Angela Flynn

@BishopBarron I must disagree. 1) the Church cannot just ask moral questions, leaving answers to secular (a/immoral) authorities. This is a false read; 2) so the Pope & Church have no obligation/responsibility to the common good? & 3) this just seems sycophant-like, & for that, I say “shame!”

There is a way past the absurd and deeply divisive “war” between the President and the Pope, which has been enthusiastically ginned up by the press. And it is indicated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2309 to be precise. After laying out the various criteria for determining a just war—proportionality, last resort, declaration by a competent authority, reasonable hope of success, etc.—the Catechism points out that “the evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.” The assumption is that the just war principles function, to use the technical term, as heuristic devices, designed to guide the practical decision-making of those civil authorities who have to adjudicate matters of war and peace. The role of the Church, therefore, is to call for peace and to urge that any conflict be strictly circumscribed by the moral constraints of the just war criteria. But it is not the role of the Church to evaluate whether a particular war is just or unjust. That appraisal belongs to the civil authorities, who, one presumes, have requisite knowledge of conditions on the ground. So, is the war in question truly the last resort? Is there really a balance between the good to be attained and the destruction caused by the war? Are combatants and non-combatants being properly distinguished in the waging of the conflict? Do the belligerents have right intention? Is there a reasonable hope of success? The posing of those questions—indeed the insistence upon their moral relevance—belongs rightly to the Church, but the answering of them belongs to the civil authorities. The Pope has said, on numerous occasions, that he is not a politician and that his role is not the determination of any nation's foreign policy. But he has just as clearly said that he will continue to speak for peace and for moral constraint. In making both of these claims, he is operating perfectly within the framework of paragraph 2309 of the Catechism. If we understand that the Pope and the President have qualitatively different roles to play in the determination of moral action in regard to war, we can, I hope, extricate ourselves from the completely unhelpful narrative of “Pope vs. President.”

@VA_GOP @gina_auria No. No it’s not.

🚨🚨🚨 Fake Moderate Spanberger just signed a bill to render Virginians’ vote for president NULL AND VOID! HB965 says that all of Virginia’s Electoral College votes will go to the winner of the national popular vote - no matter who wins the popular vote in our Commonwealth. This is an unconstitutional assault on our democracy.

@GShaneMorris Or everyone could study art history. 🙄

A FB dude pointed this out, and it's very much true. If your reaction to these two images was substantially different in either direction...time to do some soul-searching/principles inventory.

@ProfChill1 @dpinsen @austeni @DouthatNYT How can you say that?! Did no one teach you about the blitz?! iwm.org.uk/history/the-bl…

@dpinsen @austeni @DouthatNYT Clearly. Germany didn’t invade Britain, after all, which was meddling in continental affairs… As a devout Catholic, I am wondering for the first time in my life if the bishop of Rome doesn’t have his head stuck in his…

Just war tradition starts from the assumption that war is evil, before defining ways in which, in emergency cases, subject to six simultaneous conditions, it may nevertheless be justified. But war is not holy or blessed. It is not God’s way. Vance is twisting and distorting.

@GNorthgate35413 @EricLDaugh You’re wrong on these understandings in multiple ways.

@EricLDaugh Please remember that Roman Catholics believe the pop to be infallible. Any criticism by a Roman Catholic will cause excommunication and all other supposed Christian’s will also be “dead” in the eyes of the Catholic Church.

🚨 JD VANCE RESPONDS TO POPE LEO: "When the Pope says that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword — there is more than a THOUSAND year tradition of Just war Theory." "In the same way that it's important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology." "And I think that one of these issues here is that there has been — if you're going to opine on matters of theology, you've got to be careful, you've got to make sure it's anchored in the truth, and that's one of the things that I try to do, and it's certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they're Catholic or Protestant."

@EricLDaugh Wow. So he knows more about theology than THE POPE - a man with multiple theological degrees, decades of leadership in the Church, and a world of theologians as his consultants?! Vance is not only stupid, he’s arrogant. An unspeakably dangerous mix.

@Simi_2210_ Ummm…179. Different from whom?!

If you solve this, you’re different Can you solve ?

@megbasham You may not care, but it would appear that the administration does, since they were willing to try and push their agenda on the Papal Nuncio. That’s not the Catholic Church imposing themselves on the US, but rather the reverse.

Again, I want to be very clear that while I have deep theological differences with Catholics, I also have many Catholic friends who I love and who I am not just happy but HONORED to lock arms with. But I don’t care what the Vatican thinks about policy in the United States of America. I DO care what my fellow Catholic citizens think. x.com/onefishtwofis2…

I am not trying to make my Catholic friends, who I love, angry with this statement. But this entire episode is starting to explain to me why so many Americans were concerned about a Catholic president for so long. I have no interest in Rome trying to dictate American policy. And if it continues to loudly make its opinions heard on our foreign policy, I believe they’re going to find a lot of American Protestants feeling a lot less ecumenical than we have been in the more recent past.

@SenTuberville Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the Founding Fathers, was a Deist. History matters.

I don’t give a RIP about being politically correct. Here’s the truth: America was founded on CHRISTIAN values. If you refuse to assimilate and follow our laws, love our country, and be a proud AMERICAN… then LEAVE. We don’t want you here. foxnews.com/media/washingt…

@austeni Please cite/link your source.

Holy See Press office: Pentagon meeting “provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on matters of mutual interest. The account presented by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not at all correspond to the truth.”

@JamesMartinSJ @nehwilliams Fr, I agree with you in principle, but with the report that the Avignon papacy was referenced, the administration’s unpredictable & aggressive behavior, & the Vatican’s subsequent cancellation/declining visits to the US, I’d say Rome is concerned for Pope Leo’s well-being.

My take on the Hegseth-Pierre "controversy." First of all, who knows? So far, it's not an especially "well-sourced" story. Now, I have little doubt that some officials could have spoken bluntly, even rudely, to Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the former Vatican ambassador to the US, given the language that has come out of this administration and its response to Pope Leo XIV's repeated calls for peace. Did someone at the meeting mention, of all things, the Avignonese papacy? Who knows? It sounds like something that someone with a grudge against the church wished had been said to Cardinal Pierre. But I highly doubt that Cardinal Pierre, a smart man, a kind priest, and, above all, a consummate diplomat, will ever say anything about what was said on the record. Nor will the Holy See or the current nuncio. For good measure, having known a few Vatican ambassadors, or "nuncios," most would have just nodded, smiled politely and said, "Thank you very much. I will convey your concerns to the Holy Father." And remember: Vatican diplomats have been dealing with world leaders since at least the time of Charlemagne. Many in the diplomatic corps today have been posted to any number of countries and have dealt with officials from around the world. They're used to all sorts of rude comments and even veiled threats. So, given that we will probably never know what really happened, why not move on to more pressing matters: that is, Pope Leo's repeated calls for peace and reconciliation.

@RepFine U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 3, clause 3. But you want attention, right? Try reading the Constitution, bozo.

Foreigners should not be able to serve in Congress. That’s why I’ve introduced the Disqualifying Dual Loyalty Act. If you’re a citizen of another country, you shouldn’t serve this one. Get out.

“The men, usually in plainclothes and with their faces covered, also have set up a network of security checkpoints around cities…” Sounds like ICE? Try again. wsj.com/world/middle-e…

Pretty sure mother/daughter swapping of ashes selfies on Ash Wednesday is a definition of being Catholic! 🤣

@TotalusRankium in rankings, especially listening to the ages, you really need to consider median and mode, not just mean, because that helps factor out tails on a curve! Do you honestly think Trump‘s score didn’t impact the ranking for the modern age?

@GarciaRosalind Female altar servers have been allowed for decades now in the Catholic Church. I’m sorry that the OP had a different experience personally, but that was driven by a clueless, misogynistic priest.

About time! We’ve had girls serving as acolytes in the Episcopal Church for decades. My daughter served for about 8 yrs.

@TotalusRankium I never imagined this being a bragging point, but thought you might find it interesting that my great grandfather‘s name was Rutherford Burchard Hayes Reneau. 😃 I’ve never been told whether he followed his namesake’s example and was a lollipop of a man! 😂

For what it’s worth, @TotalusRankium , I was in the US Senate Gallery in 2003 the day Sen Ted Kennedy stood on the floor of the Senate with a chart to argue the need for a plan for a global pandemic. Just saying that preparation was possible and advocated by Democrats.

@LindseyGrahamSC No double standard here. Uh huh. @NRA where’s all the rhetoric NOW about the right to bear arms?

An armed man trying to impede a lawful arrest is a recipe for disaster. I expect law enforcement officers to use good judgement. But not to foolishly risk their lives or the lives of others. As to the recent tragic shooting in Minnesota where Border Patrol agents used deadly force against an armed protestor trying to impede a lawful arrest, it is a direct result of the heated rhetoric and over the top reaction toward ICE —who are simply trying to enforce the law in sanctuary cities. You have every right to protest and you have every right to disagree with President Trump. No one has the right to impede law enforcement officers carrying out their duties. If you go to such events with a loaded gun, bad things can happen. The facts will be fully investigated, but for me having been a defense attorney and prosecutor who’s been around law enforcement officers, you have to understand the extreme pressure that Border Patrol and ICE agents are under in sanctuary cities. These cities have willfully ignored federal law, creating massive fraud of benefits, a constant magnet for illegal immigration and a breakdown of law and order. I will be introducing legislation to end sanctuary state and city polices once and for all because they rip off the taxpayer and cause extreme danger for those trying to clean up the mess in these liberal cities.

@ML3democrats @SharonJWright1 @francediplo You are not wrong, mon pote, and this breaks my heart.

BOYCOTT FIFA WORLD CUP‼️ In French, in English ⬇️ @francediplo Je sollicite l'attention de manière très sérieuse des autorités gouvernementales françaises sur une situation alarmante et préoccupante. L'état actuel des choses aux États-Unis est, en effet, préoccupant. L'agence Immigration and Customs Enforcement, communément appelée ICE, semble déborder de ses prérogatives et constitue un danger tangible pour la vie humaine. Il est à déplorer que cette institution soit impliquée dans des incidents tragiques ayant entraîné la mort de deux citoyens américains. Dans le contexte de la Coupe du Monde de la FIFA qui se déroulera aux États-Unis du 11 juin au 19 juillet 2026, je vous demande instamment de considérer un boycott de cet événement. La sécurité des citoyens français, en déplacement sur ce territoire, ne peut être assurée, et il serait irresponsable de participer à un événement dans un climat d'insécurité accrue. Je souligne que les actions de l’ICE sont souvent caractérisées par des méthodes répressives et parfois violentes, allant jusqu'à des abus notoires des droits fondamentaux, sans respect pour la légalité. La France, en tant que nation engagée à défendre les droits de l’homme, doit se positionner fermement face à ces violations, d’autant plus que la situation actuelle aux États-Unis semble éloignée de nos valeurs fondamentales. ———— I request the attention of the French government authorities in a very serious way on an alarming and worrying situation. The current state of affairs in the United States is indeed worrying. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, commonly known as ICE, seems to be beyond its prerogatives and constitutes a tangible danger to human life. It is regrettate that this institution is involved in tragic incidents that have resulted in the death of two American citizens. In the context of the FIFA World Cup which will take place in the United States from June 11 to July 19, 2026, I urge you to consider a boycott of this event. The safety of French citizens, traveling on this territory, cannot be ensured, and it would be irresponsible to participate in an event in a climate of increased insecurity. I emphasize that the actions of the ICE are often characterized by repressive and sometimes violent methods, up to notorious abuses of fundamental rights, without respect for legality. France, as a nation committed to defending human rights, must stand firmly in the face of these violations, especially since the current situation in the United States seems far from our fundamental values.