Vatican Declares Ultraconservative Society in Schism
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Vatican Declares Ultraconservative Society in Schism, Excommunicates Bishops and Warns Faithful (Laura)
The author writes, “The Vatican responded aggressively Thursday to a traditionalist society that consecrated bishops without the pope’s consent, declaring the Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicating its bishops and priests and warning its faithful they too face the harshest sanctions in the Catholic Church. The Vatican’s doctrine office went above and beyond the minimum sanctions foreseen by the church’s canon law to respond to the consecrations Wednesday of four new bishops at the society’s Econe, Switzerland, seminary. The society, known by its acronym SSPX, celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and opposes the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, which it considers to be rife with heresies and errors.”
US Air Force Officer Arrested on Capitol Steps for Call to Impeach Trump: ‘The Bill Must Come Due’ (Sean)
The author writes, “Air Force Major Jason Watson was arrested on the Capitol Steps Wednesday after taking part in a protest that called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Watson, an active member of the Air Force, delivered a speech ahead of his arrest. He listed several perceived crimes committed by the president and vice president.”
A Troubling Milestone: Most Supreme Court Rulings Are Secretive Votes With Little Justification (Dana)
From ProPublica: “ProPublica conducted a new analysis that shows the court is deciding more consequential rulings than ever before in largely unsigned orders with little to no explanation.”
What Happens to the Children Left Behind in the Wake of ICE Arrests? (Reader Steve)
From The Oregonian: “Nationwide, more than 145,000 U.S. citizen children likely had a parent detained under President Donald Trump, according to a new study by the Brookings Institution. The think tank used demographic information on detainees and census data to estimate the number. Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, said caretakers who are known to the disrupted families offer a measure of comfort that foster care can’t provide. ‘These children have already endured the enormous trauma of having their parents hauled away by ICE,’ he said. ‘It would be an act of unspeakable cruelty to separate them from everyone else they know and love as well.’”
The Declaration’s Forgotten (Non)Signer: John Dickinson’s Missing 1776 Signature Haunts His Legacy (Reader Steve)
From the Associated Press: “For a quarter century, Jane Calvert has been on a mission shared by few scholars of the Revolutionary War era. She has championed a founder mostly remembered, when remembered at all, as the man who wouldn’t sign the Declaration of Independence — the lawyer and statesman John Dickinson. … For much of the country, the 250th anniversary of independence on Saturday is a time for celebrating and debating the country’s birth. But for Calvert and others, it’s also a moment to challenge the lingering image of a man who at times has been ignored, ridiculed or literally cast aside.”
