Faith Watch

Pope Leo XIV Appoints Controversial New Pontifical Academy for Life President– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser May 28, 2025 0

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Pope Leo XIV this week appointed Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro — longtime chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life involved in a controversy over his 2022 comment suggesting contraception could be permissible in certain cases — as the academy’s new president.

Msgr. Pegoraro succeeds Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who became president in 2016. Msgr. Pegoraro studied in Padua and Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in moral theology and a diploma in advanced bioethics, according to the Academy for Life website. He was president of the European Association of Centers of Medical Ethics from 2010 to 2013, and he has served as a bioethics lecturer at the Theological Faculty of Trivento.

Pope John Paul II established the Pontifical Academy for Life in 1994, charging it with the task of “defense and promotion of the value of human life and of the dignity of the person,” according to its Vatican profile. Its main actions are to study problems related to promoting and defending human life; assist, through Catholic initiatives, the pro-life formation of persons; and inform Church leaders, the media, other organizations, and civil society in the findings of its research.

Pam Bondi’s DOJ Files Federal Lawsuit Against Small Idaho Town for Targeting Evangelical Church– conservativeroof.com

pgnewser May 23, 2025 0

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President Trump’s Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against Troy, Idaho’s far-left leadership, accusing them of deliberately targeting a Christian congregation simply for holding worship services.

The lawsuit, United States v. City of Troy, delivers a blistering rebuke of local officials who weaponized zoning laws to shut down Christ Church, a growing evangelical congregation based in nearby Moscow, Idaho.

Trump’s DOJ alleges that city leaders engaged in blatant discrimination, suppressing the church’s right to assemble while letting secular groups operate freely in the exact same zone.

Christ Church, unable to accommodate its growing congregation in Moscow, looked to expand into Troy.

They attempted to rent a vacant downtown bank building for Sunday services—a common-sense solution, considering it had sat empty for over a year and offered plenty of street parking.

California agrees to give religious families equal access to special education funds – Standing for Freedom Center– www.standingforfreedom.com

pgnewser May 23, 2025 0

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The state of California has agreed to allow families to use public special education funds for tuition at religious schools, following a legal settlement reached after years of litigation.

The decision marks a significant policy change and aligns the state’s regulations with recent federal court rulings affirming religious rights under the First Amendment.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by Orthodox Jewish families who challenged the state’s long-standing rule that barred the use of publicly funded special education services at religious institutions. Plaintiffs argued that the policy, which required private schools receiving such funding to be nonsectarian, unfairly excluded religious families and violated their constitutional rights.

In the case of Loffman v. California Department of Education, a group of Jewish parents and religious schools challenged the exclusion, arguing that it violated constitutional protections against religious discrimination.

How Trump broke the illusion of liberal Christian ‘compassion’– www.theblaze.com

pgnewser May 23, 2025 0

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Last week, a plane landed: 59 Afrikaners, mostly farmers, mostly white. Trump called it a genocide. MSNBC called it racism.

Turning away the persecuted because they’re the wrong color is not justice; it’s betrayal.

Just like that, we were off. Cue the outrage cycle, fearmongering chyrons, left-wing think pieces, and Twitter threads from soft-palmed theologians who wouldn’t recognize a plow if it hit them in the face. “This isn’t what Christianity looks like,” they screamed.

But that’s precisely the problem. Trump’s version of Christianity doesn’t look the way they want it to. It doesn’t speak in nonprofit euphemisms, hold committee meetings on climate equity, sing hymns to intersectionality, or check in with the Episcopal diocese before making moral decisions.

It does something far more offensive: It acts on behalf of people the professional Christian class has decided no longer count. In other words, white, rural, conservative Christians who don’t fit the preapproved narrative.

Justice Department backs New Hampshire church in religious liberty showdown – Standing for Freedom Center– www.standingforfreedom.com

pgnewser May 22, 2025 0

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The U.S. Department of Justice has intervened in a legal dispute to support Grace New England Church, a small congregation led by Pastor Howard Kaloogian in Weare, New Hampshire.

The church has gathered for worship on Pastor Kaloogian’s five-acre property every Saturday for several years, using a renovated barn that the pastor has also offered to the community for a variety of secular events, including political rallies, backgammon tournaments, and weddings.

The government has never had an issue with any gathering held anywhere in town or on Pastor Kaloogian’s private property — until a Weare zoning enforcement official named Tony Sawyer saw a promotional flyer for Grace New England Church’s Saturday worship event. Sawyer then went, uninvited, to Pastor Kaloogian’s house and informed him that he would have to complete a site plan application and a conditional-use permit in order to continue holding religious assemblies on his private property.

The town has since delayed permit applications, subjected the pastor to repeated inspections of his home, and threatened to fine him.

Why Pope Leo Calls His Appointment a Cross and a Blessing– time.com

pgnewser May 9, 2025 0

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Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, made history on Thursday, May 8, when he was elected as the first American Pope. The Chicago native, who has spent many years serving as a missionary in Peru, took to the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and addressed the cheering crowd, speaking in Spanish and Italian.

On Friday morning, Pope Leo spoke once more when he presided over his first mass as Pontiff.

Dressed in a white robe with a gold border and a tall white miter, and holding a gold crucifix, Pope Leo delivered his first homily during which he spoke in his native English, as well as Latin and Italian, to the cardinals who elected him just a day before.

Leo referred to being appointed Pope as both a cross and a blessing, and spoke of the responsibility he and the cardinals have to spread Christianity in a world that sometimes mocks faith.

Cardinal Robert Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV– www.stltoday.com

pgnewser May 9, 2025 0

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Catholics in Virginia on Thursday celebrated the historic announcement of the first American pope in the history of the church. Diocese of Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout said he rejoiced at the selection of Cardinal Robert Prevost.

“Along with the faithful of the Diocese of Richmond, I rejoice in thanksgiving at the announcement of our new pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope to be elected,” Knestout said in a statement. “Like many, my initial reaction was one of joyful astonishment when I heard the cardinal protodeacon announce that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a Chicago native, was elected as the 267th pope to lead our Church.”

Prevost, 69, who took the name Pope Leo XIV, was born in Chicago and spent much of his career ministering in Peru.

NYT Caught Rigging Photos to Look Like Trump Violated Dress Code, But We’ve Got the Ones They Didn’t Show– www.westernjournal.com

pgnewser May 5, 2025 0

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The New York Times, along with multiple other outlets, chastised President Donald Trump for allegedly breaking the Vatican’s dress code for Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday.

The featured image of their story was cropped in such a way as to suggest that Trump was the only leader in a blue suit at the event.

The Times’ chief fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, wrote that President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Great Britain, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy all wore black.

But, “Mr. Trump? He was wearing blue. And not even dark, midnight blue, but a clear, sapphire-like blue, with matching tie. Amid all the black and Cardinal red, it popped out like a sign.”

CBS Warns an African Pope May Disappoint LGBTQ Activists– www.newsbusters.org

pgnewser May 5, 2025 0

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Ahead of next week’s papal conclave, Friday’s edition of CBS Evening News was caught in a tough situation. On one hand, being the diversity-conscious liberal show that it is, Africa correspondent Debora Patta lamented Africans are not reflected in the Vatican’s halls of power despite Catholicism growing in the area. On the other, Patta warned that an African pope would not be the pro-LGBTQ reformer liberals would want him to be.

Talking over footage of African worshipers, Patta set the scene, “This is the face of the Catholic Church’s future. The African continent is its fastest growing region. Home to at least one-fifth of its followers. That’s more than 272 million people.”

Meet the Candidate for Pope Who Would Give Liberals Everywhere a Panic Attack– www.westernjournal.com

pgnewser April 22, 2025 0

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Christians need not profess the Catholic faith in order to recognize the importance of the moment.

In short, someone must now teach the world to seek truth in something other than whims and fashion.

On Monday, 88-year-old Pope Francis died, bringing an end to a papacy that, in many ways, conservatives regarded as little more than an apostasy and setting the stage for a papal enclave that could result in the election of a conservative favorite, 79-year-old Cardinal Robert Sarah from the west African nation of Guinea.

Of course, the phrase “could result” must temper conservatives’ expectations.

In fact, on Monday The Guardian profiled Sarah as one of nine possible candidates to succeed Francis. So the African cardinal’s elevation to the papacy hardly qualifies as a foregone conclusion.

Pope Francis died from a stroke followed by heart failure, Vatican says – The Guardian– news.google.com

pgnewser April 22, 2025 0

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  1. Pope Francis died from a stroke followed by heart failure, Vatican says  The Guardian
  2. Pope Francis dies at 88 from stroke and heart failure, Vatican says: Live updates and reactions  Yahoo
  3. First photos released of Pope Francis in his casket; funeral set for Saturday  Fox News
  4. Who will be the next pope? Here are some possible candidates  CNN
  5. Who Runs the Vatican Between Popes?  Time Magazine

Pope Francis’ funeral scheduled as mourners prepare to gather in Rome – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser April 22, 2025 0

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Pope Francis will be laid to rest Saturday after lying in state for three days in St. Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff.

The cardinals met Tuesday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10.

The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. U.S. President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend, and Argentine President Javier Milei is also expected.

U.S. Flags to Fly Half-Staff to Honor Pope Francis After Passing– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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President Donald J. Trump has ordered all United States flags on government and military properties to be lowered to half-staff in memory of His Holiness Pope Francis on the morning after his passing.

The Vatican announced the pope’s passing early Monday morning in Rome after a fight against pneumonia, Breitbart News reported. He was 88.

Francis had recently left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he was admitted on February 14, before briefly meeting with Vice President JD Vance on Easter Sunday.

Trump released a proclamation shortly after the news broke, calling for flags to be flown at half-mast until sunset out of “respect” for the Catholic leader:

As a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, on the day of interment.  I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

Pope Francis died of stroke and heart failure: Vatican doctor | News– www.aljazeera.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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Pope Francis died of a cerebral stroke and irreversible heart failure, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli has said in a death certificate.

The certificate released on Monday for the 88-year-old pontiff said the pope had fallen into a coma before his death earlier in the day.

Pope Francis had suffered various ailments during his 12-year papacy, with severe complications in recent weeks following a bout of double pneumonia for which he spent 38 days at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

The Vatican also released Pope Francis’s spiritual testament – a written statement of faith – in which he said he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major and not at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, unlike many of his predecessors.

JD Vance ‘snubbed’ by Pope amid row over ‘disgraceful’ migration plans | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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JD Vance had a “brief” meeting with the Pope amid tensions between the pontiff and the White House on migration policy and welfare cuts. The US Vice President, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, is understood to have been keen to meet his Holiness whilst in Rome with his family.

The leader of the Catholic church had been reticent to grant an official meeting, but a “brief” audience was held on Sunday morning in Casa Santa Marta where the 88-year-old lives. The meeting is understood to have “lasted a few minutes” according to the Vatican, allowing the two to exchange Easter greetings. The Pope has previously been critical of the US administration, condemning their policy on migration and pledge of mass deportations as “a disgrace”.

Mr Vance has at times attempted to clumsily use Catholic teachings to justify the White House’s approach to migration but has been slapped down by the Pope in open letters to Catholic Bishops in the US.

He was also outspoken on President Donald Trump, hours before his inauguration, telling Italian TV: “This won’t do! This is not the way to solve things. That’s not how things are resolved.”

U.S. pastor Josh Sullivan, abducted at gunpoint in South Africa, rescued in shootout, authorities say– www.cbsnews.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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Josh Sullivan, a U.S. pastor abducted at gunpoint while delivering a sermon in his church in South Africa Thursday evening has been rescued in a shootout that left three suspected dead, authorities say.

According to a statement issued by the “Hawks” — a specialized police unit that investigates serious crimes — Sullivan, 45, was abducted at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell Township outside the coastal city of Gqeberha and was being held in a safehouse in that city.

The Hawks say numerous police agencies acting on tips went to the house Tuesday and saw a vehicle. Suspects in the vehicle tried to flee, opening fire on the officers as they did and “the officers responded with tactical precision, leading to a high-intensity shootout” in which the three suspects were killed.

Sullivan was found in the vehicle “miraculously unharmed,” the statement says, adding that he was “immediately assessed by medical personnel and is currently in an excellent condition.