As the World's Christians Celebrate Easter, Pope Francis Makes Plea For Mideast Peace

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Photo Credit: Alessandra Tarantino

By Frances D’Emilio. Pope Francis delivered a plea for peace in his first Easter Sunday message to the world, decrying the seemingly endless conflicts in the Middle East and on the Korean Ppeninsula after celebrating Mass along with more than 250,000 faithful.

After the Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Francis shared in the crowd’s exuberance as they celebrated the belief that Jesus Christ rose from the dead following crucifixion. Aboard an open-topped popemobile, Francis took a lighthearted spin through the joyous gatherers, kissing babies and patting children on the head.

One admirer of the pope and the pope’s favorite soccer team, Argentina’s Saints of San Lorenzo, insisted that Francis take a team jersey he was waving at the pontiff. A delighted Francis obliged, briefly holding up the shirt.

Since the start of his papacy on March 13, Francis repeatedly has put his concern for the poor and suffering at the center of his messages, and the Easter speech he delivered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica reflected his push for peace and social justice.

He said he wished a “Happy Easter” greeting could reach “every house and every family, especially where the suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons.” Francis prayed that Christ would help people “change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace.” Read more from this story HERE.

Pope Francis’s First Easter Message

By Pope Francis. Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, Happy Easter! Happy Easter!

What a joy it is for me to announce this message: Christ is risen! I would like it to go out to every house and every family, especially where the suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons.

Most of all, I would like it to enter every heart, for it is there that God wants to sow this Good News: Jesus is risen, there is hope for you, you are no longer in the power of sin, of evil! Love has triumphed, mercy has been victorious! The mercy of God always triumphs!

We too, like the women who were Jesus’ disciples, who went to the tomb and found it empty, may wonder what this event means (cf. Lk 24:4). What does it mean that Jesus is risen? It means that the love of God is stronger than evil and death itself; it means that the love of God can transform our lives and let those desert places in our hearts bloom. The love God can do this!

This same love for which the Son of God became man and followed the way of humility and self-giving to the very end, down to hell – to the abyss of separation from God – this same merciful love has flooded with light the dead body of Jesus, has transfigured it, has made it pass into eternal life. Jesus did not return to his former life, to earthly life, but entered into the glorious life of God and he entered there with our humanity, opening us to a future of hope.

This is what Easter is: it is the exodus, the passage of human beings from slavery to sin and evil to the freedom of love and goodness. Because God is life, life alone, and we are his glory: the living man (cf. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, 4,20,5-7).
Dear brothers and sisters, Christ died and rose once for all, and for everyone, but the power of the Resurrection, this passover from slavery to evil to the freedom of goodness, must be accomplished in every age, in our concrete existence, in our everyday lives. How many deserts, even today, do human beings need to cross! Above all, the desert within, when we have no love for God or neighbour, when we fail to realize that we are guardians of all that the Creator has given us and continues to give us. God’s mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ez 37:1-14).

So this is the invitation which I address to everyone: Let us accept the grace of Christ’s Resurrection! Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.

And so we ask the risen Jesus, who turns death into life, to change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace. Yes, Christ is our peace, and through him we implore peace for all the world.

Peace for the Middle East, and particularly between Israelis and Palestinians, who struggle to find the road of agreement, that they may willingly and courageously resume negotiations to end a conflict that has lasted all too long. Peace in Iraq, that every act of violence may end, and above all for dear Syria, for its people torn by conflict and for the many refugees who await help and comfort. How much blood has been shed! And how much suffering must there still be before a political solution to the crisis will be found?

Peace for Africa, still the scene of violent conflicts. In Mali, may unity and stability be restored; in Nigeria, where attacks sadly continue, gravely threatening the lives of many innocent people, and where great numbers of persons, including children, are held hostage by terrorist groups. Peace in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in the Central African Republic, where many have been forced to leave their homes and continue to live in fear.

Peace in Asia, above all on the Korean peninsula: may disagreements be overcome and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow.

Peace in the whole world, still divided by greed looking for easy gain, wounded by the selfishness which threatens human life and the family, selfishness that continues in human trafficking, the most extensive form of slavery in this twenty-first century; human trafficking is the most extensive form of slavery in this twenty-first century! Peace to the whole world, torn apart by violence linked to drug trafficking and by the iniquitous exploitation of natural resources! Peace to this our Earth! Made the risen Jesus bring comfort to the victims of natural disasters and make us responsible guardians of creation.

Dear brothers and sisters, to all of you who are listening to me, from Rome and from all over of the world, I address the invitation of the Psalm: “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever. Let Israel say: ‘His steadfast love endures for ever'” (Ps 117:1-2).

Greeting
Dear Brothers and Sisters, to you who have come from all over the world to this Square at the heart of Christianity, and to you linked by modern technology, I repeat my greeting: Happy Easter!

Bear in your families and in your countries the message of joy, hope and peace which every year, on this day, is powerfully renewed.

May the risen Lord, the conqueror of sin and death, be a support to you all, especially to the weakest and neediest. Thank you for your presence and for the witness of your faith. A thought and a special thank-you for the beautiful flowers, which come from the Netherlands. To all of you I affectionately say again: may the risen Christ guide all of you and the whole of humanity on the paths of justice, love and peace.
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Copyright Vatican Publishing House

Two 11-Year-Olds Receive Threats For Testifying Against Same-Sex Marriage

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Photo Credit: Breitbart

In the past two months, in attempts to offer an argument against same-sex marriage, two children have testified before their state legislators, countering other children who have been testifying for it. The two children testifying against it have either been crudely insulted or received death threats.

In February, speaking to the Minnesota House Committee on Civil Law, 11-year-old Grace Evans offered this statement…

Her father, Jeff Evans, revealed the treatment Grace had received from political opponents:

We haven’t had any physical threats, but we’ve had some rather colorful comments about my 11-year-old. I’ve been monitoring it to keep my family safe and have a heads up on it. It’s really shameful the things that people will say, hiding behind an Internet alias. We see it as more representative of where political discourse is in our country, where you can’t take a position without receiving a great deal of flak, which is unfortunate.

Read more from this story HERE.

Iran: 2013 Will Be 'Fall of American Empire'

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The “American empire” will fall this year, the head of Iran’s Basij forces claimed Sunday, a message that was approved by the Islamic regime’s supreme leader.

“America should not think that with some diplomatic dialogue it can solve its dossier (problem) with the nation of Iran,” Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi said. “The path of this land is directed by the martyrs. America with its hollow slogans … thinks the Iranian nation will believe it.”

The Basij commander was speaking to an audience of the 10th conference of “Journey of Enlightened Land” commemorating the “martyrs” of the eight-year war with Iraq, according to the Journalist Club, an outlet run by the Revolutionary Guards intelligence division.

Naghdi called President Obama’s actions deceitful, saying, “Obama in letters sent to the Islamic Republic promised to put an end to the Iranian nuclear dossier but … reacted in a different way.”

As reported in January 2012, Iranian officials revealed the contents of an Obama letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that indicated a deep desire by the U.S. president for a dialogue with the radical leaders of Iran. Iranian officials also claimed that a subsequent oral message by Obama delivered through the Swiss ambassador in Tehran was even more revealing than the letter delivered to the Iranian supreme leader.

Read more from this story HERE.

US Sends F-22 Stealth Raptors to Join B-2's as North Korea Declares a "State of War"

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The United States has sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea to join Seoul forces in military drills as North Korea warns the Korean Peninsula has entered “a state of war.”

A senior U.S. official confirms to Fox News that the F-22 Raptors were deployed to Osan Air Base in South Korea from Japan on Sunday to support ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills.

North Korea has increased its threatening rhetoric in recent weeks, including vowing to launch a nuclear strike on Washington. In a statement released Sunday, U.S. military in South Korea urged North Korea to restrain itself.

“(North Korea) will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, North Korea said Saturday its armed forces, “will blow up U.S. bases for aggression in its mainland and in the Pacific operational theatres including Hawaii and Guam.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Hooking Kindergartners on Sex: Planned Parenthood Gets Millions to Use in Alaska and Four Other States (+video)

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While the White House says sequestration has eliminated funds for children touring the White House, President Obama has no problem spending $350 million federal tax dollars for sexual indoctrination programs starting in kindergarten for those same children.

This is not your grandmother’s sex education about how things work and what can go “wrong.” In fact, the exact opposite is the essence of the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP): Obamacare funnels $75 million annually into PREP, which must be used exclusively for Planned Parenthood-style “comprehensive” sex ed programs where no type of sex is wrong and the only sexual behavior PP considers “unsafe” is becoming pregnant.

More than one-fourth of the funds ‒ $20 million ‒ has been awarded to a coalition of six Planned Parenthood affiliates, operating under the name Northwest Coalition for Adolescent Health, to implement HHS’s TOP program across Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska at over 50 sites. In Oregon schools, Planned Parenthood is paying children cash incentives to participate.

PP is funded with our tax dollars to market sex to our children in our schools under the guise of sex education, anti-bullying, diversity, and tolerance. Once sexualized, those children then become PP sex customers for contraceptives, STD testing, and abortion.

“A glance at the teacher outline for Lesson 1A, the introductory lesson (page 12 of the linked PowerPoint presentation), shows exactly how abstinence plays out in the sex-encouraging scheme at Planned Parenthood. ‘Abstinence,’ it says, ‘means choosing not to do any sexual activity that carries a risk for pregnancy or STD/HIV,’” says Rita Diller, national director for STOPP.org. “In other words, abstinence has nothing do with abstaining from sex acts. So long as the student avoids STDs and pregnancy, and is comfortable with what he or she is doing, it’s an anything goes.”

Watch video here:

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Alaska’s Young May Have Met His Match In Backlash Over Slur, Ethics Probe

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Photo Credit: Marc Lester

Rep. Don Young is a survivor. But he may have met his match. He’s beaten back six years worth of federal investigations, 40 years of unsuccessful Republican challengers, and one of the most expensive and highly criticized earmarks.

But now the 21-term Alaska Republican is facing a freshly launched Ethics investigation and perhaps his biggest hurdle of all: his own mouth.

On Friday, Young came under heavy fire from Republicans and Democrats for using a racial slur to refer to hired laborers who were once employed at his father’s ranch. Young used the term “wetbacks” to describe the laborers.

GOP leaders immediately distanced themselves from the veteran lawmaker, who has not always had a pleasant relationship with his own party, saying that he should apologize without delay.

Young did apologize, twice. But the political heat came less than 10 days after the House Ethics Committee announced it was investigating Young on charges that he may have violated the chamber’s rules.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Booed at DC Basketball Game…After Golf Outing

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Nearly half of the crowd at Saturday’s Elite 8 game between Syracuse and Marquette at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. booed President Barack Obama when he was shown on the big screen with just over ten minutes to play in the first half. After the boos erupted, a contingency of Obama supporters countered with cheers…

Obama also golfed on Saturday for the first time since the sequester cuts went into effect at the beginning of March and then took some of his foursome–and his Secret Service detail–to watch Syracuse oust Marquette and secure a trip to the Final Four.

One would have expected a friendlier crowd for the President, but there are still several possible explanations for the boos.

Read more from this story HERE.

Krauthammer: Gay Marriage Cases May Presage ‘Assault On Religion’

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On this weekend’s broadcast of “Inside Washington,” Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer said the two gay marriage cases currently before the Supreme Court could lead to an all-out assault on religion in the United States…

“It gets really sticky,” Krauthammer said. “If the court were to decide that to deny same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, then you got Georgetown University – a Jesuit university [that offers] married student housing. It’s a Catholic University. So [when] it says it’s only going to allow heterosexuals, it will get sued. This will become an assault on religion. And the religions, which I think are sincere in their beliefs, are going to be under assault and under attack.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Oklahoma to Allow Horses to be Slaughtered for Human Consumption

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Oklahoma took a step toward allowing livestock owners to slaughter horses for food on Friday when the governor signed a bill that permits the practice, but processing plants must first be authorized by the federal government…

Governor Mary Fallin’s action legalized the slaughter of horses so that their meat may be prepared and packaged for export. But slaughterhouses must get U.S. Department of Agriculture authorization, Fallin said.

The slaughter of horses for food had been illegal in Oklahoma since 1963 and was carried out only in Texas and Illinois until Congress stopped it in 2006. The congressional ban was lifted in 2011.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama’s Easter Message: I’m Following Jesus by “Seeing Everyone, Especially The Least Of These, As A Child Of God” (+video)

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In his weekly address on Saturday, President Barack Obama said he was recommitting himself to following the example of Jesus Christ in “seeing everyone, especially ‘the least of these,’ as a child of God.”…

The president appeared to be alluding to Matthew 25, where Jesus says:

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.”

Here is the complete text of President Obama’s address:

Watch video here:

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