Rapper Nicki Minaj brings thousands of supporters to SAVE America Act; Rubio gives blockbuster speech at Munich Security Conference; Rubert Lowe’s Restore Britain’s political party gaining momentum; Young French Catholic pummeled to death by far-left activists in France; Notre Dame doubles down on appointment of pro-abortion professor; Catholic organization offers antidote for loneliness among singles aged 18-118; Pope Leo advises to ‘abstain from words that hurt our neighbors during Lent; Catholics celebrate the slave St. Paul converted in prison and later helped free; and more —
Sen. Mike Lee: End ‘Zombie Filibuster,’ Pass SAVE America Act
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is intensifying pressure on Senate colleagues to advance the SAVE America Act, a Republican-backed election integrity bill that would mandate proof of citizenship to register and a photo ID to vote in federal elections.
The bill passed the House on a party-line vote and faces a difficult path in the Senate, where Democrats can block it under existing filibuster rules requiring 60 votes to end debate.
“The longer we wait, the harder it’ll get to pass the SAVE America Act,” Lee wrote Sunday night on X. “Senate Republicans should rip off the Zombie Filibuster next week.”
Read more at NEWSMAX
Nicki Minaj fans supporting SAVE America Act
Watch @EricLDaugh; watch also ‘You Won’t BELIEVE the MASSIVE SURGE in Registered Republicans!!!’ at Dr. Steve Turley
Today is Presidents’ Day
See @JMichael_Smith
Michael Knowles Top 10 Presidents
Watch at Michael Knowles
Marco Rubio Urges Europe to Save Itself with a High-Tech, Low-Migration Strategy
“We want allies who are proud of their culture … and able to defend it,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a meeting of European politicians, generals, media, and influencers in Germany on Valentine’s Day.
Rubio’s eloquent speech got a standing ovation from the Europeans because it was a strong, diplomatic rebuke of the reckless European left-wing parties that dominate European politics. The left-wing parties hate the European citizen-led nations and are deliberately dissolving them in an acidic sea of resentful migrants, civic chaos, welfare spending, and low-tech poverty.
Rubio urged Europe’s elites to adopt a low-migration, high-tech policy that protects citizens’ valuable culture, promotes productivity and innovation, and expands wealth-creating trade with developing countries in Asia and Africa.
Read more at Breitbart
Clip from Sec. Rubio’s speech
Watch @UnderSecE; watch Rubio’s full speech at @StateDept
American bishop lauds ‘common culture’ theme in Sec Rubio’s speech
Read @BishopBarron
Megyn Kelly roasts Gretchen Whitmer’s and AOC’s comments at the Munich Security Conference
Watch @megynkelly
The Launch of Restore Britain Political Party: Rupert Lowe
Watch at Restore Britain; watch also commentary at Benny Johnson
Advance UK party merges with Restore Britain
Watch @MarioNawfal; watch also @RubertLowe10
Young French traditional Catholic activist murdered during clashes in Lyon
A young Catholic man has allegedly been murdered after sustaining catastrophic head injuries at the hands of far-left activists in Lyon on February 12. The Catholic, named in reports as Quentin, had been a member of an informal security group defending protests outside a political conference near the Sciences Po university. He was administered last rites by a priest before his death.
According to multiple French media reports, the incident occurred during tensions surrounding an appearance by the European Parliament member Rima Hassan. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into aggravated violence resulting in death following a confrontation between activists linked to the group Collectif Némésis and “anti-fascist” militants.
The group Quentin was defending was named Collectif Némésis, a right-wing association advocating for the protection of women. Witnesses have alleged that members of the anti-fascist group Jeune Garde, founded by Raphaël Arnault, were responsible. These claims have been circulated online by commentators including Eva Vlaardingerbroek and the account Visegrád 24.
Read more at The Catholic Herald
European patriots weigh in on murdered young Catholic in France: ‘For Quentin, For Europe’
Watch @EvaVlaar
Prayers offered for the soul of Catholic youth killed by far-left activists in France
“Our Holy Mother, receive your child Quentin, savagely murdered.” Faithful are burning candles for Quentin in front of the statue of Mary at the Saint-Georges church in Lyon.
Watch @BVoltaire
South Bend Notre Dame doubles down on appointment of pro-abortion professor
See @father_rmv
ICE must allow Communion, distribution of ashes at Illinois detention center, judge says
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois, must accommodate Catholic clergy who wish to provide detainees with ashes and Communion on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, according to a federal court ruling.
Judge Robert W. Gettleman issued the Feb. 12 order in favor of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), a nonprofit that helps facilitate Catholic services at ICE facilities among other initiatives. Its mission is rooted in liberation theology and focused on economic, environmental, racial, and social justice.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which operates ICE, denied repeated requests to administer the sacraments at the Broadview facility, including when clergy sought to bring Communion and pastoral care to immigration detainees on Christmas.
Read more at EWTN News
The Lent & Love Singles Summit – Antidote to loneliness for Catholic singles aged 18-118
The Lent & Love Singles Summit, taking place next weekend [Feb 20–22] serves as the “exit strategy” from this digital isolation. This inclusive event is designed for all Catholic singles aged 18 to 118—whether they are never married, widowed, divorced, or have received an annulment. …
The 365 Catholic Singles Community [the sponsor of the event] is a mission-driven organization dedicated to ending the loneliness epidemic in the Church. As the premier resource for single Catholics worldwide, the community provides a “home” for those seeking deeper faith, community, and vocational clarity. …
[According to the sponsors] [f]or many singles, the struggle is rooted in a modern epidemic of digital dating app fatigue. “I spent nearly twelve years telling myself I was ‘discerning,’ but I was actually just exhausted from swiping on souls as if they were just pixels on a screen,” says Maria., a member of the 365 Catholic Singles community. “It’s easy to hide behind ‘waiting on God’ because it feels safer than the vulnerability of a real relationship. I realized that my ‘holy patience’ was actually just fear of moving forward. I needed a community to help me see the human heart again, rather than feeling like a disposable profile waiting to be judged in a split second.”
Read more at Catholic News World; see also the Catholic Singles Newsletter
Pope Leo invites Catholics to ‘disarm’ language and build kindness, respect for Lent
The Vatican released Pope Leo XIV’s message for Lent, which begins Feb. 18 on Ash Wednesday.
Titled, “Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion,” the papal message asked Catholics to come together as a community to listen to the word of God and to the vulnerable.
The pope also invited the faithful to engage in a “very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor.”
Instead, he asked, “let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.”
Read more at USCCB
St. Pope Leo the Great in 455 AD on the purpose of Lent
Read @JoshuaTCharles
The Lenten origin of the pretzel
See @trad_west_
Today is the Feast Day of St. Onesimus
See @FriarMario; read more at Zeale
