TAX PLAN Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch announced a major change to the tax plan. The individual mandate to buy insurance would be gone. The tax savings from that would be used to lower the tax rates for the middle class, and double the Child Tax Credit to $2,000 per child — a policy endorsed by CatholicVote. These provisions would need to be renewed in 2025 or otherwise would expire. http://cvote.it/2z2kUce
SENATE SCANDAL The RNC ends their joint fundraising agreement with Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. http://cvote.it/2AJi9Jb
COURT CHALLENGE Fox News’ Sean Hannity breaks with Roy Moore: “For me, the judge has 24 hours. You must immediately and fully come up with a satisfactory explanation for your inconsistencies… You must remove any doubt. If you can’t do this, then Judge Moore needs to get out of this race.” http://cvote.it/2z3zZdm
MARRIAGE DEFEAT 62% of Australians voted to radically redefine marriage in a nationwide referendum. http://cvote.it/2z2qSdg
BISHOPS’ MEETING Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, KS, was elected head of the Bishops’ pro-life committee. http://cvote.it/2msu9fW
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY A high school technician in Maine drew a complaint after saying, “I will pray for you,” to a co-worker at her school (who was also a Christian!). She was warned to never utter a word about her faith again. http://cvote.it/2z2wtAl
SAINTHOOD CAUSE St. Black Elk? The sainthood cause for a Lakota medicine man advanced when the U.S. bishops unanimously approved his canonical consultation. http://cvote.it/2mqTXJv
DETROIT CELEBRATION A sell-out crowd of 70,000 faithful Catholics will fill the NFL stadium in Detroit on Saturday. http://cvote.it/2mqzpRm
DOUBLE STANDARD “Even if the allegations are true, the President is not guilty of sexual harassment. He is accused of having made a gross, dumb, and reckless pass at a supporter during a low point in her life. She pushed him away, she said, and it never happened again. In other words, President Clinton took ‘no’ for an answer,” said pro-abortion feminist Gloria Steinem, in 1998, in defense of Bill Clinton’s actions. http://cvote.it/2z2mrz9
SAINT OF THE DAY Saint Albert the Great – http://cvote.it/dailysaint
DAILY MASS READINGS “Rise up, O God, bring judgement to the earth.” (Ps 82:8) – http://cvote.it/Daily-Readings
FAITH It’s time for Catholics to focus again on the Four Last Things. http://cvote.it/2AJ8diG