From Politico:  If there was any doubt about President Donald Trump’s stance on abortion, he settled it Monday by using an executive order to bar U.S. aid to groups that provide or promote the procedure overseas. The decision to reinstate the Republican policy known as the “Mexico City policy,” or the “global gag rule,” was delivered a day after the 44th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion and two days after the Women’s March on Washington and... Read more

It might be useful for us all at this moment to revisit the wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI. In a conversation with journalist Peter  Seewald, Benedict  expounded on a phrase that has become closely associated with him and the times in which we live: the dictatorship of relativism. Read on:  Q: In his futuristic novel Brave New World, the British author Aldous Huxley had predicted in 1932 that falsification would be the decisive element of modernity. In a false reality... Read more

Attention must be paid:   Charlie Liteky, an Army chaplain in Vietnam who won the Medal of Honor for rescuing more than 20 wounded men but later gave it back in protest and became a peace activist, has died. Longtime friend Richard Olive said Liteky died Friday night at the Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco. He was 85. The Army awarded Liteky the highest military decoration for his actions on Dec. 6, 1967, when his company came under intense... Read more

And now for something completely different. They’re popping up all over the place, and Aleteia’s For Her posted on this quirky phenomenon recently. The one shown above is from 2013. Google translate tells me it’s “Brothers and sisters in Piazza Yenne – ‘Listen to Your Thirst.'” Aleteia’s For Her noted: These viral videos are proof that even the most devout among us can embrace the lighter side of life, and connect with others through a pure and simple thing: shared... Read more

Details:  Brenda Barnes, a two-time corporate chief executive whose decision to leave her top job at Pepsi-Cola sparked a national debate about women juggling career and family, died on Tuesday in Naperville, Ill. She was 63. Her daughter, Erin Barnes, said the cause was complications of a stroke. The elder Ms. Barnes had had a stroke in 2010, after which she gave up her corporate career entirely. Ms. Barnes had been chief executive of Pepsi-Cola North America for a year... Read more

Great story from Missouri: Sometimes, the stories the Rev. Lawrence Carney encounters are so amazing that even he admits they can be hard to believe. “One day, I was walking on the sidewalk and this St. Joseph city truck pulled up to the curb and said ‘Father, do you remember me? You blessed me at the Haven House when I was homeless. I asked if you would pray for me to get a job,’” Carney says. “He said ‘Ever since... Read more

The scoop:  On Friday, just when Donald Trump was being sworn in to office in Washington, Pope Francis was giving a long interview to EL PAÍS at the Vatican, during which he was calling for prudence in the face of the alarm bells that were ringing due to the new US president. During an hour and 15 minutes, in a simple room in the Casa de Santa Marta, where he lives, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was born in Buenos Aires... Read more

Friday afternoon, after people had talked about the president’s speech and Melania’s dress, one event took place that didn’t get much attention. It should have. It happened far from the TV cameras and network coverage—though a camera did capture this moment. In a small office of the Capitol, General John Kelly was sworn in to be the new head of Homeland Security. He placed his left hand on a Bible, held by his wife, and raised his right hand and... Read more

As we gear up for another March for Life, this reflection by The New York Times’ Public Editor Margaret Sullivan, from 2014, is worth re-visiting. She took seriously complaints that the newspaper was giving short shrift to the annual march. After quoting from some readers, she did a little digging: I asked the Washington bureau chief, Carolyn Ryan, why no staff reporter was assigned to the event. She replied: We have given extensive coverage to opponents of abortion. The March... Read more