Pope Francis condemned President-elect Donald Trump’s reported plans to expel illegal immigrants, calling such actions a “disgrace.”
The Pope made his <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/19/world/pope-says-trump-immigrant-deportations-disgrace-intl-latam/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> Sunday on the talk show “Che Tempo Che Fa,&#8221; where he was asked about Trump possibly signing executive orders after his inauguration Monday that would expedite the deportation of illegal immigrants.
“If it is true, it will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing to pay the unpaid bill. It won’t do. This is not the way to solve things,” he stated.
As far back as February 2016, when Trump was in the middle of his first presidential campaign, Pope Francis <a href="https://www.ncronline.org/pope-francis-questions-donald-trumps-christianity-says-border-wall-not-gospel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> Trump’s proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico, implying that Trump was not a Christian.
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“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges is not Christian,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;ll only say that this man is not Christian if he says this.”
In 2017, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/pope-says-migrants-rights-should-override-national-security-concerns-idUSKCN1B11RX/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Pope Francis “called for ‘alternative solutions to detention’ for illegal immigrants and said ‘collective and arbitrary expulsions of migrants and refugees are not suitable solutions.’”
In December, the Vatican increased the monetary sanctions and prison sentences for anyone who violated the security regulations of Vatican City. “Anyone convicted of illegal entry will be banned from entering Vatican territory for a period of up to 15 years. If this sanction is breached, the offender may be punished with a prison sentence of one to five years,” Catholic World Report <a href="https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2025/01/15/vatican-cracks-down-on-illegal-entry-into-its-territory/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>.
Incoming White House officials informed The Daily Wire that Trump intends to implement the largest mass deportation operation in American history and begin with illegal aliens with criminal records. “Recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-overwhelming-majority-of-americans-support-trumps-plan-to-deport-criminal-illegal-aliens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">polling</a> has found that nearly 9 in 10 Americans support deporting illegal aliens with criminal records,” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-declare-immigration-national-emergency-deploy-troops-to-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Spencer Lindquist contributed to this article.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-declare-immigration-national-emergency-deploy-troops-to-border">Trump To Declare Immigration National Emergency, Deploy Troops To Border</a>

VATICAN-POPE-AUDIENCE

Pope Francis Calls Trump’s Reported Plans For Mass Deportations A ‘Disgrace’

Donald Trump

Illegal Immigration

Pope Francis

Last Saturday, Pope Francis attended a nativity exhibit in the Vatican that depicted the baby Jesus as a Palestinian.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Pope Francis inaugurates the new nativity scene called ”Betlehem 2024” in the Vatican
Looks like the Pope has also fallen for the absurd claim that Jesus was a Palestinian. <a href="https://t.co/nVhsOW8vuL">pic.twitter.com/nVhsOW8vuL</a>
&mdash; Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) <a href="https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1865501290031165766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The exhibit in Paul VI Hall was <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/pope-francis-inaugurates-nativity-scene-in-vatican-showing-baby-jesus-on-keffiyeh/#:~:text=The%20keffiyeh%2Ddraped%20cradle%2C%20which,Bethlehem%2C%20according%20to%20Vatican%20News." target="_blank" rel="noopener">created by Palestinian artists</a>. The baby Jesus was swathed in a Palestinian Keffiyeh. Palestine Liberation Organization spokesperson Ramzi Khouri brought “warm greetings” from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and lauded Francis, telling of his “deep gratitude for the pope’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and his tireless efforts to end the war on Gaza and promote justice.”
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Francis has expressed anti-Israel beliefs before, apparently labeling Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas massacre of more than 1200 people in Israel as immoral, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-israel-lebanon-hezbollah-72b592696627d1a671e7419e98e354b6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, “A country that does these things — and I’m talking about any country — in a superlative way, these are immoral actions.”
Francis has <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/pope-francis-calls-for-probe-to-determine-if-israels-actions-in-gaza-constitute-genocide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for an investigation into Israel’s actions in Gaza to see if they should be labeled “genocide.” On the first anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Francis issued a Letter to Catholics of the Middle East. In the letter, he cited John 8:44. “The verse chosen by the pontiff, a vitriolic accusation that the Jews ‘are from [their] father, the devil,’ has for centuries provoked and been used to justify Church hostility to Jews,” Tablet Magazine <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/unfulfilled-promise-pope-francis-israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted.</a>
The consistent attempts by Palestinians and their supporters to rewrite the history of the land of Israel have included trying to claim Jesus was a Palestinian, a claim easily refuted since there was never a state of Palestine. Yet in 2013, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/2013-12-23/ty-article/abbas-jesus-was-palestinian/0000017f-e55e-d9aa-afff-fd5e01410000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Jesus “a Palestinian messenger,” and in 2019, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) shared a tweet that stated, “I was once asked by a relative who is a Palestinian Christian why the Christian right in America largely supports their oppression. ‘Don’t they know we’re Christian too? Do they even consider us human? Don’t they know Jesus was a Palestinian?’”
As Peter Wehner has <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/01/jewish-history-jesus-settler-colonialism-claims/677149/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">written</a>, “In fact, although many Palestinians today are Christians, Jesus himself was not one. He was born to Jewish parents in Judea, he lived as a Jew, and he died as a Jew. In the time of Jesus, Palestine didn’t exist—as a place, an entity, a word, or a concept. In the second century, Judea, which was the epicenter of large-scale Jewish rebellions against Roman rule, was renamed Syria Palaestina—later simply Palaestina—by the Romans.”

VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE

Pope Francis Attends Vatican Nativity Exhibit Showing Jesus As A Palestinian

Jesus Christ

Palestinians

Religion

Vatican

World

Several suspected ISIS terrorists were arrested in Indonesia last week for allegedly plotting to assassinate Pope Francis during his recent visit to the country.
Indonesia’s anti-terrorism police, Detachment-88, said in a statement that the seven suspects were arrested early in the week in various cities throughout the country, The Straits Times <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesian-police-detain-seven-in-a-failed-plot-to-attack-pope-francis?_gl=1*1kwn4lj*_gcl_au*MTczMDg2MzcxNy4xNzI1ODE5OTAz">reported</a>.
The full names of the suspects were not released, but police said their initials were HFP, LB, DF, FA, HS, ER, and RS.
Investigators made the arrests after receiving tips from the public but did not know if the suspects knew each other or if they were part of the same terror cell.
A source told the publication that a search of one of the suspect&#8217;s homes turned up &#8220;bows and arrows, a drone, and ISIS leaflets.&#8221;
The source added that some of suspects had pledged allegiance to ISIS and that at least one of the terrorists belonged to an ISIS cell that carried out an attack on the country&#8217;s then-chief security minister in 2019.
The terrorists were planning to kill the Pope because of his visit to Jakarta’s Istiqlal mosque and &#8220;the government’s appeal to television stations to refrain from the usual broadcasting of azan (Islamic call to prayer) while a live broadcast of Pope Francis’ visit was in session.&#8221;
While speaking at the presidential palace in Jakarta, the Pope called out terrorists who act in the name of their faith.
&#8220;There are times when faith can be manipulated to foment divisions and increase hatred,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Prejudices can be eliminated, and a climate of mutual respect and trust can grow.&#8221;
Indonesia is an overwhelmingly Islamic country with 87% of the country&#8217;s citizens identifying as Islamic. Nearly all the Muslims in the country, 99%, are believed to be Sunni, which is the sect that many Islamic terrorist groups come from.

Pope Francis Visits Indonesia

Several Islamic Terrorists Arrested For Alleged Plot To Assassinate The Pope

Radical Islamic Terror

Terrorists

President Joe Biden elicited a strange reaction from Argentinian President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/javier-milei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Javier Milei</a> when, during a meeting with Pope Francis, Biden leaned in and rested his forehead against the Pope&#8217;s.
Biden met with Pope Francis while he was in Italy for the G-7 meetings with a number of other world leaders, and while he was speaking to the Catholic leader, he kept leaning in closer and closer until finally, the two were forehead to forehead. Pope Francis&#8217; expression was one of mild surprise at the president&#8217;s actions, but as Milei turned and saw the scene playing out, he appeared to recoil.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Priceless: <a href="https://twitter.com/JMilei?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JMilei</a>&#8216;s reaction to Biden and Pope 🤣<a href="https://t.co/oU6cheTkaT">pic.twitter.com/oU6cheTkaT</a>
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrEliDavid/status/1801949178794254663?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
Milei literally backed away as he realized what was happening, prompting a series of reactions on social media as well.
The Babylon Bee made use of the awkward moment, running with the headline, &#8220;Biden Disappointed After Huge Scoop Of Vanilla Ice Cream Turns Out To Be Pope Francis.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Biden Disappointed After Huge Scoop Of Vanilla Ice Cream Turns Out To Be Pope Francis <a href="https://t.co/eTNGEe0MHx">https://t.co/eTNGEe0MHx</a> <a href="https://t.co/5bLPMEVdjY">pic.twitter.com/5bLPMEVdjY</a>
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBabylonBee/status/1801694159184474598?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Heads up, Your Holiness!&#8221; the New York Post added, sharing a video of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni&#8217;s reaction — apparent disbelief — as well.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Heads up, Your Holiness! <a href="https://t.co/kqUMtcz7aO">https://t.co/kqUMtcz7aO</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ahh3MHjN3V">pic.twitter.com/Ahh3MHjN3V</a>
— New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1801625430052540844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Look at Javier Milei&#8217;s &#8216;wtf&#8217; face as he witnesses the exchange between the Pope and Dictator Biden. Lol,&#8221; Liz Churchill posted.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Look at <a href="https://twitter.com/JavierMilei_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JavierMilei_</a> ‘s ‘wtf’ face as he witnesses the exchange between the Pope and Dictator Biden. Lol. <a href="https://t.co/3rgbRDPdeR">pic.twitter.com/3rgbRDPdeR</a>
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) <a href="https://twitter.com/liz_churchill10/status/1801773356330418372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;The pope doesn&#8217;t look like he enjoyed Biden&#8216;s strange head bump greeting. Biden doesn&#8217;t know the definition of personal space,&#8221; Sara Rose added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The pope doesn&#8217;t look like he enjoyed Biden&#8217;s strange head bump greeting. 
Biden doesn&#8217;t know the definition of personal space 🥴<a href="https://t.co/JQp6IaHVOL">pic.twitter.com/JQp6IaHVOL</a>
— Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) <a href="https://twitter.com/saras76/status/1801675700367208779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
Biden&#8217;s trip to Italy for the G-7 meetings was marked by a series of viral video clips that raised questions about the president&#8217;s overall fitness for duty — including once when he appeared to wander away as the other world leaders were gathering to take photos, and then a press conference during which he complained that reporters who did not <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-scolds-reporter-who-dares-to-ask-a-question-i-wish-you-guys-would-play-by-the-rules">limit their questions</a> to the topic he preferred to address should &#8220;play by the rules.&#8221;

G7 summit

WATCH: Biden’s Pope Francis Forehead Bump Gets Shocked Reaction From Javier Milei

Biden’s Pope Francis Forehead Bump Gets Shocked Reaction From Javier Milei

Executive

Italy

Javier Milei

Joe Biden

Pope Francis reportedly expressed his opposition to gay men becoming priests during a meeting with Roman priests this week, which comes only a couple weeks after he made similar remarks during a closed-door meeting.
Francis, 87, <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/06/12/world-news/pope-francis-repeats-gay-slur-just-weeks-after-apologizing-for-using-it-reports/">reportedly</a> said that &#8220;there is an air of frociaggine in the Vatican&#8221; and that those who are gay should not be admitted into seminaries. According to the Washington Post, the word &#8220;frociaggine&#8221; roughly translates to &#8220;fa***tness&#8221; in the Roman Italian dialect.
The Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/11/pope-repeats-gay-slur/">reported</a> that Francis made the remarks while meeting with approximately 200 priests at Rome’s Salesian Pontifical University.
While speaking about the “danger of ideologies in the Church”,  he reportedly “reiterated the need to welcome and accompany gay men in the Church” but indicated they should not be allowed into priesthood.
Francis made nearly identical <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pope-francis-rails-against-gay-priests-in-training-theres-already-too-much-fatry-in-seminaries">remarks</a> during a private address to Catholic bishops in May while railing against the number of gay priests who were in training.
He reportedly made the remarks in the context of proposals from Italian bishops about changes they want to see in guidelines determining the candidates that seminaries accept.
He reportedly said that he was opposed to letting in candidates who were leading a “double life” by claiming to be celibate while secretly being gay, The Telegraph <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/27/pope-francis-reported-derogatory-phrase-homosexuals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
He said that there was “already too much fa***try” in seminaries, according to numerous translations of his speech, which was in Italian.
CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/27/europe/pope-francis-accused-homophobic-slur-intl-latam/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that Francis in 2016 upheld the Vatican’s ruling in 2005 that the Catholic church cannot allow the ordination of gay men. In 2018, he told Italian bishops “not to accept gay candidates for the priesthood,” the report added.
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However, the Vatican backtracked on his comments late last month after they were leaked to the press and some backlash ensued online.
“The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who felt offended by the use of a term, as reported by others,” the Vatican said in a May statement. “As he (Pope Francis) has said on several occasions, ‘in the Church there is room for everyone, everyone! No one is useless, no one is superfluous, there is room for everyone. Just as we are, everyone.’”

Vatican Pool Images 2024

Pope Francis Reportedly Opposes Gay Men In Priesthood: There’s ‘Fa***tness In The Vatican’

Catholic Church

Catholicism

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pope-francis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pope Francis</a> reportedly railed against the number of gay priests-in-training during a private address to Catholic bishops last week that leaked to Italian news organizations this week.
Francis, 87, allegedly made the remarks in the context of proposals that were being made from Italian bishops about changes they want to see made on guidelines determining the candidates that seminaries accept.
He reportedly said that he was opposed to letting in candidates who were leading a “double life” by claiming to be celibate while secretly being gay, The Telegraph <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/27/pope-francis-reported-derogatory-phrase-homosexuals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
He said that there was “already too much fa***try” in seminaries, according to numerous translations of his speech, which was in Italian.
CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/27/europe/pope-francis-accused-homophobic-slur-intl-latam/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that Francis in 2016 upheld the Vatican&#8217;s ruling in 2005 that the Catholic church cannot allow the ordination of gay men. In 2018, he told Italian bishops &#8220;not to accept gay candidates for the priesthood,&#8221; the report added.
However, the Vatican backtracked on his comments from last week after they were leaked to the press and some backlash ensued online.
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“The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who felt offended by the use of a term, as reported by others,” the Vatican said in a Tuesday statement. “As he (Pope Francis) has said on several occasions, ‘in the Church there is room for everyone, everyone! No one is useless, no one is superfluous, there is room for everyone. Just as we are, everyone.’”

Vatican Apologizes After Pope Francis Says There’s ‘Too Much Fa***try’ In Seminaries

Homosexuality

LGBTQ

On Monday, something peculiar happened. 
The president of Iran, an evil human being nicknamed the Butcher of Tehran, died in a helicopter accident on Sunday. One of the worst people on earth, he presided as a member of the Iranian pseudo-judiciary over the deaths of thousands of innocent people.
He presided over the crushing of all dissent from women and people who do not believe in Sharia law in Iran. He presided over the deaths of thousands of American troops and attacks on American allies. His proxy groups around the region have been involved in the deaths of thousands of human beings, including, of course, the 1,200 Israelis murdered on October 7 with the tacit permission and support of Iran via Hamas.
Then, on Monday, after he died in this helicopter accident, the immediate reception of the West was to lament his death. This was unprecedented in modern history.
For example, when Pol Pot, the genocidal dictator of Cambodia, died, Bill Clinton issued <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-the-death-pol-pot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a> ripping into Pol Pot. He stated:
<blockquote>The death of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot has again brought to international attention one of the most tragic chapters of inhumanity in the twentieth century. Between 1975 and 1979, Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge followers transformed Cambodia into the killing fields, causing the death of an estimated 2 million of their countrymen in a brutal attempt to transform Cambodian society.</blockquote>
Bill Clinton was a Democrat, a moderate member of the Left, and he used the opportunity of Pol Pot&#8217;s death to point out his evils and the human rights atrocities that he had committed. Historically, this has been the way we treat evil dictators and people associated with evil dictatorships; when they die, the world becomes a better place.
In 2023, when speaking at the United Nations, Raisi fully explained his intentions for the world, which was the domination of a radical form of Islam. He explained to the whole world that the era of the West was over, and the era of the Islamist was here:
<blockquote>The equation attributed to the hegemony of the West no longer resonates with the diverse realities of today&#8217;s world. Old powers will keep their current downward trajectory. They are the past, and we are the future. I repeat once again, they represent the past and we represent the future. We are the future. We do believe that according to divine will, just as divine prophets have promised, justice and fairness will overtake the world and the rule of the sincere people, those who truly followed the path of the Omnipotent, will reverberate throughout the world. A world that rejects ignorance. The world awaits the day in which the old paths will come to an end. </blockquote>
Raisi was talking about the messianic beliefs of Shia Islam. He gave a speech in February 2024 in which he ripped into the United States as millions of people turned out in rallies chanting, “Death to Israel, Death to America.”
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1969-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
So what is the explanation for the reaction of the West?
The U.N. Security Council held a moment of silence for Ebrahim Raisi. The entire U.N. Security Council stood up for him, which is vile and disgusting.
The Senate chaplain, Rear Admiral Barry Black held a moment of prayer for the Iranian dictator, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ErxRX-Bqfg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intoning</a>, “Lord, we pray for the Iranian people who mourn the death of their president. We pray in your loving name. Amen.”
The State Department put out a statement that was beyond parody, <a href="https://www.state.gov/on-the-death-of-iranian-president-raisi-and-others-in-a-helicopter-crash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, “The United States expresses its official condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and other members of their delegation in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran. As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Do you see how far we&#8217;ve moved? Pol Pot dies and Bill Clinton, a moderate Democrat, gives a statement about his human rights abuses and why it should remind us to fight human rights abuses in places like Cambodia.
Ebrahim Raisi is president in a regime that presides over terrorism across the world, and the State Department of the United States government puts out a statement with condolences for his death. 
The EU did the same. Charles Michel, who is the president of the European Council, put out <a href="https://twitter.com/CharlesMichel/status/1792438047058890987" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a> which read, “The EU expresses its sincere condolences for the death of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian, as well as other members of their delegation and crew in a helicopter accident. Our thoughts go to the families.”
How about the families of the people who have been slain in protests against the Iranian dictatorship? How about thoughts for the families of the people who are living in repression and poverty, thanks to those dictators?
NATO, which is oriented against aggression by foreign powers, <a href="https://twitter.com/NATOpress/status/1792508173535883362" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>, “Our condolences to the people of Iran for the death of President Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian and others who perished in the helicopter crash.”
The people of Iran don&#8217;t need your condolences. The people of Iran deserve your condolences for having to live under the terroristic auspices of this evil regime.
This is insanity. The entire West could have just stayed silent. They could have said nothing. Instead, they all came to the “moment of silence.”
There was no moment of silence in the UN Security Council for the victims of October 7. They did not stand up and pay homage to the 1,200 people who were slaughtered and 250 who were taken hostage by the terrorist group Hamas.
But they did stand to pay homage to a terrorist dictator who supported October 7 and proxy terror groups from Yemen to Lebanon to Syria to Iraq to Hamas.
What is going on in the West that Western leaders feel the necessity to give condolences on the death of an evil enemy?
There is an error in thinking that has become extraordinarily common in the West that leads to so many bad results. This error in thinking was made clear yesterday by Pope Francis. In his 60 Minutes interview, when asked what gave him hope, he <a href="https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=772332671344936&amp;vanity=60minutes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>:
<blockquote>Everything. You see tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things. You see heroic mothers, heroic men, men who have hopes and dreams. Women who look to the future. That gives me a lot of hope. People want to live. People forge ahead and people are fundamentally good. We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good.</blockquote>
There are three ways of reading human nature. The traditional Judaic way of reading human nature is that human beings are not inherently good. Human beings have an internal battle. That battle is between what we call the yetzer ha-tov, the good desire, and the yetzer ha-ra, the bad desire. These two things are fighting with each other all the time, and it is up to us to try to cultivate the good desire at the expense of the bad desire. If you do it well, presumably you can even turn the bad desires toward the good.
Then there is the Catholic perspective, as stated by St. Thomas Aquinas, which is that human beings are inherently good in the sense they were made in God&#8217;s image, but through Original Sin, human beings were then cursed with the capacity for sin. That capacity for sin is dominant and powerful, and Original Sin could only be expunged with the death of Jesus.
The secularist idea is that human beings are inherently good, and not only are they inherently good, most human beings are not even sinful.
That is at odds with both the Judaic and the traditionally Christian view of human nature.
The traditionally Christian worldview on human nature is that while the human heart might be made in the image of God — meaning that on a fundamental soul level, the soul of human beings is good — the Bible is replete with statements about how sinful human beings are. But whether you&#8217;re talking about the book of Mark, where Jesus said no one is good except God alone; Romans where he said none are good, no, not one; Jeremiah, where the prophet says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; or Psalms 51:5 which <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+51%3A5&amp;version=NASB1995" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a>, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me,” the traditionally religious view, at the very least, is that the human capacity for sin is extraordinarily strong — and that means all people are inherently sinners.
The solution to that differs between Judaism and Christianity. The solution to that for Judaism is to perform the mitzvot and act in virtuous ways, and you will become more virtuous and you will dominate over sin. As God says to Cain at the beginning of the book of Genesis, sin crouches at your door, but if you&#8217;re strong, you can rule over it.
The Christian perspective is: Only through the grace of Christ can you expunge that Original Sin, giving you the capacity for a free will so that you can conquer sinful nature.
Then, there&#8217;s the secularist point of view, which is different from both of these and is a mis-read of Judeo-Christian tradition. The basic idea is that human beings are not only inherently good — not only is the heart inherently good — but sin is also not something internal to human beings. It&#8217;s not even a force that human beings fight on an individual level. Sin only exists in systems, not in individual human beings. There&#8217;s no such thing as sin. Human beings have a nature, and that nature is inherently good. And if you consider something sinful, it&#8217;s probably because you are the problem.
You see this in secular society all the time. If two people love each other, how can it be a sin? If you do something bad to another person, that&#8217;s just relativistic. It&#8217;s relativistic in morality. Who are you to judge?
All of that is a misreading of traditional Judeo-Christian doctrine. All of it.
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But that widespread secular perception — that human beings are inherently good and that the only problem with human beings is the systems above them — leads to two incredibly false conclusions.
The first fundamental assumption is: Human beings generally agree on right and wrong. This is a lie. It is not true. It is fundamentally false. Human beings do not agree on right and wrong.
There are very few things most human beings agree on (for example, murder is wrong), and, traditionally, even that has to be bounded by the tribe because it turns out that people and tribes are pretty open about being fine with murdering people who are in other tribes. Human beings do not, at a fundamental level, agree on wide aspects of right and wrong — at least not once it comes to outside the tribe.
The second fundamental assumption that arises from the idea that human beings are good is: All it requires is better human institutions and an organizing effort to effectuate right over wrong. Progress is the effectuation of this attempt.
That is the basic Left-wing theology when it comes to curing the sin of the world, considering sin does not abide at the level of the individual; sin only abides at the level of the society. It is the Marxist materialist idea that the only reason people are bad is because the systems under which they live are inherently bad and corrupt, and therefore, if we can cure those systems, then humanity will be magically and absolutely transformed.
This is written in the Communist Manifesto. What people mistake about Marxism is that it’s not an economic philosophy so much as it is a religious philosophy as to how the sin of the world can be cured by curing the systems at the top level.
When put into the language of international politics, this leads to a bizarre belief in international order that is just a lie.
This is why the West is paying homage to Ebrahim Raisi. They feel in the West, if they are nice enough to Raisi and if they change the systems enough, then people like Raisi, his followers, and the mullahs in Iran will become inherently good. In other words, they&#8217;ll become inherently good if we change the international order because human beings are naturally good.
This is absolute trash. It is nonsense. It is garbage. And it is going to create more violence in the world.
If you believe all you have to do is massage your enemies and suddenly they will be your friends, you will be used by your enemies.
And that is what we are seeing right now.

Helicopter Carrying Iran President Reportedly Crashes Near Azerbaijan

Why The West Mourns The ‘Butcher Of Tehran’

Why The West Mourns The 'Butcher Of Tehran'

Bible

Bill Clinton

Iran

Judeo-Christian Values

Middle East

Opinion

Readers Pass

The Vatican reaffirmed the Catholic Church&#8217;s opposition to radical gender theory in a new document published Monday, saying sex change procedures threaten the &#8220;unique dignity&#8221; of a person.
The <a href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/04/08/240408c.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">document</a>, &#8220;Dignitas Infinita&#8221; or &#8220;Infinite Dignity,&#8221; was signed by Pope Francis and warns against &#8220;the age-old temptation to make oneself God.&#8221;
&#8220;Regarding gender theory, whose scientific coherence is the subject of considerable debate among experts, the Church recalls that human life in all its dimensions, both physical and spiritual, is a gift from God,&#8221; the Vatican document reads.
&#8220;Desiring a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes, apart from this fundamental truth that human life is a gift, amounts to a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God, entering into competition with the true God of love revealed to us in the Gospel,&#8221; the document says.
Biological sex and gender — &#8220;the socio-cultural role of sex&#8221; — can be &#8220;distinguished but not separated,&#8221; the Vatican said.
Radical gender theory is also problematic because it denies sexual difference, which threatens the family, the Vatican continued.
&#8220;In the male-female couple, this difference achieves the most marvelous of reciprocities,&#8221; the document reads. &#8220;It thus becomes the source of that miracle that never ceases to surprise us: the arrival of new human beings in the world.&#8221;
&#8220;Only by acknowledging and accepting this difference in reciprocity can each person fully discover themselves, their dignity, and their identity,&#8221; the Vatican said.
It is &#8220;unacceptable&#8221; that gender theory asserts itself as &#8220;absolute and unquestionable, even dictating how children should be raised,&#8221; the document says.
On medical sex change procedures, the Vatican reminded readers of the Church&#8217;s position that &#8220;humans are inseparably composed of both body and soul.&#8221;
&#8220;We are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created,&#8221; the Vatican said. &#8220;It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.&#8221;
The document also reaffirms the Church&#8217;s opposition to surrogacy, abortion, and euthanasia.
Surrogacy, in which a woman carries an unborn child for someone else, turns an &#8220;immensely worthy child&#8221; into a &#8220;mere object,&#8221; the Vatican said.
Pope Francis has previously called for a universal ban on surrogacy.
Monday&#8217;s document comes after a Vatican document released in November resulted in significant confusion around the Catholic Church&#8217;s position on trans-identifying people.
The November document intended to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/people-who-got-transgender-surgery-can-be-baptized-and-be-godparents-under-certain-conditions-vatican-clarifies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clarify</a> that people who previously received gender surgery or hormone treatment can be baptized and be godparents under certain conditions.
A person who has received gender surgery or hormone treatment can be baptized “under the same conditions as other believers,” the Vatican said.
On the godparent issue, the Vatican said that people who have undergone transgender medical treatment can serve as godparents, but &#8220;pastoral prudence demands that it not be permitted if there is a risk of scandal.&#8221;
In recent years, there has been much speculation about whether Pope Francis would change the Catholic Church’s approach to LGBT people.
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The Catholic Church <a href="https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/does-doctrine-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never changes</a> its official doctrine, although it often clarifies particular points.
Transgender medical interventions such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries like genital surgeries and double mastectomies have exploded in popularity in the last few years, first in Europe and, more recently, in the U.S.
Several European countries have begun to curb these transgender medical interventions for children, more and more of whom are seeking them out.
At least 24 U.S. states have also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sacramento-declares-itself-sanctuary-city-for-trans-identifying-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cracked</a> down on these medical interventions for minors.

Pope Francis Visits Sweden  – Day 1

Vatican Clarifies Opposition To Radical Gender Theory, Says It Threatens A Person’s ‘Unique Dignity’

Vatican Clarifies Opposition To Radical Gender Theory, Says It Threatens A Person's 'Unique Dignity'

Catholic

Gender

The Vatican

Transgender

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pope-francis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pope Francis</a> lambasted leftist gender ideology during an address this week, warning that it presented an extreme danger to mankind.
He made the <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/pope-francis-today-the-ugliest-danger-is-gender-ideology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> while speaking Friday morning to members of the French-based academic organization Research and Anthropology of Vocations Institute (CRAV).
“It is very important that there is this meeting, this meeting between men and women, because today the ugliest danger is gender ideology, which cancels out differences,” he said, adding that through extreme ideologies like transgenderism, the Left is pushing to &#8220;make everything the same.&#8221;
“Erasing differences is erasing humanity. Man and woman, however, are in a fruitful ‘tension,’” Francis said.
The remarks were similar to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pope-francis-blasts-gender-ideology-as-one-of-the-most-dangerous-ideological-colonizations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comments</a> that he made last March during an interview with journalist Elisabetta Piqué at the Argentinian daily newspaper La Nació.
“Gender ideology, today, is one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations,” Francis said. “Why is it dangerous? Because it blurs differences and the value of men and women. All humanity is the tension of differences. It is to grow through the tension of differences. The question of gender is diluting the differences and making the world the same, all dull, all alike, and that is contrary to the human vocation.”
The Pope explained that while he was not planning to write anything extensive on the topic of gender, he did find it necessary to address the issue from time to time, largely “because some people are a bit naive and believe that it is the way to progress.”
He went on to say that he believed it was important to draw a distinction “between what pastoral care is for people who have a different sexual orientation and what gender ideology is … they are two different things.”
The problem, he said, was that advocates of gender ideology were blurring the lines between the sexes — a move that he worried was a step down the road to erasing humanity.
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They “do not distinguish what is respect for sexual diversity or diverse sexual preferences from what is already an anthropology of gender, which is extremely dangerous because it eliminates differences, and that erases humanity, the richness of humanity, both personal, cultural, and social, the diversities and the tensions between differences,” he said.

CE74586A-DC36-48C3-82B1-19C926651BAF_1_201_a

Pope Francis Torches Leftist Gender Ideology: ‘The Ugliest Danger’

Social Issues

Pope Francis on Monday condemned the practice of using a surrogate mother to birth a child and called for a global ban on the practice.
The pope called surrogacy &#8220;despicable&#8221; during an annual foreign policy address to ambassadors of 184 countries.
“I consider despicable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child,&#8221; Francis <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-surrogacy-vatican-russia-israel-ukraine-56acaa8500336db81ee18913a77ddc0f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The pope <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-surrogacy-deplorable-practice-turns-child-into-object-trafficking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> surrogacy exploits the surrogate mother&#8217;s financial situation and said an unborn child must not be “turned into an object of trafficking.”
He called for a global ban “to prohibit this practice universally.”
&#8220;A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract,&#8221; Francis said.
The Catholic Church prohibits couples from using a surrogate mother and teaches that conception must only occur through the marital act between husband and wife.
This is not the first time Francis has explicitly condemned surrogacy.
In 2022, he <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2024/01/08/pope-francis-describes-surrogacy-as-deplorable-calls-for-ban/?sh=665f958a3181" target="_blank" rel="noopener">condemned</a> the &#8220;inhumane and increasingly widespread practice&#8221; of a &#8220;uterus for rent,&#8221; saying it is almost always poor women who are exploited in this way and the unborn children are &#8220;treated as commodities.&#8221;
Surrogacy is legal in the U.S. but illegal in several other countries, including Spain and Italy.
The surrogacy process is an expensive one, in many cases <a href="https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/family-finance/articles/how-much-surrogacy-costs-and-how-to-pay-for-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">costing</a> upwards of $100,000, making it prohibitively expensive for many families. The idea of becoming a commercial surrogate is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/07/womb-for-rent-more-women-are-working-in-commercial-surrogacy-industry.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attractive</a> to some low-income women.
American celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen, Nick Jonas, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Jimmy Fallon, have all <a href="https://people.com/parents/celebrities-who-have-used-surrogates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hired</a> surrogates to carry and birth their babies.
In 2022, the global commercial surrogacy industry was estimated to be worth more than $14 billion, <a href="https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/surrogacy-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Global Market Insights.
The pope&#8217;s annual address to the countries with diplomatic relations with the Vatican, sometimes called his &#8220;State of the World&#8221; address, provides the pontiff with the opportunity to speak about the world’s current conflicts and injustices.
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Francis took that opportunity during his remarks Monday, naming several ongoing issues, including the “large-scale war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine,” a more pointed comment on Russia&#8217;s role in the conflict than he usually offers.
The pope also discussed the Israel-Hamas war, the immigration crisis, climate change, artificial intelligence, Christian persecution, and antisemitism, among other issues.
He lamented that the new year comes at a time when peace is “increasingly threatened, weakened and in some part lost.”
&#8220;We must not forget that grave violations of international humanitarian law are war crimes,&#8221; Francis said.

Pope Calls For Global Ban On Surrogacy

Pregnancy

Women

Pope Francis clarified this week that Catholic priests can bless individuals in same-sex couples but cautioned that such a blessing does not sanction the union and cannot resemble a marriage ceremony.
Couples in &#8220;irregular situations,&#8221; including same-sex relationships, can receive blessings that do not &#8220;sanction or legitimize&#8221; their unions, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which exists to defend Catholic doctrine, clarified in a <a href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/12/18/0901/01963.html#en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">document</a> published Monday.
The document, called &#8220;Fiducia Supplicans,&#8221; was signed by Pope Francis as well as the Dicastery’s new prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández.
Priests can give people in same-sex couples a &#8220;spontaneous blessing,&#8221; but the blessing cannot be a &#8220;liturgical&#8221; act or resemble the sacrament of marriage, the document says.
A blessing on people in same-sex couples cannot be given in connection with a civil union, and no &#8220;clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding&#8221; can be included in order &#8220;to avoid any form of confusion or scandal,&#8221; the document says.
&#8220;Rites and prayers that could create confusion between what constitutes marriage — which is the &#8216;exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children&#8217; — and what contradicts it are inadmissible,&#8221; the document warns.
Instead, the Vatican said that a priest can give a blessing in other contexts, such as a visit to a shrine, a meeting with a priest, a group prayer, or during a pilgrimage.
In the blessing, the priest can pray for the individuals to have &#8220;peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance — but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely,&#8221; the document states.
&#8220;There is no intention to legitimize anything, but rather to open one’s life to God, to ask for his help to live better, and also to invoke the Holy Spirit so that the values of the Gospel may be lived with greater faithfulness,&#8221; the document adds.
The Catholic Church does not sanction same-sex marriage, and that official position remains unchanged, the document emphasized.
&#8220;The Church’s doctrine on this point remains firm,&#8221; the document says.
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&#8220;At the same time, one should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing,&#8221; the document adds.
In recent years, there has been much speculation around whether Pope Francis would change the Catholic Church’s approach to people in same-sex relationships.
On Monday, media outlets and commentators <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesMartinSJ/status/1736752055362936938" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presented</a> the Vatican&#8217;s document as a major shift for the Catholic Church.
However, the Catholic Church <a href="https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/does-doctrine-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never changes</a> its official doctrine, although it often clarifies particular points.

Vatican Hosts World Meeting Of Families

Pope Says Blessings For Individuals In Same-Sex Relationships Cannot Resemble Marriage

Same-Sex Marriage

Pope Francis is targeting yet another staunch religious conservative Cardinal in the Catholic Church who has openly criticized the Vatican.
Cardinal Raymond Burke was ordained a priest by Pope Paul VI in 1975; in 1989, he was named the first American Defender of the Bond of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest ecclesiastical court in the Catholic Church, by Pope John Paul II. In July 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Burke to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura; in 2008 he was named its Prefect, thus making him the second-highest ranking American prelate at the Vatican after Cardinal Willam Levada, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
On November 20, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI elevated Burke to the cardinalate. Burke criticized Pope Francis in October 2014, saying, &#8220;There is a strong sense that the church is like a ship without a rudder,” On November 8, 2014, Burke was removed as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, by Francis.
&#8220;Pope Francis has decided to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by revoking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary in <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement " href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-tyler-bishop-strickland-removed-0f9f0be7d5938b36d6e7ead8c33e5150" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the second such radical action</a> against a conservative American prelate this month, according to two people briefed on the measures,&#8221; AP <a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-cardinal-burke-conservatives-strickland-163f2d3522a80fa5f908421cc812cfc9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Pope Francis has stripped one of his top American critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, of his Vatican housing and salary privileges, the Associated Press is reporting. <a href="https://t.co/ywppSdBjPm">https://t.co/ywppSdBjPm</a>
&mdash; Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) <a href="https://twitter.com/cnalive/status/1729569352909766861?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“The pope reportedly said that Burke was a source of ‘disunity’ in the Church and that he was using the privileges afforded to retired cardinals against the Church,” The Catholic News Agency <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256120/pope-francis-reportedly-takes-apartment-salary-from-cardinal-burke" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
 Burke and other conservative cardinals asked Francis to clarify his outreach to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, and Francis reportedly never answered them; they also asked whether church blessings could be bestowed on same-sex couples. AP reported they “received a conditional maybe in response.”
Burke criticized Francis&#8217; reforms last month, telling a conference called <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement " href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-conservatives-women-lgbtq-0525e295f5befd4ec97ed553f165bfc8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“The Synodal Babel,”</a> “It’s unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit by some has the aim of bringing forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine.”
Burke <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-burke-the-church-really-should-be-afraid-of-islam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bluntly said</a> in a 2016 interview titled Hope for the World: To Unite All Things in Christ: “If you really understand Islam, you understand that the Church really should be afraid of it.”
Burke stated:
<blockquote>
When [Muslims] become a majority in any country then they have the religious obligation to govern that country. If that’s what the citizens of a nation want, well, then, they should just allow this to go on. But if that’s not what they want, then they have to find a way to deal with it … There is no place for other religions&#8230;as long as Islam has not succeeded in establishing its sovereignty over the nations and over the world. It is important for Christians to realize the radical differences between Islam and Christianity in matters concerning their teaching about God, about conscience, etc. If you really understand Islam, you understand that the Church really should be afraid of it. Islam is a religion that, according to its own interpretation, must also become the State.
</blockquote>
Burke said the West should “be firm about the Christian origin of our own nation, and certainly in Europe, and the Christian foundations of the government, and to fortify those.” Turing to Catholic leaders who thought Islam is “a religion like the Catholic faith or the Jewish faith,” he fired back, “That simply is not objectively the case.”
Burke has been outspoken throughout his career; he said in 2004 that he would not give the Eucharist to John Kerry or other Catholic politicians who publicly support legalized abortion. He stated that Catholics should not vote for politicians who support abortion. In 2008, he said, “the Democratic Party risks transforming itself definitively into a &#8216;party of death&#8217;, because of its choices on bioethical questions,” especially elective abortion.
In May 2009, Burke stated, “Since President Obama clearly announced, during the election campaign, his anti-life and anti-family agenda, a Catholic who knew his agenda regarding, for example, procured abortion, embryonic-stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage, could not have voted for him with a clear conscience.”
In October 2014, Burke referred to gay relationships as “profoundly disordered and harmful.” After the May 2015 same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland, Burke said, “I mean, this is a defiance of God. It’s just incredible. Pagans may have tolerated homosexual behaviors, they never dared to say this was marriage.”

Francis

Pope Punishes Staunchly Conservative Cardinal Who Opposes Francis’ Reforms

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