In this week’s edition:

• Presentation at Army post categorizes pro-life groups as terrorists

• GOP platform makes striking changes to party platform

• Knights of Columbus to cover Fr. Rupnik’s artwork

• and more!

Presentation at Ft. Liberties lumps pro-lifers in with terrorist groups

Summary: Journalist Sam Shoemate reported on X that a presentation at Fort Liberty included pro-lifers and pro-life groups under a section on “Terrorist Groups”. The US Army has since disavowed the presentation.

Details:

• The slides were used as part of training for “…soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty”

• Following a slide about ISIS was the slide listing pro-life groups and their activities with a slide title of “TERRORIST GROUPS”

• The slide specifically names National Right to Life and Operation Rescue

• ‘Terrorist activities’ on the slide include Life Chain, sidewalk counseling, and pro-life license plates.

• The US Army has issued a statement that the slides were created by a garrison employee, were not vetted properly, and will no longer be used.

Why we care: While it’s a relief that this seems to be the work of a rogue employee and not the official position of Ft. Liberty leadership or the US Army at large, we think there’s still plenty of reason for concern. Firstly, it shows there’s a contingent of Americans who actually believe this and are in a position to influence others who may not know better. Perhaps some marketing to combat these misconceptions is in order. Secondly, it seems to affirm what many have been saying about the military - that this woke, leftist, ‘morality police’ mentality has poisoned the well and left our military weaker and more vulnerable. Here’s hoping for an improvement on both of these fronts.

GOP removes right to life, pro-marriage language from party platform

Summary: Updates to the Republican party’s platform for 2024 saw the removal of certain pro-life and pro-marriage language. The platform was written by the Trump campaign and is said to largely guided by Mr. Trump himself.

Details:

• The platform removed references to a “fundamental right to life” and a call for an amendment to guarantee said right

• While celebrating the overturning of Roe v. Wade and opposing late-term abortion, the document also stands behind birth control and IVF

• Proponents of these changes say they support the notion that abortion should be up to the states and that it would be difficult to pass a national ban

• The platform also removed language about “traditional marriage and family” which is “based on marriage between one man and one woman”.

Why we care: It’s tough living in a two-party system where one party seems to despise us and the other only somewhat reflects our values, sometimes. Changes like this certainly won’t help the feeling of many Catholics that they are without a political home, and while there are alternatives like the American Solidarity Party, it’s tough to call them viable at this point. We all know how third-party candidates tend to go over in this country. Our preference would be to see parties like the American Solidarity Party become more feasible so that a diversity of views might be represented in the political system, but perhaps more practical in the short-term is the hope that the GOP returns to its more conservative roots.

Knights of Columbus announce plans to cover Fr. Rupnik mosaics

Summary: The fraternal organization announced its plans to temporarily cover Fr. Marko Rupnik’s work in two of its chapels with the potential for a permanent covering.

Details:

• The knights will be covering Fr. Rupnik’s mosaics at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., and Holy Family Chapel at their headquarters

• The decision was reached after consulting with bishops, art experts, and sex abuse victims

• The coverings are temporary, but “A permanent plaster covering may be in order” depending on the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s decision on the case

• The knights also announced additional measures to express solidarity with victims of sexual abuse, such as educational materials about Fr. Rupnik and a prayer for abuse victims at shrine Masses.

Why we care: It’s bizarre that we’ve waited this long for someone to really do something about removing Fr. Rupnik’s work from churches, but we’re glad to see the Knights of Columbus setting a good example about how to proceed - discernment, followed by (what we believe to be) the correct decision to cover up the mosaics. We hope that other organizations and groups in the Church will follow their lead.

Other stories

• Updates to previous stories:

  • We talked about changes to the ACA that would mandate gender-affirming care in our 2nd-ever issue. A coalition of seven states and doctors are now suing HHS over the mandate.

  • Biden administration appears to flip-flop, supporting sex-changes for minors

• Controversial Marian statue in Austria shows the Blessed Mother giving birth

• Dicastery for Divine Worship forbids TLM at end of Our Lady of Christendom pilgrimage

• Guilty plea from Missouri priest accused of stealing $300k

• WI Catholic school takes legal action in aim to purchase vacant public elementary school

• Meet St. Charlie Rodriguez, a 20th-century layman from Puerto Rico

• More pro-life news

Saint of the Week

St. Bonaventure

July 15 | Doctor of the Church and patron saint of bowel disorders

What’s going on:

• Notable Feast Days