FOREIGN NATIONAL CHARGED; CATHOLICS URGED TO PRAY AND ACT;BIDEN VS. PRO-LIFE CENTERS; TRUMP BACKS TAX CREDIT FOR HOMESCHOOLING;REFUSING ‘TRANS’ CARE FOR KIDS = ABUSE?

 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24 FOREIGN NATIONAL CHARGED  The University of Georgia Police Department has arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra in connection with the suspected homicide of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was found dead Thursday. UGA Police Chief Jeffrey L. Clark said of Ibarra: "Right now I don’t know his full status. He is not a citizen of the United States." The University of Georgia is located in Athens-Clark County, which is a "sanctuary" city.  READ CATHOLICS URGED TO PRAY AND ACT  CatholicVote Friday launched a campaign calling on the Catholic faithful to petition the offices of two New York prosecutors to prosecute the anti-Catholic “transgender” activists who deceptively gained entry to St. Patrick’s Cathedral last week. Catholics should reach out to both New York Attorney General Letitia James and District Attorney Alvin Bragg via phone, email, and social media.  READ BIDEN VS. PRO-LIFE CENTERS  Conservative groups joined forces Friday in calling on Republicans in Congress to defund a pro-abortion rule backed by President Joe Biden’s administration that would punish pro-life centers. “This proposed rule would prohibit pregnancy centers and alternative-to-abortion programs from receiving millions of dollars a year… while directing that same funding to Planned Parenthoods and other abortion centers favored by the Biden administration,” they warned.  READ TRUMP BACKS TAX CREDIT FOR HOMESCHOOLING  Former President Donald Trump announced that if elected in November, he would support universal school choice as well as comprehensive tax credits for families who homeschool their children. The Republican frontrunner told the audience at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention that he would allow “parents to choose the public, private, charter, or religious school that best suits their children.”  READ REFUSING ‘TRANS’ CARE FOR KIDS = ABUSE?  A bill under consideration by the Illinois legislature would label parents who deny their minor children access to so-called “gender-affirming care” or abortion, as “abuse[rs].” In addition, it would mandate that an Illinois doctor who provides so-called “gender-affirming services” or abortions to a minor “shall not incur civil or criminal liability” or be professionally disciplined “for failure to obtain valid consent” from the parents.  READ EMBRYO RULING BRINGS NEEDED REGULATION  Alabama’s ruling on in vitro fertilization has drawn backlash from politicians, but researcher Emma Waters notes it brings to light the largely unregulated fertility industry. “Few federal laws regulate in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments and only a handful of state laws—such as Louisiana's embryo protection law and Colorado's ban on anonymous egg and sperm donation—address the moral and ethical questions raised by the artificial creation of human life,” writes Waters.  READ NINE-MONTH NOVENA ANNOUNCED  Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke and CatholicVote are calling all Catholics to join in prayer over the next nine months as America faces a historic election. The novena will begin on March 12 and end with a consecration on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12.  READ OVER 400 ATTACKS ON CATHOLIC CHURCHES Local police announced they have a suspect in custody for the destruction of several stained glass windows at the National Shrine of St. John Neumann in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to CatholicVote’s violence tracker, the crime marks the 401st attack on a Catholic church since the summer of 2020 and the 11th such crime this year.  READ THE WHY BEHIND THE DESECRATION Carl Trueman writes, "Our age is not marked so much by disenchantment as by desecration. The culture's officer class is committed not merely to marginalizing that which previous generations considered sacred. It is committed to its destruction."  READ SMART PHONES & OUR KIDS  Catholic activist Maureen Ferguson writes about the harmful effects that social media has on our nation’s young people. “America's 15-year experiment with social media and smartphones has been, on balance, a catastrophe for our kids. The scientific evidence is so overwhelming that U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has issued a formal warning, saying we ‘must urgently address’ the youth mental health crisis brought on by social media,” Ferguson writes.  READ LOOPcast  Take Tom’s pop quiz to learn if you’re a (gasp) Christian nationalist! War is peace: hate crime perps demand St. Patrick’s apologize for defending the Eucharist, Erika discovers co-lactating parenting, and auditions are open for “shrill US Congresswoman.” Who will be the next AOC?  WATCH A DEEPER EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE  It’s a good practice to spend a few minutes to examine your conscience at the end of the day. Before Confession, we of course do some level of this. But every once in a while, especially during Lent, it’s a good idea to do an even deeper examination of conscience. Here, Dan Burke at Spiritual Direction shares his highly-requested guide, “Deeper Examination of Conscience and the Seven Deadly Sins.”  READ MAKE-AHEAD WINTER DINNERS  On a dark, wintry evening, you want to come home to a steaming hot dinner. But take the time and effort out of it by making your dinners ahead and popping them in the freezer. Here are 45 make-ahead weeknight dinners that are perfect in winter. From rustic Italian tortellini soup to mini sausage pies to cranberry chipotle chicken enchiladas, you have a lot to look forward to.  READ THE SORT OF MEN WE NEED A new book by Mark Helprin called “The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, a War Story, a Love Story,” illustrates the type of man we need with the character Captain Stephen Rensselaer. Though fictional, in his personal virtue, his interests and hobbies, his relationship with his crew, and his relationship with his love interest, Rensselaer embodies real attributes that real men can emulate.  READ A PLACE OF SPRINGS  A spring is a place where water moving underground finds an opening and bubbles up. This concept could be applied metaphorically to a person - someone who emerges unexpectedly from dark and hidden depths as a soul full of life and joy. Denise Trull, from Theology of Home, found a spring like this when she discovered the life of Maud Lewis.  READ CATHOLIC 101  The flood lasted 40 days, Moses spent 40 days on the mountain, Jesus fasted 40 days in the wilderness, so Lent is a season 40 days long.  Right?  If you take out your calendar and begin counting forward from Ash Wednesday, you may be surprised to see you hit 40 before you reach Easter Sunday. Why is that?  READ SAINT OF THE DAY  Not much is known about St. Victorinus. Along with the entire local Church, he was exiled from his homeland in Greece under the command of Emperor Numerian. Although he thought himself safe in Egypt, Victorinus was captured and imprisoned there under Governor Sabinus. He and his companions were brutally tortured and finally martyred in 284 A.D. READ SATURDAY'S PSALM  “Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!” (Psalm 119:1)  READ SATURDAY'S READINGS  Saturday's Mass readings.  READ SUNDAY’S PSALM  “I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.” (Psalm 116:9)  READ SUNDAY’S READINGS  Sunday's Mass readings.  READ ANSWER TO THE TRIVIA  St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City was once dubbed “Hughes’ folly” in 1858. But this historic Gothic cathedral is the most-visited church in the United States. HAVE A TIP?  Send us your news for the Weekend LOOP.  EMAIL ARCHBISHOP FOR LIFE  40 Days for Life campaigns are underway across the country. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was seen leading a Rosary at the San Francisco Planned Parenthood this week. May God bless our bold bishops!  SHARE The LOOP is a publication of CatholicVote Civic Action, a 501(c)(4) organization. The LOOP is organized, funded, and published by faithful Catholic laity. We do not claim to speak for any individual bishop or the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. CATHOLICVOTE | PO Box 3310 | Carmel, IN 46082 | (317) 669-6127

 

Canada almost wiped out syphilis. Now rates are skyrocketing — as more women, infants getting infected Nearly 14,000 cases of infectious syphilis across Canada in 2022, and 117 congenital infections Lauren Pelley

 

View in browser Saturday, February 24, 2024 Good morning! Here's our round-up of weekly health and medical science news. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here. This week Syphilis rates keep rising. Is Canada doing enough? NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says Liberals, New Democrats have a deal on pharmacare Pickleball injuries on the rise as sport's popularity grows Colorized electron micrograph of Treponema pallidum, the spiral-shaped bacteria that cause syphilis. (CBC/NIAID) Canada almost wiped out syphilis. Now rates are skyrocketing — as more women, infants getting infected Nearly 14,000 cases of infectious syphilis across Canada in 2022, and 117 congenital infections Lauren Pelley   Just a decade ago, syphilis infections among infants were nearly eradicated in Canada. Yet there were warning signs the bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) — known for causing painless sores, organ damage, and stillborn infants — was making a comeback. First, rates started rising among adults in the early 2000s, followed by an alarming spike in congenital infections passed from mothers to their babies.  The latest federal data shows there were nearly 14,000 cases of infectious syphilis across the country in 2022, as well as 117 instances of early congenital syphilis. That's a nearly 15-fold increase from just eight nation-wide cases of syphilis reported in infants five years earlier. "When I started in clinical practice, just over 20 years ago, we'd see syphilis like every couple months," said Patrick O'Byrne, a nurse practitioner with Ottawa Public Health's sexual health clinic. "And I would say it's now daily." There's no one reason to explain why syphilis is on the rise and in broader populations than before. Clinicians suspect changing sex practices and lack of health-care access for marginalized Canadians may create a climate where these infections can quietly run rampant. Most concerning to Sean Rourke, a Unity Health Toronto scientist at the St. Michael's Hospital MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, is what he calls a lack of "political will" to fund and implement solutions as STI numbers "keep on going up and getting worse." While federal officials have called syphilis an "ongoing crisis," Rourke said the situation should be dubbed an emergency that requires urgent on-the-ground efforts — before more vulnerable Canadians bear the brunt of escalating outbreaks. "We're neglecting them," he said. "We've actually failed them." Canada-wide crisis, data shows A trio of bacterial STIs — chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis — were all rising steadily in Canada in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, federal data shows. While rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea dipped starting in 2020, likely due to reduced testing during COVID-related restrictions, syphilis maintained its upward trend after a briefer lull and remains a major concern for public health officials. The STI is caused by the spiral-shaped bacterium Treponema pallidum, and transmits via direct contact with someone who's infected through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Without treatment, syphilis can damage the heart, brain or other organs — and if someone is pregnant, it can spread to their fetus, leading to a high rate of stillbirths and a host of health impacts if the baby survives. "They can be deaf, they can be blind, they can have learning disabilities," said Rourke.  Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories are among the hardest hit regions in recent years, according to federal figures. In recent years the country's syphilis rates were also rising faster than in the United States or Europe, a Reuters report noted in March 2023, which pinned the spike on poor health-care access and discrimination faced by Canada's Indigenous communities, concentrated across the Prairies. But the crisis is Canada-wide. In Ontario, rates hit their highest level in 2022 at nearly 24 cases per 100,000 people, with a year-end tally of more than 3,500 infections. (That's close to the same number of cases reported across the entire country in 2016.) The province has also documented a striking shift in which populations are getting infected.  While syphilis traditionally showed up more among males — and largely men who have sex with men, several experts noted — Ontario public health officials have observed steady increases among females, with the rate jumping from less than one case per 100,000 females in 2013 to 7.5 cases per 100,000 females by 2022. There's a similar trend playing out in B.C., with the province's latest data showing the proportion of new syphilis cases in men who have sex with men has dropped from 84 per cent in 2018 to 33 per cent by mid-2023.  Meanwhile the proportion of infections among men who only have sex with women, and women who only have sex with men, has risen dramatically during the same five-year span — with those two groups now making up the vast majority of all syphilis infections in B.C., jumping from 14 per cent of the grand total in 2018 to 65 per cent last year. "And we will expect that some of those individuals will potentially have some cases of congenital syphilis, especially if there are barriers to access to health care during that pregnancy," noted Dr. Troy Grennan, the physician lead for the HIV/STI program at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). He called that a "devastating, preventable" outcome. (Syphilis caught during someone's pregnancy through a prenatal screening can be treated with a basic regimen of penicillin.)  While vulnerable communities may be more at risk, several experts suspect shifts in overall sex practices, such as reduced condom use, are partially fuelling syphilis's comeback. (Shutterstock) Multiple experts agreed marginalized groups including Indigenous communities, homeless individuals, and drug users are bearing the brunt of congenital infections.  Adam Grant, an Edmonton-based registered nurse and sexually transmitted and blood-borne illness team lead with Indigenous Services Canada, has met with pregnant individuals who find out they're infected with syphilis at various points in their pregnancy. In many cases, those people live in remote areas and lack transportation to access care, or simply don't have a primary care provider. "Some individuals gave birth," he said, "and then found out they had syphilis, because they never had prenatal care prior." Shifts in sexual practices may be fuelling STI rise While vulnerable communities may be more at risk, several experts suspect shifts in overall sex practices are partially fuelling syphilis's comeback.  The rise of online dating apps, resulting in more people having multiple sexual partners, is one leading theory. A trend toward more oral sex could also be playing a role, said O'Byrne from Ottawa Public Health, who stressed that people think it's safer because it's not a likely transmission route for HIV, even though it's a common transmission route for syphilis.  The growing use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) medicine — which has proven highly-effective in preventing HIV infection — also understandably led to behavior changes, Grennan noted. "Some people now use condoms less frequently," he added. "Or not at all." Awareness of bacterial STIs also dropped over time, leading clinicians to assume syphilis was no longer a threat, noted Dr. Kevin Woodward, an associate professor at McMaster University in Hamilton and the medical and executive director at HQ Toronto, a health hub offering STI and HIV testing.  More physicians need to include syphilis in routine screenings, he said. And that's if someone even has a primary care provider in the first place, with surveys suggesting one in five Canadians don't have a family doctor or nurse practitioner they can see regularly. Read more about Canada's syphilis crisis from CBC Health's Lauren Pelley. Cross-Canada health news from CBC Traveling for spring break? Make sure you get 2 measles shots, says Canada's top doctor | CBC News More than 4 Albertans died — each and every day — from opioids in 2023 | CBC Calgary With Ontario's senior population about to spike, report predicts big demand for home care | CBC Toronto NDP leader Jagmeet Singh meets with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says Liberals and New Democrats have a deal on pharmacare The federal Liberal government and the NDP have come to an agreement on pharmacare, clearing the way for the two parties to continue operating under the confidence-and-supply agreement that has helped keep the government in power over the past two years. In an interview with CBC's Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said weeks of talks between the two sides have produced draft legislation that will set out the framework for a national pharmacare program and, in the short term, new coverage for contraception and diabetes treatment. A senior government source confirmed that an agreement had been reached. "We've secured something really important, I would say really historic for Canadians. We're really excited about this," Singh said. Read more from CBC News' Aaron Wherry. Trending studies Lung cancer among Inuit in Nunavik: a retrospective matched cohort study | CMAJ Chronic exposure to fine particulate matter and risks of hospital admission for major cardiovascular diseases: population-based cohort study | BMJ Reemergence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections in children and adolescents after the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. | U.S. CDC Pickleball injuries on the rise 2:17 Pickleball injuries rising as sport grows more popular THE NATIONAL CBC Health's Lauren Pelley spoke to coaches and medical experts about a spike in pickleball injuries, and how players can play safely on the court. WATCH THE BIG NUMBER   68 That's the number of complaints patients filed about Ontario clinics performing publicly funded procedures between 2020 to 2022, according to documents obtained through a freedom-of-information request by the Canadian Press.  The finding comes as the province is preparing to expand the number of private clinics doing cataract surgeries, which were one of the biggest sources of complaints linked to unfair billing practices. Other complaints involved eye exams, blood tests, and prenatal testing. While the absolute numbers are relatively small, NDP health critic France Gelinas said the true number of patients with similar complaints is likely much higher, since most people don't know how the complaint process even works. Stories we found interesting this week Newfoundland Opposition calls on RCMP to intervene in private nursing deals | Globe and Mail The Fall: My once-vibrant dad emerged broken from the hospital. Then he was gone | Ottawa Citizen The year after a denied abortion | ProPublica New episode dropped Feb. 22 Most of us assume that our memories get worse as we grow older, but it’s not as simple as that. Toronto Metropolitan University neuroscientist Natasha Rajah explains why some of our memories often remain just as strong in old age as when we're younger, as well as how changes in our aging brains influence our ability to retain and retrieve information. Play on CBC Listen New episode airs Feb. 24 and 25   For her entire medical career, Dr. Kate Greenaway has been devoted to providing gender-affirming care to the trans and nonbinary folks who desperately need it. But with ever-increasing wait times and a lack of funding, she’s done something she never thought she’d do: go private. Dr. Greenaway tells Dr. Brian Goldman about the rock-and-a-hard-place path that led to her decision.  Tune in on CBC Listen Thanks for reading! You can email us any time at secondopinion@cbc.ca with your comments, questions, feedback or ideas. Share this newsletter or subscribe if this was forwarded to you. Follow us View in browser Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 250 Front St. W, Toronto, Ontario M5V 3G5 cbc.radio-canada.ca | radio-canada.ca | cbc.ca

Trump Calls On Christian Base At Nashville Event;n a National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, TN the once and perhaps future President Donald Trump spoke to Christian conservative supporters. He urged them to fight against the radical left and admonished them that their most deadly enemy was within the United States.

 

Trump Calls On Christian Base At Nashville Event

In a National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, TN the once and perhaps future President Donald Trump spoke to Christian conservative supporters. He urged them to fight against the radical left and admonished them that their most deadly enemy was within the United States.

Donald Trump was known for many things prior to his successful 2016 Presidential campaign — but a practicing, believing Christian was not one of them. However, central to the teaching of every Christian denomination is the message of conversion.

Trump campaigned on Christian values, and in his four years as president his actions followed through with his words. He appointed three Supreme Court justices who were critical in overturning the Roe v Wade decision via the historic Dobbs case. He was the very first president to speak in person at the annual March for Life. Even pro-life presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush spoke to the rally remotely via the Oval Office.

He reinstated the “Mexico City” policy, which prohibits federal funding of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that promote or perform abortions.

He also followed through on a campaign promise to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move praised by Christians and in keeping with the Judeo-Christian view of history. This displayed Trump’s formal recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem.

Trump exhorted the Nashville crowd on the absurdity of voting Democrat: “How any Christian can vote for a Democrat — Christian or person of faith — how you can vote for a Democrat? It is crazy.”

Along with conversion, forgiveness is central to all Christian denominations. Trump has had a past that involved marital infidelity and association with adult entertainment stars. His conservative Christian base overwhelmingly backs him despite all of this, largely due to his actions as president.

His current legal troubles, involving a host of criminal and civil cases, are seen for the political witch hunt that they are. These persecutions have done nothing but galvanize and energize his Christian base. The backlash against the blatant lawlessness behind these cases has made the GOP nomination a layup for Trump.

In GOP primary results to date, such as Iowa and New Hampshire, Christian conservatives voted Trump in overwhelming numbers. In the upcoming South Carolina primary, Trump is expected to handily defeat his last remaining opponent Nikki Haley, who hails from that state and served as its Governor.

Speaking of his opponents who espouse Marxist ideologies and use fascist tactics against him, Trump summarizes the sentiments of his Christian base: “What they cannot stand is that in the end, we do not answer to bureaucrats in Washington; we answer to God in Heaven

Time Square’s New Billboard Of The Illegal Immigrant Attack On Police;“Hey Joe! If cops aren’t safe because of your open borders, nobody is,” the billboard taunts the Democrat president. The billboard includes a video that captured the incident in Times Square and went viral on social media in January,

 

Time Square’s New Billboard Of The Illegal Immigrant Attack On Police

A conservative group — the Job Creators Network — is paying to put up a billboard in Manhattan’s Times Square that depicts the illegal immigrants who allegedly assaulted New York Police Department (NYPD) officers in January in order to put pressure on the Biden administration over its open border policies.

“Hey Joe! If cops aren’t safe because of your open borders, nobody is,” the billboard taunts the Democrat president. The billboard includes a video that captured the incident in Times Square and went viral on social media in January, adding to the national debate over how to secure the border and better protect Americans with immigration policy.

The advertisement directs viewers walking past in New York City to visit the website SecureOurBordersNow.com, where the organization has a petition ready for visitors to sign urging the president to get serious about border policy.

Authorities are holding Yohenry Brito, 24, on $15,000 bail for his alleged participation in the police attack, which began after several pedestrians refused to clear a sidewalk after police gave them orders to move.

“President Biden needs to stop playing political games with the southern border,” said Elaine Parker, the chief spokeswoman for the Job Creators Network. “The administration already has the authority and resources it needs to act.”

Biden says that conservative Republicans are stopping him from achieving border reform because they are unwilling to support his Ukraine-Israel-Border bill, a compromise worked out by establishment leaders of both parties in the U.S. Senate, but rejected by conservative senators.

Republicans say Biden’s bill allows too many new illegal immigrants across the border daily for federal, state, and local resources to comfortably or safely sustain. Some worry it will invite more pressure on the border from illegal immigrant groups moving in from all over the world and crossing the U.S. border illegally from Mexico.

One week ago, five illegal immigrants pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court to assaulting two NYPD officers in Times Square in January. The court sent Yohenry Brito, 24, Yorman Reveron, 24, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19, and Wilson Juarez, 21, to Rikers Island to await trial after arraignment, all due back in court on Apr. 13.