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The Dictatorship

Pope Francis schooling JD Vance brings ‘harsh words’ from border czar Tom Homan

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Pope Francis schooling JD Vance brings ‘harsh words’ from border czar Tom Homan

Pope Francis is rattling the Trump administration this week with a letter to the U.S. bishops regarding the president’s mass deportation policies. Calling them a “violation of the dignity of many men and women and entire families,” the letter upset President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homanwho, when asked by a reporter about the pope’s “harsh words,” Banized out“I got harsh words for the pope. The pope ought to fix the Catholic Church.”

Really?

Homan should know better than to critique the pope over clear Catholic teaching.

As a Catholic, Homan should know better than to critique the pope over clear Catholic teaching. So should Vice President JD Vance, a relatively recent Catholic convert who got a pointed correction to his faulty Catholic theology in Francis’ letter. Homan, a cradle Catholic, and Vance, a convert, each needs to go back and take some remedial Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) courses to understand the teachings of the Catholic Church on human dignity. After all, as Francis reminds Vance in his letter, Jesus was an immigrant.

The Trump administration, which describes itself as “faith based,” is in fact setting itself up for an epic religious and social battle with religious groups over deportation. Francis’ letter is notable because he took the time to write specifically to the bishops of the United States about the way deportations have been categorized by the Trump administration. The letter is clear about thisstating, “The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.”

In other words, labeling all deportees as criminals flies in the face of human dignity, and is directly opposite to Christian teachings about loving and caring for one’s neighbors.

Vance proclaimed himself to be “ Heartbroken” about the Catholic bishops’ criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policy, and, in a tone similar to Homan’s, said the bishops needed to “look in the mirror” because “when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?”

Francis’ letter was also a pointed critique of Vance’s erroneous exposition on medieval theology. “Just google ‘ordo amoris,’” Vance posted on the social media platform X on Jan. 30 as people were criticizing him for a Fox News interview in which he said, “There is a Christian concept that you love your family, and then you love your neighborand then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.” He said the “far left” got the order backward.

Francis’ letter was also a pointed critique of Vice President JD Vance’s erroneous exposition on medieval theology.

And in the X post, he called his view “basic common sense.”

To the contrary, the ordo amoris is about the order of love and charity that should be held for all humans, and to care for all in need. To quote from the pope’s letter, “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception. But worrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations, easily introduces an ideological criterion that distorts social life and imposes the will of the strongest as the criterion of truth.”

The pope devoting a whole paragraph to correcting Vance should be seen as embarrassing, not only for the vice president but also for the Trump administration as a whole.

In the battle between the Catholic Church and the Trump administration over deportations, Francis has been putting his chess pieces on the board. He just appointed another pro-migrant bishop,  Bishop Weisenburger,to serve as archbishop in Detroit. And as I’ve previously written, Cardinal Robert McElroywhom the pope decided to make the archbishop of Washington, D.C., after Trump won, has decried mass deportations. Given those voices and a statement defending migrants from Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, the Trump administration should expect there to be more than the usual criticism of its decidedly non-Christian policies on immigration and deportation.

Even New York’s archbishop, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who led a prayer at Trump’s inauguration last month, said Vance’s comments on the bishops and immigration were “very scurrilous and very nasty.”

Other religious groups are joining in to denounce Trump’s draconian deportation policies. A lawsuit filedby 27 religious groups is suing the Trump administration to protect houses of worship from immigration raids. Add to that the condemnation over the closure of U.S. Agency for International Development offices around the world, which many U.S. religious organizations participated in, and you have the makings of a new war pitting religious groups against Trump’s immigration and foreign aid policies.

Even Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who led a prayer at Trump’s inauguration, said Vance’s comments were ‘very scurrilous and very nasty.’

Francis clearly wants this fight. He called Trump’s focus on deportations a major crisis in his letter to the bishops. Then he directly addressed the Trump administration in his letter by saying “what is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”

I think members of the Trump administration believed they could brush aside the concerns of Christians with MAGA-style rhetoric and bad theological takes and did not anticipate an immediate fight — and certainly not a scolding letter from the pope. Unlike the sycophantic evangelical followers and prosperity gospel folks like Paula Whitethe new head of Trump’s faith office, the administration is now encountering Christians who understand and seek to carry out the message of the Gospels.

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The Dictatorship

Trump says he’ll release MRI results

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Trump says he’ll release MRI results

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’ s doctor says the president had MRI imaging on his heart and abdomen in October as part of a preventative screening for men his age, according to a memo from the physician released by the White House on Monday.

Sean Barbabella said in a statement that Trump’s physical exam included “advanced imaging” that is “standard for an executive physical” in Trump’s age group. Barbabella concluded that the cardiovascular and abdominal imaging was “perfectly normal.”

“The purpose of this imaging is preventative: to identify issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure he maintains long-term vitality and function,” the doctor wrote.

The White House released Barbabella’s memo after Trump on Sunday said he would release the results of the scan. He and the White House have said the scan was “part of his routine physical examination” but had declined until Monday to detail why Trump had an MRI during his physical in October at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center or on what part of his body.

“I think that’s quite a bit of detail,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday when announcing the memo’s release.

The Republican president said Sunday during an exchange with reporters as he traveled back to Washington from Florida that the results of the MRI were “perfect.”

“If you want to have it released, I’ll release it,” Trump said.

Trump added Sunday that he has “no idea” on what part of his body he got the MRI.

“It was just an MRI,” he said. “What part of the body? It wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.”

Doctors typically order an MRI to help with diagnosing symptoms or to monitor an ongoing health problem. So-called “preventive” cardiac and abdominal MRIs are not part of routine screening recommendations. What Trump’s doctor called an “executive physical” generally refers to adding extra, non-routine tests including MRIs to pricey and lengthy exams, not covered by insurance, that are marketed to wealthy people.

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Trump commutes prison sentence for private equity executive

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Trump commutes prison sentence for private equity executive

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of former investment manager David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding investors — the latest in a series of clemency actions Trump has taken in white-collar criminal cases.

Gentile had reported to prison on Nov. 14, just days before Trump commuted his sentence, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to provide details of the clemency action. Gentile had been the CEO and co-founder of GPB Capital, which had raised $1.6 billion in capital to acquire companies in the auto, retail, health care and housing sectors.

He had been sentenced to seven years in prison after an August 2024 conviction for his role in what the Justice Department at the time described as a scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors by misrepresenting the performance of three private equity funds.

But the White House official said GPB Capital had disclosed to investors in 2015 that their capital might go to pay dividends to other investors, which the White House said undercut claims that the company had engaged in a “Ponzi” scheme in which new investments are used to reimburse previous investors.

The government has agreed to no restitution in the criminal case, though various civil cases are handling repayments and damages to investors.

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Lawmakers voice support for congressional reviews of Trump’s military strikes on boats

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Lawmakers voice support for congressional reviews of Trump’s military strikes on boats

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.

The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week’s Washington Post report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns.

“This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, when asked about a follow-up strike aimed at people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information that happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed Services Committee in both the House and Senate have opened investigations.

“Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” Turner said.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Sunday evening while flying back to Washington from Florida, where he celebrated Thanksgiving, confirmed that he had recently spoken with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The U.S. administration says the strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at cartels, some of which it claims are controlled by Maduro. Trump also is weighing whether to carry out strikes on the Venezuelan mainland.

Trump declined to comment on details of the call, which was first reported by The New York Times.

“I wouldn’t say it went well or badly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked about the call.

The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the call with Trump.

Turner said there are concerns in Congress about the attacks on vessels that the Trump administration says are transporting drugs, but the allegation regarding the Sept. 2 attack “is completely outside anything that has been discussed with Congress and there is an ongoing investigation.”

The comments from lawmakers during news show appearances come as the administration escalates a campaign to combat drug trafficking into the U.S. On Saturday, Trump said the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety,” an assertion that raised more questions about the U.S. pressure on Maduro. Maduro’s government accused Trump of making a ”colonial threat” and seeking to undermine the South American country’s sovereignty.

After the Post’s report, Hegseth said Friday on X that “fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.”

“Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,” Hegseth wrote.

Trump said on Sunday the administration “will look into” the matter but added, “I wouldn’t have wanted that — not a second strike.” The president also defended Hegseth.

“Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,” Trump said. He added, “And I believe him.”

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said in a joint statement late Friday that the committee “will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”

That was followed Saturday with the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, and the ranking Democratic member, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, issuing a joint statement saying the panel was committed to “providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s military operations in the Caribbean.”

“We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question,” Rogers and Smith said, referring to U.S. Southern Command.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., asked about the Sept. 2 attack, said Hegseth deserves a chance to present his side.

“We should get to the truth. I don’t think he would be foolish enough to make this decision to say, kill everybody, kill the survivors because that’s a clear violation of the law of war,” Bacon said. “So, I’m very suspicious that he would’ve done something like that because it would go against common sense.”

Kaine and Turner appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” and Bacon was on ABC’s “This Week.”

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