Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JANUARY 8

by A. Joseph Lynch

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

FRANCIS - CHILDREN, NOT PETS: Pope Francis is calling for married couples to embrace children, not pets. “The other day, I was talking about the demographic winter that we have today … many couples do not have children because they do not want to, or they have just one — but they have two dogs, two cats," Francis said. “Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children. Yes, it’s funny, I understand, but it is the reality, and this denial of fatherhood and motherhood diminishes us, takes away humanity.” He's absolutely right. And many left-wingers (here's one and here's another) were quick to denounce him for it. Funny how the left is so quick to turn on its celebrities when they step out of line.

LATIN MASS OUT, ILLICT LITURGICAL PRACTICES IN: Taylor Marshall has pointed out the seeming contradiction in the Latin Mass policies of many prelates. Cardinal Cupich, for examples, is cracking down on the Latin Mass while allowing rampant liturgical abuses to take place in his parishes. Marshall reviews one horrific Christmas Mass as a case study in the contradiction. A follow-up video revealed more abuses in other Masses. While we disagree with Marshall on the Latin Mass, we agree that such contradictions must end. Holy and orthodox Catholics can't be expected to give up a holy Mass only to be subjected to such liturgical abuses.

CARDINAL TURKSON RESIGNS: Cardinal Peter Turkson has resigned from his role as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. For the first time since 1977, there is no African head of a Vatican dicastery. It us unclear as to why he resigned, but the dicastery came under scrutinity in recent times as Pope Francis ordered an investigation that led to a personnel shakeup. Turkson is only a handful of years away from being all but eliminated from papal contention and may be eyeing retirement rather than papal ambitions.  

II. AMERICAN POLITICS

"INSURRECTION" REJECTED: It's been one year since the Capitol Riot of January 6 and Democrats can't help but continue to push the "insurrection" narrative. Yet the narrative is falling apart. The many unindicted co-conspirators of January 6 indicate federal or "deep state" involvement with the riot - something Tucker Carlson is closely following. Meanwhile a recent CBS poll revealed that 76% of Americans believe what happened a year ago was merely "a protest that went too far." The final nail in the "insurrection" coffin? Not a single person has been charged with insurrection.

MANDATES AT SCOTUS: The Supreme Court heard oral arguments over Biden's vaccine mandates. While the three liberal justices are all but certain to uphold the mandates, Sotomayor fared particularly poorly as she not only couldn't understand the difference between state and federal powers, but she also vastly inflated the numbers of sick children in the hospital with COVID. The final decision will likely come down to justices Barrett and Roberts, but one of the two is likely to strike down the mandate.

CEO'S AND THE CDC: While the Left tells us to "trust the science", it seems like science had little to do with a recent change in COVID quarantining rules from the CDC. What made the difference? The CEO of Delta Airlines. This is just further proof of what Chesterton would call the alliance between "Hudge," "Gudge," and "Sludge" - Big Government, Big Business, and Big Science.

III. THE NATIONS

KAZAKHSTAN'S INSURRECTION: As the American Left continued its obsession with the January 6 US Capitol riots of 2021, Kazakhstan showed the world what a real insurrection looks like. Taking advantage of the protests that followed a rise in gasoline prices, anti-Russian and anti-Chinese forces (likely backed by US intelligence agencies and NGOs) launched an all-out attack on the Kazakh government. Police stations were attacked in order to drive police back to defend their stations, thus leaving government buildings vulnerable. Airfields came under attack in order to keep government reinforcements from arriving. Reports that some police officers were beheaded gave rise to fears that Islamic jihadists were involved - perhaps hoping a new regime would allow them to support jihadi attacks across the border in China's Islamic Xinjiang province. Kazakhstan's President Tokayev, however, was quick to take control and call for aid from his allies in the Russian-led Collective Security Treating Organization (SCTO). Troops are now on the ground. Tokayev is expected to fully consolidate power and forge even stronger ties with Russia and China.

RUSSIA-US TALKS: Russia has long sought the end to the Ukrainian conflict by way of the internationally-recognized Minsk Accords, an agreement forged in large part by Germany and France. These two nations, however, have proven unwilling to push Ukraine to keep its end of the bargain. For this reason Russia has gone over the heads of the European powers and gone right to the Americans. Last month Russia outlined a potential US-Russian treaty and an agreement it hopes to make with NATO. It's unlikely that either will be agreed to, yet the fact that Russia is making new demands on top of those it's already making in regards to Ukraine shows how Russia's position has only strengthened in recent years. 

UKRAINE WEAKENING: The Ukrainian government is under mounting pressure. As the US and its NATO allies say they are only willing to sanction Russia - not fight Russia - if Russia attacks, Ukraine finds itself after burning its bridges with Russia. Since the fall of the USSR, Russia has been Ukraine's chief economic investor. In fact, a large portion of Ukraine's economy depends on the transit fees Russia pays each year to pipe its natural gas into Europe. The contract for these pipelines ends in 2024 - and Russia will not be renewing them. More Ukrainians realize the clock is ticking down to a total Ukrainian economic collapse and few see President Zelensky as the man to save them. For this reason Ukrainian oligarchs met in Lithuania to discuss plans for the future of Ukraine - and Zelensky. Fearing his own demise, Zelensky began accusing any potential adversary of treason - including Petro Poroshenko, the man who led Ukraine against Russia in 2014. For those who fear a Russian attack, fear not. Ukraine is destroying itself without any need of Russian intervention.

IV. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

JACK MURPHY DISGRACED: Jack Murphy, a famed name of the "manosphere" who teaches males how to be "men" for $99.99 a month, has been disgraced as lurid details of his decidedly unmanly sexual life were recently revealed. We recommend Rod Dreher's article on Murphy entitled Queer as Volk along with this essay on the macho-homosexual connection to fascism.

SHOT WITH HER OWN GUN: A female cop was partnered with a male cop. They responded to a noise disturbance report only for the woman to be overwhelmed, disarmed, and killed with her own gun while her partner was shot in the head. While we can see the use of women to assist the police in certain circumstances, the idea that a woman can go toe-to-toe with an able-bodied male is absurd. It gets people killed - including the women we send out as police. In another case a woman in Minnesota who mistook her gun for a taser has been found guilty in Minnesota. We're saddened at the gender insanity but not at all surprised by the results.

E.O. WILSON (1929-2021): The father of Sociobiology, E.O. Wilson, has died. We've previously discussed him in the context of Catholic Sociobiology and the famed theology of Henri de Lubac. You can also watch a video we made regarding his thinking on Religion, Sex, and Politics.