lifesitenews--2020-07-07--What a visit to an observant Benedictine monastery can teach us

July 7 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — There are two important liturgical dates associated with the patron of Western monasticism and co-patron of Europe .
The traditional Roman calendar observes his feast on his transitus or passing into eternal life on March 21 .
The modern Roman calendar observes his feast on July 11 , the date of the translation of his relics .
Benedictine monks and nuns customarily celebrated both feasts , which even had octaves — the more festivity , the better !
The first time I read the Rule of St. Benedict as a young adult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In reality , I was not yet ready for the purity and depth of its wisdom .
Many years passed before I read it again — and this time , my reaction was quite different .
The Prologue in and of itself struck me as one of the most profound summaries of the Christian spiritual life I had ever seen ; the chapters on humility , the instruments of good works , the manner of praying the office made me realize that I was standing in the presence of a lawgiver like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liturgy compares the Holy Patriarch .
The notable fact that Christian Europe , the heart of Christendom , was constructed primarily by Benedictines ceased to surprise me .
Although I had known or seen Benedictines before , it wasn ’ t until my visits to the monastery of Norcia that I felt as if I had encountered monks who truly lived by the spirit and letter of the Rule .
Their enthusiasm for divine worship ( the opus Dei or “ work of God ” ) , their quiet joy , and their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and again .
Visits to the monasteries of Le Barroux , Silverstream , and Clear Creek only increased my love for Benedictine monasticism .
After praying about it , I decided to become a Benedictine oblate of Norcia , where I made my final oblation on May 22 , 2014 , the feast of St. Rita of nearby Cascia .
What are some of the lessons I have learned from monks over the years ?
God has pride of place .
The horarium — that is , the daily fixed round of prayer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If a monk is doing some job and the bell rings , he has to wrap up what he ’ s doing , or leave it unfinished , and go back to the chapel .
If you are expecting to meet a certain monk to talk about some personal or professional matter , you have to wait your turn ; it could take days to see the person you want to see , because they are just so busy with the “ work of God ” — that is , the round of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third place ; first comes worship , then the immediate needs of the community , and finally — as time permits — your own .
It is exactly the opposite of the modern world ’ s motto , “ me , myself , and I.
” God deserves our best .
Out in the world , there can often be a hasty and slipshod approach to serving God .
We do what ’ s convenient for us .
We make things snappy because we have “ stuff to do.
” Human work tends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the active life over the contemplative .
While monks face the same temptations to activism , anthropocentrism , and cutting corners as all other fallen men , their life has been designed from the ground up to be theocentric , receptive , and maximalist .
Authentic monks give their first and best hours of the day to God ; they give Him the most splendid liturgy they can offer ; they strive to store up riches in Heaven rather than on Earth .
God is the meaning of our life and everything in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tend to compartmentalize : I ’ ll give this hour to God , but the rest of the week is for me and my sphere of concerns .
We buy and sell , give and take , wake and sleep , eat and drink and recreate , often without a thought for life eternal , without the infusion of prayer that should permeate our life like incense in a church .
The monks , on the other hand , have set up their lives so that everything they do , wear , eat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and flows back to Him .
This happens not only in the liturgy , where it is most obvious , but also in the routines of the refectory , in the sacral silence of the library , in the fraternal recreations and walks , in the friendly conversations in the guesthouse or the bookshop .
A good monastery will remind visitors of the heavenly Jerusalem , where “ God is all in all ” ( cf .
1 Cor .
15:28 ) .
This is not to say any monastery or any monk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its best , the monastic life really does supernaturalize all of human life , orienting it toward its transcendent destiny .
God is real , and we encounter Him .
In the world , thanks in large part to our forgetfulness and hardness of heart , God seems distant , vague , unreal , more of a concept than a certainty .
The solution to this disconnect between ourselves , who have such a tenuous purchase on reality , and the one who is in fact the most real and the source of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christian rock concert or a gooey “ sharing ” of life stories .
We meet this God in the calming repetition of the psalms ; we meet Him in the silence that compels us to go beneath the surface and beyond the conventional ; we meet Him in the serious joy or joyful seriousness that radiates from men who have given everything to Him .
There is no joy like this to be found in the madding crowd .
The world is a hard master that demands everything and gives , ultimately , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run out quickly , demanding frantically to be renewed : a despair lurks at the center of them .
The monastery demands everything and gives more than everything .
It connects all that is noble and all that is humble in a man ’ s life to the One who gives reality its reality , who endows our thoughts , words , and actions with meaning .
Hospitality as a way of life .
Fallen human beings — especially in the Modern Age , which privileges various kinds of individualism and collectivism — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ curve inwards , ” as the medieval theologians put it .
We take stock to make sure we are and will be well fed ; when we share , it is with difficulty or for self-interest .
St. Benedict ’ s Rule embodies the opposite attitude : food is for sharing with guests , prayer is for the benefit of all , the liturgy is a gift free and fertile beyond measure , life is to be expended not on oneself , but in service to brethren and strangers .
The kernel of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ principle of hospitality : every guest , be he mighty or marginal in the eyes of the world , is to be received as Christ .
Moderns treat even their own children as strangers ; monks treat the stranger as Christ .
This is the difference between a culture of death and a culture of life .
You can see this in action at a monastery .
Visiting a good monastery is always a challenge and a consolation .
On the one hand , it shows us how little we are actually giving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Him ; it points up our lack of generosity , our inconsistency and inconstancy , our petty pleasures and disorganized priorities .
On the other hand , it reminds us that God is greater than our problems , that His grace is sufficient for our weakness , and that He is calling us gently but insistently to embrace more self-discipline and self-denial for the sake of a fuller life in Him .
My life as an oblate is fortified by the strong presence of St. Benedict and his Rule , always pointing @ @ @ @ @ @

July 7, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — There are two important liturgical dates associated with the patron of Western monasticism and co-patron of Europe. The traditional Roman calendar observes his feast on his transitus or passing into eternal life on March 21. The modern Roman calendar observes his feast on July 11, the date of the translation of his relics. Benedictine monks and nuns customarily celebrated both feasts, which even had octaves — the more festivity, the better!
(Speaking of festivity, today, July 7, is the 13th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, the great Magna Carta of liturgical restoration — definitely worth a Birra Nursia or some other celebratory beverage.)
The first time I read the Rule of St. Benedict as a young adult, I found it stiff and dry. In reality, I was not yet ready for the purity and depth of its wisdom. Many years passed before I read it again — and this time, my reaction was quite different. The Prologue in and of itself struck me as one of the most profound summaries of the Christian spiritual life I had ever seen; the chapters on humility, the instruments of good works, the manner of praying the office made me realize that I was standing in the presence of a lawgiver like Moses, to whom indeed the traditional liturgy compares the Holy Patriarch. The notable fact that Christian Europe, the heart of Christendom, was constructed primarily by Benedictines ceased to surprise me.
Although I had known or seen Benedictines before, it wasn’t until my visits to the monastery of Norcia that I felt as if I had encountered monks who truly lived by the spirit and letter of the Rule. Their enthusiasm for divine worship (the opus Dei or “work of God”), their quiet joy, and their example of fraternity drew me back again and again. Visits to the monasteries of Le Barroux, Silverstream, and Clear Creek only increased my love for Benedictine monasticism. After praying about it, I decided to become a Benedictine oblate of Norcia, where I made my final oblation on May 22, 2014, the feast of St. Rita of nearby Cascia.
What are some of the lessons I have learned from monks over the years?
God has pride of place. The horarium — that is, the daily fixed round of prayer — takes priority over everything else. If a monk is doing some job and the bell rings, he has to wrap up what he’s doing, or leave it unfinished, and go back to the chapel. If you are expecting to meet a certain monk to talk about some personal or professional matter, you have to wait your turn; it could take days to see the person you want to see, because they are just so busy with the “work of God” — that is, the round of prayer. Your own needs are in third place; first comes worship, then the immediate needs of the community, and finally — as time permits — your own. It is exactly the opposite of the modern world’s motto, “me, myself, and I.”
God deserves our best. Out in the world, there can often be a hasty and slipshod approach to serving God. We do what’s convenient for us. We make things snappy because we have “stuff to do.” Human work tends to take precedence over divine work, the active life over the contemplative. While monks face the same temptations to activism, anthropocentrism, and cutting corners as all other fallen men, their life has been designed from the ground up to be theocentric, receptive, and maximalist. Authentic monks give their first and best hours of the day to God; they give Him the most splendid liturgy they can offer; they strive to store up riches in Heaven rather than on Earth.
God is the meaning of our life and everything in it. In the world, we tend to compartmentalize: I’ll give this hour to God, but the rest of the week is for me and my sphere of concerns. We buy and sell, give and take, wake and sleep, eat and drink and recreate, often without a thought for life eternal, without the infusion of prayer that should permeate our life like incense in a church. The monks, on the other hand, have set up their lives so that everything they do, wear, eat, or say is rooted in God and flows back to Him. This happens not only in the liturgy, where it is most obvious, but also in the routines of the refectory, in the sacral silence of the library, in the fraternal recreations and walks, in the friendly conversations in the guesthouse or the bookshop. A good monastery will remind visitors of the heavenly Jerusalem, where “God is all in all” (cf. 1 Cor. 15:28). This is not to say any monastery or any monk is perfect, but rather that at its best, the monastic life really does supernaturalize all of human life, orienting it toward its transcendent destiny.
God is real, and we encounter Him. In the world, thanks in large part to our forgetfulness and hardness of heart, God seems distant, vague, unreal, more of a concept than a certainty. The solution to this disconnect between ourselves, who have such a tenuous purchase on reality, and the one who is in fact the most real and the source of all reality is not an evangelizing big-tent Christian rock concert or a gooey “sharing” of life stories. We meet this God in the calming repetition of the psalms; we meet Him in the silence that compels us to go beneath the surface and beyond the conventional; we meet Him in the serious joy or joyful seriousness that radiates from men who have given everything to Him. There is no joy like this to be found in the madding crowd. The world is a hard master that demands everything and gives, ultimately, nothing but emptiness and regrets. Pleasures run out quickly, demanding frantically to be renewed: a despair lurks at the center of them. The monastery demands everything and gives more than everything. It connects all that is noble and all that is humble in a man’s life to the One who gives reality its reality, who endows our thoughts, words, and actions with meaning.
Hospitality as a way of life. Fallen human beings — especially in the Modern Age, which privileges various kinds of individualism and collectivism — are burdened with a tendency to “curve inwards,” as the medieval theologians put it. We take stock to make sure we are and will be well fed; when we share, it is with difficulty or for self-interest. St. Benedict’s Rule embodies the opposite attitude: food is for sharing with guests, prayer is for the benefit of all, the liturgy is a gift free and fertile beyond measure, life is to be expended not on oneself, but in service to brethren and strangers. The kernel of civilization is the Rule in its famous principle of hospitality: every guest, be he mighty or marginal in the eyes of the world, is to be received as Christ. Moderns treat even their own children as strangers; monks treat the stranger as Christ. This is the difference between a culture of death and a culture of life. You can see this in action at a monastery.
Visiting a good monastery is always a challenge and a consolation. On the one hand, it shows us how little we are actually giving to God of what we could give to Him; it points up our lack of generosity, our inconsistency and inconstancy, our petty pleasures and disorganized priorities. On the other hand, it reminds us that God is greater than our problems, that His grace is sufficient for our weakness, and that He is calling us gently but insistently to embrace more self-discipline and self-denial for the sake of a fuller life in Him.
My life as an oblate is fortified by the strong presence of St. Benedict and his Rule, always pointing me in the right direction.
Peter Kwasniewski, Thomistic theologian, liturgical scholar, and choral composer, is a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College in California (B.A. Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy). He taught at the International Theological Institute in Austria and the Franciscan University of Steubenville’s Austria Program, then helped establish Wyoming Catholic College in 2006. There he taught theology, philosophy, music, and art history and directed the choirs until leaving in 2018 to devote himself full-time to writing and lecturing. Today he contributes regularly to many websites and publications, including New Liturgical Movement, OnePeterFive, LifeSiteNews, Rorate Caeli, The Remnant, and Catholic Family News, and has published thirteen books, including four on traditional Catholicism: Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis (Angelico, 2014, also available in Czech, Polish, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Belarusian), Noble Beauty, Transcendent Holiness (Angelico, 2017), Tradition and Sanity (Angelico, 2018), and Reclaiming Our Roman Catholic Birthright: The Genius and Timeliness of the Traditional Latin Mass (Angelico, 2020). His work has been translated into at least eighteen languages. Kwasniewski is a scholar of The Aquinas Institute in Green Bay, which is publishing the Opera Omnia of the Angelic Doctor, a Fellow of the Albertus Magnus Center for Scholastic Studies, and a Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center. He has published over a thousand articles on Thomistic thought, sacramental and liturgical theology, the history and aesthetics of music, and the social doctrine of the Church. For news, information, article links, sacred music, and the home of Os Justi Press, visit his personal website, www.peterkwasniewski.com.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-09--Netherlands moves to strike sex marker from ID cards to please ‘non-binary’

July 8 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — The Netherlands is set to remove the indication of sex on identity cards by 2024 or 2025 in a bid to limit “ unnecessary registration ” of individuals ’ sex .
The move was prompted by demands from the “ LGBT ” lobby , claiming that “ intersex , ” “ non-binary , ” and other “ diverse ” persons are experiencing discomfort or annoyance when questioned about the visible discrepancy between their apparent “ gender ” and the “ male ” or “ female ” indication when their ID cards are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hope is to do away with the compulsory reference to a newborn ’ s sex on birth certificates .
Parents would then be allowed to register their offspring as “ gender neutral ” or “ sexless.
” This change will not be made before jurisprudential decisions make a clearer and more unanimous move in that direction .
Changing sex designation in the civil registry is a legal right in the Netherlands , which means that at present , a change of sex on official documents , including ID cards , is possible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs of people who feel that they are neither a man or a woman , or whose feelings change , and the Dutch government wants to cater to them .
The change will be taking a tiny minority ’ s “ needs ” into account at the expense of the immense majority whose sex — a fundamental element of personal identity — will no longer appear on their identity cards .
The idea is to consider a person ’ s sex irrelevant — even if it has its importance , such as when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when women are “ frisked ” by women and men by men , or when national health prevention schemes involve calling up all women of a certain age for cervical cancer testing .
Because of international air travel regulations , passports will continue to include a box marked “ M ” or “ F ” for male or female , but a number of recent legal cases in the Netherlands are in the process of creating new jurisprudence allowing individuals to be marked as “ X , ” while pressure in other countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Dutch Constitutional Court already ruled last year in favor of that option becoming law .
The move to scrap sex from ID cards was initiated at the beginning of 2019 by the minister for education , culture , and science , Ingrid van Engelshoven .
She was acting in her additional capacity of minister for “ emancipation.
” In that office , she officially favors equal treatment , social acceptance , and visibility for “ gender diversity , ” as well as “ feeling at home in one ’ s own ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether one is a woman or an “ LGBTI ” person , as made clear by her ministerial action blueprint in 2019 .
At the time , van Engelshoven charged the University of Utrecht and a special commission with assessing the feasibility of doing away with references to sex on official documents .
The two lengthy reports were returned to the minister and have now been forwarded to the Dutch Second Chamber of Parliament ; both recommended the move , adding an assessment of foreseeable costs .
Because the Dutch ID card system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five years anyway , the recommendation was to wait until that happens before implementing the change at minimal expense .
But in her letter to Parliament , van Engelshoven wrote that police and other law enforcement bodies should be warned of the upcoming change , which will lead to “ limited practical consequences.
” She also invited the Dutch authorities to inform the Netherlands ’ international partners of the move .
Similar provisions already exist in Germany , she recalled .
In order to extend the scrapping of references to sex , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toolbox ” to be developed thanks to which “ stakeholders , ” entrepreneurs , and public and private bodies will be able to determine if registration of sex is really necessary in their line of activity .
An official government work group has also been created to look at “ unnecessary sex registration.
” As a first step , candidates for public service jobs are already no longer required to reveal their sex on the online application site .
In her first letter to Parliament on the issue last year , minister van @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact that “ citizens should themselves be able to give form to their form of identity and express this in full freedom and safety.
” The subsequent report by the University of Utrecht echoed this point of view : The purpose of the framework is to support companies and other organizations in efforts to reduce the frequency of sex registration .
Even though allowed by law , sex registration is very often not necessary or even very useful , when considered properly .
The Dutch government wishes to curtail this practice because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administrative burden ’ that the practice presents to people whose legal sex is not ( entirely ) the same as their self-identified gender , and the effects of sex registration on the continuation of gender stereotypes and norms .
The reduction of the practice of sex registration facilitates the possibility for people to decide for themselves who they are and who they want to be .
It contributes , moreover , to the protection of privacy .
In a context where biometric passports and ID cards are becoming more and more common , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ somewhat ironic .
One of the report ’ s main authors was Marjolein van den Brink , an academic specializing in “ human rights ” who personally campaigns for transgender rights .
When a Court in Limburg in 2018 decided that travelers should be allowed to choose an “ X ” on their passport , van den Brink went on record saying that that would amount to seeing certain “ genders ” even more as “ exceptional ” and “ putting the emphasis on the dominant categories of men or women.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we should scrap all those tick-boxes , so that no-one is any longer registered as a man or as a woman.
” The Netherlands are taking clear steps in that direction , with an ultimate consequence if this is taken to its logical outcome : the disappearance of the notion of male and female duality of the human being .

Ultimately, the hope is to do away with the compulsory reference to a newborn’s sex on birth certificates.
Analysis
July 8, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — The Netherlands is set to remove the indication of sex on identity cards by 2024 or 2025 in a bid to limit “unnecessary registration” of individuals’ sex. The move was prompted by demands from the “LGBT” lobby, claiming that “intersex,” “non-binary,” and other “diverse” persons are experiencing discomfort or annoyance when questioned about the visible discrepancy between their apparent “gender” and the “male” or “female” indication when their ID cards are checked for multiple purposes.
Ultimately, the hope is to do away with the compulsory reference to a newborn’s sex on birth certificates. Parents would then be allowed to register their offspring as “gender neutral” or “sexless.” This change will not be made before jurisprudential decisions make a clearer and more unanimous move in that direction.
Changing sex designation in the civil registry is a legal right in the Netherlands, which means that at present, a change of sex on official documents, including ID cards, is possible. But this does not meet the needs of people who feel that they are neither a man or a woman, or whose feelings change, and the Dutch government wants to cater to them.
The change will be taking a tiny minority’s “needs” into account at the expense of the immense majority whose sex — a fundamental element of personal identity — will no longer appear on their identity cards. The idea is to consider a person’s sex irrelevant — even if it has its importance, such as when body searches are made at airports, when women are “frisked” by women and men by men, or when national health prevention schemes involve calling up all women of a certain age for cervical cancer testing.
Because of international air travel regulations, passports will continue to include a box marked “M” or “F” for male or female, but a number of recent legal cases in the Netherlands are in the process of creating new jurisprudence allowing individuals to be marked as “X,” while pressure in other countries is also pushing in that direction. The Dutch Constitutional Court already ruled last year in favor of that option becoming law.
The move to scrap sex from ID cards was initiated at the beginning of 2019 by the minister for education, culture, and science, Ingrid van Engelshoven. She was acting in her additional capacity of minister for “emancipation.” In that office, she officially favors equal treatment, social acceptance, and visibility for “gender diversity,” as well as “feeling at home in one’s own (religious and cultural) circle,” whether one is a woman or an “LGBTI” person, as made clear by her ministerial action blueprint in 2019.
At the time, van Engelshoven charged the University of Utrecht and a special commission with assessing the feasibility of doing away with references to sex on official documents.
The two lengthy reports were returned to the minister and have now been forwarded to the Dutch Second Chamber of Parliament; both recommended the move, adding an assessment of foreseeable costs. Because the Dutch ID card system is to be overhauled within four or five years anyway, the recommendation was to wait until that happens before implementing the change at minimal expense.
But in her letter to Parliament, van Engelshoven wrote that police and other law enforcement bodies should be warned of the upcoming change, which will lead to “limited practical consequences.” She also invited the Dutch authorities to inform the Netherlands’ international partners of the move. Similar provisions already exist in Germany, she recalled.
In order to extend the scrapping of references to sex, the minister has also ordered an “online toolbox” to be developed thanks to which “stakeholders,” entrepreneurs, and public and private bodies will be able to determine if registration of sex is really necessary in their line of activity.
An official government work group has also been created to look at “unnecessary sex registration.” As a first step, candidates for public service jobs are already no longer required to reveal their sex on the online application site.
In her first letter to Parliament on the issue last year, minister van Engelshoven wrote of the importance of the fact that “citizens should themselves be able to give form to their form of identity and express this in full freedom and safety.”
The subsequent report by the University of Utrecht echoed this point of view:
The purpose of the framework is to support companies and other organizations in efforts to reduce the frequency of sex registration. Even though allowed by law, sex registration is very often not necessary or even very useful, when considered properly. The Dutch government wishes to curtail this practice because of its disadvantages, in particular the ‘administrative burden’ that the practice presents to people whose legal sex is not (entirely) the same as their self-identified gender, and the effects of sex registration on the continuation of gender stereotypes and norms. The reduction of the practice of sex registration facilitates the possibility for people to decide for themselves who they are and who they want to be. It contributes, moreover, to the protection of privacy.
In a context where biometric passports and ID cards are becoming more and more common, concern for the protection of privacy sounds somewhat ironic.
One of the report’s main authors was Marjolein van den Brink, an academic specializing in “human rights” who personally campaigns for transgender rights. When a Court in Limburg in 2018 decided that travelers should be allowed to choose an “X” on their passport, van den Brink went on record saying that that would amount to seeing certain “genders” even more as “exceptional” and “putting the emphasis on the dominant categories of men or women.” “As far as I’m concerned, we should scrap all those tick-boxes, so that no-one is any longer registered as a man or as a woman.”
The Netherlands are taking clear steps in that direction, with an ultimate consequence if this is taken to its logical outcome: the disappearance of the notion of male and female duality of the human being.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-08--J.K. Rowling and other left-wingers pen letter against cancel culture

NEW YORK , July 8 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) ― A group of prominent authors and academics have signed a letter protesting the rise in “ cancel culture ” censorship .
J.K. Rowling , Margaret Atwood , Malcolm Gladwell , Salman Rushdie , Gary Wills , and Gloria Steinem were among the 150 original signatories of an open letter to Harper ’ s Bazaar magazine .
Titled “ Letter on Justice and Open Debate , ” the document was published online July 7 .
While believing the current furor in the USA over allegations of police brutality is justified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforced “ ideological conformity ” is not .
“ Powerful protests for racial and social justice are leading to overdue demands for police reform , along with wider calls for greater equality and inclusion across our society , not least in higher education , journalism , philanthropy , and the arts , ” they wrote .
“ But this needed reckoning has also intensified a new set of moral attitudes and political commitments that tend to weaken our norms of open debate and toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also raise our voices against the second.
” While calling the President of the United States a “ real threat to democracy ” and a “ powerful ally ” of “ the forces of illiberalism , ” by which the signatories seem to mean nationalist and populist movements , they said resistance to these “ forces ” should not “ harden into its own brand of dogma or coercion.
” They allege , without example , that “ right-wing demagogues ” are already exploiting this leftist intolerance .
“ The democratic inclusion we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speak out against the intolerant climate that has set in on all sides , ” they said .
Bizarrely , the authors and academics continued to vilify conservatives while addressing left-wing censorship .
“ The free exchange of information and ideas , the lifeblood of a liberal society , is daily becoming more constricted , ” they wrote .
“ While we have come to expect this on the radical right , censoriousness is also spreading more widely in our culture : an intolerance of opposing views , a vogue for public shaming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty.
” The signatories spoke up in defense of members of the literary classes whose livelihoods are put at risk when “ institutional leaders , in a spirit of panicked damage control ” deliver “ hasty and disproportionate punishments instead of considered reforms.
” Editors , authors , journalists , professors , and “ head of organizations ” who have been fired , deplatformed or investigated for doing their jobs or making “ clumsy mistakes ” have the writers ’ sympathies .
“ We are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aversion among writers , artists , and journalists who fear for their livelihoods if they depart from the consensus , or even lack sufficient zeal in agreement , ” they wrote .
The authors believe that the cancel culture will hurt the powerless and democracy in general and suggest that “ exposure , argument , and persuasion ” are the way to defeat “ bad ideas.
” “ We refuse any false choice between justice and freedom , which can not exist without each other , ” they wrote “ As writers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ room for experimentation , risk taking , and even mistakes .
We need to preserve the possibility of good-faith disagreement without dire professional consequences .
If we won ’ t defend the very thing on which our work depends , we shouldn ’ t expect the public or the state to defend it for us.
” The letter , posted to Twitter , was trounced by several readers in the comment stream underneath .
“ I see only a collection of spineless liberals who never spoke out when cancel culture came for conservatives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s affecting the intelligentsia .
And how do they respond ?
With mild chiding , as if the far left are children to be scolded , ” tweeted Ian Miles Cheong of the online Human Events magazine .
Other readers objected to the inclusion of J.K. Rowling and other perceived so-called “ TERFs ” ( Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists ) .
Recently Rowling infuriated transgender activists by advocating that women-only spaces be reserved to real women .
“ Really hope 149 people release a separate clarifying statement that it 's OK to ratio JK @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She 's the intolerant one , ” tweeted Brett Banditelli .
Experiencing backlash from the left , two of the left-wing authors have already asked for their signatures to be removed .
Jennifer Finney Boylan , a transgender activist , has apologized for signing the letter , possibly because J.K. Rowling also signed it .
“ I did not know who else had signed that letter , ” Boylan wrote on Twitter .
“ I thought I was endorsing a well-meaning , if vague , message against internet shaming .
I did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were in , and I thought , good company .
The consequences are mine to bear .
I am so sorry.
” Kerri Greenidge , a specialist in African American history , has also distanced herself from the letter .
“ I do not endorse this @ Harpers letter , ” she wrote on Twitter .
“ I am in contact with Harper 's about a retraction.
” Russian postdoctoral student Ilya Kotlyar told LifeSiteNews that the situation of left-wing scholars and writers being cancelled by other left-wingers reminded him of the fate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ painter I am thinking of was Kasimir Malevich ( 1879-1935 ) , an avant-gardist , ” Kotlyar said via social media .
Initially a darling of the Soviet regime , Malevich painted revolutionary posters and had permission to travel abroad .
“ Then Malevich was arrested twice , in 1927 and 1930 , under suspicion of espionage , ” Kotlyar added .
“ He was eventually released , but avant garde was out of favor .
He died five years later .
”

The authors railed against 'ideological conformity' but yet criticized conservative speech.
NEW YORK, July 8, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― A group of prominent authors and academics has signed a letter protesting the rise in “cancel culture” censorship.
J.K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, Malcolm Gladwell, Salman Rushdie, Gary Wills, and Gloria Steinem were among the 150 original signatories of an open letter to Harper’s Bazaar magazine. Titled “Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” the document was published online July 7.
While believing the current furor in the USA over allegations of police brutality is justified, the authors and scholars argued that enforced “ideological conformity” is not.
“Powerful protests for racial and social justice are leading to overdue demands for police reform, along with wider calls for greater equality and inclusion across our society, not least in higher education, journalism, philanthropy, and the arts,” they wrote.
“But this needed reckoning has also intensified a new set of moral attitudes and political commitments that tend to weaken our norms of open debate and toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity. As we applaud the first development, we also raise our voices against the second.”
While calling the President of the United States a “real threat to democracy” and a “powerful ally” of “the forces of illiberalism,” by which the signatories seem to mean nationalist and populist movements, they said resistance to these “forces” should not “harden into its own brand of dogma or coercion.”
They allege, without example, that “right-wing demagogues” are already exploiting this leftist intolerance.
“The democratic inclusion we want can be achieved only if we speak out against the intolerant climate that has set in on all sides,” they said.
Bizarrely, the authors and academics continued to vilify conservatives while addressing left-wing censorship.
“The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted,” they wrote.
“While we have come to expect this on the radical right, censoriousness is also spreading more widely in our culture: an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty.”
The signatories spoke up in defense of members of the literary classes whose livelihoods are put at risk when “institutional leaders, in a spirit of panicked damage control” deliver “hasty and disproportionate punishments instead of considered reforms.”
Editors, authors, journalists, professors, and “head of organizations” who have been fired, deplatformed or investigated for doing their jobs or making “clumsy mistakes” have the writers’ sympathies.
“We are already paying the price in greater risk aversion among writers, artists, and journalists who fear for their livelihoods if they depart from the consensus, or even lack sufficient zeal in agreement,” they wrote.
The authors believe that the cancel culture will hurt the powerless and democracy in general and suggest that “exposure, argument, and persuasion” are the way to defeat “bad ideas.”
“We refuse any false choice between justice and freedom, which cannot exist without each other,” they wrote
“As writers, we need a culture that leaves us room for experimentation, risk taking, and even mistakes. We need to preserve the possibility of good-faith disagreement without dire professional consequences. If we won’t defend the very thing on which our work depends, we shouldn’t expect the public or the state to defend it for us.”
The letter, posted to Twitter, was trounced by several readers in the comment stream underneath.
“I see only a collection of spineless liberals who never spoke out when cancel culture came for conservatives but now express concern when it’s affecting the intelligentsia. And how do they respond? With mild chiding, as if the far left are children to be scolded,” tweeted Ian Miles Cheong of the online Human Events magazine.
Other readers objected to the inclusion of J.K. Rowling and other perceived so-called “TERFs” (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists). Recently Rowling infuriated transgender activists by advocating that women-only spaces be reserved to real women.
“Really hope 149 people release a separate clarifying statement that it's OK to ratio JK Rowling for being wrong and f**** awful. She's the intolerant one,” tweeted Brett Banditelli.
Experiencing backlash from the left, two of the left-wing authors have already asked for their signatures to be removed. Jennifer Finney Boylan, a transgender activist, has apologized for signing the letter, possibly because J.K. Rowling also signed it.
“I did not know who else had signed that letter,” Boylan wrote on Twitter.
“I thought I was endorsing a well-meaning, if vague, message against internet shaming. I did know Chomsky, Steinem, and Atwood were in, and I thought, good company. The consequences are mine to bear. I am so sorry.”
Kerri Greenidge, a specialist in African American history, has also distanced herself from the letter.
“I do not endorse this @Harpers letter,” she wrote on Twitter.
“I am in contact with Harper's about a retraction.”
Russian postdoctoral student Ilya Kotlyar told LifeSiteNews that the situation of left-wing scholars and writers being cancelled by other left-wingers reminded him of the fate of certain Soviet-era painters.
“One painter I am thinking of was Kasimir Malevich (1879-1935), an avant-gardist,” Kotlyar said via social media.
Initially a darling of the Soviet regime, Malevich painted revolutionary posters and had permission to travel abroad.
“Then Malevich was arrested twice, in 1927 and 1930, under suspicion of espionage,” Kotlyar added.
“He was eventually released, but avant garde was out of favor. He died five years later.”
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lifesitenews--2020-07-08--More pro-life voters than ever before say abortion is ‘threshold issue’

WASHINGTON , D.C. , July 8 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – U.S. voters who consider themselves pro-life are far more likely than their counterparts to support a politician who holds their views on abortion , a new poll found .
About one-third of American voters who identify as pro-life said they will only vote for a politician who shares their pro-life views .
They are single-issue voters when it comes to abortion , supporting only candidates who are pro-life , as well .
At the same time , 19 percent of voters who support abortion would only vote for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ According to a new Gallup poll , the percentage of pro-life voters who are not willing to compromise on abortion is higher than ever before , having risen from 23 percent in 2016 , before the election of President Donald Trump , to 30 percent this year .
“ Thirty percent of pro-life , 19 percent of pro-choice adults say abortion is threshold issue , ” the poll highlighted .
Before Senator John McCain and then-Senator Barack Obama faced off in 2008 , only 15 percent of voters in the pro-life camp made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who consider themselves pro-life are significantly more likely than their pro-choice counterparts to say they will vote only for a candidate who shares their views on abortion , ” Gallup pointed out .
Combining the pro-life camp and the pro-abortion camp , Gallup determined that for 24 percent of voters , the candidate has to share their view on abortion , whether that be in favor of killing unborn babies , or against it .
In other words , for a quarter of Americans , abortion is the deciding factor in who they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do not consider abortion a major issue during this election , meaning it won ’ t influence their decision on who will be elected to office , from the presidency to smaller races .
Forty-seven percent , almost half of voters , say abortion is one of many important factors .
“ Americans currently consider race relations , the coronavirus , the government and the economy to be the most important problems facing the U.S. , ” Gallup summarized what is on voters ’ minds .
“ Abortion is not near the top @ @ @ @ @ @ @ core one-quarter of U.S. adults consider it to be a threshold vote issue.
” Gallup speculated that the recent Supreme Court decision , striking down a Louisiana law requiring basic medical precautions in the event of abortion complications , “ has the potential to galvanize ” pro-life voters .
“ The abortion issue potentially works more to the advantage of Republicans than Democrats , given the parties ’ respective platforms and the greater proportion of pro-life than pro-choice voters who will vote only for candidates who share their views on the issue.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must share their views , which would almost automatically amount to a pro-life position .
For 23 percent of Republicans , however , abortion is not a major issue .
Similarly , 27 percent of Democrats want their candidate to reflect their position on abortion , which generally means being for abortion .
According to Gallup , “ abortion may serve to mobilize voters to turn out more than it does to influence their candidate choice , given the increasingly greater alignment of Republican and Democratic candidates with their party ’ s position @ @ @ @ @ @ @ findings come shortly after another poll by the organization had painted the grim reality of American attitudes on a number of moral issues , including abortion , contraception , homosexuality , and assisted suicide .
A small majority of Americans said abortion is morally wrong .
Forty-seven percent said abortion is unacceptable , whereas 44 percent said it is acceptable .
However , those numbers don ’ t translate into political action , given that only a quarter of Americans would only vote for a candidate opposed to abortion , whereas almost half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What sounds like a victory for the pro-life movement is put into perspective by the fact that 43 percent of Americans also think buying or wearing clothing made of animal fur is immoral , and only 31 percent say medical research involving stem cells obtained from human embryos is wrong .
A striking 90 percent of the population , the earlier poll found , thinks contraception is morally acceptable , with only seven percent saying it is morally wrong .
More than half of Americans support assisted suicide , but only 18 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unacceptable .
Compared with 2007 , several issues are now considered morally acceptable by a larger percentage of the population .
Divorce rose from 65 percent to 77 percent .
Sex between an unmarried man and woman is fine with 72 percent this year , up from 59 percent 13 years ago .
Fifty-four percent said having a baby outside of wedlock was morally acceptable in 2007 .
That number has risen to 66 percent .
The acceptance of homosexuality rose from 47 percent in 2007 to 66 percent in 2020 , less @ @ @ @ @

47 percent of voters say ‘abortion issue is one of many important factors to their vote.’
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 8, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – U.S. voters who consider themselves pro-life are far more likely than their counterparts to support a politician who holds their views on abortion, a new poll found.
About one-third of American voters who identify as pro-life said they will only vote for a politician who shares their pro-life views. They are single-issue voters when it comes to abortion, supporting only candidates who are pro-life, as well. At the same time, 19 percent of voters who support abortion would only vote for a candidate who is also pro-abortion.
According to a new Gallup poll, the percentage of pro-life voters who are not willing to compromise on abortion is higher than ever before, having risen from 23 percent in 2016, before the election of President Donald Trump, to 30 percent this year. “Thirty percent of pro-life, 19 percent of pro-choice adults say abortion is threshold issue,” the poll highlighted.
Before Senator John McCain and then-Senator Barack Obama faced off in 2008, only 15 percent of voters in the pro-life camp made abortion a non-negotiable issue.
“Those who consider themselves pro-life are significantly more likely than their pro-choice counterparts to say they will vote only for a candidate who shares their views on abortion,” Gallup pointed out.
Combining the pro-life camp and the pro-abortion camp, Gallup determined that for 24 percent of voters, the candidate has to share their view on abortion, whether that be in favor of killing unborn babies, or against it. In other words, for a quarter of Americans, abortion is the deciding factor in who they vote for.
Another quarter of Americans do not consider abortion a major issue during this election, meaning it won’t influence their decision on who will be elected to office, from the presidency to smaller races.
Forty-seven percent, almost half of voters, say abortion is one of many important factors.
“Americans currently consider race relations, the coronavirus, the government and the economy to be the most important problems facing the U.S.,” Gallup summarized what is on voters’ minds. “Abortion is not near the top of that list; still, a core one-quarter of U.S. adults consider it to be a threshold vote issue.”
Gallup speculated that the recent Supreme Court decision, striking down a Louisiana law requiring basic medical precautions in the event of abortion complications, “has the potential to galvanize” pro-life voters. “The abortion issue potentially works more to the advantage of Republicans than Democrats, given the parties’ respective platforms and the greater proportion of pro-life than pro-choice voters who will vote only for candidates who share their views on the issue.”
Twenty-six percent of Repbulicans say their candidate must share their views, which would almost automatically amount to a pro-life position. For 23 percent of Republicans, however, abortion is not a major issue.
Similarly, 27 percent of Democrats want their candidate to reflect their position on abortion, which generally means being for abortion.
According to Gallup, “abortion may serve to mobilize voters to turn out more than it does to influence their candidate choice, given the increasingly greater alignment of Republican and Democratic candidates with their party’s position on abortion.”
Gallup’s new findings come shortly after another poll by the organization had painted the grim reality of American attitudes on a number of moral issues, including abortion, contraception, homosexuality, and assisted suicide.
A small majority of Americans said abortion is morally wrong. Forty-seven percent said abortion is unacceptable, whereas 44 percent said it is acceptable. However, those numbers don’t translate into political action, given that only a quarter of Americans would only vote for a candidate opposed to abortion, whereas almost half of Americans said abortion is morally wrong.
What sounds like a victory for the pro-life movement is put into perspective by the fact that 43 percent of Americans also think buying or wearing clothing made of animal fur is immoral, and only 31 percent say medical research involving stem cells obtained from human embryos is wrong.
A striking 90 percent of the population, the earlier poll found, thinks contraception is morally acceptable, with only seven percent saying it is morally wrong. More than half of Americans support assisted suicide, but only 18 percent said suicide as such is morally unacceptable.
Compared with 2007, several issues are now considered morally acceptable by a larger percentage of the population. Divorce rose from 65 percent to 77 percent. Sex between an unmarried man and woman is fine with 72 percent this year, up from 59 percent 13 years ago.
Fifty-four percent said having a baby outside of wedlock was morally acceptable in 2007. That number has risen to 66 percent. The acceptance of homosexuality rose from 47 percent in 2007 to 66 percent in 2020, less than one generation later.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-08--Irish Catholic priest takes part in ‘virtual’ homosexual ‘Pride’ parade

DUBLIN , Ireland , July 8 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — An Irish Catholic priest has published a YouTube video endorsing the Dublin LGBT “ Pride ” parade and saying that he ’ s disappointed not to be able to take part in it this year due to the coronavirus crisis .
Father Seamus Madigan , head chaplain of the Irish Defence Forces , recorded a video message as part of last month ’ s Dublin “ Virtual Pride Parade.
” “ It takes sunshine and rain to make a rainbow and its beauty is it 's made up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together in perfect harmony , ” Madigan begins .
“ We 're all different , yet united in our desire for happiness , belonging , meaning , making a difference , living a life less ordinary .
We all face challenges and joys that come with being alive , knowing who we are , living meaningful relationships and finding our place in the world , ” he continues .
“ Our diversity is rooted in a deeper unity .
This year I was looking forward to representing the chaplaincy service of the Irish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Dublin Pride Parade .
I felt privileged as head chaplain to have the opportunity to walk side-by-side with our LGBTQI+ members showing solidarity and support .
Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic means the 2020 parade will not take place.
” Anthony Murphy , director of the Ireland-based Lumen Fidei Institute , told LifeSiteNews that Madigan 's support of the “ Pride Parade ” being published on Youtube and the Irish Army website is “ a cause of grave scandal especially as it sends out the wrong message to our young people concerning Catholic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these remarks have been made public , the Lumen Fidei Institute has respectfully asked the Bishop of Limerick ... Brendan Leahy , to publicly correct Fr Séamus Madigan 's erroneous statements and make it clear , especially to our young people , that Catholics can not take part in parades which celebrate immoral lifestyles , ” Murphy said .
“ Unfortunately , we have not had a response from the bishop so we must assume that he does not view this as a matter worthy of his attention , ” he continued .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the scandal then this will be a further sign not only of the rapid decline of the Church in Ireland , but also of the moral cowardice and negligence of our bishops .
Once again the enemies of Christ are free to spread confusion while faithful Catholics are abandoned , ” Murphy concluded .
In 2018 Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana , Kazakhstan , made the point that each Catholic bishop has “ the grave moral duty to raise his voice and take a stand regarding the phenomenon of ‘ gay pride @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he claimed that the totalitarianism of homosexual and gender ideology is actively working to conquer the Catholic Church .
“ If the Bishop refuses to intervene in the scandal then this will be a further sign not only of the rapid decline of the Church in Ireland , but also of the moral cowardice and negligence of our bishops .
Once again the enemies of Christ are free to spread confusion while faithful Catholics are abandoned , ” Murphy concluded .
Liam Gibson , the Northern Ireland-based spokesman for pro-life , pro-family group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Children ( SPUC ) told LifeSiteNews that “ Catholics in the pro-life movement will , however , recognise that this agenda is incompatible with the Gospel.
” “ The sentiments expressed in the message from the Chaplaincy Service of the Irish Defence Forces will be familiar to Catholics in most Western nations .
Large sections of the Church have given in to pressure to affirm the homosexualist agenda , ” Gibson said .
“ Catholics in the pro-life movement will , however , recognise that this agenda is incompatible with the Gospel .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it promotes not only views children as the disposable by-product of sexual relations between men and women but it has also turned them into the commodities of the IVF industry or goods to be exchanged in surrogacy agreements , ” Gibson continued .
Gibson said that Madigan ’ s message is also a “ betrayal of the men and women who have bought into the homosexual subculture so closely associated with substance abuse , intimate partner violence and emotional instability.
” “ It is ironic that while the Catholic bishops are drastically limiting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reduce the risk of contracting [ COVID-19 ] , some within the Church seem eager to endorse dangerous sexual practices .
We know these practices can result in serious diseases and can radically reduce life expectancy .
But worst of all , Father Madigan ’ s message shows a complete disregard for the spiritual welfare of the individuals caught up in such self-destructive behaviour .
”

The Lumen Fidei Institute reached out to Limerick Bishop Brendan Leahy to ask him to publicly correct the priest's pro-homosexual messages, but he did not respond.
DUBLIN, Ireland, July 8, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — An Irish Catholic priest has published a YouTube video endorsing the Dublin LGBT “Pride” parade and saying that he’s disappointed not to be able to take part in it this year due to the coronavirus crisis.
Father Seamus Madigan, head chaplain of the Irish Defence Forces, recorded a video message as part of last month’s Dublin “Virtual Pride Parade.”
“It takes sunshine and rain to make a rainbow and its beauty is it's made up of many colors and hues all sitting together in perfect harmony,” Madigan begins.
“We're all different, yet united in our desire for happiness, belonging, meaning, making a difference, living a life less ordinary. We all face challenges and joys that come with being alive, knowing who we are, living meaningful relationships and finding our place in the world,” he continues.
“Our diversity is rooted in a deeper unity. This year I was looking forward to representing the chaplaincy service of the Irish Defense Forces for the first time at the Dublin Pride Parade. I felt privileged as head chaplain to have the opportunity to walk side-by-side with our LGBTQI+ members showing solidarity and support. Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic means the 2020 parade will not take place.”
Anthony Murphy, director of the Ireland-based Lumen Fidei Institute, told LifeSiteNews that Madigan's support of the “Pride Parade” being published on Youtube and the Irish Army website is “a cause of grave scandal especially as it sends out the wrong message to our young people concerning Catholic teaching on homosexual acts.”
“As these remarks have been made public, the Lumen Fidei Institute has respectfully asked the Bishop of Limerick…Brendan Leahy, to publicly correct Fr Séamus Madigan's erroneous statements and make it clear, especially to our young people, that Catholics cannot take part in parades which celebrate immoral lifestyles,” Murphy said.
“Unfortunately, we have not had a response from the bishop so we must assume that he does not view this as a matter worthy of his attention,” he continued.
“If the Bishop refuses to intervene in the scandal then this will be a further sign not only of the rapid decline of the Church in Ireland, but also of the moral cowardice and negligence of our bishops. Once again the enemies of Christ are free to spread confusion while faithful Catholics are abandoned,” Murphy concluded.
In 2018 Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan, made the point that each Catholic bishop has “the grave moral duty to raise his voice and take a stand regarding the phenomenon of ‘gay pride’ parades” in a speech where he claimed that the totalitarianism of homosexual and gender ideology is actively working to conquer the Catholic Church.
“If the Bishop refuses to intervene in the scandal then this will be a further sign not only of the rapid decline of the Church in Ireland, but also of the moral cowardice and negligence of our bishops. Once again the enemies of Christ are free to spread confusion while faithful Catholics are abandoned,” Murphy concluded.
Liam Gibson, the Northern Ireland-based spokesman for pro-life, pro-family group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) told LifeSiteNews that “Catholics in the pro-life movement will, however, recognise that this agenda is incompatible with the Gospel.”
“The sentiments expressed in the message from the Chaplaincy Service of the Irish Defence Forces will be familiar to Catholics in most Western nations. Large sections of the Church have given in to pressure to affirm the homosexualist agenda,” Gibson said.
“Catholics in the pro-life movement will, however, recognise that this agenda is incompatible with the Gospel. The distorted view of human sexuality which it promotes not only views children as the disposable by-product of sexual relations between men and women but it has also turned them into the commodities of the IVF industry or goods to be exchanged in surrogacy agreements,” Gibson continued.
Gibson said that Madigan’s message is also a “betrayal of the men and women who have bought into the homosexual subculture so closely associated with substance abuse, intimate partner violence and emotional instability.”
“It is ironic that while the Catholic bishops are drastically limiting access to the sacraments, supposedly to reduce the risk of contracting [COVID-19], some within the Church seem eager to endorse dangerous sexual practices. We know these practices can result in serious diseases and can radically reduce life expectancy. But worst of all, Father Madigan’s message shows a complete disregard for the spiritual welfare of the individuals caught up in such self-destructive behaviour.”
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lifesitenews--2020-07-08--Facebook promises liberals it’ll ‘get better and faster’ at suppressing ‘hate’

July 8 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Facebook made another pledge to pro-censorship activists Tuesday with chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg promising that the company would “ get better and faster ” at identifying and removing so-called “ hate speech ” from the social network .
“ Being a platform where everyone can make their voice heard is core to our mission , but that doesn ’ t mean it ’ s acceptable for people to spread hate , ” Sandberg wrote .
“ We have clear policies against hate – and we strive constantly to get better and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made real progress over the years , but this work is never finished and we know what a big responsibility Facebook has to get better at finding and removing hateful content.
” SanDberg said she and Facebook founder/CEO Mark Zuckerberg would be meeting later that day with the Stop Hate for Profit campaign , which organized an advertiser boycott of Facebook until the company agreed to create new layers of moderation and engagement for targets of “ identity-based hate , ” take steps to ensure ad revenue does not support “ content labeled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more closely monitor “ extremism ” in private Facebook groups .
“ We meet in the context of what may be the largest social movement in U.S. history , and our nation ’ s best and latest chance to act against the racism that has pervaded our country since before our independence , ” she declared , referencing the Black Lives Matter ( BLM ) movement .
“ It ’ s a big moment for all of us , especially now .
Much more than words , people , organizations and companies need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Facebook know what a big responsibility we have.
” She further noted that the meeting coincides with the release of a two-year “ civil rights audit ” of the company , and that while Facebook “ won ’ t be making every change ” the audit and BLM activists advocated , “ we will put more of their proposals into practice soon.
” She claimed the company was agreeing to the changes “ not for financial reasons or advertiser pressure , but because it is the right thing to do.
” The next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the audit ’ s findings and recommendations .
The audit calls for “ bringing more civil rights expertise in-house ” at Facebook ( without defining what “ civil rights ” are at issue ) , going “ further on voter suppression and hate , ” and doing “ more to create a diverse and more inclusive culture ” ; it also declares that the “ emphasis ( Facebook has ) placed on free expression has not been adequately balanced by the critical value of non-discrimination.
” While Sandberg does not offer specifics as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change as a result , conservatives see the news as further indication that Facebook will continue caving into left-wing activists ’ demands for more restrictions of mainstream center-right views under the guise of “ hate.
” Last week , Zuckerberg announced a handful of changes the company would be making to its policies , in response to pressure marshalled by Stop Hate for Profit .
Among them , Facebook is “ prohibiting a wider category of hateful content in ads , ” especially as it pertains to discussion of immigration ; and copying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ labels on posts from political candidates or officeholders that are deemed beyond the pale .
Conservatives deeply distrust these efforts based on the platform ’ s history of suppressing conservative content under vague or false pretenses .
Most recently , two whistleblowers came forward to attest that Facebook aggressively discriminates against conservatives on a global scale for the purpose of influencing election outcomes .
One of the insiders provided footage of content moderators openly discussing how they would like to delete “ every Donald Trump post I see on the timeline ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” if they so much as post a photo “ wearing a MAGA hat.
” Cognizant service delivery manager Demian Gordon can also be seen saying he would not hold staff accountable for taking down Trump posts , on the grounds that they “ got ta get the Cheeto ( Trump ) out of the office.
” The other described witnessing moderators “ deleting on average 300 posts or actioning 300 posts a day ” in a way “ that just targeted conservatives or favored liberals , ” with personnel equating Trump supporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making an exception for overtly-hateful posts by the moderators ’ LGBT allies in the name of supporting Pride Month .

July 8, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Facebook made another pledge to pro-censorship activists Tuesday with chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg promising that the company would “get better and faster” at identifying and removing so-called “hate speech” from the social network.
“Being a platform where everyone can make their voice heard is core to our mission, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable for people to spread hate,” Sandberg wrote. “We have clear policies against hate – and we strive constantly to get better and faster at enforcing them. We have made real progress over the years, but this work is never finished and we know what a big responsibility Facebook has to get better at finding and removing hateful content.”
Sandberg said she and Facebook founder/CEO Mark Zuckerberg would be meeting later that day with the Stop Hate for Profit campaign, which organized an advertiser boycott of Facebook until the company agreed to create new layers of moderation and engagement for targets of “identity-based hate,” take steps to ensure ad revenue does not support “content labeled as misinformation or hate,” and more closely monitor “extremism” in private Facebook groups.
“We meet in the context of what may be the largest social movement in U.S. history, and our nation’s best and latest chance to act against the racism that has pervaded our country since before our independence,” she declared, referencing the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. “It’s a big moment for all of us, especially now. Much more than words, people, organizations and companies need to take action – and we at Facebook know what a big responsibility we have.”
She further noted that the meeting coincides with the release of a two-year “civil rights audit” of the company, and that while Facebook “won’t be making every change” the audit and BLM activists advocated, “we will put more of their proposals into practice soon.” She claimed the company was agreeing to the changes “not for financial reasons or advertiser pressure, but because it is the right thing to do.”
The next day, Sandberg released a post detailing the audit’s findings and recommendations. The audit calls for “bringing more civil rights expertise in-house” at Facebook (without defining what “civil rights” are at issue), going “further on voter suppression and hate,” and doing “more to create a diverse and more inclusive culture”; it also declares that the “emphasis (Facebook has) placed on free expression has not been adequately balanced by the critical value of non-discrimination.”
While Sandberg does not offer specifics as to how Facebook’s policies will change as a result, conservatives see the news as further indication that Facebook will continue caving into left-wing activists’ demands for more restrictions of mainstream center-right views under the guise of “hate.”
Last week, Zuckerberg announced a handful of changes the company would be making to its policies, in response to pressure marshalled by Stop Hate for Profit. Among them, Facebook is “prohibiting a wider category of hateful content in ads,” especially as it pertains to discussion of immigration; and copying Twitter’s practice of putting warning labels on posts from political candidates or officeholders that are deemed beyond the pale.
Conservatives deeply distrust these efforts based on the platform’s history of suppressing conservative content under vague or false pretenses. Most recently, two whistleblowers came forward to attest that Facebook aggressively discriminates against conservatives on a global scale for the purpose of influencing election outcomes.
One of the insiders provided footage of content moderators openly discussing how they would like to delete “every Donald Trump post I see on the timeline” and “delete all Republicans … for terrorism” if they so much as post a photo “wearing a MAGA hat.” Cognizant service delivery manager Demian Gordon can also be seen saying he would not hold staff accountable for taking down Trump posts, on the grounds that they “gotta get the Cheeto (Trump) out of the office.”
The other described witnessing moderators “deleting on average 300 posts or actioning 300 posts a day” in a way “that just targeted conservatives or favored liberals,” with personnel equating Trump supporters with violent hate groups, while expressly making an exception for overtly-hateful posts by the moderators’ LGBT allies in the name of supporting Pride Month.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-08--The destruction of the family is the focus of the devil

Formerly Heart to Heart with Mother Miriam , Mother Miriam Live brings you inspiration and solutions for life ’ s @ @ @ @ @ Miriam is a Catholic nun on a mission to bring hope to a world that @ @ @ @ @ let her share that hope and joy with you !
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Watch Mother Miriam's Live aired during lent and re-aired on 7.8.2020. In today’s episode, Mother speaks about the devil targeting the family and how we can fight against the devil by raising good families.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-08--Trump admin begins process to formally withdraw US from World Health Organization

WASHINGTON , D.C. , July 8 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – The Trump administration made good on its promise this week to formally withdraw the United States from the scandal-plagued World Health Organization ( WHO ) , submitting its official notice to the United Nations to begin the year-long process .
A senior administration official confirmed to The Hill that the administration has submitted its withdrawal notification to the UN secretary-general .
One year of advance notice is required for a nation to pull out of the international health body , meaning the United States won ’ t be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6 , 2021 .
In April , President Donald Trump announced a temporary suspension of the more than $ 400 million the United States sends the pro-abortion UN entity every year , pending a review of its “ role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.
” In May , he notified WHO general-director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that the administration ’ s review “ confirmed many of the serious concerns I raised last month ” as to the international body ’ s “ repeated missteps ” and “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ withdrawal would be permanent if the WHO didn ’ t “ commit to major substantive improvements , ” including “ demonstrat ( ing ) independence from China.
” On May 29 , the administration announced it would cut ties with the WHO for good .
Critics have faulted the organization for , among other offenses , opposing bans on travel from China that could have limited the reach of COVID-19 , and for legitimizing the false claims coming out of the Chinese government that initially downplayed the gravity of the situation and covered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of it .
“ In December , the WHO refused to act on or publicize Taiwan ’ s warning that the new respiratory infection emerging in China could pass from human to human , ” Sen. Marco Rubio ( R-Florida ) wrote .
“ In mid January , despite accumulating evidence of patients contracting what we now know as COVID-19 from other people , the organization repeated the CCP ’ s ( Chinese Communist Party ) lie that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission .
In January , the WHO , at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taiwan from participating in critical meetings to coordinate responses to the coronavirus and even reportedly provided wrong information about the virus ’ s spread in Taiwan.
” Population Research Institute head and China expert Steve Mosher added that Ghebreyesus and his senior adviser , Dr. Bruce Aylward , have been “ carrying water ” for the Chinese regime , from backing claims that the virus didn ’ t originate in China to praising the regime ’ s handling of the outbreak .
Sen. Bob Menendez ( D-New Jersey ) , ranking Democrat on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the decision on the grounds that it allegedly “ leaves Americans sick & America alone.
” But the Trump administration strenuously denies that withdrawing from the WHO amounts ot withdrawing from the international COVID-19 response .
“ So far the ( United States ) has used the WHO as an implementing partner around the world for about $ 40 million of our assistance , ” a senior State Department official explained in May .
“ So what the president saw was that WHO was not being an accountable , transparent partner , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for us to make sure when you do foreign assistance that you always look at who is the best partner in order to get the job done.
” The official went on to note that the United States gives “ $ 18 billion-20 billion worth of health and humanitarian assistance nearly every year , ” of which the WHO ’ s portion is relatively small , and could easily be redirected to any number of other non-government organizations ( NGOs ) .
“ The United States continues to be the undisputed leader in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , director of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources at the State Department , who noted that the United States is currently responsible for “ 49 percent of all government and multilateral assistance ” in response to COVID-19 .

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 8, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The Trump administration made good on its promise this week to formally withdraw the United States from the scandal-plagued World Health Organization (WHO), submitting its official notice to the United Nations to begin the year-long process.
A senior administration official confirmed to The Hill that the administration has submitted its withdrawal notification to the UN secretary-general. One year of advance notice is required for a nation to pull out of the international health body, meaning the United States won’t be officially severed from the WHO until July 6, 2021.
In April, President Donald Trump announced a temporary suspension of the more than $400 million the United States sends the pro-abortion UN entity every year, pending a review of its “role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.”
In May, he notified WHO general-director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that the administration’s review “confirmed many of the serious concerns I raised last month” as to the international body’s “repeated missteps” and “China centric” nature, and that withdrawal would be permanent if the WHO didn’t “commit to major substantive improvements,” including “demonstrat(ing) independence from China.” On May 29, the administration announced it would cut ties with the WHO for good.
Critics have faulted the organization for, among other offenses, opposing bans on travel from China that could have limited the reach of COVID-19, and for legitimizing the false claims coming out of the Chinese government that initially downplayed the gravity of the situation and covered up the Communist regime’s mishandling of it.
“In December, the WHO refused to act on or publicize Taiwan’s warning that the new respiratory infection emerging in China could pass from human to human,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) wrote. “In mid January, despite accumulating evidence of patients contracting what we now know as COVID-19 from other people, the organization repeated the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) lie that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission. In January, the WHO, at Beijing’s behest, also blocked Taiwan from participating in critical meetings to coordinate responses to the coronavirus and even reportedly provided wrong information about the virus’s spread in Taiwan.”
Population Research Institute head and China expert Steve Mosher added that Ghebreyesus and his senior adviser, Dr. Bruce Aylward, have been “carrying water” for the Chinese regime, from backing claims that the virus didn’t originate in China to praising the regime’s handling of the outbreak.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey), ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, blasted the decision on the grounds that it allegedly “leaves Americans sick & America alone.” But the Trump administration strenuously denies that withdrawing from the WHO amounts ot withdrawing from the international COVID-19 response.
“So far the (United States) has used the WHO as an implementing partner around the world for about $40 million of our assistance,” a senior State Department official explained in May. “So what the president saw was that WHO was not being an accountable, transparent partner, and as such it’s really important for us to make sure when you do foreign assistance that you always look at who is the best partner in order to get the job done.”
The official went on to note that the United States gives “$18 billion-20 billion worth of health and humanitarian assistance nearly every year,” of which the WHO’s portion is relatively small, and could easily be redirected to any number of other non-government organizations (NGOs).
“The United States continues to be the undisputed leader in foreign assistance,” says James Richardson, director of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources at the State Department, who noted that the United States is currently responsible for “49 percent of all government and multilateral assistance” in response to COVID-19.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-08--Kanye West: Planned Parenthood is a tool of ‘white supremacists’

July 8 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Despite admitting he has never voted in his life , Kanye West says he is running for president in 2020 .
He has given an interview to Forbes about his newfound political views , which include opposition to Planned Parenthood and abortion , support for school prayer , and hesitancy about a coronavirus vaccine .
The rapper , whose conversion to Christianity and Jesus is King album stunned the world in 2019 , initially began voicing support for President Donald Trump in 2018 .
West ’ s wife Kim Kardashian and their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Church at Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin , one of the oldest churches in the world , in 2019 .
Kardashian shared photos of the baptisms with her 149 million Instagram followers at the time ( she now has over 178 million followers on that platform ) .
West tweeted on July 4 that he is running for president , although as Forbes noted , it ’ s unclear just how serious he is .
Nevertheless , he granted that outlet “ four rambling hours of interviews ” yesterday , during which he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he no longer supports Trump and that he doesn ’ t mind if he draws black voters away from former Vice President Joe Biden .
Speaking to Forbes , West repeated his opposition to abortion , saying , “ I am pro-life because I ’ m following the word of the Bible.
” He also called Planned Parenthood , America ’ s largest abortion chain , a tool of “ white supremacists.
” “ Planned Parenthoods have been placed inside cities by white supremacists to do the Devil ’ s work , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States following the killing of George Floyd have caused pro-lifers to renew their focus on the racist , pro-eugenics views of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger , and the fact that minorities are disproportionately targeted for abortion .
Just last month , a group of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York employees wrote an open letter calling for the removal of now-former CEO Laura McQuade for alleged racism and fostering a “ toxic work environment.
” The signatories mentioned Sanger ’ s legacy , writing , “ Planned Parenthood was founded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That is a part of history that can not be changed .
While efforts have been made to undo some of the harm from institutional racism , many of these issues have worsened under McQuade ’ s tenure .
After years of complaints from staff about issues of systemic racism , pay inequity , and lack of upward mobility for Black staff , highly-paid consultants were brought in three separate times to assess the situation .
Each time , employees of color were brutally honest about their experiences , but nothing changed.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ‘ mark of the beast ’ West said that he ’ d had the coronavirus in February .
He had “ chills ” and was left “ shaking in the bed , taking hot showers , [ and ] looking at videos telling me what I 'm supposed to do to get over ” the virus .
West also expressed concern about a potential coronavirus vaccine and the possibility of a microchip or so-called digital tattoo being a part of it .
A December 2019 article in Scientific American describes the vision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) researchers for embedding vaccine records “ directly into the skin ” of children “ Along with the vaccine , a child would be injected with a bit of dye that is invisible to the naked eye but easily seen with a special cell-phone filter , combined with an app that shines near-infrared light onto the skin .
The dye would be expected to last up to five years , according to tests on pig and rat skin and human skin in a dish.
” The development of this idea , which the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scans ” that might violate privacy , was “ funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
” It “ came about because of a direct request from Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates himself , who has been supporting efforts to wipe out diseases such as polio and measles across the world.
” Longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of Trump ’ s top pandemic advisors , Dr. Anthony Fauci , said in April 2020 he thought it was “ possible ” that one day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are immune to the coronavirus .
“ I think it might actually have some merit under certain circumstances , ” he said .
Also in April 2020 , Gates speculated , “ Eventually we will have some digital certificates to show who has recovered or been tested recently or when we have a vaccine who has received it.
” The left-wing , pro-abortion Microsoft founder , who is not a doctor but has poured millions into shaping global health policy , also said life won ’ t return to “ normal ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” from the coronavirus .
“ So when they say the way we ’ re going to fix [ COVID ] is with a vaccine , I ’ m extremely cautious , ” said West .
“ That ’ s the mark of the beast .
They want to put chips inside of us , they want to do all kinds of things , to make it where we can ’ t cross the gates of heaven .
I 'm sorry when I say they , the humans that have the Devil inside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , the saddest thing is that we all won ’ t make it to heaven , that there ’ ll be some of us that do not make it.
” ‘ I don ’ t have all of the pieces in the puzzle ’ “ I have to say with all humility that as a man , I don ’ t have all of the pieces in the puzzle , ” West told Forbes in a quote they attributed to him commenting “ on being a political novice.
” He said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign policy views yet , but is “ focused on protecting America.
” Similarly , commenting on tax policy , West said , “ I haven ’ t done enough research on that yet.
” In forming his stance on taxes , West said he would consult “ experts that serve God.
” “ I will research that with the strongest experts that serve God and come back with the best solution .
And that will be my answer for anything that I haven ’ t researched .
I have the earplug in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that earplug.
” According to Forbes , of school prayer , West said : West also touted his endorsement from Tesla titan Elon Musk and said his running mate will be Michelle Tidball , whose website describes her as a “ Biblical life coach ” who has “ been involved in almost all aspects of ministry including speaking , pastoring , prayer , teaching , and the most time spent in bringing deliverance to those who are in bondage.
” Tidball lives in Wyoming , where West has a large ranch .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that blacks should vote Democrat based simply on their skin color West told a radio host , “ We ’ re brainwashed out here , bro.
” “ Come on , man , ” he said .
“ This is a free man talking .
Democrats had us voting for Democrats with food stamps for years .
What are you talking about guns in the 80s , taking the fathers out the home , Plan B , lowering our votes , making us abort children.
” He also said , “ Now that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , my job is to spread the Gospel , to let people know what Jesus has done for me .
I ’ ve spread a lot of things .
There was a time I was letting you know what high fashion had done for me , I was letting you know what the Hennessey had done for me , but now I ’ m letting you know what Jesus has done for me , and in that I ’ m no longer a slave , I ’ m a son now , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free.
” Kanye ’ s 2019 remarks were a striking departure from past songs referencing abortion flippantly , as well as him and his wife Kim Kardashian using sex-selective in-vitro fertilization to have a son in 2015 .
A search for “ Kanye West ” on the Federal Election Commission website auto-populates with two variations of the rapper ’ s name , neither of which when clicked has a financial summary currently available , as well as a PAC .
The variations of West ’ s name that come up under the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a reference to genitalia .

The rapper, who became a Christian in 2019, spoke about abortion as racist and his coronavirus vaccine concerns during a 'rambling' interview on his apparent 2020 presidential run.
Update July 9, 2020, 10:28 a.m. EST: Kanye West tweeted and then deleted a screenshot of a Google search for “what does a 6 month fetus look like”. Along with the now-deleted image, he wrote, “These souls deserve to live”.
July 8, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Despite admitting he has never voted in his life, Kanye West says he is running for president in 2020. He has given an interview to Forbes about his newfound political views, which include opposition to Planned Parenthood and abortion, support for school prayer, and hesitancy about a coronavirus vaccine.
The rapper, whose conversion to Christianity and Jesus is King album stunned the world in 2019, initially began voicing support for President Donald Trump in 2018.
West’s wife Kim Kardashian and their children were baptized into the Armenian Apostolic Church at Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, one of the oldest churches in the world, in 2019. Kardashian shared photos of the baptisms with her 149 million Instagram followers at the time (she now has over 178 million followers on that platform).
West tweeted on July 4 that he is running for president, although as Forbes noted, it’s unclear just how serious he is. Nevertheless, he granted that outlet “four rambling hours of interviews” yesterday, during which he discussed his eccentric worldview. He said he no longer supports Trump and that he doesn’t mind if he draws black voters away from former Vice President Joe Biden.
Speaking to Forbes, West repeated his opposition to abortion, saying, “I am pro-life because I’m following the word of the Bible.” He also called Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion chain, a tool of “white supremacists.”
“Planned Parenthoods have been placed inside cities by white supremacists to do the Devil’s work,” he said.
Escalating racial tensions in the United States following the killing of George Floyd have caused pro-lifers to renew their focus on the racist, pro-eugenics views of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, and the fact that minorities are disproportionately targeted for abortion.
Just last month, a group of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York employees wrote an open letter calling for the removal of now-former CEO Laura McQuade for alleged racism and fostering a “toxic work environment.”
The signatories mentioned Sanger’s legacy, writing, “Planned Parenthood was founded by a racist, white woman. That is a part of history that cannot be changed. While efforts have been made to undo some of the harm from institutional racism, many of these issues have worsened under McQuade’s tenure. After years of complaints from staff about issues of systemic racism, pay inequity, and lack of upward mobility for Black staff, highly-paid consultants were brought in three separate times to assess the situation. Each time, employees of color were brutally honest about their experiences, but nothing changed.”
Concerns about coronavirus vaccine and/or microchip being the ‘mark of the beast’
West said that he’d had the coronavirus in February. He had “chills” and was left “shaking in the bed, taking hot showers, [and] looking at videos telling me what I'm supposed to do to get over” the virus.
West also expressed concern about a potential coronavirus vaccine and the possibility of a microchip or so-called digital tattoo being a part of it.
A December 2019 article in Scientific American describes the vision of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers for embedding vaccine records “directly into the skin” of children
“Along with the vaccine, a child would be injected with a bit of dye that is invisible to the naked eye but easily seen with a special cell-phone filter, combined with an app that shines near-infrared light onto the skin. The dye would be expected to last up to five years, according to tests on pig and rat skin and human skin in a dish.”
The development of this idea, which the article proudly notes avoids using “iris scans” that might violate privacy, was “funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.” It “came about because of a direct request from Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates himself, who has been supporting efforts to wipe out diseases such as polio and measles across the world.”
Longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of Trump’s top pandemic advisors, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said in April 2020 he thought it was “possible” that one day Americans may have to carry certificates showing they are immune to the coronavirus.
“I think it might actually have some merit under certain circumstances,” he said.
Also in April 2020, Gates speculated, “Eventually we will have some digital certificates to show who has recovered or been tested recently or when we have a vaccine who has received it.”
The left-wing, pro-abortion Microsoft founder, who is not a doctor but has poured millions into shaping global health policy, also said life won’t return to “normal” until the population is “widely vaccinated” from the coronavirus.
“So when they say the way we’re going to fix [COVID] is with a vaccine, I’m extremely cautious,” said West. “That’s the mark of the beast. They want to put chips inside of us, they want to do all kinds of things, to make it where we can’t cross the gates of heaven. I'm sorry when I say they, the humans that have the Devil inside them. And the sad thing is that, the saddest thing is that we all won’t make it to heaven, that there’ll be some of us that do not make it.”
‘I don’t have all of the pieces in the puzzle’
“I have to say with all humility that as a man, I don’t have all of the pieces in the puzzle,” West told Forbes in a quote they attributed to him commenting “on being a political novice.” He said he hadn’t “developed” his foreign policy views yet, but is “focused on protecting America.” Similarly, commenting on tax policy, West said, “I haven’t done enough research on that yet.”
In forming his stance on taxes, West said he would consult “experts that serve God.”
“I will research that with the strongest experts that serve God and come back with the best solution. And that will be my answer for anything that I haven’t researched. I have the earplug in and I’m going to use that earplug.”
According to Forbes, of school prayer, West said:
Reinstate in God’s state, in God’s country, the fear and love of God in all schools and organizations and you chill the fear and love of everything else, so that was a plan by the Devil to have our kids committing suicide at an all-time high by removing God to have murders in Chicago at an all-time high because the human beings working for the Devil removed God and prayer from the schools. That means more drugs, more murders, more suicide.
West also touted his endorsement from Tesla titan Elon Musk and said his running mate will be Michelle Tidball, whose website describes her as a “Biblical life coach” who has “been involved in almost all aspects of ministry including speaking, pastoring, prayer, teaching, and the most time spent in bringing deliverance to those who are in bondage.”
Tidball lives in Wyoming, where West has a large ranch.
In 2019, in response to the notion that blacks should vote Democrat based simply on their skin color West told a radio host, “We’re brainwashed out here, bro.”
“Come on, man,” he said. “This is a free man talking. Democrats had us voting for Democrats with food stamps for years. What are you talking about guns in the 80s, taking the fathers out the home, Plan B, lowering our votes, making us abort children.”
He also said, “Now that I’m in service to Christ, my job is to spread the Gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me. I’ve spread a lot of things. There was a time I was letting you know what high fashion had done for me, I was letting you know what the Hennessey had done for me, but now I’m letting you know what Jesus has done for me, and in that I’m no longer a slave, I’m a son now, a son of God. I’m free.”
Kanye’s 2019 remarks were a striking departure from past songs referencing abortion flippantly, as well as him and his wife Kim Kardashian using sex-selective in-vitro fertilization to have a son in 2015.
A search for “Kanye West” on the Federal Election Commission website auto-populates with two variations of the rapper’s name, neither of which when clicked has a financial summary currently available, as well as a PAC. The variations of West’s name that come up under the “candidate” label appear to both contain a reference to genitalia.
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