Welcome, Guest
You have to register before you can post on our site.

Username
  

Password
  





Search Forums

(Advanced Search)

Forum Statistics
» Members: 273
» Latest member: Anna Roome
» Forum threads: 6,456
» Forum posts: 12,077

Full Statistics

Online Users
There are currently 554 online users.
» 0 Member(s) | 550 Guest(s)
Applebot, Bing, Google, Yandex

Latest Threads
The Editor of The Recusan...
Forum: Introduction to the Resistance
Last Post: Sacrificium
8 hours ago
» Replies: 1
» Views: 96
Feast of the Miraculous M...
Forum: Our Lady
Last Post: Stone
Today, 07:24 AM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 1,448
Pope Francis says Synod’s...
Forum: Pope Francis
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 05:59 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 76
If We Want to Promote the...
Forum: Articles by Catholic authors
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 05:54 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 79
Fr. Ruiz: Renewal of the ...
Forum: Rev. Father Hugo Ruiz Vallejo
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 05:44 AM
» Replies: 16
» Views: 1,482
Fr. Ruiz's Sermons: Last ...
Forum: Fr. Ruiz's Sermons November 2024
Last Post: Stone
11-25-2024, 06:38 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 69
The Simulacrum: The False...
Forum: Sedevacantism
Last Post: Stone
11-25-2024, 06:36 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 94
Interview with the Editor...
Forum: The Recusant
Last Post: Stone
11-24-2024, 07:15 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 185
Purgatory Explained by th...
Forum: Resources Online
Last Post: Stone
11-24-2024, 09:03 AM
» Replies: 37
» Views: 4,139
Last Sunday after Penteco...
Forum: Pentecost
Last Post: Stone
11-24-2024, 08:57 AM
» Replies: 5
» Views: 11,674

 
  FAA secretly widened the EKG parameter range for pilots so they wouldn't be grounded?
Posted by: Stone - 01-17-2023, 10:55 AM - Forum: General Commentary - No Replies

The FAA has very quietly tacitly admitted that the EKGs of pilots are no longer normal. We should be concerned. Very concerned.
After the vaccine rolled out, the FAA secretly widened the EKG parameter range for pilots so they wouldn't be grounded. It looks like the vax gave at least 50M Americans heart damage.

[Image: https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama...0x900.jpeg]

The FAA just telegraphed the fact that a substantial number of airline pilots have had serious heart damage from the COVID vaccine by widening the ECG parameters for pilots.

Steve Kirsch | January 17, 2023

In the October 2022 version of the FAA Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners, the FAA quietly widened the EKG parameters beyond the normal range (from a PR max of .2 to unlimited). And they didn’t widen the range by a little. They widened it by a lot. It was done after the vaccine rollout.

This is extraordinary. They did it hoping nobody would notice. It worked for a while. Nobody caught it.

But you can’t hide these things for long.

This is a tacit admission from the US government that the COVID vaccine has damaged the hearts of our pilots. Not just a few pilots. A lot of pilots and a lot of damage.

The cardiac harm of course is not limited to pilots.

My best guess right now is that over 50M Americans sustained some amount of heart damage from the shot.

That’s a lot of people who will be very upset when they realize the vaccine they took to reduce their chance of dying from COVID actually worked in reverse making it:
  • More likely that people will get COVID
  • Be hospitalized from COVID and other diseases
  • Die from COVID (and other diseases)
  • You also have an excellent chance of getting a lifetime of heart damage for no extra charge.

But don’t worry; you can’t sue them. They fixed the law so none of them aren’t liable (the doctors, the drug companies, the government). After all, you took the vaccine of your own free will. It’s not like you were forced (or coerced) to take it or anything like that! And there were plenty of people warning you not to take the shots (even though they censored most of them).

In this article, I will explain the evidence and thinking behind all my claims.

As I learn more, I will refine the estimate.


Introduction

On October 24, 2022, the FAA quietly, without any announcement at all, widened the EKG requirements necessary for pilots to be able to fly.

The PR (a measure of heart function) used to be in the range of .12 to .2.

It is now: .12 to .3 and potentially even higher.

This is a very wide range; it accommodates people who have cardiac injury. Cardiologist Thomas Levy is appalled at this change:


Why did they make the change?
Why would they do that?

I’ll take an educated guess as to why they did that. I believe it is because they knew if they kept the original range, too many pilots would have to be grounded. That would be extremely problematic; commercial aviation in the US would be severely disrupted.

And why did they do that quietly without notifying the public or the mainstream media?

I’m pretty sure they won’t tell me, so I’ll speculate: it’s because they didn’t want anyone to know.

In other words, the COVID vaccine has seriously injured a lot of pilots and the FAA knows it and said nothing because that would tip off the country that the vaccines are unsafe. And you aren’t allowed to do that.

Video: https://rumble.com/v25wb0w-interview-wit...-levy.html


Why did they make the change?
Why would they do that?

I’ll take an educated guess as to why they did that. I believe it is because they knew if they kept the original range, too many pilots would have to be grounded. That would be extremely problematic; commercial aviation in the US would be severely disrupted.

And why did they do that quietly without notifying the public or the mainstream media?

I’m pretty sure they won’t tell me, so I’ll speculate: it’s because they didn’t want anyone to know.

In other words, the COVID vaccine has seriously injured a lot of pilots and the FAA knows it and said nothing because that would tip off the country that the vaccines are unsafe. And you aren’t allowed to do that.

Rest of the article here: https://stevekirsch.substack.com/p/the-f...ly-tacitly

Print this item

  The Post-Conciliar 'Synod of Bishops'
Posted by: Stone - 01-17-2023, 09:43 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism - Replies (1)

The Post-Conciliar 'Synod of Bishops'


Pope Benedict XVI: the “synodal dimension is constitutive of the Church: it consists of a coming together of every people and culture in order that they become one in Christ and walk together, following him, who said: ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.’”

While the traditional Catholic encyclopedia notes that a 'synod' is a term used synonymously with 'council,' the history of a Synod of Bishops since Vatican II is a different entity, which unfortunately was born out of a novel and erroneous promotion of collegiality.

The lines sometimes become blurry trying to put these novelties into context. Many decades have gone by since Vatican II. Many people have forgotten about some of these errors that have been so 'normalized' that we don't even recall their insidious roots.

But it is important to understand that these synods are a part of the Vatican II revolution. Their use and promotion began under Pope Paul VI and have occurred under every post-Conciliar pontificate since. In fact, Paul VI states (below) that the whole point of these synods is to further the goals of Vatican II. Is this not what we see continually under Pope Francis - an aggressive promotion of the goals of Vatican II?

And let us not forget the infamous German Synodal Path, where even top Vatican officials are expressing concern over their radical departure from universal [conciliar] Catholic teaching. Again, it is important to recall that these post-Conciliar synods are revolutionary in nature. 

A SiSiNoNo series of articles entitled, The Errors of Vatican II note that Vatican II promoted
Quote:[a]n erroneous notion of collegiality. This idea is juridically abnormal because it recognizes, contrary to tradition and the Church's constitution, two subjects of the supreme power of jurisdiction: the Sovereign Pontiff and the College of Bishops with, at its head, the Pope, although only the latter can exercise it freely (Lumen Gentium §22; also Nota Praevia). Moreover, this erroneous collegiality entails the de facto disappearance of the personal responsibility of each bishop in the government of his diocese, and its replacement by the collective responsibility of the episcopal conferences (Christus Dominus [CD] §37), which now also are ascribed legislative powers (CD §38), and even a wide autonomy in numerous domains traditionally reserved to the exclusive competence of the Holy See.

To take it one step further, the plan for the use and manipulation of episcopal synods is right out of a freemasonic blueprint. The following is taken from an article entitled The Masonic Plan for the Destruction of the Catholic Church:
Quote:22. Fight Papal Authority, putting an age limit on his activity. Reduce the age limit gradually, explaining that you want to preserve him from excessive work.

23. Be bold. Weaken the Pope by introducing Episcopal synods. The Pope will then become only a figurehead as in England where the High chamber and the Low chamber reign and from them the queen receives orders. Then weaken the authority of the Bishop, giving rise to a concurrent institution at the level of the priests. Say that in this way the priests receive the attention they deserve. Finally weaken the authority of the priest with the formation of groups of lay people who dominate the Priests. In this way you will give rise to such a hatred that even Cardinals will abandon the Church and then the Church will be democratic ... the New Church ...

Archbishop Lefebvre spoke frequently about the dangers of these collegial bodies: 
Quote:They have collegialized the pope's government and that of the bishops with a presbyterial college, that of the parish priest with a lay council, the whole broken down into innumerable commissions, councils, sessions, etc. The new Code of Canon Law is completely permeated with this concept. The pope is described as the head of the College of Bishops. We find this doctrine already suggested in the Council document Lumen Gentium, according to which the College of Bishops, together with the pope, exercises supreme power in the Church in habitual and constant manner. This is not a change for the better; this doctrine of double supremacy is contrary to the teaching and Magisterium of the Church. It is contrary to the definitions of Vatican Council I and to Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Satis Cognitum. The Pope alone has supreme power; he communicates it only to the degree he considers advisable, and only in exceptional circumstances. The pope alone has power of jurisdiction over the whole world. We are witnessing therefore a restriction on the freedom of the Supreme Pontiff. [b]Yes, this is a real revolution![/b] The facts demonstrate that what we have here is not a change without practical consequences. John Paul II is the first pope to be really affected by the reform. We can quote several precise instances where he has reconsidered a decision under pressure from a bishops’ conference.

For the purposes of a quick overview, the following is a brief (secular) history of the post-Conciliar Synod of Bishops, taken from here
Note every part of these are post Conciliar and promoted by each of the Conciliar Popes.

Quote:Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church

In the Catholic Church, the Synod of Bishops, considered as an advisory body for the pope, is one of the ways in which the bishops render cooperative assistance to him in exercising his officeIt is described in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as "a group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of the world and meet at fixed times to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world." In addition, each patriarchal church and each major archiepiscopal church within the Catholic Church has its own synod of bishops. Unlike the body that normally assists the pope only by offering advice, these synods of bishops are competent, and exclusively so, to make laws for the entire sui iuris church that each governs.[...]

The papal Synod of Bishops is permanent, even when not in session. Periodically, it holds assemblies, which are either general, if called to consider matters directly concerning the universal Church, or special, if called for problems of a particular geographical area. The general assemblies are either ordinary (held at fixed intervals) or extraordinary (held to treat of some urgent matter).

The papal Synod of Bishops also has a permanent secretariat headquartered in Rome but not part of the Roman Curia. Pope Francis greatly increased both the authority and influence of the Synod in September 2018.


Establishment and nature

In 1959, three years before the Second Vatican Council began, Cardinal Silvio Oddi proposed a permanent consultative body of bishops drawn from many parts of the world to discuss major concerns of the Church, and Cardinal Bernardus Johannes Alfrink proposed a permanent council of specialized bishops to legislate for the Church in union with the Pope and the cardinals.

Within the framework of the Council itself, the first to put forward "the idea of a 'permanent synod of bishops' surrounding the pope" was Melkite Patriarch Maximos IV. In 1963, during the third session of the Council, he proposed that "a relatively small group of bishops [...] with rotating membership would always be in session in Rome to assist the pope. They would work with the pope in collegial fashion". The model he proposed was what the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches was to call the synod of bishops, but that he himself called the holy synod of his sui iuris church, a collegial body comprising both the patriarch and other bishops.

On 14 September 1965, at the opening of the fourth and final session of the Council, Pope Paul VI announced that on the following day he was to establish the Synod of Bishops in a form that "could hardly have been further from what Maximos had proposed in the previous year". He noted that "the Ecumenical Council ... gave Us the idea of permanently establishing a special Council of bishops, with the aim of providing for a continuance after the Council of the great abundance of benefits that We have been so happy to see flow to the Christian people during the time of the Council as a result of Our close collaboration with the bishops." The Pope sought "to make ever greater use of the bishops' assistance in providing for the good of the universal Church" and to enjoy "the consolation of their presence, the help of their wisdom and experience, the support of their counsel, and the voice of their authority." This preempted action by the Council, and made the Synod "immediately and directly" subject to papal authority, ensuring that it would be strictly an advisory body. The Synod of the Bishops does not constitute collegial governance of the Church, but represents a collaboration with the Pope: it discusses topics proposed to it and makes recommendations, but does not settle questions or issue decrees, unless the Pope grants it deliberative power in certain cases.


Collegial governance under Pope Francis

See also: Theology of Pope Francis § Decentralization

From the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis expressed his desire to strengthen the collegial aspects of the Church's governance, and he argued for more recognition of charismatic gifts in the Church. He has held major synods on the topics of the family (2014), on youth (2018), and on the Church in the Pan-Amazon region (2019).[...] Some analysts surmise that the greatest achievement of Francis' papacy may be his creation of a more synodal Catholic church, where synods serve as a platform for open and energetic debate.

On 6 February 2021, Pope Francis appointed Nathalie Becquart an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, making her the first woman to have the right to vote in the Synod of Bishops.


Secretariat and Council

The Synod of the Bishops has its own permanent general secretariat, composed of the General Secretary and a fifteen-member council, twelve of whom are elected by each general assembly and three are appointed by the Pope. The secretariat assists in preparing the apostolic exhortation which the Pope publishes on the basis of the recommendations of each general assembly, and it prepares the next assembly. Their function ceases with the start of a new general assembly. A similar function is performed by specific special councils elected by the special assemblies.


Secretaries-General of the Synod of Bishops
  • Wladyslaw Rubin (27 February 1967 – 12 July 1979)
  • Jozef Tomko (12 July 1979 – 24 April 1985)
  • Jan Pieter Schotte, C.I.C.M. (24 April 1985 – 11 February 2004)
  • Nikola Eterović (11 February 2004 – 21 September 2013)[30]
  • Lorenzo Baldisseri (21 September 2013[30] – 15 September 2020)[31]
  • Mario Grech (15 September 2020[31] – present)


[Image: Capture.png]

[Image: Capture.png]

[Image: Capture.png]

Print this item

  St. Alphonsus Liguori: Daily Meditations for the Second Week of Epiphany
Posted by: Stone - 01-16-2023, 11:49 AM - Forum: Christmas - Replies (6)

Monday--Second Week after Epiphany

Morning Meditation

[Image: anBn]

THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE HOUR OF DEATH


Be you, then, also ready; for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will come (Luke xii. 40).

All know that they must die, but the misfortune is that many consider death at such a distance away that they lose sight of it. Even the old, the most decrepit and the most sickly flatter themselves that they will live three or four years longer. At what hour you think not, the Son of man will come.


I.

It is certain that we shall die, but the hour of death is uncertain. "Nothing," says the author who styles himself Idiota, "is more certain than death; but nothing is more uncertain than the hour of death." God has already fixed the year, the month, the day, the hour, and the moment, when I and you are to leave this earth and go into eternity; but the time is unknown to us. To exhort us to be always prepared, Jesus Christ tells us that death will come unawares, and like a thief in the night. The day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night (1 Thess. v. 2). He tells us to be, then, always vigilant; because, when we least expect Him, He will come to judge us. At what hour you think not, the Son of man will come. St. Gregory says that for our good, God conceals from us the hour of death, that we may always be prepared to die. "Since, then," says St. Bernard, "death may take away life at any time and in any place, we ought, if we wish to die well and save our souls, to live always in expectation of death."

All know that they must die: but the misfortune is, that many consider death such a distance off, that they lose sight of it. Even the old, the most decrepit, and the most sickly, flatter themselves that they will live three or four years longer. But how many, I ask, have we known, even in our own times, to die suddenly -- some sitting, some walking, some sleeping? It is certain that not one of these imagined that he should die so suddenly, and on the day he died. I say, moreover, that of all who have gone to the other world during the present year, no one imagined that he should die and end his days this year. Few are the deaths which do not happen unexpectedly.

Lord, the place in which I ought to be at this moment is not that in which I find myself, but hell, which I have so often merited by my sins! "Infernus domus mea est" -- Hell is my house! St. Peter says: The Lord waiteth patiently for your sake, not willing that any one should perish, but that all should return to penance (2 Peter iii. 9). Then Thou hast had so much patience with me, and hast waited for me, because Thou didst wish me not to be lost, but return to Thee by repentance. My God, I return to Thee. I cast myself at Thy feet, and supplicate for mercy. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. Lord, to pardon me requires a great and extraordinary act of mercy, because I offended Thee, after I had been favoured with special light. Other sinners also have offended Thee, but they have not received the light Thou gavest me. But in spite of all my sinfulness and ingratitude, Thou commandest me to repent of my sins, and to hope for pardon. Yes, my Redeemer, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended Thee, and I hope for pardon through the merits of Thy Passion.


II.

When, therefore, Christian soul, the devil tempts you to sin by saying, -- Tomorrow you can go to confession -- let your answer be, -- How do I know but this will be the last day of my life? If this hour, this moment, in which I would turn my back on God, were the last of my life, so that I should have no time for repentance, what would become of me for all eternity? To how many poor sinners has it happened, that in the act of feasting on the poison of sin they were struck dead and sent to hell? As fishes are taken with the hook, says Ecclesiastes, so men are taken in the evil time (Eccles. ix. 12). The evil time is that in which the sinner actually offends God. The devil tells you that this misfortune will not happen to you; but you should answer him: If it should happen to me, what would become of me for all eternity?

O my Jesus, though innocent, Thou hast wished to die like a criminal on the Cross, and to shed all Thy Blood to wash away my sins. O Sanguis Innocentis, lava culpas poenitentis! O Blood of the Innocent, wash away the sins of the penitent! O Eternal Father, pardon me for the sake of Jesus Christ. Hear His prayers now that He intercedes for me and makes Himself my Advocate. But it is not enough to receive pardon; I desire also, O God, worthy of infinite love, the grace to love Thee. I love Thee, O Sovereign Good, and I offer Thee henceforth my body, my soul, my liberty, and my will. I wish henceforth to avoid not only grievous but also venial offences. I will fly from all occasions of sin. Lead us not into temptation. For the love of Jesus Christ, preserve me from the occasions in which I would offend Thee. But deliver us from evil. Deliver me from sin, and then chastise me as Thou pleasest. I accept all infirmities, pains, and losses which Thou mayest be pleased to send me: it is enough for me not to lose Thy grace and Thy love. Ask and you shall receive (John xvi. 24). Thou promisest to grant whatever we ask; I ask these two graces -- holy perseverance and the gift of Thy love. O Mary, Mother of Mercy, thou dost pray for me: in thee do I put my trust.


Spiritual Reading

MARTYRS OF THE FAITH

VIRTUES PRACTISED BY THE HOLY MARTYRS IN THE COMBATS THAT THEY HAD TO SUSTAIN AGAINST THEIR PERSECUTORS


If the reading of the Lives of the Saints is a great means of preserving piety, as St. Philip Neri tells us, and as is taught by all the masters of the spiritual life, we shall find it yet more useful to read about the Victories the holy Martyrs gained by sacrificing their lives amid torments. Hence before relating their individual triumphs, we shall find it of great spiritual advantage to consider the principal virtues of which they gave proofs in their combats.

There is no doubt that the Martyrs are indebted for their crown to the power of the grace which they received from Jesus Christ; for He it is that gave them the strength to despise all the promises and the threats of tyrants, and to endure all torments even unto an entire sacrifice of their lives. So that all their merits, as St. Augustine writes, were the effects of the grace that God in His mercy imparted to them. But it is also certain, and even of Faith, that on their part the Martyrs co-operated with the grace which enabled them to win their victory. Innovators have blasphemed against this truth, saying that all the crimes of the wicked and all the good works of the just are the result of necessity; but the same St. Augustine gives them the lie when he says that if such were the case no reward or punishment would be just.

The Martyrs, therefore, acquired great merits, because the virtues of which they gave proofs in their combats were great and heroic. We shall briefly describe these virtues in order that we may imitate them in the midst of all the tribulations to which we may be exposed in this life.

We at first remark that the Martyrs were firmly attached to all the dogmas of the Christian Faith. In the early ages of the Church two false religions specially opposed ours: these were the religion of the Gentiles and that of the Jews. The religion of the Gentiles, by admitting several gods, furnished itself the proof of its falsity; for if the world had been under the dominion of several masters, it could not have maintained that regular and constant order which we see has been preserved for so many centuries up to the present time. This is evident even to the eyes of natural reason; for every kingdom divided against itself shall be destroyed (Luke xi. 17). Moreover, the very words of the idolatrous priests clearly demonstrated the falsity of their worship, since the actions that they attributed to their gods represented the latter as filled with passions and vices. This was how the holy Martyrs reproached the tyrants when the latter exhorted them to sacrifice to their idols: "How can we," they said, "adore your gods, if, instead of offering us models of virtue, they exhibit to us only examples of vice?"

The religion of the Jews, although formerly holy and revealed by God, was at that time not less manifestly obsolete and false. In fact, in the Scriptures themselves which they had received from God and had preserved with so much care and transmitted to us, it was predicted that at a certain time the Son of God was to come upon earth, to be made Man and to die for the salvation of the world; that they themselves would put Him to death on the Cross, as they actually did, and that in punishment of this impiety they would be driven from their own kingdom, and without a king, without a temple, without a country, they would live scattered, and be wanderers throughout the world, abhorred and despised by all nations. These were predictions that were manifestly realized in every particular after the death of the Saviour. What rendered still more certain the truth of our Faith was the formation of a new people of God by the conversion of the Gentiles. This was known to have been announced beforehand in the Scriptures, and this was realized as soon as the Apostles spread throughout the world to promulgate the New Law preached by Jesus Christ. This event was an evident proof of the protection that God gave the Christian Religion; for how could those poor sinners, those publicans or fishermen, such as the Apostles were -- men devoid of learning, of wealth, of every human assistance, and even persecuted by magistrates and emperors, have induced, without Divine assistance, so many Christians to renounce all their property, their honours, and generously to sacrifice their lives amid tortures the most excruciating that the power and the cruelty of the tyrants could invent?


Evening Meditation

THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS IN DEATH

I.

The day of destruction is at hand (Deut. xxxii. 35).

The day of death is called the Day of Destruction, because then is destroyed all that man has acquired; honours, friends, riches, possessions, kingdoms -- all are then no more. What, then, doth it profit us to gain the whole world if in death we must leave all? All comes to an end at the bedside of the dying man. Is there any king, think you, -- said St. Ignatius to Xavier when he sought to bring him to God, -- who has taken with him into the other world even a thread of purple to mark his sovereignty? Has any rich man taken with him a single coin, or even one servant to attend him? In death all is left behind. The soul enters eternity alone and unattended, except by its works.

Woe to me! Where are my works to accompany me to a blessed eternity? I can discover none but such as render me deserving of eternal torments!

Men come into the world in unequal conditions: one is born rich, another poor; one a noble, another a plebian; but all go out of it equal and alike. Consider the graves of the dead: see if you can discover among the bodies which are there interred, who was a master and who a servant, who was a king and who a beggar.

O God, while others amass the fortunes of this world, may my only fortune be Thy holy grace. Thou alone art my only Good both in this life and in the next.

II.

In one word, everything on earth will come to an end. All greatness will end, all misery will end, honours will end, ignominies will end, pleasures will end, sufferings will end. Blessed in death, therefore, not he who has abounded in riches, honours and pleasures, but he who has patiently endured poverty, contempt and sufferings! The possession of temporal goods affords no consolation at the moment of death: that alone consoles us which has been done or suffered for God.

O Jesus, detach my heart from this world before death entirely takes me from it. Help me with Thy grace. Thou indeed knowest how great is my weakness. Permit me not to be any longer unfaithful to Thee, as I have hitherto been. I am sorry, O Lord, for having so often despised Thee. Henceforward I will love Thee above every good, and die a thousand times rather than forfeit Thy grace. But the infernal one ceases not to tempt me. In mercy abandon me not; leave me not to myself; permit me not to be any more separated from Thy love. O Mary, my hope, obtain for me the grace of perseverance.

Print this item

  "A New System" – Inside The Davos Summit 2023
Posted by: Stone - 01-16-2023, 11:22 AM - Forum: Great Reset - No Replies

"A New System" – Inside The Davos Summit 2023

[Image: davos-2023-1688x900.jpg?itok=ZX8zCkHV]


ZH | JAN 16, 2023
Via Off-Guardian.org,

WEF conference looks set to focus on what the globalist elite can learn from the failures of their “pandemic” narrative...

The World Economic Forum’s annual meet-up kicks off today. Politicians, corporate giants, “philanthropists” and all manner of elite monstrosities gather for a weekend of telling each other how smart they are and making the world generally worse.

But what’s on the menu this year?

Well, here are the five main items up for discussion, according to the WEF’s website:

See if you can notice a pattern:
  • Addressing the Current Energy and Food Crises in the context of a New System for Energy, Climate and Nature
  • Addressing the Current High Inflation, Low Growth, High Debt Economy in the context of a New System for Investment, Trade and Infrastructure
  • Addressing the Current Industry Headwinds in the context of a New System for Harnessing Frontier Technologies for Private Sector Innovation and Resilience
  • Addressing the Current Social Vulnerabilities in the context of a New System for Work, Skills and Care
  • Addressing the Current Geopolitical Risks in the context of a New System for Dialogue and Cooperation in a Multipolar World

Now, none of this is news. A “new system” for energy is a “green new deal”, a “new system” for international cooperation is some type of global governance, and a “new system” for investment and trade covers a lot of topics, including digital currency.

Like I said, nothing new, but it’s always refreshing to see it in print, with no effort to hide it.

It’s also interesting that they don’t use the phrases “new normal”, “great reset” or “build back better” anywhere on the page, despite the fact it’s obviously what they’re talking about.

A little victory for the alternate media, who have clearly raised enough awareness that those phrases are now considered too tainted to use.

In fact, the WEF brotherhood is clearly concerned about losing control of the narrative, as this article from a few days ago highlights:

Quote:The world’s biggest problem solvers need to craft better narratives

It argues:

Quote:People are more persuaded by the information presented within a narrative because a good narrative helps to ease information processing. Those trying to solve the world’s most pressing challenges must take notice of this.

The whole article is essentially a very long-winded way of saying “we need to tell better lies”.

Quote:We must name the real antagonists: irresponsible politicians, bought scientists and some companies failing to live up to the needs of the transition to net-zero.

We must also stop pretending that there is a debate over the facts of climate change. A false balance is a phenomenon that occurs when a news organization or other media outlet presents an issue as being the subject of a debate, even when there is no actual debate or disagreement among experts on the matter.

The author is talking about climate change, but his points about shifting blame and shutting down debate apply across the board.

Look for a shift of narrative “villains” this year, as well as increased emphasis on positivity and “unity”. Unity likely means attempting to woo back some of the fringe-mainstream elements pushed further to the alternative by the Covid narrative (as they did with Ukraine).

Elsewhere – and on a related note – there is likely to be talk of censorship – or, sorry, “countering misinformation” – as discussed in this WEF article from 6 days ago, headlined: Digital safety: Applying human rights in the digital world

The article details the “challenges” facing the WEF’s “Global Coalition for Digital Safety” in their efforts to tackle…

Quote:the likes of child sexual abuse and exploitation, terrorism and hate speech, misinformation and content related to self-harm and suicide.

Notice how “hate speech” and “misinformation” are thrown in there with the actual crimes? To quote Sesame Street, “one of these things is not like the other”. But that’s no surprise in the age of “legal but harmful”.

To be clear, these people do not care about any of those things. Not at all.

Their businesses exploit children, their state agencies fund terrorism, and their media outlets spit out misinformation at 50 words a minute.

They only really care about control. In this instance that means controlling the internet – more specifically, controlling what you are allowed to say and hear on the internet.

Another potential focus for discussion, highlighted in a couple of places, will be a push for more direct action. What they seem to be calling “tangible solutions”.

The head of Amnesty International – who will be in attendance – has called for Davos attendees to focus on:

Quote:tangible solutions that we already know work, rather than opting to protect the existing global economic system at any cost.

Underlining that “now is the time for action” not “empty gestures”, and simultaneously echoing the “new system” messaging.

The “tangible solutions” line is repeated in the “narratives” article mentioned earlier, by financial consultancy giant Mercer on their page about Davos, a WEF “expert panel”, and by Forbes in their article on young leaders at Davos.

Of course “solutions-based thinking” has been corporate talk for decades, and “now is the time for action” is a cliche which does the rounds at every meeting, summit or conference.

Nobody in history has ever said “now is not the time for action, now is the time for gestures”.

So, of course, it could be empty words designed to make the speakers (and their meeting) feel important.

But it could be something else, perhaps a sign that the propaganda stage of the “great reset” is over, and now we transition to the next stage. Signalling a move away from passive manipulation and psychology-driven control mechanisms and toward more direct enforcement.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Either way, you can broadly define the Davos agenda as four main themes:
  • “A new system”: Reforming the global systems of politics and finance
  • “controlling the narrative”: Telling more believable lies & limiting public debate
  • “countering misinformation”: Censorship, especially of the internet
  • “tangible solutions”: Taking more direct action via enforcement and policy.

The Davos talking points, it seems, will be a retrospective focusing on what they can learn from the shortcomings of their “pandemic” narrative.

Print this item

  90% of online content could be ‘generated by AI by 2025,’ expert says
Posted by: Stone - 01-16-2023, 10:51 AM - Forum: General Commentary - No Replies

90% of online content could be ‘generated by AI by 2025,’ expert says


Yahoo Finance | January 13, 2023 at 3:10 PM GMT-5·3 min read


Generative AI, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, could completely revamp how digital content is developed, said Nina Schick, adviser, speaker, and A.I. thought leader told Yahoo Finance Live (video above).

"I think we might reach 90% of online content generated by AI by 2025, so this technology is exponential," she said. "I believe that the majority of digital content is going to start to be produced by AI. You see ChatGPT... but there are a whole plethora of other platforms and applications that are coming up."

The surge of interest in OpenAI's DALL-E and ChatGPT has facilitated a wide-ranging public discussion about AI and its expanding role in our world, particularly generative AI.

"ChatGPT has really captured the public imagination in an extremely compelling way, but I think in a few months' time, ChatGPT is just going to be seen as another tool powered by this new form of AI, known as generative AI," she said.

It's important to understand what exactly generative AI is – and what it isn't.

"What generative AI can do, essentially, is create new things that would have thus far been seen as unique to human intelligence or creativity," she said. "Generative AI can create across all media, so text, video, audio, pictures – every digital medium can be powered by generative AI. So, I think these valuations that you're seeing for OpenAI are actually going to go up and you're going to start to see even more generative AI companies which have universal applications across many industries in 2023."

This is all still really new, as applications for generative AI have "only really [been] coming to the fore in the last 24 to 6 months," added Schick.


'The pace of acceleration is so incredible'

The generative AI space is set to get far more competitive in the next year, Schick said, who expects to see companies like Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Apple (AAPL) do "a lot more" in the space.

Though much has been said about the extent to which ChatGPT may or may not present an existential threat to Google's search dominance, Schick said she expects to see Google compete rather than wither.

"There's been a lot of debate about whether OpenAI is an existential threat to Google – the fact that Microsoft is an investor in OpenAI, the fact that ChatGPT is going to be integrated into Bing, if that's going to challenge the dominance of Google," said Schick. "Although that's a fantastic story, there's no doubt Google is developing its own generative AI tools with the amount of data that they have, the amount of data they have."

Though it's complicated, the extent to which ChatGPT in its current form is a viable Google competitor, there's little doubt of the possibilities. Meanwhile, Microsoft already has invested $1 billion in OpenAI, and there's talk of further investment from the enterprise tech giant, which owns search engine Bing. The company is reportedly looking to invest another $10 billion in OpenAI.

Ultimately, look for the generative AI space to start changing fast.

"The pace of acceleration is so incredible that these tools – which are shocking and awing us at the beginning of 2023 – are going to seem quite quaint by the end of the year because the capabilities are just going to increase so powerfully," Schick said.

Print this item

  Vatican Announces Ecumenical Prayer Vigil before General Assembly of Synod of Bishops
Posted by: Stone - 01-16-2023, 09:47 AM - Forum: Pope Francis - Replies (1)

Taken from Vaitcan.va

ANGELUS

Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 15 January 2023




Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

The Gospel of today’s liturgy (cf. Jn 1:29-34) relates the testimony of John the Baptist on Jesus, after having baptized him in the river Jordan. He says: “After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me” (vv. 29-30).

This declaration, this witness, reveals John’s spirit of service. He was sent to prepare the way for the Messiah, and had done so without sparing himself. Humanly speaking, one would think that he would be given a “prize”, a prominent place in Jesus’ public life. But no. John, having accomplished his mission, knows how to step aside, he withdraws from the scene to make way for Jesus. He has seen the Spirit descend upon him (cf. vv. 33-34), he has indicated him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and now he in turn humbly listens. He goes from prophet to disciple. He preached to the people, gathered disciples and trained them for a long time. Yet he does not bind anyone to himself. And this is difficult, but it is the sign of the true educator: not binding people to himself. John does this: he sets his disciples in Jesus’ footsteps. He is not interested in having a following for himself, in gaining prestige and success, but he bears witness and then takes a step back, so that many would have the joy of meeting Jesus. We can say: he opens the door, then he leaves.

With this spirit of service, with his capacity to give way to Jesus, John the Baptist teaches us an important thing: freedom from attachments. Yes, because it is easy to become attached to roles and positions, to the need to be esteemed, recognized and rewarded. And this, although natural, is not a good thing, because service involves gratuitousness, taking care of others without benefit for oneself, without ulterior motives, without expecting something in return. It is good for us, too, to cultivate, like John, the virtue of setting ourselves aside at the right moment, bearing witness that the point of reference of life is Jesus. To step aside, to learn to take one’s leave: I have completed this mission, I have had this meeting, I will step aside and leave room to the Lord. To learn to step aside, not to take something for ourselves in recompense.

Let us think of how important this is for a priest, who is required to preach and celebrate, not out of self-importance or interest, but to accompany others to Jesus. Think of how important this is for parents, to raise their children with many sacrifices, but then they have to leave them free to take their own path in work, in marriage, in life. It is good and right that parents continue to assure their presence, saying to their children, “We will not leave you by yourselves”, but with discretion, without intrusiveness. The freedom to grow. And the same applies to other spheres, such as friendships, life as a couple, community life. Freeing oneself from attachments to one’s own ego and knowing how to step aside come at a cost, but are very important: this is the decisive step in order to grow in the spirit of service, without looking for something in return.

Brothers, sisters, let is try to ask ourselves: are we capable of making space for others? Of listening to them, of leaving them free, of not binding them to ourselves, demanding recognition? And also, of letting them speak, at times. Do not say, “But you know nothing!”. Let them speak, make space for others. Do we attract others to Jesus, or to ourselves? And furthermore, following the example of John: do we know how to rejoice in the fact that people take their own path and follow their calling, even if this entails some detachment from us? Do we rejoice in their achievements, with sincerity and without envy? This is letting others grow.

May Mary, the servant of the Lord, help us to be free from attachments, to make way for the Lord and to give space to others.


________________________

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

From 18 to 25 January the traditional Week of prayer for Christian Unity will be held. The theme this year is taken from the prophet Isaiah: “Learn to do good; seek justice” (1:17). Let us thank the Lord who guides his people towards full communion with faithfulness and patience, and let us ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and sustain us with his gifts.

The path towards Christian unity and the path of the synodal conversion of the Church are linked. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to announce that on Saturday 30 January, in Saint Peter’s Square, an Ecumenical Prayer Vigil will take place, with which we will entrust to God the work of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. For the young people who come to the Vigil there will be a special programme throughout the weekend, organized by the Taizé Community. As of now, I invite all brothers and sisters of all the Christian denominations to participate in this gathering of the People of God.

Brothers and sisters, let us not forget the tormented Ukrainian people, who are suffering greatly. Let us stay close to them with our sentiments, our aid, and our prayer.

And I now greet you, Romans and pilgrims gathered here. In particular, I greet the Spanish faithful of Murcia and those of Sciacca in Sicilia. May your visit to the tomb of Peter strengthen your faith and your witness.

I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your meal, and arrivederci!

Print this item

  Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary Vandalized in North Carolina
Posted by: Stone - 01-15-2023, 09:05 AM - Forum: Anti-Catholic Violence - No Replies

Print this item

  Abp. Gänswein provides little-known details of Benedict XVI’s resignation that shocked the world
Posted by: Stone - 01-14-2023, 10:30 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism - No Replies

Abp. Gänswein provides little-known details of Benedict XVI’s resignation that shocked the world
Archbishop Gänswein's book presents his account of Pope Benedict's resignation, along with his firm argument that Benedict's resignation was valid.

[Image: benedict-gandolfoo-810x500.jpeg]

Pope Benedict XVI waves to pilgrims from the window of Castel Gandolfo at the start of his retirement on February 28, 2013 in Rome, Italy.
Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Jan 13, 2023
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Benedict’s former secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein has presented his detailed account of the events leading up to Pope Benedict XVI’s shock resignation in 2013, outlining the sequence of elements surrounding the historic moment.

The details are contained in Gänswein’s book, Nothing but the Truth: My Life with Benedict XVI, announced after Benedict’s death and published on January 12. LifeSiteNews has obtained a copy of the book, and the volume contains several criticisms of Pope Francis, as LifeSite has noted HERE and HERE.

Timeline: Tracing Benedict’s idea from its conception

Spring 2012: According to Gänswein, Benedict’s trip to Mexico and Cuba in March 2012 made the Pope “suddenly” realize “how much his strength was steadily diminishing.”

Unknown to Gänswein at the time, Pope Benedict had reportedly raised the idea of resigning when meeting Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone in April 2012, although “in the immediate aftermath there were no further developments.”

In early summer, Gänswein stated that he began to observe an “unusual tension in Benedict. Particularly after the celebration of Mass in the chapel, during the time of thanksgiving, I would see him very concentrated in prayer.”

September 2012: Gänswein stated that he was first informed of Benedict’s idea to resign on September 25, 2012, when the Pope met with him and stated: “I have reflected, I have prayed, and I have come to the conclusion that, because of diminishing strength, I must give up the Petrine ministry.”

According to Gänswein, Benedict cited his failing health and was concerned that he would end up physically frail like Pope John Paul II while still in the papal throne. He stated:

Quote:I have now been Pope for as many years as his illness and I would not like to end up like him. After all, what I could do I have done, and it would be better for the Church that I resign, with the election of a new, younger and more energetic Pontiff. This is the right time when, after the problematic events of these last months have found a conclusion, I can hand over the helm to another without too much difficulty.

Gänswein wrote that Benedict had planned to announce his resignation at the annual Christmas curial address, December 21, 2012 with an end date for his pontificate of January 25, 2013.

October 2012: However, Gänswein stated that he and Cardinal Bertone persuaded the Pope to delay the announcement until February. These discussion took place from mid-October onwards.

Given that the curial Lenten homilies would soon follow the resignation announcement, the preacher to the Papal household – Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi – was then also informed, so that he might suitably prepare his reflections. Gänswein does not state at what point this took place.

At this time also, then Archbishop Angelo Becciu, No. 2 at the Secretariat of State, was informed of the resignation plan. This was in order to proceed with Benedict’s plan to secure the Mater Ecclesiae monastery for his residence after resigning, Gänswein wrote.

January 2013: According to his secretary, Benedict “had begun in late January to draft the text he would read in Consistory.” Gänswein described the decision to read the text in Latin as “obvious,” because “this has always been the language of the official documents of the Catholic Church.”

February 1 – 10, 2013: Members of the Papal household were informed the week before the announcement. Different members of Benedict’ staff were told of his intentions in private meetings, seemingly from February 5 onwards.

Pope Benedict’s brother, Father Georg Ratzinger, was also told. Meanwhile Bertone informed the papal Master of Ceremonies Monsignor Guido Marini and Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office.

Gänswein’s text states that Benedict finished his resignation formula on February 7, at which point Gänswein took the document to Bertone. Both Bertone and Gänswein “read it together with Monsignor Giampiero Gloder, coordinator in the Secretariat of State of the final editing of papal texts.” He writes that some “minor spelling corrections and a few legal precisions” were addressed.

On February 8, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, was told by Benedict of his intentions. Sodano delivered a speech to Benedict in the Clementine Hall on behalf of the cardinals, following the resignation announcement.

On February 10, just one day before the intended announcement, Benedict’s resignation speech was fully ready, writes Gänswein. At this point, “translations into Italian, French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish were also provided.”

Day of resignation: February 11, 2013
On the morning of his resignation, Benedict appeared “extremely calm,” wrote Gänswein, and reportedly maintained a “serenity” throughout the day. Recounting this, Gänswein was at pains to argue that Benedict’s spirituality was a key point in his decision making process, and that “all his decisions were due to a direct rapport with God, by whom he truly felt inspired and constantly guided.”

Benedict celebrated Mass before meeting the assembled cardinals at 11am in the Clementine Hall.

The Pope was due to make an announcement confirming the upcoming canonization of Blessed Anthony Primaldo and his companions.

Instead of leaving after making that pronouncement, however, Benedict received the prepared resignation text from Gänswein.


Gänswein also took pains to negate any arguments against the validity of Benedict XVI’s resignation. He argued that in making the resignation announcement:

Quote:Benedict fulfilled exactly what the Code of Canon Law stipulates (can. 332 §2): “In the case that the Roman Pontiff renounces his office, it is required for validity that the renunciation be freely made and that it be duly manifested, it is not required instead that anyone accept it.” Obviously, in response to those who still claim that there is no formal record of that act, the date and the Pope’s autograph signature were affixed to the paper and his declaration was verbalized by an apostolic protontary, who drew up the Consistory deed, which is kept in the appropriate archives for perpetual memory.

Following Sodano’s speech to Benedict, Gänswein wrote that the rest of the day “continued in a surreal routine: everything proceeded as usual, but as if the atmosphere had suddenly become rarefied.”


From papal apartments to Castel Gandolfo
The period following his announcement and departure from the Vatican was a quiet one for Benedict, wrote Gänswein. He participated in the spiritual retreats given by Cardinal Ravasi but severely limited his appointments.

On the morning of February 28, when he was due to step down as reigning Pontiff, Benedict met and greeted a large number of the cardinals. After receiving a greeting in return from Cardinal Sodano, Benedict made his famous helicopter flight from the Vatican to Castel Gandolfo around 5 p.m.

[Image: benedict-helicopter-scaled.jpeg]

People crowd the gallery on top of St Peter’s Basilica as a helicopter carrying Pope Benedict XVI passes by on its way out of Vatican City on February 28, 2013.

From the balcony there he delivered a final speech, in which he stated he would no longer be the Supreme Pontiff: “I am simply a pilgrim beginning the last stage of his pilgrimage in this land.”

Gänswein wrote that Benedict removed the papal “fisherman’s ring,” which Gänswein delivered to Bertone. In his role as camerlengo, Bertone then broke the ring on March 6.

Gänswein also gave the famous red “stole of the Apostles” back to the Papal MC Msgr. Marini, and then delivered the Papal stamp to Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, Benedict’s second secretary.

Gänswein wrote that on the day the election of Pope Francis was announced to the world, he went to greet the new Pontiff, who immediately asked to speak with Benedict. However, he did not report the contents of their subsequent phone call.


Issues regarding resignation speech

Gänswein, ever attentive to rebuffing arguments that Benedict’s resignation was invalid, noted that the “extreme secrecy with which the text was developed” necessarily involved only a few people, and with this reason he explained the February 11 publication of the resignation text which contained errors.

“In trying to give a harmonious gait to the Latin construction,” he wrote, “we failed to notice that one Latin concordance was incorrect: the accusative commissum connected to the dative ministerio, instead of commisso, in the phrase ‘declaro me ministerio Episcopi Romae, Successoris Sancti Petri, mihi per manus cardinalium die 19 aprilis MMV commissum’ (‘I declare that I renounce the ministerium of Bishop of Rome, Successor of St. Peter, entrusted to me by the hand of the cardinals on April 19, 2005.’).”

Benedict’s secretary added that:

Quote:[d]ue to inappropriate typing, the first version released by the [Holy See]Press Office bore two other errors, like the previous one quickly fixed on the Vatican website in the early afternoon of that Feb. 11: a pro Ecclesiae vitae instead of pro Ecclesiae vita (“for the life of the Church”), and a hora 29 instead of hora 20. But these were not present on the paper Benedict held in his hands, since, as noted in the video recording, both were instead pronounced correctly.

This attention to detail regarding the text of Benedict’s resignation comes in light of many Catholics expressing doubts as to the publicized reasons for the resignation. The resignation text prompted debate as to its legitimacy which continued in many corners of the Church until Benedict’s  death – debate fuelled by his continued use of the white cassock, and title Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

However, Cardinals Burke and Brandmuller, along with Gänswein – publicly at least – downplayed suggestions that Benedict somehow remained as Pope. Burke, the former Prefect of the Holy See’s Apostolic Signatura, stated that “I believe it would be difficult to say it’s not valid.”

Print this item

  mRNA Vaccines in Livestock and Companion Animals are here now.
Posted by: Stone - 01-14-2023, 10:16 AM - Forum: Health - No Replies

mRNA Vaccines in Livestock and Companion Animals are here now.
The current (public) receipts are included in this essay, and more are on the way

Robert W Malone MD, MS [adapted] | Jan 11, 2023

Before we can discus mRNA vaccines for livestock, pets and wildlife, we must first address the elephant in the room. That is, how come the public is able to access human clinical trial information, but is not able to do the same for clinical trials involving animal health?

During the early days of the AIDS epidemic, the AIDS community demanded public access to clinical trials. In 1988,  the U.S. Congress passed the Health Omnibus Programs Extension Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-607) which mandated the development of a database of AIDS Clinical Trials Information Services. This Congressional Act motivated other non-profit disease related groups to demand access also.

The Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 amended the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act to require that the NIH create a publicly available clinical trials database. This eventually led to the development of the website ClinicalTrials.gov.  This allowed tracking of drug efficacy studies resulting from approved Investigational New Drugs (including vaccines).

The law requires (from Wiki):
  • Federally and privately funded clinical trials;
  • The purpose of each experimental drug;
  • Subject eligibility criteria to participate in the clinical trial;
  • The location of clinical trial sites being used for a study; and
  • A point of contact for patients interested in enrolling in the trial.
  • The National Library of Medicine in the National Institutes of Health to host the public website/database

(BTW, one of my former clients held the federal contract to support ClinicalTrials.gov and Pubmed. I have spent time in the back rooms of the NLM and do know a fair amount about these things….)

The searchable ClinicalTrials.gov website was made available to the public via the internet on February 29, 2000.

ClinicalTrials.gov makes searching for human clinical trials easy.  For instance, a quick search reveals that there are over 50 clinical trials for mRNA vaccines in progress and over 200 registered.

With animals, there is no such database.  mRNA vaccines in the “animal health” or veterinary markets are difficult to track until the company or the USDA is ready to release information on that product’s development or release. The USDA and/or the NIH have no mechanism for tracking potential new vaccines, drugs or biologics for the animal market.

Therefore, one must rely on press releases, the occasional peer reviewed paper, conference notes, USDA grant and contract notifications, university websites and company profiles for discovery of such new products. Not adequate, in my opinion, and most definitely not transparent. By federal law, the public should have open access to the results of this type of federally funded research.

In today’s substack, the state of mRNA “vaccines” for animal “health” is discussed.  Citing public sources, I will review what is known and not known about commercial liaisons and partnerships, the corporations involved, ongoing research and products in various states of development.

Bayer Partners with BioNTech to Develop mRNA Vaccines, Drugs for Animal Health
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.  May 10, 2016

Quote:Bayer will partner with BioNTech to develop novel, first-in-class mRNA vaccines and therapeutics for animal health indications, the companies said today, under a collaboration whose value was not disclosed.

Bayer agreed to secure exclusive rights to BioNTech’s mRNA technology and intellectual property for development of mRNA vaccines for animal health applications…

The companies said their partnership is the first of its kind focused on developing mRNA therapeutics specifically for animal health applications.



Infectious disease vaccines is the focus of one of the three therapy platforms BioNTech is building through mRNA technologies; the other two are cancer immunotherapies and protein replacement. The three platforms are designed to produce pharmacologically optimized protein coding RNA for targeted in vivo delivery…

2016. This means that Bayer and BioNTech have been working on livestock and companion animal mRNA vaccines for over six years…

Logic predicts that they will soon have livestock and companion mRNA vaccine and RNA therapeutics on the market.

Bayer, BioNTech developing new mRNA vaccines
Feedstuffs.com May 16, 2016

Quote:Companies collaborate on cutting-edge technology to develop new solutions to protect companion and farm animal health.

Again, note the date…2016. This means that Bayer and BioNTech have been working on livestock and companion animal mRNA vaccines for over six years…

There are three therapy platforms that BioNTech has been building through mRNA technologies to be used in livestock and companion animals.
  • Infectious disease vaccines
  • Cancer immunotherapies and
  • Protein replacement.

Bayer to manufacture mRNA vaccine in Germany
Bayer Website, February 1, 2021

Quote:"Following discussions with the German government it has become clear that current manufacturing capacities for vaccines need to be increased, particularly for potential variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

This includes the need to expand production capacity as well as related manufacturing expertise in Germany.

We at Bayer will contribute even further by making more vaccine available to help fight the pandemic.

So, Bayer lent their mRNA manufacturing vaccine facilities for use for the making of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Given the above 2016 press releases, that Bayer and BioNtech were collaborating to make mRNA vaccines for the animal markets, it would make sense that these facilities were actually built for the production of veterinary vaccines.

SEQUIVITY: Custom Swine Vaccines, using RNA vaccines.
Merck Website, Accessed Jan 2023

Quote:Combat current and future swine diseases with SEQUIVITY from Merck Animal Health. A revolutionary swine vaccine platform, SEQUIVITY harnesses RNA particle technology to create customized prescription vaccines against strains of influenza A virus in swine, porcine circovirus (PCV), rotavirus and beyond. It’s supported by a sophisticated dashboard filled with comprehensive data and insights, all to help you stay on top.

Important to know. Merck is already selling mRNA vaccines for swine. For whatever reason, they are selling these products as “customized prescription vaccines against strains of influenza A virus in swine, porcine circovirus (PCV), rotavirus and beyond.” This is an interesting market segment. Merck’s reason to limit the production of mRNA vaccines in the “customized prescription” market is unclear. Production facility size and scaleability of the RNA product could be factors.

Acquisition Expands and Complements Merck Animal Health’s Strong Vaccine Portfolio
Merck Press Release, November 12, 2015 5:00 pm ET

Quote:MADISON, N.J., November 12, 2015 – Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada) and Harrisvaccines, Inc., today announced the companies have entered into an agreement under which Merck Animal Health will acquire Harrisvaccines, a privately-held company that develops, manufactures and sells vaccines for food production and companion animals.

“As a leader in biologics, Merck Animal Health has built a robust portfolio of vaccines across all animal species,” stated Rick DeLuca, president, Merck Animal Health. “Combining Harrisvaccines’ R&D and portfolio of products with our strong capabilities and global reach will enable us to address even more devastating diseases that are impacting production animals and reinforce our commitment to the science of healthier animals.”

Harrisvaccines offers innovative technology and an important portfolio of vaccines, with a focus on production animals, an increasingly important segment as consumer demand for protein continues to grow worldwide. The company has a unique RNA Particle technology which represents a breakthrough in vaccine development. It also has a highly versatile production platform able to target a wide range of viruses and bacteria. Pathogens are collected from a farm and specific genes are sequenced and inserted into RNA particles, making safe, potent vaccines able to provide herd-specific protection.

This pioneering system is rapidly adaptable to new disease challenges and was instrumental in producing the first conditionally licensed vaccine to help control Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv), a deadly virus that has killed more than eight million piglets since suddenly emerging in the U.S. in 2013.

Read that last paragraph again. Slowly.

Sometime before 2015, the USDA issued a conditional license for a mRNA vaccine for use in pigs for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv), information about this product can be found at drugs.com.

Basically something akin to an emergency use authorization was issued around 2014 or 2015. Just like with the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, full licensure was not granted but the conditional license remains in place. Is this a strategy to circumvent the USDA vaccine licensing and/or authorization process?

To conclude:

Like with the BioNtech’s veterinary mRNA vaccine development, Merck’s development of an mRNA vaccine product started years ago. For Merck, it may have begun in earnest in 2015 with the acquisition of Harris Vaccine.

Some ongoing research:

NOVEL MRNA VACCINE TECHNOLOGY FOR PREVENTION OF BOVINE RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY (grant summary page)

Non Technical Summary

Quote:Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant viral pathogens of young cows that is a key component of the respiratory disease complex and often leads to secondary bacterial pneumonia. Prefusion F has recently shown to be highly efficacious in barrier housed RSV challenged cows. However, the difficulty in generating prefusion F along with the cost of its production are a hurdle for adoption to the farm. RSV immunity also tends to wane quickly and given the complications of field or pen raised cattle and their stressors and other circulating diseases, and a protein vaccine may not prove highly efficacious in the real world. Here, we will test a novel mRNA vaccine system we have developed that substantially lowers the price point for production animals and may lead to more thermal stable transcripts compatible with vaccinating on the farm. The use of an alternative delivery system rather than lipid nanoparticles will also lower the vaccine costs. We expect to demonstrate efficacy of the vaccine platform using mice at first as proof of principle before switching to a full cow vaccination and challenge system in year 2. Our overall goal is to test a novel mRNA system for inducing immunological protection from bovine RSV infection. We hypothesize that a prefusion F mRNA delivered continuously by vaccine implant will lead to prolonged and robust cellular and antibody immunity. Here, we will optimize our vaccine further and then test for potential correlates of protection to examine for in eventually challenged cows.

Research into mRNA vaccine livestock vaccines in New Zealand and Australia continues with governmental fast-track approval.

NSW fast tracks mRNA FMD and Lumpy Skin Disease vaccines (in cattle)
The NSW Government has taken another step towards fast tracking the world first mRNA vaccines for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Lumpy Skin Disease, inking a deal with US biotechnology company Tiba Biotech

A Foot and Mouth Disease mRNA Vaccine Deal Has Been Signed Between the NSW Government and US Company Tiba Biotech
Finally, inquiring minds want to know… what is Pfizer up to?

Pfizer animal health goes by the name Zoetis.

Zoetis clearly does not make its animal vaccine developmental stages known to the public. Internet searches do not reveal much inside the workings of Zoetis, in terms of mRNA vaccines. However, we can safely assume that development of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics for “animal health” are underway - so stay tuned.

[Image: https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama...68x634.png]

Finally, there are mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 for wildlife that have been developed and authorized for distribution by the USDA.

Black-footed ferret COVID-19 vaccination seems to be working
The Wildlife Society, Feb 18, 2021

Quote:After finding similar species can be infected, researchers quickly began to increase safety protocols at zoos and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado, the main source of the captive-breeding and release program for the federally endangered species.

“They have done a magnificent job in keeping those animals safe,” said Tonie Rocke, a research scientist with the USGS National Wildlife Health Center who works with ferrets.

But U.S. Geological Survey researchers who also study black-footed ferrets had learned about recent studies in mice and hamsters, demonstrating safety and efficacy of vaccination against COVID-19 using purified viral protein. They decided to try something similar on a handful of ferrets this past May and June.

The vaccine used in ferrets is different — it’s a simplified version of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccinations now being used for humans — and it’s based on a similar protein, said Rocke.

Under the authority of the USFWS, the scientists could test the solution on a handful of ferrets in a process that is much quicker than the extensive approvals needed for commercial vaccination for humans like the Pfizer or Moderna inoculations.

The isolated ferrets that had received this trial vaccination produced antibodies against the coronavirus.

Unfortunately, I could find no updates to this program and whether it was expanded into other wildlife populations.

Again, something akin to an emergency use authorization was issued for this experimental vaccine. Just like with the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and the RNA porcine vaccine above, full licensure was not granted but it appears that the conditional license remains in place. I raise the question again, is this a USDA and/or corporate strategy to circumvent the USDA vaccine licensing and/or authorization process?

The issue being of course, that there is no mechanism for “right to know” of animal health vaccine development.

There were news stories in 2020 that mRNA vaccine(s) were being developed for COVID/SARS-CoV-2 for administration to livestock and companion animals. However, the lack of updates suggest that these plans may have been scrapped with the new, less virulent variants.

Print this item

  Yahoo News: 8 Foods You May Not Be Able To Buy In The Grocery Store In 2023
Posted by: Stone - 01-14-2023, 10:06 AM - Forum: General Commentary - No Replies

8 Foods You May Not Be Able To Buy In The Grocery Store In 2023—Stock Up Before They’re Gone

[Image: a51e76719a98de18bbcda9d455b1a59b]

Yahoo News [adapted] |  January 10, 2023


When heading into 2023, it’s best to be aware of certain food shortages. We rounded up eight common grocery store items that might be more difficult to find in your local supermarket than others this year, so that you can stock up on them now.

Here’s what we know about potential future shortages:




1. Bread
As reported by Mashed, with the continuation of Russia’s war in Ukraine (GOBankingRates notes that these countries account for nearly 20% of global cereal grain production), “many bakeries and factories may struggle to obtain the necessary ingredients to make bread, leading to a potential shortage in 2023.”

An August 2022 McKinsey report also indicated that 2023 might be worse, as it estimated that crop production in Ukraine will decline by “35% to 45%” in the next harvesting season, which began in July.


2. Sunflower & Palm Oil
According to the Brookings Institution, in 2020, 52% of globally traded sunflower seed and oil came from Ukraine. “Currently, edible-oil supply chains are disrupted and edible-oil prices increased even higher than cereals prices,” the research group added.

Making this issue even more complicated, Mashed also reported that there is a simultaneous palm oil shortage in Indonesia. “Since Indonesia is the world’s leading producer of palm oil, any ongoing supply issues only compound the potential problem of vegetable oil availability in 2023,” the outlet wrote.


3. Champagne
As Mashed also recently pointed out, climate change greatly impacted the production of champagne, meaning it might not be as easily accessible in the next year.
The publication wrote that "a rash of extreme weather that year [2021] resulted in a devastating number of crops growing fungus, leading to a smaller than average crop yield."


4. Beers, Canned Food & Pet Food
A notable aluminum shortage— which began in 2020 and affects beers, canned food and also pet food— is still happening, as reported by ClickOrlando. The television station also recently indicated that "labor shortages, the pandemic, the ongoing supply chain crisis and increased demand" are all to blame.

"As far as the aluminum shortage ending, experts are hesitant with predictions," company Vincent Metals suggested. "However, most agree the earliest expected end would be sometime in 2023. As the nation moves back towards normalcy, aluminum purchasing could subside and have uncertain impacts on the supply chain. In the meantime, additional production plants are being constructed to keep up with the high demand and current shortage."


5. Lettuce
In November of 2022, as reported by the Consumer Price Index, the price of lettuce went up nearly 20% compared to 2021. Many customers' current difficulty finding lettuce in grocery stores, Eat This, Not That reports, has been "sparked by an unforgiving disease called impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV), which is carried by insects and often results in the death of the affected plant."

The disease, the outlet added, spread "quickly across California's Salinas Valley—a major producer with nearly 50% of the country's lettuce production—and destroyed over 80% of the area's crops for 2022."


6. Corn
Another produce item that you might see less of this year is corn, as Eat This, Not That reports that "midwestern corn crops endured a brutal 2022 season full of sweltering temperatures, intense storms, and harmful pests." Around August, the publication notes, experts found "many crops to be either destroyed or unable to be harvested within the region."

States such as Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, and South Dakota were "showing dismal yields which trailed numbers from the year prior." While the United States is the world's largest producer of corn, "limited exports from other countries such as Brazil and Ukraine during this growing season," the site adds, haven't helped this.


7. Oranges/ Orange Juice
Thanks to Hurricane Ian's major devastating blows in Florida back in September 2022, many orange trees were ruined from the storm. Because of this, the state's orange production is "expected to drop 51% in the 2022-2023 growing season down to just 20 million boxes of oranges," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as Eat This, Not That reports. This would be the Sunshine State's lowest output since the 1936-1937 season.

A disease called "citrus greening," the publication notes, has also "run rampant through Florida's crops over the last several years." Judy Ganes, an expert in the citrus industry and President of J Ganes Consulting LLC, also said to Bloomberg, "The loss from hurricanes is mostly recoverable, but the greater issue is disease."


8. Beef
In 2022, many American ranchers and farmers faced "all kinds difficulties due to record-breaking weather events," Eat This, Not That reports. Texas (which is the nation's largest beef producer) experienced an extreme drought for much of the summer season. "Many ranchers were forced to sell off a sizable amount of their cattle earlier than expected, which caused slaughter levels to escalate in the second half of year," the outlet notes, adding that "as those supplies are depleted, a time of higher prices and dwindling beef availability is likely to ensue before ranchers can repopulate their herds and correct the damage that was done."

Print this item

  Archbishop Viganò’s homily for the Sunday of the Holy Family
Posted by: Stone - 01-13-2023, 07:27 PM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò - No Replies

Archbishop Viganò’s homily for the Sunday of the Sacred Family
Taken from here.


ET ERAT SUBDITUS ILLIS

And he was submissive to them.
And his mother kept all these things in her heart;
and Jesus grew in wisdom, age, and grace
before God and before men. -Lk 2:51


Praised be Jesus Christ!

In the Octave of the Epiphany, the Holy Church celebrates the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, placing this feast immediately after the manifestation of the divinity of Our Lord. But why should we celebrate the memory of the Holy Family, a mystery of intimacy and affection to be preserved around the family hearth, precisely when the divine kingship of the Child King, adored by the shepherds and the Magi from the East, is revealed?

The reason is that the family – the natural one, certainly, but even more so the one sanctified by the Sacrament of Matrimony, and to the highest degree that in which the parents are the Blessed Virgin and the Patriarch Joseph, and the child is the Incarnate Word – is the place where that order which is the necessary premise for the social Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ is realized in Charity. It unites spouses in the hierarchical relationship which has as its model the love between the Head of the Church and His Mystical Body. It prepares children – in this “microcosm” which is rightly recognized as the “cell of society” – to be good Christians, valiant soldiers of Christ, honest citizens, wise and prudent rulers.

Without the family there can be no well-ordered society; and without the Christian family there can be no Christian society in which the Lordship of Christ is recognized. In the family, parents exercise their authority over their children in God’s name, and it is therefore within the framework of God’s Law that this authority is legitimate and can avail itself of the graces of state to find obedience in their children. And this potestas – recognized by natural law – acquires a supernatural dimension when it is inspired by the infinite love with which the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father; a divine love that is of such power as to be a person: God the Holy Spirit. Just as man shows in his faculties – memory, intellect and will – the Trinitarian imprint of the Creator, so too the family is in some way a mirror of the Most Holy Trinity, because in it we find the creative power of the Father, the redemptive obedience of the Son, the sanctifying love of the Holy Spirit. But we also find the awareness of one’s own identity and traditions (memory), the ability to treasure them to face present trials (intellect) and the bond of love between spouses and between parents and children (will).

When we pray in the Pater Noster, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” we often do not pay attention to these words. We ask that the Lordship of Christ over the nations be affirmed, because only where Christ reigns can peace and justice reign. We ask that Christ reign because this is the will of God: Oportet autem illum regnare donec ponat omnes inimicos sub pedibus ejus (1 Cor 15:25) – He must reign, until He puts all enemies under His feet (Ps 109:1). But in order for Him to reign in society, rulers and subjects must be good Christians; and for this to happen, the family is necessary, a “domestic church” and a school for life in the civil consortium. It is in the Catholic family that children are conceived, born, sanctified, and educated, preparing them to be good Christians, honest citizens, and future parents. And it is in a misguided family – or in its diabolical parody created by LGBTQ ideology – that children are killed in body and soul, perverted, and corrupted, causing their vices also to corrupt the social and ecclesial body.

The epochal battle we are fighting against the globalist Leviathan has as its purpose – as we well know, by the admission of its own proponents – the systematic destruction of every trace of Christ’s presence from souls, families, and society, in order to replace it with the dark horror of Satan’s lordship and the reign of the Antichrist. In this battle we are not only besieged by powerful and unleashed enemy forces, but also by the fifth columns that, within the Church and even in positions of government, support the infernal plan of the New World Order due to self-interest, blackmail, or cowardice. Abortion, divorce, euthanasia, gender ideology, homosexuality, and neo-Malthusianism are nothing more than instruments with which to destroy society, but even before this they are intended to destroy the family, because in the family that there can be realized that form of resistance to the dictatorship of aligned thought, thanks to which one can preserve one’s determination to courageously defend one’s Faith and identity.

It is no coincidence that, in the mass manipulation of the Great Reset conducted through the recent pandemic farce, they wanted to separate the elderly from their loved ones, parents from children, grandparents from grandchildren: the loss of these family and hierarchical relationships, with all that these relationships entail, was the required step to isolate people, weaken them psychologically, weaken them spiritually, and thus be able to force them to obey. On closer inspection, everything that this corrupt and barbaric world imposes on peoples is always oriented towards control and submission. And just when freedom is supposedly exalted by means of shaking off the gentle yoke of God’s Law, we see the chains of Satan’s tyranny clamping onto our wrists.

On the other hand, how could the Enemy love an institution – the family, in fact – composed of a father and a mother, who refer to the Eternal heavenly Father who begets us to life and grace, and to a Mother who is our Advocate at the throne of His divine Son? It is not surprising that the enemies of God also want to erase his name, replacing him with “parent 1” and “parent 2,” precisely in order to eliminate those blessed names, with which we can address none other than God as “Abba, Father,” and the heavenly Mother of God as “Mother.” Nor are we surprised by the hatred that exists towards the father figure, who is the archetype of God’s authority, so that ecclesiastical and civil superiors are also called fathers, and have a duty to behave as fathers.

At the beginning of this meditation, I asked why the Church wanted to establish the celebration of the Holy Family on the Sunday in the Octave of the Epiphany. We have the answer: the Holy Family shows us the model of the Christian family which is the necessary and indispensable premise for the divine Kingship of Our Lord to be realized in society, fulfilling the prophecy of the Psalmist, which we heard in the Mass of Epiphany: Et adorabunt eum omnes reges terræ; omnes gentes servient ei (Ps 71:11).

Let us therefore invoke Our Lord, the Virgin Mother, and Saint Joseph, asking them to protect our families, to preserve them in the Grace of God, and to enable them to cooperate with Faith and Charity in the plan of Providence. If Christ reigns in them, he will also reign in civil society. Adveniat regnum tuum; fiat voluntas tua.

And so may it be.

+ Carlo Maria, Archbishop
8 January 2023
Sanctæ Familiæ Jesu Mariæ Joseph

Print this item

  Electric Appliance Advocates Backed Study Driving Push To Ban Gas Stoves
Posted by: Stone - 01-13-2023, 09:10 AM - Forum: General Commentary - No Replies

Electric Appliance Advocates Backed Study Driving Push To Ban Gas Stoves

DC | January 11, 2023

  • A study that linked gas stoves to childhood asthma cases was backed by two groups that are pushing for Americans to adopt electric stoves.
  • The study was partly funded by RMI, a group that seeks to “accelerate the clean energy transition,” and co-authored by RMI’s Carbon-Free Buildings team that aims to retrofit buildings with electric appliances in 20 states.
  • The study was also co-authored by Rewiring America (RA) Research Associate Talor Gruenwald, a research associate at Rewiring America (RA), a nonprofit that is committed to “electrifying everything” in communities across America, according to its website.

A recent study that linked gas-burning stoves to childhood asthma cases was backed by two nonprofits that are pushing for Americans to adopt electric stoves.

The study, which states that the stoves account for about 12.7% of childhood asthma cases in the U.S., was partly funded by RMI, a group that seeks to “accelerate the clean energy transition,” and co-authored by Brady Seals, the manager of RMI’s Carbon-Free Buildings arm that aims to retrofit buildings with electric appliances. The study was also co-authored by Rewiring America (RA) Research Associate Talor Gruenwald, who previously worked on RMI’s Carbon-Free Buildings team; RA is a nonprofit that is “focused on electrifying everything” in communities across America, according to its website.

(RELATED: Gas (Stoves) For Me But Not For Thee: Biden’s Delaware Homes Appear To Contain The Kitchen Appliance His Admin May Ban)

The authors of the study declared that there were no conflicts of interest associated with their research.

RMI, which used the study to promote stove electrification, has received millions in donations from Breakthrough Energy, a green energy investment firm founded by Bill Gates, as well as the Bezos Earth Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies, according to the RMI 2022 donors report.

RA, which called the study “groundbreaking,” states on its website that “every single retirement of any machine that runs on fossil fuels is an opportunity for electrification.” The group celebrated the passage of the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a bill that offers subsidies to households that electrify old appliances such as gas stoves, and created an IRA “calculator” to show individuals how much money one can receive from the subsidies.

The study was produced using a meta-analysis, in which researchers gathered independent studies that documented the effects of gas cooking on children and used statistical methods to combine the results of previous research. The authors indicate that there were 357 indoor air quality studies that could have been included in their analysis but only referenced 27 and did not identify all the studies they selected.

The meta-analysis’ findings were referenced by several media outlets including Bloomberg, which first reported the story, The Washington Post and E&E News.

There is “no evidence of an association between the use of gas as a cooking fuel and either asthma symptoms or asthma diagnosis,” according to a 2013 International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood study that sampled 500,000 children worldwide. A 2012 Energy Department-funded study found that the emissions generated from cooking are considerably greater than what is generated from natural gas stoves themselves; for example, cooking with olive oil generates over 11 times more emissions per hour than what is produced from a gas stove alone.

Following the release of the study, Richard Trumka Jr., a top Consumer Product Safety Commission official, told Bloomberg that banning the manufacture and import of gas stoves is “on the table” if they “can’t be made safe.” In December 2022, Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and 20 other Democratic lawmakers urged the commission to crack down on gas stove emissions, stating that the pollution produced by the cooking tool disproportionately affects minority and low-income households.

“Research indicates that emissions from gas stoves can be hazardous, and the CPSC is looking for ways to reduce related indoor air quality hazards,” Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “But to be clear, I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so.”

RMI, Seals, and RA did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment. Gruenwald could not be reached for comment.

Print this item

  Cardiologist says likely contributory factor to excess cardiovascular deaths is the COVID vaccine
Posted by: Stone - 01-13-2023, 08:05 AM - Forum: Health - No Replies

Print this item

  Arkansas Man Arrested for Allegedly Desecrating Catholic Monastery Altar
Posted by: Stone - 01-11-2023, 09:47 AM - Forum: Anti-Catholic Violence - No Replies

Arkansas Man Arrested for Allegedly Desecrating Catholic Monastery Altar, Stealing 1,500-Year-Old Relics

[Image: Man-arrested-640x480.jpg]


Breitbart | January 10, 2023

Jerrid Farnam, 31, has been booked into the Logan County Jail in Arkansas on five charges including theft of property, criminal mischief in the first degree, breaking or entering, residential burglary and public intoxication. Photo courtesy of Logan County JailLogan County Jail

A man was arrested after allegedly using a sledgehammer to desecrate the altar at the Subiaco Abbey church in Arkansas.

The suspect, Jerrid Farnam, 31, allegedly entered the Benedictine monastery and an all-male school between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. on Thursday and is accused of using a sledgehammer to smash the church’s marble altar that contained two boxes that contained three relics belonging to saints from over 1,500 years ago, according to the Logan County Sherriff’s Office and Subiaco Abbey.

The accused (pictured) allegedly stole those relics and proceeded to meddle with the tabernacle by removing the cross on top and the veil. However, according to the sheriff, while Farnam intended to break into the tabernacle, he “looked up at the statue of Mary and decided he couldn’t do that to her,” Subiaco Abbey said in a statement on Facebook.

The monastery also noted that the Blessed Sacrament and the Tabernacle were not damaged.

The suspect left the premises before deputies arrived, but the school attached to the monastery was locked down out of caution.

[Image: Man-arrested-for-stealing-1500-year-old-...-say-1.jpg]

A photograph provided by investigators shows a large hole in the marble slab, which officials with the sheriff’s office called an “act of desecration.” Photo courtesy of Logan County Sheriff’s Office

Farnam then returned after deputies had left and spoke with a monk, who realized he was the likely suspect. Deputies quickly returned and arrested Farnam.

When deputies searched through the suspect’s truck, they found one of the reliquary boxes along with the sledgehammer and other tools. They also discovered that the suspect had allegedly burglarized a nearby vacant home and stolen an item from it, which was also found in the truck.

The other reliquary box was found later, and both boxes were returned to the monastery.

Farnam, who is from the Subiaco area, is currently detained at the Logan County Detention Center, where a bond has not been set yet. He is facing a list of potential charges, including theft, criminal mischief, burglary, breaking or entering, and public intoxication, and may face more, according to the sheriff’s office. The investigation is still ongoing.

[Image: Man-arrested-for-stealing-1500-year-old-...-say-2.jpg]

An Oklahoman man was arrested Thursday after he allegedly damaged the altar of a church in Arkansas to steal two boxes that contained relics from three saints that are more than 1,500 years old. (Courtesy of Subiaco Abbey/UPI)

The Subiaco Abbey says they will use a portable altar in the meantime until repairs are made. Throughout the whole ordeal, the abbey also noted that the monks continued their regular communal prayers.

“Now that the gentleman has been caught and justice will proceed, may we also offer a prayer for him,” Subiaco Abbey said.

Print this item

  Australian Cardinal George Pell dies at 81
Posted by: Stone - 01-10-2023, 08:20 PM - Forum: General Commentary - No Replies

Australian Cardinal George Pell dies at 81

[Image: 20201209_His_Eminence_George_Pell_Cardin...=670&h=447]

Cardinal George Pell gives an interview to EWTN News in Rome, Italy, on Dec. 9, 2020. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.


CNA | Jan 10, 2023

Cardinal George Pell, prefect emeritus of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, died on Tuesday at the age of 81.

The Australian prelate suffered a cardiac arrest and died at 8:50 p.m. Rome time, his secretary confirmed to EWTN.

A towering figure of the Church both physically and intellectually, Pell served for many years as archbishop of Melbourne and then Sydney before Pope Francis appointed him to lead the Vatican’s economy department in 2014.

He recently remembered the death of Pope Benedict XVI during an EWTN News In Depth Interview.

Asked about his reaction to the news on Dec. 31, the cardinal said: “I was very sad” since “I had known him well enough, I admired what he was about, I thought he was very good for the Church and so it was sad to see another wonderful phase in Church history ending.”

George Pell was born on June 8, 1941, in Ballarat, a town in Victoria, to an English-born Anglican father and a devout Catholic mother of Irish descent.

Pell was ordained a priest for the diocese in 1966. He was made an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne in 1987, and nine years later he was named archbishop of Melbourne.

In 2001 he was appointed archbishop of Sydney, where he served until being appointed by Pope Francis to take charge of the newly created Secretariat for the Economy and to lead efforts at reforming Vatican financial affairs in 2014.

The Australian was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in October 2003, while he was archbishop of Sydney. Ten years later, Pope Francis appointed Pell a member of his Council of Cardinals, and the year after, he put him in charge of Vatican finances.

In 2017, Pell left Rome for Australia to defend his innocence of abuse charges. After 404 days in prison, in 2019 he was ultimately acquitted. He returned to live in Rome on Sept. 30, 2020, his first visit back to the city since his trial and imprisonment.

Cardinal Pell’s prison journal, written while he was in solitary confinement, is being published in three volumes. He has said he could not offer Mass in jail because he was not allowed access to wine for use in the consecration.

In 2021, Pell turned 80 years old, losing his eligibility to vote in a future papal conclave.

On May 13, 2021, Pell led a eucharistic procession at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Angelicum, in Rome, where he explained that during his 13 months in jail, he was “unable to celebrate Mass and attend Mass.”

“I listened to many Protestant preachers, and I became even more aware of the centrality of the liturgical celebration. It’s a making present of Christ’s sacrifice. It’s an explicit act of adoration. It involves the whole of our persons. It needs faith to be practiced,” he said.

Print this item