Lee Ardis

Tracker: Over 280 Attacks on U.S. Catholic Churches Since May 2020

CV NEWS FEED // As civil unrest gripped the country in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in May 2020, Catholic churches were not exempt from mobs that destroyed property in cities across America. But while the riots and looting mostly died down in the summer of 2020, the attacks on Catholic churches have continued and escalated.

Since civil unrest began on May 28, 2020, there have been at least 281 attacks against Catholic churches in the United States, including arson attacks which damaged or destroyed historic churches; spray-painting and graffiti of satanic messages; rocks and bricks thrown through windows; and statues destroyed (often with heads cut off). A new spate of at least 124 attacks has occurred since the draft Supreme Court opinion proposing to reverse Roe v. Wade was leaked in early May 2022, with many including graffiti with pro-abortion messages. Crucially, while a handful of the attacks have included thefts, the vast majority have only involved property destruction, indicating that the primary motive is not material gain.

The attacks on Catholic churches have been widespread across the country, affecting 42 states plus DC. The states with the most attacks are California (42), New York (28), Pennsylvania (19), Texas (15), Colorado (14), New Jersey (14), Massachusetts (12), Florida (11), Washington (11), and Oregon (10). Hotspots with large clusters of attacks include New York City (25) and the metro areas of Denver (13); Los Angeles (13); San Francisco/Bay Area (11); Washington, D.C. (10); Boston (10); Portland, Oregon (9); Seattle (7); Chicago (6); and Houston (5). Some of the churches have been attacked multiple times.

Israel, US kick off massive war games in apparent message to Iran

Exercise, dubbed Juniper Oak 2023, involves over 140 aircraft, 12 naval vessels, and artillery systems from both nations drilling in Israel and Eastern Mediterranean

The Israel Defense Forces and United States Central Command on Monday kicked off a large-scale joint exercise in Israel and over the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the two militaries announced.

The drill, dubbed Juniper Oak 2023, will involve over 140 aircraft, 12 naval vessels, and artillery systems from both nations and last until Friday, CENTCOM said in a statement.

A senior US defense official told NBC News that the drill was aimed at showing adversaries, such as Iran, that Washington is not too distracted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threats from China to mobilize a large military force.

Comet to Approach Earth for First Time since Neanderthals Lived

A comet that only orbits the sun once every 50,000 years is expected to be visible from Earth with the naked eye. The last time the comet visited, the Sahara desert was wet and fertile, Neanderthals and woolly mammoths still walked the Earth, and humans were—as far as we know—yet to reach North America.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was first spotted by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) on March 2, 2022, and is set to reach its closest point to the sun, or perihelion, on January 12, 2023. ZTF is an astronomical survey conducted by the Palomar Observatory in California.

Comets are “cosmic snowballs” made up of frozen gases, dust and rock that orbit the sun. As they approach our star, these fragile constructs are blasted with increasing amounts of radiation, a process that can produce two vast tails of gas and dust.

Biblical Siloam Pool next to Temple Mount to be fully excavated

“The other events of Hezekiah’s reign, and all his exploits, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought the water into the city, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Yehuda KINGS 20: 20 (THE ISRAEL BIBLE)

The ancient pool of Siloam, first mentioned in the biblical book of Kings II, will be fully excavated and opened to the public, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.

The structure is located just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City to the southeast.

“The Pool of Siloam in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem is a site of historic, national and international significance,” said Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. “After many years of anticipation, we will soon merit being able to uncover this important site and make it accessible to the millions of visitors visiting Jerusalem each year.”

During the Second Temple period, millions of pilgrims coming from outside of Jerusalem probably used the pool as a ritual bath (mikveh) before ascending to the Temple Mount, through what archaeologists have dubbed as the “Pilgrimage Road,” the city’s main street that led directly to the sanctuary.

By that point, the pool – which was the city’s main water source – had been renovated and expanded to reach its largest size, approximately 5 dunams (1¼ acres).

Pope Francis Pushes Back Against Laws Criminalizing Homosexuality

Pope Francis recently spoke out against laws that criminalize homosexuality, calling them “unjust” and asserting that God loves all his children regardless of their sexual orientation.

“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis told the Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday at the Vatican.

The pope admitted that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support the criminalization of homosexuality but insisted that those bishops must recognize the worth of every human being.

“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” Francis said, adding that they should utilize “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.”

According to The Human Dignity Trust, consensual same-sex sexual activity is illegal in 67 countries or jurisdictions around the world. In 11 of those countries, the death penalty can and sometimes is imposed. Experts note that discrimination against LGBT people, including harassment and violence, still occurs even when the laws are not enforced.

The United Nations has often called for the end of such laws since they violate one’s privacy and freedom and breach a country’s duty to protect the human rights of all, regardless of a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation, under international law.

Read more at: www.christianheadlines.com

Written records of biblical King David discovered by researchers

The Mesha Stele, also called the Moabite Stone, is a basalt stone slab that has provided historians and linguists with the largest source of the Moabite language to date. Researchers have only now been able to verify with a considerable degree of certainty that the stele contains explicit references to King David.

The stele was discovered in fragments in 1868 roughly 15 miles east of the Dead Sea and currently resides in the Louvre museum in Paris. While it was damaged in 1869, a paper-mache impression of the inscription was captured before the damage occurred.

The slab is etched with a lengthy account of King Mesha of Moab going to war with Israel. The events described correspond, albeit imprecisely, with a similar account in 2 Kings chapter 3.

Russia may use nukes if it thinks Ukraine will win – ex-US general

The fear that Russia may end up deploying nuclear weapons as the war continues is something that has raised concerns with decision-makers and analysts throughout the world.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine may come to a terrifying end in 2023, with Russian President Vladimir Putin likely to turn to nuclear weapons rather than have his armies be completely routed on the battlefield, retired US Army Brig.-Gen. Kevin Ryan said in a Tuesday interview with Insider.

This possibility could occur, Ryan, who also was the former US military attache to Russia, told Insider, with the goal of not only taking out Ukrainian troops but also forcing Kyiv into surrendering to avoid a nuclear holocaust scenario. Moscow could make this move if one of two things happened:

1. Ukraine’s forces are about to utterly defeat the Russian military in the field

2. Ukraine’s forces are about to finally retake the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014

Catholic Hospital Must Perform Gender Transition Surgeries, May Not Claim Religious Exemption, Judge Rules

St. Joseph Medical Center in Baltimore violated Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (the anti-discrimination provision of Obamacare) by refusing to perform a gender transition surgery in 2020, ruled a federal judge in the District Court of Maryland on Friday.

Judge Deborah Chasanow reasoned in Hammons v. UMMS that the Catholic hospital system discriminated against a transgender-identifying woman by cancelling a surgery to remove her uterus once they learned that it was for gender dysphoria. “Defendants necessarily and intentionally relied on sex in creating and enforcing a policy that prohibits treatment if a patient’s medical need for that treatment is an incongruence between the patient’s gender identity and sex assigned at birth,” said the Clinton-appointed judge.

The opinion comes months after two circuit courts — the 8th Circuit and 5th Circuit — had ruled that Obamacare’s Section 1557 did not require Catholic hospital systems to perform gender transition procedures. However, several unusual facts could distinguish this ruling from those contrary decisions. The left-leaning 4th Circuit would hear any appeal from the District Court of Maryland.

Nearly all House Democrats oppose resolution condemning attacks on churches, pro-life facilities

Nearly all U.S. House Democrats voted against a resolution condemning attacks against anti-abortion facilities and churches. The vote came after a report was published showing violence escalated against churches and pro-life groups last year ahead of and after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The House passed the measure Wednesday mostly along party lines. Three Democrats voted for it: Reps. Vicente Gonzalez of south Texas, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.

The resolution “condemns recent attacks of vandalism, violence, and destruction against pro-life facilities, groups and churches” and “calls upon the Biden Administration to use all appropriate law enforcement authorities to uphold public safety and to protect the rights of pro-life facilities, groups, and churches.”

There have been at least 420 hostile acts committed against primarily churches in America over the past five years, according to the report published by the Family Research Council.

Young sacrifice belief in God on altar of Satanism

“With our rituals, there’s never any murder, there’s never any sacrifice, there’s never any blood rites to Satan. We don’t worship the devil. We don’t cast magic spells…”

In fact, as the Global Order of Satan UK – as well as other leaders and members of Satanic groups around the world insist – it would be difficult to spot a Satanist walking down the street.

Yet while the macabre occult rituals, virgin sacrifices, chalices of blood and belief in the actual Devil are a thing of the past, Satanism is luring increasing numbers of young people disillusioned with “outdated” and “dogmatic” traditional religions to join its fold by offering an “alternative” to “stuffy”, traditional faiths.

The Sunday Telegraph has spoken to leaders and members of Satanic groups around the world who claim that the opportunities Satanism offers people to engage in activism and campaign on issues such as gender and sexuality is part of the appeal for the younger members, particularly those who are increasingly less likely to declare themselves as Christian.

Chaplain Leopold, a 32-year-old London-based undertaker, co-runs the Global Order of Satan UK which he said has seen a 200 per cent increase in membership over the last five years.