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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

The Vatican will always be on the side of empires

2023-09-05

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Stanislav Stremidlovsky

[REGNUM] After Pope Francis, in an address to young Russian Catholics, urged them to remember great Russia and the great Russian emperors Peter I and Catherine II, some of our country's neighbors predictably got excited. It even turned out to be not so much in Ukraine as in Poland and Lithuania.

Warsaw and Vilnius emphasized the "denunciation" of Francis and the Vatican in sympathy for Russian imperialism. As Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, “ The Pope is the authority of faith, but this does not automatically mean that he is the authority of history. Sometimes, perhaps, the history of Russia or the history of our region, our continent from Argentina may look a little different.”

Behind this there was a hint that suddenly an unusual pope was elected in the Vatican, who is not a European and therefore not as familiar with the history of the continent as the former Italian, French pontiffs, not to mention the Polish Pope John Paul II. Although some Polish experts at the same time openly stated that the Archbishop of Buenos Aires did not deviate much in his "anti-Western rhetoric" from his Krakow predecessor.

According to the former Dominican priest, now Polish philosopher Tadeusz Bartoszcz, "the popes took the side of Russia as early as the 18th century, they supported the division of Poland, so there is a long tradition here." And the current course of Francis is largely the legacy of the Polish Pope John Paul II, who “raised the banner of the fight against the West as a “civilization of death.”

All this further confused the situation, since it was no longer possible to explain the position of the Vatican on Russia by some kind of misunderstanding of the "Argentine Pope" Francis of European realities. So far, the pontiff himself, who went on a visit to Mongolia, has not put an end to this story.

In his speech in Ulaanbaatar, he praised the traditions of religious freedom in the Asian country, noting that such tolerance existed even during the period of the Mongol Empire's vast expansion to most of the world. In its heyday it extended as far west as Hungary and remains the largest continental land empire in world history.

“The fact that the Mongol Empire over the centuries was able to cover such distant and diverse lands testifies to the amazing ability of your ancestors to recognize the outstanding qualities of the peoples who inhabited its vast territory and put their qualities at the service of common development, this model should be appreciated and proposed anew nowadays,” Francis said, addressing Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh.

The pontiff thus formulated the main geopolitical principle of the Holy See - an orientation towards empires as guardians of interethnic integration and religious tolerance. In this, Pope Francis, by the way, agreed with the Russian Orthodox Church, which evaluates the period of domination of the Mongol Empire in Rus' primarily by the fact that the invaders showed respect for Orthodoxy, without touching the traditional faith and its institutions.

It should be said that for the Church, the empire is in principle a mother structure. Christianity appeared at a time when numerous peoples and tribes, embraced by civilization, were united into a single conglomerate thanks to Rome. During the heyday and power of the Roman Empire, Christian preachers had the opportunity to preach from Syria to Spain, staying in a common cultural and linguistic space.

The Church, emerging from the imperial font, retained gratitude for this form of political organization. Moreover, for many centuries Catholic bishops and priests did not encounter the phenomenon of nationalism, which led to the emergence of nation-states.

Until the very beginning of the 20th century, when the collapsed Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian empires became the breeding ground on which numerous newly-minted countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltics grew, the Holy See preferred to focus on Berlin, Vienna and St. Petersburg as centers of power and power. Therefore, in what some publicists rightly reproach the Vatican, the popes were ready to support the division of the “revolutionary” Commonwealth rather than send their blessing to the Polish rebels.

Today, the Holy See is also guided by the imperial vision in relation to Ukraine. He shows respect and sympathy for the Ukrainian people, guided by humanitarian considerations. As during the Spanish and Portuguese colonization of the New World, Catholic monks advocated the observance of the rights of local Indians. But from the point of view of state building, the Vatican is skeptical about the prospects of the national project of the same Kyiv, and not only it.

The post-Soviet experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe showed the Holy See that nationalistic tendencies and intolerance towards a foreigner remain a way for the political elites of these states to retain power. Empires, even former ones, take a different approach, guided by the task of keeping various cultures, ethnic groups and confessions in a single space.

Russia in this context repeats the patterns characteristic of it during the time of the emperors Peter I and Catherine II mentioned by Pope Francis. Although both of them had a hand in curbing the Ukrainian liberty, at that time-the Zaporozhye Cossacks, both the first and second rulers successfully integrated the same Ukrainians into the imperial space, giving them the opportunity to occupy high and responsible positions and work for the common good of the whole country.

The common good, inclusiveness is a principle that the Vatican understands well and tries to implement in all areas. This is especially true for the pontificate of Pope Francis, whose speeches are permeated with the idea of involving all strata of the population in social, political and economic activities, despite the unloved head of the Catholic Church of the "garbage culture".

It is difficult for modern Lithuania and Ukraine, whose civilizational thinking only began to take shape after the late 1980s, to understand the logic of the Holy See as an institution rooted in history. But the Vatican knows that Marshal Jacques d'Etampes of France was right when he said that God is always on the side of the big battalions. Therefore, the popes will be on the side of Peter I, Catherine II and Genghis Khan, no matter what anyone thinks about this.

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Europe

Two Gored Bulls of Ireland

2023-08-15

By Pat Hickey

August 6, 2023

[JohnKassNews] The Irish national epic is Tain Bo Cualigne (The Cattle Raid of Cooley). It's a long poem about the greed and vanity of elites and the courage and honor of those who are bound to fight for them. The king and queen of Connaught own a white horned bull and want to match it with the legendary Brown Bull of Ulster. At first, they attempt to finagle the brown bull of Cualigne (Cooley) and then outright steal it.

The prose/poem is a litany of lies, deceptions, curses, blood and misery. Note again that this work is the national Irish epic.

Heroes die by the hundreds and deeds of valor abound, bolstered by mighty oaths.

The bulls are brought together, and they slaughter one another. Very much ado and all for nothing.

I grew up with Irish literature and history. My grandparents escaped the misery of late 19th century County Kerry and settled for the glories of Chicago's stockyards. From there they built solidly middle-class lives in the land of the free and home of the brave. Their children and grandchildren inherited the privileges of American citizenship, while enjoying a connection to our romantic Celtic past. Ireland was the land of saints, scholars, poets, rebels and martyrs.

I visited Ireland a few times and came away with a much greater love for America. I look at Ireland today and am sad.

Ireland, or rather the Irish, have seemed to disappear. The Woke would say that the Irish have evolved. Me? I say they’ve evolved into voiceless, timid and complacent beneficiaries of a soulless culture.

Sure, there is Guinness and Father Ted and GAA hurling and football and Craic, but the faith of our fathers has vanished.

Pope John Paul II, now a Saint, visited Ireland in 1979 and praised the nation for its faithfulness. At that time 90% of the population identified as Roman Catholic and 87% of that demographic attended services. In 2022, 69% identified as Catholic and only 40% of those attended services. The next largest group after Catholic is "no religion" at 14%.

Ireland is now secular, globally Woke, passive and controlled by the European Union (EU) and Silicon Valley.

This past spring, Ireland ordered that 200,000 head of cattle be killed in order to curb bovine flatulence that is allegedly causing the planet's destruction. Dairy products are Ireland's principle exports - think Kerry Gold.

Ireland has been constitutionally neutral since the birth of the Republic, under the arch-Catholic Eamon De Valera. Today, the EU wants to put an end to Irish neutrality and is pushing to add Ireland to NATO.

Ireland is enthralled to Silicon Valley and the global elites of the EU. Angela Nagel, a brilliant public scholar and an American-born Irish writer, has become a target of the Woke. Her book Kill All the Normies: Online Culture Wars from 4chan and Tumbler to Trump and the Alt-Right caused a Leftist Woke backlash that continues today. There was no MAGA or right-wing rage against Ms. Nagle.

In 2020, the brilliant Ms. Nagle wrote this assessment of Irish Wokeism:

Having uncritically adopted the fashions of American academia, Ireland's new young, educated elite have started parroting the imported language of "white privilege" versus "people of colour," and the dangers of nationalism versus the superior multinational capitalism-friendly values of openness.

There is little reason to think the cultural revolution sweeping across Europe from America will stop and listen to the "but we’re on your side!" pleas offered by Irish Republicans about how they supported the anti-apartheid movement in the Eighties or how our nationalist heroes were anti-imperialists or that our Republicans today are economically left-leaning and pro-immigration.

Anyone who thinks these details will matter, and that any remnant of Irish cultural nationhood will be immune, is simply not paying attention to the unstoppable internal logic of the current cultural revolution underway. This new generation of elite aspirants are already showing that they make no such distinction and simply recast the native Irish as "white people" whose privilege needs to be checked and ultimately dismantled.

What has happened to Ireland? It has been bought off. The people of Ireland serve cruel masters. No, not Perfidious Albion, the British Crown, but the global elites of the EU and Silicon Valley. Why? Tax breaks. Miss Nagel notes,

As a result of the low-tax policies introduced in the late Nineties, Ireland today is effectively a tax haven, hosting the European headquarters of Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and many others. Some of these companies have been found to be paying as little as 0.005% tax. While this project gave Ireland the Celtic Tiger economy, it also produced a deeply unequal society totally subservient to the sovereignty and ultimately the values and culture of the corporations who today are its guiding force. For our obedience, we received surely the lowest of honours just last year when anti-yellow vests French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy congratulated us for being a people who resist the winds of populism (emphases my own).

Populism is Woke dog-whistle for fascist, or MAGA, or right-wing extremist. Any sobriquet to tamp down free speech. If you are a devout Catholic, oppose abortion, demand secure borders due to Ireland's unrestricted immigration policies, and want to end identity politics whereby any identification but that of Irish has a free hand, then you are deemed a far-right national populist. One group has drawn the collective ire of EU elites: Niall McConnell's Irish Patriot organization.

Angela Nagel warned that Ireland is as much subjugated by the Woke overlords of the EU and Silicon Valley as it was under British Rule. She writes,

The revolutionary generation that gave us the Irish nation understood that you cannot be culturally, intellectually or economically self-directed if you're ruled from a foreign power. These recent events have started to reveal the irreconcilable and contradictory nature of the official ideology of post-Celtic Tiger Ireland, which tried to dress our colonial relationship to international capitalism as a national triumph. The Irish will soon learn that if your economy is ruled from California, your society will start to look like California, a nowhere of the very rich and very poor, but without the sunshine.

Remember this: It was an Irish Chieftain who invited the Normans under Henry II to help him retain some power. Dermot McMurrough became a willing vassal of the Earl of Pembroke and the Plantagenet kings. It was Irish bishops that backed the play of Pope Adrian (an Englishman named Nicholas Breakspeare) and handed the Irish Church over to the British kings.

Likewise, the two major Irish political parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, struck the deal with Mammon and brought about the Celtic Tiger of the 1990s. Ireland is now a sad European Union petty state. While it has a mighty history of martyrdom, rebellion and faith, it also holds a miserable record of self-deception and outright betrayal.

The Irish people have a long and honored tradition of speaking truth to power. Jonathan Swift, Theobald Wolf Tone, Robert Emmet, Edmund Burke, Daniel O'Connell, James Connolly, James Larkin, Constance Georgine Markievicz, Protestants and Catholics alike, loudly shouted at oppressive policies and attitudes. Precious few voices are heard calling for change these days. The Irish media is as co-opted as the American corporate media. People like Angela Nagle are "cancelled."

The Irish have sewn their mouths shut. The two bulls of Ireland are gored and dying, yet again.

Born November 8, 1952 in Englewood Hospital, Chicago Illinois, Pat Hickey attended Chicago Catholic grammar and high schools, received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Loyola University in 1974, began teaching English and coaching sports at Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee, IL in 1975, married Mary Cleary in 1983, received a Master of Arts in English Literature from Loyola in 1987, taught at La Lumiere School in Indiana from 1988-1994, took a position as Director of Development with Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, IN and then Leo High School in Chicago in 1996. His wife Mary died in 1998 and Hickey returned with his three children to Chicago’s south side. From 1998 until 2019, it became obvious that Illinois and Chicago turned like Stilton cheese on a humid countertop. In that time, he wrote a couple of books and many columns for Irish American News. When the kids became independent and vital adults, he moved to Michigan City, Indiana, where he job coaches Downs Syndrome and Autistic teens in LaPorte County. He walks to the Michigan City Lighthouse every chance he gets.
Ireland, at least on paper, is one of the richest nations in Europe based on GDP. Scratch the surface, and you begin to understand why so many of the folks there live below what we would consider 'The Poverty Line'.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

'We forgive and ask for forgiveness.' Polish bishops will rethink the Volyn massacre

2023-06-16

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

by Stanislav Stremidlovsky

The Conference of the Catholic Episcopate in Poland (KEP) announced events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Volyn genocide - the murder of 100,000 Poles during World War II by Ukrainian nationalists and ordinary Ukrainians with the spiritual support of local Greek Catholic and Orthodox priests. The national day of mourning in Poland in memory of the dead is celebrated on July 11.

According to KEP President Archbishop Stanisław Gondetsky of Poznań , on July 7, he and the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk, will issue a joint statement as a step towards Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation. And the day before, on June 17, in all parishes, the “Act of handing over Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary” will be read as a necessary condition for peace to come between these countries within the framework of the traditional teaching of the Church, which has always entrusted itself to the Virgin Mary in times of trial.

On July 8, Gondetsky said, in the village of Paroslia, the site of the first Polish victims of the 1943 genocide, a mass will be celebrated with the participation of the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine. The next day, a memorial service for the dead will be held at the Lutsk Cathedral. There will be presented the "vision" of the tragedy by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Catholic Church in Ukraine.

However, in the way the Polish and Ukrainian Catholics and Greek Catholics will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Volyn genocide, there is more of a political component than a church one. Although Gondetsky declares that reconciliation cannot take place without taking into account the families of the victims themselves, the leadership of the Catholic Church in Poland has already decided everything for itself.

Polish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Suspended Over Volyn Massacre Claims
After all, since February last year, Polish bishops have been constantly assuring those around them of their “ prayer for Ukraine, which is resisting Russian aggression .” Moreover, the President of the Conference of the Catholic Episcopate in Poland, after the start of the special military operation, criticized the Holy See for its " past and present " approach to Russia and the Ukrainian conflict as allegedly " very naive and utopian,"

This changes the former focus of the Catholic Polish and Ukrainian bishops on the problem of the Volyn genocide. Since the time of Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian politicians and church leaders have been insisting on the formula “forgive and ask for forgiveness”, which until recently caused indignation among the Poles.

When in 2013 Archbishop Shevchuk and Metropolitan of the Przemysl-Warsaw Archdiocese of the UGCC Jan Martyniak once again advocated the implementation of this principle, they were sharply criticized by the head of the Lviv Archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Ukraine, Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki , former secretary of Pope John Paul II . Then he demanded that the basis of the Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation be an absolute and unconditional condemnation of the ideology of extreme nationalism.

"At present, in Ukraine, especially in the west of the country, nationalism is seen as the basis of state building, nationalist leaders are rising to the level of heroes," Mokshitsky said. Lack of knowledge about the past and, as a result, society's tolerance for terrible crimes, such as the ethnic cleansing in Volhynia in 1943, does not allow one to talk about reconciliation, he assured.

But that's then. Now radical Ukrainian nationalism does not bother both Polish politicians and Polish bishops. And the formula “we forgive and ask for forgiveness” is planned to be used for the same purposes with which the Catholic bishops implemented it in 1965 in a dialogue with the Catholic Church in Germany.

Recall that in that year, Archbishop Bolesław Kominek of Wrocław initiated the signing of the “Letter to German Brothers in Ministry”. The signatories of the message were, among others, the future Pope, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, and the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyshinsky of Warsaw.

After listing the sins of the German people against the Polish, including inciting hostility between Poles and Ukrainians, which resulted in the Volyn genocide, the archbishop touched upon the topical problems of the then international relations. These included the issues of recognizing the new border and securing in Poland the "reunited territories", the former German lands that Warsaw inherited as a result of the Second World War.

The letter of the Polish bishops received a political follow-up in 1970. The government of Willy Brandt came to power in Germany . As part of the implementation of the new eastern policy, Bonn recognized the western borders of Poland along the Oder and Neisse, which was what the leadership of the Polish People's Republic sought.

However, today it is becoming clear that the formula "forgive and ask for forgiveness" has shown a short-term effect. The current ruling Polish coalition, led by the Law and Justice Party (PiS), is taking a revisionist approach.

PiS is demanding reparations from Berlin in the amount of 1.3 trillion euros for the damage suffered by Poland during the occupation of the country by the Nazis. Anti-German sentiments are kindled, Germany again becomes an "enemy," although, however, the second after Russia. And the pro-government press and analysts are reducing public discussions to the question of whose heir Berlin is today - the Second or Third Reich.

Political calculation dictates the need to use the previously unacceptable formula for Polish bishops in relation to Ukraine, “we forgive and ask for forgiveness.” The conference of the Catholic episcopate in Poland this year declared its neutrality with regard to the campaign for elections to the Sejm and the Senate. However, artificial reconciliation with the Ukrainian side on the issue of the Volyn genocide plays into the hands of the ruling coalition, whose support of the Kyiv regime irritates many voters.

So, when other political winds blow in Poland, it may turn out that in fact the Poles neither forgave nor asked for forgiveness before the heirs of the creators of the senseless and cruel massacre in Volhynia.

Link

-Lurid Crime Tales-

After McCarrick report, pope vows to ~~stop smoking~~ 'uproot evil' of clerical sexual abuse

2020-11-11

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in his first public comment after the release of an explosive report on the Vatican’s mishandling of the case of ex-U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, on Wednesday again vowed to put an end to sexual abuse in the Church.

"Yesterday, the report about the painful case of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was published. I renew my closeness to the victims of every abuse and the commitment of the Church to uproot this evil," Francis said at his weekly general audience.

He then closed his eyes and prayed silently.

The 450-page report said the late Pope John Paul II promoted McCarrick in 2000 despite rumours of his sexual misconduct, one of a series of failings by popes and officials who let him rise through the ranks regardless of repeated allegations against him.

Link

Europe

France to ban Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves group: minister

2020-11-03

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

It only took mobs of their members brazenly hunting for Armenians by night.

Please, don’t let anyone frame this as Islamophobia. This is a fascist hate group. https://t.co/9oCXdVzNkJ
— Alison Meuse (@AliTahmizian) November 2, 2020

The Jerusalem Post adds:

La Belle France plans to ban ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish far-right nationalist group the Grey Wolves, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday.

Courtesy of Pappy, this is what we know about them: The youth wing, or paramilitary division of the Nationalist Movement Party, the Grey Wolves were founded in the late 1960s. During the 1970s, Grey Wolves killed Kurds, left-wing intellectuals, students, and Christians. Mehmet Ali Agca, who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981, was a member of Grey Wolves. Another member attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Turgut Özal in 1988. In recent decades the party has moderated its platform but adopted a more Islamic stance. After the fall of the Soviet Union, soldiers fought under the Grey Wolves banner in both Chechnya wars as well as in the Nagorno-Karabakh War on the side of the Azerbaijanis against the Armenians. The organization was banned in Azerbaijan in 1995 after an attempted coup and in Kazakhstan in 2005. There are Grey Wolves groups in Germany, Netherlands, France and Belgium.

A ban on the "particularly aggressive" Grey Wolves would be submitted to the French Cabinet on Wednesday, Darmanin told a National Assembly hearing on La Belle France's fight against Islamist krazed killers.

The ban follows recent incidents in La Belle France involving the Grey Wolves group amid growing tensions between La Belle France and ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
<del>The Sick Man of Europe</del> Turkey

<del>The Sick Man of Europe</del> Turkey

...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
and over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In one incident last weekend, La Belle France 3 television reported that the Armenian memorial near Lyon was tagged with pro-~~Ottoman~~ Turkish slogans and inscriptions with the Grey Wolves' name.

Link

Olde Tyme Religion

Pope Francis Wants People to Put Down the Cell Phones During Mass

2017-11-12

[PJ] Pope Francis would prefer that you let your smart phone be dumb during Mass.

Catholic News Agency reports that the pontiff admonished a general audience on Wednesday, reminding them that the priest tells us to "lift up our hearts," and not to "lift up our phones," to take pictures.

Upon first reading this, I sympathized with picture-takers. After all, many of the people attending Mass when Pope Francis is the celebrant are having a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Then I remembered a simpler, pre-smartphone time when I got to go to a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in the late 1980s. I was there with several relatives and friends and I don't remember ever having seen a picture from the Mass. I know that some of us had cameras with us. What I don't remember is whether we simply avoided using the cameras during Mass out of respect or if we were instructed not to do so.

Small confession here: a couple of years ago while serving has a hospitality minister (my parish's fancy way of saying "usher") during midnight Mass I was guilty of trying to take pictures of the beautifully decorated church and the crowd from the vestibule, and I wasn't even seeing the pope.

While Pope Francis was making a very specific point, there is a broader concern with being attentive during Mass that I have some personal experience with lately. As many know, I have recently been dealing with a faith struggle that I've chronicled on this site. As I have begun returning to Mass, I deliberately chose to go to a different parish of my own precisely to avoid distractions.

I've been at my parish for twenty years and have been a volunteer there almost that entire time. While it is still my favorite parish, going to Mass there can be fraught with distractions as I know so many people and often end up helping out with various things. I do still love all of that, but during this difficult time I simply wanted to go to Mass and just be present.

Link

Europe

More Europe ~~migrant~~ colonist briefs

2017-11-07

Charlie Hebdo gets new death threats over Islam cartoon

[IsraelTimes] French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo said Monday it was pressing charges after receiving fresh death threats over a cartoon of the Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, who faces rape allegations. The provocative magazine, which suffered a deadly jihadist attack in 2015 after publishing cartoons of the prophet Mohammed, depicted Ramadan with a huge erection in its edition last Wednesday, saying: “I am the sixth pillar of Islam.”

Laurent “Riss” Sourisseau, the magazine’s editor, said the threats and hate mail had “never really stopped” after the January 2015 jihadist attack in which 12 people were gunned down at its offices.

“It’s always difficult to know if these are serious threats or not, but as a principle, we take them seriously and press charges," he told Europe 1 radio.

Refugee centers in Germany suffer near daily attacks
6 November
[DW] Far-right attacks on refugee homes in Germany still happen nearly every day, statistics show. Though the total number of attacks is down, there are still more incidents than before the 2015 refugee crisis.

From Breitbart -- immigration:

Berlin Politicians Call Special Meeting Over Fears Organized Arab Criminals Have Infiltrated Police Force
5 November
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) have called for a special meeting of the Berlin government over allegations that organised Arab criminal gangs have infiltrated the police force.

Danish Immigration Minister’s Car Runs Over Immigrant After Attempt to Assault Politician
4 November
A visit to a deportation centre for illegal migrants by the Danish minister for immigration and integration Friday quickly turned violent as angry residents attempted to attack the politician, before throwing themselves in front her departing car. Danish immigration and integration

Austria’s Right Wing and Populist Parties Agree to Slash Migrant Benefits, Taxes in Coalition Talks
4 November
Austria’s conservative People’s Party (OVP) and the right wing populist Freedom Party (FPO) have agreed to slash benefits for migrants and introduce five-year residency rules to curb welfare for European Union (EU) nationals.

Channel 4 News Presenter Tells Hungarian Minister: ‘Christianity is Not Really a Fundamental of Europe’
4 November
Krishnan Guru-Murthy, a presenter for publicly-owned broadcaster Channel 4, left the Hungarian prime minister’s spokesman “stunned” after asserting that Christianity is “not really a fundamental of Europe”.

Hungary Asks ‘Is Everyone Entitled to Religious Freedom Except for Christians?’ After Anti-Cross Ruling
3 November
Hungary has offered to take a Christian cross which the French authorities say must be removed from a statue of Pope John Paul II in Brittany. The courts had originally ruled that the entire statue, donated to the small town of

Continent Totally Unprepared For Another Migrant Crisis: European Police Union
3 November
A new survey of police across the European Union has revealed that many officers feel totally unprepared to handle another large wave of migrants. citing too few personnel and resources.

Number of Migrants Arriving in Greece from Turkey up 200 per cent
3 November
The number of migrants arriving on the Greek islands from Turkey since this August is up 200 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Conservative, Anti-Mass Migration Parties See Surge in Popular Support in Poland, Hungary
2 November
Both ruling parties in Hungary and Poland are seeing a surge in public backing following their sustained rejection of internationalist bodies’ pro-mass migration policies, signalling citizens prefer governments that stand by conservative values and protect their nations’ borders.

Women Sexually Assaulted By ‘North African, Arab’ Migrants in Cologne on Halloween
2 November
German police officers in the city of Halle were attacked by a gang of “youths” on Halloween night, and police in Cologne were forced to call for reinforcements due to sex attacks and violence from young migrant men.

Cost of Asylum Seekers Up 73 Per Cent in One Year to Over Nine Billion Euros
2 November
A report from the German Federal Statistical Office claims the amount of money spent on asylum seekers increased last year by 73 per cent, with the government spending a total of €9.23 billion on migrants.

Senior EU Minister: Countries REFUSING to ‘Open the Door’ to Muslim Migrants Will ‘Destroy Europe’
1 November
Countries which “do not want to open the door” to Muslim migrants and try to “protect Christianity” could “destroy Europe”, claims the EU’s longest-serving foreign minister.

Two Austrian Classrooms Now Consist Of 100 Per Cent Migrant Children
1 November
Two Austrian classrooms, in Villach and Klagenfurt, consist of children purely from migrant backgrounds and not a single child speaks German as a first language.

Failed Asylum Seeker Who Allegedly Killed Daughter in Germany Caught in Spain
1 November
Failed Pakistani asylum seeker Sohail A., who is suspected of killing his two-year-old daughter last week in Germany, was apprehended by police in the Spanish coastal city of San Sebastián.

Expert: ‘Dangerous’ Chechen Migrants Take over Brandenburg Islamist Scene
1 November
Historian Christian Osthold, who is an expert in the history of Russia and Chechnya, claims that “dangerous” Chechen migrants have taken over the Islamist scene in Brandenburg with many having links to Islamic State.

Mass Brawl Breaks out Between Italians and over 30 Asylum Seekers
31 October
Four asylum seekers were reported to judicial authorities over the weekend in Pisa after 10 Italian citizens and 30 asylum seekers engaged in a mass brawl in what the local police described as a revenge attack by the migrants.

Hungary: Protecting Europe from Soros Like Game of Thrones Fight Against Winter Threat
31 October
Nations in Central Europe have joined together to save the continent from George Soros’ plan for a ‘mixed, Islamised’ Europe, according to a senior Hungarian MEP, who compared the Visegrad nations’ opposition to forced mass migration to fantasy drama Game of Thrones.

Swedish Students and Vulnerable Pushed to Back of Housing Queue for Migrants
31 October
A new report claims that Swedish students and other individuals considered to be vulnerable have been sent to the back of the housing queue as properties have been prioritised for recently arrived migrants.

Swedish Public Broadcaster Employees Convicted of People Trafficking
31 October
Three employees of Swedish public broadcaster SVT have been convicted of people trafficking after they smuggled a 15-year-old Syrian boy into Sweden from Greece in 2014.

German Migrant Agency Fails to Send ‘Refugees’ Back, Even When Home Nations Are Safe
29 October
The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has been accused of treating refugee status as a path to immigration as they rarely ever check to see if approved refugees’ homelands are safe for them to return to.

While 14,000 Failed Asylum Seekers Await Deportation, Govt Plane to Afghanistan Flies With 166 Empty Seats
27 October
The German government has resumed deportations to Afghanistan but according to reports, the authorities placed a mere 14 people on a 180-seat aircraft despite there being 14,263 Afghans scheduled for deportation.

Two Million Euro Deportation Centre Deports Just 86 Migrants a Year
27 October
The regional government in Hamburg relocated their deportation detention centre last year and so far the new location has cost 2.4 million euros, despite only facilitating the deportation of fewer than a hundred people.

Danish Woman Given Just Three Months in Prison for Sexual Relations with Underage Asylum Seeker
26 October
A 52-year-old Danish woman has been sentenced by a court to a three-month conditional sentence after she was found guilty of engaging in sexual relations with an underage asylum seeker.

Saxony Migrant Homes Host to Murder, Rapes, Hundreds Of Violent Assaults
26 October
Newly released figures from the government of the German region of Saxony reveal the extent of crime in asylum homes showing there have been more than 2,000 criminal incidents including murder, rape, and physical violence.

Pro-Migrant NGOs Call for Greece to Release Migrants onto Mainland
25 October
Pro-migrant NGOs working at asylum centres on the Greek islands in the Aegean are calling for the government to release the migrants to the mainland citing poor conditions and overcrowding in the asylum camps.

German Mainstream Media Calls Migrant Crime Area ‘No-Go Zone’
25 October
A new report claims that migrant youth gangs in the Ebertplatz area of Cologne are becoming increasingly more violent leading some to describe the area as turning into a no-go zone.

Migrant Who Trafficked Drugs from Asylum Home Gets Only One Year in Prison
24 October
A 31-year-old asylum seeker who ran a drug trafficking operation out of an asylum home in the German town of Gummersbach has been sentenced to only one year and two months in prison despite the scale of his operation.

Merkel: Give Turkey Billions More Euros to Keep Migrants out of Europe
23 October
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has advocated giving the Turkish government billions of more euros for Syrian asylum seekers in order to reinforce the European Union (EU) migrant pact, while EU leaders agreed to give Turkey less money to prepare for EU accession.

Austria: 25 Per Cent Rise in Sex Attacks, Almost Half Committed by Migrants
20 October
The Austrian government has released new crime statistics that show sex attacks have risen 25 per cent overall since last year and that migrants make up close to half of all known suspects in sex crime cases.

Swedish Politicians Call For Army to be Deployed to No Go Zones to Keep Peace
20 October
Twenty members of the Moderate Party in Sweden have proposed the government deploys the armed forces in some of the country’s most dangerous no-go zones to combat “gang violence”.

Hungary Fears ‘Soros Influence’ in Election After Open Borders Activist Injects $18bn into Foundation
20 October
George Soros will use his organisation, now the second largest political activist charity in the world, to “influence” Hungary’s 2018 general election, claims a Hungarian member of parliament.

‘Mentally Ill’ Asylum Seeker Receives Two Year Sentence for Raping Woman in Airport
18 October
A ‘mentally ill’ asylum seeker from Somalia was sentenced to two years in prison for raping a woman in the garage under an airport arrivals lounge in Norway.

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Home Front: WoT

Trump speech in Poland -- Reagan is nodding

2017-07-07

[FOXNEWS] Ronald Reagan is nodding. If anyone doubted President Trump’s grasp of history, doubt no more. Today, on the site of the Warsaw Uprising, in the heart of democratic Poland, President Trump gave the most powerful speech of his presidency.

In an echo of Reagan’s "tear down this wall" speech given 30 years ago last month, President Trump declared Poland’s defense of freedom and Western values an enduring "symbol of hope." He honored the Polish people, their character and their patriots in a time of shared threats.

Then, he did more. As Reagan challenged the Soviet communist ideology, predicting it would end on the "ash heap of history," Trump extended his Middle East call to unity. He declared "radical Islamic terror" an "oppressive ideology" doomed by its own inherent evil and "violence against innocents."

President Trump traced Poland’s recurring defense of liberty, its own and ours. He reflected on Polish heroes, like Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who fought in the American Revolution, beside George Washington.

He chronicled Poland’s unbowed faith, perseverance, and reverence for liberty that kept them unified as borders were erased and redrawn in successive wars.

He spoke with passion about the Warsaw Uprising, Nazi and Soviet inhumanities, faith in family, and devotion to universal values. He spoke of the quest for truth and giving one’s life for something higher.

Of Polish and American patriots, he said: "We can still hear their voices; they echo down through history."

President Trump focused on what Ronald Reagan did 30 years ago: the human spirit, and how a free and faithful people will never to be broken ‐ by anything.

Poland had showed us all how to stand "in solidarity against oppression," he said, from Jewish resistance in Warsaw to Pope John Paul II’s and Lech Walesa’s fight against the Soviets.

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Terror Networks

Leave ‘Martyrdom’ to the Jihadists

2016-07-30

[NYTIMES] "Santo subito." The Italian words mean "make him a saint now." This was the cry of the crowds at the funeral of Pope John Paul II -- a demand swiftly acted upon by the church authorities in Rome. The words are echoing around the world again now. This time, the call comes from Catholics shocked at the death of the Rev. Jacques Hamel, the priest whose throat was cut as he officiated at morning prayers on Tuesday in a small French town near Rouen.

The demand to put the slain French priest on the fast track for sainthood was made by a prominent Italian politician, Roberto Maroni, the president of the Lombardy region. It spread swiftly across the globe on social media as Catholics, and others, expressed their shock at the slaying of the priest. "Father Jacques is a martyr of faith," Mr. Maroni proclaimed, and the pope should "immediately proclaim him St. Jacques." The sentiment was echoed by a bigwig in the Vatican press office who hailed the 85-year-old priest as a "modern-day martyr."

Such calls to canonize the murdered priest are ill advised. They will only play into the hands of the Death Eaters.

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Home Front: Culture Wars

Communist Defector Says KGB Created "Liberation Theology"

2015-05-11

[THENEWAMERICAN] A high-ranking communist official who defected to the United States in the 1970s now says the Soviet KGB was behind the tidal wave of "liberation theology" that swept through Catholic countries in Latin America before the opposition of Pope John Paul II effectively ended the movement.
Yeah. I'll betcha everybody's real surprised.
I think we knew this for quite a while, though it's always nice to have confirmation from an old commie thug...
Ion Mihai Pacepa, a former three-star general in Romania's Securitate, or secret police, said he first learned of liberation theology during meetings with Nikita Khrushchev and General Aleksandr Sakharovsky, then chief director of the KGB, when Sakharovsky accompanied the Soviet premier on a six-day visit to Romania in October of 1959.

"Khrushchev wanted to go down in history as the Soviet leader who had exported communism to Central and South America," Pacepa said in a May 1 interview with the Catholic News Agency. "Romania was the only Latin country in the Soviet bloc, and Khrushchev wanted to enroll her 'Latin leaders' in his new 'liberation' war."

Sakharovsky was little known to the world on the lam during the "hot years" of the Cold War, when secrecy was so highly valued that not all the members of the British and Israeli governments knew the heads of their own intelligence agencies, Pacepa said. But Sakharovsky played a key role in the East-West conflict as an architect of the export of communism to Cuba, the Berlin crisis and the building of the infamous wall, and the Cuban missile crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, Pacepa said.

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-Short Attention Span Theater-

NBC investigating Brian Williams' claimsthat he witnessed fall of Berlin Wall and met Pope John Paul II

2015-02-14

[LUCIANNE] NBC investigating Brian Williams´ claims that he witnessed fall of Berlin Wall and met Pope John Paul II
...watched the moon landing arrive, the Bataan Death March, and the Rape of Nanking. Met Winston Churchill, Lenin, Stalin, Einstein, Elvis, and Sammy Davis, Sr.
Canadian Free Press has an interesting article entitled 'Strange Timing.'

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Olde Tyme Religion

Married Lebanese Man Becomes Maronite Catholic Priest in U.S.

2014-03-01

[An Nahar] The Maronite Catholic Church in the United States has ordained a married Lebanese priest for the first time in nearly a century, after Pope Francis gave his permission.

A ceremony at the ornate St. Raymond's Maronite Cathedral in St. Louis ordained Deacon Wissam Akiki on Thursday night.

Eastern Catholic churches in the Middle East and Europe ordain married men. However, the Vatican banned the practice in America in the 1920s after Latin-rite bishops complained it was confusing for parishioners. But Pope John Paul II called for greater acceptance of Eastern Catholic traditions. And over the years, popes have made exceptions on a case-by-case basis for married men to become Eastern Catholic priests in the U.S.

"Almost half of our priests in Lebanon are married, so it's not an unusual event in the life of the Maronite Church, though in the United States it is," Deacon Louis Peters, chancellor at St. Raymond's, said Thursday.

Peters said the pope's action does not lift the ban on married priests in the U.S. It is simply an exception.

Whether the decision would open the door for more married priests wasn't clear. Experts cautioned against reading too much into it.

"This is certainly not an automatic indication that the mandate of celibacy within Roman rite will be overturned," said Randy Rosenberg, a theological studies professor at Saint Louis University.

Akiki, 41, completed seminary studies at Holy Spirit University in Lebanon, Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Seminary in Washington, D.C., and the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis. He has been a deacon at St. Raymond's since 2009 and worked as the assistant to the bishop. He and his wife, Manal Kassab, have one daughter, Perla, 8.

Peters said that in the most recent Maronite Patriarchal Synod, the church reaffirmed its position in support of allowing married priests, a tradition that, worldwide, dates back centuries.

Peters said having married priests "does not in any way detract from the value that the church finds in the vocation to celibacy. The celibate priesthood continues to be highly esteemed."

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