Last week came word Saint Louis University will remove a heroic-sized statue of Father Pierre-Jean De Smet S.J. from the front of Fusz Hall, where it has stood for 60 years.
The statue depicts De Smet holding aloft a crucifix as he ministers to two American Indians, one of whom is kneeling.
Historically, the statue is accurate. Father De Smet, “Blackrobe,” as he was known, was a 19th-century missionary to Indian tribes who converted thousands. A friend of Sitting Bull, he spent his last years in St. Louis. MORE
As two men are arrested for ‘manspreading’ on the New York metro, Joel Snape argues that we should all take a bit of responsibility rather than making anti-social behaviour illegal.
Bad news, tall men with a poor sense of boundaries: the NYPD have had enough of your nonsense. Yes, after op–eds in the New York Times (£), a popular crowdshaming Tumblr campaign and a series of public service ads from the Metropolitan Transport Authority, ‘manspreading’, or ‘sitting with your legs slightly too far apart’, as it used to be known, has apparently become a criminal offence. MORE
Book containing claims about aliens passed on to Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Benedict XVI has been given a book of prophecies by an eccentric Italian seer who sees Francis as the “vicar of the Antichrist” and claims the world is ruled by alien beings.
The Pope Emeritus was handed the book during a brief meeting with two men in the Vatican Gardens. MORE
A Thai cafe is offering the standard fare of lattes and cake alongside some less conventional services- like love-spells and exorcisms.
Situated in the central Bangkok, Ace and Cups is the world’s premiere Witchcraft Café, and it’s proving a hit with young occult enthusiasts.
The lower floor of the sells food and drinks along with witchcraft tools like crystals and wands -but the real spectacle is upstairs, where the supernatural services take place, reports VICE.MORE
Despite hopes that weekend thundershowers would help end a raging heatwave in southern India, the rain brought only limited relief as the death toll since mid-April approached 2,200.
Officials said on Sunday the intense heat was likely to continue for another day in the worst hit states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. MORE
I think we need to bill Iraq for the Expenses it’s costing us to protect them.
Iraqi security forces lost 2,300 Humvee armoured vehicles when the Islamic State jihadist group overran the northern city of Mosul, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday.
“In the collapse of Mosul, we lost a lot of weapons,” Abadi said in an interview with Iraqiya state TV. “We lost 2,300 Humvees in Mosul alone.” MORE
Around the world and across the seas, aircraft carriers are popping up in the unlikeliest of places — in Korea, in Thailand, in India, Japan, and maybe soon in Singapore, as well. But you’ll never guess the latest country to announce plans to acquire one. MORE
With Washington state experiencing the worst mountain snowpack in decades and a drought emergency declared two weeks ago, farmers, growers and wildlife managers are preparing for a tough summer as conditions are expected to worsen.
Some farmers and irrigators are forgoing watering crops and pastures for all or part of the season in exchange for lease payments from the state. Others are seeking permission to tap emergency wells or drill new ones. A large irrigation district in the Yakima River basin shut off the water for a few weeks this month to save supply for later. MORE
An ongoing bird flu outbreak that has devastated the U.S. poultry and egg industries seems to be leaving backyard chicken farms mostly untouched in what experts are calling an epidemiological mystery. MORE
There has been a lot of talk about things that are going to happen in September, but something that has been almost totally overlooked is the fact that the UN Security Council is likely to be voting on a UN resolution which will establish a Palestinian state at that time. MORE
In a scene worthy of an old western film, a group of cowboys, along with Texas law enforcement, rescued about 200 cattle on Sunday after they became stranded by flooding in the Trinity River. MORE
An Oklahoma man was fatally shot during a confrontation with two state troopers who were trying to rescue him and his brother from rising floodwaters on Friday, but the man’s wife is questioning the troopers’ account. MORE
Contact Your Senator NOW – An Important Victory is Just Within Sight.
YOU Can Terminate The Patriot Act and Its Ugly Siblings.
John V. Walsh
This Sunday, at midnight, the notorious Section 215 of the Patriot Act is set to expire. Section 215 has been the basis for the bulk collection of communications of all Americans, indeed of all the world. It was born under Bush in the wake of 9/11, and Obama kept it alive in beginning in 2010 – until now. But on Sunday a stake can be driven through its heart – if WE act NOW. This is not simply a possibility but a likelihood! MORE
Hear, Father Noel Barbara’s dynamic lecture, given originally in French by Fr. Barbara in the 1980’s. The author (who was probably the first European priest to come to the conclusion of the vacancy in the papal chair), after recalling the Catholic doctrine on the Church and its Magisterium, shows why the popes of Vatican II cannot be popes.
The burden of responsibility of the decrees of Vatican II lies with Pope Paul VI. Father Noel Barbara writes in “Fortes in Fide” page 41, “Canon Law(Can,22) makes it clear that the conclusions of an Ecumenical Council are not binding until they receive the approval of and are promulgated by a Pope. Pope Paul VI has specifically stated that the documents of Vatican II are the “supreme form of the Ordinary Magisterium”, and that Catholics are bound to accept the teachings of the Ordinary Magisterium as defide catholica. The decrees were signed by Paul VI on their completion.
Hear Father Noel Barbara’s dynamic lecture, “Why the V-2 Popes cannot be Popes.”
On C/D, lecture is 90 minutes long. $13.00 includes postage add $7.00 overseas. Send to: Continue reading →
The worst drought in recorded history just got worse.
California’s main source of surface water during the state’s dry summer months is the remaining snow on its highest mountains. But it has officially melted. The snowpack levels, which hovered at around 7% to 15% of normal for this date in 2009, before the four-year drought began, are currently at 0%. MORE
