ALABAMA SUPREME COURT: FROZEN EMBRYOS ARE HUMAN BEINGS; RUSSIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION LEADER DIES IN PRISON;‘SATANIC’ STATUE ON TEXAS CAMPUS? VATICAN SENDS LETTER OF SUPPORT TO NIGERIAN CHURCH

 

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20 BURCH: ‘THERE MUST BE CONSEQUENCES’  After a group of LGBTQ activists used deception to hold a raucous “funeral” for an atheist “trans” activist at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, CatholicVote pledged to stand firm against anti-Catholicism. "At what point do Catholics wake up and realize that if we can’t stand up to this, it's only going to get worse?” said CatholicVote President Brian Burch. “There must be consequences or we will see the mockery and desecration of our churches expanding everywhere.”  READ ALABAMA SUPREME COURT: FROZEN EMBRYOS ARE HUMAN BEINGS  The Supreme Court of Alabama ruled Friday that frozen human embryos conceived in vitro fertilization (IVF) are children, with human rights under state law. In the court’s opinion, Justice Jay Mitchell cited the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. He wrote that the state law “applies to all children, born and unborn, without limitation” and “regardless of their location.”  READ NATE SILVER: BIDEN ‘LOSING’  Liberal statistician and pollster Nate Silver wrote on Monday that President Joe Biden is currently “losing” the 2024 election due to his age and his refusal to engage in “normal” election-year practices such as a certain number of interviews. Democrats have “no plan to fix the problems,” Silver wrote.  READ RUSSIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION LEADER DIES IN PRISON  Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died Friday in a Siberian prison north of the Arctic Circle. Navalny, 47, was widely considered to be one of the foremost critics of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny’s widow claims the Kremlin had her husband murdered.  READ BIDEN WANTS TO MEET WITH JOHNSON ON FOREIGN AID BILL  Biden on Monday said he would be willing to meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, about a foreign aid package that is making its way through Congress. The roughly $95 billion bill would send funds to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and other foreign countries. The package made it through the Senate last week, but its prospects don’t look favorable in the House.  READ ‘SATANIC’ STATUE ON TEXAS CAMPUS? Texas Right to Life is calling for the University of Houston to cancel its plans to display a “satanic” pro-abortion statue. The pro-life group described the statue as “an 18-foot tall naked female figure with braids shaped like goat horns and arms like tentacles.” READ VATICAN ANNOUNCES FINAL SYNOD DATES  The Holy See Press Office on Sunday announced the dates of the final session on the Synod of Synodality. The session will take place from October 2 to October 27 this year at the Paul VI audience hall in Rome.  READ LOOPcast LIVE  Trans takeover of St. Patrick’s in NYC – the facts, the fallout, and what it all means. Mailbag Monday poses a practical question: how do you prepare financially for a big family? And what went down in that Russian prison?  WATCH YOUR FAVORITE FRIDAY RECIPES  Calling all LOOPer chefs! Back by popular demand, we’ll be featuring your favorite meatless dishes every Friday in Lent. Send us yours today!  EMAIL VATICAN SENDS LETTER OF SUPPORT TO NIGERIAN CHURCH  The Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization recently sent a message to bishops in Nigeria, expressing solidarity with Nigerian Christians who are affected by the country’s kidnapping crisis. The Dicastery “offers its deepest and heartfelt solidarity to the Nigerian people, who are grappling with a crisis that is expanding in scope and intensifying in proportion,” the letter stated.  READ THE GOOD SHEPHERD IN DENVER  Most of us have heard countless references to sheep and shepherding through spiritual reading and homilies but have never seen the real thing up close. Katie Cassady went to Denver's annual National Western Stock Show and witnessed the relationship between sheep and shepherds for the first time. What she saw helped her understand Jesus as the Good Shepherd and Lamb of God.  READ CATHOLIC 101  Today we celebrate the Feast Day of Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the three children Our Lady appeared to at Fatima. Though these siblings were young when they died (the youngest children to be beatified who were not martyrs), they had great faith. This article tells of some of the miracles that came about through their intercession.  READ SAINT OF THE DAY  St. Jacinta and St. Francisco Marto lived in Fatima, Portugal, and were the two youngest visionaries to see Our Lady in 1917. After the visions, the brother and sister devoted the rest of their short lives to penance for sinners, giving up their lunches and wearing harsh ropes around their waists. Both died very young from the Spanish flu. They were canonized in 2017.  READ DAILY PSALM  “From all their distress God rescues the just.” (Psalm 34:18)  READ DAILY READINGS  Today's Mass readings  READ MUSIC  The young students of Corpus Christi Classical Academy in Kentucky sing “God Bless America” full throttle!  WATCH Paid for by CatholicVote Civic Action, a 501(c)(4) organization. CATHOLICVOTE  |  PO Box 3310  |  Carmel, IN 46082  |  (317) 669-6127