WEDNESDAY, MAY 3
OKLAHOMA PROTECTS KIDS Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday signed a law protecting children from “trans” surgeries like elective double mastectomies on minor girls, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones. Oklahoma is the 16th Republican-led state to enact such measures, even as Democrat-led states move to become “refuges” for the “trans medicine” industry. In some states like Arkansas and Alabama, judges have blocked the implementation of new conservative legislation, while the Biden Justice Department has sued Tennessee over its child-protection law. READ
PORN SITE BLASTS UTAH FOR PROTECTING MINORS One of the largest adult content websites on the internet has blocked all users in Utah in an apparent protest of a new state law protecting children from being exposed to pornography by requiring age-verification measures. Utahns attempting to access the site now get a message urging them to contact their elected lawmakers to demand “solutions that make the internet safer while also respecting your privacy.” READ
TEACHERS SUE DISTRICT OVER ‘TRANS’ RULE Two middle school teachers in the Escondido Union School District (EUSD) in California sued the district April 27 over a policy they argue could force them to deceive parents if the parents’ children “identify” as “transgender.” The policy refers to a student’s “transgender or gender-nonconforming status” as “private information” that should be kept secret in most circumstances. READ
TEMPORARY PRO-LIFE WIN IN COLORADO Colorado state officials will not yet enforce a law that would ban pro-life clinics from treating women who want to reverse an incomplete medication abortion. “Colorado’s attorney general ran away from this law once he realized the legislature had shot from the hip,” said Rebekah Ricketts, an attorney at the Becket Fund, which is representing Bella Health in the clinic’s lawsuit against Colorado. READ
CHELSEA CLINTON DEFENDS SHOCKING BOOK Chelsea Clinton this week defended a list of books marketed toward minors, claiming they are “vital” for children and that “attempted book bans” of the LGBTQ content are “harmful.” Clinton also shared a write-up on the topic from NBC News, which prominently featured an image of the book “Gender Queer.” Twitter users quickly pointed out that the book “features sexually explicit material” and “contains visual depictions of oral sex, masturbation and adult sexual contact with a minor.” READ
DEMS ATTEMPT OVERSIGHT OF SCOTUS At a Tuesday hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican members confronted Democrats for allegedly trying to undermine public trust in the Supreme Court following the repeal of Roe v. Wade. The Democratic effort comes amid widespread claims among left-wing activists that Justice Clarence Thomas – arguably the high Court’s most outspoken pro-life justice – is guilty of taking inappropriate gifts from a conservative citizen. READ
‘OUTREACH’ PROMOTES LGBTQ MOVEMENT IN CHURCH America Media last year launched “Outreach” to promote the tenets of the LGBTQ movement in Catholic institutions, including churches and schools. Celebrity Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin marked Outreach’s first anniversary in a column claiming that there is “a great deal of homophobia in the church,” and that “before the church teaches it needs to listen—to psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians, social scientists, biologists and, especially, transgender people themselves.” READ
EDIFY Every year, millions of Catholics receive the sacrament of Confirmation. But… why? And how do we properly receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit? In this short video, Paul J. Kim shows through real-life examples how we can all become saints on fire for Christ. Watch it now! WATCH
IRISH ‘HATE SPEECH’ LAW COULD QUASH CHURCH Ireland is preparing to enact a broader ban on “hate crimes” and “hate speech” as critics warn of effects on freedom of expression. Commentator Dubhaltach O Reachtnin, writing in the U.K. newspaper the Catholic Herald in November, voiced concern the law could be used to prosecute priests or Catholic laity who voice Catholic teaching. READ
OUR LADY OF FATIMA STATUE One of the replicas of the original Our Lady of Fatima statue will be touring the Archdiocese of Newark from April 28 to May 31. It was crafted using detailed instructions from Servant of God Sister Lucia Dos Santos, one of the three Fatima seers. READ
HELPING KIDS PRAY Children approaching the Lord in prayer is a beautiful sight. Here is a simple, practical way to engage your little ones in cultivating their friendship with God. READ
CATHOLIC 101 “Are you saved?” If someone is asking you that question, they probably mean, “Are you certain you will go to heaven?” Some Christians believe that one act of faith, sometimes made years ago, guarantees them a place in heaven. “Jesus Christ came to give us much more than a kind of eternal fire insurance policy,” argues Paul Thigpen. READ
SAINT OF THE DAY St. Philip and St. James the Less were two of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles. Scripture mentions Philip helping bring Nathaniel to Jesus, as well as being present at the Miracle of Feeding the 5,000. St. James the Less (meaning “younger”) became a Church leader in Jerusalem and likely wrote the Epistle of James. Both Apostles were martyred: St. Philip was crucified upside down, like St. Peter, and St. James was clubbed to death. READ
DAILY PSALM “Their message goes out through all the earth.” (Psalm 19:5) READ
DAILY READINGS Today’s Mass readings. READ
TRUTH Join us in praying to the Holy Family: O Holy Family, bless and protect all families, especially those in America; safeguard their marriages, protect their children, and bring them closer to the Church. Amen. SHARE
