An empty parsonage, an unanswered prayer

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‘A beloved 54-year-old Massachusetts priest is said to have died by suicide after being forced to return to his home country of Nigeria’. {Irish Star 20 July}

https://www.irishstar.com/news/boston-news/massachusetts-devastated-after-priest-dies-37451659

Jesus was nowhere to be found for this servant of the Lord. FTA:

Under U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulations, Madu had to leave the country to renew his religious worker visa, known as an R-1 visa, according to church officials. While the department recently eliminated the requirement for R-1 recipients to wait a full year before applying for a renewal, options for the church to keep Madu legally in the U.S. were limited because the federal government has suspended processing of certain immigration cases for 75 countries, including Nigeria.

According to the US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition, Madu suffered from intense emotional distress regarding his anticipated return to Nigeria, where there has been a rise in the kidnappings and killings of Catholic clergy.

Shortly before he passed away, he told parishioners and stated in a farewell message on the parish website that leaving the country was completely out of his hands. He wrote, "Sincerely, it is not my wish to return home right now, but circumstances beyond my control have warranted that my time in the United States come to an end. My heart is broken, yet my joy remains," he wrote, adding that he'd gladly return to minister and will miss the community.

The Boston Globe reported that Madu received emergency room treatment at a hospital after experiencing a panic attack on the Sunday prior to his death, which occurred as he was driving to celebrate Mass.

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🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Sister Patricia Jane, beneath the fallen seal.

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FBI fires analysts behind 2023 memo warning of violent Catholic extremism in Patel-led purge. {AP 6 June}

https://apnews.com/article/fbi-kash-patel-firings-e9793d06e6310bfcd848b55bf8c47cc6

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🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

A few words for the leader of the Roman Catholic church regarding the prelate’s meetings with Israelis and their opponents

Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square. Photo: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

AP: Pope meets relatives of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza and sets off firestorm over words - Señor Bergoglio, and all those who have need to hearken so: This war shall cease only upon the complete obliteration and dismantling of Hamas. Israel engages in battle for its very survival, it has the right to exist. As for the denizens of Gaza - much akin to adherents of #Cult45 in the 'red' states, only on a greater scale - suffer under the oppression wrought by their own kin. Cease this equivocation, bothsidesism, for it hath only contributed to the proliferation of the antisemitic rhetoric that is reaching an intolerable extent. 

I do perceive Islamists and their accomplices, as well as all who form #Cult45 in #Murica, as greatly resembling each other. The Arab Muslims dwelling in Gaza and the West Bank endure hardship for the reason that many amongst them were long since indoctrinated to accuse Jews, Christians, and anyone but their actual oppressors for their wretchedness. Especially in rural domains, the diverse factions constituting the Trump alliance suffer due to their consistent voting against their own welfare. I harbor little compassion for those who lend their support to the Fascist Trump and the traitorous modern GOP, nor do I possess much pity for most 'Palestinians.' Ye have all brought these miseries upon thyselves, and, alas, upon the rest of us as well.

Pray for peace as thou wilt, Pope Francis, but relative tranquility shall only arise through the utter destruction of the agents of death - chiefly Hamas, and all the other bands of Jihadi terrorists that ply their trade in the region. Peace for Israel shall emerge from the crucible of conflict, and none have the authority to pass judgment upon Israel for it. Across centuries, Jews have waged battles for their very survival in every corner of the globe they've dwelt. The Holocaust ought to stand as the ultimate admonition, yet multitudes in this world yearn to reenact its horrors, and their unholy numbers swell. There exists no moral equivalence; Israel must prevail, whatever the cost!

Copyright 2023, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST and THREADS.

Reflections on President Biden's trip to Ireland

Photo: By Milesoneill - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27775026

(Written on Friday, April 14) President Biden is in Ballina, Ireland, where I have an ancestral connection myself. Visited there as a toddler (1981), but my memories of it are about non-existent. Watching the live coverage on Sky News, as I have no interest in how the garbage U.S. media is covering it (if they're even bothering.) While I can only claim partial Irish ancestry (around 20% at the very most), my maternal grandmother was an Irish immigrant to America of Scottish and English ancestry. Born in 1910 in Galway (relocating to County Mayo during the first of two or three marriages), she left a daughter behind in Ireland around the time WWII started and then spent the next decade or so living somewhere in England (possibly Manchester.) Whoever my maternal grandfather was, he was apparently from somewhere in Germany (only making me more Germanic and Anglo-Saxon in blood than my paternal line already made me) …

My mother was given up for adoption around the age of four, and was raised by an older Yankee Protestant couple, and I am thankful for that as that woman was a complete wreck of a person (she died in 1992, which was the second of two unfortunate occasions when ‘Auntie Margaret’ - the aforementioned daughter left behind in Ireland - came to these shores for two extended visits; the woman took over my bedroom, and did nothing but bitterly complain about her distaste for America, and being in a Protestant home the whole time) …

As stated above, my memories of Ballina from 42 years-ago are extremely hazy - apart from one incident that will go unspoken except only to say it left a scar for life. I only vaguely recall it being damp, dreary, and rather poor. We did take a cross-country trip to visit the Dublin Zoo, which I am certain was the best part of the trip. In spite of having visited Ireland, my heart and soul is far more connected to England and Germany than any other lands where I have heritage. Many people I grew up around here in the Boston area were purely Irish, and Irish-Catholic at that. By no means do I have as much of a claim to that land as most Irish-Americans have, my spirit, body, and mind are forever WASP. No matter, though, I am still proud to share an ancestral homeland with President Biden, and I am proud that he is honorably representing a not-so-honorable country as ours abroad. Hells, maybe the president and I are distant cousins, and maybe that is why I relate to him. - A.N.

Copyright 2023, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on TWITTER, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, and POST - @arthurnewhook.

What in the hell is wrong with this man? Pope Francis blames NATO, seeks meeting with Putin. Plus, a rant on extreme judicial overreach and legislating from the bench as a long-standing high court decision is set to be overturned

Andrew Medichini/AP

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Catholic Church’s chief prelate, declares NATO holds a degree of responsibility for Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine, says he wishes to travel to Moscow to meet with Putin - I am saying this as a lifelong Protestant, but a purported man of God would not be victim-blaming, and would boldly state that Putin is an agent of Satan who is never going to be reasoned with. Nor would ‘Francis’ be giving any hearing to Russia’s absurd claims of NATO aggression toward them if he were not given to this ‘both sides are at fault’ rhetoric we tend to hear from leftist peaceniks during any given global conflict. The world around us is colored in shades of gray, yet there is a clear villain and a clear protagonist in this fight. No, I would think a man of God would be able to more clearly recognize right from wrong, and would be unequivocally supporting the people of Ukraine instead of speaking of his desire to rub elbows with a genocidal madman. (Religion News Service 5/03)

Glen Garanich/Reuters

Ukrainian forces destroy fifteen Russian aircraft in one day - It is estimated that up to 25,000 Russian troops are dead. Perhaps we may never know the actual death toll, but we do know that the Ukrainian military is showing itself to be more than formidable. (Ukrinform 5/04)

National minority groups taking the brunt of Russian military losses in Ukraine - As opposed to ethnic Russians. While taking some losses, they are not often the ones on the front lines. Human life is meaningless to Putin, and his military is nothing more than his personal meat grinder. (UATV Video 5/02)

Jose Luis Magana/AP

Roe vs. Wade will be overturned, purported leaked Supreme Court draft suggests - I do not speak of my personal feelings about abortion, I will not do so under any circumstance, and I do not approve of others speaking about it publicly; pro or con. I will only say that I find the passionate activists on both sides of the issue to be insufferable. And all I know is, the Supreme Court has apparently just voted to put a match to a tinderbox. #Murica has been one mere inch away from a modern civil war breaking out, and this very well may be the last straw. A depraved, polyglot country spread over such a vast area of land is not built to last (that also means you, Mother Russia, especially you), and I am disgusted to have to be a citizen among such unserious people. There are a million more pressing issues we face, but we’re going to kill each other over what ought to be a completely private matter. Mr. Putin is having a blast watching this s**tshow from afar. And, all you Republicans celebrating right now, know the Democratic Party is licking its lips and rubbing its hands, now that they have a cause that is going to galvanize their base to come to the polls in November in epic numbers. And how is the GOP going to galvanize that portion of their base that votes for them only because of abortion, now that the Court has made its ruling and the days of back-alley butcherers are coming back? What was looking like a certain victory for the GOP may now be their undoing. Assuming, of course, elections are even held and the entire country hasn’t burned to the ground by November; cannot stress this enough, there is going to be widespread protests and violence in the coming days, weeks, and months. This is extreme judicial malpractice by the Supreme Court - these nine individuals know the people of this country are chomping at the bit to start slaughtering one another, they know we are still not completely out of the woods after two years of a deadly pandemic, and they know nuclear warfare is all too real a possibility at the moment thanks to the aforementioned Mr. Putin. They could have refused to hear this case, in the interest of trying to keep a fragile peace, but they chose to do so in spite of the danger. We know full well several of these Justices are not really judges at all, but political activists posing as such, put there by the respective parties to enforce their given political agendas. and they will go down as war criminals for overstepping their boundaries and wading (no pun intended) into issues that they should have no business taking up. No more lifetime appointments - one four-year term on the Court and then they are done. These black robes are drunk with power, and are entirely insulated from the consequences of their decisions. (Los Angeles Times 5/02)

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Ukrainian forces retake areas around Kyiv from Russian invaders, but horrific massacres of citizens in the village of Bucha are revealed, and Zelenskyy warns that retreating Russians may have booby-trapped dead bodies with explosives

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

Washington Post - Russian forces pull back from Kyiv, exposing horrors of war

Call the ‘special operation’ for exactly what it is: Deliberate and purposeful genocide of the Ukrainian people. The free world will not soon forget these atrocities, and Putin will be brought to justice. Dead or alive. The question is, will it be the Russian people who overthrow the tyrant? Or will it be NATO forces? Or will the brave, valiant, and superior Ukrainian forces eventually push deep into Russian territory to capture and kill the dictator themselves? Option three may seem a flight of fancy, but do not place any bets against the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for they are awesome. And they are out for Vlad’s blood. So of those three options, it is becoming clear that the best and most feasible one (coup in Moscow) is also the very least likely. Those Russians who are protesting and dissenting deserve praise and protection, but they are small in number. The majority of the Russian people are not only not going to lift a finger to stop Putin, but rather appear to be firmly standing by him. The Russian people, as a whole, are a lost cause and cannot be trusted. Rather like these grievance-filled losers making up the Vladimir Putin Fan Club in #Murica, but I digress: The future does not belong to dying empires, and the people in both will only grow colder at heart, more isolated, and poorer as the years go on. While nations like Ukraine rise and become vibrant and responsible bastions of freedom, opportunity, and security. Слава Україні

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Over half of Ukrainian children have been displaced by war, Biden lays down the law to Xi, Pope Francis essentially declares Ukrainians should not fight back against the invaders, and what are America’s Putin fans going to do when America is left with no choice but to declare war on Putin?

Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters

NPR: One month of war has displaced more than half of Ukrainian children. 

A quick google search reveals there are approximately 73 million kids under 18 in the United States. Just try to imagine between 35 and 40 million American kids being forced to trek into Canada (or Mexico) for any given reason. Almost impossible to imagine the horror. But when Americans see Latino children coming across our southern border (and being locked in cages), they either turn away or demand they be sent back. When they see Ukrainian children escaping Putin’s bombs, they either shrug their shoulders or declare ‘fake news.’ Even just ten years ago, this United States of ours was still a humane country overall - in spite of the many warts of history - and its people were by and large good. I do not feel or see that anymore, and it is simply evident that a spirit of darkness has taken hold in our land and around the world. Especially since this time two years ago, when the pandemic began. We are in a time very similar to the 1930s, and we all know what resulted from that. Millions upon millions dead, a genocide of historic proportions that nearly wiped out an entire race of people, nations destroyed and carved to pieces, 45 years of Communist terror in Eastern Europe, and the ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation. World War III may have already started, and when America’s hand is forced and troops must be sent into Eastern Europe, are all these Putin-saluting, ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ saying, tin-foil hat wearing, white supremacist, nationalist populist people going to rally behind their country and the free world? Or will they revolt, finally beginning the long-simmering civil war here at home and preventing the United States from fulfilling its obligations to NATO and to global order? I’m betting on the latter. I’v never been this disgusted with this country and all too many Americans. And if I’m nobody special - and I am not - then I at least see what is happening here and have not sacrificed my humanity.

Getty Images

(VIDEO) President Biden delivers a press conference in Brussels during an emergency NATO summit - He made it clear America is going to #StandWithUkraine, and that the impatient and hateful American public  will not dissuade him from doing the right thing, 2024 be damned. Nor will Russia’s good friend, Xi Jinping. Thank you, Mr. President, for standing with the free world even as our country’s people are turning their back on it. Слава Україні. (Washington Post 3/24) 

(VIDEO) An amazing, up-close look at the challenges - evading Russian fire - two Ukrainian volunteer medics are facing as they rush to save the lives of innocent civilians in Irpin (France24 3/23)

Pope Francis says more weaponry is not the solution for ending the war in Ukraine, refuses to specifically name Russia as the aggressor and culprit - How does ‘his holiness’ expect the Ukrainians are going to fight off the Russians? By praying for them? With roses and kind words? With sticks and stones (but those would, technically, be weapons, so can’t use them)? Anybody can express vague platitudes about the horrors of war. The Ukrainians didn’t start this war, but they damn sure are going to finish it, regardless of whether any peacenik or prelate approves. (Reuters 3/23)

‘An official from the US embassy in Moscow found US basketball player Brittney Griner to be "in good condition," after they were recently granted consular access to the American athlete who is being detained in Russia.’ - #FreeBrittney (CNN 3/23)

‘One of the senior Manhattan prosecutors who investigated Donald J. Trump believed that the former president was “guilty of numerous felony violations” and that it was “a grave failure of justice” not to hold him accountable, according to a copy of his resignation letter.’ - Not even in the slightest bit interested in anything Trump-related right now, but it remains fact that he is either stopped during this period of grace we are in, or we will become the new Russia. We’re already about 95% of the way there, and millions are chomping at the bit to start killing fellow citizens en masse. Hyperbole? No, this level of division we have in America is such that there is no stopping it from boiling over into mass violence and bloodshed. January 6 was our red flag warning, and most Americans either supported the insurrectionists, or just couldn’t be arsed to care. Putin is delighted that so many are making fools of our country. (New York Times 3/23)

‘Participants in the so-called "People's Convoy" have come down with symptoms resembling COVID-19 while taking part in a demonstration that started out as a protest against public health mandates aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus’ - Who would have thought it. (Salon 3/23)

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Windbag Catholic cleric finds out the truth the hard way, re: COVID

AP

If karma is a real thing, then here we have a surefire example of it. Cardinal Raymond Burke – former archbishop of St. Louis, now based in Rome – is on a ventilator after having spent the past year-and-a-half speaking out against masks, social distancing, and vaccine mandates. The Washington Post - 

Most days during the coronavirus pandemic, Cardinal Raymond L. Burke could be found strolling down the streets of Rome maskless and carrying rosary beads. The 73-year-old conservative cardinal was an early critic of social distancing and, later, an unabashed skeptic of the vaccine.

On Tuesday, Burke announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Now, the cardinal is in a hospital bed in his native Wisconsin, breathing with the help of a ventilator.

“Doctors are encouraged by his progress,” Burke’s press team tweeted Saturday night. "[His Eminence] faithfully prayed the Rosary for those suffering from the virus. … Let us now pray the Rosary for him.”

The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Sunday.

A former archbishop of St. Louis, Burke made a name for himself as an outspoken conservative figure in the mid-2000s. In 2004, he refused to give Communion to then-Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry because the Democrat was an abortion rights advocate. In 2007, Burke resigned from the board of a Catholic hospital in protest of its invitation for Sheryl Crow, who is also an advocate, to play at a benefit concert.

Two years later, he excoriated the University of Notre Dame for giving former president Barack Obama an honorary degree. In an interview, Burke said that Catholics who voted for Obama “collaborated with evil.”

During the global pandemic, Burke spoke out against vaccine mandates, claiming the practice “violates the integrity of its citizens.”

“While the State can provide reasonable regulations for the safeguarding of health, it is not the ultimate provider of health. God is,” he said during a May 2020 address.

Burke also repeated false information about vaccines, claiming that some believe there should be a “microchip … placed under the skin of every person, so that at any moment he or she can be controlled by the state regarding health and about other matters which we can only imagine.” (Read more)

Copyright 2021, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here.

Do Christians need to divorce themselves from politics?

I am a lousy example of a Christian, but a Christian all the same. Without question, politics have corrupted American Christianity. Most loudly and prominently on the right, and their having replaced Jesus with a sleazy New York City real estate developer as their savior. Then there are the churches flocking to the other extreme, and embracing the ‘woke’ agenda. Here in the Boston area, we don’t have very much in the way of the right-wing Christian activity that is so prevalent in much of this country. Well, the Catholic Church, of course, but they’re an entirely different breed than the evangelical Southerners and Midwesterners. And as heavily Catholic as this region is, most lay Catholics are not at all observant, aside from a special occasion, perhaps. There are plenty of Protestant churches, though, and seemingly all of them will have the rainbow flag displayed in front. The church I was born into - the Episcopalians – is exceedingly liberal today. Which is, in of itself, all fine and good; nobody is being forced to attend any of these places, after all, and the LGBTQ community should have a place to belong and practice their faith. But then, there doesn’t seem to be much emphasis on Jesus in these churches, either. In the years I was working the 12-step circuit, I regularly was in a lot of these places, and got something of a feel for what’s going on there. It’s not your grandmother’s old-time religion, that’s for certain. But the bigger question I pose now to anyone reading this: Should the church withdraw from the political scene? Prior to the 1970s, we did not see too much in the way of church involvement in politics. This only really began to change with the rise of the Moral Majority around the time of Reagan’s election. Have things really improved as a result of Christians becoming political creatures? Or just the opposite? Post-Trump, it would very much appear to be the latter, but I digress ... 

Copyright 2021, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here.