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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12

LOCAL BISHOP CONFRONTS NOTRE DAME OVER APPOINTEE  The University of Notre Dame’s local bishop yesterday came out with a strong statement against the Catholic school’s controversial decision to appoint an outspoken pro-abortion speaker as the director of a university institute. “I must express my dismay and my strong opposition to this appointment that is causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond,” Bishop Kevin Rhoades said. Bishop Robert Barron of Word on Fire seconded the Indiana bishop’s condemnation.  READ

SAVE AMERICA ACT PASSES HOUSE, NOW GOES TO SENATE  The House of Representatives yesterday passed the SAVE America Act in a 218-213 vote. The legislation would require proof of citizenship and a photo ID of anyone wishing to vote in U.S. elections. The House Freedom Caucus stated after the vote: “Now it is up to” Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Republicans “to push HARD” to get the law through the Senate.  READ

REPORT: TRUMP CALLED COPS ON EPSTEIN 20 YEARS AGO  Newly unsealed FBI documents show that then-businessman Donald Trump called Palm Beach police in 2006, becoming one of the first to report on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein when he was first targeted by a local investigation. According to an FBI summary of a 2019 interview with a retired police chief, Trump described Epstein as “disgusting” and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell as “evil.”  READ

CATHOLIC REFUSES TO STEP DOWN FROM RELIGIOUS FREEDOM PANEL Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, chairman of the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission, said yesterday he had removed Carrie Prejean Boller from the panel after she challenged claims that opposition to political Zionism amounts to “antisemitism.” Prejean Boller, a Catholic, disputed the ouster, arguing only President Donald Trump has the authority to remove her.  READ

HOUSE BILL AIMS TO HOLD NIGERIA ACCOUNTABLE FOR PERSECUTION  Lawmakers have introduced legislation in the House aimed at pressing the Nigerian government to protect Christians from Islamist persecution. The bill would direct U.S. officials to hold Nigeria accountable and also support the African country as it strives to meet Western religious liberty standards.  READ

POPE SETS HEARTWRENCHING THEME FOR WORLD DAY OF ELDERLY  “I will never forget you.” That’s the theme Pope Leo has chosen for the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Inspired by Isaiah 49:15, the message aims to remind the faithful of God’s love for the elderly – a love owed to them as well by their fellow members of the Body of Christ.  READ

AVE MARIA TO OPEN FIRST INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS  Florida-based Ave Maria University will open its first international campus this year at Mount Melleray Abbey, a nearly 200-year-old Cistercian monastery in southern Ireland that shuttered in January 2025 due to declining vocations and an aging monastic community. The move will keep the abbey in Catholic use while giving students “rigorous academics, intentional spiritual formation, and immersive cultural experiences,” the school stated.  READ

AD: ANSWER THE CALL  Join a cell phone service that supports your pro-life values by switching to Charity Mobile today!   LEARN MORE

PARENTS’ RIGHTS GROUP SUPPORTS DISMANDLING DEPT OF ED  United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE), a national parental rights organization, is supporting a bill in the House of Representatives that would dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and return funding to individual states. USPIE called the department an “unconstitutional” institution that “wastes taxpayer dollars, fails to improve outcomes, and often drives harmful teaching practices through federal incentives.”   READ

NEW ORLEANS ARCHBISHOP RETIRES AFTER 15 YEARS  Pope Leo has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans and confirmed that Coadjutor Archbishop James Checchio will immediately succeed him as head of the archdiocese.  READ

GETTING BABY TO SLEEP  Baby won’t go back to sleep? Here are some simple morning routines to help with that!   READ

CATHOLIC 101  In this insightful essay about embracing paradox, Father Derek Sakowski writes “our human hearts were not created for endings, and everything good in this world comes to an end. What can we do?”  READ

SAINT OF THE DAY  Today the Church honors St. Julian the Hospitaller, a legendary 4th-century figure known for his hospitality to traveling strangers. According to a medieval tale, Julian ran away from home to prevent a prophecy that he would kill his parents from coming true. He later killed them anyway, by accident. Devastated, he dedicated the rest of his life to helping strangers, setting up a hostel and hospital along a route taken by soldiers.  READ