THURSDAY, MAY 17 |
TRUMP: GANG MEMBERS ARE ‘ANIMALS’ Outrage erupts when President Trump referred to illegal alien gang members as “animals.” Speaking to California lawmakers,Trump said: “These aren’t people. These are animals, and we’re taking them out of the country at a rate that’s never happened before.” Father James Martin, a frequent critic of the president, called the remarks “a grave sin.” Several media outlets suggested that the president made the remarks about all immigrants, but President Trump was speaking about gang members. Here’s what he said: READ |
MORE REACTION TO ‘ANIMALS’ Catholic lawyer Thomas Crown said of President Trump’s ‘animals’ remark: “Calling members of one of the more brutal gangs in America ‘animals’ is indeed theologically unsound and uncharitable, but does not strike me as a sufficient reason to leave fingerprints on one’s pearls. Yes, even Hitler was imago Dei, but this particular idiom is well-worn and uncontroversial in American English, especially when applied to murderers and rapists.” |
ATTACK ON FAITH? A Catholic marriage counselor says she was fired because she refused to compromise her religious beliefs. Kathleen Lorentzen of Saginaw, Michigan, says she was told by her bosses to “be a social worker first and a Catholic second.” READ |
PLANNED PARENTHOOD FUNDING CUTS? The Trump administration is considering a reviving a Reagan-era policy to bar family planning clinics from receiving Title X funding if they perform or promote abortion. The policy was instituted in 1988, but faced immediate court challenges. The Supreme Court gave it a green light in 1991, but further legal challenges prevented its implementation. President Bill Clinton suspended the action in January 1993. READ |
THE NUTTY NINTH The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to dismiss a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood against pro-life activists. Planned Parenthood is claiming that the pro-life activists were engaged in racketeering. Pro-life activists with the Center for Medical Progress uncovered evidence that the abortion giant was illegally selling body parts of aborted children. READ |
ABUSE SETTLEMENT Michigan State University has reached a $500 million settlement with the 332 women and girls who say they were victimized by Larry Nassar, who served as team doctor for the university, the Olympics, as well as the U.S. National Gymnastics Team. “It is the sincere hope of all of the survivors that the legacy of this settlement will be far-reaching institutional reform that will end the threat of sexual assault in sports, schools and throughout our society,” said John Manly, a lawyer representing many of the victims. READ |
CHARITABLE GIVING A new bill was introduced that would make it easier to deduct charitable donations. Under the plan, charitable deductions would be “above the line” meaning it would reduce the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income. READ |
CATHOLIC HIGHER ED A new trustee at Notre Dame donated $10,000 in 2014 to Women Vote!, a radical pro-abortion political action committee connected with Emily’s List. READ |
UPHILL BATTLE IN IRELAND Stephen Herreid interviews Dr. Eoghan de Faoite, a pro-life doctor trying to rally the Irish people to keep their pro-life constitutional amendment. But foreign governments, media voices, and political operatives are trying to squash Ireland’s pro-life heritage. WATCH |
SAINT OF THE DAY Paschal Baylon was a simple, pious shepherd boy who later became an ardent spiritual son of St. Francis and the heavenly patron of adorers of the Most Blessed Sacrament. READ |
DAILY MASS READINGS “Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.” (Ps 16:1) READ |
HUMOR This 13th century painting of the Virgin Mother punching Satan remains popular on social media. |