German Court: Reporting on ‘Remigration’ Conspiracy Was False

Correctiv's goals are to provide free, independent journalism accessible to everyone except those they disagree with. And with government money, they spread false news.

From The European Conservative

By Zoltán Kottász

AfD’s legal representative says left-wing media dreamed up the Potsdam plot.

Claims by a German state-funded, left-wing media outlet about a conspiracy to conduct the mass deportation of migrants have been shattered in court. A ruling by a court in Hamburg prohibits public broadcasters from repeating the allegation that the expulsion of German citizens of foreign origin was discussed by participants at a meeting in Potsdam last November.

As we reported at the beginning of the year, Correctiv, a partly state-funded investigative website, made explosive claims of a top-level meeting between members of the anti-globalist opposition AfD party, the right-wing Identitarian Movement, and the centre-right CDU, alleging the existence of a right-wing plot to deport millions of migrants, including those with German citizenship. The article resulted in hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets around Germany to protest against ‘far-right extremism.’

It later turned out that the publication—which in its article drew a historical parallel between the participants of the Potsdam meeting and the Nazis—had deceptively misreported the event, grossly exaggerating the topic of the discussions. The meeting had actually focused on a more restrictive migration policy, involving stricter border controls and the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and illegal immigrants—topics not unusual for anti-immigration parties.

“They spoke of ‘remigration,’ specifically and legitimately referring to millions of people who are illegally present here, that they should be ‘remigrated’—returned. That is legal and legitimate, and we can demand that. And there is nothing wrong or reprehensible about it,” AfD MEP Joachim Kuhs, who was not a participant at the Potsdam meeting, previously told The European Conservative.

It was also revealed that the managing director of Correctiv, the self-proclaimed “independent investigative journalism network” met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and officials from the left-wing federal government days before the Potsdam meeting, to “exchange ideas” on what coverage was desirable.

One of the participants of the Potsdam meeting, constitutional law expert and legal representative of the AfD Ulrich Vosgerau decided to take legal action against Correctiv and other news outlets for repeating the false allegations against him. Vosgerau won both court cases, with the most recent ruling in Hamburg stating that the claim made by public broadcasters ARD and NDR that the expulsion of German citizens of foreign origin was discussed at the meeting in Potsdam, is untrue.

Announcing the court decision on his X account, Ulrich Vosgerau said Correctiv’s article was nothing more than a “fictitious play” which dreamed up alleged deportation plans, and wrongly associated a private meeting of friends with historical events in the Third Reich.

French Regulator Axes Right-Wing TV Channel

The iron hand of censorship is gripping harder in countries across Western Europe. More and more nothing is allowed that doesn't fit the global elite's NWO narrative.

From The European Conservative

By Michael Curzon

Marine Le Pen said the powers that be are trying to make “pluralism disappear.”

French television regulator ARCOM is facing major criticism after it stripped a channel owned by a Marine Le Pen-supporting conservative of its broadcasting licence.

C8—owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, France’s 14th richest man, who The European Conservative’s Hélène de Lauzun recently described as “a figure disliked by the French Left”—has been omitted from a list of stations whose terrestrial licences are up for renewal.

ARCOM said its decision was based on “the interest of each project for the public with regard to the overriding imperative of pluralism of socio-cultural currents of expression.”

But Le Pen argued that the move proved the opposite—that “for those in power, pluralism is unbearable.”

So, little by little, they will try to make it disappear so that all the channels and radio stations deliver the same message as the public broadcaster: a panel of all nuances of the left.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, president of the right-wing Debout la France party and former deputy of the National Assembly, also said that “censorship is descending on France!”

By expelling C8 from TNT [terrestrial television] for the benefit of its political friends, the Macronist government is crushing the freedom of expression that is inseparable from true democracy. Today C8, tomorrow social networks…

Dupont-Aignan added that there is an “urgency for a collective reaction from political forces before it is too late.”

C8 airs (or, rather, aired) the popular and often controversial talk show “Touche pas à mon poste” (“Do not touch my position”; a play on “Touche pas à mon pote”—”Don’t touch my friend,” the official slogan of the anti-racism organisation SOS Racisme) fronted by “outspoken” presenter Cyril Hanouna. This racked up a record €3.5 million fine last year after Hanouna insulted a member of the hard-left La France Insoumise party. The wider channel has been accused of broadcasting “fake news” and “conspiracy theories.”

Britain’s right-wing insurgent news channel, GB News, said that the axing of C8 was “terrifying” for its own viewers.

GB News, which advocates for the right of every individual to form and share their views, has also been placed under scrutiny in the UK in the form of ad boycotts and presenters sometimes being verbally harassed while working.

CNews, which is also under the control of Bolloré, has kept hold of its broadcasting licence, although the authorities will continue to keep a close eye on this, too. It is understood that C8 will be able to appeal ARCOM’s decision to the state council.

Forgotten Customs of St. Anne

Today is the Feast of St Anne, mother of the BVM. Mr Plese takes us through the forgotten and neglected Catholic customs attached to today.

From One Peter Five

By Matthew Plese, TOP

Above: Virgin and Child with St. Anne by Leonardo da Vinci.

St. Anne, Mother of the Mother of God

What we know about the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents, Saints Joachim and Anne, comes from the Protoevangelium Jacobi (The Gospel of James). It is not part of the inerrant Word of God, but the document, which was written c. 170 AD gives insight into the life of Mary and her parents. St. Joachim was a prominent and respected man; however, he had no children, and he viewed this as a punishment from God. The Protoevangelium of St. James describes how St. Anne was even mocked for her barrenness, and how her husband was shamed for not being a father.

In an answer to his prayers, he and St. Anne, his wife, were given the daughter Mary, who was conceived without sin, in her womb. She remained sinless, ever-virgin, and would receive the unparalleled honor of being the Mother of God. Their prayers were answered greater than they could have ever imagined! The Nativity of our Lady, celebrated on September 8th is a day replete with Catholic customs.

St. Anne’s Day as a Former Holy Day of Obligation

Father Weiser in Christian Feasts and Customs recounts the history of liturgical devotion to St. Anne:

Since the Fathers of the Church rejected the use of such legendary sources, the faithful in Europe had no feast in honor of our Lord’s grand-parents. In the Middle East, however, the veneration of Saint Anne can be traced back to the fourth century.

The Crusaders brought the name and legend of Saint Anne to Europe, and the famous Dominican Jacobus de Voragine (1298) printed the story in his Golden Legend. From that time on the popular veneration of the saint spread into all parts of the Christian world. It was encouraged by the religious orders of the Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and Carmelites. In southern France a Feast of Saint Anne was celebrated as early as the fourteenth century. Pope Urban VI in 1378 extended it to England at the king’s request. Not until 1584, however, did the feast become universal, when Pope Gregory XIII prescribed it for the whole Church.

The feast of St. Anne was made a holy day of obligation under Pope Gregory XV who reigned from 1621 to 1623 as Dom Guéranger relates: “Gregory XV, after having been cured of a serious illness by St. Anne, had ranked her feast among those of precept, with the obligation of resting from servile work.” The Feast of St. Anne was listed as a Holy Day in Pope Urban VIII’s 1642 Universa Per Orbem, and it remained as such in some places like Quebec for some time.

Dom Guéranger also adds that Gregory XIII ordered the celebration of this feast universally “with the rite of a double. Leo XIII in recent times (1879), raised it, together with that of St. Joachim, to the dignity of a solemnity of the second class.”

The Patronage of St. Anne

St. Anne has long been depicted in art as part of a tradition of Catholic art that stretches back at least to the Middle Ages. In medieval art, St. Anne is often depicted teaching her little daughter to read. Medieval depictions of Mary’s birth often place the scene in a richly decorated chamber, with St Anne and her newborn baby being tended by midwives – images of domestic life, of women’s work and care.

Images of Mary’s childhood show her as the object of her parents’ love, holding her mother’s hand, or being taught to read. St Anne was a maternal saint in whom medieval mothers could see themselves reflected and she is accordingly honored as a patron saint for cabinetmakers, carpenters, childless couples, equestrians, grandmothers, grandparents, homemakers, housewives, lace makers, mothers, old-clothes dealers, pregnant women, horse riders, seamstresses, and women in labor, among other causes.

St. Anne is also a patron for women who are seeking a husband, as expressed in the popular old prayer: “Good St. Anne, send me a man!” Why? Father Weiser explains this long standing custom: “According to legend, she was married three times, first to Joachim, after his death to Cleophas, and finally to Salomas. This detail of the ancient story inspired young women to turn for help in finding a husband.” For this end, praying a Novena in honor of St. Anne was widely practiced in former times when the Faith was more widely known and loved. Women today who are seeking a spouse should likewise be familiar with calling on Good St. Anne for this intention!

Father Weiser also adds an interesting custom:

Her patronage of fertility was extended also to the soil. Thus she became a patron of rain. It is a popular saying in Italy that “rain is St. Anne’s gift,” in Germany, July rain is called “Saint Anne’s Dowry.”

Thus, for farmers and those experiencing drought, do not hesitate to call on the prayers of St. Anne!

The Popularity of St. Anne’s Name for Girls

St. Anne, whose name means “grace” became one of the most popular names for gifts in the 18th century. Hence, customs arose for girls celebrating their name days on St. Anne’s Day.  Father Weiser again explains:

From the eighteenth century on, Anne, which means “grace,” was used more and more as a favorite name for girls. At the beginning of the nineteenth century it was the most popular girls’ name in central Europe, surpassing even that of Mary. This preference was based on a famous saying of past centuries, “All Annes are beautiful.” Naturally, parents wanted to assure this benefit for their baby daughters by calling them Anne or by adding Anne to a first name. Thus we have the many traditional names containing Anne or Ann (Mary Ann, Marianne, Marian, Ann Marie, Joanne, Elizabeth Ann, Lillian, Martha Ann, Louise Ann, Patricia Ann).

A hundred years ago there still remained the custom in many parts of Europe of celebrating Saint Anne’s Day as a festival “of all Annes,” meaning all beautiful girls. Dressed in their finery the bevy would parade through the streets with their escorts, bands would serenade them in parks and squares, balls would be held (both Johann Strausses composed “Anne Polkas” for this festival).

Saint Anne’s Eve was the day of receptions for debutantes at court and in private homes. Public amusements, including fireworks, entertained the crowds. The warm summer night was alive with laughter, beauty, music, and lights. And all of it was still connected in the hearts and minds of the participants with a tribute to Saint Anne, whose feast day shed its radiance upon this enchanting celebration.

St. Joachim, Father of the Mother of God

In the Protoevangelium of James, St. Joachim is described as a rich and pious man of the house of David who regularly gave to the poor and to the temple. However, as his wife was barren, the high priest rejected Joachim and his sacrifice, as his wife’s childlessness was interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure. Joachim consequently withdrew to the desert where he fasted and did penance for forty days. Angels then appeared to both Joachim and Anne to promise them a child. Some believe it was the Archangel St. Gabriel who also appear to him.

St. Joachim later returned to Jerusalem and embraced Anne at the city gate. The cycle of legends concerning Joachim and Anne were included in the Golden Legend and remained popular in Christian art until the Council of Trent restricted the depiction of apocryphal events.

No liturgical celebration of Saint Joachim was included in the Tridentine Calendar. It was added to the General Roman Calendar in 1584, for celebration on March 20, the day after the feast day of Saint Joseph. In 1738, it was transferred to the Sunday after the Octave of the Assumption of Mary. As part of his effort to allow the liturgy of Sundays to be celebrated, Pope St. Pius X transferred it to August 16, the day after the Assumption, so that Joachim may be remembered in the celebration of Mary’s triumph.  It was then celebrated as a Double of the 2nd Class, a rank that was changed in 1960 to that of 2nd Class Feast. Dom Guéranger elaborates on the history of Feast of St. Joachim and how it also came to be highly ranked in the Roman Rite:

From time immemorial the Greeks have celebrated the feast of St. Joachim on the day following our Lady’s birthday. The Maronites kept it on the day after the Presentation in November, and the Armenians on the Tuesday after the Octave of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The Latins at first did not keep his feast. Later on it was admitted and celebrated sometimes on the day after the Octave of the Nativity, September 16, sometimes on the day following the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, December 9. Thus, both East and West agreed in associating St. Joachim with his illustrious daughter when they wished to do him honor.

About the year 1510, Julius II placed the feast of the grandfather of the Messias upon the Roman Calendar with the rank of double major; and remembering that family, in which the ties of nature and of grace were in such perfect harmony, he fixed the solemnity on March 20, the day after that of his son-in-law, St. Joseph. The life of the glorious patriarch resembled those of the first fathers of the Hebrew people; and it seemed as though he were destined to imitate their wanderings also, by continually changing his place upon the sacred cycle.

Hardly fifty years after the Pontificate of Julius II the critical spirit of the day cast doubts upon the history of St. Joachim, and his name was erased from the Roman breviary. Gregory XV, however, re-established his feast in 1622 as a double, and the Church has since continued to celebrate it. Devotion to our Lady’s father continuing to increase very much, the Holy See was petitioned to make his feast a holiday of obligation, as it had already made that of his spouse, St. Anne. In order to satisfy the devotion of the people without increasing the number of days of obligation, Clement XII in 1738 transferred the feast of St. Joachim to the Sunday after the Assumption of his daughter, the Blessed Virgin, and restored to it the rank of double major.

On August 1, 1879, the Sovereign Pontiff, Leo XIII, who received the name of Joachim in baptism, raised both the feast of his glorious patron and that of St. Anne to the rank of doubles of the second class.

Home Customs for St. Anne and Joachim

For those looking to add something special to the table on the feast of either of the grandparents of Our Lord, a great choice would be the Italian dessert known as Torta della nonna, which is Italian for “grandmother’s cake.” It is a classic Tuscan pastry characterized by a short crust pastry base filled with a rich, creamy custard and typically flavored with lemon zest and sometimes vanilla. The top of the tart is usually covered with a layer of pine nuts and dusted with powdered sugar.

Their feast days are also ideal opportunities for us to honor our grandparents with our visits (if they are alive) or our prayers (whether they have passed on to the next world or not). And conversely, if you are a grandparent, these are ideal days to consider what you should do now to help further pass down and transmit the Faith to your grandchildren.

Likewise, the Litany of St. Anne is an ideal prayer to add on her feast day, July 26th. It is a private, not a public litany.

Pilgrimage Sites in Honor of St. Anne and St. Joachim

Lasty, for those in close proximity to one of the great shrines of St. Anne, it would be an ideal day to make a pilgrimage to one of these shrines. For instance, there is a great shrine to St. Anne in Canada – Ste. Anne de Beaupré. The St. Anne Basilica is more than just one of the four major shrines in Québec and the oldest pilgrimage site in North America. It is a site of constant miracles. Cripples have entered the shrine on crutches and left by walking through the door because they were completely healed. Another shrine is Ste. Anne d’Auray in Britanny, France. There is also a church of St. Anne in Jerusalem, and the church is believed to have been built on the location where Ss. Joachim and Anne lived.

Finally, for those in Rome, about six blocks north of the Castel Sant’Angelo, there is a church built in honor of St. Joachim – San Gioacchino ai Prati Castello. It too would be a worthy destination for those seeking to honor one of the grandparents of the Son of God.

“Massive Attack” on French Railways Night Before Olympic Opening Ceremony

It is immaterial whether the attacks were perpetrated by jihadist invaders or Leftist terrorists. Either way, they were committed by people whose aim is the destruction of France and of Europe.

From The European Conservative

By Nick Hallett

“France is under attack,” the head of the country’s rail operator said.

A “massive arson attack” brought chaos to France’s high-speed rail network the night before the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris.

“This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network,” train operator SNCF told AFP. It added that many trains will have to be cancelled and the situation will last “at least all weekend while repairs are conducted.”

SNCF said there were “several simultaneous malicious acts overnight,” targeting the Atlantic, northern, and eastern high-speed lines. Another attempted attack on the southeastern line was foiled, they added.

FranceInfo says five acts of vandalism or attempted vandalism took place between 1 a.m. and 5.30 a.m., targeting electrical or signalling boxes. Signals along the tracks were set on fire and cables were cut and set alight.

Jean-Pierre Farandou, the train operator’s chief executive, said 800,000 passengers would be affected as crowds descend on Paris for the Olympics. SNCF urged passengers not to travel and to stay away from stations.

Speaking on BFMTV, Farandou said, “It’s a part of France that is under attack, it’s the French who are under attack.”

“It was also, of course, the inauguration of the opening of the Olympic Games, with many French people going up to Paris to enjoy a day or three to share in the joy of the Olympic Games. All that is ruined. But we’re not going to give up.”

Eurostar services between London and Paris were also delayed by the vandalism. “Due to coordinated acts of vandalism in France, affecting the high speed line between Paris and Lille, all high speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today Friday 26 July,” the operator said. “This extends the journey time by around an hour and a half.”

At time of publication, no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks and no arrests have been made. However, a security source told Le Figaro that incendiary attacks on installations are generally a signature of the far-left.

The attacks came hours after Belgian authorities detained seven terror suspects in raids across the country. 

The Belgian Federal prosecutor said they are “suspected of participating in the activities of a terrorist group, of financing terrorism and preparing a terrorist attack.”

Spokesman Arnaud d’Oultremont told the AP that investigators had “not yet identified the suspects’ concrete objectives.” In contrast, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin thanked “our Belgian friends who today led a judicial operation to protect us”—begging further questions about that state of pre-Olympics security.

On Friday, the Basel-Mulhouse airport at the Franco-Swiss border was briefly evacuated for security reasons after a bomb threat as police still searched for the perpetrators of the train system attacks. 

Pictured: The logo of SNCF,  France's national state-owned railway company.

The War on Catholicism: The Story of Europe’s First 21st Century Martyr

The New Martyr Fr Jacques Hamel was murdered by Islamic terrorists whilst celebrating Mass 8 years ago today. May he pray for us and for France.

From Catholic Exchange

By Lori Brannigan Kelly

Today marks the 8-year anniversary of the tragic murder of Father Jacques Hamel, a French Catholic priest killed by two Islamic terrorists while celebrating Mass in a church in the small town of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of Rouen in France.  According to eyewitness accounts, Hamel’s last words before getting his throat slashed were “Va-t’en, Satan,” meaning in English “Get away, Satan.”

Hamel is widely regarded as Europe’s first 21^st century martyr.  His story is compelling for countless reasons, but perhaps the strongest being that the attack on Hamel is symbolic of the multitudinous, increasing, and brutal assaults suffered by the Catholic Church over the past several decades. 

Father Jacques Hamel

It’s a harsh fact that Catholics of this age face a particularly virulent hatred.  Across the globe, Catholic churches are being burned, religious statues are being desecrated, laity are being threatened, and priests are being kidnapped, tortured, and killed.  I’m not talking about the events of 2^nd century Christians; I’m talking about today.

Hamel was born on November 30, 1930, in the commune of Darnètal in Normandy, France’s northern region.  At the time of his death, he was serving as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Rouen.  On the morning of July 26, 2016, Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq, slaughtered Hamel before being shot dead by police.  Both men were 19 years old.  

Why are Catholic priests and churches so vulnerable?  What is at the root of their loathing?  The Catholic writer Joseph Massey, in his July 11, 2024, Twitter/X post, answers these questions:

Western civilization is being ransacked by barbarians, and the churches are always the first thing to go. They want us demoralized and cut off from the true source of our strength: God Almighty.

Massey is correct.  Catholic churches are targets precisely because it is in these churches that our sacraments reside. 

The end result of church attacks is devastating.  Recently, a news outlet published a map of France upon which small red icons were pinned to mark the locations of Catholic churches that had been set on fire, vandalized, or attacked.  The map was a sea of ominous scarlet badges.  One could no longer see France; it was entirely blotted out.

In her May 4, 2021, article entitled “Why France is losing one religious building every two weeks,” Salène Tadié, the Europe Correspondent for the National Catholic Register, writes that “according to the most recent figures from France’s central criminal intelligence unit, 877 attacks on Catholic places of worship were recorded across the country in 2018 alone.”  This figure is nearly unfathomable, and—dreadfully—it rises with every passing year.

Tadié notes that ever since Frankish King Clovis I embraced Catholicism in 496 A.D., France has been known as “the eldest daughter of the Church.”  This daughter boasts thousands of Catholic structures throughout the nation.  Each building is a precious deposit of Frankish heritage, and each has a tale to tell. 

Tadié tells one story of the 16^th century Church of Saint-Pierre in Romilly-la-Puthenaye, Normandy.  According to Tadié, a fire took place at this church on April 15, 2021, exactly two years after the blaze that ravaged the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. The Saint-Pierre fire was deemed accidental.  However, as with the Notre-Dame blaze, strong suspicions of vandalism linger.

Certainly, churches are targets of those who seek to destroy the Catholic faith. But it can be argued that the prime target is the Eucharist.

Catholics believe that their true source of strength—God Almighty—exists in the Eucharist.  We proclaim that the Eucharist is truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Risen Christ.  In Communion, Christ is entirely and fully present. It is a Mystery and, admittedly, an extraordinarily challenging one. But it is nonetheless true. 

There exist innumerable affirmations of this truth in the 2000+ history of the Catholic Church, but one particularly persuasive and compelling example can be found in the 8^th century miracle of Lanciano in which the Eucharistic Host, at the moment of consecration, turned into human flesh and blood.  That Host survives intact to this day.  Such incontrovertible evidence of the Living Christ is, of course, anathema to the dark enemies of Catholicism.  

Satan’s minions know this: the Catholic priest alone has the power, through the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit in the celebration of Mass, to turn ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus.  It is no surprise, then, that those who abhor Catholicism would seek to obliterate priests.

By all accounts, Father Jacques Hamel had an ardent passion for the Eucharist.  This passion is beautifully depicted in the icon of Hamel pictured here.  In this artistic rendering, the priest’s neck and hands are bloodied: a reminder of his heinous murder.  Hamel is displayed holding three white roses—a reminiscence of the Holy Trinity and a representation of the purity and virginity that mark his priestly vow of celibacy.  He also cradles in his arms five red roses, (the flower Hamel reportedly loved), and that red brings to mind the color of martyrs. 

At the image’s center, positioned directly under the priest’s saintly golden halo, is the Eucharistic Host—held firmly, reverently, and piously in Hamel’s blessed hands.  The Host is imprinted with a cross.  The Eucharist, like the halo, is utterly luminous.  It is filled with light, and it delivers light.  It is the reality of Christ’s promise in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

There is no doubt that, in his many years of priestly ministry, Father Jacques Hamel was well acquainted with the forces of darkness and sin that constantly seek to extinguish Jesus’ light. 

Surely, Hamel was well-versed with Saint Paul’s writing in Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”   Hamel’s death underscores the incontrovertible fact that mankind is engaged in a fierce spiritual warfare. Indeed, for every Catholic living in these troubled times, the conflict between light and darkness, good and evil, is abundantly clear—politically, culturally, socially, and psychologically we have cut ourselves off from God.  In this catastrophic detachment we have severed ourselves from grace.  It is only through a devoted return to the sacraments, most especially the Eucharist, that we will be saved.

In contemplating the war on Catholicism, there is one thing we must remember. If we, as Catholics, truly seek repair, conversion, renewal, and redemption, we must look first to the reparation of our own hearts.  The entire world’s sanctification begins there.

The battle that rages, for both our souls and our Church, is indeed fierce. All Catholics are beckoned to serve. Some will, like Hamel, even become martyrs for the Faith. Ultimately, we are each called, in every moment of every day, to utter from the depths of our hearts Hamel’s faithful and courageous words: “Va-t’en, Satan.”  

---

Photo by Museums Victoria on Unsplash

(2018). Père Jacques Hamel [photo]. Retrieved from Wikipedia.

Labour Stops Free Speech Law a Week Before It Comes Into Force

More proof that the Left's rule is 'Free speech for me, but not for thee'. Starmer has guaranteed that woke 'cancel culture' will reign supreme.

From The European Conservative

By Graham Barnfield

Protecting freedom of expression against university cancel culture deemed too “burdensome”

New government powers to financially punish universities and student unions for failing to protect freedom of speech look doomed—without having collected a penny in fines. Labour education secretary Bridget Phillipson announced Friday that she will “stop further commencement of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023” to consider other options.

The ‘paused’ legislation would have allowed the Office for Students (OfS), a UK regulator, to penalise institutions where, for instance, the cancellation of events under duress threatened free expression.

Britain’s incoming Labour government has presented its move as reducing the administrative burden on the OfS, allowing it to pivot to the potential problem of insolvent universities collapsing. But the devil is in the details: while signalling that free speech is no longer an official priority, the vague “strengthened protections for students facing harassment” are, with all the potential for mission creep that implies.

The Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act (HEFOSA) was given Royal Assent in May 2023, after three years’ gestation as a half-hearted Tory response to campus protests targeting ‘gender-critical’ and other supposedly controversial speakers. It required higher education providers, their constituent institutions, and students’ unions to uphold the principles of freedom of speech and academic freedom. Individuals could also bring lawsuits against institutions that failed to protect their right to free speech. Critics argue that relying “on the law to alter the political climate on campuses is a folly. Free speech cannot be enforced by government decree without ceasing to be, well, free.” 

Responses to Phillipson’s announcement show that absolutely no one actually cares about the administrative pressures on the OfS. (Any hypothetical fines levied could add to the risk of university bankruptcies, supposedly.) University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady went through the motions about the changing role of the OfS, before stating:

We have long called for the government to end its obsession with culture wars on campus and are delighted Labour has listened to us and dropped absurd proposals for free speech fines. … These plans were always a Trojan horse for stoking the culture war and it is right that Labour has dropped them.

“Many of us were truly dreading the impact this Act would have, serving to further divide our campuses and put marginalised student communities further at risk,” National Union of Students (NUS) vice-president Saranya Thambirajah told the BBC.

While these higher education figureheads took a cavalier approach to academic freedom, the Free Speech Union tweeted:

The Government’s attack on the Freedom of Speech Act is shocking. If Labour refuses to commence legislation passed in the last parliament, the Free Speech Union will bring judicial review proceedings … There is a free speech crisis in our universities.

To date, the membership of Academics for Academic Freedom (AFAF) has held a range of opinions on HEFOSA, but its director, Professor Dennis Hayes, called this:

A shocking but predictable decision. But the struggle for free speech must go on regardless. Thank goodness for Academics For Academic Freedom, The Free Speech Union and other groups fighting for free speech.

“The NUS was ‘truly dreading the impact’ of the act. Indeed. It may have forced them to defend free speech on campus, something they have been failing to do since 1974,” Hayes also noted.

In a comment to The European Conservative, AFAF called the decision “entirely predictable but shocking to many individuals and groups who had vested five years of work into building the Act,” and added,

Fighting for free speech is never-ending and things may get worse. If, or when, the government introduces new legislation on race, Islamophobia and other DEI issues, this will certainly suppress free speech as it will make criticising certain views more difficult. Such criticism will require academics to speak up ‘against the law’.  Will ‘free speech within the law’ mean fewer freedoms under Labour?

The Holy Rosary

Friday, the Sorrowful Mysteries, in Latin with Cardinal Burke.

The Scientist-Emperor Who Cracked the Mystery of Bird Migration

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II had accurately observed bird migration in the 1200s, but his findings were not widely accepted in Europe for centuries. An avid falconer and early ornithologist, Frederick compiled his extensive knowledge in "De Arte Venandi cum Avibus" (On The Art of Hunting with Birds), which included detailed observations on bird migration.

Frederick's work highlighted that birds migrate twice a year, moving from cold to warm climates and back. He explained that not all birds migrate, with some making shorter, local movements instead. Reasons for migration included escaping the cold, seeking food, avoiding frozen habitats, and predatory birds following their prey. Frederick drew on Arabic sources and Aristotle's work, correcting and expanding upon Aristotle's theories with his practical observations. For example, he noted that leadership in migrating bird formations is cyclical, unlike Aristotle's claim of a single leader. Despite the accuracy of his work, it took over 400 years for migration theory to be revisited by scientists.

The Interconnectedness between Justice, Law, and the Concept of Good

With Fr Dominic Legge, OP, JD, STL, STD, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the Thomistic Institute.

Prayer to St Anne, Mother of the Virgin Mary

Today is the Feast of Our Lord's Grandmother, St Anne. Besides the patronages listed in the article, she is also a major patroness of Canada, with a pilgrimage site at Lac Ste Anne, Alberta.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

St. Anne is the patron of mothers, child care workers, and those who experience infertility.

St. Anne has been known for centuries for her powerful intercession, especially for mothers, child care workers and those experiencing infertility.

According to legendary stories, Anne was infertile for many years, until she finally conceived and gave birth to the Virgin Mary.

Here is the traditional opening prayer for her feast of July 26.

O God, Who didst vouchsafe to blessed Anne the grace to be the mother of her who was to bring forth Thine only-begotten Son: grant, in Thy mercy, that we who devoutly venerate her memory may be aided by her intercession. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.

Amen.

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Bishop Denounces Catholics Who Oppose Remaking The Church

Mother Abbess of Thriving Traditionalist Order in US Discusses Their Move to a 19th-Century Abbey in England

Unlike the NO Orders, which are dying on the vine, Traditional Orders like the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, are growing and thriving!

From the Catholic Herald

By Thomas Colsy

The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles are one of the success stories in the contemporary Church.

Going from strength to strength, they buck trends in mainstream Catholic women’s religious orders that have seen vocations dry up and schools, hospitals and orphanages run by sisters close all across the old Catholic heartlands.

Not so with the US-based Benedictines of Mary. With a median age well under thirty, they are a departure from anything considered standard in the last six decades. They wear the habit that their foundress, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, OSB, fought vociferously to keep – and even at the bleakest points resorted to making her own – they sing the Old Liturgy of the Hours and attend the Traditional Latin Mass.

While they may stand out in the landscape of the contemporary Catholic Church, to say so is to only paint half the picture, as they are in fact a return to everything which once would have been held emblematic of Catholic observance and religious life. And their formula has proven to be magnetic.

Associated with the Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri (FSSP), the Benedictines of Mary gained international media attention after their firebrand and furiously pious late foundress was exhumed and found to be incorrupt. Pilgrims flocked to pay homage to, and ask intercession from, one of the latest American additions to the communion of saints. But the religious order’s run of success had begun beforehand.

The flood of vocations this small – and only relatively recently created – order of religious receives, speaks for itself. Having outgrown their main monastery in Gower, Missouri, they are now expanding.

Recently, they constructed another monastery at Ava, some 200 miles from Gower, and have plans to open another in Indiana. But now they are also, crucially, opening their first religious house on the other side of the Atlantic – in England.

The sisters note that St Mary’s Abbey in Colwich “was founded by Saint Thomas More’s great-great granddaughter, with nuns once exiled from England during the Elizabethan persecution, and exiled back there during the French Revolution”.

As a result, the Sisters are enamoured by the spiritual and providential significance of moving into Our Lady’s Dowry – a common medieval name for England, the origin of which is shrouded in mystery, though various mystics believe is connected to eschatological prophecy, and which speaks to the enormous popularity of Marian devotion among the medieval English.

Three of the order’s sisters at St Mary’s Abbey in Colwich; image courtesy Mother Abbess Cecilia.

Mother Cecilia Snell, OSB, the first abbess of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, spoke to the Catholic Herald about the building that they are in the process of acquiring – a stunning stone 19th-century monastery surrounded by greenery in the heart of the West Midlands countryside – and what it means to the Sisters and the future of the order:

Catholic Herald: You say the abbey is usable but needs renovation work. Its exterior architecture is of a glorious and highly tasteful neo-Gothic flavour. What’s the most appealing and attractive element about the site and location to you?

Mother Abbess Cecilia: The architecture of Colwich is quite impressive indeed, and we do not have the like in America! The crenellated walls of the design of the original Trubshaw hunting lodge seem quite otherworldly to us, and convey something of the idea of a monastic battlement or fortress. It really looks like a formidable edifice against the beautiful Cannock Chase Park and Trent River. Everything about the area is extremely appealing to us, being, as it is, close to civilisation in such ways as to be accessible, yet remote enough to guarantee the privacy of solitude that is so necessary to the contemplative monastic life. 

We love also the fact that we are able to dip into the history of the area. At the abbey in Missouri, our current table reading – the book read aloud while we eat our meal in silence – is the history of Colwich Abbey, and we are enjoying it immensely. The hardships which the pioneers of that abbey suffered are an inspiration to us, especially the near-martyrdom of the nuns during the French Revolution, and the holy legacy of Gertrude More, St. Thomas More’s great-great granddaughter.

CH: Do you believe its connection to St Thomas More is providential?

MA Cecilia: I do believe the connection to St. Thomas More is quite providential, as the tensions between Church and State seem to arise around us worldwide, not only in the United States. I believe that Thomas More truly is a man for all seasons, and is an example to those of every faith background, in that uncomfortable truths are worth heroic sacrifice. We try to draw a connection to Thomas More in our vocations as brides of Christ, interceding for the Church as the guardian of Truth.

More was a married saint that defended, and even died for, traditional marriage and the sacredness of the bond. Venerable Lucia dos Santos of Fatima wrote to Cardinal Carlo Caffarra that “The final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be about Marriage and the Family”. Marriage is a reflection of the union between Christ and His Church, with love communicated to Her with sincerity and truth. It is something to which the married as well as religious are called. While we do not yet witness to the truth with our blood as More did, we look to his example to be witnesses in fidelity, each soul walking worthily of the vocation received from the Lord.

On a practical level, More’s good humour and joy were quite contagious, and made his loss keenly felt, even by King Henry VIII, who suppressed the monasteries after the saint’s death. The rapid about face against the Faith, with the ensuing destruction of England’s many monasteries, shows the moral strength and influence Thomas had exercised over the King. We are honoured and grateful to be taking up his great-great granddaughter’s work in establishing and continuing a prayerful presence in Staffordshire, and undertake the work with much eagerness.

Three of the order’s sisters attend Mass at a chapel in St Mary’s Abbey in Colwich; image courtesy Mother Abbess Cecilia.

CH: What would it mean to all of the Sisters to expand into, as you so rightly describe, Our Lady’s Dowry?

MA Cecilia: We are aware of the beautiful connections between England and the devotion to our Mother Mary; it being the home of the apparition of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and the tradition surrounding Glastonbury Abbey and Our Lady’s blood relation to Joseph of Arimathea. England belongs to Our Lady, as does this community, the members being entirely consecrated to her, collectively and individually. We are very grateful to be stepping into such a beautiful heritage, and by her prayers and intercession, being her instruments in assisting with the revitalisation of monastic life within her land.

CH: How many vocations are you getting from England and nearby areas?

MA Cecilia: We are at present in correspondence with five European vocation inquiries that have come in only recently. Three are from the British Isles and two from the continent. It is very nice to have immediate reference to the European foundation amongst the inquiries that come in, and we hope to offer them a home in their own continent to continue the praises of God. We hope that souls reading this will be inspired to assist us financially as they are able, but most importantly to keep this project in prayer, especially that we be faithful to the Lord in all He asks of us!

Catholic Herald: At what stage are the fundraising efforts and negotiations to acquire Colwich Abbey?

MA Cecilia: We are in the final stages of acquiring Colwich Abbey and of the terms being agreed upon. I am optimistic that the Sisters will be celebrating the Feast of the Assumption in their new home, if not of Saints Peter and Paul! The fundraising efforts are in their genesis. We have only recently printed a brochure describing the needs of the Sisters at this time [this is available upon request by emailing colwich@benedictinesofmary.org]. At present, the abbey in Gower is funding the upfront and initial needs of the new foundation, and we are working on the legalities of emigration and charitable status. We are also seeing to the foundation’s regular living expenses.

We are more or less starting at ground zero financially, as we have been so heavily involved in the gargantuan task of building a monastery from the ground up in southern Missouri, at a cost of $18 million. This has been a commitment going back almost three years, as our first foundation, which began five years ago, had no space for new vocations in their temporary dwelling. The economic situation in America caused the construction prices to skyrocket, resulting in a much heavier expense than was originally estimated. So we are looking toward the English people to assist us with the comparatively smaller expense of the purchase of Colwich Abbey. 

Scene from a visit by the Sisters to St Mary’s Abbey in Colwich; image courtesy Mother Abbess Cecilia.

There is firstly, the £2.5 million owed to Stanbrook Abbey, but there will certainly be additional repairs needed beyond that. We will have a better sense of just how much work will need to be done after a thorough inspection is completed before the finalisation of the purchase. However, we are grateful that the abbey is usable and in such a condition as will allow the Sisters to move in. For the most part, the building is quite sound, and the Sisters hope to occupy it by August.

What is a little more concerning are the outbuildings that are in need of attention, especially a walkway linking two of the main buildings. We will also be looking for furnishings, as most of them were sold in an auction a few years ago. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone who purchased something brought it back as a housewarming gift to the nuns!

We also will want to reinstall a high altar, tasteful in design, and also to create more room for visitors to attend the Mass and Divine Office, as we do at the abbey here in Gower. Granted, we draw some disproportionate crowds due to our incorruptible foundress, but even before the discovery, we had quite a few visitors to the abbey, and are very happy to welcome them in a true spirit of Benedictine hospitality.

RELATED: A new Mount Carmel in Oxfordshire: the young friars following St. Teresa of Ávila

Photo: The Sisters of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles. (Screenshot from www.benedictinesofmary.org.)

If you wish to help support the Benedictines of Mary move to St Mary’s Abbey in Colwich, click HERE.

You may also help them out by listening to or downloading their stunning Gregorian chant and choral music on Spotify or Apple Music.