lifesitenews--2020-05-27--Trudeau to pump federal funds into COVID-19 ‘contact tracing’ program

OTTAWA , May 26 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will fund provincial efforts to ramp up COVID-19 testing , the tracking of contacts of individuals who test positive , and the sharing of these data across the country .
Testing , contact tracing , and data-sharing are all essential to reopening the economy and allowing Canadians to travel across the country , Trudeau said in his daily briefing last Friday .
“ In order for people to move around freely and start getting back to normal life , we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus and isolate it , ” he said .
“ I ’ ve told the premiers that the federal government is here to support , facilitate and fund this important work.
” “ Contact tracing ” refers to the practice of government officials tracking individuals who have been in contact with those who test positive for COVID-19 in order to make sure they too are tested and isolated .
“ We need to get in touch with everyone who may have been exposed to the virus to make sure they quarantine and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Trudeau said .
PETITION : No to mandatory contact tracing and government surveillance for the coronavirus !
Sign the petition here .
The federal government has public servants who can make up to 3,600 phone calls a day , seven days a week , to track contacts .
Statistics Canada has also provided 1,700 interviewers who can make 20,000 contact tracing calls per day , he said .
“ These federal resources are available to assist provinces and territories with any surges , or backlogs or challenges they have in contact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tracing depends on people getting tested for the virus , and Trudeau urged provinces to ramp up on that as well .
Canada has the capacity to test 60,000 people per day for COVID-19 but has been averaging about 28,000 tests per day , he said .
“ We need to continue scaling up our testing capacity so we can quickly identify new cases and isolate them .
We ’ re working with provinces and territories to expand testing by procuring things like reagents and swabs.
” The federal government has also been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to all provinces to determine what their plan is on contact tracing , what exactly they are doing and whether or not they need more help , ” said Trudeau .
“ We certainly hope to hear back from the provinces that could need this quickly , to tell us whether and how they want us to help .
A number of provinces have , some have not yet , ” he said .
`` We ’ re already helping to make calls in Ontario and stand ready to help anywhere else.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” one particular contact tracing smartphone app for national use , Trudeau said in response to a reporter ’ s questions .
Apple and Google collaborated in developing smartphone technology that automatically notifies people that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus , CBC reported .
The software , released last week , uses Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded a tracing app has spent time near another app user who later tested positive for the virus .
Countries can use the software to develop their own contact tracing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week that it was the first to launch a coronavirus contact tracing app incorporating the Apple and Google technology , the BBC reported .
“ Around the world there have been a number of different apps developed , Singapore , Australia , other places .
One of the challenges that those apps have encountered is that it has to sit in the foreground of your phone and drains the battery , ” Trudeau said Friday .
“ That ’ s why the fix that Apple and Google are talking about bringing in in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important as a base for an effective contact tracing or exposure notification app.
” Ontario premier Doug Ford said Friday that his province is looking for an app suitable to its needs and that respects privacy , but that Ontario will join in a nationwide smartphone app program , CTV News reported .
“ When we fully reopen the economy and people are flying , let ’ s say from Vancouver to Toronto to Calgary … those apps have to be able to talk to each other , ” he said .
Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chief public health officer , commented that apps are not a “ silver bullet ” and might not necessarily detect infection accurately and that telephoning should remain an key part of Canada ’ s contact tracing strategy , reported CBC .
Critics have warned since the outset of the pandemic that governments could use the COVID-19 crisis to justify violating citizens ’ fundamental freedoms and usher in a surveillance state .
Alberta was the first Canadian province to launch a contact tracing app that people download voluntarily , and Jay Cameron , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Constitutional Freedoms ( JCCF ) , told LifeSiteNews at the time that the legal group is keeping an eye on government-issued contact tracing apps .
“ We are watching carefully and remain concerned about the slippery slope and government comfort with accessing and utilizing personal data , ” said Cameron .
“ Monitoring someone ’ s whereabouts using their cell phones is , of course , a search , ” he noted .
Carol Brown of the American Thinker pointed out the dangers of contact tracing plans , which have been introduced in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Under the guise of concern for public health , contact tracing allows the left to continue their totalitarian advance , as the federal government leaves it up to states to develop these intrusive measures , ” she wrote .
“ Opening up the economy won ’ t solve this deeper problem of fascists on the move infiltrating every aspect of our lives .
”

'In order for people to move around freely and start getting back to normal life, we have to improve our ability to quickly pinpoint the virus and isolate it,' the prime minister declared.
OTTAWA, May 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will fund provincial efforts to ramp up COVID-19 testing, the tracking of contacts of individuals who test positive, and the sharing of these data across the country.
Testing, contact tracing, and data-sharing are all essential to reopening the economy and allowing Canadians to travel across the country, Trudeau said in his daily briefing last Friday.
“In order for people to move around freely and start getting back to normal life, we have to improve our ability to quickly pinpoint the virus and isolate it,” he said.
“I’ve told the premiers that the federal government is here to support, facilitate and fund this important work.”
“Contact tracing” refers to the practice of government officials tracking individuals who have been in contact with those who test positive for COVID-19 in order to make sure they too are tested and isolated.
“We need to get in touch with everyone who may have been exposed to the virus to make sure they quarantine and monitor themselves for symptoms or get tested,” Trudeau said.
PETITION: No to mandatory contact tracing and government surveillance for the coronavirus! Sign the petition here.
The federal government has public servants who can make up to 3,600 phone calls a day, seven days a week, to track contacts. Statistics Canada has also provided 1,700 interviewers who can make 20,000 contact tracing calls per day, he said.
“These federal resources are available to assist provinces and territories with any surges, or backlogs or challenges they have in contact tracing,” he added.
Contact tracing depends on people getting tested for the virus, and Trudeau urged provinces to ramp up on that as well.
Canada has the capacity to test 60,000 people per day for COVID-19 but has been averaging about 28,000 tests per day, he said.
“We need to continue scaling up our testing capacity so we can quickly identify new cases and isolate them. We’re working with provinces and territories to expand testing by procuring things like reagents and swabs.”
The federal government has also been “reaching out over the past week to all provinces to determine what their plan is on contact tracing, what exactly they are doing and whether or not they need more help,” said Trudeau.
“We certainly hope to hear back from the provinces that could need this quickly, to tell us whether and how they want us to help. A number of provinces have, some have not yet,” he said.
“We’re already helping to make calls in Ontario and stand ready to help anywhere else.”
The Liberals will be “strongly recommending” one particular contact tracing smartphone app for national use, Trudeau said in response to a reporter’s questions. Apple and Google collaborated in developing smartphone technology that automatically notifies people that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus, CBC reported.
The software, released last week, uses Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded a tracing app has spent time near another app user who later tested positive for the virus.
Countries can use the software to develop their own contact tracing apps. A Swiss team announced this week that it was the first to launch a coronavirus contact tracing app incorporating the Apple and Google technology, the BBC reported.
“Around the world there have been a number of different apps developed, Singapore, Australia, other places. One of the challenges that those apps have encountered is that it has to sit in the foreground of your phone and drains the battery,” Trudeau said Friday.
“That’s why the fix that Apple and Google are talking about bringing in in the beginning of June will be extremely important as a base for an effective contact tracing or exposure notification app.”
Ontario premier Doug Ford said Friday that his province is looking for an app suitable to its needs and that respects privacy, but that Ontario will join in a nationwide smartphone app program, CTV News reported.
“When we fully reopen the economy and people are flying, let’s say from Vancouver to Toronto to Calgary … those apps have to be able to talk to each other,” he said.
Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, commented that apps are not a “silver bullet” and might not necessarily detect infection accurately and that telephoning should remain an key part of Canada’s contact tracing strategy, reported CBC.
Critics have warned since the outset of the pandemic that governments could use the COVID-19 crisis to justify violating citizens’ fundamental freedoms and usher in a surveillance state.
Alberta was the first Canadian province to launch a contact tracing app that people download voluntarily, and Jay Cameron, a lawyer for the Alberta-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), told LifeSiteNews at the time that the legal group is keeping an eye on government-issued contact tracing apps.
“We are watching carefully and remain concerned about the slippery slope and government comfort with accessing and utilizing personal data,” said Cameron.
“Monitoring someone’s whereabouts using their cell phones is, of course, a search,” he noted.
Carol Brown of the American Thinker pointed out the dangers of contact tracing plans, which have been introduced in Michigan, Washington, and Massachusetts.
“Under the guise of concern for public health, contact tracing allows the left to continue their totalitarian advance, as the federal government leaves it up to states to develop these intrusive measures,” she wrote.
“Opening up the economy won’t solve this deeper problem of fascists on the move infiltrating every aspect of our lives.”
Share


lifesitenews--2020-05-27--Canadian city bans help to overcome unwanted same-sex attraction

CALGARY , Alberta , May 26 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — A Canadian city banned businesses from offering help to those with unwanted same-sex attraction .
In a 14-1 final vote yesterday , the Calgary City Council passed the third reading of the “ Prohibited Businesses Bylaw-20M2020 ” ( page 531 ) , making it become law .
The new bylaw 20M2020 makes it illegal for a business to offer help to those with unwanted same-sex attraction .
The bylaw comes with fines of up to $ 10,000 or a year-long prison term for those found to violate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of so-called “ conversion therapy ” services .
Marty Moore , a lawyer for the Alberta-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms ( JCCF ) , told LifeSiteNews that bylaw 20M2020 constitutes a violation of one ’ s freedom and conscience rights .
“ Calgary ’ s bylaw violates individuals ’ Charter rights and freedoms , including their liberty to choose the kinds of supports they want concerning their own sexuality and gender , ” said Moore to LifeSiteNews .
Moore added that the bylaw also violates the ability of parents and health professionals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their kids — in “ particular [ , ] children experiencing distress concerning their gender ” — and “ the ability of religious communities to provide support to their LGBTQ members who choose to follow traditional beliefs about sexuality and gender.
” The final version of the bylaw came about after a two-day public hearing of “ The Standing Policy Committee on Community and Protective Services , ” held from May 13 to 14 .
The committee unanimously gave their approval of the “ conversion therapy ” ban bylaw after the hearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ submissions on the subject .
PETITION : No to mandatory vaccination for the coronavirus !
Sign the petition here .
The passage of the bylaw came with the full support of Calgary ’ s mayor , Naheed Nenshi , who said on Twitter Monday he is “ proud ” of his council ’ s support .
“ I ’ m so proud of my Council colleagues for supporting the ban on this insidious practice .
When it comes to showing courage on human rights issues , Calgary has shown its stripes , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ councilor Evan Woolley said the city would go after those who offer “ conversion therapy , ” saying , “ We will bring teeth ” and adding , “ If you are practicing this in our city , we will come at you with everything that we ’ ve got.
” Despite a May 20 City of Calgary memo clarifying that the law would apply only to businesses and not to religious institutions or teachers , Moore told LifeSiteNews the wording of the term “ conversion therapy ” is broader than any definition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professional body.
” “ The Calgary bylaw goes far beyond banning coercive and abusive practices commonly associated with the term ‘ conversion therapy , ” said Moore .
“ The definition of ‘ conversion therapy ’ is broader than any definition utilized by professional bodies , in that it not only bans practices , therapies or service to change individuals ’ sexual orientation or gender identity , it also bans services to help ‘ reduce non-heterosexual ... sexual behaviour.
’ ” In May , the JCCF warned that Calgary ’ s new “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s constitutional rights if passed .
In advance of the May committee meeting , the JCCF submitted a paper to the City Council titled “ An Overbroad and Arbitrary Violation of Calgarians ’ Individual Liberties.
” The group also submitted a response to the May 20 City Council memo , giving their take on the official city responses to the bylaw .
Moore was present for a large portion of the May 13–14 committee meeting .
He gave an oral presentation on May 13 regarding the bylaw to voice the concerns of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this bylaw only applies to ‘ business ’ is misleading because the definition of ‘ business ’ utilized by the bylaw is so broad that it includes even not-for-profit associations of persons , ” said Moore to LifeSiteNews .
“ Churches , mosques , gurdwaras , synagogues , and temples , as well as other religious organizations and charities , are thus captured within the definition of ‘ business ’ as well as anyone employed in ‘ a profession , trade , occupation , calling or employment ’ .
Thus , this bylaw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of organizations and individuals are permitted to have with others who are wanting to talk about their sexuality and gender.
” Calgary ’ s “ conversion therapy ” ban bylaw came about after a council committee passed a motion titled “ Banning Conversion Therapy ” back in February .
The motion was first brought to Calgary City Council in mid-January , when the Council ’ s Priorities and Finance Committee unanimously voted in favor of proceeding with the motion .
The wording of the definition of a “ conversion therapy ” business that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and as passed on Monday in “ Schedule A , ” reads : The city ’ s “ Prohibited Businesses Bylaw , ” which 20M2020 falls under , states , “ A person must not engage in or operate a business listed in Schedule A.
” Moore told LifeSiteNews that Calgary city councilors “ seemed to be particularly happy ” that under this new bylaw , only “ non-judgmental ” conversations are permitted .
“ The bylaw ’ s direct and highly subjective censorship of voluntary conversations may lead to arbitrary and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold and express traditional beliefs about sexuality and gender , ” said Moore .
In their paper submitted to the Calgary City Council , the JCCF warned that the Calgary city government does not have the authority to enact these types of bans .
“ The City of Calgary does not have jurisdiction to enact bans for the purpose of expressing moral condemnation of certain activities : that power is within the exclusive criminal law jurisdiction of the federal government , ” says the JCCF paper .
“ While the City of Calgary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is ultra vires , beyond the powers of the City of Calgary.
” At the federal level , there are now two pieces of legislation that if passed would criminalize so-called “ conversion therapy ” nationwide .
The first is Bill S-202 , now before the Senate .
Bill C-8 , now before the House of Commons , is farther-reaching than Bill S-202 .
It will make it a criminal offense in Canada t : 1 ) cause a minor to undergo conversion therapy , 2 ) remove a minor from Canada to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a person to undergo conversion therapy against his will , 4 ) profit from conversion therapy , and 5 ) advertise conversion therapy .
The lone councilor to vote against the Calgary bylaw was Joe Magliocca .
According to a Calgary Herald article , Magliocca said he “ supported banning conversion therapy.
” He decided to vote against the bylaw after a proposed amendment by him , to make Calgary ’ s bylaw more in line with the federal government ’ s wording , was voted down .
Calgary ’ s bylaw follows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conversion therapy ” by the City of Edmonton back in December of 2019 .
As LifeSiteNews reported , Edmonton ’ s bylaw threatened a “ minimum ” fine of $ 10,000 a day for any business that practices conversion therapy .

The new bylaw comes with fines of up to $10,000 or a year-long prison term for any business, extremely broadly defined, that offers 'conversion therapy.'
CALGARY, Alberta, May 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — A Canadian city banned businesses from offering help to those with unwanted same-sex attraction.
In a 14-1 final vote yesterday, the Calgary City Council passed the third reading of the “Prohibited Businesses Bylaw-20M2020” (page 531), making it become law.
The new bylaw 20M2020 makes it illegal for a business to offer help to those with unwanted same-sex attraction. The bylaw comes with fines of up to $10,000 or a year-long prison term for those found to violate the law. It also bans the advertising of so-called “conversion therapy” services.
Marty Moore, a lawyer for the Alberta-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), told LifeSiteNews that bylaw 20M2020 constitutes a violation of one’s freedom and conscience rights.
“Calgary’s bylaw violates individuals’ Charter rights and freedoms, including their liberty to choose the kinds of supports they want concerning their own sexuality and gender,” said Moore to LifeSiteNews.
Moore added that the bylaw also violates the ability of parents and health professionals to provide treatments in the best interest of their kids — in “particular[,] children experiencing distress concerning their gender” — and “the ability of religious communities to provide support to their LGBTQ members who choose to follow traditional beliefs about sexuality and gender.”
The final version of the bylaw came about after a two-day public hearing of “The Standing Policy Committee on Community and Protective Services,” held from May 13 to 14. The committee unanimously gave their approval of the “conversion therapy” ban bylaw after the hearing, which featured 121 speakers and 1,800 submissions on the subject.
PETITION: No to mandatory vaccination for the coronavirus! Sign the petition here.
The passage of the bylaw came with the full support of Calgary’s mayor, Naheed Nenshi, who said on Twitter Monday he is “proud” of his council’s support.
“I’m so proud of my Council colleagues for supporting the ban on this insidious practice. When it comes to showing courage on human rights issues, Calgary has shown its stripes,” said Nenshi.
In February, Calgary councilor Evan Woolley said the city would go after those who offer “conversion therapy,” saying, “We will bring teeth” and adding, “If you are practicing this in our city, we will come at you with everything that we’ve got.”
Despite a May 20 City of Calgary memo clarifying that the law would apply only to businesses and not to religious institutions or teachers, Moore told LifeSiteNews the wording of the term “conversion therapy” is broader than any definition that would be used by a “professional body.”
“The Calgary bylaw goes far beyond banning coercive and abusive practices commonly associated with the term ‘conversion therapy,” said Moore.
“The definition of ‘conversion therapy’ is broader than any definition utilized by professional bodies, in that it not only bans practices, therapies or service to change individuals’ sexual orientation or gender identity, it also bans services to help ‘reduce non-heterosexual … sexual behaviour.’”
In May, the JCCF warned that Calgary’s new “conversion therapy” bylaw would violate one’s constitutional rights if passed.
In advance of the May committee meeting, the JCCF submitted a paper to the City Council titled “An Overbroad and Arbitrary Violation of Calgarians’ Individual Liberties.” The group also submitted a response to the May 20 City Council memo, giving their take on the official city responses to the bylaw.
Moore was present for a large portion of the May 13–14 committee meeting. He gave an oral presentation on May 13 regarding the bylaw to voice the concerns of the JCCF.
“The claim that this bylaw only applies to ‘business’ is misleading because the definition of ‘business’ utilized by the bylaw is so broad that it includes even not-for-profit associations of persons,” said Moore to LifeSiteNews.
“Churches, mosques, gurdwaras, synagogues, and temples, as well as other religious organizations and charities, are thus captured within the definition of ‘business’ as well as anyone employed in ‘a profession, trade, occupation, calling or employment’. Thus, this bylaw will censor the conversations an enormous range of organizations and individuals are permitted to have with others who are wanting to talk about their sexuality and gender.”
Calgary’s “conversion therapy” ban bylaw came about after a council committee passed a motion titled “Banning Conversion Therapy” back in February.
The motion was first brought to Calgary City Council in mid-January, when the Council’s Priorities and Finance Committee unanimously voted in favor of proceeding with the motion.
The wording of the definition of a “conversion therapy” business that is prohibited in Calgary’s bylaw, and as passed on Monday in “Schedule A,” reads:
“Conversion therapy” means a practice, treatment, or service designed to change, repress, or discourage a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, or to repress or reduce non heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour. For greater certainty, this definition does not include a practice, treatment, or service that relates: (a) to a person’s social, medical, or legal gender transition; or (b) to a person’s non-judgmental exploration and acceptance of their identity or development
The city’s “Prohibited Businesses Bylaw,” which 20M2020 falls under, states, “A person must not engage in or operate a business listed in Schedule A.”
Moore told LifeSiteNews that Calgary city councilors “seemed to be particularly happy” that under this new bylaw, only “non-judgmental” conversations are permitted.
“The bylaw’s direct and highly subjective censorship of voluntary conversations may lead to arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement, particularly against those who hold and express traditional beliefs about sexuality and gender,” said Moore.
In their paper submitted to the Calgary City Council, the JCCF warned that the Calgary city government does not have the authority to enact these types of bans.
“The City of Calgary does not have jurisdiction to enact bans for the purpose of expressing moral
condemnation of certain activities: that power is within the exclusive criminal law jurisdiction of the federal government,” says the JCCF paper.
“While the City of Calgary can regulate businesses, an outright prohibition is ultra vires, beyond the powers of the City of Calgary.”
At the federal level, there are now two pieces of legislation that if passed would criminalize so-called “conversion therapy” nationwide. The first is Bill S-202, now before the Senate.
Bill C-8, now before the House of Commons, is farther-reaching than Bill S-202. It will make it a criminal offense in Canada t: 1) cause a minor to undergo conversion therapy, 2) remove a minor from Canada to undergo conversion therapy, 3) cause a person to undergo conversion therapy against his will, 4) profit from conversion therapy, and 5) advertise conversion therapy.
The lone councilor to vote against the Calgary bylaw was Joe Magliocca. According to a Calgary Herald article, Magliocca said he “supported banning conversion therapy.” He decided to vote against the bylaw after a proposed amendment by him, to make Calgary’s bylaw more in line with the federal government’s wording, was voted down.
Calgary’s bylaw follows the lead of similar bylaws banning “conversion therapy” by the City of Edmonton back in December of 2019. As LifeSiteNews reported, Edmonton’s bylaw threatened a “minimum” fine of $10,000 a day for any business that practices conversion therapy.
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lifesitenews--2020-05-27--Founder of pro-life doctors’ group dying of cancer, requests prayers

PETITION : Demand Planned Parenthood return $ 80M improperly taken from coronavirus emergency fund !
Sign the petition here .
ST. JOHN ’ S , Newfoundland , May 26 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — The founder of a pro-life international organization of Catholic health professionals dedicated to the care of mothers and babies has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is asking for prayers .
Dr. Robert Walley , the founder of MaterCare International , has been diagnosed with terminal cancer , the board of directors of his organization announced last week .
Walley , 81 , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a palliative care facility , ” the MaterCare board stated in a May 17 press release .
Of a lifetime full of achievements , Walley is most renowned for founding MaterCare International , a group of Catholic obstetricians and gynecologists whose “ mission is to carry out the work of Evangelium Vitae ( the Gospel of Life ) by improving the lives and health of mothers and babies both born and unborn , through new initiatives of service , training , research , and advocacy designed to reduce the tragic levels of abortion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ morbidity in developing countries , ” as its website states .
“ He remains stubbornly dedicated to his lifelong mission , working for women and children .
He continues consulting with our Medical Director , Dr. Bogdan Chazan from Poland and Dr. Elvis Seman from MaterCare Australia as needed to advance maternal healthcare , ” the board stated .
“ He asks for your prayers for a good death.
” “ If I don ’ t answer you know I ’ ve run out of time … I ’ ve gone to heaven @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call with LifeSiteNews , adding that he estimates he has until Thanksgiving .
“ I don ’ t want any great sympathy .
I ’ m talking to my God about it.
” While Walley ’ s life ’ s work is inseparable from his Catholic faith , he wasn ’ t raised in the Church , and credits his childhood conversion to his going to Catholic schools .
The only child of a “ typical Anglican Naval officer , ” Walley ’ s birth in Malta coincided with the outbreak of World @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Egypt on a Naval ship to escape Italian and German bombs , before being evacuated to England .
“ I always say the Walley family shared with the greatest family of all — we were a bunch of refugees , ” Walley laughed .
“ This might seem extraordinary , ” he said , “ but we think that my parents must have come into contact with a Catholic priest sometime during the war , and must have attended Mass , because my father used at the end of his letters the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” — a Latin phrase meaning “ The Lord be with you ” which the priest uses in the traditional Mass .
Moreover , his father decided always , along with his mother , to send him to Catholic schools , the first being the Cabrini Sisters ’ school in South London .
On the advice of the Sisters , and when Walley came of age , his parents sent him to the De La Salle Brothers ’ boarding school , also in South London .
When he was 10 , Walley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Catholic Church , just at the same time his father was posted to the Indian Navy in 1948 .
At the end of his father ’ s secondment to India , the family returned to England , and Walley to the De La Salle boarding school , where he remained as a student until age 19 .
His father was “ wedded ” to the Navy , and would have none of the same for his son , so Walley elected to become a doctor .
His training in obstetrics and gynaecology coincided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1967 .
“ It was coming in while I was training … it was looking dark , bleak , thunder clouds , ” he recalled .
As a result , he accepted an offer to join the residency training program at St. Michael ’ s Hospital in Toronto , Canada , at which point he asked Susan Samson , a nurse from Guernsey with whom he was working and “ the most beautiful , beautiful woman I had ever seen , ” if she would like to come with him .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , ‘ Would we be getting married ?
’ I said , ‘ Of course we would !
’ ” Thus , after planning a wedding in less than two months , the Walleys spent their honeymoon crossing the Atlantic on the Empress of Canada , which “ rolled and it pitched and it blew.
” Although they went back and forth between England and Canada during the course of his training , Walley was ultimately confronted with a stark choice when he applied at a teaching hospital in London in 1973 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pro-life talks “ and so I had a bit of a reputation , maybe , ” was asked for his views on abortion and contraception .
“ I said , ‘ I think I have better things to offer my patients than killing their babies.
’ ” The hospital then gave him three options : do abortions , find another specialty , or leave the country .
“ I had a wife and a couple of kids and I was terrified of being unemployed , ” so he called a colleague he knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m coming back.
” Three months after arriving in Canada , Walley took a job at the new medical school at Memorial Hospital in St. John ’ s , Newfoundland .
Thus the Walleys moved to “ the rock , ” where they have remained ever since , although it was wrenching to leave their parents .
Indeed , Walley still regards England and Guernsey as home .
“ I never left them in my heart , ” he said .
“ I love Canada … it ’ s given me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes up , I shed a tear.
” And he “ took to Newfoundland ” more than he did to Canada , he said .
“ The people here were so good and kind and generous , we became part of families.
” Walley , who is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada , a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists of Canada , a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists of England , and has a Masters degree in International @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pro-life advocacy despite sometime opposition from colleagues .
As part of this advocacy , he worked with Canada ’ s bishops , and in 1985 Bishop John O ’ Mara from Thunder Bay asked him to speak to the newly created Pontifical Council for Health , which coincided with his planned sabbatical in Nigeria to “ look at maternal mortality and the suffering of mothers and the lack of care.
” Walley quickly agreed , and “ I must have been saying things right , ” because he was asked to join the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three five-year terms .
Pope John Paul II : Don ’ t just talk , do something From this vantage point , Walley saw the difficulties Catholic obstetricians , gynaecologists , midwives and general practitioners faced from the aggressive global abortion industry , and so he organized MaterCare , a group like-minded colleagues who first met in Rome in the 1990s .
Pope John Paul II told the 120 participants from 40 different countries in a private audience that , Walley paraphrased it , “ the Church has never needed you so much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , please don ’ t quit , ” and “ we don ’ t want a talking shop , we want something that will show that the Church is doing stuff.
” MaterCare International has since had projects in Nigeria , Ghana , East Timor , Sierra Leone , and an ongoing project in Kenya , where it built and maintains a hospital for high-risk mothers .
It has also started projects in Uganda and Rwanda .
The organization has never received Canadian government funding , and succeeds through the generosity of donors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s League .
It also succeeded because his wife , who now suffers from dementia and is in a long-term care home in St. John ’ s , was equally committed , Walley said .
“ All of this … wouldn ’ t have been done without Susan .
She was a superb nurse and she stayed at home and she looked after our seven kids.
” Susan , who attended Sunday Mass throughout their married life and raised the children Catholic , entered the Church on their 40th wedding anniversary .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Walley , who received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal , the highest honor that the pope can bestow upon laity and religious , in 2012 .
“ And all this happened because the Lord wanted , although I ’ m not trying to claim anything .
It all worked out and eventually out of it all came MaterCare.
” His son , Simon , has been with MaterCare International for 20 years , and is now CEO of the organization , which continues its vital work .
“ The Walley Family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for your prayers and support at this difficult time , ” the MaterCare board of directors stated .
“ We hope that you can take this opportunity to let ( Dr. Walley ) know how much he means to us and the impact of his tireless devotion to women and children .
He has inspired generations of medical professionals and young people to uphold the dignity of all human life.
” Notices of prayers and good wishes can be sent to :

PETITION: Demand Planned Parenthood return $80M improperly taken from coronavirus emergency fund! Sign the petition here.
ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland, May 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — The founder of a pro-life international organization of Catholic health professionals dedicated to the care of mothers and babies has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is asking for prayers.
Dr. Robert Walley, the founder of MaterCare International, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, the board of directors of his organization announced last week.
Walley, 81, is at home while “undergoing assessment for a palliative care facility,” the MaterCare board stated in a May 17 press release.
Of a lifetime full of achievements, Walley is most renowned for founding MaterCare International, a group of Catholic obstetricians and gynecologists whose “mission is to carry out the work of Evangelium Vitae (the Gospel of Life) by improving the lives and health of mothers and babies both born and unborn, through new initiatives of service, training, research, and advocacy designed to reduce the tragic levels of abortion worldwide and maternal and perinatal mortality, morbidity in developing countries,” as its website states.
“He remains stubbornly dedicated to his lifelong mission, working for women and children. He continues consulting with our Medical Director, Dr. Bogdan Chazan from Poland and Dr. Elvis Seman from MaterCare Australia as needed to advance maternal healthcare,” the board stated.
“He asks for your prayers for a good death.”
“If I don’t answer you know I’ve run out of time … I’ve gone to heaven,” Dr. Walley joked in a call with LifeSiteNews, adding that he estimates he has until Thanksgiving.
“I don’t want any great sympathy. I’m talking to my God about it.”
Childhood conversion
While Walley’s life’s work is inseparable from his Catholic faith, he wasn’t raised in the Church, and credits his childhood conversion to his going to Catholic schools.
The only child of a “typical Anglican Naval officer,” Walley’s birth in Malta coincided with the outbreak of World War II. The family was evacuated to Egypt on a Naval ship to escape Italian and German bombs, before being evacuated to England.
“I always say the Walley family shared with the greatest family of all — we were a bunch of refugees,” Walley laughed.
“This might seem extraordinary,” he said, “but we think that my parents must have come into contact with a Catholic priest sometime during the war, and must have attended Mass, because my father used at the end of his letters the closing remark: ‘Dominus vobiscum’,” — a Latin phrase meaning “The Lord be with you” which the priest uses in the traditional Mass.
Moreover, his father decided always, along with his mother, to send him to Catholic schools, the first being the Cabrini Sisters’ school in South London. On the advice of the Sisters, and when Walley came of age, his parents sent him to the De La Salle Brothers’ boarding school, also in South London.
When he was 10, Walley received permission to be baptized in the Catholic Church, just at the same time his father was posted to the Indian Navy in 1948. At the end of his father’s secondment to India, the family returned to England, and Walley to the De La Salle boarding school, where he remained as a student until age 19.
‘Thunder clouds’ of legal abortion
His father was “wedded” to the Navy, and would have none of the same for his son, so Walley elected to become a doctor. His training in obstetrics and gynaecology coincided with the legalization of abortion in England in 1967.
“It was coming in while I was training … it was looking dark, bleak, thunder clouds,” he recalled.
As a result, he accepted an offer to join the residency training program at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, at which point he asked Susan Samson, a nurse from Guernsey with whom he was working and “the most beautiful, beautiful woman I had ever seen,” if she would like to come with him.
“And she looked at me and she said, ‘Would we be getting married?’ I said, ‘Of course we would!’”
Thus, after planning a wedding in less than two months, the Walleys spent their honeymoon crossing the Atlantic on the Empress of Canada, which “rolled and it pitched and it blew.”
Although they went back and forth between England and Canada during the course of his training, Walley was ultimately confronted with a stark choice when he applied at a teaching hospital in London in 1973.
Walley, who had been giving pro-life talks “and so I had a bit of a reputation, maybe,” was asked for his views on abortion and contraception.
“I said, ‘I think I have better things to offer my patients than killing their babies.’”
The hospital then gave him three options: do abortions, find another specialty, or leave the country. “I had a wife and a couple of kids and I was terrified of being unemployed,” so he called a colleague he knew in Toronto, and said, “I’m coming back.”
Pro-life work from ‘the rock’
Three months after arriving in Canada, Walley took a job at the new medical school at Memorial Hospital in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Thus the Walleys moved to “the rock,” where they have remained ever since, although it was wrenching to leave their parents.
Indeed, Walley still regards England and Guernsey as home. “I never left them in my heart,” he said. “I love Canada … it’s given me every opportunity, but every Easter that comes up, I shed a tear.”
And he “took to Newfoundland” more than he did to Canada, he said. “The people here were so good and kind and generous, we became part of families.”
Walley, who is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists of England, and has a Masters degree in International Health from Harvard University, continued his pro-life advocacy despite sometime opposition from colleagues.
As part of this advocacy, he worked with Canada’s bishops, and in 1985 Bishop John O’Mara from Thunder Bay asked him to speak to the newly created Pontifical Council for Health, which coincided with his planned sabbatical in Nigeria to “look at maternal mortality and the suffering of mothers and the lack of care.”
Walley quickly agreed, and “I must have been saying things right,” because he was asked to join the council, and remained a member for three five-year terms.
Pope John Paul II: Don’t just talk, do something
From this vantage point, Walley saw the difficulties Catholic obstetricians, gynaecologists, midwives and general practitioners faced from the aggressive global abortion industry, and so he organized MaterCare, a group like-minded colleagues who first met in Rome in the 1990s.
Pope John Paul II told the 120 participants from 40 different countries in a private audience that, Walley paraphrased it, “the Church has never needed you so much as it does now, and please, please don’t quit,” and “we don’t want a talking shop, we want something that will show that the Church is doing stuff.”
MaterCare International has since had projects in Nigeria, Ghana, East Timor, Sierra Leone, and an ongoing project in Kenya, where it built and maintains a hospital for high-risk mothers. It has also started projects in Uganda and Rwanda.
The organization has received next to no Canadian government funding, and succeeds through the generosity of donors, notable among these the Catholic Women’s League.
It also succeeded because his wife, who now suffers from dementia and is in a long-term care home in St. John’s, was equally committed, Walley said.
“All of this … wouldn’t have been done without Susan. She was a superb nurse and she stayed at home and she looked after our seven kids.”
Susan, who attended Sunday Mass throughout their married life and raised the children Catholic, entered the Church on their 40th wedding anniversary.
The Lord wanted it
“Nothing happens by chance,” said Walley, who received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal, the highest honor that the pope can bestow upon laity and religious, in 2012.
“And all this happened because the Lord wanted, although I’m not trying to claim anything. It all worked out and eventually out of it all came MaterCare.”
His son, Simon, has been with MaterCare International for 20 years, and is now project manager of the organization, which continues its vital work.
“The Walley Family is immensely grateful to all of you for your prayers and support at this difficult time,” the MaterCare board of directors stated.
“We hope that you can take this opportunity to let (Dr. Walley) know how much he means to us and the impact of his tireless devotion to women and children. He has inspired generations of medical professionals and young people to uphold the dignity of all human life.”
Notices of prayers and good wishes can be sent to:
Dr. Robert Walley
8 Riverview Avenue
St John's, Newfoundland
A1C 2S5 Canada
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lifesitenews--2020-05-26--VA gov heads to beach for selfies, then announces statewide mask mandate: Live coronavirus updates

LifeSite ’ s previous ( and future ) live updates on the coronavirus crisis and how it relates to issues our readers care about can be viewed HERE .
This Memorial Day weekend , Virginia Governor Ralph Northam – who , as the commonwealth begins easing its lockdown , is rumored to be contemplating ordering all residents to wear masks – was photographed at a newly reopened beach not wearing a mask and standing close to beachgoers to take selfies with them .
Northam ’ s governorship has been marred by his apparent endorsement of infanticide in January 2019 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his medical school yearbook either wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood or blackface .
Should he mandate masks in certain settings , the mandate would have to be instituted as an exception to a Virginia law making covering one ’ s face in public a felony .
The law , which has exceptions for events like Halloween , theatrical performances , and a “ public health emergency , ” was apparently “ created ... in response to the KKK presence in Virginia , ” according to a Virginia Beach attorney .
May 26 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Northam announced this afternoon that beginning Friday , face coverings will be required inside buildings , with some exceptions .
May 26 , 2020 , 7:09 p.m. EST : According to the Daily Beast , “ So many people working from home with the AC on could strain grids coast to coast ...
Hot weather blackouts have long plagued neighborhoods and towns from New York to California to Texas .
But now experts are warning that millions of Americans who are working from home or are unemployed—cranking their air conditioners as the temperature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lines and transformers further.
” May 26 , 2020 , 4:55 p.m. EST : The Catholic bishops of Washington state responded to President Trump calling on state governors to allow churches to reopen with a letter saying in part : We want to let you know that the public celebration of Mass was suspended , not out of fear , but out of our deepest respect for human life and health .
As disciples of Jesus , we are called to be instruments of God ’ s protection for the vulnerable and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ God and neighbor is always personal and not partisan .
While we share the desire to bring people back to Mass as quickly as possible , we will wait to schedule our public worship when it is safe and we are prepared to do so .
May 26 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Last week , The Federalist published an interview with an addiction expert who says there is a “ pandemic within a pandemic.
” He said drug addicts are relapsing and overdosing because of conditions caused by the coronavirus lockdowns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need connection , they need fellowship , ” Tim Ryan of A Man in Recovery Foundation said .
“ Now they ’ re all alone.
” The doctor in charge of a California trauma center offered a similarly grim observation : “ we ’ ve seen a year ’ s worth of suicide attempts in the last four weeks.
” In a May 6 article that remains relevant , pro-life bioethicist Wesley J. Smith of the Discovery Institute explored the “ dangerous temptation to remove control over policy from democratic deliberation in favor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by ‘ experts.
’ In health care , such a system would be particularly perilous since the experts placed in charge of policy would be ‘ bioethicists ’ whose predominant views disparage the sanctity of human life.
” The most influential of our would-be health-care overlords hold immoral and amoral values not shared by most of those who would be impacted by their policy prescriptions .
For example , most mainstream [ bioethics ] practitioners reject the belief that human beings have unique value and — unless they have a modifier such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in front of their identifier — embrace a utilitarian “ quality of life ” approach to medical decision-making , according to which some of us are judged to have greater worth than others based on discriminatory criteria such as cognitive capacity , state of health , and age .
Governor Gretchen Whitmer ’ s husband is the latest public figure to be criticized for apparently ignoring strict lockdown rules .
The New York Post reports , “ The governor of Michigan — whose strict coronavirus lockdown policies have caused infamous revolts in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ husband appeared to have flouted some of her own advice about holiday travel.
” The man whose “ doomsday ” predictions about the coronavirus led to the U.K. ’ s strict lockdown and influenced those of other countries , Neil Ferguson , resigned as a government advisor after it was revealed he broke his own rules to visit his mistress .
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot , after closing hair salons and declaring , “ getting your roots done is not essential , ” received a haircut anyway and defended doing so because “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this city.
” • U.S. Supreme Court asked to intervene in California ’ s ‘ biased ’ shutdown of churches • French faithful joyfully return to worship as churches reopen after more than two months in lockdown

Live updates on the coronavirus crisis and how it relates to pro-life issues, faith, and freedom.
LifeSite’s previous (and future) live updates on the coronavirus crisis and how it relates to issues our readers care about can be viewed HERE.
This Memorial Day weekend, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam – who, as the commonwealth begins easing its lockdown, is rumored to be contemplating ordering all residents to wear masks – was photographed at a newly reopened beach not wearing a mask and standing close to beachgoers to take selfies with them. Northam’s governorship has been marred by his apparent endorsement of infanticide in January 2019 and the revelation that he is pictured in his medical school yearbook either wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood or blackface.
Should he mandate masks in certain settings, the mandate would have to be instituted as an exception to a Virginia law making covering one’s face in public a felony. The law, which has exceptions for events like Halloween, theatrical performances, and a “public health emergency,” was apparently “created…in response to the KKK presence in Virginia,” according to a Virginia Beach attorney.
May 26, 2020, 3:36 p.m. EST: Northam announced this afternoon that beginning Friday, face coverings will be required inside buildings, with some exceptions.
May 27, 2020, 9:43 a.m. EST: The Daily Wire reports:
The pastor of a Chicago church said multiple police cars and a government representative showed up at his church on Sunday demanding services end. Pastor Courtney Lewis of Cornerstone Baptist Church told Todd Starnes on his eponymous radio show that he was in the middle of church services when someone began to bang loudly on the front doors. Outside, he said, were three police cars, two unmarked cars, and a representative from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office. Lewis told Starnes it was “like the Soviet-style KGB.”
And according to the Washington Post, “A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau data shows, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic” (emphasis added).
May 26, 2020, 9:12 p.m. EST: Breitbart reports:
Officials from China’s province of Guangdong said on Monday they are planning to build dozens of high-level biosafety laboratories that should be able to safely handle infectious diseases, including at least one capable of handling Ebola… Shi Zhengli, deputy director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology and a researcher known as the “Bat Woman” for her focus on coronaviruses in bats, warned in an interview with Chinese state television on Monday that “the viruses we have discovered are just the tip of the iceberg” and more pandemics are probably on the way.
Recent LifeSiteNews coverage of the coronavirus crisis includes:
May 26, 2020, 7:09 p.m. EST: According to the Daily Beast, “So many people working from home with the AC on could strain grids coast to coast…Hot weather blackouts have long plagued neighborhoods and towns from New York to California to Texas. But now experts are warning that millions of Americans who are working from home or are unemployed—cranking their air conditioners as the temperature rises on sunny days—will only strain transmission lines and transformers further.”
May 26, 2020, 4:55 p.m. EST: The Catholic bishops of Washington state responded to President Trump calling on state governors to allow churches to reopen with a letter saying in part:
We want to let you know that the public celebration of Mass was suspended, not out of fear, but out of our deepest respect for human life and health. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to be instruments of God’s protection for the vulnerable and the public common good. Our love of God and neighbor is always personal and not partisan. While we share the desire to bring people back to Mass as quickly as possible, we will wait to schedule our public worship when it is safe and we are prepared to do so.
May 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Last week, The Federalist published an interview with an addiction expert who says there is a “pandemic within a pandemic.” He said drug addicts are relapsing and overdosing because of conditions caused by the coronavirus lockdowns.
“People need purpose, they need connection, they need fellowship,” Tim Ryan of A Man in Recovery Foundation said. “Now they’re all alone.”
The doctor in charge of a California trauma center offered a similarly grim observation: “we’ve seen a year’s worth of suicide attempts in the last four weeks.”
In a May 6 article that remains relevant, pro-life bioethicist Wesley J. Smith of the Discovery Institute explored the “dangerous temptation to remove control over policy from democratic deliberation in favor of a technocracy, i.e., rule by ‘experts.’ In health care, such a system would be particularly perilous since the experts placed in charge of policy would be ‘bioethicists’ whose predominant views disparage the sanctity of human life.”
He wrote:
The most influential of our would-be health-care overlords hold immoral and amoral values not shared by most of those who would be impacted by their policy prescriptions. For example, most mainstream [bioethics] practitioners reject the belief that human beings have unique value and — unless they have a modifier such as “Catholic” or “pro-life” in front of their identifier — embrace a utilitarian “quality of life” approach to medical decision-making, according to which some of us are judged to have greater worth than others based on discriminatory criteria such as cognitive capacity, state of health, and age.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s husband is the latest public figure to be criticized for apparently ignoring strict lockdown rules.
The New York Post reports, “The governor of Michigan — whose strict coronavirus lockdown policies have caused infamous revolts in the state — is taking heat after her husband appeared to have flouted some of her own advice about holiday travel.”
The man whose “doomsday” predictions about the coronavirus led to the U.K.’s strict lockdown and influenced those of other countries, Neil Ferguson, resigned as a government advisor after it was revealed he broke his own rules to visit his mistress. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, after closing hair salons and declaring, “getting your roots done is not essential,” received a haircut anyway and defended doing so because “I’m the public face of this city.”
Recent LifeSiteNews coverage of the coronavirus crisis includes:
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lifesitenews--2020-05-26--Water-gun baptisms may be valid, but they’re certainly sacrilegious

PETITION : Tell politicians not to discriminate against churches when reopening society !
Sign the petition here .
May 26 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Photographs have been proliferating of clerics of some kind aiming water pistols at babies in order to baptize them .
Some of these seem to be fake news , inasmuch as they did the baptisms in the ordinary way but then staged the photo afterward .
This makes a difference , but I ’ m not sure how much .
Should clerics be clowning around in church after baptizing a baby ?
Again , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ priest wearing vestments using a water pistol to bless adults with holy water .
If that was staged , it almost makes it worse .
Sometimes it is said that the era of the “ clown mass ” and other extreme examples of disrespect for the liturgy is over , but it would appear that its spirit lives on , among Catholics and non-Catholics alike .
Those who published these photographs , and the people in them , clearly think this is all terribly funny , and that that is fine .
Before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pistols is a serious response to the coronavirus , let me be the thousandth person to point out this is not so .
At the “ asperges ” before Mass people have been blessed at a distance for centuries , with a liturgical implement called an aspergillum ; as for baptisms , it doesn ’ t need to be the priest doing it anyway .
This is a small step , perhaps , from the approach to the liturgy , and especially to Baptisms and weddings , which sees it as something to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Civil marriage services can also descend into this .
It is as if a sustained appreciation of the seriousness of the occasion would be some kind of disaster , and make people feel uncomfortable .
Official guidance on the sacraments usually stress how serious they are , and the important difference they make .
Carrying them out in a clownish fashion is first of all sacrilegious , as an abuse of a holy thing .
But it is also an offense against all who witness it , because it makes it difficult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If you don ’ t take it seriously , you can ’ t participate in it fruitfully , either as a candidate for the sacrament or as an onlooker .
It might be objected that at least the sacrament is valid .
The rest is not of ultimate importance , and why not have some fun ?
Well , this may be so in the case of Baptism by water pistol , but a marriage service where the couple are not taking it seriously may well not be valid , and even if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ someone confirmed or ordained in a frivolous manner , or someone who receives Holy Communion at a Mass celebrated without seriousness , will not find it easy to receive the graces of the sacrament as abundantly as they otherwise would .
The liturgical anarchists ’ appeal to validity is not a serious argument , however .
Alongside sacramentally valid clowning around , we find sacramentally invalid clowning around .
One of my own “ red pill ” moments on the depth of the problem of liturgical anarchy was reading about invalid matter used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for several years .
That eventually came to an end , but the plague of invalid marriages doesn ’ t seem to be abating .
In 2016 , even Pope Francis suggested that half of all Catholic marriages could be void .
We ’ ve also had problems of invalid formulas for Baptism , and the use of general absolution for the Sacrament of Penance without bothering with the conditions for validity , and so on .
I don ’ t often see liturgical progressives getting worked up about those issues .
No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ play fast and loose with the liturgy is not because they feel strongly about sacramental validity and don ’ t care about anything else , but because they don ’ t care very much about sacramental validity either .
They may be influenced by the idea that bishops and the Holy See feel strongly about validity , and they may allow us to comfort ourselves with the thought , when it is possible , that the sacrament was in this or that case valid .
But if they really cared about validity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that is something they are manifestly not doing .
Liturgical abuses are an offense against God , as the abuse of something holy .
They are also an offense against the faithful , whose spiritual engagement in the liturgy is impeded .
Again , they are an offense against our Lord , who instituted the sacraments for our salvation , and Holy Mother Church , who has surrounded them with ceremonies and texts intended to give God glory and to assist us in our participation .
Finally , they are an offense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect the liturgy from profanation , and whose function is to provide it to others for the good of souls .

PETITION: Tell politicians not to discriminate against churches when reopening society! Sign the petition here.
May 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Photographs have been proliferating of clerics of some kind aiming water pistols at babies in order to baptize them. Some of these seem to be fake news, inasmuch as they did the baptisms in the ordinary way but then staged the photo afterward. This makes a difference, but I’m not sure how much. Should clerics be clowning around in church after baptizing a baby? Again, there’s the photo of a priest wearing vestments using a water pistol to bless adults with holy water. If that was staged, it almost makes it worse.
Sometimes it is said that the era of the “clown mass” and other extreme examples of disrespect for the liturgy is over, but it would appear that its spirit lives on, among Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Those who published these photographs, and the people in them, clearly think this is all terribly funny, and that that is fine.
Before anyone suggests that the use of water pistols is a serious response to the coronavirus, let me be the thousandth person to point out this is not so. At the “asperges” before Mass people have been blessed at a distance for centuries, with a liturgical implement called an aspergillum; as for baptisms, it doesn’t need to be the priest doing it anyway.
This is a small step, perhaps, from the approach to the liturgy, and especially to Baptisms and weddings, which sees it as something to be enlivened with jokes and sentimental asides. Civil marriage services can also descend into this. It is as if a sustained appreciation of the seriousness of the occasion would be some kind of disaster, and make people feel uncomfortable.
Official guidance on the sacraments usually stress how serious they are, and the important difference they make. Carrying them out in a clownish fashion is first of all sacrilegious, as an abuse of a holy thing. But it is also an offense against all who witness it, because it makes it difficult for them to take it seriously. If you don’t take it seriously, you can’t participate in it fruitfully, either as a candidate for the sacrament or as an onlooker.
It might be objected that at least the sacrament is valid. The rest is not of ultimate importance, and why not have some fun? Well, this may be so in the case of Baptism by water pistol, but a marriage service where the couple are not taking it seriously may well not be valid, and even if it were, the couple, like someone confirmed or ordained in a frivolous manner, or someone who receives Holy Communion at a Mass celebrated without seriousness, will not find it easy to receive the graces of the sacrament as abundantly as they otherwise would.
The liturgical anarchists’ appeal to validity is not a serious argument, however. Alongside sacramentally valid clowning around, we find sacramentally invalid clowning around. One of my own “red pill” moments on the depth of the problem of liturgical anarchy was reading about invalid matter used in some American dioceses in the 1970s for several years. That eventually came to an end, but the plague of invalid marriages doesn’t seem to be abating. In 2016, even Pope Francis suggested that half of all Catholic marriages could be void. We’ve also had problems of invalid formulas for Baptism, and the use of general absolution for the Sacrament of Penance without bothering with the conditions for validity, and so on. I don’t often see liturgical progressives getting worked up about those issues.
No, the reason they feel free to play fast and loose with the liturgy is not because they feel strongly about sacramental validity and don’t care about anything else, but because they don’t care very much about sacramental validity either. They may be influenced by the idea that bishops and the Holy See feel strongly about validity, and they may allow us to comfort ourselves with the thought, when it is possible, that the sacrament was in this or that case valid. But if they really cared about validity, they would take the liturgy seriously, and that is something they are manifestly not doing.
Liturgical abuses are an offense against God, as the abuse of something holy. They are also an offense against the faithful, whose spiritual engagement in the liturgy is impeded. Again, they are an offense against our Lord, who instituted the sacraments for our salvation, and Holy Mother Church, who has surrounded them with ceremonies and texts intended to give God glory and to assist us in our participation. Finally, they are an offense against the priesthood itself, which should protect the liturgy from profanation, and whose function is to provide it to others for the good of souls.
Follow Joseph Dr Joseph Shaw has a Doctorate in Philosophy from Oxford University, where he also gained a first degree in Politics and Philosophy and a graduate Diploma in Theology. He has published on Ethics and Philosophy of Religion and is the editor of The Case for Liturgical Restoration: Una Voce Position Papers on the Extraordinary Form (Angelico Press). He is the Chairman of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales and Secretary of Una Voce International. He teaches Philosophy in Oxford University and lives nearby with his wife and nine children.
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lifesitenews--2020-05-26--Vid of Planned Parenthood legal testimony directly contradicts public statements on body parts sales

May 26 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – The Center for Medical Progress ( CMP ) , whose undercover videos exposed Planned Parenthood leadership negotiating the harvesting and sale of aborted fetal body parts , released a new video today featuring Planned Parenthood officials ' sworn videotaped testimony about the sales .
The new video release documents the Planned Parenthood officials ' admissions , which came in Planned Parenthood 's own retaliatory lawsuit over the undercover footage and contradict Planned Parenthood 's public claims about both the undercover videos and the abortion company 's fetal tissue research programs .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that top Planned Parenthood executives were well aware of their clinics ’ participation in the harvest and illegal sale of body parts from aborted children – and they knew it would result in more money for their affiliates .
“ This is only the latest evidence of ...
Planned Parenthood ’ s unscrupulous and illegal activity , ” commented Marjorie Dannenfelser , President of the Susan B. Anthony List .
The video shows how Planned Parenthood Federation of America , while under investigation in 2015 , told Congress that its Gulf Coast affiliate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undercover proposal to sell fetal livers for $ 750 per liver and $ 1600 for liver/thymus pairs .
But Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast 's Senior Director of Abortion Access , Tram Nguyen , testified that she “ wanted to move forward with it , ” as documented in contemporaneous emails between her and PPGC 's Regional Director Dyann Santos .
The video also features sworn testimony from Dr. Dorothy Furgerson , the longtime Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte ( PPMM ) , the largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with StemExpress to sell fetal body parts to StemExpress per specimen “ determined in the clinic to be usable.
” Dr. Furgerson 's endorsement appears on a StemExpress brochure handed out at National Abortion Federation meetings advertising “ fiscal rewards ” and “ financial profits ” to the abortion facilities who provided fetal tissue to StemExpress .
When asked if the purpose of the brochure was “ to obtain more potential sources of fetal tissue , ” Dr. Furgerson testified , “ Yes , I understood that that 's what they were trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paid Planned Parenthood solely based on the number of “ usable ” samples that StemExpress could harvest from PPMM 's abortions , at least an extra $ 65 per abortion if the customer ordered a fetal organ plus a blood sample .
PPMM does over 17,000 abortions a year , and unsealed invoices show PPMM making $ 25,000 in just 3 months from StemExpress .
When asked how much money an abortion clinic could make per year from selling fetal body parts , the founder and CEO of Planned Parenthood partner Advanced Bioscience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by her lawyer to answer .
The video also includes testimony from Dr. Deborah Nucatola , the Senior Director of Medical Services for PPFA from the first undercover video release .
When asked when she first found out about Planned Parenthood affiliates “ receiving payments for fetal tissue , ” Dr. Nucatola testified , “ I knew [ Planned Parenthood Los Angeles ] was getting payments because I was a provider there.
” She also testified she never felt the need to check PPLA 's compliance with PPFA policies .
Dr. Mary Gatter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ established the relationship with “ for-profit ” biotech company Novogenix , testified that PPFA provided a “ waiver ” for PPLA to begin the program .
42 U.S. Code 289g-2 broadly forbids the exchange of valuable consideration for fetal tissue .
After investigating Planned Parenthood and companies like StemExpress and ABR for over a year , the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Energy & Commerce Committee 's Select Investigative Panel made criminal referrals for Planned Parenthood and their business partners to the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice .
In late 2017 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a federal investigation , and two southern California companies admitted guilt to selling body parts from Planned Parenthood Orange & San Bernardino Counties against the law in a $ 7.8 million settlement with the Orange County District Attorney .
Last week , the Small Business Administration demanded 37 Planned Parenthood affiliates return $ 80 million in federal relief loans they fraudulently certified they were eligible for , and 27 Senators called on Attorney General Bill Barr to broaden the DOJ investigation of the Planned Parenthood affiliates ' activities .
“ The time has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said CMP project lead David Daleiden .
“ Planned Parenthood lied to the public and to Congress , but now there is no longer any reasonable doubt that Planned Parenthood sold fetal body parts , commodifying living children in the womb and treating pregnant women like a cash crop .
The U.S. Department of Justice must escalate the enforcement of laws against fetal trafficking to the highest level of priority .
”

The depositions show that top Planned Parenthood executives were well aware of their clinics’ participation in the harvest and illegal sale of body parts from aborted children – and they knew it would result in more money for their affiliates.
May 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The Center for Medical Progress (CMP), whose undercover videos exposed Planned Parenthood leadership negotiating the harvesting and sale of aborted fetal body parts, released a new video today featuring Planned Parenthood officials' sworn videotaped testimony about the sales.
The new video release documents the Planned Parenthood officials' admissions, which came in Planned Parenthood's own retaliatory lawsuit over the undercover footage and contradict Planned Parenthood's public claims about both the undercover videos and the abortion company's fetal tissue research programs.
The testimony, unsealed this spring, shows that top Planned Parenthood executives were well aware of their clinics’ participation in the harvest and illegal sale of body parts from aborted children – and they knew it would result in more money for their affiliates.
“This is only the latest evidence of…Planned Parenthood’s unscrupulous and illegal activity,” commented Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List.
The video shows how Planned Parenthood Federation of America, while under investigation in 2015, told Congress that its Gulf Coast affiliate in Houston had “rebuffed” an undercover proposal to sell fetal livers for $750 per liver and $1600 for liver/thymus pairs. But Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast's Senior Director of Abortion Access, Tram Nguyen, testified that she “wanted to move forward with it,” as documented in contemporaneous emails between her and PPGC's Regional Director Dyann Santos.
The video also features sworn testimony from Dr. Dorothy Furgerson, the longtime Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM), the largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the country. Dr. Furgerson signed PPMM's contract with StemExpress to sell fetal body parts to StemExpress per specimen “determined in the clinic to be usable.”
Dr. Furgerson's endorsement appears on a StemExpress brochure handed out at National Abortion Federation meetings advertising “fiscal rewards” and “financial profits” to the abortion facilities who provided fetal tissue to StemExpress. When asked if the purpose of the brochure was “to obtain more potential sources of fetal tissue,” Dr. Furgerson testified, “Yes, I understood that that's what they were trying to do.”
The video shows StemExpress paid Planned Parenthood solely based on the number of “usable” samples that StemExpress could harvest from PPMM's abortions, at least an extra $65 per abortion if the customer ordered a fetal organ plus a blood sample. PPMM does over 17,000 abortions a year, and unsealed invoices show PPMM making $25,000 in just 3 months from StemExpress. When asked how much money an abortion clinic could make per year from selling fetal body parts, the founder and CEO of Planned Parenthood partner Advanced Bioscience Resources, Linda Tracy, was forbidden by her lawyer to answer.
The video also includes testimony from Dr. Deborah Nucatola, the Senior Director of Medical Services for PPFA from the first undercover video release. When asked when she first found out about Planned Parenthood affiliates “receiving payments for fetal tissue,” Dr. Nucatola testified, “I knew [Planned Parenthood Los Angeles] was getting payments because I was a provider there.”
She also testified she never felt the need to check PPLA's compliance with PPFA policies. Dr. Mary Gatter, the former PPLA Medical Director who established the relationship with “for-profit” biotech company Novogenix, testified that PPFA provided a “waiver” for PPLA to begin the program.
42 U.S. Code 289g-2 broadly forbids the exchange of valuable consideration for fetal tissue. After investigating Planned Parenthood and companies like StemExpress and ABR for over a year, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Energy & Commerce Committee's Select Investigative Panel made criminal referrals for Planned Parenthood and their business partners to the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice. In late 2017, the DOJ announced it had opened a federal investigation, and two southern California companies admitted guilt to selling body parts from Planned Parenthood Orange & San Bernardino Counties against the law in a $7.8 million settlement with the Orange County District Attorney.
Last week, the Small Business Administration demanded 37 Planned Parenthood affiliates return $80 million in federal relief loans they fraudulently certified they were eligible for, and 27 Senators called on Attorney General Bill Barr to broaden the DOJ investigation of the Planned Parenthood affiliates' activities.
“The time has come for federal consequences for Planned Parenthood,” said CMP project lead David Daleiden. “Planned Parenthood lied to the public and to Congress, but now there is no longer any reasonable doubt that Planned Parenthood sold fetal body parts, commodifying living children in the womb and treating pregnant women like a cash crop. The U.S. Department of Justice must escalate the enforcement of laws against fetal trafficking to the highest level of priority.”
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lifesitenews--2020-05-26--Trump admin reportedly considering federal reviews of online bias against conservatives

TELL VIMEO : Stop silencing conservatives and Christians !
Sign the petition here .
WASHINGTON , D.C. , May 26 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – President Donald Trump is considering several methods of reviewing actions by big tech companies unfairly discriminating against conservatives online , according to a report published in the Wall Street Journal this past weekend .
The report claims that “ people familiar with the matter ” say the new plans could include a White House-created commission to examine allegations of online bias and censorship and that federal agencies , such as the Federal Communications Commission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be encouraged by the Trump administration to conduct similar reviews .
The report highlights a May 16 Twitter post by Trump , in which he said “ The Radical Left is in total command & control of Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and Google .
The Administration is working to remedy this illegal situation .
Stay tuned , and send names & events.
” In that tweet , Trump highlighted a clip from a speech given by conservative commentator Michelle Malkin in which she discussed big tech bias against conservatives .
That clip @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has now been uploaded again by another user .
“ When I planted my little flag in the social media world on the Internet almost 20 years ago , I never thought that I 'd have to wake up one day and wonder if my entire website was going to be unplugged because of an opinion that I expressed , ” Malkin told a 2019 conservative conference .
“ And yet there are many of my friends and allies – your compatriots – who not only can no longer communicate on social media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who also can no longer gather peacefully at hotel conferences to discuss their ideas.
” Twitter and Google both gave statements to the Wall Street Journal effectively denying that they discriminated against conservatives .
Facebook said that “ [ p ] eople on both sides of the aisle disagree with some of the positions we ’ ve taken ” but that the company remains “ committed to seeking outside perspectives and communicating clearly about why we make the decisions we do.
” In an interview with Breitbart News released yesterday , Vice President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would not tolerate online bias against conservatives .
“ The president has made it very clear that we are not going to tolerate censorship on the Internet and social media against conservatives , ” Pence told Breitbart .
“ We ’ re just not going to tolerate it.
” Pence told Breitbart voices outside of the mainstream media have been crucial in communicating the truth to the American public throughout the Trump presidency , and that conservative thinkers online would be crucial in the upcoming presidential election .
“ The great news is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and consistent voices bringing the facts to the American people , ” he said .
“ While many in the mainstream media have been after this president , after this administration , since before our inauguration , it ’ s been that chorus of voices on the Internet that have brought forth the truth and the facts to the American people , ” he continued .
“ It ’ s been those voices that ’ s made a difference for America , and we have every confidence going forward that we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights of people who cherish freedom and cherish what this president has been able to do for this country are preserved , and I have every confidence that with that great army of conservative thinkers on the Internet we ’ re going to drive toward a great victory come November .
”

TELL VIMEO: Stop silencing conservatives and Christians! Sign the petition here.
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – President Donald Trump is considering several methods of reviewing actions by big tech companies unfairly discriminating against conservatives online, according to a report published in the Wall Street Journal this past weekend.
The report claims that “people familiar with the matter” say the new plans could include a White House-created commission to examine allegations of online bias and censorship and that federal agencies, such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Election Commission, could be encouraged by the Trump administration to conduct similar reviews.
The report highlights a May 16 Twitter post by Trump, in which he said “The Radical Left is in total command & control of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google. The Administration is working to remedy this illegal situation. Stay tuned, and send names & events.”
The Radical Left is in total command & control of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google. The Administration is working to remedy this illegal situation. Stay tuned, and send names & events. Thank you Michelle! https://t.co/ZQfcfD3Hk9 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2020
In that tweet, Trump highlighted a clip from a speech given by conservative commentator Michelle Malkin in which she discussed big tech bias against conservatives. That clip was subsequently removed from Twitter, but has now been uploaded again by another user.
“When I planted my little flag in the social media world on the Internet almost 20 years ago, I never thought that I'd have to wake up one day and wonder if my entire website was going to be unplugged because of an opinion that I expressed,” Malkin told a 2019 conservative conference.
“And yet there are many of my friends and allies – your compatriots – who not only can no longer communicate on social media on Twitter on Facebook or Instagram but who also can no longer gather peacefully at hotel conferences to discuss their ideas.”
Twitter and Google both gave statements to the Wall Street Journal effectively denying that they discriminated against conservatives. Facebook said that “[p]eople on both sides of the aisle disagree with some of the positions we’ve taken” but that the company remains “committed to seeking outside perspectives and communicating clearly about why we make the decisions we do.”
In an interview with Breitbart News released yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence said that the Trump administration would not tolerate online bias against conservatives.
“The president has made it very clear that we are not going to tolerate censorship on the Internet and social media against conservatives,” Pence told Breitbart. “We’re just not going to tolerate it.”
Pence told Breitbart voices outside of the mainstream media have been crucial in communicating the truth to the American public throughout the Trump presidency, and that conservative thinkers online would be crucial in the upcoming presidential election.
“The great news is there are—in addition to Breitbart—there are great and consistent voices bringing the facts to the American people,” he said.
“While many in the mainstream media have been after this president, after this administration, since before our inauguration, it’s been that chorus of voices on the Internet that have brought forth the truth and the facts to the American people,” he continued.
“It’s been those voices that’s made a difference for America, and we have every confidence going forward that we’re going to make sure the First Amendment rights of people who cherish freedom and cherish what this president has been able to do for this country are preserved, and I have every confidence that with that great army of conservative thinkers on the Internet we’re going to drive toward a great victory come November.”
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lifesitenews--2020-05-26--Google deletes COVID-19 ‘conspiracy’ video from personal ‘Google Drive’ account

May 26 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – No longer content with policing the flow of information through its search engine or YouTube , internet giant Google has taken steps to censor what people share through its private file-sharing service Google Drive , in the name of combatting COVID-19 misinformation .
Plandemic is an upcoming documentary that purports to discredit various aspects of the prevailing assumptions about , and the government response to , the COVID-19 outbreak .
It argues , among other things , that the virus was created in a lab , and that the current panic is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ prevent the therapies until everyone is infected , then push the vaccines.
” The first part of the film was released online in early May and widely criticized by figures on both sides of the COVID-19 lockdown debate , including former New York Times investigative reporter Alex Berenson , for seizing on a few accurate pieces of information and weaving them with false claims into a narrative far more dramatic than the reality : As part of Big Tech ’ s joint efforts to police medical misinformation on their platforms , Google @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the video ’ s promoters to resort to more roundabout means of sharing it , such as links to Google Drive uploads .
However , Google has now gone so far as to delete those links as well , The Washington Post reported .
“ Google took down the Drive file featuring the movie after the company was contacted by The Post , ” according to the paper .
“ Health or medical content that promotes or encourages engaging in practices that may lead to serious physical or emotional harm in individuals or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prohibited on Google Docs and Drive , according to the company ’ s content policies.
” The prospect of Google preventing users from privately sharing content with one another via its productivity tools has shined a spotlight on the full extent of the control Google exerts over its platforms and services , and raised concerns over user freedom and privacy , wholly independent of Plandemic ’ s merits ( or lack thereof ) .
Google spokeswoman Alex Krasnof refused to tell the Post whether Google scans Drive files for objectionable content , stating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t go into details ” about how its policies are enforced .
“ For many Google Drive users , the service is their only file storage solution and they use it to save copies of videos and posts that have been deleted or censored on other platforms , ” wrote Tom Parker at Reclaim the Net .
“ If this precedent continues , it could mean these users have their only copy of content that has been scrubbed from social media platforms taken down because they shared a link to those files with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Google has intervened in the use of its productivity tools before , having previously blocked a Google Doc about a disputed study on the drug hydroxychloroquine promoted by Tesla head Elon Musk .
Censorship on the world ’ s dominant internet platforms and services has been a growing problem over the past few years , leading to calls for government intervention that , to date , have not been answered .
On Tuesday , following reports that the Trump administration was considering the creation of a panel to review complaints of social media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Breitbart News that President Donald Trump “ has made it very clear that we are not going to tolerate censorship on the Internet and social media against conservatives .
”

Google has now taken steps to censor what people share through its private file-sharing service.
PETITION: No to mandatory contact tracing and government surveillance for the coronavirus! Sign the petition here.
May 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – No longer content with policing the flow of information through its search engine or YouTube, internet giant Google has taken steps to censor what people share through its private file-sharing service Google Drive, in the name of combatting COVID-19 misinformation.
Plandemic is an upcoming documentary that purports to discredit various aspects of the prevailing assumptions about, and the government response to, the COVID-19 outbreak. It argues, among other things, that the virus was created in a lab, and that the current panic is part of a “game” to “prevent the therapies until everyone is infected, then push the vaccines.”
The first part of the film was released online in early May and widely criticized by figures on both sides of the COVID-19 lockdown debate, including former New York Times investigative reporter Alex Berenson, for seizing on a few accurate pieces of information and weaving them with false claims into a narrative far more dramatic than the reality:
1/ Some of you have asked my opinion of #Plandemic. I fear you won't like the answer: I think it's a classic conspiracy theory. It mixes some truths (like the risks caused by the fact universities can patent federally financed discoveries, or issues around #COVID death coding)… — Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) May 8, 2020
3/ And without going into the details of Judy Mikovits's background, she obviously has an axe to grind with the infectious disease establishment. As an reporter, I learned many different motivations drive whistleblowers – the ones driven by personal animus are the least reliable. — Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) May 8, 2020
5/ Last point: the incredible spread of the video and the fact Dr. Mikovits' book “Plague of Corruption” is #1 on Amazon (almost certainly selling 10000+ copies a day) shows that people know the narrative @CNN etc doesn't match reality and are desperate for more information… — Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) May 8, 2020
As part of Big Tech’s joint efforts to police medical misinformation on their platforms, Google has blocked Plandemic from YouTube, forcing the video’s promoters to resort to more roundabout means of sharing it, such as links to Google Drive uploads. However, Google has now gone so far as to delete those links as well, The Washington Post reported.
“Google took down the Drive file featuring the movie after the company was contacted by The Post,” according to the paper. “Health or medical content that promotes or encourages engaging in practices that may lead to serious physical or emotional harm in individuals or to a serious public health harm is prohibited on Google Docs and Drive, according to the company’s content policies.”
The prospect of Google preventing users from privately sharing content with one another via its productivity tools has shined a spotlight on the full extent of the control Google exerts over its platforms and services, and raised concerns over user freedom and privacy, wholly independent of Plandemic’s merits (or lack thereof).
Google spokeswoman Alex Krasnof refused to tell the Post whether Google scans Drive files for objectionable content, stating only that the company “doesn’t go into details” about how its policies are enforced.
“For many Google Drive users, the service is their only file storage solution and they use it to save copies of videos and posts that have been deleted or censored on other platforms,” wrote Tom Parker at Reclaim the Net. “If this precedent continues, it could mean these users have their only copy of content that has been scrubbed from social media platforms taken down because they shared a link to those files with other people.”
The Post added that Google has intervened in the use of its productivity tools before, having previously blocked a Google Doc about a disputed study on the drug hydroxychloroquine promoted by Tesla head Elon Musk.
Censorship on the world’s dominant internet platforms and services has been a growing problem over the past few years, leading to calls for government intervention that, to date, have not been answered.
On Tuesday, following reports that the Trump administration was considering the creation of a panel to review complaints of social media bias, Vice President Mike Pence told Breitbart News that President Donald Trump “has made it very clear that we are not going to tolerate censorship on the Internet and social media against conservatives.”
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lifesitenews--2020-05-26--Signs that the Fatima-predicted chastisement may have begun

`` Are there signs today that suggest that we may have entered the Fatima-prophesied chastisement ?
Not only has Russia @ @ @ @ @ the world , but for the first time in history the greater part of Catholic @ @ @ @ @ the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass , '' John-Henry tells listeners .
Join John-Henry Westen @ @ @ @ @ of Our Lady of Fatima and how they relate to our current times .
To @ @ @ @ @ talks from the Rome Life Forum , including talks from Cardinal Burke and Bishop Schneider @ @ @ @ @ //romelifeforum.com To help keep this and other programs on the air , please donate here @

“Are there signs today that suggest that we may have entered the Fatima-prophesied chastisement? Not only has Russia spread her errors all over the world, but for the first time in history the greater part of Catholic humanity has been deprived of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,” John-Henry tells listeners.
Join John-Henry Westen as he explains the predictions of Our Lady of Fatima and how they relate to our current times.
To hear this and other full talks from the Rome Life Forum, including talks from Cardinal Burke and Bishop Schneider, visit: https://romelifeforum.com
To help keep this and other programs on the air, please donate here.


lifesitenews--2020-05-26--During the coronavirus, we need to focus on God not our fears

Formerly Heart to Heart with Mother Miriam , Mother Miriam Live brings you inspiration and solutions for life ’ s @ @ @ @ @ Miriam is a Catholic nun on a mission to bring hope to a world that @ @ @ @ @ let her share that hope and joy with you !
To tune into Mother Miriam @ @ @ @ @ Facebook page here every Monday to Friday at 10am .

To help keep this and other programs on the air, please donate here.
Watch Mother Miriam's Live encore show aired on 5.26.2020. Mother continues her series reading from The Catechism Explained. Today, she focuses on the need to have both scripture and Tradition. The true faith can be found through a deep study of the history of the Church.
You can tune in daily at 10 am EST/7 am PST on our Facebook Page.
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