Pope Francis asked forgiveness on Monday for the Roman Catholic Church’s “non-Christian and inhumane” treatment in the past of the Waldensians, a tiny Protestant movement the Vatican tried to exterminate in the 15th century.

Francis made his plea during the first ever visit by a pope to a Waldensian temple on the second day of a trip to Italy’s northern Piedmont region, the center of the Waldensian Church, which has only about 30,000 followers worldwide. MORE

21 large fires burn across 6 states as firefighters work to put out fires, even enlisting prisoners to help. VIDEO

St. Francis of Assisi’s hymn Laudato Si’ spoke of “Brothers” Sun and Fire and “Sisters” Moon and Water, using these colorful phrases figuratively, as a way of praising God’s creation. These sentimental words so touched Pope Francis that he named his encyclical after this canticle (repeated in paragraph 87 of the Holy Father’s letter).

Neither Pope Francis nor St. Francis took the words literally, of course. Neither believed that fire was alive and could be talked to or reasoned with or, worse, worshiped. Strange, then, that a self-professed atheist and scientific advisor to the Vatican named Hans Schellnhuber appears to believe in a Mother Earth. MORE

Dylann, characterized as a white supremacist could relate to the white race demise as even the statistics indicate that soon the whites in this country will be the minority and in some of our major cities they already are. “Your taking over our country,” he has been quoted to say. Then you add the Ferguson, Baltimore riots and you can imagine the anxiety building up his hatred. Not to mention that many of these black Churches are engaged in public protests in the community and in some instances have induced rioting. Well with Dylann, it came to a head. “No one is doing anything about it…just talk.”

The shame of it all, as with the riots, it’s mostly the innocent ones who get hurt. Law and justice can never be achieved as long as people disrespect Law and Order.

On March 30, a major Harvard-affiliated hospital in Boston, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), expelled a well-respected urologist from its medical staff because he voiced concerns about the unhealthy nature of homosexual behavior and objected to the hospital’s aggressive promotion of “gay pride” activities.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a sprawling hospital complex in Boston. MORE

A new Jordanian think tank that focuses on Israel is tucked away on the seventh floor of a glass-fronted Amman office building, without a sign announcing the presence of the Center for Israel Studies.

It’s the sort of discretion still customary in Jordan when it comes to anything concerning Israel. Broad segments of Jordanian society, where a majority have Palestinian roots, oppose “normalization” with Israel even 21 years after the two countries signed a peace deal. MORE

Bedeviled by drought, Great Plains settlers in the early 1890s developed a keen interest in rainmaking.

With funds appropriated by Congress, Gen. Robert St. George Dyrenforth set off gunpowder explosions in Texas under the theory that they could trigger friction and generate nuclei to produce moisture. When his test runs came up dry, disillusioned farmers and ranchers dubbed him “General Dryhenceforth.”

At a mosque in parched, sunny Chino on Saturday evening, roughly 500 people of many faiths and ages gathered to try a less concussive tack to end the Golden State’s four-year drought. MORE

Since scientists restarted their “Big Bang” Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Europe’s physics research center CERN in an attempt to probe into the “dark universe” which lies beyond the visible one, a number of events have occurred which led to some “shocking headlines,” described by Jason A in the video below as proof that “prophecy is real” as he asks in his title “What is going on around the world?”  MORE

I don’t think I should take instruction on the meaning of genuine Christian faith from Rush Limbaugh any more than I take my example for Roman Catholic faith from Nancy Pelosi. However, I will be instructed by the words and example of Jesus Christ, even when I receive what purports to be moral instruction from my local pastor, or even the Bishop of Rome. MORE

Yesterday on “The Savage Nation,” Michael Savage lit into Pope Francis over his encyclical on climate change, calling him “a danger to the world” who wants to impose “global tyranny.” MORE

I recently became a father for the first time.  I love my son Ryan more than words can describe.  When he was first born, he wasn’t able to move around much (like most babies) but he just turned 1 a few weeks ago.  Let me just say that he is not staying still much anymore.  One of my roles as a father is to protect my son.  In today’s world, that often means baby-proofing the house (moving everything that he can harm or harm him above his reach) including putting outlet covers on every electrical outlet.  But no matter how hard I try to protect Ryan, sometimes he still falls or bumps his head as he is now walking. MORE

The Roman Catholic archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis and a deputy bishop resigned on Monday after prosecutors recently charged the archdiocese with having failed to protect youths from abuse by pedophile priests.

In statements released Monday morning, the archbishop, John C. Nienstedt, and an auxiliary bishop, Lee A. Piché, said they were resigning to help the archdiocese heal. MORE

“I resigned from my position at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church today due to ongoing marital issues. As many of you know, I returned from a trip a few months back and discovered that my wife was having an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, I informed our church leadership and requested a sabbatical to focus exclusively on my marriage and family. As her affair continued, we separated. Sadly and embarrassingly, I subsequently sought comfort in a friend and developed an inappropriate relationship myself…” MORE

Well, at least this helps support Pope Pius XII credibility.

Pope Francis has denounced what he calls the “great powers” of the world for failing to act when there was intelligence indicating Jews, Christians, homosexuals and others were being transported to death camps in Europe during World War II.

He also decried “how many Christians suffered” and died in gulags later in Russia under the Stalin dictatorship.

The pope’s harsh assessments came in impromptu remarks during his visit to Turin, northern Italy, when he told young people he understands how they find it hard to trust the world. MORE