Pope Leo: “The university must not turn its back on the world of work, businesses must not consider the employee as a mere factor in the equation of their own interests, art must not have the elites as its sole purpose, sports must not be reduced to mere business.”

Yes, he really said that. Yesterday Vice President JD Vance criticized Pope Leo XIV for not knowing enough theology: "I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology ... If you’re going to opine on matters of theology, you’ve got to be careful, you’ve got to make sure it’s anchored in the truth," he said, at a Turning Point conference. One of the many, many, ironies about that statement is that it came in response to Pope Leo's comments about war and peace and, specifically, the concept of "just war," which originated with St. Augustine. As many have already noted, when the Vice President was making his comments, Pope Leo XIV, a member of the Augustinian Order, and twice Prior General of the Augustinians before his election as Pope, was visiting the hometown of St. Augustine, then called "Hippo," now in Annaba, a town in modern-day Algeria. For good measure, Pope Leo XIV, the man critiqued for insufficient theological education, earned not only a master's degree in divinity, but also licentiate and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. JD Vance's recent conversion to Catholicism is beside the point, because many converts are of course not only highly intelligent (and learned in theology) but faithful and energetic Catholics. We rejoice over everyone entering the church. What most of us do not rejoice over, however, is a deadly combination of inaccuracy and hubris. Pace, Vice President Vance, but the current war in Iran is not a just war under Catholic doctrine. You can hear that from church leaders from across the theological spectrum, from Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the head of the military vicariate and former head of the @USCCB, to Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington who holds doctorates in both theology and political science. You can look all that up online. Suffice to say, the Vice President doesn't seem to understand the tenets of just war. Nor does he seem to understand the fundamental position of the church, which is for peace. "War is always a defeat for humanity," as St. John Paul II said. If that authority isn't enough, then turn to Jesus who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers," not "Blessed are the warmongers." And after the Resurrection, the Risen Christ says to the frightened disciples not "Vengeance is mine" but "Peace be with you." Incidentally, the day before, the Vice President said that the Pope (and the Vatican) should stick to teaching about morality, also seeming to forget that war and peace are profoundly moral issues. For his part, Pope Leo was focused yesterday on his spiritual father, St. Augustine. After what seemed like an emotional visit to Hippo, he celebrated Mass at the Basilica of St. Augustine in Annaba. During his homily he said, "The primary task of pastors as ministers of the Gospel is therefore to bear witness to God before the world with one heart and one soul, not permitting our concerns to lead us astray through fear, nor trends to undermine us through compromise." Amen. Let's all continue to pray for the Holy Father as he works for peace. (Image: Pope Leo XIV prays at the archeological ruins of Hippo, home of St. Augustine, in current-day Algeria. CNS photo).

Nigel Farage has: - Voted against stronger worker's rights. - Threatened to cut the minimum wage. - And now attacks work/life balance. This steelworker asks: what does Farage have against workers?

For those who haven’t received their voting email, check in junk mail (and we have heard ‘unused folders!’) See the spelling mistake (footbal) - It’s no wonder so many have gone ‘missing’ Thanks to those who have voted so far, to whoever your choices were. Peter @ChelseaFC

Catholic organisations welcome Archbishop-elect Richard Moth indcatholicnews.com/news/539… via @icn_uk

Do you play the 'all fines go into free parking' rule in Monopoly. If so that's inflationary, puts too much money in circulation and will massively extend how long the game takes. If you want quicker games avoid this.

How I accidentally stumbled upon one of the Catholic Church's darkest secrets The collapse of a Spanish bank in 2017 opened a window into a hidden world garethgore.substack.com/p/ho…

Full time.

Baber had been a war hero. An RAF pilot he bailed out over Belgium in 1941. He became a PoW & escaped. On his return to U.K. he wrote a play about his experiences which ran in the west end. Several books followed. His star was in the ascendancy. However at some point he learned that the Belgian family that took him in when he was on the run were slaughtered by the Germans & Baber found this hard to bear. He took to drink & died prematurely in 1963 at 43 years old.

Stumbled on an author called Douglas Baber. He wrote a book called “My Death is a Mockery” in 1952 about the murder of a policeman. It was made into a film & Chris Craig went to see it shortly b4 he shot & killed a policeman himself. His pal Derek Bentley was hung for the murder as he was an accomplice & over 18. Baber received heat from the public over this.

Here in our Nairobi office for the week meeting a range of users and stakeholders - before I came somone asked me ‘why are you in Kenya’ Kenya’s been on quite a ride the past 10 years. On average, its economy grew at around 5%–6% per year, with GDP hitting about 5.6% in 2023, up from 4.9% in 2022. 
Meanwhile, GDP per capita has gone up a lot — from about US$ 1,430 in 2014 to roughly US$ 2,240 by 2022, or even around US$ 2,206 in 2024. Looking ahead, Kenya’s expected to keep growing at around 5% a year in the next few years if things stay steady. It’s also one of the birth places of mobile money, has a burgeoning civic society, great food - and half my cousins grew up here So it’s really a no brainer - would advise more people to check it out

RT @EmilyThornberry: Islington's requirement that 50% of any new housing development be for local people has delivered thousands of afforda…

#NostraAetate takes a firm stand against all forms of antisemitism. Thus, in its following chapter, Nostra Aetate teaches that we cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly or sisterly way any man or woman created in the image of God. Indeed, the Church rejects all forms of discrimination or harassment because of race, color, condition of life or religion. vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/e…

Here’s the actual level of tax on a median worker

London murders have fallen to 89 in the last 12 months. The lowest rate on record.

This attack is not who we are in Islington and Finsbury. And it never will be. #migrantswelcome

If only Angela Rayner had followed the Telegraph’s advice. Then they might not call her a hypocrite.

Jeremy Hunt dodged £100,000 in stamp duty after somehow forgetting that he owned seven flats, which is not something that would slip the memory of most of us. He didn't resign.

GAME POSTPONED: Prior to kick off the referee has deemed the pitch at Spelthorne Sports unsafe to play due to large amounts of goose droppings on the pitch. 🦁 | #LionsTogether

Almost all countries in Western Europe have higher rates of top ban income tax than Britain: