Ban

Meta blocks AI chatbot from discussing abortion with minors #Catholic Meta blocks AI chatbot from discussing abortion with minorsMeta won’t allow its AI chatbot to discuss abortion with minors, according to a report from the progressive outlet Mother Jones.Citing internal Meta documents, Mother Jones reported that Meta’s chatbot policy guidelines for interactions with minors prevent the chatbot from advising them on “content that provides advice or opinion" about "sexual health” or offering information helping them obtain an abortion.According to the report, a Meta spokesperson disputed claims of bias, saying that “any claims of enforcement based on group affiliation or advocacy are baseless” and that the company allows "posts and ads promoting health care services like abortion, as well as discussion and debate around them, as long as they follow our policies. We also give people the opportunity to appeal decisions if they think we’ve got it wrong.”When asked about the leaked documents, a company spokesperson told EWTN News: "Our AIs are trained to engage in age-appropriate discussions with teens, and to connect them with expert resources and support when appropriate." "They provide factual information on sexual health but refrain from offering advice or opinions. We continuously review and improve our protections so that teens have access to helpful information with default safeguards in place.”The Meta spokesperson also responded to advertisement censorship claims.“Every organization and individual on our platforms is subject to the same set of rules, and any claims of enforcement based on group affiliation or advocacy are baseless," the spokesperson said. United Kingdom assisted suicide bill falters as local measures advanceA national assisted suicide bill is failing to pass in the United Kingdom this week, even as local measures advance.According to a statement by the advocacy group Right to Life UK, on Feb. 26 the national bill was “widely pronounced as dead by commentators after it was revealed that it will 'almost certainly' run out of time”In Wales, the regional parliament voted on Feb. 24 in favor of the National Health Service to oversee assisted suicide if the Terminally Ill Adults Bill passes in the House of Lords.Archbishop Mark O'Toole of Cardiff-Menevia called the vote “a sad day for Wales’s most vulnerable" in a Feb. 25 statement.The island of Jersey similarly passed a law to legalize assisted suicide in a 32-to-16 vote on Feb. 26 by members of the States Assembly. The measure applies to “mentally competent” adults with terminal illnesses and who have been residents of Jersey for 12 months. Before the bill can become law, it will need royal assent.Ohio Appeals Court upholds ban on aborted baby burial requirementOhio judges on Wednesday upheld a ban on a law requiring abortion clinics to dispose of the remains of babies via burial or cremation.The appellate court in Cincinnati upheld a lower court ruling permanently blocking the law.Ohio in 2023 passed a constitutional amendment enshrining a right to abortion.Executive Director of Ohio Right to Life Carrie Snyder condemned the decision.“It’s unfortunate, but not a surprise, that the First District Court of Appeals sided with the abortion industry to stop Ohio’s fetal remains law from taking effect. Sadly, clinics will continue treating these precious little ones like garbage to be disposed of as cheaply as possible,” Snyder said in a Feb. 26 statement. “This really underscores that abortion is not health care, and that clinics are going to do everything within their power to boost their profit margin.”A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, meanwhile, celebrated the decision, claiming the burial law was "cruel" and "nothing more than an opportunity to shame and stigmatize" women who get abortions.Texas attorney general sues mail-in abortion company for alleged illegal shipmentsTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued mail-in abortion company Aid Access along with California abortionist Remy Coeytaux and abortionist and founder of Aid Access Rebecca Gomperts for allegedly illegally shipping abortion drugs to Texas.Aid Access’s website advertises its shipping to all states including Texas, according to Paxton’s press release.“These unlawful shipments have had real and devastating consequences for Texas families,” the press release read. “In 2025, a Nueces County man allegedly used abortion-inducing drugs obtained from an out-of-state provider to secretly poison his girlfriend, resulting in the death of their unborn child.”“Every unborn child is a life worth protecting,” Paxton said, adding that he will “relentlessly enforce our state’s pro-life laws against Aid Access and other radicals like it.”
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Meta blocks AI chatbot from discussing abortion with minors #Catholic Meta blocks AI chatbot from discussing abortion with minorsMeta won’t allow its AI chatbot to discuss abortion with minors, according to a report from the progressive outlet Mother Jones.Citing internal Meta documents, Mother Jones reported that Meta’s chatbot policy guidelines for interactions with minors prevent the chatbot from advising them on “content that provides advice or opinion" about "sexual health” or offering information helping them obtain an abortion.According to the report, a Meta spokesperson disputed claims of bias, saying that “any claims of enforcement based on group affiliation or advocacy are baseless” and that the company allows "posts and ads promoting health care services like abortion, as well as discussion and debate around them, as long as they follow our policies. We also give people the opportunity to appeal decisions if they think we’ve got it wrong.”When asked about the leaked documents, a company spokesperson told EWTN News: "Our AIs are trained to engage in age-appropriate discussions with teens, and to connect them with expert resources and support when appropriate." "They provide factual information on sexual health but refrain from offering advice or opinions. We continuously review and improve our protections so that teens have access to helpful information with default safeguards in place.”The Meta spokesperson also responded to advertisement censorship claims.“Every organization and individual on our platforms is subject to the same set of rules, and any claims of enforcement based on group affiliation or advocacy are baseless," the spokesperson said. United Kingdom assisted suicide bill falters as local measures advanceA national assisted suicide bill is failing to pass in the United Kingdom this week, even as local measures advance.According to a statement by the advocacy group Right to Life UK, on Feb. 26 the national bill was “widely pronounced as dead by commentators after it was revealed that it will 'almost certainly' run out of time”In Wales, the regional parliament voted on Feb. 24 in favor of the National Health Service to oversee assisted suicide if the Terminally Ill Adults Bill passes in the House of Lords.Archbishop Mark O'Toole of Cardiff-Menevia called the vote “a sad day for Wales’s most vulnerable" in a Feb. 25 statement.The island of Jersey similarly passed a law to legalize assisted suicide in a 32-to-16 vote on Feb. 26 by members of the States Assembly. The measure applies to “mentally competent” adults with terminal illnesses and who have been residents of Jersey for 12 months. Before the bill can become law, it will need royal assent.Ohio Appeals Court upholds ban on aborted baby burial requirementOhio judges on Wednesday upheld a ban on a law requiring abortion clinics to dispose of the remains of babies via burial or cremation.The appellate court in Cincinnati upheld a lower court ruling permanently blocking the law.Ohio in 2023 passed a constitutional amendment enshrining a right to abortion.Executive Director of Ohio Right to Life Carrie Snyder condemned the decision.“It’s unfortunate, but not a surprise, that the First District Court of Appeals sided with the abortion industry to stop Ohio’s fetal remains law from taking effect. Sadly, clinics will continue treating these precious little ones like garbage to be disposed of as cheaply as possible,” Snyder said in a Feb. 26 statement. “This really underscores that abortion is not health care, and that clinics are going to do everything within their power to boost their profit margin.”A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, meanwhile, celebrated the decision, claiming the burial law was "cruel" and "nothing more than an opportunity to shame and stigmatize" women who get abortions.Texas attorney general sues mail-in abortion company for alleged illegal shipmentsTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued mail-in abortion company Aid Access along with California abortionist Remy Coeytaux and abortionist and founder of Aid Access Rebecca Gomperts for allegedly illegally shipping abortion drugs to Texas.Aid Access’s website advertises its shipping to all states including Texas, according to Paxton’s press release.“These unlawful shipments have had real and devastating consequences for Texas families,” the press release read. “In 2025, a Nueces County man allegedly used abortion-inducing drugs obtained from an out-of-state provider to secretly poison his girlfriend, resulting in the death of their unborn child.”“Every unborn child is a life worth protecting,” Paxton said, adding that he will “relentlessly enforce our state’s pro-life laws against Aid Access and other radicals like it.”

unitedyam

A roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

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Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist who urged Vatican to address humanitarian crises, dies at 84 #Catholic Jesse Jackson, whose decades of activism included work in the Civil Rights Movement, two runs for the White House, and multiple meetings with Pope John Paul II, died on Feb. 17. He was 84 years old.His family announced his passing in a statement on social media. They described him as a “servant leader” with an “unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love.” Jackson had suffered health issues for several years, including a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in 2017.Born Jesse Burns in Greenville, South Carolina, on Oct. 8, 1941, Jackson was adopted by his mother Helen’s subsequent husband Charles Jackson, though he maintained a close relationship with his birth father, Noah Robinson.Taunts from local children about his out-of-wedlock birth reportedly instilled in Jackson a motive to succeed; he further cited his biological father’s example of a “strong healthy ego” and “sense of dignity” that led him to push for civil rights in what was then the heavily segregated Southern U.S.He was a member of the “Greenville Eight” who protested the city’s segregated library system in 1960. A protege of Martin Luther King Jr., he participated in the Selma-to-Montgomery marches and played early roles in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Jackson was present at King’s assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968.He founded the social justice organization Operation PUSH — now Rainbow/PUSH — in 1971. He would eventually mount two campaigns for U.S. president, one in 1984 and one in 1988, both of which he lost.Earlier in his career Jackson had been an outspoken pro-life advocate, at one point even endorsing amending the U.S. Constitution to ban abortion, though in later decades he would pivot to aggressive support of abortion.He met with Pope John Paul II on three separate occasions in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1982 he urged the pontiff to advocate on behalf of Haitian refugees in the U.S., describing John Paul II as “the dominant force and moral authority in the world” at the time.He met with the pope again in 1985 and reportedly asked him to visit South Africa to protest apartheid, and again a third time in 1999 to urge the pontiff to advocate on behalf of three imprisoned CARE humanitarian workers in a Belgrade prison.Jackson is survived by his wife of 64 years, Jacqueline Lavinia Brown, and their five children. He is also survived by a daughter, Ashley, born to one of his former staffers in 1999.In a famed speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, Jackson reflected on his political career and acknowledged that he was “not a perfect servant” but “a public servant doing my best against the odds.” He told the crowd: “As I develop and serve, be patient: God is not finished with me yet.”“For leaders, the pain is often intense,” he said at the time. “But you must smile through your tears and keep moving with the faith that there is a brighter side somewhere.”
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Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist who urged Vatican to address humanitarian crises, dies at 84 #Catholic Jesse Jackson, whose decades of activism included work in the Civil Rights Movement, two runs for the White House, and multiple meetings with Pope John Paul II, died on Feb. 17. He was 84 years old.His family announced his passing in a statement on social media. They described him as a “servant leader” with an “unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love.” Jackson had suffered health issues for several years, including a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in 2017.Born Jesse Burns in Greenville, South Carolina, on Oct. 8, 1941, Jackson was adopted by his mother Helen’s subsequent husband Charles Jackson, though he maintained a close relationship with his birth father, Noah Robinson.Taunts from local children about his out-of-wedlock birth reportedly instilled in Jackson a motive to succeed; he further cited his biological father’s example of a “strong healthy ego” and “sense of dignity” that led him to push for civil rights in what was then the heavily segregated Southern U.S.He was a member of the “Greenville Eight” who protested the city’s segregated library system in 1960. A protege of Martin Luther King Jr., he participated in the Selma-to-Montgomery marches and played early roles in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Jackson was present at King’s assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968.He founded the social justice organization Operation PUSH — now Rainbow/PUSH — in 1971. He would eventually mount two campaigns for U.S. president, one in 1984 and one in 1988, both of which he lost.Earlier in his career Jackson had been an outspoken pro-life advocate, at one point even endorsing amending the U.S. Constitution to ban abortion, though in later decades he would pivot to aggressive support of abortion.He met with Pope John Paul II on three separate occasions in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1982 he urged the pontiff to advocate on behalf of Haitian refugees in the U.S., describing John Paul II as “the dominant force and moral authority in the world” at the time.He met with the pope again in 1985 and reportedly asked him to visit South Africa to protest apartheid, and again a third time in 1999 to urge the pontiff to advocate on behalf of three imprisoned CARE humanitarian workers in a Belgrade prison.Jackson is survived by his wife of 64 years, Jacqueline Lavinia Brown, and their five children. He is also survived by a daughter, Ashley, born to one of his former staffers in 1999.In a famed speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, Jackson reflected on his political career and acknowledged that he was “not a perfect servant” but “a public servant doing my best against the odds.” He told the crowd: “As I develop and serve, be patient: God is not finished with me yet.”“For leaders, the pain is often intense,” he said at the time. “But you must smile through your tears and keep moving with the faith that there is a brighter side somewhere.”

unitedyam

The longtime activist was a fixture in U.S. politics for decades, including two presidential runs.

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Puerto Rico’s penal code recognizes unborn babies as human beings #Catholic Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González signed into law on Feb. 12 a bill amending the penal code to recognize unborn babies as human beings at “any stage of gestation.”Senate Bill 923 — which when signed became Law 18-2026 — amends Article 92 of the penal code, which currently states that “murder is the intentional, knowing, or reckless killing of a human being.”The new law establishes that “for the purposes of this chapter, ‘human being’ shall include any conceived [unborn child] at any stage of gestation within the mother’s womb.”This legislation was authored by González, a Republican. In a press release posted on X, she explained that the objective is to complement Law 166-2025, known as the Keyshla Madlane Law, named after a pregnant woman in Puerto Rico who was murdered in April 2021.This law, the press release states, “among other things, defines as first-degree murder the intentional and knowing killing of a pregnant woman, resulting in the death of the unborn child at any stage of gestation within the mother’s womb.”In this regard, the approval of Law 18-2026 stands out, noting that “the legislation aims to maintain consistency between civil and criminal provisions by recognizing the conceived unborn child as a human being.”In December 2025, the governor also signed into law Senate Bill 504, which amended the civil code to state that “a human being in gestation or nasciturus is a natural person, including the conceived child at any stage of gestation within the mother’s womb.”A natural person simply means a living human being as distinct from a legal person such as a corporation. At the time, all of these laws were criticized by feminist and pro-abortion groups, who argued that they could lead to a ban on abortion in Puerto Rico and other U.S. jurisdictions.However, Puerto Rico Sen. Joanne Rodríguez Veve defended the passage of Bill 923 in January, stating that “the message of this type of legislation is powerful. It reaffirms this kind of language in our public policy that in the womb of a pregnant woman there is not just anything, not a mere indefinable object, but a subject, a developing human being who has dignity and whose value is intrinsic to their human nature.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Puerto Rico’s penal code recognizes unborn babies as human beings #Catholic Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González signed into law on Feb. 12 a bill amending the penal code to recognize unborn babies as human beings at “any stage of gestation.”Senate Bill 923 — which when signed became Law 18-2026 — amends Article 92 of the penal code, which currently states that “murder is the intentional, knowing, or reckless killing of a human being.”The new law establishes that “for the purposes of this chapter, ‘human being’ shall include any conceived [unborn child] at any stage of gestation within the mother’s womb.”This legislation was authored by González, a Republican. In a press release posted on X, she explained that the objective is to complement Law 166-2025, known as the Keyshla Madlane Law, named after a pregnant woman in Puerto Rico who was murdered in April 2021.This law, the press release states, “among other things, defines as first-degree murder the intentional and knowing killing of a pregnant woman, resulting in the death of the unborn child at any stage of gestation within the mother’s womb.”In this regard, the approval of Law 18-2026 stands out, noting that “the legislation aims to maintain consistency between civil and criminal provisions by recognizing the conceived unborn child as a human being.”In December 2025, the governor also signed into law Senate Bill 504, which amended the civil code to state that “a human being in gestation or nasciturus is a natural person, including the conceived child at any stage of gestation within the mother’s womb.”A natural person simply means a living human being as distinct from a legal person such as a corporation. At the time, all of these laws were criticized by feminist and pro-abortion groups, who argued that they could lead to a ban on abortion in Puerto Rico and other U.S. jurisdictions.However, Puerto Rico Sen. Joanne Rodríguez Veve defended the passage of Bill 923 in January, stating that “the message of this type of legislation is powerful. It reaffirms this kind of language in our public policy that in the womb of a pregnant woman there is not just anything, not a mere indefinable object, but a subject, a developing human being who has dignity and whose value is intrinsic to their human nature.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González signed into law on Feb. 12 a bill amending the penal code to recognize unborn babies as human beings at “any stage of gestation.”

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Catholic convert Eva Vlaardingerbroek on censorship and immigration in Europe #Catholic Catholic Dutch political commentator and activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek said “the rule of law is dead” in Europe and detailed the issues of censorship and immigration on the continent.Vlaardingerbroek is an attorney and Catholic convert who has been outspoken about European immigration, national sovereignty, and free speech. Recently, the U.K. government banned her from entering the country due to her outspoken views.“Out of the blue, I saw that I had received an email from the U.K. government,” she told Raymond Arroyo on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.” It was “just a couple of sentences saying that my ETA, which is the travel authorization that Europeans need to travel to the U.K., had been revoked.”The reason they stated “was that I am ‘not conducive to the public good,’” she said. Vlaardingerbroek said she believes the ban occurred because she criticized the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, on social media three days before receiving the email.The situation shows that “the rule of law is dead in Europe,” Vlaardingerbroek said. “Because if you get a notification like that out of the blue, you have no ability, no means to defend yourself … I  don’t have a criminal record. I didn’t commit a crime.”“I got converted to Catholicism in the United Kingdom, so I have a couple of really dear friends there. Now, I’m no longer able to go because I say the wrong things, apparently. That is the state of Europe right now … They either throw you in jail or they make sure that you can’t enter the country. That’s what happens in the United Kingdom if you go against the grain,” she said.European immigrationVlaardingerbroek has also been outspoken about illegal immigration in Europe and said that mass immigration has destabilized Europe and led to spikes in violent crimes.“Anyone with two eyes can see that it’s true,” she said. Everyone who lives here, apart from maybe people living in ivory towers or in areas where there are no immigrants, everyone who lives in the real world knows that it’s true.”“I will continue speaking the truth about what I see happening to this beautiful continent of ours because it’s being destroyed,” she said. “We see churches burning down every week here in Europe, and that’s not a coincidence. That didn’t happen for hundreds of years, and suddenly now … they’re burning down faster than I can count.”“You can break the law coming here. It’s not being punished. In fact, it’s rewarded because people get to stay, people get free housing, people get free health care, and they’re able to just roam around even awaiting whether they are going to get their asylum approved or not.”“The governments and the legal system seem to be working hand in hand” and the “judges are complicit,” Vlaardingerbroek said. In Europe, the migrants that commit crimes are not held accountable because judges believe “they are traumatized because they come from a war zone” or due to their “their mental state.”“Then what ends up happening is these immigrants who rape, kill, and assault the native population, they just don’t get any real prison time, and they definitely do not get deported,” she said.“I think that this is a holdover from World War II,” she continued. Institutions including the European Union have “given evil one face and one face only” and “they refuse to see the difference between a Nazi and a conservative Christian.”“To them, it’s all the same, and that’s the way that they treat us,” she said. “I don’t think they’re afraid to acknowledge it. I think they honestly don’t care. I mean, the churches that are being burned down in France that we see, that’s a physical thing unfolding in front of our eyes.”The burning of churches “is powerful imagery that should wake people up to something else, something invisible, which is the agenda that is being carried out here to erode Christianity,” Vlaardingerbroek said.When the European Union discusses European culture, identity, and history, “they never mention Christianity,” Vlaardingerbroek said.“They actively removed it from their documents. They talk about the Enlightenment, but Christianity is never mentioned. They are actively eroding and erasing Christianity here in Europe because it threatens their agenda, because these people see [themselves] as God,” she said.U.S. immigrationAs debates over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and law enforcement continue in the U.S, Vlaardingerbroek also discussed the status of immigration on this side of the pond.“As a Catholic, of course, we can be charitable. Nobody’s saying that we cannot allow some immigration or that we cannot help those in need. That is, of course, a Catholic ideal. That is a Catholic value … That’s what our legal system reflects,” she said.“That doesn’t mean, however, that when you come here illegally, which is what happens the majority of the time, and you break [the] laws, that we have to sit by and watch that happen.”ICE agents “are doing their job,” Vlaardingerbroek said. “They are enforcing the law. I think it’s a disgrace the way that they are being treated.”“I wish actually that here in Europe, we would have our version of ICE and that they would … send back home the people who come here illegally and who do not belong in these countries and who actively fight everything that we stand for, both in America and here in Europe,” Vlaardingerbroek said.
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Catholic convert Eva Vlaardingerbroek on censorship and immigration in Europe #Catholic Catholic Dutch political commentator and activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek said “the rule of law is dead” in Europe and detailed the issues of censorship and immigration on the continent.Vlaardingerbroek is an attorney and Catholic convert who has been outspoken about European immigration, national sovereignty, and free speech. Recently, the U.K. government banned her from entering the country due to her outspoken views.“Out of the blue, I saw that I had received an email from the U.K. government,” she told Raymond Arroyo on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.” It was “just a couple of sentences saying that my ETA, which is the travel authorization that Europeans need to travel to the U.K., had been revoked.”The reason they stated “was that I am ‘not conducive to the public good,’” she said. Vlaardingerbroek said she believes the ban occurred because she criticized the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, on social media three days before receiving the email.The situation shows that “the rule of law is dead in Europe,” Vlaardingerbroek said. “Because if you get a notification like that out of the blue, you have no ability, no means to defend yourself … I  don’t have a criminal record. I didn’t commit a crime.”“I got converted to Catholicism in the United Kingdom, so I have a couple of really dear friends there. Now, I’m no longer able to go because I say the wrong things, apparently. That is the state of Europe right now … They either throw you in jail or they make sure that you can’t enter the country. That’s what happens in the United Kingdom if you go against the grain,” she said.European immigrationVlaardingerbroek has also been outspoken about illegal immigration in Europe and said that mass immigration has destabilized Europe and led to spikes in violent crimes.“Anyone with two eyes can see that it’s true,” she said. Everyone who lives here, apart from maybe people living in ivory towers or in areas where there are no immigrants, everyone who lives in the real world knows that it’s true.”“I will continue speaking the truth about what I see happening to this beautiful continent of ours because it’s being destroyed,” she said. “We see churches burning down every week here in Europe, and that’s not a coincidence. That didn’t happen for hundreds of years, and suddenly now … they’re burning down faster than I can count.”“You can break the law coming here. It’s not being punished. In fact, it’s rewarded because people get to stay, people get free housing, people get free health care, and they’re able to just roam around even awaiting whether they are going to get their asylum approved or not.”“The governments and the legal system seem to be working hand in hand” and the “judges are complicit,” Vlaardingerbroek said. In Europe, the migrants that commit crimes are not held accountable because judges believe “they are traumatized because they come from a war zone” or due to their “their mental state.”“Then what ends up happening is these immigrants who rape, kill, and assault the native population, they just don’t get any real prison time, and they definitely do not get deported,” she said.“I think that this is a holdover from World War II,” she continued. Institutions including the European Union have “given evil one face and one face only” and “they refuse to see the difference between a Nazi and a conservative Christian.”“To them, it’s all the same, and that’s the way that they treat us,” she said. “I don’t think they’re afraid to acknowledge it. I think they honestly don’t care. I mean, the churches that are being burned down in France that we see, that’s a physical thing unfolding in front of our eyes.”The burning of churches “is powerful imagery that should wake people up to something else, something invisible, which is the agenda that is being carried out here to erode Christianity,” Vlaardingerbroek said.When the European Union discusses European culture, identity, and history, “they never mention Christianity,” Vlaardingerbroek said.“They actively removed it from their documents. They talk about the Enlightenment, but Christianity is never mentioned. They are actively eroding and erasing Christianity here in Europe because it threatens their agenda, because these people see [themselves] as God,” she said.U.S. immigrationAs debates over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and law enforcement continue in the U.S, Vlaardingerbroek also discussed the status of immigration on this side of the pond.“As a Catholic, of course, we can be charitable. Nobody’s saying that we cannot allow some immigration or that we cannot help those in need. That is, of course, a Catholic ideal. That is a Catholic value … That’s what our legal system reflects,” she said.“That doesn’t mean, however, that when you come here illegally, which is what happens the majority of the time, and you break [the] laws, that we have to sit by and watch that happen.”ICE agents “are doing their job,” Vlaardingerbroek said. “They are enforcing the law. I think it’s a disgrace the way that they are being treated.”“I wish actually that here in Europe, we would have our version of ICE and that they would … send back home the people who come here illegally and who do not belong in these countries and who actively fight everything that we stand for, both in America and here in Europe,” Vlaardingerbroek said.

unitedyam

Catholic convert Eva Vlaardingerbroek discussed immigration and the state of free speech in Europe on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.”

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Archbishop Wenski makes case for ‘permanent’ solution for Haitian refugees in U.S. #Catholic Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami is calling on Congress to find a “permanent” solution for Haitian refugees in the United States.On Feb. 2 a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants that was given in 2010. TPS provides eligible Haitians in the U.S. with protection from deportation and work authorization, due to ongoing safety concerns in Haiti.As Florida has the largest Haitian population in the country, Wenski said there is “relief” after the judge blocked the order. Ending TPS “would affect possibly 300,000 Haitians, not only here in South Florida but throughout the United States,” he said in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly.”“It’s not the final solution … because the administration, I think, has the intention of making an appeal, and what is given could be quickly taken away as well. While the Haitians are breathing a sigh of relief, at the same time, we realize that it’s a temporary relief.”Now, Wenski said, it is up to Congress “to step up to the plate and provide a more permanent solution to the plight of these Haitians.” The administration “is applying the laws as they understand them, but it is Congress that makes the laws.”“If the laws are unfair, unjust, or inadequate to the real needs of our country, then they should be changed, and that’s a prerogative of Congress. So I would urge Congress to step up to provide a solution, because the Haitians being forced back to Haiti with very perilous, dangerous conditions right now … puts their lives in danger.”The Haitians “leaving South Florida and other places in the United States so abruptly would cause great economic damage to the United States,” Wenski said. He detailed that Haitians in the U.S. with TPS are working gainfully, paying taxes, and participating in the economy.“It is also important to remember, these people have temporary protective status, which also grants them a work permit. They are not illegals. They’re not violating any law because they have been given a status by the government,” Wenski said.TPS status does put them “in limbo,” Wenski said. It “doesn’t provide any path to permanent residency. If they would leave the country, they would not be able to return.”Concerns in HaitiAs the U.S. State Department tells Americans not to travel to Haiti, when “the Trump administration puts a travel ban, trying to stop people from Haiti,” it “shows the perilousness of the country conditions,” Wenski said.“For instance, the capital city, where there’s about 3 million people residing, is in the hands of gangs,” he said. “Here’s a country that has its school system in disarray because gangs make it impossible for kids to go to school.”Wenski also highlighted the issue of “almost nonexistent health care” as “doctors have been forced to flee and hospitals have been closed” in the country.“It is a place where there is no rule of law, no government, where these gangs and other criminals operate with impunity. For many people, the only lifeline that they have that allows them to survive is the remittances, small as they might be, that the Haitians in the United States are sending home to support families,” Wenski said.“It’s a real problem, not only in Haiti, but the Caribbean region,” Wenski said. He specifically noted Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.“We see the drugs that are being transported into Europe from Asia and also Africa. It is a worldwide problem. What I think we have to recognize is that the poorest people are not the ones that are driving the problem. They are the victims of the problem.”The Haitians in the U.S. seeking refuge and protection “did not create the problems, but they were the ones that have been victimized by the problems,” Wenski said. “We have to be careful that we don’t blame the victims because it’s easier to do that sometimes because they don’t have the strength to oppose us,” Wenski said.
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Archbishop Wenski makes case for ‘permanent’ solution for Haitian refugees in U.S. #Catholic Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami is calling on Congress to find a “permanent” solution for Haitian refugees in the United States.On Feb. 2 a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants that was given in 2010. TPS provides eligible Haitians in the U.S. with protection from deportation and work authorization, due to ongoing safety concerns in Haiti.As Florida has the largest Haitian population in the country, Wenski said there is “relief” after the judge blocked the order. Ending TPS “would affect possibly 300,000 Haitians, not only here in South Florida but throughout the United States,” he said in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly.”“It’s not the final solution … because the administration, I think, has the intention of making an appeal, and what is given could be quickly taken away as well. While the Haitians are breathing a sigh of relief, at the same time, we realize that it’s a temporary relief.”Now, Wenski said, it is up to Congress “to step up to the plate and provide a more permanent solution to the plight of these Haitians.” The administration “is applying the laws as they understand them, but it is Congress that makes the laws.”“If the laws are unfair, unjust, or inadequate to the real needs of our country, then they should be changed, and that’s a prerogative of Congress. So I would urge Congress to step up to provide a solution, because the Haitians being forced back to Haiti with very perilous, dangerous conditions right now … puts their lives in danger.”The Haitians “leaving South Florida and other places in the United States so abruptly would cause great economic damage to the United States,” Wenski said. He detailed that Haitians in the U.S. with TPS are working gainfully, paying taxes, and participating in the economy.“It is also important to remember, these people have temporary protective status, which also grants them a work permit. They are not illegals. They’re not violating any law because they have been given a status by the government,” Wenski said.TPS status does put them “in limbo,” Wenski said. It “doesn’t provide any path to permanent residency. If they would leave the country, they would not be able to return.”Concerns in HaitiAs the U.S. State Department tells Americans not to travel to Haiti, when “the Trump administration puts a travel ban, trying to stop people from Haiti,” it “shows the perilousness of the country conditions,” Wenski said.“For instance, the capital city, where there’s about 3 million people residing, is in the hands of gangs,” he said. “Here’s a country that has its school system in disarray because gangs make it impossible for kids to go to school.”Wenski also highlighted the issue of “almost nonexistent health care” as “doctors have been forced to flee and hospitals have been closed” in the country.“It is a place where there is no rule of law, no government, where these gangs and other criminals operate with impunity. For many people, the only lifeline that they have that allows them to survive is the remittances, small as they might be, that the Haitians in the United States are sending home to support families,” Wenski said.“It’s a real problem, not only in Haiti, but the Caribbean region,” Wenski said. He specifically noted Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.“We see the drugs that are being transported into Europe from Asia and also Africa. It is a worldwide problem. What I think we have to recognize is that the poorest people are not the ones that are driving the problem. They are the victims of the problem.”The Haitians in the U.S. seeking refuge and protection “did not create the problems, but they were the ones that have been victimized by the problems,” Wenski said. “We have to be careful that we don’t blame the victims because it’s easier to do that sometimes because they don’t have the strength to oppose us,” Wenski said.

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The Haitians “leaving South Florida and other places in the United States so abruptly would cause great economic damage to the United States,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski said.

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