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| FRIDAY, MAY 18 |
| CUTTING FUNDING TO PP The Trump administration will announce a plan today that Title X family planning funding will no longer go to facilities that promote or perform abortions, according to a report from Catholic News Agency. If implemented, organizations that perform abortion, like Planned Parenthood, would be ineligible to receive any of the $260 million the federal government spends in Title X funding. READ |
| NEW VATICAN DOCUMENT A new Vatican document called Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones (Economic and Monetary Questions) outlines sound general principles, but also reflects the Church’s present struggle to comprehend modern finance, says Sam Gregg. READ |
| MS-13 GANGS White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders pushed back at the media for attacking President Trump’s use of the word “animal” to describe MS-13 gang members. “This is one of the most vicious and deadly gangs that operates by the motto of ‘rape, control and kill,'” Sanders said. “Frankly, I don’t think the term that the president used was strong enough. MS-13 has done heinous acts. It took an animal to stab a man 100 times and decapitate him and rip his heart out. It took an animal to beat a woman they were sex trafficking with a bat, 28 times, indenting part of her body. And it took an animal to kidnap and rape a 13-year-old Houston girl.” READ |
| TOTAL MEDIA FAILURE Media analyst Becket Adams wonders if the press reporting on ‘animals’ was the “worst journalism failure” of Trump’s presidency so far. “It’s fine for pundits to analyze the real meaning of Trump’s often freewheeling and, admittedly, confusing remarks. But there’s no excuse for the hard news side of the journalism business getting things so completely wrong,” he said. READ |
| NEW CIA DIRECTOR The Senate confirmed Gina Haspel as CIA Director in a 54-45 vote. She faced opposition from the Democrats for her role in post-9/11 interrogation and detention practices. Before her confirmation, Haspel wrote a letter to Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, saying: “With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken.” Haspel is the first woman to lead the CIA. READ |
| THE MILLENNIAL VOTE Pew Research found that only one-third of adults under age 30 said they were closely following news about the midterms. CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein called it “an ominous sign for Democrats.” READ |
| IMMIGRATION VOTE House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy confirms that there will be a June vote ion the Goodlatte immigration bill supported by immigration hawks. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus threatened to withhold votes on the farm bill unless there was action on the Goodlatte bill. READ |
| WHAT’S NEXT FOR PP? Cecile Richards’ twelve years as head of Planned Parenthood brought the organization to the zenith of its political and financial power. But the abortion giant might be facing difficult days ahead. READ |
| PHILLY’S ANTI-CHRISTIAN LAW Foster parents and social workers appeared in court to ask the City of Philadelphia to rescind its ban on a Catholic organization from placing children in foster homes. The city has passed a resolution calling for an investigation into religiously-based foster care services after a same-sex couple claimed discrimination against a different faith-based agency. READ |
| CAUSE FOR CANONIZATION OPENED Father Ragheed Ganni, an Iraqi priest martyred by Islamist fighters in Mosul in 2007, remains an inspiration for many Christian victims of persecution. The Vatican this week confirmed that the cause for his canonization was opened. READ |
| SAINT OF THE DAY Saint John I served as pope for about three years before he died of maltreatment at the hands of the emperor’s men. He had to face the Arian controversy and negotiate with the eastern part of the empire concerning the treatment of heretics. READ |
| DAILY MASS READINGS “The Lord has established his throne in heaven.” (Ps 103:19) READ |
| TRUTH |