In his homily on Pentecost Sunday in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI said that ‘Pentecost is distinguished from all the Solemnities by its importance since what Jesus Himself had announced as the purpose of the whole of his mission on earth is brought about in it. Indeed, on his way up to Jerusalem he had declared to his disciples: ‘I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!’ (Luke 12, 49)

‘The real crisis is neither at the US-Mexican nor at the European borders. Instead, it stems from Central America. Crime, violence, corruption, and economic devastation in the region have propelled people to the border. In terms of Europe, it is the Balkans, Africa, and the Middle East that have propelled their citizens to flee inhumane situations.’

The truth of the matter is that AI is here to stay. It is the future. While we may be some time away before, and if, we are confronted with a ‘HAL’ as the astronauts in Discover One, AI could be apocalyptic if it is under the wrong hands. At the same time, would anyone care to tell us whose are the right hands?

There is a myth, to be dispelled, that the Romans were always cruel conquerors. In truth, those who lived under the rule of the Caesars had plenty autonomy, be it in the public or private sector of society. It was that rationality and pragmatism of Roman law, which regulated regulated the lives of the conquered peoples, that structured Western culture as  is evident from a host of historical, cultural, political, and societal elements.

A major problem with the structure of the EU is that it is not fully based on representative democracy. A case in point, notwithstanding the fact that EU Parliament members are elected by the citizens of the member states, EU leaders picked Ursula von her Leyen to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as the leader of the European Union’s executive branch behind closed doors.

In the face of the challenges of the modern world, the Pope warned against the two contrary temptations of ‘bleak defeatism’ and ‘worldly conformism’.

Christians in Jerusalem have for decades been targeted by fundamentalist Jews…Christian leaders in Jerusalem say never have Israeli attackers felt more emboldened than under Netanyahu’s far-right ruling coalition.

Holy Week provides us Christians the opportunity to relive the Paschal mystery of Jesus Christ, specifically with the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, so that we may fully partake of the passion, death, and Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday.

‘Let us not forget that while most of the world has rightly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, twenty years ago the United States invaded Iraq on false information that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein not only possessed weapons of mass destruction, but that he had a direct link to and was harbouring al-Qaeda terrorists…The tragic results cost several thousand US soldiers’ lives.’

In essence, Orbán’s government is signalling a willingness to cooperate with the internationally sanctioned Iranian regime even in areas such as nuclear policy. 

Diplomacy has always been a complicated game of chess, not every move is going to be a winning one. It goes without say that there are advantages in implementing realpolitik, even with oppressive regimes. The paradox is that it can also make them even stronger.

Viktor Orbán, having being faced with the reality of this unprecedented inundation of Muslim migrants in Europe, has adamantly refused to accept such ‘refugees’, enduring criticism from the European community…Why has Orbán taken such a position? It is because he understands quite well what Islam is all about and has acted properly to keep Hungary as secure as possible.

The seeds of Hungarian humanism were sown by Matthias Corvinus, which helped the Jagiellonian kings pave the way to embedding humanism into Hungarian culture.

‘The right to free worship, a bulwark of Hungarian society, is due to the religious freedom conferred by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790).’

Regrettably, the US-led West’s  ‘war fever’ Orbán spoke about has profound roots. A clear example of this was what led to the First World War.

Today, law has taken on a legalistic attribute, consequently shunning the spirit of the law, or rather, Roman jurisprudence.

Planned Parenthood was founded by enthusiastic eugenicist Margaret Sanger in 1916. Sanger’s racist views were well-established, declaring that ‘minorities (including most of America’s immigrants) are inferior in the human race, as are the physically and mentally handicapped.’

‘God transcends His creation and He must be accepted as He has revealed Himself in Holy Writ. This means that it is not up to human beings to adapt its terminology to what is trendy or politically correct, especially if the substance of revealed truths, as we Christians—and I also speak as a Roman Catholic priest—hold dear, are altered.’

In other words, this book is an indoctrination of the LGTBQ+ lifestyle aimed at children with the intention to destroy their childhood in the most deceitful and perverse manner.

Like Christians, Yazidis too underwent brutal torments by the ISIS jihadists, yet their stories hardly get any coverage in the West.

The debate here is not one of having a strong military, which, to borrow President Woodrow Wilson’s famous phrase, is necessary to make ‘the world safe for democracy’. Rather, it is how military expenditure, or militarism, becomes an end in itself.

According to Firestone, ‘only through women rising up—like the proletariat—and seizing control of their bodies (e.g. the means of sexual reproduction) can the oppression of women finally come to an end.’ Transgender activists, too, have used this feminist rhetoric for their own agenda.

The Taliban have been doing quite well economically through the fleecing of international humanitarian aid and making deals with draconian countries like China.

Today our society, the Roman Church, and other ecclesiastical communities are experiencing an epidemic of confusion and moral and doctrinal disorientation, which is threatening the common good.

It appears that the Biden administration’s policy to require Chinese nationals who wish to enter the US to provide a negative swab test, which does not guarantee they are Covid-free, is nothing else than a cover-up.

The Pontiff Emeritus, with his controversial Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, officially reintroduced the public celebration of the ‘Traditional Latin Mass’. He did not just restore the external beauty of the sacred liturgy, but he reminded us that contrary to so-called experts, the Tridentine Mass was never abrogated.

President Biden seems to personally gain if the war were to go on. It would continue to keep lawmakers and the mainstream media distracted from the corruption scandal that involves his son, Hunter Biden, with Burisma—an oil and natural gas company owned by Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky.

Unfortunately, the light of the star that guided the wise men to the place where the Prince of Peace was born (Matthew 2, 1-12), which Charles spoke about, is being rejected by the warring parties. Like Herod who believed that Jesus was the newborn King and refused Him, they too are not displaying any intention to be ‘men of good will’. 

Muslims do have an incredible veneration for the Mother of Jesus, as expressed in Persian art. However, there are two ‘Marys’: the Blessed Mother of Christ, and Maryam (Miryam), the prophetess of the Old Testament.

While the European Union is castigating Hungary, specifically with the recommendation to freeze €7.5 billion in funds over rule of law concerns, it has been abetting the Islamic Republic of Iran’s crimes against humanity—and the same can be said for the United States.

A peaceful ‘cohabitation’ between the Christian West (whatever may be left of it) and Islam has been shown to be historically destructive. Unlike Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Western leaders and churchmen alike have continually turned a blind eye to this.