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| WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12 – OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE |
| CARDINAL PELL CONVICTED A unanimous jury convicted Cardinal George Pell on all charges that he sexually abused two choir boys in the late 1990s. Cardinal Pell left his position as the Vatican’s finance chief to stand trial in Melbourne, Australia. He is the highest-ranking Vatican official to ever stand trial for sex abuse. READ |
| TRUMP ARGUES WITH PELOSI AND SCHUMER President Trump dispensed with traditional Beltway protocol and openly feuded with Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer at a press briefing at the Oval Office. Trump called on Schumer and Pelosi to back border security and funding for a border wall. Pelosi and Schumer both suggested that they shouldn’t debate in front of the cameras. Trump said: “I am proud to shut down the government for border security.” READ |
| OVAL OFFICE SPAT Media pundits are declaring that President Trump fumbled his Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. But Matt Lewis, a conservative who opposes Trump, said the president won the exchange because he cut through the fake conciliatory rhetoric. “All that in-front-of-the-cameras civility is fake anyway. Trump dispensed with it. It was refreshing, and his people will love it, shutdown or no shutdown,” said Lewis. READ |
| CHINESE TRADE China has agreed to reduce steep tariffs that they impose on U.S. vehicles from 40% down to 15% — in line with what other countries pay. The news, which is not finalized, lifted stock prices for U.S. auto companies. READ |
| TIE-BREAKING VOTE Vice President Mike Pence broke a tie to allow the Senate to confirm Jonathan Kobes to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Kobes is the 30th appeals court judicial confirmation since Donald Trump started his presidency. READ |
| CHRISTIAN GROUPS WIN IN COURT Federal District Judge Philip Brimmer ordered that the federal government could not enforce the Obamacare contraceptive mandate on six Christian organizations who claimed the rule violated rights recognized by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Judge Brimmer was appointed to the court by President George W. Bush. READ |
| CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he would schedule a Senate vote on a Trump-endorsed criminal justice bill called The First Step Act. McConnell cited “improvements to the legislation” backed by Sen. Ted Cruz to win conservative support as a motivation for moving the bill forward. READ |
| THE OUR FATHER PRAYER Pope Francis said that the line “lead us not into temptation” is a poorly-translated line in the Our Father prayer. He noted that the line was recently re-translated in French as “do not let me fall into temptation.” READ |
| GETTING YOUTH TO CHURCH When Fr. Edwin Dwyer received a report on the declining attendance in his diocese, he didn’t play the blame game. Instead, he offered a prescription: “Believe it or not, tradition works. So-called ‘old ways’ are quite popular among younger Catholics. Smells, bells, classic hymns, chant, prolonged silence, and, hold on for this one, LATIN are all largely embraced by the younger generations of the Church. Furthermore, when younger non-Catholics experience these traditions they are struck by how different they are from everything else they experience in a noisy, secular culture. These ‘old ways’ are beautiful to them, and beauty is a great place to introduce young folks to Jesus Christ.” READ |
| SAINT OF THE DAY The Blessed Virgin’s appearance at Tepeyac to Saint Juan Diego in 1531, was the beginning of a beautiful story of God’s and Mary’s love and care for the peoples of Mexico. As Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Blessed Virgin was named patroness of all of the Americas in 2003. READ |
| DAILY READINGS “You are the highest honor of our race.” (Judith 13:18) READ |
| AMAZING Did you know about all the symbols in the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe? SHARE |