanic Temple.
Recently, the moderator of the pro-euthanasia Take Back Delta Hospice Facebook group announced that only 2,387 of the society’s now 6,119 members were from Delta.
“The current DHS board led by Angelina Ireland has used outside networks to sign up thousands from outside of Delta,” wrote Sharon Farrish.
“We were afraid of this loss of control and accountability to Delta’s own residents and what this might mean for the kind of care we can access in our community,” she added.
One member of the group stated that she had canvassed members of the Satanic Temple to buy memberships.
“I really hope I don’t get hate for this but I have reached out to the Satanic Temple for help getting the word out to push it the other way (they are not what people think they are),” wrote Billie Meech on the Facebook page.
“I will be reaching out to Dying With Dignity Canada and Freedom From Religion Foundation in the next few days,” as well as contacting “some atheist authors I know to see if they’ll make a post on facebook,” she added.
“Atheists love a good challenge,” commented group member Angelina Delmar.
Delta Hospice Society board chair Ireland said she was “disturbed, shocked, traumatized” by these developments.
“We were all very confused about this group’s name ‘Take Back Delta Hospice.’ Take it back for whom, we wondered? Now I guess we have our answer,” she told LifeSiteNews.
“This is the level to which these people would go in order to push euthanasia into a palliative care facility,” said Ireland, adding that Take Back Delta Hospice is the group “that has done all the work to undermine and poison the community against us.”
Although the hospice society board members are Christian, and she is a practicing Catholic, the battle has been about palliative care and not about religion, Ireland said.
“It just so happens that we are people of faith and we believe in the palliative care medical discipline, and we believe in the sanctity of life.”
But euthanasia activists and many in the media have been “trying to make it very personal, and that it’s on the basis of our personal beliefs,” and “to provoke the community and incite hate, bigotry, hatred against us,” she said.
“This is Christophobia,” Ireland added.
Moreover, the leaders of the Take Back Delta Hospice group — Farrish, Chris Pettypiece and Jim Levin — took the society to court in June to stop it from launching a mail-in vote of its then 1,500 members to change to a faith-based organization.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick cancelled the meeting and ruled that the private society could not exclude membership applications from euthanasia supporters.
She also put the society under the court’s authority, so “we have to go with our hat in our hands and plead for a meeting of our members, and the Court will decide when,” said Ireland.
The B.C. appeal court upheld Fitzpatrick’s decision on November 14. The hospice society is now preparing to seek leave to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The NDP government has also been pressuring the hospice society, to the extent that Health Minister Adrian Dix announced in February 2020 that he was pulling the society’s $1.5 million public funding effective February 2021.
Significantly, neither the Supreme Court of Canada nor Parliament have mandated that euthanasia be made available in all places at all times.
With the euthanasia activists recruiting atheists and members of the Satanic Temple, the spiritual aspect of battle is starkly revealed, but “I believe that the Blessed Mother will be with me and that the Lord will take care of us,” Ireland told LifeSiteNews.
However, concrete assistance in the form of pro-life members remains vital, she emphasized.
With the courts ruling that anyone who pays the $10 fee can become a member, the society has opened up memberships across Canada, Ireland said.
“We need pro-life people to be members of our society that stand with us,” so that when the court grants permission for a general meeting, “they can participate virtually and vote to strengthen our bylaws, so we can keep people who want to push euthanasia out of our society,” she explained.
“It’s our last line of defense against these kinds of individuals.”
Please buy a $10 Delta Hospice Society membership and encourage your family and friends to do likewise. To buy a membership, go to www.savedeltahospice.com. There is no deadline to buy a membership.
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lifesitenews--2020-12-18--Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

December 18 , 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 .

(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--2020-12-18--YouTube deletes ‘Dilbert’ comic author’s video on election fraud

December 18 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – The creator of the well-known comic strip Dilbert was censored by YouTube .
The Google-owned video hosting platform pulled a video from Dilbert creator Scott Adams ’ s channel which touched on the U.S. 2020 election fraud allegations and Joe Biden ’ s plan for dealing with COVID-19 should he be sworn-in as president next year .
Last Friday , Adams shared on his Twitter page that YouTube removed a video for violating its “ spam , deceptive practices and scams policy.
” “ Google ( YouTube ) just shut me down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different from all of my other content .
I assume they ’ ll come for the other videos soon , ” wrote Scott on Twitter on Friday .
The banned video was the 1,213th posted to his YouTube channel “ Real Coffee with Scott Adams , ” and was titled “ Biden COVID Plan , Swalwell ’ s Chinese Spy , Pelosi Still a Steaming Pile.
” The show is available on Periscope and Rumble .
Adams ’ channel was not given a strike because according to YouTube , he might not have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our policies.
” Adams , who has voiced support for President Donald Trump , regularly publishes podcasts and posts them to his YouTube channel .
Many of Adams ’ s recent uploads have focussed on election fraud allegations concerning the 2020 U.S. elections , which are being fought in the courts by Trump ’ s legal team .
Recently , YouTube announced that it would remove any video from its channel which mentions any connection of “ fraud ” concerning the 2020 U.S. elections .
In its note to Adams , YouTube mentioned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 U.S. election .
A disappointed Adams said via Twitter the same day his video was deleted that the Republic “ is dead ” due to the tech giant 's YouTube censorship .
“ Ask yourself why a social media platform that has more fake news than real news only blocks election allegations it claims are false , and not everything else .
The Republic is dead , ” wrote Adams on Twitter .
Conservative political commentator and former Secret Service member Dan Bongino offered to help set Adams up with a Rumble @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re interested and we ’ ll get you set up quickly on Rumble , ” wrote Bongino on Twitter to which Adams replied , “ I already opened my Rumble account as soon as YouTube applied government censorship ( in effect ) on my totally reasonable content.
” The banned video was posted to Adams ’ s Rumble account last Friday .
In the video , Adams touches on Biden ’ s COVID-19 plan , along with alleged election fraud , first quoting a statistician who said that odds of election fraud @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ If we ’ re being fair , I think the odds that the election not being stolen is not one in a quadrillion , maybe one in a half-a quadrillion , tops , that is high as I am going to go , ” said Adams .
Adams then in a humorous fashion slowly reduces the odds of election fraud from “ one in a million ” to a one in a “ thousand ” chance that “ we got ” a “ real election.
” “ You got to feel pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you were thinking ‘ I don ’ t think there ’ s any chance that this election was rigged.
’ No , there is a chance , a statistician has shown you with all the math and stuff that there is a chance that this was a good election , ” said Adams .
Adams also dives into other areas of alleged election fraud , such as reports of higher than normal voter turnout in states such as Wisconsin .
Towards the end of his video , Adams touches on YouTube ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that talk about election fraud , saying “ I don ’ t know if that applies to me.
” “ I don ’ t know if I will be flagged on YouTube .
There are two ways to talk about allegations of election fraud .
The way I talk about is always in terms of probability and what we know versus what we don ’ t know , ” said Adams .
“ I would hope that if anybody actually looked at my content , maybe just the algorithm guessed it , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they should see that no one has done more than I have done to talk Republicans out of specific claims .
I ’ m well on board of the concept that if you have a system with lots of holes there ’ s always going to be fraud .
So fraud has to exist , but when you ’ re looking at the individual claims , I ’ ve debunked more of them than anybody probably , anybody who is also pro-Trump.
” Recently , YouTube reversed a decision to suspend the channel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler , Texas , talked about why he could not take any COVID-19 vaccine that was either derived from or developed with the cells of aborted babies .
LifeSiteNews is facing increasing censorship .
Click HERE to sign up to receive emails when we add to our video library .

PETITION UPDATE (12/11/2020)
Right before Thanksgiving, YouTube deleted a LifeSite video of a distinguished Canadian physician protesting the "unfounded public hysteria" over COVID-19 and accused us of spreading "medical misinformation."
Our account was suspended, and we were prohibited from posting videos on our YouTube channel for one week. And, while that may not seem like a big deal, it's a huge deal for a news organization like LifeSite.
Then, earlier this week, YouTube again suspended our account – this time for two weeks – over an episode of The Bishop Strickland Show wherein Bishop Strickland said he would not take an unethical COVID-19 vaccine.
We were able to appeal the suspension, and our request was granted.
This means that in YouTube's three-strikes-and-you're-out content-policing, idea-cleansing scheme, we are back down to one strike. But, we still face the threat of losing our account permanently.
And, we're not the only ones.
In a recent turn of events, YouTube just announced that it will remove videos alleging widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
But, what is YouTube afraid of? The truth???
Thankfully, however, there is a one, big bright spot on the horizon: 48 states filed suit against Facebook just this week.
And, although this seems like a step in the right direction, the draconian measures which YouTube just rolled out, which are already wielded by Twitter, are an assault against free speech.
So, the fight for freedom of speech against Big Tech goes on. And, we must do everything we can to protect it!
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition today!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-youtube-reverses-ban-on-lifesitenews?
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/youtube-bans-lifesite-over-video-of-bp-strickland-refusing-to-take-corona-vaccine
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/lifesites-channel-was-suspended-by-youtube-heres-how-you-can-still-watch-our-videos
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/youtube-starts-removing-videos-that-contain-allegations-of-mass-voter-fraud
https://tennesseestar.com/2020/12/10/facebook-sued-by-48-states-federal-trade-commission-over-allegations-of-monopolistic-practices/
________________________________________________________________________
PETITION UPDATE (11/18/2020)
Everyone thought the censorship by Big Tech corporations would decrease after the 2020 election, but the truth is that censorship is being felt just as much as it was before the election.
And, given the election outcome, perhaps Big Tech censorship now is even more consequential than it was before the election!
The two biggest social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, and other Big Tech companies, are still censoring and suppressing stories and posts favorable to conservatives, and especially anything that has to do with election fraud.
Here are a few recent examples:
Women for America First organized the March for Trump on November 14, which was shut down by Facebook, MailChimp and Eventbrite. Despite Big Tech’s best efforts to cancel the event, the march went on and gathered a huge crowd.
Twitter has been suppressing a large number of President Trump’s Tweets. Most of his Tweets have been flagged arbitrarily with a warning stating: “This claim about election fraud is disputed."
Please READ this recent article about Big Tech's attempt to choke information conerning the recent Million MAGA March in Washington, DC: '5 things mainstream media won’t tell you about massive DC ‘Stop the Steal’ rally'
Then, please SIGN and SHARE this urgent petition, which calls on the Congress, the president, and governors to defend freedom of speech as Big Tech continues their rampant censorship.
PETITION UPDATE (10/15/2020)
In a remarkable development, Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham have announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will be issuing subpoenas to Twitter's Jack Dorsey and Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg for their company's suppression of two critical expose news stories about how Hunter Biden and the Biden Family allegedly profited from business deals made because of Joe Biden's position as Vice President.
Please WATCH LifeSite's exclusive video of the announcement by Senator Ted Cruz below.
According to the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Lindsey Graham, the subpoenas will be issued next Tuesday, for hearings to be held on Friday of next week.
This is a MASSIVE development, and should be welcomed by those who champion freedom of speech.
Again, this is all happening because Twitter and Facebook refuse to allow their members to share stories which would be favorable to conservatives.
Here's the timeline:
Yesterday, Twitter and Facebook suppressed a NY Post story about how Hunter Biden allegedly profited from introducing a Ukrainian businessman to his then-Vice President father, Joe Biden. The story also alleges that Vice President Biden then subsequently pressured Ukrainian authorities to fire a prosecutor who was investigating the businessman's company.
And, just this morning, Twitter suppressed another expose by the NY Post alleging that the Biden Family improperly profitted from deals made with one of the largest Chinese energy companies because of Vice President Biden's position in government.
But, right after the story broke, Senator Cruz tried to share the latest story on Twitter and was blocked. Twitter says that they are blocking the stories because they claim that the information was obtained illegally. However, Twitter showed no problem allowing illegally obtained information about President Trump's tax returns to be shared.
Please SIGN and SHARE this urgent petition, which calls on the Congress, the president, and governors to defend freedom of speech as Big Tech continues their rampant censorship.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'GOP senators decry Big Tech censorship of NY Post story exposing Biden corruption' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/gop-senators-decry-big-tech-censorship-of-ny-post-story-exposing-biden-corruption
___________________________________________________________________________
PETITION UPDATE (9/17/2020)
Big Tech is out to kill free speech. LifeSite is out to protect it!
LifeSite has been digging deep into the many claims of liberal bias and selective censorship of pro-life, pro-family, and conservative voices on social media.
And, we are now launching our new series 'Uncensored: Big Tech vs. Free Speech', which will unpack how the actions of Big Tech censors actually affect conservative and Christian organization and individuals.
Please WATCH the first video in our series featuring Brigitte Gabriel, the Founder of ACT For America, one of the nation's premier national security grassroots organizations.
Ms. Gabriel's organization, ACT For America, has been targeted by Big Tech especially in the manipulation of search results.
Big Tech “think[s] they are God and they are exercising their godly power over everybody else,” Gabriel explained. "Because in today's world, anytime you want to find out any information about somebody, what do you do? Google. You go to the internet to find out some information about them. When you research anything about somebody, the first thing that comes up [in the search results] is the Southern Poverty Law Center’s labeling of ‘hate groups.’”
“And who are the ‘hate groups’? Family Research Council is a hate group because they are pro-family. American Family Radio is a hate group…LifeSiteNews is a hate group. My organization is a hate group because we sound the alarm about terrorism and protecting our constitutional freedom. And so they try to character assassinate you. And they control the language.”
LifeSite's research shows that Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter, and others have become far too dangerous for democracy.
They can and do sway elections and public opinion in whatever direction they want, primarily by manipulating search results, tracking our online behavior, and by blocking truthful content from their platforms.
Today, LifeSite is starting to fight back, with facts and with stories of conservatives and Christians who are being negatively impacted by Big Tech's liberal bias.
Please continue to follow our 'Big Tech vs. Free Speech' series which aims to launch a new video each week for the next eight weeks.
And, please sign our petition demanding that Big Tech monopolies are broken up. Thank you!
__________________________________________________________________________
ORIGINAL PETITION BACKGROUND TEXT:
The outrageous erasing of the White Coat Summit from the internet is only the latest in a long series of brazen acts of censorship against conservatives and all those who support legitimate free speech.
You may agree or disagree with the efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine against the coronavirus, but everyone should agree on this point:
No Big Tech company should have the power to erase from the internet the medical opinions of licensed practicing doctors simply because they do not like what they have to say about the coronavirus or their experience treating it. Americans and other free peoples do not need leftist computer programmers deciding what the best course of medical treatment is for them.
Google/Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Apple and their Big Tech friends want to control what you see, what you read, what you think, and ultimately, how you vote. Not only do they spend hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying congress and buttering up big Washington DC think tanks, but now they brazenly and directly censor any content they don't want you to see.
Big Tech, like other interest groups, aggressively lobby to help their businesses thrive, but increasingly, Big Tech is using blatant internet censorship to impose its radical world view over those they consider to be "deplorables."
This must stop, but it won't unless we demand it as forcefully as legally possible. We believe that we have reached the point were Big Tech must be broken up if legitimate free speech is going to survive and continue to thrive on the internet.
Please sign our petition to demand real consequences for Big Tech's suppression of legitimate free speech.
In 2016, emails revealed by Fox News' Tucker Carlson proved that Google tried to influence the election by affecting voter turnout. Thankfully they failed. But they didn't give up. Instead, they have been preparing and testing how to manipulate information to continue to abuse their monopolistic power.
In 2018, Google/Youtube et. al. succeeded in manipulating the Irish abortion referendum by blacklisting pro-life videos, manipulating pro-life search terms and results and intentionally withholding pro-life information. Again, this is not an opinion or a conspiracy theory, Project Veritas obtained first hand information proving the intentional censorship by Big Tech.
And the Coronavirus has just made things worse. You see, scared people are more easily manipulated into giving up their freedom of speech. Children are being kept from going to school, tens of millions of Americans are out of work, and rioting has broken out in most major American cities.
Now, more than ever, freedom of speech is necessary to secure all of our freedoms. Freedom of speech is crucial to truly exercise the freedom to vote for the person that best represents one's own views, or the freedom to decide what course of medical treatment to accept - especially the decision to control what vaccines are administered to our children.
Some experts, like Dr. Robert Epstein, a behavioral psychologist who has testified before congress against Big Tech believes that we may already be too late to control Big Tech's tyrannical control over information.
President Trump took a step in the right direction with his Executive Order calling for increased regulation of Big Tech. But much more can be done and needs to be done right now.
In an era where almost everything is polarized, there is an overwhelming support for breaking up the Big Tech monopolies. A recent Pew poll found that 75% of Americans believe that Big Tech companies have too much influence.
It is time to bring serious accountability to Big Tech for their attempts to use their monopolies to kill free speech.
It is time to break up Big Tech.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Google, Facebook, Twitter shut down ‘frontline’ US doctors who promote ‘cure for COVID’ - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/google-facebook-twitter-shut-down-frontline-us-doctors-who-promote-cure-for-covid?utm_source=featured&utm_campaign=standard
Americans overwhelmingly agree Big Tech has too much power: Pew poll - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/americans-overwhelmingly-agree-big-tech-has-too-much-power-pew-poll
Leaked Google employee's email reveals effort to boost Latino vote, surprise that some voted for Trump - https://www.foxnews.com/tech/leaked-google-employees-email-reveals-effort-to-boost-latino-vote-surprise-that-some-voted-for-trump
Undercover video proves Google interfered in Irish abortion referendum - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/americans-overwhelmingly-agree-big-tech-has-too-much-power-pew-poll


lifesitenews--2020-12-18--Told you so: 3 ‘dads’ in California lead the charge to normalize ‘polyamory’

LifeSiteNews is facing increasing censorship .
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December 18 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — Pro-family activists said that polygamy and polyamory would be next in the queue after marriage was redefined by Obergefell , and everything is unfolding right on schedule .
The pattern is familiar .
First , personal stories are employed in a willing media eager to cover the next weird thing , exploiting instinctive empathy and beginning the process of normalization .
Children are usually involved and utilized as evidence that legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Finally , the courts cave , predictably announcing that they are only recognizing an already-existing reality rather than making a substantial change .
Exhibit A is a story out of California .
Back in 2017 , a “ throuple ” of men successfully petitioned a judge to put all three of them on the birth certificate of a little girl named Piper .
Dr. Ian Jenkins and Alan Mayfield met in 2003 , and added another partner to their relationship upon meeting Jeremy Hodges , a zoo-keeper , in 2012 .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ignore the fact that obviously , men can not create children without women .
But children have been turned into a commodity , and our society has decided that gay men have more of a right to children than children have a right to mothers .
As The Daily Mail grotesquely put it : “ They were offered embryos by a female friend , Meghan.
” The men had been given children , and now they needed to rent a womb .
As the Mail put it , “ a different friend offered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and they paid for many lawyers , Piper was born , followed several years later by Parker.
” Now , the three men just needed legal recognition for their arrangement and appealed to a San Diego judge to be recognized as three fathers .
The judge initially refused , stating that she couldn ’ t unilaterally establish a new precedent .
According to Jenkins , “ Alan went ‘ full mama bear.
’ He basically interrupted the proceedings and told them to swear us all in .
We all gave very tearful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parents .
You could see the emotion on the judge ’ s face .
She looked at all the options in front of her and found a way to use existing laws to give us the first birth certificate of its kind anywhere.
” This , predictably , has been hailed as a landmark loophole for polyamorous throuples and a potential path to legal recognition for a variety of arrangements .
The men now have a book coming out next March , written by Ian Jenkins , titled Three Dads and a Baby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1987 comedy Three Men and a Baby . )
The book explains how Ian is called ‘ papa , ’ Alan is ‘ dada , ’ and Jeremy is “ daddy , ” and Jenkins calls their arrangement “ just three tame , regular people who spend a lot of time talking about what to have for dinner.
” In short ?
Their family is just like yours , only with no Mama or Mommy—just men .
But if Jenkins is to be believed , mothers don ’ t do anything a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and women are simply interchangeable .
The point of the new book , of course , is to persuade as all that three dads and no moms is great for kids .
According to the Mail : “ Ian said they also wanted to raise awareness of the need for more legal rights for polyamorous families… ' I really worry about someone who lives somewhere that ’ s not as accepting as California and wants to live this kind of life and can ’ t move , ' he said .
'Some states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effort to impair parenting by nontraditional families and are really unhelpful .
I ’ m hoping this starts the wheels turning that families come in lots of different arrangements . '
” Three Men and a Baby , no doubt , will promptly be turned into an acclaimed documentary or move with rave reviews in all the right publications .
We will be informed that only bigots believe that children need mothers , and that to even insinuate such a thing is shocking and outrageous .
We will be told that denying children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are raised by groups of men is a sign of progress .
And when the children tell us otherwise , decades down the road , it will be too late to make a difference .

Before long we will be informed that only bigots believe that children need mothers, and that to even insinuate such a thing is shocking and outrageous
LifeSiteNews is facing increasing censorship. Click HEREto sign up to receive emails when we add to our video library.
December 18, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Pro-family activists said that polygamy and polyamory would be next in the queue after marriage was redefined by Obergefell, and everything is unfolding right on schedule. The pattern is familiar. First, personal stories are employed in a willing media eager to cover the next weird thing, exploiting instinctive empathy and beginning the process of normalization. Children are usually involved and utilized as evidence that legal recognition of alternative family arrangements are necessary. Finally, the courts cave, predictably announcing that they are only recognizing an already-existing reality rather than making a substantial change.
Exhibit A is a story out of California. Back in 2017, a “throuple” of men successfully petitioned a judge to put all three of them on the birth certificate of a little girl named Piper. Dr. Ian Jenkins and Alan Mayfield met in 2003, and added another partner to their relationship upon meeting Jeremy Hodges, a zoo-keeper, in 2012. They discussed having children—the media reports on this ignore the fact that obviously, men cannot create children without women. But children have been turned into a commodity, and our society has decided that gay men have more of a right to children than children have a right to mothers.
As The Daily Mail grotesquely put it: “They were offered embryos by a female friend, Meghan.” The men had been given children, and now they needed to rent a womb. As the Mail put it, “a different friend offered to be the surrogate for the embryos, and they paid for many lawyers, Piper was born, followed several years later by Parker.” Now, the three men just needed legal recognition for their arrangement and appealed to a San Diego judge to be recognized as three fathers. The judge initially refused, stating that she couldn’t unilaterally establish a new precedent.
According to Jenkins, “Alan went ‘full mama bear.’ He basically interrupted the proceedings and told them to swear us all in. We all gave very tearful testimonies about why we needed to become parents. You could see the emotion on the judge’s face. She looked at all the options in front of her and found a way to use existing laws to give us the first birth certificate of its kind anywhere.” This, predictably, has been hailed as a landmark loophole for polyamorous throuples and a potential path to legal recognition for a variety of arrangements.
The men now have a book coming out next March, written by Ian Jenkins, titled Three Dads and a Baby (a riff on the title of the 1987 comedy Three Men and a Baby.) The book explains how Ian is called ‘papa,’ Alan is ‘dada,’ and Jeremy is “daddy,” and Jenkins calls their arrangement “just three tame, regular people who spend a lot of time talking about what to have for dinner.” In short? Their family is just like yours, only with no Mama or Mommy—just men. But if Jenkins is to be believed, mothers don’t do anything a father can’t do. Men and women are simply interchangeable.
The point of the new book, of course, is to persuade as all that three dads and no moms is great for kids. According to the Mail: “Ian said they also wanted to raise awareness of the need for more legal rights for polyamorous families…'I really worry about someone who lives somewhere that’s not as accepting as California and wants to live this kind of life and can’t move,' he said. 'Some states are just brutal. They make every effort to impair parenting by nontraditional families and are really unhelpful. I’m hoping this starts the wheels turning that families come in lots of different arrangements.'”
Three Men and a Baby, no doubt, will promptly be turned into an acclaimed documentary or move with rave reviews in all the right publications. We will be informed that only bigots believe that children need mothers, and that to even insinuate such a thing is shocking and outrageous. We will be told that denying children mothers by celebrating family arrangements where children are raised by groups of men is a sign of progress. And when the children tell us otherwise, decades down the road, it will be too late to make a difference.
Follow Jonathon Jonathon Van Maren is a public speaker, writer, and pro-life activist. His commentary has been translated into more than eight languages and published widely online as well as print newspapers such as the Jewish Independent, the National Post, the Hamilton Spectator and others. He has received an award for combating anti-Semitism in print from the Jewish organization B’nai Brith. His commentary has been featured on CTV Primetime, Global News, EWTN, and the CBC as well as dozens of radio stations and news outlets in Canada and the United States. He speaks on a wide variety of cultural topics across North America at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions. Some of these topics include abortion, pornography, the Sexual Revolution, and euthanasia. Jonathon holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from Simon Fraser University, and is the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform. Jonathon’s first book, The Culture War, was released in 2016.
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lifesitenews--2020-12-18--DC mayor lifts some restrictions on religious worship following Catholic legal challenge

WASHINGTON , D.C. , December 18 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington , D.C. walked back some of the city ’ s extreme restrictions on churches Wednesday , following legal action by the Archdiocese of Washington .
The Archdiocese of Washington sued D.C. last week over a hard cap of 50 people for church services , which the mayor imposed the day before Thanksgiving .
She repealed the limit in a new order that entered into effect Thursday morning , authorizing up to 250 churchgoers at a time .
“ In order to resolve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cap of fifty ( 50 ) persons on gatherings at houses of worship and allows physically large facilities to accommodate more worshippers based on their overall capacity , up to a maximum of two hundred fifty ( 250 ) persons , ” the order states .
The lawsuit submitted on behalf of the archdiocese by Becket Law ( formerly the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty ) had argued that the policy discriminated against Catholics and targeted “ religious worship as a disfavored activity.
” The suit notes there being “ no hard cap @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dine indoors in restaurants , ” for example .
Under the previous restrictions , D.C. ’ s Basilica of the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception , the largest religious edifice in North America , could only reach about 2 percent of its roughly 3,000-person capacity .
The Becket Fund noted that “ filling it with exercise machines instead of pews would allow more than 600 people to attend.
” Mayor Bowser ’ s rule shift follows Supreme Court decisions in November that established a judicial precedent against disproportionate worship bans .
On Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a Nevada church , overturning numerical caps for church services that the state ’ s Democratic governor had implemented .
Similar rulings have been handed down in Colorado and California this month .
Even as D.C. loosened attendance restrictions , however , the city government reaffirmed several other dictates saddling local Christian communities .
Wednesday ’ s order upholds the requirement of a “ reservation system or some means of ensuring that there will not be crowding inside or outside the facility.
” Churches additionally “ must cooperate in contact tracing if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , D.C. contact tracers , or contact tracers or officials from any other health department , according to the order .
Further demands cited as part of a “ non exclusive ” list include “ mandatory masking ” and “ wellness checks.
” Moreover , the modest , newly-regained religious freedoms in D.C. only pertain to Masses or “ sacramental services.
” “ All other activities such as religious education classes , youth events , support groups , ” “ must follow gathering size limitations ” of 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Weddings and funerals will face the same restrictions , depending on whether or not they meet the city ’ s definition of “ core religious services.
” The order also slams the archdiocese for “ insist [ ing ] on a constitutional right to hold indoor worship services , ” which “ flies in the face of all scientific and medical advice and will doubtlessly put parishioners in harm ’ s way.
” In fact , authorities have linked harsh COVID-19 measures to an unprecedented number of D.C.-area overdose deaths that increasingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Faced with the highest spike in drug fatalities in the district ’ s history , Mayor Bowser signed off on a permanent expansion of alcohol sales hours in August , after raising taxes on alcohol to offset lockdown costs .
Catholic Masses , which a recent survey suggests help provide substantial mental health benefits during the COVID-19 crisis , have yet to be tied to any confirmed coronavirus cases , according to Becket .
In a public statement released yesterday , the Archdiocese of Washington , which is led by liberal Cardinal Wilton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the new order , while leaving the door open to continued litigation .

The Archdiocese of Washington sued D.C. last week over a hard cap of 50 people for church services, which the mayor imposed the day before Thanksgiving
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 18, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. walked back some of the city’s extreme restrictions on churches Wednesday, following legal action by the Archdiocese of Washington.
The Archdiocese of Washington sued D.C. last week over a hard cap of 50 people for church services, which the mayor imposed the day before Thanksgiving. She repealed the limit in a new order that entered into effect Thursday morning, authorizing up to 250 churchgoers at a time.
“In order to resolve litigation, this Order repeals the numeric cap of fifty (50) persons on gatherings at houses of worship and allows physically large facilities to accommodate more worshippers based on their overall capacity, up to a maximum of two hundred fifty (250) persons,” the order states.
The lawsuit submitted on behalf of the archdiocese by Becket Law (formerly the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty) had argued that the policy discriminated against Catholics and targeted “religious worship as a disfavored activity.” The suit notes there being “no hard cap on the number of people who can dine indoors in restaurants,” for example.
Under the previous restrictions, D.C.’s Basilica of the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception, the largest religious edifice in North America, could only reach about 2 percent of its roughly 3,000-person capacity. The Becket Fund noted that “filling it with exercise machines instead of pews would allow more than 600 people to attend.”
Mayor Bowser’s rule shift follows Supreme Court decisions in November that established a judicial precedent against disproportionate worship bans. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court unanimously sided with a Nevada church, overturning numerical caps for church services that the state’s Democratic governor had implemented. Similar rulings have been handed down in Colorado and California this month.
Even as D.C. loosened attendance restrictions, however, the city government reaffirmed several other dictates saddling local Christian communities. Wednesday’s order upholds the requirement of a “reservation system or some means of ensuring that there will not be crowding inside or outside the facility.”
Churches additionally “must cooperate in contact tracing if contacted by” the D.C. health department, D.C. contact tracers, or contact tracers or officials from any other health department, according to the order. Further demands cited as part of a “non exclusive” list include “mandatory masking” and “wellness checks.”
Moreover, the modest, newly-regained religious freedoms in D.C. only pertain to Masses or “sacramental services.”
“All other activities such as religious education classes, youth events, support groups,” “must follow gathering size limitations” of 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors, the mayor’s order emphasizes. Weddings and funerals will face the same restrictions, depending on whether or not they meet the city’s definition of “core religious services.”
— Article continues below Petition — PETITION: No to government and corporate penalties for refusing COVID-19 vaccine Show Petition Text 103183 have signed the petition. Let's get to 125000 ! Thank you for signing this petition! Add your signature: Show Petition Text Country... State... Sign this Petition **Photo credit: Shutterstock.com Mainstream media sources are promoting offensive suggestions by some doctors that people who refuse a vaccine for COVID-19 should be "punished" by the government and by business - effectively coercing them into taking the vaccine. One group of doctors writing in 'USA Today' suggested that the government impose special taxes (i.e., fines) on people who refuse the vaccination and that business simply refuse to serve them. [see story below]
Another doctor writing in an online publication called 'The Conversation' shamelessly suggested that people who refuse a vaccine should be given a psychoactive drug to induce compliance. [see story below] But, these suggestions are plain political posturing, and have nothing to do with science or with the recent trends of the disease. And, in case they haven't noticed, we live in a democracy not a medical dictatorship! Please SIGN this urgent petition which asks policy-makers and business people, at all levels, to pledge to respect the rights of those who, in good conscience, decide not to vaccinate themselves or their children. People should not have to live in fear of governmental or corporate retribution for refusing a vaccine which is being rushed to market by Big Pharma and their fellow-travelers in NGOs, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It would be intolerable and immoral for the government or business to coerce someone, and their family, to take a COVID vaccine against their will to avoid a fine, or just so they can do their weekly grocery shopping. Medical freedom must be respected in principle and also in practice. So, it is now time that our policy-makers listen to all voices involved in this vital conversation, and start to represent those who will not tolerate being punished for refusing a vaccine. Simply put, legislatures must begin to act as legislatures again. Questions must be asked. Hearings and investigations must be held. And, the legislatures of each state and country must return to the business of representing the people who voted for them, assuming their rightful place as the originator of legislation. We can no longer accept the dictates of executive branches without question, especially now that, statistically speaking, the initial brunt of the COVID crisis has passed. Neither can we accept the dictates of doctors who seem detached from reality and from science, and who only seem to be attached to the idea of promoting ideas which contribute to the agrandizement of power and control of political interests, and wealth of those who stand to make a lot of money from the sale of a COVID vaccine. Please SIGN this urgent petition which asks government and business leaders to pledge to respect the rights of those who refuse a COVID vaccine, and not seek to punish them for doing so. FOR MORE INFORMATION: 'Doctors lay out plan to ‘punish’ people who refuse coronavirus vaccine: ‘There is no alternative’' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/doctors-lay-out-plan-to-punish-people-who-refuse-coronavirus-vaccine-there-is-no-alternative 'US professor: ‘Psychoactive pill’ should be covertly administered to ensure lockdown compliance' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/us-professor-ensure-lockdown-compliance-by-drugging-dissenters-with-psychoactive-pill Hide Petition Text Sign this Petition
The order also slams the archdiocese for “insist[ing] on a constitutional right to hold indoor worship services,” which “flies in the face of all scientific and medical advice and will doubtlessly put parishioners in harm’s way.”
In fact, authorities have linked harsh COVID-19 measures to an unprecedented number of D.C.-area overdose deaths that increasingly rivals mortality from the virus itself. Faced with the highest spike in drug fatalities in the district’s history, Mayor Bowser signed off on a permanent expansion of alcohol sales hours in August, after raising taxes on alcohol to offset lockdown costs.
Catholic Masses, which a recent survey suggests help provide substantial mental health benefits during the COVID-19 crisis, have yet to be tied to any confirmed coronavirus cases, according to Becket.
In a public statement released yesterday, the Archdiocese of Washington, which is led by liberal Cardinal Wilton Gregory, reported being “grateful” for the new order, while leaving the door open to continued litigation.
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