Extra, extra! News and views for Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Problematic Liberties and Competing Liberalisms – “At the founding of our nation, the definition of individual liberty seemed Christian, when in fact it wasn’t—at least not entirely.” A Clash of Liberalisms (What We Need Now)

Normalcy Bias Against Jews – “If you had ever wondered how you would have behaved as the Nazis began persecuting Jews after they came to power in 1934, now is your chance to find out.” British Jews: The Canary in Europe’s Coal Mine (European Conservative)

Trojan Horse Migration – “New Yorkers recently encountered what Londoners and residents of other cities in the British Isles have been enduring. On Sept. 25, a large group of Muslims combined religious fervor with political protest by praying in front of Trump Tower.” Rome Caters to Mecca: When appeasement becomes continental suicide. (FrontPage Magazine)

Betraying the Pro-Life Community – “Trump administration officials say their hands were tied over the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to greenlight a generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone.” Trump’s abortion pill approval shatters his and Vance’s pro-life facade (Washington Examiner)

Capital Punishment Discussion – “In any fruitful discussion of this topic, it must constantly be kept in mind that there are two questions that need to be clearly distinguished.  First, is the death penalty intrinsically wrong?” Fastiggi and Sonna on Catholicism and capital punishment (Edward Feser – Blogspot)

Interdisciplinary Catholic Conference – “Catholic academics are set to come together Oct. 24-25 in Steubenville, Ohio, to better understand the role the faith plays in their intellectual vocations at the 33rd annual National Conference of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists.” National conference for Catholic social scientists to cultivate relationship of faith, reason (Franciscan)

Historic Agreement – “President Donald Trump traveled to Egypt Oct. 13 and officially signed the U.S.-backed peace agreement to end the war in Gaza, calling the event “the dawn of a new era” for the Middle East.” ‘Peace in the Middle East’: Trump celebrates Gaza peace deal (CatholicVote)

Surprisingly Old American Tradition – “While numerous Roman Catholics have served in very high positions in the government, most famously Presidents John F. Kennedy and Joseph Biden, it has been relatively rare for adult converts to the Catholic Church to be among them.” Catholic conversions in presidential families (The Pillar)

The Chosen‘s Invented Storylines – “While the series on the life of Jesus has plenty of inspiring content, some of the details are theologically problematic.” ‘The Chosen’ may be inspiring—but its theology isn’t inspired (U.S. Catholic)

(*The posting of any particular news item or essay is not an endorsement of the content and perspective of said news item or essay.)