THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10 CATHOLIC GROUP SUES THE FEDS CatholicVote Civic Action and Judicial Watch are suing the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.

 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10    CATHOLIC GROUP SUES THE FEDS  CatholicVote Civic Action and Judicial Watch are suing the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services. Both agencies have refused to answer CatholicVote's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of six months ago, which asked for records of communication between the government and Catholic agencies that work with migrants. "American Catholics deserve to know the full extent of the U.S. government's role in funding and coordinating with Catholic Church affiliated agencies at the border, and what role these agencies played in the record surge of illegal immigrants over the past year," said CatholicVote President Brian Burch.  READ     BLUE STATES ENDING MANDATES  Democrat-led states are beginning to back down on vaccine and mask mandates, apparently conceding to the public’s growing impatience with the controversial measures. Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and New York are among the blue states that have signaled they will allow at least some restrictions to finally expire in the coming weeks.  READ     DEPORTATIONS DOWN 70%  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 55,590 illegal immigrants in 2021, a 70% decrease from 2020, when ICE deported 185,884. The decrease in deportations coincided with an unprecedented surge of migrants entering the U.S. through the southern border.  READ     SENATORS: DON'T CERTIFY ERA  Three Republican senators warned the National Archivist not to certify the Equal Rights Amendment, which did not receive approval from the necessary 38 states before the 1979 ratification deadline. Congress extended the deadline until 1982, but the amendment still fell short. Left-wing activists are claiming that Congress cannot impose a ratification deadline, but the Department of Justice under both the Trump and Biden administrations affirmed that the deadline was valid.  READ     GENDER IDENTITY BILL  Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, withdrew support for the so-called Fairness for All Act, which seeks to include gender identity and sexual orientation in U.S. civil rights law. Stefanik, who is the third-highest-ranking Republican in the House, joins fellow Republicans Claudia Tenney and Jeff Van Drew, who have also withdrawn support for the bill. Stefanik had also previously supported the Equality Act, but withdrew her support for that legislation in 2021.  READ     FEDERAL FUNDING & ABORTION REFERRALS  A federal court will allow a Biden administration rule to take effect that allows federally-funded clinics to refer for abortions. The Biden administration's rule repealed a reform enacted by the Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration. Archbishop Joseph Naumann had criticized the Biden administration over the rule, noting that the Title X program was authorized to be a “program entirely separate from abortion.”  READ     QUOTE OF THE DAY  "Who knew the cure for Covid was Biden's internal polling numbers?" -Andrew Pollack  LINK     HYPOCRISY  When Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin lifted Virginia's school mask mandate last month, liberal pundits slammed the decision. Now that Democrats are following suit, repealing mask mandates is "driven by science" and a sign the country is "trying to get back to normal."  SHARE         DC CATHOLICS RESIST COVID RULES  Concerned Catholic parents have launched a petition confronting the Archdiocese of Washington over its unbending vaccination requirements, including for children in the region’s Catholic schools. "It violates our rights as laity to be forced to submit to a moral coercion of our conscience, which is a grave violation, on pain of forfeiting a Catholic education for our children in the Archdiocese of Washington," the petition states.  READ     MUSLIMS DEFEND CATHOLIC LEADER  The Global Imams Council, which represents more than 1,000 Muslim leaders worldwide, vehemently disagreed with the inclusion of Catholic politician Marijana Petir in a “European Islamophobia Report.” The Council stated: “The Global Imams Council was alarmed to learn of the inclusion of the Honourable Marijana Petir, Member of the Croatian Parliament, in the European Islamophobia Report ... and her classification as an ‘Islamophobe.’ We reject this charge and consider it false, inaccurate, irresponsible, and defamatory.”  READ     CATHOLIC 101  In a fatherless age, it's time to rediscover the Church Fathers, writes Dr. Adam A.J. DeVille. "To read Church history, and to read her historically influential leaders, is to see at once that we’ve all been here before: corruption, heresy, and division have always been with us, mixed in with purity, holiness, and unity."  READ       SAINT OF THE DAY  St. Scholastica was the twin sister of St. Benedict, the Patriarch of Western monasticism. She was born in Umbria, Italy, about 480. Under Benedict's direction, Scholastica founded a community of nuns near the great Benedictine monastery Monte Cassino. Inspired by Benedict's teaching, his sister devoted her whole life to seeking and serving God. She died in 547 and tradition holds that at her death her soul ascended to heaven in the form of a dove.  READ        DAILY PSALM  "Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.” (Psalm 106:3)  READ       DAILY READINGS  Today's Mass readings.  READ       CREATION  Fog rising over snow-covered trees at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado.  SHARE             INVITE FRIENDS   You got 0 friends to sign up for the Loop! When you reach 10, you receive a free Loop coffee mug!