In one of its final decisions this term, the Supreme Court has affirmed the right of religious parents to follow their faith in making decisions about their children’s public school education.
In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the court sided with parents who asked that they be notified and given the chance to opt their children out of instruction that violates their faith on matters of sexuality.
The case originated in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the school board requires certain pro-LGBTQ+ storybooks to be incorporated in the English language arts curriculum for all students, including those as young as 5. The board had millions of books to choose from, but it picked these books specifically to influence students’ thinking about sexuality and to challenge parents’ traditional views.
Catholic parents wishing to protect their children from such education face ‘complete entrapment,’ say pro-family advocates, as home schooling is banned in Germany and they are obliged to pay the church tax.
St. Michael's Church exterior in Hamburg, Germany (photo: Shutterstock)
HAMBURG, Germany — Advocates of Catholic marriage and the family are hoping that Pope Leo XIV intervenes to help parents protect their children in the face of new sex-education guidelines being imposed in a major German diocese that promote the LGBT agenda, including transvestitism and non-binary identities.
They say the new guidelines are further proof of the abandonment of Catholic moral teaching in society, a fruit of the 2019-2023 German Synodal Way, and part of a “complete entrapment” of Catholic parents who wish to shield their children from such “indoctrination.”
“There is another, even more alarming development: the growing dominance of certain laypeople within Church structures. This power has become not only invasive but in many cases openly arrogant. A new lay leadership class has emerged that no longer sees the Church as a place of service—first to the Pope, to the Church, to God—but as an arena to wield the kind of power they never achieved elsewhere. ”Often, these are frustrated individuals, unfulfilled in civil society, who have found in the Church a place to shine, to control, to command. And it is ironic (or perhaps tragic) that after decades spent accusing seminarians and young priests of seeking “power” and “visibility,” it is now the aging '68ers who are legitimizing even more domineering lay figures—individuals who, emboldened by their “appointments,” act as if untouchable, and woe to anyone who dares to question them.”
Pope Leo XIV has said that the leadership of the Church must focus on helping the Catholic faithful who are often facing despairing situations, highlighting the need for bishops to do so “with closeness” and not just through their words.
“When families are greatly burdened and public institutions fail to provide adequate support; when young people are disillusioned and fed up with empty promises; when the elderly and those with grave disabilities feel abandoned, the Bishop is close to them,” the pontiff said in St. Peter’s Basilica during his meeting on Wednesday with bishops who were in Rome for the Jubilee of Bishops.
“Not [by] offering easy solutions, but rather the experience of communities that strive to live the Gospel in simplicity and solidarity.”
The Pope told the bishops that preaching the message that “hope does not disappoint” can at times mean “swimming against the tide, even in certain painful situations that appear to be hopeless”.
“Yet it is precisely at those times when it becomes all the more apparent that our faith and our hope do not come from ourselves, but from God,” Leo continued.
“If we are truly close to those who suffer, the Holy Spirit can revive in their hearts even a flame that has all but died out.”
In his remarks, the Pope also confirmed the importance of celibacy in bishops “for the sake of the Kingdom of God”.
He explained: “Here, it is not just a question of living as a celibate, but of practicing chastity of heart and conduct, and in this way living a life of Christian discipleship and presenting to all the authentic image of the Church, holy and chaste in her members as in her Head.
“Just this weekend, incomprehensibly, Pope Leo XIV claimed that wars never solve anything. Really? In 1941, Germany, Italy, and Japan were bitter enemies, but after being defeated in combat, are peaceful, prosperous allies.”
In 9 AD, when Jesus was probably a teenager, the celebrated Roman general Publius Quintilicius Verus led Roman forces against a coalition of Germanic tribes in the Teutoberg Forest. Legions XVII, XVIII, and XIX were wiped out. The Roman Empire, like America today, was the strongest military in the world, and was deeply shaken by the defeat. Verus killed himself. The Emperor Augustus, according to Suetonius, virtually whimpered, “Varus, give me back my legions.” Yet Rome carried on for centuries. Hardly anyone remembers the Battle of Teutoberg. But everyone remembers Jesus.
There are, of course, major turning points in history, and America may have just passed one in bombing Iran over the weekend. Still, it’s good to remember, for those of us who believe in sacred history, that wars and rumors of wars are common. God’s purposes may be otherwise. Jesus told us as much: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” (Matthew 24:6-13, emphasis added)
Seemingly insignificant events, however, like the birth of a baby in an obscure corner of a great empire may be what really changes the world.
That said, the attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities raise some new and far-reaching questions, both military and moral. When America dropped nuclear bombs on Japan in 1945, Winston Churchill – a shrewd politician deep in history – remarked that henceforth security would be “the sturdy child of terror.” He meant that The Bomb was so scary, with the potential to destroy the human race, that it would create a disincentive to use it by anyone but a madman.
One question, again both military and moral, about Iran is precisely whether the mullahs, their generals, and scientists are so fanatical – witness their repeated calls for the destruction of Israel and the Great Satan (i.e., America) – that they might be tempted to risk national suicide for their beliefs. They haven’t hesitated to use conventional weapons directly and via proxies to kill thousands of people, including many Americans, in open attacks and terrorist incidents.
Since World War II, every pope has rightly warned about the horrors of war. But lately, Church leaders have noticeably drifted towards a pacifism that is no part of our tradition.
Pope Francis went beyond even the standard presumption against war to say, “There was a time, even in our Churches, when people spoke of a holy war or a just war. Today, we cannot speak in this manner. A Christian awareness of the importance of peace has developed. . . .Wars are always unjust, since it is the people of God who pay.” [Emphasis added.]
Just this weekend, incomprehensibly, Pope Leo XIV claimed that wars never solve anything. Really? In 1941, Germany, Italy, and Japan were bitter enemies, but after being defeated in combat, are peaceful, prosperous allies.
Mushroom cloud above Nagasaki after the atomic bombing, August 9, 1945. [source: Wikipedia]
Far more important than just one pope’s opinion, the Church possesses a highly developed set of criteria for when it is just to resort to arms: yes, just-war theory. As difficult as it is to apply in current circumstances when the results may be not just large military and civilian casualties but the unleashing of near-apocalyptic nuclear exchanges, what else is there?
When faced with the "exceptional product of human genius" which is artificial intelligence, Pope Leo XIV warns it raises pressing questions, must never forget human dignity, and cannot interfere with the proper human and neurological development of young people and children.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
"AI, especially Generative AI, has opened new horizons on many different levels, including enhancing research in healthcare and scientific discovery, but also raises troubling questions on its possible repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth and beauty, on our distinctive ability to grasp and process reality. "
Pope Leo XIV made this observation in his message to the Second Annual Rome Conference on Artificial Intelligence which was published on Friday. He noted their presence "attests to the urgent need for serious reflection and ongoing discussion on the inherently ethical dimension of AI, as well as its responsible governance," and expressed he was pleased that the second day of the Conference takes place in the Apostolic Palace, "a clear indication of the Church’s desire to participate in these discussions that directly affect the present and future of our human family."
"Together with its extraordinary potential to benefit the human family, the rapid development of AI, the Pope warned, "also raises deeper questions" concerning the proper use of such technology in generating a more authentically just and human global society.
Exceptional product of human genius, but remains a tool
While AI is "undoubtedly an exceptional product of human genius," he underscored, as Pope Francis did in the past, that AI, is, “above all else, 'a tool.'”
Acknowledging and respecting what is uniquely characteristic of the human person is essential to the discussion of any adequate ethical framework for the governance of AI.
"All of us, I am sure, are concerned for children and young people, and the possible consequences of the use of AI on their intellectual and neurological development."
Skull-Breaking: British Parliament "Allows" Abortion Up to Birth
The British House of Commons voted in favour of the complete decriminalisation of abortion up to birth in England and Wales yesterday evening.
The parliamentary debate lasted 46 minutes. 379 MPs voted in favour, with only 137 voting against. MPs applauded when the vote was won.
Partial-birth abortion involves delivering the baby halfway through the birth canal, then inserting forceps into the baby's skull and sucking out its brains while it is still alive.
The Catholic bishops, who are mediocre and spineless middle-class managers, are "deeply alarmed" by the infanticide vote.
The “Lead Bishop” on pro-life issues, Archbishop John Sherrington, said in a weak statement: "This decision significantly reduces the protection of unborn lives and will result in grave harm for pregnant women. Women will be even more vulnerable to manipulation, coerced and forced abortions."
Bishop Emeritus Joseph Strickland from the USA was forthright on X.com: "This is not legislation — it is legalised slaughter."
He added: "This is murder. Euphemisms cannot cleanse this evil. The vote in Westminster is a grave offence against Almighty God, a moral descent into depravity and a sign that our society has lost its soul."
The McCoppin family (from left): Alyssa, Courteney, James, Rhys, and Kelly, poses for a photo after entering the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil on April 8, 2023, at Sacred Heart Church in Manassas. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the McCoppin family
High school can be tough, but on rare occasions it can be a place of grace. It was for the McCoppin family, and especially for eldest daughter Kelly, who just graduated from Saint John Paul the Great High School in Potomac Shores, Virginia.
According to Kelly’s mother, Courteney McCoppin, Kelly started out attending public school but due to a variety of social factors, coupled with the deaths of two grandparents, she sank into depression.
“Her freshman year in public school was just awful. She was spiraling,” Courteney said. “I knew we had to get her out.”
A friend recommended Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School, which is led by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. Courteney remembers going to the website and being so impressed that she quickly signed up for a tour.
“It was a beacon of light,” she said. They enrolled Kelly and that summer she tried out for cheerleading. The opportunity for a fresh start was exciting, but there were still some reservations about the Catholic environment.
“Kelly said to me, ‘What if I become Catholic?’” Courteney shared with The Arlington Catholic Herald. “At the time, I was still in a position of being anti-Catholic. My mom, who had died, was Jewish and my dad was agnostic. Both became atheists later in life.”
Card. Burke: "Prophétis meis"
-
Non relíquit hóminem nocére eis: et corrípuit pro eis reges.
Nolíte tángere christos meos: et in prophétis meis nolíte malignári.
-- Sanctae Mariae in Sabbat...
