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| FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30 |
| INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE The Archdiocese of Sante Fe announced that it will file for bankruptcy reorganization to meet its responsibility to sex abuse victims. The action comes one day after the state’s attorney general executed a search warrant on the chancery offices in Albuquerque. READ |
| REFORM FROM THE GROUND UP Bishops had hoped that there would be tangible steps towards reform when they met in Baltimore earlier this month. But with the Vatican’s last-minute decision to suspend votes on reforms, several bishops believe that any new reforms will have to be done in their own dioceses under the direction of the local bishop. Canon lawyer Ed Condon explains. READ |
| HALT ON JUDGES Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley canceled votes on 22 lifetime judicial nominations that had been scheduled for this week. The action comes as outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake, R-AZ, pledged to oppose all judicial nominations until there’s a scheduled Senate vote on a bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation. Ted Cruz was among many GOP senators upset at Flake’s move: “One of the greatest substantive victories that we have delivered for the American people the last two years is nominating and confirming strong constitutionalist judges. For a Republican senator to be blocking that is frustrating the promises we made to the voters.” READ |
| NO PORN AT STARBUCKS The coffee giant finally succumbs to pressure and announced that they will block customers from watching pornography and other explicit content in stores in 2019. READ |
| MICHAEL COHEN ENTERS PLEA DEAL Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, stated that he “knowingly and willfully made a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement and representation” to the Senate Intelligence Committee about negotiations for building a Trump Tower in Moscow that occurred well into the 2016 presidential campaign. “Michael Cohen has cooperated, Michael Cohen will continue to cooperates,” said Cohen’s lawyer, Guy Petrillo. READ |
| GENDER IDENTITY NIGHTMARE A Texas mother dresses her 6-year-old son as a girl and charged the child’s father with child abuse for not affirming the child’s new “gender identity.” The mother is trying to end the father’s parental rights. READ |
| RE-FOCUS AT COLLEGE The great recession still exists for college humanities as students chose educational paths more likely to earn higher income. The college majors gaining the most in popularity of the last few years are: exercise science, computer science, nursing, health and medical, and computer and electrical engineering. The college majors losing popularity the most: history, religion, area studies, humanities, languages, and literature (other than English). READ |
| JESUIT UNIVERSITY BLOCKS CONSERVATIVE Gonzaga University has blocked an upcoming speech on campus by writer Ben Shapiro, citing the possibility of “hateful speech” by protesters. This is not the first university that claims to be Catholic which has blocked Shapiro from speaking. In 2016, DePaul University banned Shapiro over “security concerns.” READ |
| JESUIT UNIVERSITY BLOCKS CONSERVATIVE Gonzaga University has blocked an upcoming speech on campus by writer Ben Shapiro, citing the possibility of “hateful speech” by protesters. This is not the first university that claims to be Catholic which has blocked Shapiro from speaking. In 2016, DePaul University banned Shapiro over “security concerns.” READ |
| DISTURBING REPORT A 2012 investigation into a seminary in Connecticut revealed evidence of an extensive homosexual network. The report led to the swift removal of 13 seminarians, but despite the findings, several involved were nonetheless ordained to the priesthood. READ |
| KILLER ROBOTS The Vatican is calling on the international community to ban the use of killer robots, better known as Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). For the past five years, the Holy See has been questioning whether such weapons systems could irreversibly alter the nature of warfare by creating detachment from human agency in war. READ |
| SAINT OF THE DAY Saint Andrew was Saint Peter’s brother, and was called by Jesus along with Peter. We know very little about Andrew except that he too was a fisherman, and a disciple of Saint John the Baptist. READ |
| DAILY READINGS “The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.” (Ps 10) READ |
| HONOR Hundreds attend funeral of a Vietnam vet with “no known family.” SHARE |