Two women were shot and killed at a Kentucky church by a suspect who fled there after allegedly shooting a state trooper elsewhere, according to officials.

A suspect allegedly shot a Kentucky State Police trooper near the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, KY, and then fled to a church [16 miles away!], where the suspect shot four people before police shot and killed the suspect, officials said at a Lexington Police Department press conference late Sunday afternoon.

Officials said they believe that the suspect had a connection to individuals at the church. The motive behind the shooting remains unclear.

Coroner Gary Ginn said the majority of the people at the church were related biologically or "have been friends for many years."

"It's a tight-knit group of people," Ginn said during the press conference.

Perp has been identified, but name not released pending informing family.

Pope Leo XIV is reportedly deliberating on the future of the recently renewed Vatican-China deal from 2018. Meanwhile, authorities in Beijing are intensifying their crackdown on Catholic conscientious objectors

Those Catholics, particularly priests and bishops, who refuse to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association for reasons of conscience, although joining the Patriotic Association is both allowed and regulated by the Vatican Guidelines of 2019. The Guidelines, although not specifically encouraging this choice, declare it a legitimate option and ask other Catholics to "respect” it.
" href="Catholic conscientious objectors | Bitter Winter" target="_blank" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link" style="box-sizing: inherit; transition: 0.1s ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 51, 51); color: rgb(221, 51, 51) !important;">Catholic conscientious objectors who oppose the agreement. They are part of an underground church that, in theory, should have merged with the government-controlled Patriotic Catholic Church
See Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
" href="Patriotic Catholic Church | Bitter Winter" target="_blank" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link" style="box-sizing: inherit; transition: 0.1s ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 51, 51); color: rgb(221, 51, 51) !important;">Patriotic Catholic Church and ceased to exist.



In the southeastern Chinese Province

(省). A part of the administrative division of China at the highest, provincial level. China includes 22 provinces (although sometimes the government mentions 23, by adding Taiwan).
" href="Province | Bitter Winter" target="_blank" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link" style="box-sizing: inherit; transition: 0.1s ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 51, 51); color: rgb(221, 51, 51) !important;">province of Zhejiang, particularly within the Diocese of Wenzhou, a concerning crackdown on the underground church has reached alarming proportions. This intensified campaign, which began in spring 2025, involves the systematic arrests of priests, nuns, and lay followers, the closing of places of worship, and coercive methods aimed at forcing clergy and believers into compliance with the Patriotic Catholic Church
See Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
" href="Patriotic Catholic Church | Bitter Winter" target="_blank" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link" style="box-sizing: inherit; transition: 0.1s ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 51, 51); color: rgb(221, 51, 51) !important;">Patriotic Catholic Church.



The immediate catalyst for this aggression stemmed from a pilgrimage abroad taken by a group of underground clergy and believers in 2024. Upon their return, authorities launched a baseless accusation of “illegal migration,” claiming they conducted religious activities while using tourist visas. This charge appears to be a mere fabrication, intended to coerce Bishop Shao Zhumin, a key advocate for conscientious objection, into conforming to the Patriotic Church.

Continued below.

As followers of Jesus Christ, this is what our lives are supposed to look like. We should not be people who like to pick fights with others, who speak to others with hate and with cruel and unjust remarks. We should not be nasty with others just because we don’t agree with them on some issues. We can disagree respectfully, and maturely, and with kindness, but still stand our ground on what the Scriptures teach as truth, especially as it regards the gospel of our salvation. For speaking the truth in love is kindness.

And we are to be people of God who are living holy lives, pleasing to God, who are no longer walking in deliberate and habitual sin, but who are walking in holiness and in righteousness, and in walks of surrender to and in obedience to our Lord. Sin must no longer be our practice, but now holy living and obedience to our Lord, and to his commands, and to his will and purpose for our lives, should be what we obey. And we should be those who are submitting to the Lordship of Christ over our lives, living to please him.

But we live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. And this is not claiming that we are absolutely perfect in every way. But the Scriptures do make it a point to divide those who are walking in obedience to the Lord, who are no longer walking in sin, from those who are living wicked lives in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, and not in obedience to God. And to point this out does not at all have to mean that if we are obeying the Lord that we are self-righteous people who think we are superior to others.

Sharing the truth of the gospel, if done in love, with kindness, with respect, and not in hate, is not to be translated as snobbery and not love. It should be and it can be a sign that we love the people of this world so much that we are willing to tell them the truth of the gospel, even if it means being hated and mistreated and misunderstood, in return. I know for myself that I do what I do every day because I love God, and I am obeying him, and because I love the people of this world who need to hear the truth of the gospel.

For, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be those who are shining the light of the truth of the gospel to all people. For we live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation where so many people are altering the gospel to make it more acceptable to human flesh, and less offensive to the ungodly of this world. So we need to be holding out that candle of light which shines forth the truth of the gospel for all to see, regardless of whether or not we are well received and accepted by those who listen to what we share.

For, if indeed what we are sharing is the truth that Jesus taught, and that his New Testament apostles taught, in the correct biblical context, we are going to be opposed. Some will hate us. Some will attack us personally and will falsely accuse of us of wrong motives or of having a false character. And some will oppose the gospel message we are teaching because they have believed in a false gospel which makes no requirements for death to sin and walks of obedience to the Lord. But we have to stay faithful to the truth.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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Holding Forth the Word of Life
An Original Work / July 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

‘What better person to plead our cause to than the Holy Father himself?’​

For one newly married Catholic couple, a recent meeting with the first Illinois-born pope presented a spontaneous opportunity for the couple to express their devotion to another holy Illinoisan — Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen — and to plead with the Pope to help Sheen’s sainthood cause move forward.

Kristen and Austin Savage were married on June 7 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, Illinois.(Photo: Courtesy of Kristen and Austin Savage)

Kristen and Austin Savage were married on June 7 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, Illinois, and honeymooned afterward in Italy. Months before their wedding — in fact, before Pope Leo XIV was even elected — the Savages had obtained tickets to the June 11sposi novelliblessing, a tradition during the pope’s weekly Wednesday audiences whereby newly married couples can meet and receive a blessing from the Roman pontiff.

Speaking to Andrew Hansen on the podcastof the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, Dive Deep, the Savages said they were waiting at the Vatican with a group of dozens of other couples to see Pope Leo XIV, not expecting that they would get to actually converse with him.

Continued below.

It’s no news flash that younger Americans today generally tend to be less patriotic than previous generations. But the “patriotism gap” is growing rapidly, and perhaps most concerning is the fact that the gap is most drastic among younger Americans.

Writing for HotAir.com, Ed Morrissey notes: “Pride in America has sunk to its lowest standing ever, mainly led by a collapse among Democrats.”

Indeed, Gallup polls write: “A record-low 58% of U.S. adults say they are ‘extremely’ (41%) or ‘very’ (17%) proud to be an American, down nine percentage points from last year and five points below the prior low from 2020.” Gallup notes that most of the decline is in the “very proud” category.

Ben Shapiro asks if we’re seeing “the end of patriotism?” He opens his recent column with this observation: “America has a major problem: nearly half of Americans — 42% — don't believe in America.”

Continued below.

An Iranian Christian who fled a decade-long prison sentence for participating in a house church was deported from Turkey and arrested on arrival in Iran. The 37-year-old man had attempted to travel from Turkey to Europe after fleeing Iran earlier this year.

Mehran Shamloui, a convert from Islam, was arrested by Turkish authorities in Istanbul while attempting to leave for Europe without valid travel documents. He was deported to Mashhad in northeastern Iran, where he was taken into custody by Iranian security forces on arrival, Middle East Concern reported.

Shamloui had left Iran earlier this year after he and two fellow converts were handed heavy prison sentences on March 8 by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The charges stemmed from their Christian beliefs and participation in house churches. The same verdict sentenced Shamloui to over 10 years in prison and fined him 250 million tomans ($2,750), according to Barnabas Aid.

Continued below.

Today, my wife, suspicious of AI, asked "what if the Founders had AI?" Which immediately intrigued me. So I asked Chatgpt to design a government/society reflecting the writings of the enlightenment philosophers. Here's what it said:

Declaration of Reason and the Rights of Man​

Issued in the Age of Enlightenment, In the Name of Liberty, Virtue, and Reason​

When, in the course of human development, it becomes necessary for a people to liberate themselves from ignorance, superstition, and tyranny, and to assume the station of free and equal beings—guided not by blind tradition but by reason and justice—it is proper and essential to declare the principles which give legitimacy to their society and government.

---

I. Of the Rights of Man and Citizen​

We hold these truths to be not self-evident by tradition, but proven by reason:

• That all men are born free and remain equal in rights.
• That the natural rights of man are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. (Locke, Rousseau)
• That liberty consists in the power to do anything which does not harm another; hence the law may only prohibit that which injures society. (Voltaire, Rousseau)
• That the free exercise of reason, in speech, in religion, in the press, and in public discourse, is sacred and inviolable. (Voltaire, Kant)
• That no man shall be judged by his birth, class, or creed, but only by his conduct, his virtue, and his contribution to the common good. (Rousseau, Kant)

---

II. Of the Origin and Purpose of Government​

• Government is not ordained by providence or tradition, but by the consent of the governed, formed through a social contract among rational individuals. (Locke, Rousseau)
• The sole purpose of government is to secure the rights of its citizens and to express the general will—the rational and moral interest of all. (Rousseau)
• Any government that becomes the instrument of private interest or arbitrary power is illegitimate and may be reformed or abolished. (Locke)
• Sovereignty resides in the people; no monarch, priest, or faction may claim power above them. (Rousseau, Voltaire)

---

III. Of Law and Justice​

• Laws must be just, public, and rational, framed by representatives of the people. (Montesquieu, Beccaria)
• The law is an expression of the general will and must apply equally to all. No one is above the law. (Rousseau, Montesquieu)
• Punishment shall be proportionate to the crime, intended not to avenge but to deter. Torture and cruelty offend both reason and humanity. (Beccaria)
• Every accused shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Secret trials and arbitrary detentions are hereby condemned. (Beccaria, Montesquieu)

---

IV. Of Knowledge and Enlightenment​

• Man's dignity consists in his capacity for reason. Ignorance is the tool of tyranny. (Kant)
• Education shall be universal, secular, and devoted to the cultivation of virtue, autonomy, and critical thinking. (Rousseau, Kant)
• Let every citizen have the freedom to speak, write, teach, and publish their thoughts without fear, for the free use of reason in public is the engine of enlightenment. (Voltaire, Kant)
• Dogma shall not rule where reason can inquire. Conscience shall not be coerced where truth can be persuaded.

---

V. Of Society and Economy​

• Commerce and labor, freely pursued, shall contribute to the common prosperity. (Adam Smith)
• The state shall protect property, ensure fair competition, and provide for the needs of those unable to provide for themselves. (Smith, Rousseau)
• Excessive inequality corrupts liberty and undermines fraternity; laws shall restrain monopolies and privilege. (Rousseau, Smith)

---

VI. Final Resolution​

We, the representatives of a free and enlightened people, do proclaim this declaration as a beacon for all nations and future generations:

Let ignorance give way to knowledge,
Let superstition yield to inquiry,
Let despotism bow before liberty,
And let mankind walk upright, governed not by fear but by reason and conscience.

Click to expand...

So shall we build a society worthy of man’s nature—free, rational, and just.

Please pray for strength today, I am not feeling well and have some pain but have a big work day ahead that I have to do. Thank you.

"A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side." Luke 10

Trying to stay pure and obey the law, and yet missing the point of the law.

Let's not judge the priest and Levite so quickly. wouldn't we do the same?

The Belgian artist’s works will hang in place of “The Last Supper” and “The People of Israel in the Desert” while the masterpieces undergo restoration​

The Belgian artist Luc Tuymans has created two major new works for the altar of a 16th-century church on a Venetian island. Tuymans's paintings, entitled Heat and Musicians (2025), go on show in the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore next month, across from St Mark’s Square.

Tuymans’s works replace a pair of canvases by the 16th-century artist Jacopo Tintoretto—The Last Supper and The People of Israel in the Desert—which will undergo restoration funded by the Save Venice conservation charity.

“My paintings—Heat, and Musicians (both 2025)—aren't installed in a museum; rather they are installed at the centre of a space of worship, where people regularly attend services,” Tuymans says. “This situation provides a completely different assessment of how an artwork is to be perceived, and responded to.

“How the paintings engage with the architecture of the space is also important. My work is wholly integrated into the Palladian basilica, not placed next to it, or around it, like previous installations before—Anish Kapoor, Berlinde Der Bruyckere.”

Continued below.

​

Father Alphonsus Afina, a Nigerian priest who served in the the Diocese of Fairbanks Alaska (2017-2024), was abducted June 1, 2025, by Islamist militants in his home country. Father Alphonsus is pictured in an undated photo.

A Nigerian priest who previously served in Alaska remains missing after being captured by Boko Haram operatives in his homeland, OSV News has learned.

Father Alphonsus Afina, assigned to several parishes across Alaska from September 2017 through 2024, was abducted June 1 along with an unspecified number of fellow travelers while in Nigeria's Borno state, near the northeastern town of Gwoza.

Bishop John Bogma Bakeni of Maiduguri, Nigeria, told The Associated Press June 8 that the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram was responsible for the kidnapping.

Continued below.

​

If TC remains in place and if I could control just one reform of the Modern Mass, I would state emphatically that that reform should be a return to receiving Holy Communion kneeling at the altar railing or kneeler and receiving on the tongue. Doing this is, in my most humble opinion, more important than ad orientem, although ad orientem would be second.

The outdated 1960’s apologetics, most of which are not just outdated but wrong, goes like this:

1. We must recover processing to receive Holy Communion as we are a walking, pilgrim people and the Holy Communion procession indicates this!

(WRONG!) Of course we have to process to the altar railing but not necessarily in any regimented, organized way. We all come to Christ in unique ways, but always by the grace of God who calls us! Secondly, the most important procession, the first procession is Christ processing to us! This is most evident in Eucharistic Processions, like the one Pope Leo led for Corpus Christi. It is Christ moving to us, around us and leading us that is important and comes first. The priest distributing Holy Communion to those at a railing makes clear the first and most important Eucharistic Procession! It is our Lord processing to us!!!!

2. Standing to receive Holy Communion recovers an older tradition and represents symbolically being raised up in Christ.

Continued below.

A large crowd of protesters gathered outside Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa on Friday afternoon after local officials rumored a possible vacation visit from Vice President JD Vance.

Orange County officials received intel of the VP’s visit to the area on Thursday. In an interview with KTLA 5, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said the VP’s visit “comes at a time when trust in government feels fragile.”

The Santanero, a local Santa Ana newspaper, reported that Air Force 2 landed at John Wayne Airport on Friday shortly after 5 p.m. It was not immediately confirmed whether Vance was on the aircraft on official business following his latest visit to California when he attended a $2,500-per-seat conservative event at a high-end sushi restaurant in San Diego.

Neither a weekend schedule nor fundraising event were posted by the vice president’s office, which has led to speculation that Vance might be on a family vacation. Online footage began to circulate of a C-17 motorcade entering the Disneyland Park in Anaheim.

“I would tell [Vance] to go home,” one protestor told Fox 11. “We don’t want him here.”

[Vance is about as popular as Nikita Khrushchev in California.]

YouTuber Matt Desmond posted a short video to his channel, DisneyScoopGuy, Saturday morning of Vance and two of his children at Disneyland walking through the park and riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

[How could he stand to be on such a WOKE ride, having erased all memory of the Song of the South?]

Obviously this particular source has a bias, but I think some of the data points are still worth discussing given that there are still proposals out there for rent control.


Rental listings in Buenos Aires increased by 180% after Milei repealed rent control laws.
Real (inflation-adjusted) rents fell by 40% year-over-year following deregulation.
Property sales transactions in Buenos Aires exceeded 2023 levels by 35% in early 2024.
Mortgage-backed home sales in Buenos Aires tripled in 2024 compared to 2023.

I've noted before that rent controls are one of the few areas where economists from across the spectrum seem to be in agreement (Paul Krugman, Thomas Sowell, and Milton Friedman have all criticized the practice)

Is it time we start thinking about doing the same here in some cities where rent control has been grandfathered in?

Given the fact that in many of the US cities where these policies are still in play:
- a disproportionate number are occupied by affluent tenants (who've lived their for a long time, and their financial situation has changed quite a bit since they initially moved in decades ago)
- about 1 in 4 landlords leave the controlled units vacant, as there's no real incentive to rent it out since repairs and appliance replacements can exceed what they'd make on rent
- a substantial number of them get passed from family down to other family members, so it's still boxing a lot of people out of being able to take advantage of them

On May 29, 10 days following a joint statement made by Canada, France and the UK which told Israel it was behaving in a way which righteous countries would not put up with, a communion of Canadian religious sisters wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney to express “gratitude for, and solidarity with” the position.

Srs. Margo Ritchie and Linda Haydock, on behalf of some 30 religious congregations in Canada, wrote that the situation in Gaza was desperate.

“For months now, humanitarian supplies have been blocked from entering Gaza. Community kitchens are closed. Warehouses are empty. War-traumatized families, including children, are slowly starving.”

Though Ritchie and Haydock called on Hamas to release the “remaining hostages,” the blame for the humanitarian crisis was laid squarely at the feet of Israel.

Continued below.

The Big Beautiful Bill has passed, and many on the right are celebrating the parts that attract them the most. Among those celebrating, although somewhat subdued, are the pro-lifers.

For the first time in American history, a federal administration actually defunded Planned Parenthood. It is not without cause that the abortion provider immediately secured a fourteen-day injunction of the defunding order.

This defunding of the nation’s largest abortion provider will deprived it of fungible funds that will help keep Planned Parenthood operating, freeing up monies that can be used for promoting abortion.

Thus, everyone knows that the loss of hundreds of millions in operating funds translates into the indirect saving of countless unborn lives and perhaps the closure of as many as 200 abortion mills nationwide. This is certainly something to celebrate, and fight hard to defeat the injunction.

Failure to Deliver the Knockout Blow

Continued below.

Why Congress Must Defund Planned Parenthood Permanently

The Big Beautiful Bill has passed, and many on the right are celebrating the parts that attract them the most. Among those celebrating, although somewhat subdue

www.tfp.org

In his 1947 encyclical on St. Benedict of Nursia, Pope Pius XII praised the great saint: “Like a star in the darkness of night, Benedict of Nursia brilliantly shines.”1 If Benedict (480–547), a patron saint of Europe, shines like a star, his Order of Saint Benedict has illuminated history with a thousand constellations. Guided by the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Benedictines have profoundly influenced the development of Western Civilization. In the words of Thomas Woods:

Mere statistics can hardly do justice to the Benedictine achievement, but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, the order had supplied the Church with 24 popes, 200 cardinals, 7,000 archbishops, 15,000 bishops, and 1,500 canonized saints. At its height, the Benedictine order could boast 37,000 Monasteries. —How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods Jr.2

Click to expand...

Benedictine Contributions to Science​

Continued below.

The election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this month has — at least according to Google search data — has led to a renewed interest in people searching for information on how to ‘become Catholic.’
A young woman is baptized at the Easter vigil 2024 at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M. (photo: Courtesy of St. Mary’s Catholic Center, Texas A&M)

The election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this month has — at least according to Google search data — led to a renewed interest in people searching for information on how to “become Catholic.”

This follows several years of anecdotal reports of a surge of people joining the Catholic Church, especially among young people, across many dioceses in numerous countries.

The Catholic Church’s requirements to join may seem, at first, to be complicated. The process involves some important rites of initiation as well as spiritual preparation, fellowship with other Catholics and prospective Catholics, and instruction in the teachings of the faith.

Here’s a guide to becoming Catholic in 2025.

1) Are you baptized?

Continued below.

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2:39

It won't be in Rio de Janeiro or Bolivia or Colombia. The largest statue of Christ in the world will be in Madrid by 2030. A whopping 37-meter-tall sculpture is expected to be built in Spain, and the project is being led by Javier Viver

When I first decided to embark on the journey of seeking Christ, I thought it was the end to all fun. I pictured a boring life and everything in the world as off limits. I thought I would be living a life ruled by guilt and shame. I was led to believe all the joy was to be sucked out of my life and led in a direction that I had no idea of the outcome. This is what the world tells us about Catholicism, right? This seems to be the underlying theme of today’s culture.

However, when we posture our hearts towards the Lord and make Him the focal point of our lives, all of those earthly things seem to move down the ranks of importance. Not to say our desires for those earthly aspects immediately disappear, but there is a tugging on our hearts to follow Him. As long as we remain on this earth, we will always be tested with temptation and to stray from Christ.

Continued below.

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Saint of the Day/ Feast
Reading of the Martyrology
Dedication of the Month
Dedication of the Day
Rosary
Five Wounds Rosary in Latin
Seven Sorrows Rosary in English
Latin Monastic Office
Reading of the Rule of Saint Benedict
Celebration of Mass
Reading from the School of Jesus Crucified



Feast of Pope Saint Anicletus

The second successor of St. Peter. Whether he was the same as Cletus, who is also called Anencletus as well as Anacletus, has been the subject of endless discussion. Irenaeus, Eusebius, Augustine, Optatus, use both names indifferently as of one person. Tertullian omits him altogether. To add to the confusion, the order is different. Thus Irenaeus has Linus, Anacletus, Clement; whereas Augustine and Optatus put Clement before Anacletus. On the other hand, the "Catalogus Liberianus", the "Carmen contra Marcionem" and the "Liber Pontificalis", all most respectable for their antiquity, make Cletus and Anacletus distinct from each other; while the "Catalogus Felicianus" even sets the latter down as a Greek, the former as a Roman. Among the moderns, Hergenröther (Hist. de l'église, I 542, note) pronounces for their identity. So also the Bollandist De Smedt (Dissert. vii, 1). Döllinger (Christenth. u K., 315) declares that "they are, without doubt, the same person" and that "the 'Catalogue of Liberius' merits little confidence before 230." Duchesne, "Origines chretiennes", ranges himself on that side also but Jungmann (Dissert. Hist. Eccl., I, 123) leaves the question in doubt. The chronology is, of course, in consequence of all this, very undetermined, but Duchesne, in his "Origines", says "we are far from the day when the years, months, and days of the Pontifical Catalog can be given with any guarantee of exactness. But is it necessary to be exact about popes of whom we know so little? We can accept the list of Irenaeus — Linus, Anacletus, Clement, Evaristus, Alexander, Xystus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius, and Anicetus. Anicetus reigned certainly in 154. That is all we can say with assurance about primitive pontifical chronology." That he ordained a certain number of priests is nearly all we have of positive record about him, but we know he died a martyr, perhaps about 91.



sperm est sanguis Christianorum
The blood of Christians is the seed of the Church
Tertullian, Apologeticum, 50

The Reading from the Martyrology

Continued below.

Catholic devotions for 13th July

cathcon.blogspot.com

When it comes to addiction, a few saints in particular show us that the path to healing is not only possible — it can even be holy ground.

Addiction can feel like a cage with no key — whether it’s a craving, a compulsion, or a cycle that keeps looping back. The shame, isolation, and powerlessness that come with it aren’t just psychological; they can weigh heavy on the soul. But holiness isn’t about never falling. It’s about what we do next.

The Church doesn’t offer saints as superheroes, but as companions. And when it comes to addiction, a few saints in particular show us that the path to healing is not only possible — it can even be holy ground.

St. Mark Ji Tianxiang: The addict who never gave up​

Continued below.

Pope Leo XIV called on every parish and church group or association to become part of a "revolution" of care and gratitude by regularly visiting older people.

"Christian hope always urges us to be more daring, to think big, to be dissatisfied with things the way they are," the Pope wrote in his message for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a Church celebration that will take place July 27.

"In this case, it urges us to work for a change that can restore the esteem and affection to which the elderly are entitled," he wrote in the message released July 10.

Continued below.