Chicago’s mayor says he won’t be intimidated by DOJ investigation

Chicago’s mayor says he won’t be intimidated by DOJ investigation

Mayor Brandon Johnson isn’t backing down in the face of the Trump administration’s probe related to his hiring of Black employees.

May 20, 2025, 2:23 PM PDT

By Ja'han Jones

The city of Chicago, a long-standing target for dog-whistling conservatives, is facing a federal investigation related to the city’s hiring of Black employees.

On Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed not to be intimidated by the Trump administration after it announced a civil rights probe into his recent comments at a Black church, where he touted his record of diverse hiring — including his hiring of Black employees in comparison with the largely white administrations that preceded him — and praised these workers’ ability to look out for people of all races despite Black people historically facing systemic roadblocks to their success.

Having listened to Johnson’s comments in full, I found it absurd that conservatives have sought to portray the remarks as though they were about giving Black people preferential treatment.

The Justice Department’s investigation, which Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon is calling a look into whether Chicago is “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race,” is just the latest sign that Dhillon — a pro-MAGA lawyer — has perverted the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and transformed it into a weapon that the Trump administration can use for its bigoted culture wars. The administration has sought to outlaw diversity efforts by public and private entities, an apparent extension of Trump’s open vow to address what he called “a definite anti-white feeling” in the United States.

You know, as my administration reflects the country, it reflects the city, his administration reflects the country club.

CHICAGO MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON

On Tuesday, Johnson forcefully rebuked the administration, saying of Trump: “You would be hard-pressed to find qualified individuals who are in his administration. You know, as my administration reflects the country, it reflects the city, his administration reflects the country club.” According to data Johnson’s office provided to CBS News, 34% of his 105 employees are Black, 30% are white, 23% are Hispanic, 7% are Asian and 5% are two or more ethnicities.

“I’m giving people some confidence that I’m not going to ignore any particular group, especially groups that have been marginalized,” Johnson said, adding: “I’m not going to be intimidated or allow the failures of the past to dictate how we move forward.”

This isn’t the first instance of the Trump administration targeting Chicago: In April, the administration threatened to withhold educational funding from the Chicago school system over its Black Student Success Plan, which was designed to improve opportunity gaps that discriminatory practices have created for Black students.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-doj-investigation-black-employees-rcna208055

Chicago Hope is an American medical drama television series created by David E. Kelley,[1] that originally aired for six seasons on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000, with a total of 141 episodes. The series is set in a fictional private charitable hospital in Chicago, Illinois.[2]

Overview

The show starred Mandy Patinkin as Dr. Jeffrey Geiger, a hot-shot surgeon with emotional issues stemming from the psychiatric condition of his wife (played by Kim Greist), who drowned their infant son. Adam Arkin plays Dr. Aaron Shutt, a world-renowned neurosurgeon and Geiger's best friend. Thomas Gibson played Dr. Daniel Nyland, a promiscuous ER doctor and trauma surgeon who was later suspended due to his having an affair with a patient's family member and later was injured in a car crash. Dr. Keith Wilkes played by Rocky Carroll, often clashed with Nyland and was known for his back-to-basics and rough demeanor. He was good friends with Peter Berg's character, Dr. Billy Kronk. Kronk was known for his cowboyish demeanor and known to be very cocky, as showed in an episode where he cuts off a man's injured leg with a chainsaw in a scene where Kronk helps out at an accident site. Peter MacNicol, Alan Rosenberg, and Héctor Elizondo feature as the hospital's in-house attorneys and chief of staff, respectively. Christine Lahti joined in the second season as Dr. Kate Austin, a talented heart surgeon with a chip on her shoulder, vying with Geiger for the chief of surgery position. She was known fighting in a custody battle with her malicious ex-husband and businessman, Tommy Wilmette, played by Ron Silver. Mr. Wilmette did everything he could to get Austin to lose custody of their daughter. He purchased the hospital at the end of Season 2. Dr. Austin is suspended because she and her daughter go AWOL on a trip to New Zealand. Mr. Wilmette was upset because it took him three months to find his ex-wife and daughter. In Season 3, the doctors want Mr. Wilmette to sell the hospital and the doctors would run it. The doctors viewed that Wilmette did not know how to run a hospital and cut too many costs that involved patient care. Mr. Wilmette later met with Senator Kennedy at the White House to talk about Healthcare Reform. In Season 2, Geiger resigns from Chicago Hope after trying to save Alan Birch from a deadly gunshot wound to his heart.

Geiger adopted Birch's baby daughter. Geiger later rejoins the doctors at the end of Season 5 when he becomes Chairman of the Board and fires half of the doctors. In Season 4, Dr. Shutt became a psychiatrist and temporarily loses his ability to operate after suffering from a brain aneurysm. In Season 6, Shutt returns to Neurosurgery and works alongside Carla Gugino's character, Dr. Gina Simon.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Hope

Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio;[b] 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century papacy of the Syrian pope Gregory III.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked for a time as a bouncer and a janitor before training to become a chemist and working as a technician in a food science laboratory. After recovering from a severe case of pneumonia and cysts, he was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969; from 1973 to 1979, he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina; the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him to be a political rival.

Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi. Throughout his public life, Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor and commitment to interreligious dialogue. He is known for having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors by, for instance, choosing to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guest house rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes.[2]

Francis has made women full members of dicasteries in the Roman Curia.[3][4] He maintains that the Catholic Church should be more sympathetic toward members of the LGBT community and has stated that while blessings of same-sex unions are not permitted, the individuals can be blessed as long as blessings are not given in a liturgical context.[5] Francis is a critic of unbridled capitalism, consumerism, and overdevelopment;[6] he has made action on climate change a leading focus of his papacy.[7] He is widely interpreted as denouncing the death penalty as intrinsically evil[8] and has termed it "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person" and "inadmissible", stating additionally that the Catholic Church is committed to its abolition.[9] There can be "no going back from this position", he observed.[10]

In international diplomacy, Francis has criticized the rise of right-wing populism, called for the decriminalization of homosexuality (though still considering same-sex acts as sinful),[11] helped to restore full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, negotiated a deal with China to define how much influence the Communist Party has in appointing Chinese bishops, and has supported the cause of refugees during the European and Central American migrant crises. He has called on the Western world to increase immigration levels significantly.[12][13] In 2022, he apologized for the Church's role in the "cultural genocide" of the Canadian indigenous peoples.[14] On 4 October 2023, Francis convened the beginnings of the Synod on Synodality which was described as the culmination of his papacy and the most important event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.[4][15][16] Pope Francis is the first pope to publish a memoir, Hope, which was released on 14 January 2025.[17]

Francis died at the age of 88 in the early morning of 21 April 2025, Easter Monday. He made his last public appearance the day before, on Easter Sunday.[13][14]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis

Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time is a work of history written by former Georgetown University professor and historian Carroll Quigley. The book covers the period of roughly 1880 to 1963 and is multidisciplinary in nature though perhaps focusing on the economic problems brought about by the First World War and the impact these had on subsequent events. While global in scope, the book focuses on Western civilization.

The book has attracted the attention of those interested in geopolitics due to Quigley's assertion that a secret society initially led by Cecil Rhodes, Alfred Milner and others had considerable influence over British and American foreign policy in the first half of the twentieth century. From 1909 to 1913, Milner organized the outer ring of this society as the semi-secret Round Table groups.[1]

The book is written based on archived files from the Council on Foreign Relations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_and_Hope

The President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site is located in HOPE, Arkansas.[2] Built in 1917 by Dr. H. S. Garrett, in this house the 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton, spent the first four years of his life, having been born on August 19, 1946, at Julia Chester Hospital in HOPE, Arkansas.[3][4] The house was owned by Clinton's maternal grandparents, Edith Grisham and James Eldridge Cassidy, and they cared for him when his mother, Virginia, was away working as an anesthetist in New Orleans.[5]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_William_Jefferson_Clinton_Birthplace_Home_National_Historic_Site

It was while investigating the Little Rock integration incident in 1957 that I first learned of Pike’s rapid advance in Freemasonry, and knowing that Weishaupt, using Thomas Jefferson and Moses Holbrook, had infiltrated Illuminists into the Masonic Lodges of America, I decided I would find out if the fact that Pike’s mansion in Little Rock had thirteen rooms had any significance. “Thirteen’ figures prominently in Satanic, Luciferian and Cabalistic rituals, codes, and writings, etc. My investigations produced documentary evidence to show that, because of Pike’s exceptional mental ability, he came under the notice of professors in Harvard who were members of the Illuminati, who developed in his mind the ‘idea that a One World Government, a One World Religion and a One World financial and economic system was the ONLY solution to the world’s many and varied problems. I next discovered that his departure from Harvard was not due to lack of finances, or because of a misunderstanding with the faculty over tuition fees, but because of his ‘radical’ ideas and teachings. When he returned home determined that he would ‘fight’ his way to the top despite all opposition, he was in a suitable frame of mind to be recruited as a ‘Minerval’ or ‘apprentice’ into the lower degrees of the Illuminati."

Satan Prince of This World

by William Guy Carr

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hw94yTrcRzvZjNQOo8T5_w-jqL8v5IMu/view

Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, also known as Adams Field, is a joint civil-military airport on the east side of Little Rock, Arkansas. It is operated by the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission.

The largest commercial airport in Arkansas, it served more than 2.1 million passengers in the year spanning from March 2009 through to February 2010.[6] While Clinton National Airport does not have direct international passenger flights, more than 50 flights arrive or depart at Little Rock each day, with nonstop service to 14 cities.[7] The airport is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_National_Airport

In his first year (1965) in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, Bill Clinton took Quigley's course, receiving a 'B' as his final grade in both semesters (an excellent grade in a course where nearly half the students received D or lower).[1]: 94, 96 In 1991, Clinton named Quigley as an important influence on his aspirations and political philosophy, when Clinton launched his presidential campaign in a speech at Georgetown.[1]: 96 He said he learned from Quigley that “The future can be better than the past, and that each of us has a personal, moral responsibility to make it so.” Bill Clinton told his audiences, “that is what the new choice is all about....We are not here to save the Democratic party. We are here to save the United States of America.” It was Clinton's most effective speech, and he repeated variations time and time again as the blueprint for his campaign message in winning the Democratic nomination and the general election for President of the United States in 1992.[21][22]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Quigley

Theorists also cite the inclusion of Bill Clinton at the meetings in 1991 before he was president and Tony Blair’s presence in 1993 before he became the British prime minister as examples of the group’s power. Past attendees have included former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (who will also be attending this year), former Chase Manhattan chief executive David Rockefeller, and British Prime Minister David Cameron."

Bilderberg Group: What To Know About the Secretive Meetings

https://time.com/4362872/bilderberg-group-meetings-2016-conspiracy-theories/

Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner October 20, 2016 Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Henry Kissinger Gayle King Cardinal Dolan Katie Couric Chuck Schumer Mayor Bill de Blasio"

https://www.facebook.com/MariaBartiromo/posts/alfred-e-smith-memorial-foundation-dinner-october-20-2016-donald-trump-hillary-c/1353937201283479/

HOPE: all hope is to be placed in God, and with what degree of perfection [67]; eternal life alone is to be hoped for as a reward [82]; the extent to which this hope should be of assistance [288]; how hope should be shown by the dying | 595]; hope in the preservation and growth of the Society [812]. See also Faithfulness" 

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Teutonic Order, or Teutonic Knights of St. Mary’s Hospital at Jerusalem, grew out of the establishment of a field hospital during the siege of Acre in the winter of 1190-91, by pious merchants of Bremen and Lubeck. When these merchants returned to Germany in 1191 they turned over the hospital to the chaplain Conrad and the chamberlain Burkhard.

With the model of the Hospitallers or Knights of St. John the Baptist, later known as Knights of Malta, before them, these men together with other Germans, formed a brotherhood, adopted the rules of the Hospitallers, and named their hospital “The Hospital of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem” “in the hope and confidence that when the Holy City was reconquered they would there establish a house which should become the mother, head and mistress of the entire Order.” The new Order was confirmed by popes Clement III in 1191 and Celestine in 1196; it won as a patron the emperor, Henry VI, who bestowed upon it its first possessions in the West. In 1198 it was changed into a military Order by the adoption of the rules of the Knights Templars in addition to those of the Hospitallers. Unlike both of these older Orders, the Teutonic Knights were a strictly national organization, none but Germans of noble birth being admitted to it. “Like the knights of other orders, the Teutonic Knights lived a semimonastic life under the Augustinian rule, and in the same way they admitted priests and half-brothers (servientes) into their ranks. Like the other two orders, the Teutonic Order began as a charitable society, developed into a military club, and ended as something of a chartered company, exercising rights of sovereignty on the troubled confines of Christianity. Even in its last phase the Order did not forget its original purpose: it maintained several great hospitals in its new home on the southeast shore of the Baltic, in addition to an hotel des invalides at Marienburg for its sick or aged brethren.” F550 Under its fourth grand master, Hermann von Salza, 1210-39, the Order grew rapidly and made the most important advance in its history. After having aided the king of Hungary against the Comans, and receiving from the king the district of Burzenland in Transylvania, which it did not long retain, the Order was invited to assist in subduing the heathen Prussians. A Cistercian monk named Christian had succeeded in establishing the Church among the Prussians, and in 1212 was made bishop of Prussia. When the heathen arose and destroyed his churches, Christian called upon the Teutonic Knights for help and bestowed upon them Kulm, some of the frontier towns and such lands as they should conquer (1228). After driving the enemy out of Kulm and founding the cities of Kulm, Thorn and Marienwerder, the Order began the task of conquering and Christianizing Prussia. In 1235 it absorbed the Order of Dobrzin, which had been founded by bishop Christian, and in 1237 the Knights of the Sword of Livonia, founded by Albert, bishop of Riga, became a province of the Order.

Its successes in Prussia changed the character of the Teutonic Order. It lost all connection with the East, its grand master moved his seat from Acre, first to Venice in 1291, then in 1308 to Marienburg on the Vistula. The Order became a governing aristocracy, its statutes were altered to suit the new conditions. “The Order was at once supreme ecclesiastical and political authority .... The lay subjects of the Order consisted of two classes: on the one hand there were the conquered Prussians, in a position of serfdom, bound in time of war to serve the brethren in foreign expeditions; on the other hand there were the German immigrants, both urban and rural, along with the free Prussians, who had voluntarily submitted and remained faithful.” f551 By the middle of the fourteenth century the Teutonic Knights had become a world power. Their cities belonged to the Hanseatic League and shared in its power; Poland had been deprived of its outlet on the Baltic; the ships of the Order were a power on the sea; Marienburg with its brilliant court was not merely a school of chivalry, but for a time a literary center. Yet the downfall of the Order was close at hand. It alienated its subjects, who allied themselves with Poland; its missionary work was completed when the Lithuanians became Christians and also made common cause with Poland; the Slav reaction made the Germanizing efforts of the Knights still more unpopular. Internally the success of the Order brought with it a secularization which was disastrous. Poland regained a foothold on the Baltic. The Prussian League was formed in 1440 with the real purpose of opposing the Knights, and in 1454 offered Prussia to the Polish king. The peace of Thorn, 1466, left to the Order only East Prussia and made the knights vassals of Poland. But the German master and the Landmeister for Livonia would not serve Poland, and the Order in East Prussia adopted the policy of electing German princes as grand masters in the hope of again regaining independence, without success. The first of these German grand masters was Frederick of Saxony, 1498 to 1511. He was succeeded by Albert of Brandenburg. f552 Albert became involved in a devastating war with Poland, which was provisionally ended by a four years’ truce made in 1521. In September of that year Albert suggested the possibility of a revision of the statutes of the Order by Luther, probably in harmony with the plans outlined in the Open Letter to the German Nobility. So far as known Luther was not consulted at that time. Albert continued to take his place with the Roman Catholic princes. But when in April, 1522, he returned to Germany he came under the influence of Lazarus Spengler and Andreas Osiander and was won for the evangelical party. During the Diet at Nuremberg, 1522- 23, he protested that it was not the proper way to proceed against Luther, “if evident truth be condemned and books burned.”

Pope Hadrian VI urged upon Albert a reformation of the Order. In June, 1523, Albert secretly turned to Luther for advice concerning the reformation of the Order in head and members. On November 29th the two met at Wittenberg, and Luther advised Albert “to throw aside the foolish and absurd rules of the Order, to marry, and to convert the religious state into a secular state, either a principality or a duchy.” Melanchthon, who was present at the interview, gave the same advice. The grand master smiled and said nothing. But “with that evangelical protestant advice Luther laid the foundations for the development of the Prussian state, of the Prussian kingdom, and of the German empire which is inseparable from the development of the Prussian kingdom.” f554 Soon after this meeting Luther prepared the following treatise, intended, as Kawerau suggests, to be a “feeler, which should test the attitude of the knights of the Order as well as of the Prussian bishops, and prepare them for coming events.” The older collected editions of Luther’s works date the treatise March 28, 1523. But, as Kawerau points out, it is improbable that the treatise was written before the last month of 1523, and the date may be a mistake for December 12th. The original prints are undated; the editors may have confused the festivals of the Annunciation and of the Conception of the Virgin Mary, the latter of which may have been the date attached to the manuscript.

After the evangelical principles had been gradually introduced into Prussia by the two bishops, Georg von Polentz and Erhard von Queiss, the grand master returned to Prussia and carried out Luther’s suggestion. Peace was made with Poland, Prussia was converted into a duchy held as fief of the king of Poland and hereditary in the family of Albert. July 1, 1526, Albert was married to Dorothea, the daughter of the Danish king, and thus was founded the evangelical house of the Hohenzollern.

The progress of the Gospel in Prussia gave Luther much joy. In 1525 he wrote to the Bishop of Samland, Georg von Polentz: “Behold the wonder!

In rapid course, with full sails, the Gospel hastens to Prussia, whither it was not called, and where it was not sought after, while in Upper and Lower Germany, whither it came of its own accord, it is blasphemed, repelled and put to flight with all rage and madness.” f556 The Teutonic Order in its German and Livonian branches continued to exist, and laid claim to the rights of the Order in Prussia. It was finally suppressed in 1809, and its lands passed into the hands of the secular princes within whose territories they lay. But in 1840 the Order was resuscitated in Austria, and again engaged in hospital service, in which it is presumably active during the present war. But this Teutonic Order is not the same as that which became secularized at the time of the Reformation.

The Prussian branch passed into the Prussian kingdom, not into the restored Order. A Protestant branch exists in the ancient bailiwick of Utrecht, the members of which must profess the Calvinistic faith, and are dispensed from celibacy. See Catholic Encyclopedia, xiv, 542.

The subject of the monastic vows and of the marriage of monks had been discussed at great length before this treatise was written. For the development of that discussion we must refer here to the introduction to the Treatise on Monastic Vows, which was excluded from this volume because of its size. But the careful student will find that Luther has not merely repeated older arguments nor restated older positions. He has gone farther, his position is more advanced. In fact, upon the advance beyond the position taken in the Formula Missae Kawerau bases an argument for the later date of our treatise. “For the writing of this treatise immediately after the FormuIa Missae we find an argument in the remarkable agreement between the statements in the two concerning those who want to wait for decrees of a council and desire permission to be given them (to use the two kinds in the Lord’s Supper, or, in the later treatise, to marry) by such decrees. He who reads the analogous portions in the two treatises will easily recognize in the Exhortation to the Teutonic Knights the bold heightening of the thought to a paradox, and thus see in the Formula Missae the older form.” f558 The German text is found in Weimar Ed., xii, 232-244; Walch Ed., xix, 2157-76; Erlangen Ed., xxix 16-33; St. Louis Ed., xix, 1730-45; Berlin Ed., iv, 32-47. Literature : Introduction by KAWERAU in Weimar Ed., xii, 228-31; Prot. Realencyklopadie, 3d ed., Arts., Albrecht von Preussen, I, 310-23; Deutschorden, iv, 589-95; Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Arts., Albert, i, 497, and Teutonic Order, xxvi, 676-9. The literature is given fully in all these articles. Compare also Schaff, Church History, vi, 588-600, and Kostlin-Kawerau, Martin Luther, i, 620-623. W. A. LAMBERT. LEBANON,PA.

WORKS OF MARTIN LUTHER - TO THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER AN EXHORTATION THAT THEY LAY ASIDE FALSE CHASTITY AND TAKE UPON THEM THE TRUE CHASTITY OF WEDLOCK (godrules.net)

https://www.godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_c8.htm

The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as OH), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian they are also known commonly as the Fatebenefratelli, meaning "Do-Good Brothers", and elsewhere as the "Brothers of Mercy", the "Merciful Brothers" and the "John of God Brothers". The order carries out a wide range of health and social service activities in 389 centres and services in 46 countries.

Founder

St. John of God, the founder of the order, was born 8 March 1495 at Montemor-o-Novo in Portugal. Twice he enlisted in the Spanish army against the French and later the Turks.[1] After years of living a highly religious way of life in Spain resulting from a conversion experience, in 1535 he founded his first hospital at Granada, where he served the sick and afflicted. After ten years spent in the exercise of charity, he died 8 March 1550 of pneumonia after he had plunged into a river to save a young man from drowning.[2] He was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII in 1690 and was declared the patron saint of the dying and of all hospitals by Pope Leo XIII in 1898.[3]

History

John of God's first companion, Antón Martín, O.H., was chosen to succeed him as prior general of the order. Thanks to the generosity of King Philip II of Spain, a hospital was founded at Madrid, another at Córdoba and several others in various Spanish towns. Pope Pius V approved the Order of the Brothers Hospitallers in 1572 under the Rule of St. Augustine. The order spread rapidly into the other countries of Europe, and even into the distant colonies. For example, the Order provided staff to the Fortress of Louisbourg in New France (now Canada) during the mid 1700s; one of their roles was the operation of the hospital.[4]

In 1584, Pope Gregory XIII called some of the Brothers to Rome and gave them the Hospital of St. John Calybita, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, located on an island in the Tiber, which then became the motherhouse of the whole order. Brother Sebastiano Arias founded the Hospital of Our Lady at Naples and the famous Hospital of Milan. Another Brother Hospitaller at this time was John Grande, O.H., who was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1852.[3] The first general of Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God was Pedro Soriano.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Hospitallers_of_Saint_John_of_God

Augustinians and Cistercians | Church and Society in the Medieval West

One newly founded order broke with the rule of Benedict, finding its inspiration in a letter of Augustine is that prescribed simply that monks share all their property, pray together at regular intervals, dress alike, and obey a superior. Some of the “Augustinians,” as they called themselves, interpreted these general rules severely, living in silence, performing manual labor, eating and drinking sparingly, and singing psalms; others ate meat, conversed among themselves, and did not insist on manual labor.

https://bigsiteofhistory.com/augustinians-and-cistercians-church-and-society-in-the-medieval-west

Katharina von Bora (German: [kataˈʁiːnaː fɔn ˈboːʁaː]; 29 January 1499? – 20 December 1552), after her wedding Katharina Luther, also referred to as "die Lutherin" ('the Lutheress'),[1] was the wife of the German reformer Martin Luther and a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation. Although little is known about her, she is often considered to have been important to the Reformation, her marriage setting a precedent for Protestant family life and clerical marriage.[2]

Ancestry

Katharina von Bora was the daughter to a family of Saxon lesser nobility.[3][4][5] According to common belief, she was born on 29 January 1499 in Lippendorf, but there is no evidence of this in contemporary documents. Due to there being multiple branches in her family and the uncertainty of her birth name, there are diverging theories about her place of birth.[6] One of them proposes that she was born in Hirschfeld and that her parents were Hans von Bora zu Hirschfeld and his wife, born Anna von Haugwitz.[7][8] It is also possible that Katharina was the daughter of Jan von Bora auf Lippendorf and his wife Margarete, both of whom were only mentioned in 1505.[9]

Early life

A portrait of Martin Luther in 1526 by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Her father sent then five-year-old von Bora to a Benedictine convent in Brehna in 1504 to be educated, according to a letter Laurentius Zoch sent to Martin Luther in 1531.[10] At the age of nine, she was moved to Nimbschen Abbey, Cistercian community named Marienthron ('Mary's Throne') near Grimma, where her maternal aunt was a nun.[11] Von Bora's presence is in the financial accounts of 1509/10.[12]

Plaque on the ruins of Nimbschen Abbey, commemorating von Bora's time there and her escape.

After years of being a nun, von Bora became interested in the growing reform movement and grew dissatisfied with cloistered life. Conspiring with several other sisters, she contacted Luther and begged for his assistance.[13] On 4 April 1523, Holy Saturday, Luther sent Leonhard Köppe, a merchant and councillor of Torgau who regularly delivered herring to the convent. The nuns escaped by hiding in his covered wagon among the fish barrels, and fled to Wittenberg.[14]

Luther asked the family of the nuns to admit them into their houses, but they declined, possibly because this would have made them accomplices to a crime under canon law.[15]

Within two years, Luther was able to arrange marriages or find employment for all of the escaped nuns except von Bora. She was first housed with the family of Philipp Reichenbach, the municipal clerk of Wittenberg, then with Lucas Cranach the Elder and his wife, Barbara. Von Bora had a number of suitors, including Hieronymus Baumgartner from Nuremberg, and a pastor, Kaspar Glatz from Orlamünde, but none of the proposals resulted in marriage. She told Luther's friend and fellow reformer, Nicolaus von Amsdorf, that she would be willing to marry only Luther or von Amsdorf.[16]

Marriage to Luther

Three depictions of Katharina von Bora

Martin Luther, as well as many of his friends, was at first unsure of whether he should marry. Philip Melanchthon thought that this would hurt the Reformation by causing scandal. Luther eventually decided that his marriage would 'please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep'.[16] 26-year-old Von Bora and 41-year-old Luther married on 13 June 1525, before witnesses including Justus Jonas, Johannes Bugenhagen, and Barbara and Lucas Cranach.[17] A small wedding breakfast was held the next morning, and a more formal, public ceremony on 27 June, presided over by Bugenhagen.[18]

The couple took up residence in the former dormitory and educational institution of Augustinian friars studying in Wittenberg (known as the 'Black Monastery'), a wedding gift from John, Elector of Saxony, brother of Luther's protector Frederick III, Elector of Saxony.[19] Katharina immediately took on the task of managing the monastery's vast holdings. She bred and sold cattle and ran a brewery to provide for their family, the numerous students who boarded with them, and her husband's visitors. In times of epidemics, she operated a hospital with nurses, working alongside them. Luther called her the 'boss of Zulsdorf', after the farm they owned, and the 'morning star of Wittenberg' for her habit of rising at 4 a.m.[2]

Based on Luther's descriptions, his wife, whom he nicknamed 'Herr Käthe', exerted much control over his life. She might have even influenced his decisions to a degree; Luther said that his wife 'convince[d] [him] of whatever' she pleased', and explicitly afforded her 'complete control' over the household, as long as 'his rights' were 'preserved', since '[f]emale government has never done any good'.[20] She thus assisted her husband with running their estate and directed renovations when necessary.[21] Anecdotal evidence suggests that Katharina Luther played a wife's role as taught by her husband's movement: she depended on him financially (although she also increased their estate's profits), and respected him as a 'higher vessel', always calling him 'Herr Doktor'. He reciprocated by occasionally consulting her on church matters.[22]

Katharina bore six children: Hans (1526–1575), Elisabeth (1527–1528), Magdalena (1529–1542), Martin (1531–1565), Paul (1533–1593), and Margarete (1534–1570). She also suffered a miscarriage on 1 November 1539. The Luthers raised four orphaned children, including Katharina's nephew, Fabian.[23]

Significance of the marriage

The marriage of von Bora to Luther is very important in the history of Protestantism, specifically in regard to the development of its views on marriage and gender roles. While Luther was not the first cleric to marry because of Reformation ideas, he was one of the most prominent. As he argued publicly for clerical marriage and produced much anti-Catholic propaganda, his marriage became a natural target for his enemies.[24]

After Luther's death

von Bora in 1546

von Bora's gravestone engraving at Saint Mary's Church in Torgau, Germany

When Martin Luther died in 1546, Katharina was left in difficult financial straits without Luther's salary as professor and pastor, even though she owned land, properties, and the Black Cloister. She had been counselled by Martin Luther to move out of the old abbey and sell it after his death, and move into much more modest quarters with the children who remained at home, but she refused.[25] Luther had named her his sole heir in his last will. His will could not be executed, however, because it did not conform with Saxon law.[26]

Almost immediately after, Katharina had to leave the Black Cloister, now called Lutherhaus, by herself, at the outbreak of the Schmalkaldic War, fleeing to Magdeburg. After she returned, the approaching war forced another flight in 1547, this time to Braunschweig. In July 1547, at the close of the war, she was able to return to Wittenberg.[citation needed]

After the war, the buildings and lands of the monastery had been torn apart and laid waste. Cattle and other farm animals had been stolen or killed. If she had sold the land and the buildings, she could have had a good financial situation. Financially, they could not remain there. Katharina was able to support herself thanks to the generosity of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, and the princes of Anhalt.[27]

She remained in Wittenberg in poverty until 1552, when an outbreak of the Black Plague and a harvest failure forced her to leave the city once again. She fled to Torgau, where she was thrown from her cart into a watery ditch near the city gates. For three months, she went in and out of consciousness, before dying in Torgau on 20 December 1552, at the age of 53. She was buried at Torgau's Saint Mary's Church, far from her husband's grave in Wittenberg. She is reported to have said on her deathbed, 'I will stick to Christ as a burr to cloth.'[28]

By the time of Katharina's death, the surviving Luther children were adults. After Katharina's death, the Black Cloister was sold back to the university in 1564 by his heirs.[citation needed]

Margareta Luther, born in Wittenberg on 27 December 1534, married into a noble, wealthy Prussian family, to Georg von Kunheim (Wehlau, 1 July 1523 – Mühlhausen [now Gvardeyskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast], 18 October 1611, the son of Georg von Kunheim [1480–1543] and wife Margarethe, Truchsessin von Wetzhausen [1490–1527]) but died in Mühlhausen in 1570 at the age of thirty-six.[29]

Commemoration

Katharina von Bora is commemorated on 20 December in the Calendar of Saints of some Lutheran churches in the United States.[30] In 2022, she was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 20 December.[31]

In addition to a statue in Wittenberg and several biographies, an opera of her life now keeps her memory alive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_von_Bora

The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in the cave complex of Tora Bora, eastern Afghanistan, from November 30 – December 17, 2001, during the final stages of the United States invasion of Afghanistan. It was launched by the United States and its allies with the objective to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant organization al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden were suspected of being responsible for the September 11 attacks three months prior. Tora Bora (Pashto: تورا بورا; Black Cave) is located in the Spīn Ghar mountain range near the Khyber Pass. The U.S. stated that al-Qaeda had its headquarters there and that it was bin Laden's location at the time.

Background

In Operation Cyclone during the early 1980s, CIA officers had assisted the mujahideen fighters in extending and shoring up the caves to use for resistance during the Soviet–Afghan War.[8] The U.S. then supported their effort. Several years later, the Taliban formed and took control of most of the country, enforcing Islamic fundamentalist rule. Several cave areas were used in much earlier periods, as the difficult terrain formed a natural defensive position and had been used by tribal warriors fighting foreign invaders.

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom to dismantle the Taliban regime that had sheltered Osama bin Laden. To achieve this goal, the U.S. military joined forces with the Northern Alliance, a group of rebels who had long been waging a guerrilla war against the Taliban. Through a combination of air strikes and ground operations, the U.S. and its allies quickly gained the upper hand, seizing control of key Taliban strongholds and toppling the regime's grip on power. By November 13, 2001, the Northern Alliance had captured the capital city of Kabul.

The CIA was closely tracking Osama bin Laden's movements, hoping to locate and catch him. On November 10, 2001, he had been spotted near Jalalabad traveling in a convoy of 200 pick-up trucks heading in the direction of his training camp in Tora Bora mountain.[12] The U.S. had expected bin Laden to make a last stand at Tora Bora, hoping to repeat his success against the Soviets in the Battle of Jaji in 1987. Vice President Dick Cheney revealed in a November 29, 2001 television interview that bin Laden was believed to be in the general area of Tora Bora, surrounded by a sizable force of loyal fighters.[4] The CIA lead in the Panjshir, Gary Berntsen, sent a detachment to team up with Afghan tribal militias around Jalalabad who opposed the Taliban.[12] The Americans climbed the mountains guided by the locals who knew the terrain. After a few days of climbing, they arrived at the training camp in Tora Bora where hundreds of Al-Qaeda fighters could be spotted.[13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tora_Bora

The Cistercian Order

Main article: Cistercians

In 1075 Robert de Molesme, a Benedictine monk from Cluny Abbey, had obtained the permission of Pope Gregory VII to found a monastery at Molesme in Burgundy. At Molesme, Robert tried to restore monastery practice to the simple and severe character of the original Rule of Saint Benedict, called "Strict Observance". Being only partly successful in this at Molesme, Robert in 1098 led a band of 21 monks from their abbey at Molesme to establish a new monastery. The monks acquired a plot of marsh land just south of Dijon called Cîteaux (Latin: "Cistercium") and set about building a new monastery there which became Cîteaux Abbey, the mother Abbey of the newly founded Cistercian Order.[10]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluniac_Reforms

In a letter dated May 28, 1784 from Hanau, Prince Charles of Hesse wrote thus to

Willermoz, to whom he had just communicated the death of the famous Count of Saint-

Germain, unexpectedly in Feburary 28 th at his home in Gottorp:

“I asked him: Didyou know a certain Marshall of Bieberstain?

“Reply: Y es, verv well...

Where didyou see him?

“-At Varsovia.

Did he know something?

“-Relata refero... Doyou understand me, my child?

“— Yes, my dear Count, I see that that implies he had papers, and that this

instruction could be given by him to others?

" - Exactly that.

“ - The late Hund would not hâve wanted to lie to us, would he?

“ - No, he was a good man.

“I said to him out of the blue:

“— Who was the Marshall’ s predecessor?

“ The response was prompt, without a moment’ s reflection:

"— Baron Rod, from Kœnigsberg.

“Here, of ail the proofs of our lineage, was the only gift 9 10 that I hâve ever had.

But it might not be as convincing to others ; I thought I would amuse you by

communicating this anecdote. ”

Bord, who gave us this letter drawn from the ancient archives in his book

“ Freemasomy in France ”, also gives us the name of the real founder of the “ Templar

Strict Observance” , without doubt around 1620, according to our personal investigations.

In fact, G. Montchal, Honorary Grand Prior of Switzerland, quotes five important

dates in his work “The Independent Grand Priory of Switzerland, Scottish Rectified Rite”,

also reproduced a more ancient text, drawn from the archives of the Priory, and published

for the fîrst time in 1909, but not for public circulation:

1644 In the entourage of James II, gentlemen affiliated with the Order of Scottish Masters

constituted the Order of Scottish Masters of Saint Andrew, which they linked to the

chivalric Order of that name.

1688 H. -G. de Marschall, hereditary Marshal of Thuringe, founded the Scottish Rectified Rite,

Corning out of the Order of Scottish Masters of Saint Andrew.

1730 From this date, we find a Templar Chapter established at Unwurden (Haute-Lusace).

Some historians believe that it was there that the Strict Templar Observance was initiated.

1 741 In 1 741, in Hamburg, a Chapter of Scottish Masters of Saint Andrew was founded in the

Lodge “Judica”. This is a significant fact, since this establishment thus revealed the

existence of a Templar System.

1749 An important date, which marked the official introduction of the Templar Rite, both by

H. -G. de Marschall, hereditary Marshal of Thuringe, and by his friend, Barond von

Hund, in the Lodge of Kittlitz, near Lobau.

9 Bonne - PV.

10 “ Mais elle ne saurait l’être pour d’autresV’ . I’m sure I’ve mistranslated this but I can’t think what else it

might mean.- Pv.

10

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005

You will note that, geographically speaking, ail these towns are located in the

provinces where the Teutonic Order of olden times had previously flourished. Let us

continue to quote G. de Montchal:

1755 Convent of Dresden, known under the name o/Rectification of Dresden , from which was

created the Rectified Rite of that name, and through which the Templar System was

established in a Masonic Workshop which took the name of Grand Lodge.

1763 Convent of Altenberg, near Iena. There the régime was submitted to a drastic reform,

and ail the Alchemists, Kabbalists and other were chased out. Its administrative

organization, which was that of the old Order of the Temple, was knit even doser still. It

took the name o/’Strict Templar Observance.

How, in a Order which had shown itself so terribly steeped in the aristocratie

morgue (in the words of European Masons), had occultists managed to gain admission?

Montchal tells us that at the Convent of Kohlo in 1742, a fïrst purging had already

occurred. That is a piece of history of secret societies and chivalric Orders which ....

It is very probably by and with the support of the Princes of the House of Hesse-

Cassel...

We know, in fact, from sure historié sources, that William IV of Hesse-Cassel,

called “The Wise ”, was an enlightened sovereign, remarkable for his broad and extended

knowledge, above ail in the realm of occultism.

Born on June 14, 1533, died August 25, 1592, he was the author of Astrological

Tables, and published the resuit of his observations in this area. He possessed an

astronomical observatory where he worked for rnany years with his friends, Christ

Rothmann, the wise Mathematician, and Just Borge, who was the best Physician-Optician

of the âge. He was also the friend and constant protector of Tycho de Brahé.

Now, from the appearance of the heraldry of the House of Hesse-Cassel, we can

note a curious fact. According to the genealogist La Chesnay des Bois, in his

“ Dictionary of Nobility ” (Ed. from 1776), quoting du Buisson, and according to J. B.

Rietstap in his book “General Heraldry”, both famous heraldists, the Princes of Hesse-

Cassel bore shields: “of silver with a red Lating cross with broad ends, with a second

crossbar in red 11 ...”

So the House of Hesse-Cassel bore as the distinctive family emblem the Latin

cross with a second red crossbar, which was the exclusive privilège of the high

dignitaries of the Order of the Temple, of the living Order...

For this red cross was its exclusive privilège, and none other among the knightly

Orders coming from the Crusades was given the right to work under the white mande!

11 “D ’ argent à la Croix pâtée et alésée de gueules, à la double traverse de gueules

il

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005

This privilège was conceded to the Templars by Pope Eugenius III in 1 146, at the request

of St. Bernard. (Cf. Probst-Biraben, in "The Mystery of the Templars ”, p. 29). As for the

double cross, it was the mark of high dignitaries of the Temple, as John Charpentier tells

us in his work "The Order of the Templars ” (p. 41).

But this is not ail. We hâve mentioned Tycho de Brahé, and here is a still more

surprising fact!

Son of the Grand Bailiff of Scanie, belonging to the oldest Swedish nobility (still

Sweden, or rather already Swedish), Tycho de Brahé had a château constructed which

was devoted to his alchemical and astrological studies, with a splendid library and

observatory, ail narned Uranienborg.

Born in 1 546 in Scanie, Denmark (which State was still a province of Sweden), he

died in Prague in 1601. Note this place, for we will return to it as a meeting place for

Jewish Kabbalists, Alchemists and Rosicrucian Theurgists in the years which follow,

right up to the end of the 18 th Century.

Now, one beautiful day in 1590, which disembarked in Uranienborg? King James

VI of Scotland, (future King of England under the name of James l st ), who had just

legally reinstated the Order of Chardon of Saint Andrew of Scotland, which Order was a

perpétuation of the Templars, as we hâve seen. . . From Uranienborg, the King and Tycho

de Brahé went to Cassel, and stayed near to William IV, the Wise. In 1591, a year later,

James VI published a flrst treatise on pneumatology, in which he treated at length on the

diverse nature of Spirits, developing the théories of his predecessor in this domain,

Reginald Scott, but perhaps also those of his friends: William IV the Wsie and Tycho de

Brahé. This book was “ Daemonologia , hoc est adversus incantationem sive magiam

institutio, auctore serenissimo potentissimioque principe.’’'’

This same sovereign, with the flrst English Rosicrucians, constituted the “ Royal

Rose Croix ”, composed of thirty-two knights (in remembrance of the thirty-two Paths of

Wisdom of the Kabbalah), and who was certainly the point of departure for the Jacobite

Rose-Croix, which became the 18 th Degree of Scottish Masonry of the 19 th Century.

How can one not accept that it was the resurgence of a vast initiatory movement

which perpetuated the Temple, which in one program and towards a coinmon aim was

able to unité these two sovereigns which, being occultists, both at the head of a defunct

Order of the Temple, bearing arms of foreign monks, like those of the high dignitaries of

the Temple for William IV the Wise, and those who took as a collective Symbol of the

Rose-Croix of the 18 th Century, for James VI of Scotland: “silver, with a red St. Andrews

Cross, four red roses in the quarters . . .” ?

“D ’ argent , au sautoir de gueules, cantonné de quatre roses du même”.

13 Which equates, graphically, to a cross of Saint Andrew, with four roses spread across the four angles of

this cross. Valentin Andrea bore this sign on his ring; it figures on a drawing decorating the upper région

of his portrait reproduced in the work by Wittermans: “ History of the Rose-Croix ”, p. 31.

12

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005

So, according to our own conclusions and to the light which preceded it, this is

the reason for the Alchemists, Kabbalists, Theurgists as well as commoners, entering an

Order as aristocratie as that of the Teutonic Knights or that of the Strict Templar

Observance from which it came.

We note that certain authors, notably Philléas Lebesgue, supported the theory that

Marshall von Ludendorff had been one of the last représentatives of an esoteric Teuronic

kernel, perpetuating certain théories from the Gibelins to exclusively pangennanist ends.

What the famous devise of the Austrian Emperors claimed to affinn with their

“A.E.I.O.U.”, when translated from Latin into English signified something like this:

“Austria is destined to dominate the world”. And it was Ludendorff who made Hitler!

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005

https://archive.org/stream/AmblelainRTemplarsRoseCroix/Amblelain%20R%20Templars%20%26%20Rose%20Croix_djvu.txt

Finally, the Constitutions train us all for perfection, instructing us in the weapons to be used in combatting our three fierce and raging adversaries. They teach us how to counter the lust of the flesh with chastity, the lust of the eyes with poverty, and the pride of life with obedience. I shall say nothing of our observance of chastity (in which we should imitate the purity of the angels so far as our frailty allows), or of our OBSERVANCE of poverty (which is so STRICT that neither churches nor professed houses may acquire any rents, lands, or even perpetual endowments). As for obedience, however, by which we consecrate the chief and noblest part of ourselves to God, our Constitutions require of us that it be so prompt, eager, perfect, and integral that we do not swerve even a hairsbreadth from our superiors commands. In matters falling under obedience, not only must our action be guided by the superior s command and our will by his will, but even something much more difficult our understanding by his understanding.

To sum up: men crucified to the world, and to whom the world itself is crucified[7] such would our Constitutions have us to be; new men, I say, who have put off their affections to put on Christ;[8] dead to themselves to live to justice; who, with St. Paul in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Spirit, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, show themselves ministers of God[9] and by the armor of Justice on the right hand and, on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, by good success finally and ill success, press forward with great strides to their heavenly country. This is the sum and aim of our institute.

And so I beseech you, brothers in the Lord, that we may walk in a manner worthy of our vocation,[10] and, in order to know that vocation, may read and reread these Constitutions that have been bestowed upon us by the gift of God. Let us study them day and night. Let us vie with each other in learning them, pondering them, and keeping them. If we do so, our name will be matched by our lives and our profession made manifest in deed.

Farewell in Christ.

Rome, the house of the Society of Jesus, 1559 [7]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Counter-Reformation (Latin: Contrareformatio), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival,[1] was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It was a comprehensive effort arising from the decrees of the Council of Trent.[2]

As a political-historical period, it is frequently dated to have begun with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and to have ended with the political conclusion of the European wars of religion in 1648, though this is controversial.[3] However, as a theological-historical description, the term may be obsolescent or over-specific:[a] the broader term Catholic Reformation (Latin: Reformatio Catholica) also encompasses the reforms and movements within the Church in the periods immediately before Protestantism or Trent, and lasting later.

The effort produced apologetic and polemical documents, anti-corruption efforts, spiritual movements, the promotion of new religious orders, and the flourishing of new art and musical styles. War and discriminatory legislation caused large migrations of religious refugees.[5]

Such reforms included the foundation of seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the theological traditions of the Church, the reform of religious life by returning orders to their spiritual foundations, and new spiritual movements focusing on the devotional life and a personal relationship with Christ, including the Spanish mystics and the French school of spirituality.[1] It also involved political activities and used the regional Inquisitions.

A primary emphasis of the Counter-Reformation was a mission to reach parts of the world that had been colonized as predominantly Catholic and also try to reconvert nations such as Sweden and England that once were Catholic from the time of the Christianisation of Europe, but had been lost to the Reformation.[1] Various Counter-Reformation theologians focused only on defending doctrinal positions such as the sacraments and pious practices that were attacked by the Protestant reformers,[1] up to the Second Vatican Council in 1962–1965.[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-Reformation

Trump posts AI-generated photo of himself as pope, drawing internet outrage

By Andrea Shalal

May 3, 2025 2:21 PM PDT Updated 12 hours ago

Summary

Trump and his wife Melania attended funeral of Pope Francis

Image shows Trump in white paper vestments

Former Italian PM blasts 'shameful' post

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, May 2 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated photo showing himself as the pope ahead of this week's gathering of cardinals to choose a new leader of the 1.4-billion-strong Catholic Church, and just days after he joked he would "like to be pope".

Trump, who is not a Catholic and does not attend church regularly, posted the image on his Truth Social platform late on Friday, less than a week after attending the funeral of Pope Francis, who died at 88 last month. The White House then reposted it on its official X account.

The image shows an unsmiling Trump seated in an ornate chair, dressed in white papal vestments and headdress, with right forefinger raised.

The irreverent posting drew instant outrage on X, including from Republicans against Trump, a group that describes itself as "pro-democracy conservative Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism." The group reposted the image, calling it "a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith".

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to comment on the image during a briefing with journalists about the process of electing a new pope, which begins on May 7.

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi wrote on X: “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown. In the meantime, the American economy risks recession and the dollar loses value."

Closer to home, the Catholic bishops of New York state also expressed their displeasure on X.

"There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President," they wrote. "We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us."

Trump on Tuesday had jokingly said he would be his own first choice to become pope, before adding that there was a "very good" candidate in New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Dolan, the archbishop of New York, is not on the short list of possible contenders for the top spot, but it does include another American, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. There has never been a pope from the United States.

In mid-February, both Trump and the official White House social media accounts posted a different AI-generated image of the president wearing a crown and captioned "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"

In West Palm Beach, Debbie Macchia, 60, stood waiting with a dozen other supporters as Trump's motorcade arrived at his golf club on Saturday morning.

"He was clearly joking. Clearly joking," said Macchia, who is Jewish. "But I wouldn't want to see them do anything sacrilegious with the pope, or anything."

Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Joshua McElwee in Vatican City, Editing by Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-posts-ai-generated-photo-himself-pope-2025-05-03/

Robert Francis Prevost named first American pope

by The National News Desk Thu, May 8th 2025 at 9:16 AM

Updated Thu, May 8th 2025 at 11:29 AM

Robert Francis Prevost has been named the new pontiff, becoming the first American to hold the position after a two-day conclave. He will go by the name Pope Leo XIV.

His first words greeting his new followers were "Peace be with you" in a speech that shifted from Italian to Spanish and centered on messages of peace, dialogue and missionary evangelization. He will now take over a Catholic Church with some 1.4 billion followers around the world facing decisions on how to move the church forward and whether to continue the path of his predecessor.

“We must try together to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges and dialogue,” Pope Leo told his new followers before leading the Hail Mary prayer.

Born in Chicago, Pope Leo XIV spent much of his life outside the United States. He spent two decades in Peru, where he became a bishop and naturalized citizen before being brought to the Vatican by Pope Francis to oversee the office that chooses and manages bishops around the world. His prominence due to his position within the Vatican positioned him as a leading candidate heading into the conclave aside from his nationality.

White smoke rose from the chimney over the Sistine Chapel Thursday evening in Vatican City after just over 24 hours of voting, when Pope Leo XIV earned at least 89 votes from the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis, who died last month at the age of 88.

A crowded St. Peter's Square cheered as a top cardinal said the words “Habemus Papam!” or “We have a pope!” from the loggia of the basilica. The new pope made his first public appearance and delivered a blessing. He is the 267th holder of the office in a line of pontiffs dating back to St. Peter. The last pope to take the name Leo was Pope Leo XIII, who led the church from 1878 to 1903.

He is expected to be a unifying figure for the Church after years of ideological divides between its progressive and conservative wings. Leo rarely took outspoken stances on some of the most controversial issues.

President Donald Trump congratulated Pope Leo XIV in a post on Truth Social.

"It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!" Trump wrote.

https://katu.com/news/nation-world/white-smoke-rises-above-sistine-chapel-to-signal-new-pope-has-been-chosen-vatican-conclave-cardinals

Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968, when he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination. Like his brothers John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, he was a prominent member of the Democratic Party and is considered an icon of modern American liberalism.[1]

Born into the prominent Kennedy family in Brookline, Massachusetts, Kennedy attended Harvard University, and later received his law degree from the University of Virginia. He began his career as a correspondent for The Boston Post and as a lawyer at the Justice Department, but later resigned to manage his brother John's successful campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1952. The following year, Kennedy worked as an assistant counsel to the Senate committee chaired by Senator Joseph McCarthy. He gained national attention as the chief counsel of the Senate Labor Rackets Committee from 1957 to 1959, where he publicly challenged Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa over the union's corrupt practices. Kennedy resigned from the committee to conduct his brother's successful campaign in the 1960 presidential election. He was appointed United States attorney general at the age of 35, one of the youngest cabinet members in American history.[2] Kennedy served as John's closest advisor until the latter's assassination in 1963.[3]

Kennedy's tenure is known for advocating for the civil rights movement, the fight against organized crime, and involvement in U.S. foreign policy related to Cuba.[4] He authored his account of the Cuban Missile Crisis in a book titled Thirteen Days. As attorney general, Kennedy authorized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to wiretap Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on a limited basis.[5] After his brother's assassination, he remained in office during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson for several months. He left to run for the U.S. Senate from New York in 1964 and defeated Republican incumbent Kenneth Keating, overcoming criticism that he was a "carpetbagger" from Massachusetts.[6][7] In office, Kennedy opposed U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and raised awareness of poverty by sponsoring legislation designed to lure private business to blighted communities (i.e., Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration project). He was an advocate for issues related to human rights and social justice by traveling abroad to eastern Europe, Latin America, and South Africa, and formed working relationships with Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, and Walter Reuther.

In 1968, Kennedy became a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency by appealing to poor, African American, Hispanic, Catholic, and young voters.[8] His main challenger in the race was Senator Eugene McCarthy. Shortly after winning the California primary around midnight on June 5, 1968, Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian, in retaliation for his support of Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. Kennedy died 25 hours later. Sirhan was arrested, tried, and convicted, though Kennedy's assassination, like his brother's, continues to be the subject of widespread analysis and numerous conspiracy theories.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy

RFK Jr. says autism database will use Medicare and Medicaid info

May 8, 20254:57 PM ET

By

Alana Wise

NIH Director Jayanta Bhattacharya, left, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speak before a news conference at the Health and Human Services Department on April 22.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The National Institutes of Health will use information from federal health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid to create a "real-world data platform" to determine the cause of autism, the agency announced this week.

Doctor applying a bandage a patient's arm after an immunization.

Shots - Health News

RFK Jr. to require placebo-controlled studies for new vaccines

The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement on Wednesday that the NIH would team up with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to create the database utilizing insurance claims, electronic medical records and data from wearable devices with health sensors, like smartwatches.

"We're using this partnership to uncover the root causes of autism and other chronic diseases," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement.

HHS said that CMS and NIH would establish a data use agreement focused on Medicare and Medicaid enrollees — about 36% of Americans — and follow autism diagnoses before expanding their research into additional chronic health conditions.

"Using ASD [Autistic Spectrum Disorders] as the pilot research program, teams at CMS and NIH will establish a secure tech-enabled mechanism to enhance this data sharing with timely, privacy and security compliant data exchange," the statement read.

There was outrage last month after NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya told his staff of plans to compile a database of Americans with autism using private data that could be used to create a national autism registry

A severe autism advocate responds to RFK Jr.'s research initiative

Consider This from NPR

A severe autism advocate responds to RFK Jr.'s research initiative

Unnamed HHS sources told multiple news outlets that the agencies are not creating an autism registry and described the effort instead as a real-world data platform linking existing datasets. NPR has not independently confirmed the reporting.

In Wednesday's statement, NIH's Bhattacharya said that the partnership with CMS was "an important step in our commitment to unlocking the power of real-world data to inform public health decisions and improve lives."

"Linking CMS claims data with a secure real-world NIH data platform, fully compliant with privacy and security laws, will unlock landmark research into the complex factors that drive autism and chronic disease — ultimately delivering superior health outcomes to the Americans we serve," he said.

NPR has reached out to HHS, NIH and CMS, but none responded to requests for comment before publication of this story.

The latest details immediately raised more alarm bells for the autistic community and privacy experts, who questioned how this data would be used and how patients' sensitive data would be protected.

Helen Tager-Flusberg is the director of the Center for Autism Research at Boston University and leader of the Coalition of Autism Scientists, an organization formed in response to Kennedy's widely debunked views on autism.

She warned of the potential for information collected in this database to be abused.

"CMS data includes certain information about individuals — age/date of birth, sex, where they live. It is possible to identify a person based on knowledge about these characteristics," Tager-Flusberg said in an email to NPR.

"While the NIH Director provides assurances that privacy protections will be put in place, we have seen other examples of how this administration has given permission to identify people to certain people working for the federal government. How will this registry be protected?" she asked.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives before President Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs Wednesday in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C.

Public Health

Health secretary RFK Jr. endorses the MMR vaccine — stoking fury among his supporters

The heightened public focus on autism comes as Kennedy has repeatedly vowed to identify the cause of the disorder and ultimately eradicate it.

To that end, Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, has made a number of baseless, conspiratorial claims about autism, including that it can be traced back to childhood vaccinations and that an "environmental toxin" is to blame for the uptick in autism diagnoses over the years.

He described autism as "a preventable disease" and said his agency would find the root cause of the disorder by September.

The notion that vaccines cause autism has been thoroughly debunked in medical science, and experts say there is likely no single cause for autism. Bhattacharya, the NIH director, pushed back on the September deadline to find a cause and said that a year timeline was more realistic.

And while a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report did find that autism prevalence in the United States had increased from 1 in 36 children five years ago, to 1 in 31 children in 2022, it is more likely that this is due in large part to more comprehensive screening across a broader population.

https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08/nx-s1-5391310/kennedy-autism-registry-database-hhs-nih-medicare-medicaid

[William Cooper]: And, now, reading again from the book: The Report from the 68th Convocation Of the Rose Cross Order, Introduction to the Great Seal:

"It is rather a strange and an unknown thing for one to write an introduction to a single chapter appearing in a book, but the conditions are so unusual as to warrant it.

"More than a year ago, Grace K. Morey, the author of the article, 'The Great Seal of the United States and Its Mystic Significance,' prepared a sketch for a short primer of the Illuminati teachings, and in this sketch, as will be shown by the drawings, it was brought out that man is not only a threefold being, but that he is actually a four-fold being as well. In short, that when he has succeeded in reaching Soul Illumination, he is the completed Pyramid or true Triangle.

"If the student will give serious study to the article on the Seal of the United States, he will find that on the reverse side of the seal which is as yet uncut, there is to be found the Pyramid, but with the capstone as yet not placed, and thus he will see that the Philosophy of the Illuminati is the absolute and undeniable Philosophy upon which these United States are founded as is clearly indicated by our four-fold philosophy, by the drawings representing our Philosophy, and by the drawings of the reverse side of the United States seal.

"And thus it would appear that the Unseen Hierarchies which shaped the foundation of the great Republic which must some day rule the world, are the same Hierarchies which gave us the Soul Science Philosophy as taught by the Illuminati."

[William Cooper]: And, now, you know why what has happened in this country has happened, and you know why what is happening today is happening. And you now know why, on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, are the words Novus Ordo Seclorum, which, literally translated, means "The New Order of the Ages" (also known as "The New World Order), but I won't let you rest with that shock.

[William Cooper]: Listen to this, dear listeners. Hold on to your chairs, because the incredible admission that is coming to you right out of the pages of this book is going to knock you flat. Reading again from the book:

"And thus it would appear that the Unseen Hierarchies which shaped the foundation of the great Republic which must some day rule the world, are the same Hierarchies which gave us the Soul Science Philosophy as taught by the Illuminati.

"And now let us look into the future, not far, but just beyond the line. We find that scholars condemn the design of the reverse side of the United States Seal, that it has never been cut but has remained hidden as though it were something to be ashamed of.

"However, though this appears the truth, it is not the truth. The reason why it has never been cut is because the time is not yet as the cap-stone has not yet been set.

"And what is this cap-stone? My reader, prepare for a shock.

"When Atlantis ruled the word, that which is now America was connected with Egypt by what is now Mexico, and in Mexico, in the territory of Yucatan, there is a Pyramid in which the Fire Philosophers worshiped God as Divine Fire and Life in like manner as did the Initiates of Egypt, for the two were then one.

"America is not complete, and will not be complete, cannot be complete, until Mexico is again part of America as she was in the long ago, and when Mexico is once again a part of the United States, then will the cap-stone have been set on the

Pyramid and the reverse side of the United States seal will be cut.

"Thus you will see that the Soul Science Primer with its drawings, is but the beginning of the article concerning the Seal of the United States, while the article on 'Body, Mind, Spirit and Soul' is the finale thereof.

"May it not be long until the Holy Pyramid shall be completed and may it be completed without the shedding of blood.

"Lovingly given, R. Swinburne Clymer. 'Beverly Hall,' Quakertown, Pennsylvania, July 6th, 1916."

[William Cooper]: And, now, you know the final truth, ladies and gentlemen. Now you know the purpose of the free trade agreements. Now you know the purpose of GATT and NAFTA. Now you know where we're headed. Now you know the middle class in this country is doomed. Now you know that the New World Order is being brought about by the intelligence community and the secret societies, whose headquarters are in the United States of America, just thirteen blocks from the White House. Now you know, in the incredible admissions, in their own writing, in this book, published by the Ancient Order of the Rose and Cross. Now you know that the Illuminati is real; that Freemasonry is a part of the Illuminati; that the Rose and Cross is a part of the Illuminati; that they are also called the Order, the Brotherhood; that they also consist of the Knights Templars; they also consist of the Knights of Malta and all of the other secret societies whose organizational structure is in the shape of the pyramid, with a few at the top who really know what the Great Work and the Great Plan is. And a whole bunch of slathering idiots thirsting after the secrets on the bottom, who will never, ever, know anything."

Hour 20: 68th Convocation of the Rose Cross Order (aired May 11th, 1993)

https://viefag.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/transcripts-of-william-cooper-s-mystery-babylon-series.pdf

What is a SIN?

A Social Insurance Number (SIN) is a 9-digit number that you need to work and be paid in Canada and access government programs and benefits. It is also used to file taxes.

If you are not eligible for a SIN, you can apply for an Individual Tax Number (ITN) for tax purposes.

You are responsible for protecting your SIN. Ensure that you store documents containing your SIN and personal information in a safe place. For more information about protecting your SIN, please visit here.

International students get a SIN starting with the number ‘9,’ which lets employers know that you are a temporary resident in Canada.

https://international.northeastern.edu/ogs/student-support/global-campuses/canada/social-insurance-number/

As per numerology, 666 when added comes to 9, a tricky number that stands for greediness, and natural disasters. But 9 (6+6+6+18=1+8=90 is also the number of Mars (Mangal) which means extra energy which can either make or break. It is impulsive, restless, stubborn and inflexible,' adds Jumaani."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad-times/666-the-devil-or-cupid/articleshow/1621141.cms#

A novena (from Latin: novem, "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks.[1] The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, when the disciples gathered in the upper room and devoted themselves to prayer, is often considered to be the first novena.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novena

[666] 6. 1On the side of the superior general, what will aid toward this union of hearts are the qualities of his person [G], to be treated in Part IX [723-25], with which he will perform his office, 2which is to be for all the members a head from which the influence required for the end sought by the Society ought to descend to them all. 3It is thus from the general as head that all authority of the provincials should flow, from the provincials that of the local superiors, and from the local superiors that of the individual members. 4And from this same head, or at least by his commission and approval, should likewise come the appointing of missions. And the same should apply to communicating the graces of the Society. 5For the more the subjects are dependent upon their superiors, the better will the love, obedience, and union among them be preserved."

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Civil Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.  Therefore morning civil twilight begins when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon, and ends at sunrise.  Evening civil twilight begins at sunset, and ends when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.  Under these conditions absent fog or other restrictions, the brightest stars and planets can be seen, the horizon and terrestrial objects can be discerned, and in many cases, artificial lighting is not needed. Civil Twilight is also known as Civil Dawn and Civil Dusk.

Nautical Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon.  In general, the term nautical twilight refers to sailors being able to take reliable readings via well known stars because the horizon is still visible, even under moonless conditions.  Absent fog or other restrictions, outlines of terrestrial objects may still be discernible, but detailed outdoor activities are likely curtailed without artificial illumination. Nautical Twilight is also known as Nautical Dawn and Nautical Dusk.

Astronomical Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon.  In astronomical twilight, sky illumination is so faint that most casual observers would regard the sky as fully dark, especially under urban or suburban light pollution.  Under astronomical twilight, the horizon is not discernible and moderately faint stars or planets can be observed with the naked eye under a non light polluted sky.  But to test the limits of naked eye observations, the sun needs to be more than 18 degrees below the horizon.  Point light sources such as stars and planets can be readily studied by astronomers under astronomical twilight.  But diffuse light sources such as galaxies, nebula, and globular clusters need to be observed under a totally dark sky, again when the sun is more than 18 degrees below the horizon.

https://www.weather.gov/fsd/twilight

Unam Sanctam

One God, One Faith, One Spiritual Authority

Pope Boniface VIII - 1302

Bull of Pope Boniface VIII promulgated November 18, 1302

Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins, as the Spouse in the Canticles [Sgs 6:8] proclaims: ‘One is my dove, my perfect one. She is the only one, the chosen of her who bore her,‘ and she represents one sole mystical body whose Head is Christ and the head of Christ is God [1 Cor 11:3]. In her then is one Lord, one faith, one baptism [Eph 4:5]. There had been at the time of the deluge only one ark of Noah, prefiguring the one Church, which ark, having been finished to a single cubit, had only one pilot and guide, i.e., Noah, and we read that, outside of this ark, all that subsisted on the earth was destroyed.

We venerate this Church as one, the Lord having said by the mouth of the prophet: ‘Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword and my only one from the hand of the dog.’ [Ps 21:20] He has prayed for his soul, that is for himself, heart and body; and this body, that is to say, the Church, He has called one because of the unity of the Spouse, of the faith, of the sacraments, and of the charity of the Church. This is the tunic of the Lord, the seamless tunic, which was not rent but which was cast by lot [Jn 19:23- 24]. Therefore, of the one and only Church there is one body and one head, not two heads like a monster; that is, Christ and the Vicar of Christ, Peter and the successor of Peter, since the Lord speaking to Peter Himself said: ‘Feed my sheep‘ [Jn 21:17], meaning, my sheep in general, not these, nor those in particular, whence we understand that He entrusted all to him [Peter]. Therefore, if the Greeks or others should say that they are not confided to Peter and to his successors, they must confess not being the sheep of Christ, since Our Lord says in John ‘there is one sheepfold and one shepherd.’ We are informed by the texts of the gospels that in this Church and in its power are two swords; namely, the spiritual and the temporal. For when the Apostles say: ‘Behold, here are two swords‘ [Lk 22:38] that is to say, in the Church, since the Apostles were speaking, the Lord did not reply that there were too many, but sufficient. Certainly the one who denies that the temporal sword is in the power of Peter has not listened well to the word of the Lord commanding: ‘Put up thy sword into thy scabbard‘ [Mt 26:52]. Therefore, both are in the power of the Church, namely, the spiritual sword and the material. But indeed, the latter is to be exercised on behalf of the Church; and truly, the former is to be exercised by the Church. The former is of the priest; the latter is by the hand of kings and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest.

However, one sword ought to be subordinated to the other and temporal authority, subjected to spiritual power. For since the Apostle said: ‘There is no power except from God and the things that are, are ordained of God‘ [Rom 13:1-2], but they would not be ordained if one sword were not subordinated to the other and if the inferior one, as it were, were not led upwards by the other.

For, according to the Blessed Dionysius, it is a law of the divinity that the lowest things reach the highest place by intermediaries. Then, according to the order of the universe, all things are not led back to order equally and immediately, but the lowest by the intermediary, and the inferior by the superior. Hence we must recognize the more clearly that spiritual power surpasses in dignity and in nobility any temporal power whatever, as spiritual things surpass the temporal. This we see very clearly also by the payment, benediction, and consecration of the tithes, but the acceptance of power itself and by the government even of things. For with truth as our witness, it belongs to spiritual power to establish the terrestrial power and to pass judgement if it has not been good. Thus is accomplished the prophecy of Jeremias concerning the Church and the ecclesiastical power: ‘Behold to-day I have placed you over nations, and over kingdoms‘ and the rest. Therefore, if the terrestrial power err, it will be judged by the spiritual power; but if a minor spiritual power err, it will be judged by a superior spiritual power; but if the highest power of all err, it can be judged only by God, and not by man, according to the testimony of the Apostle: ‘The spiritual man judgeth of all things and he himself is judged by no man‘ [1 Cor 2:15]. This authority, however, (though it has been given to man and is exercised by man), is not human but rather divine, granted to Peter by a divine word and reaffirmed to him (Peter) and his successors by the One Whom Peter confessed, the Lord saying to Peter himself, ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in Heaven‘ etc., [Mt 16:19]. Therefore whoever resists this power thus ordained by God, resists the ordinance of God [Rom 13:2], unless he invent like Manicheus two beginnings, which is false and judged by us heretical, since according to the testimony of Moses, it is not in the beginnings but in the beginning that God created heaven and earth [Gen 1:1]. Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.

https://www.papalencyclicals.net/bon08/b8unam.htm

What is the meaning of 666?

Answer

At the close of Revelation 13, which discusses the beast (the Antichrist) and his false prophet, we read, “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666” (Revelation 13:18). Somehow, the number 666 is a clue to the identity of the beast. Revelation 13 also mentions the “mark of the beast” (verses 16–17), and popular thought often links 666 with the mark; however, the mark of the beast and 666 appear to be two different things. The mark of the beast is something people must receive in order to buy and sell. The number 666 is somehow associated with the beast/Antichrist as “his” number.

The meaning of 666 is a mystery, and it appears that the apostle John, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, intended it to be that way. Calculating it, John says, requires “wisdom.” Some, using gematria (assigning a number value to each letter of a name or word and then combining the number values to arrive at a total number), have identified the Antichrist as various people in world history. Some of the popular targets have been “Caesar Nero,” “Ronald Wilson Reagan,” “Mikhail Gorbachev,” and various popes in Roman Catholic history. The lengths some will go to in order to get a person’s name to add up to 666 are amazing. Virtually any name can add up to 666 if enough mathematical gymnastics are employed.

Six hundred, sixty-six will somehow identify the beast, but precisely how 666 is connected to the beast is not the main point of Revelation 13:18. The Bible often uses the number 7 to refer to God and His perfection. Traditionally, 6 is thought to be the number of man, created on the sixth day and always “falling short” of God. The beast/Antichrist will strive to be like God. He will likely even claim to be God. But, just as the number 6 falls short of the number 7, so will the beast/Antichrist, with his “trinity” of 6’s, ultimately fail in his effort to defeat God.

Addendum: Interestingly, in some ancient Greek manuscripts of the Book of Revelation, the number is given as 616 instead of 666. The manuscript evidence is strongly in favor of 666, but the alternate reading of 616 should give us pause before we start pounding away on the calculators.

https://www.gotquestions.org/meaning-of-666.html

Head:

1. See Illness, mental

2. The superior general, head of the Society [666]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

666 1 Samuel 26:15-16. And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD'S anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster. 2 Samuel 18:3. But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city. Esther 6:2. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus

THE

WESTMINSTER

LARGER

CATECHISM

https://www.freepresbyterian.org/uploads/Larger_Catechism.pdf

Can. 666 In the use of means of social communication, necessary discretion is to be observed and those things are to be avoided which are harmful to one’s vocation and dangerous to the chastity of a consecrated person."

TITLE II. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES (Cann. 607 - 709) CODE OF CANON LAW

https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann607-709_en.html

Revelation 13:11-18

1599 Geneva Bible

11 [a]And I beheld, another beast coming out of the earth, [b]which had two horns like the Lamb, but he spake like the dragon.

12 [c]And he did all that the first beast could do before him, and he caused the earth and them which dwell therein, [d]to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed.

13 [e]And he did great wonders, so that he made fire to come down from heaven on the earth, in the sight of men.

14 And deceived them that dwell on the earth by the signs which were permitted to him to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make the [f]image of the [g]beast, which had the wound of a sword, and did live.

15 [h]And it was permitted to him to give a [i]spirit unto the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast should speak, and should cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

16 [j]And he made all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive [k]a [l]mark in their right hand or in their foreheads.

17 And that no man might [m]buy or sell, save he that had the [n]mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.

18 [o]Here is wisdom. Let him that hath wit, count the number of the beast: for it is the [p]number of a man, and his number is six hundred threescore and six.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Revelation 13:11 The second member of the vision, concerning the ecclesiastical dominion, which in Rome succeeded that which was politic, and is in the power of the corporation of false Prophets, and of the forgers of false doctrine. Wherefore the same body or corporation is called of S. John by the name of false prophet, Rev. 6:13, 19 and 20. The form of this beast is first described in this verse, then his acts, in the verses following, and the whole speech is concluded in the last verse. This beast is by his breed a Son of the earth (as they say) obscurely born, and by little and little creeping up out of his abject estate.

Revelation 13:11 That is, in show he resembled the Lamb (for what is more mild or more humble than to be the servant of the servants of God) but in deed he played the part of the Dragon, and of the Wolf, Matt. 7:15. For even Satan changeth himself into an Angel of light, 2 Cor. 11:14, and what should his honest disciples and servants do?

Revelation 13:12 The history of the acts of this beast containeth in sum three things, hypocrisy, the witness of miracles and tyranny: of which the first is noted in this verse, the second in the 3 verses following: the third in the sixteenth and seventeenth verses. His hypocrisy is most full of leasing, whereby he abuseth both the former beast and the whole world: in that albeit he hath by his cunning, as it were by lime made of the former beast a most miserable … or anatomy, usurped all his authority unto himself and most impudently exerciseth the same in the sight and view of him: yet he carrieth himself so, as if he honored him with most high honor, and did in very truth cause him to be honored of all men.

Revelation 13:12

For unto this beast of Rome, which of civil Empire is made an Ecclesiastical hierarchy, are given divine honors, and divine authority so far as he is believed to be above the Scriptures, which the gloss upon the Decretals declareth by this devilish verse,

Articulos solvit, synodumque facit generalem,

That is,

He changeth the Articles of faith, and giveth authority to general Counsels.

Which is spoken of the Papal power. So the beast is by birth, foundation, feat, and finally substance, one: only the Pope hath altered the form and manner thereof being himself the head both of that tyrannical Empire, and also of the false Prophets, for the Empire hath he taken unto himself, and thereunto hath added this cunning device. Now these words, whose deadly wound was cured are put here for distinction sake, as also sometimes afterwards: that even at that time the godly readers of this prophecy might by this sign be brought to see the things as present: as if it were said, that they might adore this very Empire that now is, whose head we have seen in our own memory to have been cut off, and to be cured again.

Revelation 13:13 The second point of the things done by the beast, is the credit of great wonders or miracles, appertaining to the strength of this impiety: of which signs some were given from above, as it is said, that fire was sent down from heaven by false sorcery, in this verse. Others were showed here below in the sight of the beast to establish idolatry, and deceive souls, which part S. John setteth forth beginning (as they say) at that which is last, in this manner: First the effect is declared in these words, He deceiveth the inhabitants of the earth, Secondly the common manner of working in two sorts, one of miracles. For the signs that were given him to do in the presence of the beasts: the other of the words added to the signs, and teaching the idolatry confirmed by those signs, Saying unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they should make an image unto the beasts which, etc. Thirdly, a special manner is declared: That is given unto him to put life into the image of the beast: and that such a kind of quickening, that the same both speaketh by answer unto those that ask counsel of it, and also pronounceth death against all those that do not obey nor worship it: all which things oftentimes by false miracles through the procurement and inspiration of the Devil, have been effected and wrought in images. The histories of the Papists are full of examples of such miracles, the most of them feigned, many also done by the devil in images: as of old in the serpent, Gen. 3:1. By which examples is confirmed, not the authority of the beast, but the truth of God, and of these prophecies.

Revelation 13:14 That is, images by enallage or change of the number: for the worship of them ever since the second Council of Nice, hath been ordained in the Church by public credit, and authority contrary unto the Law of God.

Revelation 13:14 In the Greek the word is in the Dative case, as much to say, as unto the worship, honor and obeying of the beast: for by this maintenance of images this Pseudoprophetical beast doth mightily profit the beast of Rome, of whom long ago he received them. Wherefore the same is hereafter very fitly called the image of the beast, for that images have their beginning from the beast, and have their form or manner from the will of the beast, and have their end and use fixed in the profit and commodity of the beast.

Revelation 13:15 And of this miracle of the images of the beast (that is, which the beast hath ordained to establish idolatry) which miraculously speak and give judgment, or rather marvelously, by the fraud of the false prophets, the Papists books are full fraughted.

Revelation 13:15 To give life as Jannes and Jambres imitated the wonders that Moses wrought.

Revelation 13:16 The third place, is a most wicked and most insolent tyrrany as was said before, usurped over the persons of men in this verse: and over their goods and actions, in the next verse. For he is said, both to bring upon all persons a tyrannous servitude, that as bondslaves they might serve the beast: and also to exercise over all their goods and actions, a peddler-like abuse of indulgences and dispensations (as they term them) amongst their friends, and against others to use most violent interdictions, and to shoot out cursings, even in natural and civil, private and public contracts, wherein all good faith ought to have place.

Revelation 13:16 That is, their Chrism, by which in the Sacrament (as they call it) of Confirmation, they make servile unto themselves, the persons and doings of men, signing them in their forehead and hands: and as for the sign left by Christ (of which Rev. 7:3) and the holy Sacrament of Baptism they make as void. For whom Christ hath joined unto himself by Baptism, this beast maketh challenge unto them by her greasy Chrism, which he doubteth not to prefer over Baptism, both in authority and efficacy.

Revelation 13:16 The mark of the name of the beast.

Revelation 13:17 That is, have any traffic or intercourse with men, but they only those which have this anointing and consecration of Clearkely tonsure, as they call it. Read Gratian de Consecratione, distinct. s. c. omnes, cap. Spiritus, etc. of these matters.

Revelation 13:17 Here the false Prophets do require three things, which are set down in the order of their greatness, a character, a name and the number of the name. The meaning is, that man that hath not first their anointing and clerical tonsure or shaving: secondly holy orders, by reserving whereof is communicated the same of the beast: or finally hath not attained that high degree of Pontifical knowledge, and of the Law (as they call it) Canonical, and hath not as it were made up in account and cast the number of the mysteries thereof: for in these things consisteth the number of that name of the beast. And this is excellently set forth in the next verse.

Revelation 13:18 That is in this number of the beast consisteth that Popish wisdom, which unto them seemeth the greatest of all others. In these words S. John expoundeth that saying which went before of the number of the beast, what it hath above his mark or acconisance and his name. These things, saith S. John, the mark and the name of the beast, do easily happen unto any man: but to have the number of the beast, is wisdom: that is, only the wise and such as have understanding, can come by that number for they must be most illuminated doctors that attain thereunto, as the words following do declare.

Revelation 13:18 How great and of what denomination this number of the beast is, by which the beast accounted his wisdom, S. John declareth in these words. Dost thou demand how great it is? it is so great, that it occupieth the whole man: he is always learning, and never cometh to the knowledge thereof: he must be a man indeed that doth attain unto it. Askest thou of what denomination it is? verily it standeth of six throughout and perfectly ariseth of all the parts thereof in their several denominations (as they term them) it standeth of six by units, tens, hundreds, etc. so as there is no one part in the learning and order Pontifical, which is not either referred unto the head, and as it were the top thereof, or contained in the same: so fitly do all things in this hierarchy agree one with another, and with their head. Therefore that cruel beast Boniface the eighth doth commend by the number of six those Decretals which he perfected, in the proem of the sixth book. Which book (saith he) being to be added unto five other books of the same volume of Decretals, we thought good to name Sextum the sixth: that the same volume by addition thereof containing a senary, or the number of six books (which is a number perfect) may yield a perfect form of managing all things, and perfect discipline of behavior. Here therefore is the number of the beast, who poureth from himself all his parts and bringeth them all back again unto himself by his discipline in most wise and cunning manner. If any man desire more of this, let him read the gloss upon that place. I am not ignorant that other interpretations are brought upon this place: but I thought it my duty, with the good favor of all and without the offense of any, to propound mine opinion in this point. And for this cause especially, for that it seemed unto me neither profitable, nor like to be true, that the number of the beast, or of the name of the beast should be taken as the common sort of interpreters do take it. For this number of the beast teacheth, giveth out, imprinteth, as a public mark of such as be his, and esteemeth that mark above all others as the mark of those whom he loveth best. Now those other expositions seem rather to be far removed from this property and condition of that number: whether you respect the name Latinus or Titan, or another. For these the beast doth not teach, nor give forth nor imprint, but most diligently forbiddeth to be taught, and audaciously denieth: he approveth not these, but reproveth them: and hateth them that think so of this number, with an hatred, greater than that of Vatinius.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013%3A11-18&version=GNV

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid08BYfJuNJvTrhhb1h9MN7Y2n4zVDTUf6DB5j8izvJqjn1rpaTCixqFAwT4464662Dl

The first magnetic agent which is used to prepare the solvent designated, by some, Alkahest-is called the green Lion, not so

much because it is green in colour as because it has not yet acquired those mineral characteristics, which in chemistry distinguish the adult state from the nascent one. It is a green and sour fruit, compared with the red, ripe fruit. It is metallic youth on which Evolution has not yet worked, but which contains the latent germ of real energy, which will be called upon to develop later. It is arsenic and lead in respect of silver and gold. It is present imperfection from which the great future perfection will emerge; the rudiment of our embryo, the embryo of our stone, the stone of our Elixir. Certain Adepts, Basil Valentine among them, have called it green vitriol, in order to reveal its hot, burning and salty nature. Others have called it the Philosophers' Emerald, the Dew of May, the Herb of Saturn, the Vegetable Stone, etc. 'Our water takes the name of the leaves of all the trees, of the trees themselves, and of everything green in colour, in order to MISLEAD THE FOOLISH,' says Master Arnold of Villanova.

Fulcanelli Mystery of the Cathedrals

http://www.mtanthony13.org/library/Fulcanelli%20-%20The%20Mystery%20of%20the%20Cathedrals.pdf

Chicago River goes green: Date, time and how to watch river dyeing for St. Patrick's Day

Kinsey Crowley

USA TODAY

Published 2:04 p.m. ET March 14, 2025 Updated 2:57 p.m. ET March 16, 2025

St. Patrick's Day brings green decorations, outfits and even beer, so it's only fitting that the nation's county with the most Irish people take it a step further and dye a waterway green.

Monday is St. Patrick's Day and Chicago is preparing for its annual tradition of dyeing the Chicago River green, which will happen the weekend before the actual holiday.

Cook County, where Chicago is located, has the largest Irish American population, according to 2023 Census Data. The city has been dyeing its river green for more than 60 years, and celebrates with two different parades to honor Irish heritage.

Here is what you need to know about how to catch Chicago's St. Patrick's Day celebrations:

When is Chicago dyeing the river?

The Chicago River will be dyed green on Saturday, March 15.

It will begin at 10 a.m., and takes about 45 minutes to complete, with the color lasting a few hours to a couple of days, according to CBS News.

When are the Chicago St. Patrick's Day parades?

After the river dyeing, the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade, in its 70th year, will start downtown around noon.

The parade will head north from Columbus Drive and Balbo. This year's theme is trades, technology and education.

On Sunday, the South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade will set off at noon from 103rd and Western Avenue.

ABC7 Chicago will broadcast the Saturday parade downtown.

Chicago River goes green: How to watch Chicago St. Patrick's Day river dyeing

USA TODAY will live stream the Chicago river dyeing on Saturday:

Why do we celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

St. Patrick's Day originated as a religious day to celebrate the Saint who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century.

Centuries later, March 17, the day St. Patrick is believed to have died, is a day celebrating all things Irish. Approximately 9.1% of U.S. residents claimed Irish history in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

It is not a federal holiday in the U.S., where many bar-goers don green attire and beads and glasses. But in Ireland, it is a national holiday and events kick of tourist season.

Contributing: Marina Pitofsky, Erin Jensen, Clare Mulroy

Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/14/chicago-river-green-dyeing-2025-st-patricks-day/82324547007/ 

Chapter 9

The Jesuits —1641

The Irish Massacre

Assassination of Lieutenant General Henry Ireton

“The good counsellors of great statesmen, that parliaments of both

kingdoms would take from the king’s majesty, are a faction of perjured

Papists, Prelates, Jesuits, Irish cut-throats, Stratfords, and Apostates;

subverters of all laws, divine, human, of God, of church, of state.” {1}

Samuel Rutherford, 1644

English Presbyterian Preacher

Lex Rex: The Law and the Prince

“Ireland is the most priest-ridden, Jesuitically-governed nation on the

face of the earth.” {2} [Emphasis added]

Hector Macpherson, 1914

English Historian

The Jesuits in History

“Every Jesuit is outwardly a monk, inwardly a devil, and altogether a

serpent.” {3}

Ian Paisley, 1968

Irish Presbyterian Preacher

Member, House of Commons

The Jesuits

“Cardinal Manning has recently said that ‘Romanists never persecuted

Protestants.’ It is a popish lie, told to bolster up a popish movement, in

helping to re-establish ‘Rome rule in Ireland,’ and put forth without a blush

in the face of the most reliable history. In 1172 Nicholas Breakspear, an

Englishman, was elected to the See of Rome under the name of Adrian IV.

He gave Ireland to Henry II of England, under the condition that the

Romish faith be forced upon the people, and that the Pope receive one

penny from each house annually. This is the origin of Peter’s Pence. The

annals of Ulster tell of the horrible persecutions and massacres that

followed on. The Pope, the king, and the army were against the truth [just

as Pope Benedict XVI, President George W. Bush and the Order’s CFRChapter

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controlled American Military Joint Chiefs of Staff are against the truth].

From 1500 to 1534, is a bloody page. Space forbids our transcribing it in

full. As a specimen of the cruelties and barbarities that distinguish Rome

whenever and wherever she gets the power, and as a presentation in

tangible form of the dread of the Irish people of any movement which

purposes to surrender them to Papal rule, read this, that Sir William

Temple wrote. He uncovers the practices of Rome, and shows that three

hundred thousand [300,000] Protestants were massacred before Cromwell

came to the rescue of the people [and those lying Jesuits have the audacity

to condemn Oliver Cromwell for his invasion of Ireland, submitting

Drogheda and Wexford, putting an end to popish massacres! Just who

does that man of God, Cromwell’s son-in-law, Lieutenant General Henry

Ireton, think himself to be in restoring order to Ireland, while putting the

Jesuits to flight across the English Channel! How dare any man of God

interfere with the massacres, Inquisitions and Crusades of the Papacy

loosed upon helpless peoples, their persecutors being under secret orders

from the Black Pope!]. He says,

‘North, south, east, and west, Protestant blood flowed in rivers; houses

were reduced to ashes, villages and towns all but destroyed; the very

cattle of the Protestants were inhumanly tortured; the only burial

allowed to the martyrs was the burial of the living [that is, buried alive],

and their persecutors took fiendish delight in hearing their groans and

cries issuing from the earth. Popish children were taught to pluck out

the eyes of Protestant playmates; and some were forced to murder

their own relations, and then butchered themselves over the bleeding

remains, the last sounds that reached their dying ears being the savage

assurances of the priests, that their agonies were but the

commencement of eternal torment.’

Dublin alone escaped, and became a refuge for the distressed; but all the

popish inhabitants were forbidden, under pain of the direct curse, to afford

the slightest succor to the sufferers. Thousands died of cold and hunger;

thousands more emigrated. In Armagh four thousand Protestants were

drowned. In Cavan the road for twelve miles was stained by the blood of

the fugitives. Sixty children were abandoned in the flight by their parents,

fiercely hunted by the bloodhounds of the Papacy, who declared that any

one who helped or even buried their little ones should be burned by their

aides [as did the Jesuit-controlled, Franciscan-led, Croatian Ustashi to the

helpless, non-Roman Catholic, Orthodox Serbian men, women and children

during World War II]. Seventeen adults were buried alive at Fermanagh,

and in Kilkenny seventy-two. In the province of Munster alone, a

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The Jesuits — 1641

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hundred and fifty-four Protestants were massacred, or expelled from

Ireland. And yet Cardinal Manning declares in June 1886, that

Romanism never persecuted Protestants; and we are told by a Protestant

minister in Boston, in 1887, of the beneficent ministry of Romanism [as do

all the present-day, apostate Protestant and Baptist television evangelists].

In 1643 Pope Urban VII granted full and absolute remission of all sins to

those who had taken part in gallantly doing what in them lay to extirpate

and wholly root out the pestiferous leaven of heretical contagion [as did the

Pope following the Black Pope’s St Bartholomew’s Massacre in Paris,

France, 1572; all this murder being in accordance with the Papacy’s

Canon Law, Council of Trent and the Jesuit Extreme Oath]. Under

Elizabeth I, the Irish lords and commons recognized and generally

supported the English Crown [which Queen the Jesuits sought to murder

many times, in many ways; for which reason she expelled the Jesuits and

compelled Roman Catholics to attend Protestant Bible-reading worship].

[Jesuit Temporal Coadjutor] James II [1685-1688] a Roman Catholic,

betrayed England, and turned to the Papist of Ireland for support. Priests

thronged the court and ruled the king [the Jesuits being in abundance,

having united the army of King Louis XIV with the soldiers of James II in

planning the final “extirpation” of English Protestantism]. Ireland was

given up to the Papacy. Towns in which almost every householder was an

English Protestant were, under Rome rule, placed under the government of

Irish Roman Catholics [as in America today]. The civil power was

transferred from the Saxon to the Celtic population. Six thousand

Protestants were turned out of the army, and their places were supplied by

Roman Catholics [as the majority of officers in the American Armed Forces

today are Roman Catholics or Pope-serving Freemasons though they be

Jews and Gentiles of all religions]. The new soldier never passed an

Englishman without cursing him, and calling him foul names.” {4}

[Emphasis added]

J. Scott Carr, 1900

American Historian;

Plymouth Congregational Pastor

The Devil in Robes; Or,

The Sin of Priests

“When a Jesuit dines in a house where the company are not completely

under his domination, or where Protestants are present, I notice that nothing

can exceed his patience and humility. He never misses a chance of

inculcating the extreme poverty of himself and his Order upon those with

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whom he associates on terms of intimacy. He has been known, after being

entertained at dinner at a well-to-do Dublin Catholic’s house, to ask the

hostess for a penny or twopence to pay his tram-fare back to Gardiner

Street. The Jesuit Society has, perhaps, more strings to its bow than any

other community of priests in Ireland. They have, for instance, a man to

cater in a mild way for sincere temperance people [as in the Protestant-led

American Temperance Movement which resulted in the ratification of the

unenforceable Eighteenth Amendment (1919), Prohibition and the creation

of the Black Pope’s Roman Catholic, Sicilian Mafioso-led Organized

Crime Syndicate]. They have abstemious, ascetic-looking men [like Jesuit

Bernard Vaughan] to win their way into the confidence of ladies who go

for the religious cult [like first lady Mrs. William H. Taft], and who may

be presented by those ladies to their friends in power at the Viceregal

Lodge, and the chief secretary’s lodge, or the castle. The have burly,

stentorian Jesuits to orate and fume in remote country districts, when they

are invited by the local parish priest to give a retreat or mission [like the

infamous Jesuit Coadjutor “Father” Charles E. Coughlin]. In a word, the

Jesuit body can be all things to all men and all women [as per the Jesuit

Oath of the Fourth Vow]. They may be—and it is not admitting much—

better educated than the general run of the religious Orders in Ireland; but

they are, perhaps, on that account, all the more objectionable, and all the

greater drag upon the country [having destroyed the Reformation in Ireland

and reduced its population to the most illiterate and impoverished of the

White races]. Whenever there was trouble in Ireland the Jesuit was always

found absent or invisible. . . . What a fall from the humility and selfsacrifice

of Jesus to the body of men who style themselves the Society of

Jesus, for instance, in so many parts of the world to-day! . . .

This would have been a subject worthy of a historic picture; the ‘hard

headed, [capacity for drinking without getting drunk],’ sly Jesuits, in their

black soutanes [cassocks], remonstrating with the big Dominican in his

robes of white and black. Father Burke was a large man, with jet-black

hair, and a very florid face, and the Dominican used to preach in the showy

robe of his Order. The dispute in the sacristy [a special room in the

church] ended in the Jesuits giving way to Father Burke. . . . Imagine, then,

their consternation when Father Burke, standing up in the pulpit and pulling

back his sleeves, bared his wrists, and commenced operations by thumping

the ledge of the pulpit with the clenched fist of his right arm. And he

bellowed forth, in stentorian tones, as he brought his hand down with a

thud, ‘Damn the Jesuits!’ And he struck the pulpit again and cried out,

‘Damn the Jesuits!’ The audience became intensely excited, and one

might have heard a pin fall in the church. It is said that one of the most

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The Jesuits — 1641

254

‘hard-headed’ Jesuits had his foot upon the first step of the pulpit stairs,

about to go up and remonstrate with the preacher. And Burke again cried

forth, in the most pointed way, swinging himself right and left in the pulpit,

‘To hell with the Jesuits!’ It now seemed as if Burke was going to

denounce the Order, which, in so may respects was a rival to his own, and

was going to utilize the Jesuits’ own pulpit for the purpose! The poor

Catholic lay congregation listened awestruck, waiting for the development

of these adjurations. For then, of course, nothing that could emanate from

the pulpit would ever sound wrong. And they knew nothing about the

dinner [at which the Dominican was accused by certain Jesuits of being

drunk with wine and thus unfit to enter the pulpit]. Their faith assured them

that the apparent inexplicability of the situation was bound to be

satisfactorily unraveled. But the lurking Jesuits round the corners, looking

through their spy-holes in the passage doors, and who knew all about the

consumption at dinner, can have had no such comforting assurance. Burke

however relieved the tension by proceeding to speak somewhat in this vein:

‘Yes, my dearly beloved brethren, To Hell with the Jesuits! that is the

irreligious cry which is now ringing throughout Europe [Germany

having expelled the Order in 1872]. That is the unchristian cry which is

now ringing throughout atheistical France [having expelled the Jesuits in

1901—the secret plotters behind the Dreyfus Affair and the Triple Entente

so necessary in causing World War I]. Damn those holy men, the Jesuits;

down with the Jesuits; yea, and other more ribald and even more impious

curses than those I have mentioned, on the heads of the worthy Order which

is one of the principal pillars of the Church.’ And then he proceeded to

preach an eloquent panegyric of the Jesuit Order, which succeeded in its

purpose of eliciting the required subscriptions from the congregation.” {5}

[Emphasis added]

Michael J. F. McCarthy, 1902

Irish Roman Catholic Barrister-at-Law

Priests and People In Ireland

While the Jesuits were busy with their Thirty Years’ War attempting to

completely “extirpate” the Bible-reading, “heretic and liberal” Lutheran Germans,

they were also suppressing the Protestant quest for liberty in the Dutch Republic.

Thus they also planned the annihilation of the Protestants in Ireland. We read:

“So greatly had the Irish ecclesiastics increased under Charles I, by titular

archbishops, bishops, and deans, that in the year 1629 it was deemed

necessary to forbid the public exercise of the popish rites and ceremonies.

But notwithstanding this, soon after, the Romish clergy erected a new

popish [Jesuit] university in Dublin. They also proceeded to build

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The Jesuits — 1641

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monasteries and nunneries in various parts of the kingdom, in which the

priests and the chiefs of the Irish held frequent meetings, and from thence

used to pass to and fro to France, Spain, Flanders, Lorraine, and Rome,

where the plot of 1641 was being hatched by the family of the O’Neils

[O’Neills] and their followers. The great design was, that a general

insurrection should take place at the same time throughout the kingdom,

and that all the Protestants, without exception, should be murdered. The

day fixed for this horrid massacre was the 23rd of October, 1641, the feast

of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits; and the chief conspirators in the

principal parts of the kingdom made the necessary preparations for the

intended conflict.” {6} [Emphasis added]

Having devised the plan to murder all the Protestants of Ireland on Ignatius Loyola’s

feast day, the Jesuits moved the deceived Irish Catholic people to carry out the plan.

“The Irish were more strongly instigated to execute the infernal business by

the Jesuits, priests, and friars, who when the day for the execution of the

plot was agreed upon, recommended to their hearers diligence in the great

design, which, they said, would greatly tend to the prosperity of the

kingdom and to the advancement of the Catholic cause. They everywhere

declared to the common people that the Protestants were heretics, and ought

not to be suffered to live any longer among them, adding that it was no

more sin to kill an Englishman than to kill a dog, and that the relieving or

protecting them was a crime of the most unpardonable nature.” {7}

[Emphasis added]

When the extirpation began, the Jesuits, true to form, carried out their bloody

Oath once again. Remember, they always use other people or organizations to do

their dirty work when enforcing the Council of Trent. We read again:

“It is impossible to conceive the pleasure these monsters took in exercising

such cruelty; and to increase the misery of those who fell into their hands,

when they butchered them they would say, ‘Your soul to the devil!’ One of

these miscreants would come into a house with his hands imbrued in blood,

and boast that it was English blood, and that his sword had pricked the

white skins of the Protestants [being both a religious and racial extirpation

as it is subtly today in the UK, South Africa, Canada and the US] even to

the hilt. Upwards of thirty Protestants, men, women and children, in the

county of Tipperary, fell into the hands of the papists, who, after stripping

them naked, murdered them with stones, poleaxes, swords, and other

instruments. . . . Others were hung on windmills, and before they were half

dead the barbarians cut them in pieces with their swords. Some, both men,

women and children, they cut and hacked in various [sexual] parts of their

bodies and left them wallowing in their blood to perish where they fell. . . .

Vatican Assassins

The Jesuits — 1641

256

Similar barbarities were practiced on the wretched Protestants in

almost all parts of the kingdom; and when an estimate was afterwards

made of the number who were sacrificed to gratify the diabolical

cruelty of the papists, it amounted to 150,000.” {8} [Emphasis added]

Continuing with a passage from J. T. Headley’s The Life of Oliver Cromwell, we

read with horror from Sir J. Temple’s Irish Rebellion as given by Merle D’Aubigne:

“Ever since the dreadful [Jesuit-instigated] massacre of 1641, a perpetual

war had been carried on between the Protestants and Catholics. This,

Charles [Charles I, whose descendants include the US Bush Dynasty

having made its family fortune through banking via the Black Pope’s Third

Reich according to John Loftus, a former prosecutor in the Justice

Department’s Nazi War Crimes Unit and the author of Unholy Trinity],

while alive, had fostered by throwing the weight of his influence on the side

of the Catholics. [For six years Charles I of England and Louis XIV of

France had the same Jesuit confessor, Pere La Chaise.] . . .

‘The Catholics burnt the houses of Protestants, turned them out naked

in the midst of winter, and drove them like herds of swine before them.

If ashamed of their nudity, and desirous of seeking shelter from the rigor of

a remarkable severe season, these unhappy wretches took refuge in a barn,

and concealed themselves under the straw, the rebels instantly set fire to it,

and burned them alive [as did the Order’s Nazi SS against Orthodox

Russians and Jews during Operation Barbarossa in 1941]. At other times,

they were bound without clothing, to be drowned in rivers; and if, on the

road they did not move quick enough they were urged forward at the point

of the pike. When they reached the river, or the sea, they were precipitated

into it in bands of several hundreds. . . . If these poor wretches rose to the

surface of the water, men were stationed along the brink, to plunge them in

again with the butts of their muskets, or to fire at, and kill them. Husbands

were cut to pieces in the presence of their wives; wives and virgins were

abused in the sight of their nearest relations; and infants of seven or eight

years were hung before the eyes of their parents. Nay, the Irish even went

so far, as to teach their own children to strip and kill the children of the

English, and dash out their brains against the stones [as did the Order’s

Croatian Ustashi to the Orthodox Serbs and Jews during World War II

pursuant to the Jesuit Oath]. Numbers of Protestants were buried alive—as

many as seventy in one trench. An Irish priest, named MacOdeghan,

captured forty or fifty Protestants, and persuaded them to abjure their

religion, on a promise of quarter. After their abjuration he asked them if

they believed that Jesus Christ was bodily present in the host, and that the

pope was the head of the church? And, on their replying in the affirmative,

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257

he said, ‘Now, then, you are in a very good faith; and for fear they should

relapse into heresy, cut all their throats.’ ” {9} [Emphasis added]

And why all this needless bloodshed? Because the murder had been boldly

preached by the Jesuits. We read the brazen, unabashed words of Jesuit Conor

O’Mahony, professor of Moral Theology in Evora, Portugal, spoken in 1645:

“My dear Irish,—Go on and perfect the work of your liberty and defence,

which is so happily begun by you; and kill all the heretics, and all that do

assist and defend them. You have in the space of four or five years, that is,

between the years 1641 and 1645, wherein I write this, killed 150,000

heretics, as your enemies acknowledge. Neither do I deny it. And for my

own part, as I verily believe you have killed more of them, so I would to

God you had killed them all—which you must either do, or drive them all

out of Ireland, that our [Catholic] Holy Land may be plagued no longer

with such a . . . barbarous, ignorant and lawless generation of people.” {10}

(Dear truth-seeker, two hundred years later the Satanic Sons of Loyola controlling

the Queen of England would instigate the Second Irish Massacre. Deceptively

called, “The Irish Potato Famine of 1845 to 1850,” a private source writes:

“During this five-year period—with Queen Victoria sitting on the British

throne [The Royal Butcheress of Ireland whose son, Freemasonic King

Edward VII, never caught Walter Richard Sickert, the notorious “Jack

the Ripper”], and closely attended by her Jesuit advisors—freighters laden

with Irish wheat, oats, barley, eggs, beef and pork were DEPARTING Irish

ports en route to other countries, at the rate of about EIGHT FREIGHTERS

PER DAY, while nearly one million of my Irish ancestors were starving to

death. [In the 1930s the Company would cause Stalin’s Massacre of

Orthodox Ukrainians, the so-called “Famine in the Ukraine,” ordering

Masonic Stalin to lock up all the food as millions perished.]

In addition to producing another Vatican harvest—the Irish Protestant body

count—the ensuing, increased Irish emigration provided the Jesuits with a

stepped-up flow of Irish Catholics to the United States, to help build within

that Protestant nation a blindly obedient Papal fifth column, as an

instrument for destroying American constitutional self-government. It

worked.” [In the 1950s the Jesuits would cause the mass-emigration of

North Vietnamese Catholics to South Vietnam by using Ho Chi Minh (who,

like Jesuit-trained Fidel Castro, had been brought to power by the OSS

ruled by Knight of Malta “Wild” Bill Donovan) to spread the rumor that

his Communists were going to kill all the Catholics in North Vietnam. The

US Navy, formerly led by Cardinal Spellman’s Francis Matthews,

provided the vessels for that movement.] {11} [Emphasis added]

Vatican Assassins

The Jesuits — 1641

258

From 1641 to 1649—eight long years—the Jesuits continued their murder in

Ireland. It was for this reason Oliver Cromwell, the Defender of the Protestant faith,

landed in Ireland and demanded the country to surrender. Upon refusing, Cromwell

made an example out of Jesuit-ruled Drogheda by breaching its wall and destroying

every armed man with many interfering women and children. (The same was later

done to Wexford, which had also butchered innocent Protestants.) This never would

have happened had not the Jesuits instigated the mass-murder of the generally

tolerant, minority Protestants beginning with the Irish Massacre of 1641, the Order

having brainwashed the Irish Catholics to hate and kill anti-pope, anti-Jesuit, English

and Irish Protestants—men, women and children! Headley writes:

“Cromwell himself attempts no disguise, and in writing to the government

on account of it, he says, after speaking of carrying the entrenchments:

‘Being thus entered, we refused them quarter, having the day before

summoned the town. I believe we put to the sword the whole number of the

defendants [over 2000]. I do not think thirty of the whole number escaped

with their lives. Those that did are in safe custody for the Barbadoes . . . I

wish that all honest men may give the glory of this to God alone, to whom,

indeed, the praise of this mercy [to the Irish Protestants] belongs.’ . . . His

Chaplain, Hugh Peters, took the same view of it, and went to the chief

church, where he solemnly offered up thanks to God for the slaughter of his

enemies. Parliament also decreed that a day of thanksgiving should be kept

in honor of this great mercy. The fate of Drogheda struck the Irish people

with dread. The day of vengeance had arrived; and the atrocities they had

practiced on the helpless Protestants were now to be visited upon their own

heads. Cromwell—resolved to bring the Irish [Jesuit-instigated] war to a

speedy termination, followed up this victory by those rapid movements

which distinguished his last campaign in England. ” {12} [Emphasis added]

With the collapse of the Jesuit Order’s eight-year “extirpation” of the

Protestant “accursed heretics,” these converted Irishmen preferring the truths of the

Word of God over the lies of that popish Antichrist in the Vatican, Cromwell placed

his Puritan, Bible-believing, Calvinist son-in-law, Lieutenant General Henry

Ireton, as lord deputy of the nation. Drogheda and Wexford had fallen to Cromwell.

Waterford and Limerick would fall to Ireton. Of the fall of Limerick, Ireland’s last

refuge of the Jesuits, we read from McMains’, The Death of Oliver Cromwell:

“The task in 1650-51 was the taking of Limerick, which proved difficult.

The town lay in two parts, the so-called Irish town occupying the south

bank of the Shannon surrounded by a mile-long wall, poor and mean, . . .

‘but a street of decayed houses.’ The so-called English town occupied the

end of a large island in a river. A drawbridge over Shannon channel

connected the party. . . .

Chapter 9

The Jesuits — 1641

259

In the fall of 1650 a siege failed against the ‘last refuge’ of the Irish. This

failure along the Shannon prompted the commander [Ireton] to ‘be earnest

with the Lord, to know his minde what he would have his poore servants in

the Army to doe.’ In the summer of 1651 he again invested the city. . . .

Attacks failed during that summer because the Irish, led by Hugh O’Neill

[the same O’Neill family having been used by the Jesuits to ignite the Irish

massacre in 1641], skillfully deterred Ireton’s stronger force for four

months. . . . Ireton called for Limerick’s surrender and offered O’Neill great

preferment for yielding the city. O’Neill answered that he had defended the

city for a year and was pledged to do so for another [enabling the Jesuits to

continue to kill all of the Protestants]. . . . Needing troops elsewhere to

fight marauding bands of Irish ‘Tories,’ Ireton in August tightened the

siege, and the city finally surrendered on 27 October. . . .

With the city’s fall twelve hundred soldiers surrendered, and Ireton thought

perhaps, a dozen persons should be tried for their part in the siege,

including Bishop of Emly Terence O’Brien. The principal charge against

them was that they helped disguise ‘those bloody Rogues, the Friars,

Priests, and Jesuits,’ who thereby escaped the city [as the Nuremberg Trials

and the Order’s historians, such as CFR William L. Shirer, enabled the

Jesuits to escape the notice and thus the wrath of Europe and Russia for

their infamous crimes committed through Masons Hitler and Stalin]. . . .

He eventually [and sadly] exempted O’Neill from death [as Hitler and

Stalin were exempted from righteous death sentences by Masons FDR and

Churchill] but hanged seven persons for their ‘obstinate holding out.’

O’Brien’s real crimes were outrages committed during the 1641 uprising

during which Protestants were massacred. His head was ‘fixed on a lofty

stake and placed at the top of the King’s Fort.’ ” {13} [Emphasis added]

Ah, but the Jesuits never forget nor forsake the vengeance due their enemies.

In redirecting an immediate sneak attack upon Ireland’s lord deputy, the Order

contacted their unsuspected Temporal Coadjutors, maybe a doctor or a cook, within

the household of our hero—the trusted son-in-law of the Protector. In 1651, at the

young age of forty, the Bible-believing and benevolent Lieutenant General Henry

Ireton (like General Oliver Cromwell; like Elizabeth Claypole—Cromwell’s

beloved daughter; like General George Washington; like Lieutenant General

Stonewall Jackson—at the young age of thirty-nine; like Lieutenant General

George S. Patton, Jr.), would die of a kind of “pneumonia” and/or a “fever of some

sort,” becoming another victim of the Order’s infamous and unrelenting “poison cup.”

“Ireton’s death [November 26, 1651] in Sir Geoffrey Galway’s townhouse

was widely reported by seventeenth-century standards, but the cause

remained uncertain. . . . [Jesuit] Dennis Murphy, S.J., implied plague by

Vatican Assassins

The Jesuits — 1641

260

claiming that after Limerick’s surrender, ‘Ireton was infected and died.’ . . .

Ireton ‘expired of a fever.’ . . . Dr. Philip Carteret [a Jesuit disguised as a

Baptist] . . . a shadowy person to the events in Limerick . . . was . . . an

attending physician [giving “the heretic,” Ireton, “the poison cup,” whom

the Order considered, “the scourge of Limerick”].” {14} [Emphasis added]

Why is it that today, the Irish Protestants of Northern Ireland do not want to

lose the protection of the British Army and be given over to the Jesuits’ Sein Fein and

the Irish Republican Army (IRA)? Is it not shocking to know that both Sein Fein and

the IRA—aided by certain American Knights of Columbus—work with the Russian

Civilian Intelligence (KGB) as revealed by KGB agent Vasili Mitrokhin in The

Sword and the Shield? Could it be the Jesuits also control the KGB, now the SVR?

Of the Jesuit penetration and control of all intelligence as well as the Order’s

ultimate doom, Doctor George Brown, Bishop of Christ Church in Dublin, Ireland

sagaciously preached a sermon in 1551, a portion of which declares:

“But there is a new fraternity of late sprung up who call themselves Jesuits,

which will deceive many, who are much after the Scribes and Pharisees’

manner. Amongst the Jews they shall strive to abolish the truth, and shall

come very near to do it. For these sorts will turn themselves into several

forms [spiritual shape-shifters]; with the Heathen a Heathenist, with the

Atheists an Atheist, with the Jews a Jew [we wonder how many Talmudic

Rabbis and Masonic Labor Zionists—such as the late New York Zionist

known as “the Jewish Pope,” Rabbi Stephen S. Wise—are secret Jesuits

controlling the Zionist government in Israel through the Labor Party for

the purpose of securing Jerusalem for the Papal Caesar in Rome], with the

Reformers a Reformade [like 33º Freemason Billy Graham, so accurately

described in Cathy Burns’ Billy Graham and His Friends (2001)],

purposely to know your intentions, your minds, your hearts, and your

inclinations, and thereby bring you at last to be like the fool that ‘said in his

heart there was no God.’ These shall spread over the whole world, ‘shall

be admitted into the counsels of princes, and they never the wiser,’

charming of them, yea, making your princes reveal their hearts, and the

secrets therein, and yet they not perceive it; which will happen from falling

from the law of God, by neglect of fulfilling the law of God, and by

winking at their sins. Yet in the end . . . they shall become odious to all

nations: so that at the end they shall be worse than Jews, having no restingplace

upon earth; and then shall a Jew have more favour than a Jesuit.” {15}

[Emphasis added]

Knowing that the Society of Jesus will never change, could it be that the

Jesuits have planned to destroy the Protestants and Baptists of the American Empire?

If so, how? Will the Empire experience a series of nuclear detonations in the future?

Chapter 9

The Jesuits — 1641

261

The First Irish Massacre, 1642 #6-2

The Irish Massacre, also called “Ireland’s St. Bartholomew’s Massacre,” was

incited by the Jesuits with the blessing of Charles I and his De Medici French

Queen, Henrietta, on October 23, 1641, the feast day of Ignatius Loyola. It lasted

for eight long, savage years until Oliver Cromwell landed in Drogheda in 1649 to

put an end to it. The intended purpose of this conspiracy was to put every

Protestant in Ireland to death. This scene depicts forty thousand Bible-reading

Protestants being sacrificed by the savage and bloodthirsty Roman Papists

having been brainwashed by the Sons of Loyola into believing that Protestants

were “heretics” and had no right to live. Deceptively called “Christians” by their

priests, whose allegiance was to the Papal Caesar in Rome, they merely enforced

the curses pronounced by the Black Pope’s Council of Trent, it being a militant

reaffirmation of Pope Innocent III’s Fourth Lateran Council of 1215.

Smokescreens, Jack Chick, (Chino, California: Chick Publications, 1983) p. 16. 

Vatican Assassins:

“Wounded In The House Of My Friends”

Third Edition

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uQl1CmWeLL87RWVtzKttGFKm0frSNR8D/view?usp=sharing 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY IN CHICAGO

CELEBRATE WITH US

 

Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago invites you to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 11, 2023. There will be no better place to watch throughout the city as guests of Trump Chicago will have a front-row view to see the Chicago River dyed Green.

ST. PATRICK'S RIVER DYEING PARTY IN THE GRAND BALLROOM

Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago will be transforming its Grand Ballroom into a St. Patrick’s Day celebration headquarters with festive green décor, live DJ entertainment, leprechauns, talented bagpipers, and traditional Irish dancers.

On Saturday, March 15th from 8:00am – 11:00am, guests are invited to revel in green bliss in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom as they enjoy an Irish-inspired brunch buffet, a premium open bar complete with spirits, wine, beer, Irish-inspired cocktails, music from the Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band with a special appearance by the Sheila Healy Academy of Irish Dance Group, and a shamrockin' DJ!

There will be no better place to watch throughout the city as guests of Trump Chicago will have a front-row view to see the Chicago River dyed Green all while delighting in this one-of-a-kind extravaganza.

Purchase Tickets

Terms & Conditions: The price is inclusive of taxes & service charges; exclusive of the Eventbrite fee. 21+ ID required at entrance. Under age children must be accompanied by an adult. Self-parking is available for an additional fee at the hotel on a first-come basis and is anticipated to sell out. No refunds, no transfers.

https://www.trumphotels.com/properties/chicago/propertycontent/chicago-vacation-packages/st-patricks-day-offers 

Agent Orange: This nickname gained traction during Trump's presidency, alluding to his controversial policies and the color of his trademark hair. It has a dual meaning, referencing both his hair color and the herbicide of the same name used during the Vietnam War.

https://abatul.com/

History of the Orange Order

The Loyal Orange Institution was formed on 21st September 1795 shortly after the ‘Battle of the Diamond’ outside Loughgall, Co. Armagh. Three well-known local men of the area, James Wilson, Dan Winter, and James Sloan, established the institution. Whilst much is made of these ‘founding fathers’ within Orange circles; from a spiritual perspective we see no evidence that any of them had evangelical credentials. History, in fact, shows that all three men were dedicated Freemasons and two of the three were actually proprietors of licensed premises.

The Bible addresses such people, saying, “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!” (Habakkuk 2:15). The Rev. Allan Dunlop, addressing this passage of Scripture in his book ‘Where Shadows Fall’ (p. 37), says, “The curse of God is upon the drink trade for what profits it brings are wrung from widows tears, children’s terror, women’s virtue and young men’s strength; and of wives and mothers broken hearts.”

It is true to say that Dan Winter came from a Quaker background, although his ungodly lifestyle shows he was anything but a dedicated Quaker. Firstly, Quakers have always practised strict ‘total abstinence’ and have always opposed the devilish influence of alcohol. Winter was the proprietor of a public house. Secondly, Quakers have always been opposed to the heathenish practices and teachings of Freemasonry. Winter was a zealous Freemason. Thirdly, Quakers have always been pacifists, opposing all type of fighting. Winter was the leader of the local ‘Peep O’ Day Boys’ (an illegal Protestant militia group of the day), and he was also a well-known ‘cock fighter’ in the area.

The ‘Battle of the Diamond’ itself lasted only fifteen minutes and was centred on Dan Winter’s public house, which was located at the Diamond crossroads. This battle (or skirmish) resulted in Winter’s premises being burnt to the ground by the attacking Roman Catholics who were ironically known as ‘the Defenders’. This place was the special focus of the attack as it was the gathering house for the local ‘Peep O’ Day Boys’. Prior to the battle, the authorities had made several arrests and various arms seizures relating to this illegal group.

Winter’s supporters, many of whom were Freemasons, gathered around the debris of the public house and pledged themselves to form a new secret society, made up wholly of Protestant men. Now that they no longer had Winter’s premises as a meeting place the men retired to James Sloan’s public house in the local village of Loughgall. Here the Orange Institution was properly organised.

The founders of the Orange Institution were known as ‘unwarranted masons’, ‘clandestine masons’ or ‘hedge’ Masons. These Masons were a rebellious group who would not accept the existing degree format of the ruling Masonic Grand Lodge of the day. Belinda Loftus, in her book ‘Mirrors’ (p.24) confirms that the clandestine or hedge Masons were “unwarranted by the Grand Lodge in Dublin” because Irish Masonry “refused to recognise any degrees but craft.” Up until the early 1800s the Grand Masonic Lodge of Ireland only accepted three degrees, – Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason, collectively known as the ‘Craft degrees’ or the ‘Blue Lodge’. All other degrees were held to be illegal.

Read a detailed exposure of the Royal Arch Purple by W P Malcomson:

The Unwarranted Masons were the more zealous (or esoteric) Masons who adhered to the many mystical degrees, which today are accepted within the domain of higher degree Freemasonry. These degrees are found under the auspices of the Red Lodge, known as the Chapter and the Chivalry degrees, known as the Preceptory.

The Irish Masonic publication ‘History of Freemasonry in the Province of Antrim’ alludes to these clandestine Masons. It explain how these men would ascend to “the top of some neighbouring hill, and there, towards the close of a summers evening, after the manner of the ancient Druids, perform their rites and ceremonies, the meeting being properly tyled and guarded…They were unwarranted and recognised no authority and no authority recognised them” (p.143&144).

Winter, Sloan and Wilson, accompanied by others, felt the great need to instigate a ceremony of initiation into the new body and not surprisingly Freemasonry was chosen as the model. They used the Masonic template to formulate their degree structure. That is why the Loyal Orders teaching, titles, symbols and rituals so closely resembles that of Freemasonry.

Initially the Orange had one sole degree known simply as the ‘Orange degree’. As the months progressed the founding fathers introduced a further degree somewhere around late 1796. The ‘Orange Marksman’ degree as it was originally designated, became better known as the ‘Purple degree’. It was constructed in Portadown, in the home of prominent Freemason, John Templeton – a location frequently used for Masonic ceremonies. Orange historian (and well known Freemason of his day) Colonel R.H. Wallace outlined in his ‘History of the Orange Order’ (1899) how the founders “were observed going into and out of a house in which a Masonic Lodge held its meetings,” and that, “He [Mr Templeton] invited them into the Masonic room, and there and then satisfactory arrangements were made.” He concluded by saying, “the influence of the place and its associations can be discerned in the results” (p. 50). Another Orange historian R.M. Sibbett in ‘Orangeism in Ireland and Throughout the Empire’ (1938) explained how, “The subject uppermost in their minds was touched upon and discussed, and, at the request of Mr. Templeton, they adjourned to a room which had been used for other ceremonies. Here the warrant was produced, the lodge was reopened, and a higher Order was added.”

A further degree was added as Orangeism consolidated itself. The Royal Arch Purple Chapter book states that, “Probably late in the year 1796 or early 1797 a third degree known as Purple Marksman was added to the ritual. It is likely to have been composed by the same hands, probably in the same room as that of the Orange Marksman or Purpleman” (History of the Royal Arch Purple Order p. 39).

Whilst little is known of the exact content of these three degrees it seems certain that they were highly ritualistic in character, being modelled on the first three degrees of Freemasonry, namely, Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason. The Royal Arch Purple Chapter book testifies that these three initial Orange degrees were “elaborate degrees” (p. 59).

Orange degree – Entered Apprentice degree

Orange Marksman degree – Fellowcraft degree

Purple Marksman degree – Master Mason degree

These were the three main degrees that were worked within the Order between 1795 and 1798, although many other ritualistic degrees were finding their way into Orangeism throughout the island of Ireland. Most of these degrees can today be found within the Royal Black Institution.

During this early period each individual Orange lodge administered its own control over the working of degrees, as no controlling authority existed to govern the degree system. A Grand Lodge of Ulster, as it were, was formed on 12th of July 1797, although it seemed to exercise little power over the whole island of Ireland.

The prevailing confusion within the Order, coupled with a large influx of new members, due to the deteriorating political situation in the form of the Republican uprising of the ‘United Irelanders’, resulted in the formation of a Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland on 21st April 1798. This brought much needed stability and leadership to the Order at a strategic period in its history.

Grand Lodge immediately addressed the bewildering amount of unnecessary ritualism that had found its way into Orangeism, and here began a process of reform which purged out all the ritualistic baggage which had settled itself within the Order. This resulted in the disposal of the original three (elaborate) degrees of the Orange. These were replaced with two simplified degrees of ‘Orange’ and ‘Plain Purple’. Out with the old degrees went the old leadership of James Wilson, Dan Winter, and James Sloan.

Wasting little time, Grand Lodge released a strong statement on 13th December 1798 which reflected the hierarchy’s strong desire to separate themselves from former error, stating: “That many persons having introduced various Orders into the Orange Society which will very much tend to injure the regularity of the institution. The Grand Lodge disavows any Order but Orange and Purple and there can be none other regular unless issuing and approved by them.”

From this date forward, the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland accepted only two degrees within the Order – ‘Orange’ and ‘Plain Purple’. Between 1798 and 1800 Grand Lodge began a process of implementing this simplification by standardising procedures throughout every lodge in Ireland. That they might eradicate any lingering injurious behaviour by spurious characters, they abolished the old Orange Order in 1800, with its ritualistic connections, obliging every Orangeman to rejoin a now simplified new Orange Institution.

Grand Lodges opposition to Royal Arch Purple and Black degrees

1798-1801

1802-1828

1834-1875

1876-1878

1880-1913

1925

Those ritualistic Orangemen inside the Order who bore allegiance to the former neo-Masonic degrees were far from happy at this radical reform. Some continued to practise these illegal degrees in a clandestine manner, in blatant violation of the rules of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland.

Facing strong persecution from a now powerful Grand Lodge and realising their beleaguered position, they merged the three old degrees into one large ritualistic degree. The Arch Purple Chapter’s book ‘History of the Royal Arch Purple Order’ explains: “Sometime between 1800 and 1811, possibly in 1802, a new degree was devised by the Brethren who valued and loved the old traditions and who were concerned by the turn of events” (p. 58). This degree was ” developed from the three pre 1798 ‘old degrees’ ” (p. 59). This elaborate degree became known as the ‘Royal Arch Purple degree’.

Orange degree

Orange Marksman degree – Royal Arch Purple degree

Purple Marksman degree

The Arch Purple Chapter’s book also confirms its composition, how that it was designed to “include as much as possible of the travel and ritual of the original three.”

The draft to the Arch Purple Chapter’s book diplomatically traces the roots of the Royal Arch Purple degree, stating that, “In light of the evidence available it would appear that the degree given today evolved from certain practices which had their origin in the Masonic Order, together with some innovations which had been introduced by those brethren conferring the degree in different areas being added to the original theme of the pre 1800 degrees to form a new ritual.” Even this guarded statement was omitted from the published book!

Nevertheless, in their book ‘The Orange Order: An Evangelical Perspective’ Grand Chaplain of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland (which owns the Royal Arch Purple as its third degree) Rev. Ian Meredith and Irish Arch Purple man Rev. Brian Kennaway comment on the Arch Purple degree. They state, “It has to be admitted that this is the most ‘Masonic-like’ part of our ceremony.” They later describe it as “a Christianised or ‘Reformed Freemasonry’ ” (pp. 12, 25).

From its inception, the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland looked upon this neo-Masonic Royal Arch Purple degree with understandable abhorrence. It was viewed as being incompatible with, and contrary to, both Protestantism and Orangeism. Those ritualistic Orangemen who practised the degree were persecuted by Grand Lodge, forcing them to practise the degree in great secrecy for fear of expulsion from the Order. Grand Lodge maintained this position throughout the whole of the 1800s and into the early 20th century. The hard line assumed by the Orange Institution in Ireland mirrored the resolute stance of Orangeism throughout Great Britain.

The history of the Royal Black Institution

The history of the Royal Black degrees

Royal Black Institution, the Crusades and the Jesuits

https://www.evangelicaltruth.com/royal-black-institution-crusades-the-jesuits/

https://www.evangelicaltruth.com/history-of-the-orange-order/

Trump International, Scotland

@TrumpScotland

Donald J Trump, 45th President of the United States, announced today the start of a new golf venture in Scotland: the MacLeod course, to be built at Trump International Scotland in Aberdeenshire in honor of his late mother Mary Anne MacLeod.

10:47 AM · May 1, 2023

https://x.com/TrumpScotland/status/1653093764271857666

James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766) [a] was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until his death in 1766. The only son of James II of England and his second wife, Mary of Modena, he was Prince of Wales and heir until his Catholic father was deposed and exiled in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His Protestant half-sister Mary II and her husband William III became co-monarchs. As a Catholic, he was subsequently excluded from the succession by the Act of Settlement 1701.

Raised primarily in France and Italy, when his father died in September 1701 James claimed the thrones. As part of the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1708 Louis XIV of France backed a landing in Scotland on his behalf. This failed, as did further attempts in 1715 and 1719. Led by his elder son Charles Edward Stuart, the 1745 Rising was the last serious effort to restore the House of Stuart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart  

Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.

Born in New York City, Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He became the president of his family's real estate business in 1971, renamed it the Trump Organization, and began acquiring and building skyscrapers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. After six business bankruptcies in the 1990s and 2000s, he began side ventures. From 2004 to 2015, he hosted the reality television show The Apprentice. A political outsider, Trump won the 2016 presidential election against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

In his first term, Trump imposed a travel ban on citizens from six Muslim-majority countries, expanded the U.S.–Mexico border wall, and implemented a family separation policy for migrants at the southern border. He rolled back environmental and business regulations, signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and appointed three Supreme Court justices. In foreign policy, Trump withdrew the U.S. from agreements on climate, trade, and Iran's nuclear program, began a trade war with China, and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without reaching a deal on denuclearization. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he downplayed its severity, contradicted health officials, and signed the CARES Act stimulus. Trump was impeached in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and in 2021 for incitement of insurrection; the Senate acquitted him in both cases. After his first term, scholars and historians ranked him as one of the worst presidents in American history.

Trump is the central figure of Trumpism. Many of his comments and actions have been characterized as racially charged, racist, or misogynistic. He has made false and misleading statements and promoted conspiracy theories to a degree unprecedented in American politics. After losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, Trump attempted to overturn the outcome, culminating in the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021. In 2023, Trump was found liable in civil cases for sexual abuse and defamation and for business fraud, and in 2024, he was found guilty of falsifying business records, making him the first U.S. president convicted of a felony. After winning the 2024 presidential election against Kamala Harris, Trump was sentenced to a penalty-free discharge, and two other felony indictments against him were dismissed.

Trump began his second term by pardoning around 1,500 January 6 rioters, initiating mass layoffs of the federal workforce, and starting a trade war with Mexico and Canada. Trump's broad and extensive use of executive orders has drawn numerous lawsuits challenging their legality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid02Xa3Xf22nmbGiMV9XKRDbQU2d9wg9fhBeCycFKvgvqnrSb8gmC1VA1iUvGzso7bhil

The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults is a two-hour live American television special that was broadcast in syndication on April 21, 1986, and hosted by Geraldo Rivera. It centered on the live opening of a walled-off underground room in the Lexington Hotel in Chicago once owned by crime lord Al Capone, which turned out to be empty except for debris. Thirty million viewers watched, making it the highest rated syndicated special in history.[1]

Background

Al Capone was born to Italian immigrant parents on January 17, 1899, in New York City. He moved to Chicago in 1919, and there he became a notable criminal figure and gangster. He played large parts in gambling, alcohol, and prostitution rackets. In 1925, after an assassination attempt on former head Johnny Torrio, Capone took control of the Chicago Outfit organized crime syndicate, which he had served as second in command. He was listed on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list, transported and sold alcohol during the Prohibition era, planned the St. Valentine's Day massacre, and was eventually indicted and convicted of income tax evasion in 1931. In 1939, he was released from Alcatraz prison on humanitarian grounds, due to acutely advancing syphilis. He died on January 25, 1947, in his home in Palm Island, Florida, from cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke a week after his 48th birthday.[2]

Program

Capone had previously housed his headquarters at the Metropole Hotel in Chicago, but in July 1928, moved to a suite at the nearby Lexington Hotel. Capone ran his various enterprises from this hotel until his arrest in 1931. A construction company in the 1980s planned a renovation of the Lexington Hotel, and while surveying the building had discovered a number of walled-off subterranean chambers on the property.[3]

Geraldo Rivera had been fired from ABC in 1985 after criticizing the network for canceling a report on the relationship between John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.[4] He then hosted the special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults which was broadcast live on April 21, 1986. The two-hour special (including commercials) was greatly hyped as potentially revealing great riches or dead bodies on live television. This included the presence of a medical examiner should bodies be found, and agents from the Internal Revenue Service to collect any of Capone's money that might be discovered.[3]

When the vault was finally opened, the only things found inside were dirt and several empty bottles, including one Rivera claimed was for moonshine bathtub gin. After several attempts to dig further into the vault, Rivera admitted defeat and voiced his disappointment to the viewers, apologizing as he thanked the excavation team for their efforts. Although it gathered criticism and became infamous for its disappointing ending, the program was the most-watched syndicated television special that year with an estimated audience of 30 million.[3] After the show, Rivera was quoted as saying "Seems like we struck out".[5]

Geraldo said on the April 20, 2016, edition of the Fox News Channel program The Five that he went right across the street and got "tequila drunk" after the special aired, then went back to his hotel room and put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. However, in his 1991 autobiography Exposing Myself, he wrote, regarding the event, "My career was not over, I knew, but had just begun. And all because of a silly, high-concept stunt that failed to deliver on its titillating promise."

Similar events

This was not the first time a vault was opened on live TV: in 1984, a safe recovered from the shipwreck SS Andrea Doria was opened. During the broadcast, all that was revealed were a few silver certificates floating at the top of the waterlogged safe. Peter Gimbel, who recovered the safe and arranged the TV event, said the media "felt ripped off because there wasn't a treasure".[6]

On October 28, 1987, actor Telly Savalas hosted Return to the Titanic Live, a two-hour television special broadcast from Paris. The special was also produced by John Joslyn, who also produced The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults. [7]

Reception

In 2023, Rolling Stone listed the special as one of the worst decisions in television history.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_Al_Capone%27s_Vaults

Trump plans to reopen and expand Alcatraz to house detainees. Here's what to know

Presley Bo Tyler

Shreveport Times

May 12, 2025 10:11am CT

Earlier this month, President Trump said he wants to reopen and expand Alcatraz prison in order to house "America's most ruthless and violent offenders."

Trump has since directed administrative officials open Alcatraz, which is a former prison located on a 22-acre island in San Francisco Bay.

The notorious prison closed on March 21, 1963, mostly due to high operating costs, difficult maintenance and escape concerns.

Why does Trump want to reopen Alcatraz?

On May 4, Trump posted on Truth Social, which is a social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group, "REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ."

Trump is now directing the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security to open and enlarge the aging facility to house detained immigrants, USA Today reported.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said that the agency "will comply with all Presidential Orders," however, they did not elaborate on the practicality and feasibility of reopening Alcatraz. Nor did the agency spokesperson provide answers regarding the agency's future role in reforming the prison, since the National Park Service is in control of the island, CBS News reported.

Trump has said Alcatraz is a "symbol of law and order" and he had the idea to reopen the island after judges have insisted that deportees received due process. "So many of these radicalized judges, they want to have trials for… every single person that's in our country illegally," said Trump according to USA Today.

While Trump wishes to reopen Alcatraz as a way to avoid giving detainees due process, the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments within the U.S. Constitution guarantee due process to all individuals within the U.S., including non-citizens and immigrants, whether their presence is legal or not, says Constitutions Annotated.

https://www.dailycomet.com/story/news/2025/05/12/is-trump-reopening-alcatraz-what-to-know-about-plans-to-reopen-prison-detainment-immigration-crime/83577262007/

A Dirty Bomb In Chicago? Mitt Romney’s Dangerous Take on Iran

Last night, Mother Jones magazine posted a series of videos of Mitt Romney speaking candidly to wealthy donors at a private fundraiser in May. In the videos, Romney weighed in on a number of topics, including Iran. In just over 30 seconds, Romney revealed not only a fundamental misunderstanding of dirty bombs, but also a disturbingly simplistic perspective on America’s challenges in the Middle East.

Here’s an excerpt of what Romney had to say on Iran:

“If I were Iran, if I were Iran—a crazed fanatic, I’d say let’s get a little fissile material to Hezbollah, have them carry it to Chicago or some other place, and then if anything goes wrong, or America starts acting up, we’ll just say, “Guess what? Unless you stand down, why, we’re going to let off a dirty bomb.” I mean this is where we have—where America could be held up and blackmailed by Iran, by the mullahs, by crazy people. So we really don’t have any option but to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon.”

Romney appears to believe that a dirty bomb is a nuclear weapon. It isn’t.

Crucially, a dirty bomb does not require fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium whose atoms are split to produce a high-energy nuclear explosion). In fact, the uranium that Iran is enriching doesn’t work particularly well in dirty bombs. Rather, dirty bombs use radioactive waste. There’s virtually no connection between Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and the blackmail scenario that Romney outlines in the video.

In reality, the best way to reduce the threat posed by dirty bombs is to secure and eliminate excess stocks of this material, especially at medical facilities. If Romney is concerned about this threat, he should have a chat with his running mate. In 2011, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan proposed to slash $647.5 million from the Department of Energy account that includes vital programs tasked with securing radioactive materials stored and in use in the United States and abroad.

(The Obama administration hasn’t been exactly stellar on this front either. Earlier this year the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee expressed concern about the Department of Energy’s FY 2013 budget request for radiological security programs, which included a proposed 60% reduction in activities to remove and dispose of excess or abandoned radiological materials in other countries.)

But the video illustrates a problem much bigger than dirty bombs: Romney is peddling a distorted view of the threat posed by Iran. The threat from Iran has little to do with dirty bombs and much more to do with how Iran’s potential acquisition of nuclear weapons (an outcome which is neither imminent nor inevitable) could affect regional stability and security in the Middle East. Romney lumps all of these issues together by outlining a highly dubious link between a nuclear Iran and a Hezbollah dirty bomb attack on American soil, suggesting that he understands little about the complex situation in the Middle East that would be his responsibility come January if he is elected.

And Romney’s language matters here as well. Describing Iran’s leaders as “crazed fanatic[s]” might make the base feel good, but it tells us nothing about Iran’s motivations. As the National Security Network reminds us, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dempsey has stated: “We are of the opinion that Iran is a rational actor.” He later added: “The key is to understand how they act, and not trivialize their actions by attributing to them some irrationality… I think that’s a very dangerous thing for us to do.”

This video is just one more indication that a Romney White House would conduct a “mad-libs foreign policy” driven not by facts, but by fear.

https://armscontrolcenter.org/a-dirty-bomb-in-chicago-mitt-romneys-dangerous-take-on-iran/

Marquette Park, the largest park on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, at 323 acres (1.31 km2), is located at 41.768°N 87.703°W in the city's Chicago Lawn neighborhood. The park is named for Father Jacques Marquette (1637–1675).

History

Planning and development

Monument to those who served from the area during World War I

Monument to Darius and Girėnas, pilots of Lituanica

Marquette Park is part of a system of 14 parks designed in 1903 by the Olmsted Brothers. At 323 acres (1.31 km2) in size, it is the largest of the revolutionary neighborhood parks created by the South Park Commission in the early 20th century. The Superintendent at the time, J. Frank Foster, envisioned the "new parks as beautifully landscaped 'breathing spaces' that would provide educational and social services to the city's congested immigrant neighborhoods."[1] "Social reformers launched a playground movement for the creation of additional parks."[2] In 1899 and 1903, the state legislature authorized the three park commissions: Lincoln Park Commission, West Park Commission, and the South Park Commission, to acquire property for new parks. "The South Park Commission opened a system of 10 innovative neighborhood parks in 1905, which soon inspired similar parks in the West and Lincoln Park systems and in other cities across the United States."[1]

The original plans for Marquette Park called for "a golf course on two islands surrounded by naturalistic lagoons; indoor and outdoor gymnasiums; swimming and wading pools; a children's playground; formal gardens; and a concert grove."[1] Due to its size, construction of the park went more slowly than most of the others in the system, and several features of the original plan were dropped due to difficulties with the landscape. Still, in 1913, the 18-hole golf course opened and "by 1917, the park included playing fields, a children's playground, tennis courts, propagating houses for the nursery, and a large, classically-designed golf shelter."[1][3]

In the early 1930s, the Great Depression caused the bankruptcy of the individual park districts. In 1934, the 22 independent agencies were consolidated into the Chicago Park District.[2] After the consolidation of Chicago's park commissions into the Chicago Park District in 1934, park workers redesigned the golf shelter, built comfort stations, and expanded the walking paths in the park to include the islands.

Monuments in the park

In 1922, a large granite boulder monument was installed that serves as a memorial to those who served from the area during World War I can be found toward the northwest corner of the park near West Marquette Road (West 67th Street) and South Homan Avenue. Mounted to this boulder is a bronze plaque that reads: "This tablet and adjacent elm tree stand here as a memorial to those from this community who served in the World War 1914 - 1918." As per the Chicago Tribune on page 100 from Sunday, May 14, 1922, the Chicago Lawn Woman's Club was to place this memorial tablet in Marquette Park after their annual luncheon on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 16, 1922, "in memory of those who served in the World War".

In 1935, public support helped secure a statue, located at the northeast corner of the park near West Marquette Road (West 67th Street) and South California Avenue, honoring Lithuanian-American aviators Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas who perished during the transatlantic flight of the Lituanica.

In August 1966, Martin Luther King, Jr. was joined by a diverse group of civil rights activists, religious leaders and concerned citizens for a march through Chicago’s Marquette Park neighborhood to demand equal housing. Dr. King called the Marquette Park March, “The first step on a 1,000 mile journey.”

The march was part of a summer long campaign to expose and break the collusion of realtors, city government, and white residents in maintaining tightly controlled racial segregation of housing in Chicago. Similar systems of dual real estate markets, local “covenants” (already declared illegal by the Supreme Court, more than a decade earlier, but still maintained) prevailed in cities and suburbs throughout the north and west, enforcing “de facto” segregation. The Marquette Park march of some 700 people was interrupted and stopped by what can only be called a small-scale riot, during which Dr. King was hit with a rock and other marchers were injured, cars were damaged, and numerous rioters were arrested.

The iconic photos of the event and Dr. King’s international profile guaranteed national coverage of the ugly behavior, making clear that segregation was not a regional southern problem but a national problem (and national embarrassment in the context of the Cold War). The campaign, though it had relatively little near-term impact on segregation in Chicago, led to the passage of a national Fair Housing Act in 1968, only weeks after the assassination of Dr. King in Memphis.

In honor of Dr. King’s work, community groups throughout Chicago developed The Martin Luther King, Jr. Living Memorial project – an effort to recognize the historic importance of Marquette Park March and leverage that moment to energize and inspire the community, which continues the struggle for the justice and equality that Dr. King sought a half-century ago.

The Memorial consists of three, 4-sided steles made from nearly 800 over-sized bricks and limestone – a reference to the construction materials of Chicago bungalows. Each stele’s inner face carries text telling about the historic importance of the Fair Housing Movement and the Martin Luther King Jr. Living Memorial. The site includes a bench containing nearly 300 tiles created by Chicagoans of all ages representing their understanding of “Home”, and representations of the diverse community of people who today continue to work to advance Dr. King’s vision.

The steles are made of carved brick that depict the history and possible positive futures of the neighborhood and positive aspects of the present. Images on one side show Martin Luther King Jr. and marchers with arms linked in the manner typical of The Civil Rights era and an iconic image of a moment immediately after Dr. King was struck by a projectile. Another side represents the beloved community Dr. King imagined and called on us all to create – a future in which all humans – regardless of gender, race, or nationality – have a secure home.

The Memorial also has the word “Home” written in different languages historic to Marquette Park and to the global world we live in today.

Protests

Main article: Marquette Park rallies

Marquette Park and the neighborhood surrounding it became infamous for being the scene many violent, racially charged rallies between the 1960s and 1980s.

Civil rights protests

Marquette Park Lagoon

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, chaired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., decided to take its protest north in 1966. During the Chicago Freedom Movement, King led a group of marchers (protesters) into the all-white housing areas near Marquette Park in Chicago. A crowd of 4,000 Marquette Park residents gathered to watch the march, some waving Confederate flags or throwing bottles, bricks and rocks at the protesters.[4] One of the rocks hit King in the head above his right ear, but he was not severely hurt and continued with the march.[4] The Marquette Park residents also stoned cars and buses carrying black people and, after the march, clashed with police.[4][5] It is a common misconception that the incident in which Dr. King was struck with a rock happened in the Chicago suburb of Cicero rather than Marquette Park, but the Chicago Freedom Movement never marched in Cicero.[6]

The incident at Marquette Park was part of the protests led by the Chicago Freedom Movement, of which King was co-chairman. It was a year-long campaign for open housing, started in January 1966 when King and his wife Coretta moved into a North Lawndale slum on the west side of Chicago. King, the SCLC, and the movement wanted to make Chicago a racially open city. They wanted it to be a place where everyone could buy homes or rent apartments without fear of racial attacks. The march was not as successful as King and the SCLC had hoped. A rather vague agreement was created with Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, containing promises (not kept) of open housing legislation and improving living conditions. This march was part of a series of marches coordinated by the Chicago Freedom Movement—the marriage of King's SCLC and the CCCO (Coordinating Council of Chicago Organizations), led by King's co-leader in Chicago, Al Raby.[7]

In 2016, a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. was erected in the park.[8][9]

Neo-Nazi protests

In the 1970s, National Socialist Party of America leader Frank Collin regularly held demonstrations in the park. After the Chicago Park District banned Collin, he instead proposed a march in the largely Jewish suburb of Skokie.[10] A Supreme Court decision, National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, ordered the march to be allowed on First Amendment grounds.[11]

To avoid a violent confrontation with the Jewish Defense League, the ACLU negotiated a compromise where the NSPA would not march in Skokie but instead Chicago would allow the group to return to the park.

Plane crash

On the afternoon of Friday, December 8, 1972, United Airlines Flight 553 crashed two blocks west of the park into a residential area, killing 43 on board and two on the ground. The Boeing 737-222 was on approach to Midway Airport and the crash was attributed to pilot error; there were eighteen survivors, including all three flight attendants. Among the fatalities were congressman George W. Collins and CBS News correspondent Michele Clark.[12][13]

Description and surroundings

Ashburn Prairie

Marquette Park's three and a half acre Ashburn prairie remnant has a very special history. The story begins during the pre-settlement era at 87th Street and Kedzie Avenue on a 2-acre (8,100 m2) lot near the Evergreen Cemetery. It was at this location that the original Ashburn prairie thrived, untouched by farming, housing and commercial development. The mesic prairie contained nearly 100 species of native plants. Forbs such as Mountain Mint (Pycanthemum verticillatum), Nodding Wild Onion (Allium cernuum), Nodding Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes cernua), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Prairie Dock (Silphium perfoliatum), Compass Plant (Silphium lacinatum), and Obedient-plant (Physostegia virginiana) were found at the prairie. Grasses such as Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) were also present.

Looming land development threatened the rare patch of prairie, but a heroic effort by the Park District and members of the public resulted in the prairie being moved to Marquette Park. In the spring in 1993, the Park District dug up several plugs of prairie using a tree spade. Each plug measured four to five feet across. With the important roots of these prairie plant plugs intact, crews carefully transported these huge plugs to Marquette Park. There, the rescue team drilled holes and installed the huge plugs near the edge of the lagoon. Fortunately, the soil profile at the old site was similar to the soil profile at the new site, and overall the prairie rescue was a success. Most of the flowers bloomed the very first year in their new home. As the prairie began to settle into its new home, prairie reconstruction activities continued. Volunteers seeded, planted and weeded between the tree-spaded remnants, and in the areas north of the remnants.[14]

The prairie is located along the edge of the lagoon, south of Mann St., east of Kedzie Avenue.

Golf Course

Marquette Park Golf Club House, Chicago

Marquette Park Golf Course, Hole 1

The Marquette Park Golf Course is a 3,187-yard (2,914 m) nine-hole par-36 course featuring elevated tees and greens as well as spacious fairways. Water comes into play on seven of the nine golf holes. The golf course practice facilities include a driving range, a 9,000-square-foot (840 m2) putting green, and chipping green and sand bunkers. Billy Casper Golf serves as manager of the Marquette Park Golf Course as it does for all Chicago Park District golf facilities.

Tarkington Elementary School

The Tarkington Elementary School, located at 3330 W. 71st Street on the south side of the park and serving pre-K through the 8th grade, was completed in 2005 and classes began on Tuesday, October 4 of that year. Tarkington is the first in the Chicago Public Schools system to have the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification. With a building area approximately 134,000 square feet (12,400 m2), the school sits on a 9.82-acre (39,700 m2) site. The school was built to relieve overcrowding on the Southwest Side and will serve up to 1,000 elementary school students.

The two-story elementary school include art, music and science classrooms, a full-serving kitchen and dining facilities, a multipurpose room and a field house that will be shared by the Chicago Park District. The project also involved improvements to Marquette Park, including a new soccer field.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquette_Park_(Chicago)

Jacques Marquette, S.J. (French pronunciation: [ʒak maʁkɛt]; June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675),[1] sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette,[2] was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Ignace. In 1673, Marquette, with Louis Jolliet, an explorer born near Quebec City, was the first European to explore and map the northern portion of the Mississippi River Valley.

Early life

Jacques Marquette was born in Laon, France, on June 1, 1637. He was the third of six children for Rose de la Salle and Nicolas Marquette. The de la Salles were a wealthy merchant family. The Marquette family had been well-respected for many years, as numerous members had served in the military and taken civil posts.[3]

Jacques Marquette was sent to study at the Jesuit College in Reims at age 9. He remained there until he joined the Society of Jesus at age 17.[4] Marquette taught for a year at Auxerre, then studied philosophy at Ponta Mousson until 1659. He taught at Ponta Mousson, Reims, Charleville, and Langres until 1665.[5]

Throughout this time, Marquette sent multiple requests to be sent on missionary work. The superior of the Jesuit mission in New France, Father Jérôme Lalemant, needed missionaries to work with the Five Nations. Marquette was ordained on the Feast of Saint Thomas of Aquinas in Toul on March 7, 1666. Months later, on September 20, he arrived in Quebec.[6]

Missionary work

Marquette was first sent to the mission of Saint Michel at Sillery. Because this mission served peaceful and friendly indigenous people from different tribes, it was considered an ideal place for training new missionaries. Marquette studied the languages and customs of the Algonquin, Abenaki, and Iroquois people that he often tended to at Sillery.[7][8]

From there, he was assigned to Trois-Rivières on the Saint Lawrence River, where he assisted Gabriel Druillettes.[9] This mission was located in a river town that had permanent shops and taverns. A large number of French soldiers were stationed in the town, as there were frequent attacks from the Five Nations.[10] During his two years at this mission, Marquette devoted himself to the study of the local languages and became fluent in six different dialects.[9][11]

In 1668, Marquette was moved by his superiors to missions farther up the Saint Lawrence River, then into the western Great Lakes region. That year, he helped Druillettes, Brother Louis Broeme, and Father Claude-Jean Allouez found the mission at Sault Ste. Marie in present-day Michigan.[12][13][14] The missionaries planted crops, then built a chapel and barns. They established friendly relationships with the Ottawa and Chippewa that were inhabiting that area, and were allowed to baptize most of the infants and people who were dying.[15] Marquette noted that the Chippewa were great businessmen and exceptionally skilled at catching whitefish from the rapids in the St. Marys River.[13]

People from many tribes would travel to purchase the whitefish. Marquette and the other missionaries would explain their faith to the visiting Sioux, Cree, Miami, Potawatomi, Illinois, and Menominee. They hoped that these visitors would be interested in getting their own Jesuit missionary, or "Black Robe," as they were called by the indigenous people.[16][17] In 1669, Marquette was assigned to replace Allouez at the La Pointe du Saint Esprit mission. Father Claude Dablon arrived to continue and expand the missionary work at Sault Ste. Marie.[18]

Marquette began the 500-mile (800 km) journey to his new assignment in August, travelling by canoe along the south shore of Lake Superior. The party soon encountered wintry conditions on the lake and were often unable to light a fire when they went ashore at night. The party reached their destination on September 13, and were greeted by the Petun Huron.[19][20] Excited to have a Black Robe again, they quickly assembled a banquet.

In addition to the Petun Huron, Marquette was tasked with missionary work for three bands of Ottawa: the Keinouche, Sinagaux, and Kiskakon. Marquette visited and attended to all four settlements. Since he felt the Kiskakon were the most ready to accept Christianity, he spent more time working with them and even lived with the families in their village.[21]

During his time at La Pointe, Marquette encountered members of the Illinois tribes, who told him about the important trading route of the Mississippi River. They invited him to come to their village and teach their people, whose settlements were mostly farther south.[4] Marquette was eager to explore this river and asked for permission to take a leave from missionary work, but he first had to attend to an urgent matter.

The Hurons and Ottawa at La Pointe had begun fighting with the neighboring Lakota people. Because he feared an attack by the Lakota, Marquette felt it was necessary to find a new place for the mission.[4][22] Dablon agreed that a new mission was necessary and offered to find a location. Some of the men wanted to stay and fight. Marquette attempted to discourage the imminent war, but most of the men maintained their position. He promised those who wanted to avoid the war that he would take them to a new mission and told them to prepare to move east.[23]

In the spring of 1671, Marquette and his party began their journey to the new St. Ignace Mission. The canoes were loaded with men, women, children, animals, and personal belongings. They travelled through Lake Superior and down to the Straits of Mackinac The mission that Dablon had established for them was located on Mackinac Island. The group would be welcomed by a small group of Ottawa who already inhabited the island.[24] Shortly after the new residents arrived on the island, they became worried about the possibility of winter starvation. They had noticed that game was scarce and no corn had grown. A group of elders approached Marquette with these concerns, and Marquette agreed. In the fall, the mission was moved to the mainland at St. Ignace, Michigan.[25]

Explorations

Pere Marquette and the Indians [at the Mississippi River], oil painting (1869) by Wilhelm Lamprecht (1838–1906), at Marquette University[26]

Marquette's request to take a leave from missionary work to explore the great river was granted in 1673. Marquette joined the expedition of Louis Jolliet, a French-Canadian explorer. They departed from Saint Ignace on May 17, with two canoes and five voyageurs of French-Indian ancestry.[4] Four of these are known to be: Jacques Largillier, Jean Plattier, Pierre Moreau, and Jean Tiberge.[27] They travelled through Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and into Green Bay.[28][29]

This is where the party made their first encounter with indigenous people. They met the Menominee, who were known as the "wild rice" people.[28] Marquette told them of his mission to spread religion to the people along the river. The Menominee tried to discourage Marquette and the others, warning them about the perils of the river and the people inhabiting the land along it.[28][30]The group of explorers next went up the Fox River, nearly to its headwaters.[29] They came upon a village inhabited by Miami, Mascouten, and Kickapoo. They allowed Marquette to teach them about Christianity, and listened attentively. He was especially impressed by the Miami. Marquette noted that they were pleasant in appearance and temperament, despite their reputation as warriors. When Marquette's party left the village, they were accompanied by two Miami that would assist them in finding their way to the Wisconsin River.[31] From the Fox River, the Miami directed, and likely assisted, the men in portaging their canoes for almost two miles through marsh and oak plains to the Wisconsin River,[29][32][33]</ref> Many years later, the town of Portage, Wisconsin was built and named for the ancient path between the two rivers. They ventured forth from the portage and entered the Mississippi near present-day Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin on June 17.[29]

Eight days later, the travelers found footprints near the Des Moines River and went to investigate. They were enthusiastically greeted by the Peoria people who lived nearby in three small villages. Marquette and the others were welcomed by the elders, who offered accommodations and had a banquet prepared.[34][35] The men were offered many gifts by the Peoria. Since Marquette and the men were traveling, they had to decline the most of what was offered. Marquette did accept a calumet that was gifted to him by the chief. The chief explained that it was a symbol of peace and advised Marquette to display it as an indication of his amicable intentions. As the men left the village, the Peoria chief cautioned them against going too much farther south.[36]

As the party continued south, Marquette hoped to find the Chanouananons. They were known to be friendly to French, and Marquette felt they may be interested in Christianity. They did not find the Chanouananons, but Marquette did notice iron in the Wabash area.[37] Once the summer heat and mosquitoes began to cause great discomfort, the men stopped going ashore at night. They slept in the canoes, using the sails as protection from mosquitoes.[38] This attracted the attention of some Native Americans, who pointed guns at the travelers. Marquette held the calumet over his head. He attempted to communicate by speaking Huron, but was unsuccessful. He felt they may have misunderstood the intentions of the men with guns, and that they may have been inviting them to their village. Marquette was correct. He and the other men followed them to their village, where they were fed beef and white plums.[38][39]

At the mouth of the Saint Francis River, the men spotted a village. They heard war cries and saw men jumping into the river, trying to get to them. Marquette held the calumet over his head. The elders standing on shore saw this, and called off the attack.[40] The men were invited to the village of the Michigamea. One of the Michigamea was able to speak to Marquette in the Miami Illinois language, but most of the communication was done through gestures.[41] The men were fed fish and corn stew, then given a place to sleep for the night.[42]

In the morning, Michigamea warriors in dugout canoes escorted them to the Akansea.[41] They were greeted by a group of men in canoes who held up their own calumet. Marquette and the others were invited to the village. Many residents came out to see the Frenchmen.[42] A chief led them to a room where elders and other chiefs had gathered. Marquette used an interpreter to ask about what was south of them. He was told that it was extremely dangerous. The people were hostile, well-armed, and would attack anyone who could interfere with their trading arrangements.[43]

Map of the discovery made in the year 1673 in North America

The Jolliet-Marquette expedition had traveled to within 435 miles (700 km) of the Gulf of Mexico.[29] Marquette and the other men began to consider whether the danger was worth the risk.[44]> By this point, they had encountered several natives carrying European trinkets, and they feared an encounter with explorers or colonists from Spain.[29] The explorers had mapped the areas where they had been, including their flora, wildlife, and resources. After staying with the Akansea for two nights, the party decided to end the exploration.[44]

On July 17, they turned back at the mouth of the Arkansas River. They followed the Mississippi back to the mouth of the Illinois River, which they had learned from local natives provided a shorter route back to the Great Lakes. They reached Lake Michigan near the site of modern-day Chicago, by way of the Chicago Portage.[45][46] The party encountered a village of Kaskaskia, who invited Marquette to return and establish a mission. When the explorers left the village, some of the Kaskaskia got in their own canoes and traveled with them to Saint Francis Xavier mission in Green Bay, Wisconsin.[46][45] Jolliet returned to Quebec to relate the news of their discoveries.[45]

Grave of Jacques Marquette in Saint Ignace, Michigan

Marquette and his party returned to the Illinois territory in late 1674, becoming the first Europeans to winter in what would become the city of Chicago. As welcomed guests of the Illinois Confederation, the explorers were feasted en route and fed ceremonial foods such as sagamite.[47] As Marquette had promised, he established The Immaculate Conception mission for the Kaskaskia.[48][49]

Death

In the spring of 1675, Marquette traveled westward and celebrated a public Mass at the Grand Village of the Illinois near Starved Rock. A bout of dysentery he had contracted during the Mississippi expedition sapped his health. On the return trip to Saint Ignace, he died at 37 years of age near the modern-day town of Ludington, Michigan.[50][51] His companions, Pierre Porteret and Jacques Largillier, buried his body at a spot that Marquette had chosen. They marked his burial site with a large cross. Porteret and Lagrillier continued on to St. Ignace, so they could inform those at the mission.[52]

Two years later, Kiskakon Ottawa from the Saint Ignace mission found Marquette's gravesite. They cleaned his bones in preparation for their journey. Ottawa and Huron, in about thirty canoes, accompanied them back to the mission. Marquette's remains were presented to Fathers Nouvel and Piercon. They led funeral services before burying his bones in the chapel at Mission Saint-Ignace on June 9, 1677.[53][51][50]

In 2018, residents of St. Ignace, some of them descendants of those led by Marquette to the mission, became aware that an ounce of Marquette's bones was located at Marquette University.[54] Talks between the residents and the university began. The Museum of Ojibwe Culture sent a formal request for the return of the bones. This request was accepted by Marquette University. Two Native American men, one an Anishinaabe elder, arrived at the university in March of 2022. They were presented with Marquette's bones, which they placed in a birch box for the return to St. Ignace.[55] Following a ceremony, the bones retrieved from the university were reburied with the rest of Marquette's bones on June 18, 2022.[56]

A Michigan Historical Marker in Ludington, MI reads:

Father Jacques Marquette, the great Jesuit missionary and explorer, died and was buried by two French companions somewhere along the Lake Michigan shore on May 18, 1675. He had been returning to his mission at St. Ignace, which he had left in 1673, to go exploring in the Mississippi country. The exact location of his death has long been a subject of controversy. A spot close to the southeast slope of this hill, near the ancient outlet of the Pere Marquette River, corresponds with the death site as located by early French accounts and maps and a constant tradition of the past. Marquette's remains were reburied at St. Ignace in 1677.[57]

Adjacent to gravesite of Marquette on State Street in downtown Saint Ignace, a building was constructed that now houses the Museum of Ojibwa Culture.

However, a Michigan Historical Marker in Frankfort, MI reads:

Marquette's Death: On May 18, 1675, Father Jacques Marquette, the great Jesuit missionary and explorer, died and was buried by two French companions somewhere along the Lake Michigan shore of the Lower Peninsula. Marquette had been returning to his mission at St. Ignace, which he had left in 1673 to go on an exploring trip to the Mississippi and the Illinois country. The exact location of Marquette's death has long been a subject of controversy. Evidence presented in the 1960s indicates that this site, near the natural outlet of the Betsie River, at the northeast corner of a hill which was here until 1900, is the Marquette death site and that the Betsie is the Rivière du Père Marquette of early French accounts and maps. Marquette's bones were reburied at St. Ignace in 1677.[58]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Marquette

Marquette University is a Catholic institution operated by the Jesuit order. The law school's mission includes a commitment to the Jesuit idea of cura personalis ("care of the entire person"), a duty to promote diversity, and a goal of encouraging its "students to become agents for positive change in society."[5]

As of the 2016-17 academic year, the school has 575 enrolled students and 98 faculty members and administrators, including 30 full-time faculty members, 10 "deans, librarians, and others who teach," and 58 part-time faculty members.[1] For the fall 2016 entering J.D. class, there were 190 enrolled students (182 full-time and 8 part-time).[1]

Wisconsin, unique among American states, allows graduates of accredited law schools within the state to be admitted to the Wisconsin state bar without taking the state's bar examination if they complete certain requirements in their law school courses and achieve a certain level of performance in those courses, a practice known as the "diploma privilege."[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquette_University_Law_School

Lori Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962, Massillon, Ohio, U.S.) is an American Democratic politician and attorney who served as mayor of Chicago (2019–23). She was the first African American woman and the first openly gay person to hold that office.

Early life and education

Throughout her childhood Lightfoot’s family struggled financially. Her father, who had lost his hearing after suffering from spinal meningitis, held various jobs, including janitor and handyman. Her mother worked as a home health care assistant, among other jobs. Lightfoot’s parents encouraged her to excel in school, and she earned admittance to the University of Michigan, where she studied political science. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1984, she worked for two years as a legislative aide to U.S. Representative Ralph Regula of Ohio. Lightfoot subsequently attended the University of Chicago Law School on a full scholarship, receiving a degree in 1989. She then served for a year as a judicial clerk for the Michigan Supreme Court. In 1990 she joined the Chicago-based international law firm Mayer Brown.

Assistant U.S. attorney and government official

In 1996 Lightfoot was hired as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. During her six years in the post, she worked on a range of federal cases. Notably, she helped to successfully prosecute former Chicago alderman Virgil E. Jones for corruption and tax violations. She was later appointed by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to several positions in city government. Among them were chief administrator of the Chicago Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards (2002–04) and chief of staff and general counsel of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (2004–05). Lightfoot rejoined Mayer Brown in 2005. She eventually became a senior partner in the firm’s litigation and conflict resolution division.

Lightfoot returned to government service in 2015, when Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed her president of the Chicago Police Board, a civilian body that oversees police misconduct cases. A year later Emanuel selected her to cochair a new Police Accountability Task Force. It was created after a Chicago police officer was charged with murder in the October 2014 shooting death of an African American teenager, Laquan McDonald. In April 2016 the task force issued a final report that strongly criticized the Chicago Police Department for what the report described as a long history of racially discriminatory practices. The task force recommended numerous reforms, including overhauling disciplinary procedures and investing in additional training for officers. Lightfoot stepped down from the Chicago Police Board in May 2018. By that time, she had become increasingly outspoken about her differences with Emanuel on the pace and direction of police reforms as well as on other matters. She soon launched a bid to unseat Emanuel in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election.

Mayor of Chicago

Initially, Lightfoot was widely considered to be a long shot in the race. However, as the field of challengers in the election began to grow, Emanuel announced in September 2018 that he would not seek a third term. Another turning point in the race came in November, when federal authorities raided the offices of prominent Chicago alderman Ed Burke, who was later charged with attempted extortion. The high-profile raid brought the issue of political corruption to the fore, and Lightfoot’s message of reform and ending the city’s “broken political machine” began to resonate with many Chicago voters. On February 26, 2019, Lightfoot topped a field of 14 candidates in the first round of the mayoral election, though she failed to achieve the majority required to avoid a runoff. When the runoff election was held on April 2, she resoundingly defeated her opponent, Cook County Board Pres. Toni Preckwinkle, by a margin of 73.7 percent to 26.3 percent. Lightfoot also claimed victory in all 50 of Chicago’s wards. She was sworn in as mayor on May 20, 2019.

Lightfoot scored an early legislative victory when the Chicago City Council unanimously passed her ethics reform package in July. The set of reforms included giving Chicago’s inspector general more power to investigate the City Council and raising fines on council members who violated ethics rules. In early 2020 Lightfoot’s term began to be dominated by the outbreak of COVID-19. In late February she stated that Chicago was prepared to take “extraordinary measures” if necessary in response to the outbreak. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global pandemic on March 11. In the days that followed, Lightfoot introduced lockdown measures for the city that were aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. She also appeared with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker as he announced a stay-at-home order that went into effect statewide.

On May 8, 2020, Lightfoot unveiled a five-phase reopening plan for Chicago. The plan hinged on declining numbers of new COVID-19 cases and increased testing capacity, among other benchmarks. The mayor’s guidelines complemented a separate plan that Pritzker had outlined for reopening Illinois. Chicago was able to fully reopen along with the rest of the state on June 11, 2021. As cases surged at year’s end, however, Lightfoot announced a new round of restrictions, including requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter restaurants, sports arenas, and certain other venues in the city.

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Lightfoot used federal stimulus funds distributed during the pandemic to invest in a range of recovery programs as well as to help narrow the city’s massive budget shortfall. In addition to dealing with the pandemic and the severe toll it took on Chicago’s economy, Lightfoot also grappled with violent crime during her tenure. At a time when many major U.S. cities saw increases in homicide rates, the Chicago Police Department recorded 797 homicides in 2021, the most the city had experienced in any single year since 1996. That spike prompted Lightfoot to ask U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland for additional federal resources to boost local law enforcement efforts, particularly those aimed at stopping the flow of illegal guns into the city.

Lightfoot faced a difficult reelection in 2023. Crime remained a major concern, and many on the left had grown disillusioned with her mayoralty. Critics noted her failure to deliver on campaign pledges, including police reform. In addition, Lightfoot encountered opposition from labour unions, most notably the Chicago Teachers Union, which had gone on strike several times during her tenure. Against this backdrop, a number of candidates entered the mayoral race. In the February 2023 election Lightfoot was defeated as two other candidates advanced to a runoff. She left office at the end of her term in May.

Personal life

Lightfoot married her longtime partner, Amy Eshleman, in June 2014, when same-sex marriage became legal in Illinois. Eshleman, a former administrator for the Chicago Public Library, was active in issues concerning children and young adults. The couple has a daughter named Vivian.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lori-Lightfoot

Thomas Trace Beatie (born 1974[1]) is an American public speaker, author, and advocate of transgender rights and sexuality issues, with a focus on transgender fertility and reproductive rights.[2]

Beatie came out as a trans man in early 1997. Beatie had gender-affirming surgery in March 2002 and became known as "the pregnant man" after he became pregnant through artificial insemination in 2007.[3] Beatie chose to be pregnant, with donated sperm,[4][5] because his wife Nancy was sterile.

The couple filed for divorce in 2012. The Beatie case is the first of its kind on record, where a documented legal male gave birth within a marriage to a woman, and for the first time, a court challenged a marriage where the husband gave birth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Beatie

Tracing boards are painted or printed illustrations depicting the various emblems and symbols of Freemasonry. They can be used as teaching aids during the lectures that follow each of the Masonic Degrees, when an experienced member explains the various concepts of Freemasonry to new members. They can also be used by experienced members as reminders of the concepts they learned as they went through the ceremonies of the different masonic degrees.[1]

History and development

Floor and table designs

In the eighteenth century Masonic lodges met chiefly in private rooms above taverns, and the symbolic designs used in catechesis were chalked on the table or floor in the centre of the hired room, usually by the Tyler or the Worshipful Master.[2] Evidence suggests that a simple boundary was drawn (usually a square or rectangle, or sometimes a cross) within which various Masonic symbols were added, often of a geometric type (such as a circle or pentagram). In many lodges the boundary shape may have been drawn by the Tyler, with the Master adding the symbolic detail. Later various symbolic objects were incorporated, examples including a ladder, a beehive, and an hourglass, and sometimes drawings were interchangeable with physical objects.[3] At the end of the work a new member was often required to erase the drawing with a mop, as a practical demonstration of his obligation of secrecy.

Though the various Grand Lodges were then generally hostile to the creation of any physical representations of the ritual and symbols of the Craft, the time-consuming business of redrawing the symbols at every meeting was gradually replaced by keeping a removable "floor cloth" on which the various symbols were painted. Different portions might be exposed according to the work being executed.[4] By the second half of the eighteenth century the Masonic symbols were being painted on a variety of removable materials ranging from small marble slabs to canvas, to give a more decorative and elaborate symbolic display.

Painted boards

During the nineteenth century there was a rapid expansion of the use of permanent painted tracing boards, usually painted on canvas and framed in wood. Many artists produced competing designs, and most lodges commissioned sets of bespoke boards which were therefore of a unique design, despite following common themes. Some designs became particularly popular, leading to some repetition of favoured design features. Boards by John Cole and Josiah Bowring were examples of popularly recurring designs.[5]

The English artist John Harris was initiated in 1818 and produced many different series of tracing boards, including a miniature set of 1823 which became popular after Harris dedicated the design to Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).[6] Eventually the Emulation Lodge of Improvement sought to bring a measure of standardisation in tracing board design, and organised a competition in 1845, to which many different designs were submitted. Harris himself submitted at least two different sets to the competition, but one of his designs was the winner. Harris revised the designs in 1849, and these "Emulation" tracing boards are today considered a definitive design within British and Commonwealth Freemasonry.[7]

Contemporary use

In lodges under the UGLE, and many jurisdictions derived from English Freemasonry, tracing boards are an essential part of lodge furniture, sometimes displayed flat on the floor, and sometimes vertically against a pedestal or on the wall. Sets of three boards, usually of older designs, may often be found in special cases for storage and display within lodge rooms. There are sometimes tracing boards in other degrees.[8] The Royal Arch tracing board has fallen into disuse in most places, and examples are now rare. In the Mark Master Mason and Royal Ark Mariner degrees as administered from London, the tracing boards have experienced a great revival in popularity from the end of the twentieth century, and official rituals for the explanations of these tracing boards are again in regular use in English lodges.

As different Masonic jurisdictions established official, or standard, degree rituals the creation of new tracing boards by artists waned, and has since largely disappeared in favour of standard designs. Nonetheless, some masonic artists have experimented with very modern designs for the twenty-first century.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracing_board

Exoteric Masonry, which is only the husks of the Mystic Order formed by the Sons of Cain has in modern times attracted the masculine element with its positively polarized physical vehicles, and educated them in industry and statecraft, thus controlling the material development of the world. The sons of Seth, constituting themselves the Priestcraft have worked their spell over the positive vital bodies of the feminine element to dominate the spiritual development. And whereas, the sons of Cain working through Freemasonry and kindred movements, have openly fought for the temporal power, the Priestcraft has fought as strenuously and perhaps more effectively, by stealth, to retain their monopoly upon the spiritual development of the feminine element. To the casual onlooker it would seem as if there were no decided antagonism between these two movements at the present time, but though Freemasonry of today is but a shell of its true ancient mystic self, and though Catholicism has been terribly tarnished by the touch of time, in that one thing there is no difference, the war is as keen as ever, the efforts of the Church are not concentrated upon the masses however as much as upon those who are seeking to live the higher life, so that they may gain admission to the Mystery Temple and learn how to make the Philosophers’ Stone. As mankind advances in evolution, the vital body becomes more permanently positively polarized giving to both sexes a greater desire for spirituality, and though we change from the masculine to feminine in alternate embodiment, positive polarity of the vital body is becoming more pronounced regardless of sex, and this accounts for the growing tendency towards Altruism which is even being brought out by the suffering entailed by the great war we are now fighting, for all agree that they are seeking to obtain a lasting peace where the swords may be made into plowshares, and the spears into pruning hooks. In the past humanity has been claiming universal brotherhood as a great ideal, but we must come closer than that to be in full accord with the Christ. He said to his Disciples “ye are my friends.” Among brothers and sisters hate and enmity may exist, but friendship is the expression of love and cannot exist apart from that. This is therefore the magic word which will eventually level all distinctions, bring peace upon earth and goodwill among men. This is the great Ideal proclaimed by the Rosicrucian Fellowship, an Ideal which points the shortest way to the New Heaven and the New Earth, where the sons of Cain and the sons of Seth will eventually be united.

FREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM

by MAX HEINDEL

https://dn720206.ca.archive.org/0/items/freemasonryandca017137mbp/freemasonryandca017137mbp.pdf

Valley of Traverse City

ANCIENT ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE

The History and Legend of Scottish Rite Origins

The Story Unfolds…

Like much of early Masonic history, the origins of the Scottish Rite are uncertain. This is primarily due to the lack of historic documentation prior to the early 1700’s and not to any great veiled mystery. The few records kept were subject to loss, fire, weather and aging. So we can at best only speculate on many of our origins by looking at the few documents, historical references and legends that remain.

What We Know

n 1754, near Paris, Chevalier de Bonneville established the Chapter of Clermont. The Chapter resided in the College of Jesuits of Clermont, hence the name. It is said to have been created to honor the Duc de Clermont, then Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge of France.

The Chapter of Clermont was a “Chapter of the Advanced Degrees” and initially entailed six degrees and was later extended to 25 known degrees. The six initial degrees were 1˚, 2˚ and 3˚ St John’s Masonry, 4˚ Knight of the Eagle, 5˚ Illustrious Knight or Templar, 6˚ Sublime Illustrious Knight.

Interestingly enough historically, prior to the time of the Rite’s creation, James II had been in residence at Clermont in exile from Britain from 1688 to his death in 1701. As noted by German Masonic historian, Lenning… “whilst in exile, James II residing at the Jesuit College of Clermont in France, allowed his closest associates to fabricate certain degrees in order to extend their political views.” Lenning believed this to have been an attempt on the part of James and his associates to regain control of the British throne for the House of Stuart. If Lenning is right, this places the origins of the “Rite of Perfection” in the hands of James II and the Jacobite (Stuart) Freemasons who at the time were in exile from Great Britain throughout France and Italy. Lenning also contends that these degrees were introduced into French Freemasonry under the name of the Clermont System.

James II died in exile in 1701. His son James III is said to have continued his father’s Masonic legacy and later created further higher degrees.

Perhaps James II saw in the Jesuit morality plays of the College of Clermont a vessel for passing on a set of moral lessons. Some of the world’s greatest playwrights had emerged from Clermont. Jesuit tutelage had previously produced great writers such as Lope de Vega, Moliere, Racine, and the Corneille brothers. Ensconced in exile, I believe James II did find the inspiration and the training to help produce what would later become the first six degrees. From out of the darkness… comes light.

To be continued… (Author’s note… An in depth look at the Templar influence in Scottish Rite masonry’s origins can be found by visiting the Rosslyn Templars’ website.)"

https://web.archive.org/web/20190615041607/http://www.traversecityscottishrite.com/scottish-rite-history.html

PART VI 1THE PERSONAL LIFE OF THOSE ALREADY ADMITTED AND INCORPORATED INTO THE BODY OF THE SOCIETY

SECTION 1: THE APOSTOLIC CHARACTER OF OUR VOWS IN GENERAL

143 §1. Our consecration by profession of the evangelical counsels, by which we respond to a divine vocation, is at one and the same time the following of Christ poor, virginal, and obedient and a rejection of those idols that the world is always prepared to adore, especially wealth, pleasure, prestige, and power. Hence, our poverty, chastity, and obedience ought visibly and efficaciously to bear witness to this attitude, whereby we proclaim the evangelical possibility of a certain communion among men and women that is a foretaste of the future kingdom of God.[1]

§2. Our religious vows, while binding us, also set us free:

free, by our vow of poverty, to share the life of the poor and to use whatever resources we may have, not for our own security and comfort, but for service;

free, by our vow of chastity, to be men for others, in friendship and communion with all, but especially with those who share our mission of service;

free, by our vow of obedience, to respond to the call of Christ as made known to us by him whom the Spirit has placed over the Church, and to follow the lead of all our superiors.[2] [1] See GC 32, d. 4, no. 16; see GC 31, d. 16, no. 4; d. 17, no. 2; d. 18, no. 3. [2] GC 32, d. 2, no. 20. 215

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Note 370.—"Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret. The 32nd degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite, and for many years, or until the institution of the 33d degree, this was the highest degree, or ne plus ultra of Masonry. The body is styled a Consistory, and should be held in a building of two stories. The officers are, a Thrice Illustrious Commander, First and Second Lieutenants, a Minister of State, a Grand Chancellor, a Grand Treasurer, a Grand Secretary, and a Grand Captain of the Guard. In the East a throne, elevated on seven steps, which is the seat of the Thrice Illustrious Commander, who wears a robe of royal purple, and he and the Lieutenants, wear swords. The collar of this degree is black, lined with scarlet, and in the center, at the point, a double-headed eagle, of silver or gold, on a red Teutonic cross. The apron is of white satin, with a border of gold lace, one inch wide, lined with scarlet; on the flap is a double-headed eagle, on each side of which is the flag of the country in which the body is located, the flag of Prussia and the Beause- -ant of the Kadosh degree; on the apron is the camp of the Crusaders, , which is thus explained; it is composed of an enneagon, within which is ' inscribed a heptagon, within that a pentagon, and in the center an equilateral triangle, within which is a circle. Between the heptagon and pentagon are placed five standards, in the designs of whigjl are five letters, which form a particular word. The first standard is purple, on which is emblazoned the ark of the covenant, with a palm, tree on each side; the ark has the motto Laus Deo. The second is blue, on which is a lion, of gold, couchant, holding in his mouth a golden key, with a collar of the same metal on his neck, and on it is the device, Ad majorem Dei gloriam. The third is white, and displays a heart in flames, with two wings; it is surmounted by a crown of laurels. The fourth is green, and bears a double-headed black eagle, crowned, holding a sword in his right claw, and a bleeding heart in his left. The fifth bears a black ox. on a field of gold. On the sides of the enneagon are nine tents, with flags, representing the divisions of the Masonic army; on the angles are nine pinions, of the same color as the flag of the tent that precedes it. The hall of the Consistory is hung with black, strewed with tears of silver. The jewel is a double-headed white and black eagle, resting on a Teutonic cross, of gold, worn attached to the collar or ribbon. ^The members are called Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret. The moral of the degree teaches opposition to bigotry, superstition, and all the passions and vices which disgrace human nature."—Macoy's Encyclopaedia and Pictionary of Freemasonry, Article Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret

32 Let Christ the king of Israel now come down from the cross, that we may see, and believe. They also that were crucified with him, reviled him.

Mark 15:32

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%2015&version=GNV

MISSIONS FROM THE SUPREME PONTIFF

252 §1. To be truly Christian, our service to the Church must be anchored in fidelity to Christ, who makes all things new; to be proper to the Society, it must be done in union with the successors of Peter[32]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, 809 E 42nd Pl, Chicago, IL 60653

4.6(311) · Fraternal organization

809 E 42nd Pl · (773) 373-2725

The Marquette Building, completed in 1895, is a Chicago Landmark that was built by the George A. Fuller Company and designed by architects Holabird & Roche. The building is currently owned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. It is located in the community area known as the "Loop" in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

The building was one of the early steel frame skyscrapers of its day, and is considered one of the best examples of the Chicago School of architecture.[3] The building originally had a reddish, terra cotta exterior that, prior to restoration, was somewhat blackened due to decades of Loop soot. It is noted both for its then cutting edge frame and its ornate interior.

Since construction, the building has received numerous awards and honors. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on June 9, 1975, and is considered an architectural masterpiece.[4] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 17, 1973, and named a National Historic Landmark on January 7, 1976.[5] The building's preservation has been a major focus of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation completed an extensive four-year restoration in 2006.

History

The building was named after Father Jacques Marquette, the first European settler in Chicago, who explored the Chicago region in 1674 and wintered in the area for the 1674-5 winter season. It was designed by William Holabird and Martin Roche, with Coydon T. Purdy, architects of the firm Holabird & Roche.[6]

In the 1930s, the building was the downtown headquarters for over 30 railroad companies.[7] Around 1950, the terra-cotta cornice was removed from the Marquette Building when an additional story was added.[8] The building has been in continuous use as an office building since its construction.[3]

In 1977, Banker's Life and Casualty Company, owned by John D. MacArthur, acquired the Marquette Building. After his death in 1978, the building became the headquarters for the MacArthur Foundation, which bears his name.[9]

The lobby of the Marquette Building connects with the D.H. Burnham & Company–designed The National to the west, providing a pedway from Dearborn to Clark.[7] After the September 11, 2001 attacks, many downtown buildings closed to the public, which eliminated warm, dry, indoor walking routes providing shortcuts through full city blocks, but the Marquette Building did not.[10]

Architecture

View from Dearborn North of Adams

The building features several distinct elements that have earned it honors as a Chicago Landmark, a National Historic Landmark, and a National Register Historic Place. It is considered an exemplary model of the Chicago School of Architecture.[3] The architects, Holabird & Roche, used trademark long horizontal bay "Chicago windows" on the Marquette Building.[11][12] These are large panes of glass flanked by narrow sash windows. The grid-like window frames and spandrels are facilitated by the steel structure which enables non-load-bearing masonry walls. The Marquette is 16 stories tall. This was one of the first steel framed skyscrapers.[3] Wave-like moldings decorate the façade, which is made of horizontally banded brown terra cotta.[7] The building is constructed around a central light court and features an ornate, two-story lobby.[8]

Mosaic work

Decorated lobby

Decorated lobby

The ensemble of mosaics, sculptures, and bronze of the Marquette Building entry and interior honors Jacques Marquette's 1674-5 expedition.[13] Four bas relief panels over the main entrance by sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil show different scenes from Marquette's trip through the Great Lakes region,[14] ending with one depicting his burial.[15] The revolving door panels feature carvings of panther's heads.[7] The hexagonal railing around the lobby atrium is decorated with a mosaic frieze by the Tiffany studio depicting events in the life of Jacques Marquette, his exploration of Illinois, and Native Americans he met.[4][7] The mosaics are by Louis Comfort Tiffany and his chief designer and art director, Jacob Adolph Holzer;[16] they contain panels of lustered Tiffany glass, mother-of-pearl, and semi-precious stones.[4]

Restoration

The preservation of this building was championed by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois.[17] In 2001, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, its current owners, began a multi-year renovation.[18] The restoration to the exterior proceeded in two phases: reconstructing the cornice and replacing the 17th story windows to match the original windows; and cleaning and restoring the masonry and restoring the remainder of the windows.[8][19] Restoration architect Thomas "Gunny" Harboe directed this work.[1]

On September 12, 2006, The Commission on Chicago Landmarks honored 21 landmark buildings, homeowners, and businesses with the Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation Excellence at the eighth-annual Landmarks ceremony. The award recognizes work involving notable improvements to individual Chicago landmarks or to buildings within Chicago Landmark Districts.[8][20]

On October 16, 2007, the Foundation opened a new interactive audio visual exhibit on the first floor, detailing the history of the building and its contribution to Chicago architecture. The free exhibit, which is open to the public, will run indefinitely.[21][22]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquette_Building_(Chicago)

The meaning of Marquette is : Land Owner, A French habitational name

https://mylofamily.com/parenting/babynames/meaning-of-marquette-53145

Pope Leo XIV[a] (born Robert Francis Prevost;[b] September 14, 1955) is head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He was elected in the 2025 papal conclave as the successor to Pope Francis.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in a nearby suburb, Prevost became a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. His service includes extensive missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s, where he served as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013, he returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and made him a cardinal the same year.

As a cardinal, he emphasized synodality, missionary dialogue, and engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged with issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance, and human rights, and expressed alignment with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

A United States citizen by birth, Leo XIV is the first pope to have been born in North America, the first to hold Peruvian citizenship (having been naturalized in 2015), the second pope from the Americas (after his predecessor Francis), and the first from the Order of Saint Augustine. His papal name was inspired by Pope Leo XIII, who developed modern Catholic social teaching amid the Second Industrial Revolution. Leo XIV believes the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, poses "new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor".[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIV

Fourteenth Rule. Although there is much truth in the assertion that no one can save himself without being predestined and without having faith and grace; we must be very cautious in the manner of speaking and communicating with others about all these things.

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YC_luOfFWl0Bm0BWkbANKZGC1kkmdHQf/view?usp=sharing

14We ought to act on the principle that everyone who lives under obedience should let himself be carried and directed by Divine Providence through the agency of the superior 15as if he were a lifeless body, which allows itself to be carried to any place and treated in any way; or an old man s staff, which serves at any place and for any purpose in which the one holding it in his hand wishes to employ it. 16For in this way the obedient man ought joyfully to employ himself in any task in which the superior desires to employ him in aid of the whole body of the religious order; 17and he ought to hold it certain that by so doing he conforms himself with the divine will more than by anything else he could do while following his own will and different judgment.[3]"

page 221

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Leo is a given name in several languages. In European languages, it is usually a masculine given name and it comes from the Latin word leo, which in turn comes from the Greek word λέων meaning "lion". It can also be used as a short form of other names that begin with Leo-, such as Leonard, Leonardo, Leonidas or Leopold, and occasionally Llywellyn. In Japanese, Leo or Reo (怜央) is usually a masculine given name.

The name can refer to:

People

Religious figures

Pope Leo (disambiguation), 14 popes

Pope Leo XIV, incumbent pope

List of saints named Leo

Leo of Constantinople (fl. 1134–1143), Patriarch of Constantinople

Leo Rajendram Antony (1927–2012), 4th Bishop of Trincomalee

Leo Baeck (1873–1956), German rabbi, scholar, and theologian

Leo Zhedenov (1883–1959), member of the Russian apostolate

Rulers

Emperor Leo (disambiguation), six Byzantine emperors

King Leo (disambiguation), various kings and monarchs with the ruling name Leo

Leo I, Prince of Armenia (died 1140)

Scientists

Leo Esaki (born 1925), Japanese physicist and Nobel laureate

Leo Kadanoff (1937–2015), American physicist

Leo Stodolsky, physicist

Leó Szilárd (1898–1964), Jewish Hungarian-American physicist

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_(given_name)

Lyon Family History

Lyon Surname Meaning

Scottish English and French: from the personal name Middle English Lyon, Old French Leon (from Latin leo ‘lion’ or the cognate Greek leōn; see Leon). Compare Lyall. Scottish and English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Lyons-la-Forêt in Eure, Normandy. It is unlikely to be from the better-known southern French city of Lyon (see 5 below).

English and French: nickname from Middle English lioun ‘lion’ (Old English Latin leo) Old French leon perhaps applied to a brave, fierce, or proud person or one with a shaggy mane of hair. Compare Lion.

Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Laighin (see Lane). French: habitational name from the city of Lyon in south central France (or in some cases from the commune of Lyons-la-Forêt in Eure, Normandy; compare 2 above).

The name of the city of Lyon is recorded in the 1st century BC as Lugdunum and is from the name of a Celtic god Lug (or this as a personal name from a word meaning ‘brightness’) + dunon ‘hill fort’.

Altered form of Dutch De Leeuw.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022

Similar surnames: Leon, Lynn, Low, Lion, Moon, Lydon, Elton, Yon, Luton, Lio

https://www.ancestry.com/last-name-meaning/lyon?geo-lang=en-US

1 Peter 5:8

1599 Geneva Bible

8 [a]Be sober, and watch: for your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Read full chapter

Footnotes

1 Peter 5:8 The cruelty of Satan, who seeketh by all means to devour us, is overcome by watchfulness and faith.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20peter%205%3A8&version=GNV

The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492.[1] The centerpiece of the Fair, held in Jackson Park, was a large water pool representing the voyage that Columbus took to the New World. Chicago won the right to host the fair over several competing cities, including New York City, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. The exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on American architecture, the arts, American industrial optimism, and Chicago's image.

The layout of the Chicago Columbian Exposition was predominantly designed by John Wellborn Root, Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Charles B. Atwood.[2][3] It was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. It was designed to follow Beaux-Arts principles of design, namely neoclassical architecture principles based on symmetry, balance, and splendor. The color of the material generally used to cover the buildings' façades, white staff, gave the fairgrounds its nickname, the White City. Many prominent architects designed its 14 "great buildings". Artists and musicians were featured in exhibits and many also made depictions and works of art inspired by the exposition.

The exposition covered 690 acres (2.8 km2), featuring nearly 200 new but temporary buildings of predominantly neoclassical architecture, canals and lagoons, and people and cultures from 46 countries.[1] More than 27 million people attended the exposition during its six-month run. Its scale and grandeur far exceeded the other world's fairs, and it became a symbol of emerging American exceptionalism, much in the same way that the Great Exhibition became a symbol of the Victorian era United Kingdom.

Dedication ceremonies for the fair were held on October 21, 1892, but the fairgrounds were not opened to the public until May 1, 1893. The fair continued until October 30, 1893. In addition to recognizing the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World, the fair served to show the world that Chicago had risen from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire, which had destroyed much of the city in 1871.[1]

On October 9, 1893, the day designated as Chicago Day, the fair set a world record for outdoor event attendance, drawing 751,026 people. The debt for the fair was soon paid off with a check for $1.5 million (equivalent to $52.5 million in 2024).[4] Chicago has commemorated the fair with one of the stars on its municipal flag.[5]

History

Planning and organization

An advertisement for the Exposition, depicting a portrait of Christopher Columbus

Thomas Moran – Chicago World's Fair – Brooklyn Museum painting of the Administration Building

The regional vote breakdown of the eighth World's Fair location selection ballot in the United States House of Representatives

Many prominent civic, professional, and commercial leaders from around the United States helped finance, coordinate, and manage the Fair, including Chicago shoe company owner Charles H. Schwab,[6] Chicago railroad and manufacturing magnate John Whitfield Bunn, and Connecticut banking, insurance, and iron products magnate Milo Barnum Richardson, among many others.[7][8]

The fair was planned in the early 1890s during the Gilded Age of rapid industrial growth, immigration, and class tension. World's fairs, such as London's 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition, had been successful in Europe as a way to bring together societies fragmented along class lines.

The first American attempt at a world's fair in Philadelphia in 1876 drew crowds, but was a financial failure. Nonetheless, ideas about distinguishing the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing started in the late 1880s. Civic leaders in St. Louis, New York City, Washington DC, and Chicago expressed interest in hosting a fair to generate profits, boost real estate values, and promote their cities. Congress was called on to decide the location. New York financiers J. P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and William Waldorf Astor, among others, pledged $15 million to finance the fair if Congress awarded it to New York, while Chicagoans Charles T. Yerkes, Marshall Field, Philip Armour, Gustavus Swift, and Cyrus McCormick, Jr., offered to finance a Chicago fair. What finally persuaded Congress was Chicago banker Lyman Gage, who raised several million additional dollars in a 24-hour period, over and above New York's final offer.[9]

Chicago representatives not only fought for the world's fair for monetary reasons, but also for reasons of practicality. In a Senate hearing held in January 1890, representative Thomas Barbour Bryan argued that the most important qualities for a world's fair were "abundant supplies of good air and pure water", "ample space, accommodations and transportation for all exhibits and visitors". He argued that New York had too many obstructions, and Chicago would be able to use large amounts of land around the city where there was "not a house to buy and not a rock to blast" and that it would be located so that "the artisan and the farmer and the shopkeeper and the man of humble means" would be able to easily access the fair. Bryan continued to say that the fair was of "vital interest" to the West, and that the West wanted the location to be Chicago. The city spokesmen would continue to stress the essentials of a successful exposition and that only Chicago was fit to fill these exposition requirements.[10]

The location of the fair was decided through several rounds of voting by the United States House of Representatives. The first ballot showed Chicago with a large lead over New York, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., but short of a majority. Chicago broke the 154-vote majority threshold on the eighth ballot, receiving 157 votes to New York's 107.[11]

The exposition corporation and national exposition commission settled on Jackson Park and an area around it as the fair site. Daniel H. Burnham was selected as director of works, and George R. Davis as director-general. Burnham emphasized architecture and sculpture as central to the fair and assembled the period's top talent to design the buildings and grounds including Frederick Law Olmsted for the grounds.[1] The temporary buildings were designed in an ornate neoclassical style and painted white, resulting in the fair site being referred to as the "White City".[9]

The Exposition's offices set up shop in the upper floors of the Rand McNally Building on Adams Street, the world's first all-steel-framed skyscraper. Davis' team organized the exhibits with the help of G. Brown Goode of the Smithsonian. The Midway was inspired by the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, which included ethnological "villages". [12]

Civil rights leaders protested the refusal to include an African American exhibit. Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Irvine Garland Penn, and Ferdinand Lee Barnet co-authored a pamphlet entitled "The Reason Why the Colored American is not in the World's Columbian Exposition – The Afro-American's Contribution to Columbian Literature" addressing the issue. Wells and Douglass argued, "when it is asked why we are excluded from the World's Columbian Exposition, the answer is Slavery."[13] Ten thousand copies of the pamphlet were circulated in the White City from the Haitian Embassy (where Douglass had been selected as its national representative), and the activists received responses from the delegations of England, Germany, France, Russia, and India.[13]

The exhibition did include a limited number of exhibits put on by African Americans, including exhibits by the sculptor Edmonia Lewis, a painting exhibit by scientist George Washington Carver, and a statistical exhibit by Joan Imogen Howard. Black individuals were also featured in white exhibits, such as Nancy Green's portrayal of the character Aunt Jemima for the R. T. Davis Milling Company.[14]

Operation

An aerial view of the exposition at Jackson Park in Brockhaus' encyclopedia

The fair opened in May and ran through October 30, 1893. Forty-six nations participated in the fair, which was the first world's fair to have national pavilions.[15] They constructed exhibits and pavilions and named national "delegates"; for example, Haiti selected Frederick Douglass to be its delegate.[16] The Exposition drew over 27 million visitors.[17] The fair was originally meant to be closed on Sundays, but the Chicago Woman's Club petitioned that it stay open.[18][19] The club felt that if the exposition was closed on Sunday, it would restrict those who could not take off work during the work-week from seeing it.[20]

The exposition was located in Jackson Park and on the Midway Plaisance on 630 acres (2.5 km2) in the neighborhoods of South Shore, Jackson Park Highlands, Hyde Park, and Woodlawn. Charles H. Wacker was the director of the fair. The layout of the fairgrounds was created by Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Beaux-Arts architecture of the buildings was under the direction of Daniel Burnham, Director of Works for the fair. Renowned local architect Henry Ives Cobb designed several buildings for the exposition. The director of the American Academy in Rome, Francis Davis Millet, directed the painted mural decorations. Indeed, it was a coming-of-age for the arts and architecture of the "American Renaissance", and it showcased the burgeoning neoclassical and Beaux-Arts styles.

Assassination of mayor and end of fair

Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison III delivers a speech to crowd during "American Cities Day" at the exposition on October 28, 1893. Harrison would be assassinated later that day.

"Columbian Exposition" of 1892 book cover art

The fair ended with the city in shock, as popular mayor Carter Harrison III was assassinated by Patrick Eugene Prendergast two days before the fair's closing.[21] Closing ceremonies were canceled in favor of a public memorial service.

Jackson Park was returned to its status as a public park, in much better shape than its original swampy form. The lagoon was reshaped to give it a more natural appearance, except for the straight-line northern end where it still laps up against the steps on the south side of the Palace of Fine Arts/Museum of Science & Industry building. The Midway Plaisance, a park-like boulevard which extends west from Jackson Park, once formed the southern boundary of the University of Chicago, which was being built as the fair was closing (the university has since developed south of the Midway). The university's football team, the Maroons, were the original "Monsters of the Midway." The exposition is mentioned in the university's alma mater: "The City White hath fled the earth, / But where the azure waters lie, / A nobler city hath its birth, / The City Gray that ne'er shall die."[22]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Columbian_Exposition

What is the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy?

Answer

In October 1978 the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy (ICBI) sponsored a conference in which several hundred Christians representing forty-one churches and thirty-eight Christian denominations met to study, pray, and deliberate over an essential doctrinal issue: the inerrancy of Scripture. The delegates formulated the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. Over 300 Evangelicals, including John F. MacArthur, J. I. Packer, Francis Schaeffer, R. C. Sproul, and Josh D. McDowell, signed the document.

The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy was written to address the inerrancy of Scripture, the doctrine that the Bible is free from error. The statement includes a preface, a short statement, and nineteen articles, each affirming a position and denying a falsehood regarding inerrancy. The preface establishes that “the authority of Scripture is essential for the Christian Church in this and every age.” The short statement following the preface outlines five major points regarding the doctrine of inerrancy and the significance of the issue. The articles then detail issues such as divine inspiration through human writers; progressive revelation; manuscripts and translations; infallibility; unity of Scripture; witness of the Holy Spirit to Scripture; interpretation of Scripture; and the centrality of biblical authority, infallibility, and inerrancy to the Christian faith, confession of which should result in a life increasingly transformed to the image of Christ.

Divine inspiration is addressed first. The drafters of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy agreed that the Holy Scripture is the authoritative Word of God because it is inspired by God in order to reveal Himself to humanity. If the Bible did not have divine origins, it could be argued that Scripture receives its authority from the Church, tradition, or any other human source. It is because the Bible is the inspired Word of God that it is free from error. Furthermore, the statement affirms that the Scriptures are God’s communication to us. God made us in His image and chose to relate to us using our language; we do not have to worry that language is inadequate for divine revelation. Neither do we have to be in a heightened state of consciousness to receive or understand the Word.

The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy also discusses the reliability of the biblical text. Several of the articles confirm that the Bible is true and reliable in all matters it addresses and that Scripture exhibits unity and internal consistency. As a result, we can use Scripture to interpret Scripture. Scripture should also “be interpreted by grammatico-historical exegesis, taking account of its literary forms and devices.” When we study Scripture, we should keep it in context, understand its original meaning, and not make the truths relative, based on human understanding or lack thereof. God further provides understanding through the Holy Spirit. As believers read the Bible, the Holy Spirit establishes the truth in believers’ hearts and minds and reminds them of what they have read and heard.

The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy is a concise and helpful description of the components of the doctrine of biblical inerrancy and its importance to the Christian life. The signatories affirm that belief in biblical inerrancy is not necessary for salvation but warn that there are serious consequences to doubting the veracity of the Bible, both for the individual and the church at large.

The doctrine of biblical inerrancy is foundational for every believer. We can trust what the Bible says. We can allow God’s Word to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us in righteousness so we can be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17). If the Bible is God’s inspired Word, then it is true. If it is true, we should follow it. Blessed are those who hear the Word and keep it (Luke 11:28; Proverbs 19:16; Revelation 1:3).

https://www.gotquestions.org/Chicago-Statement-Biblical-Inerrancy.html

2 Timothy 3

1599 Geneva Bible

3 1 He foretelleth the dangerous times that are to ensue: 9 but with the certain hope of victory, 10 he encourageth him to the combat, 14 setting out especially the trial of sound doctrine.

1 This [a]know also, that in the last days shall come perilous times.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, cursed speakers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, [b]unholy,

3 Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, intemperate, fierce, no lovers at all of them which are good,

4 Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God,

5 Having a show of godliness, but have denied the power thereof: [c]turn away therefore from such.

6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive simple women laden with sins, and led with divers lusts,

7 Which women are ever learning, and are never able to come to the acknowledging of the truth.

8 And as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

9 [d]But they shall prevail no longer: for their madness shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also was.

10 ¶ [e]But thou hast [f]fully known my doctrine, manner of living, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience,

11 Persecutions, and afflictions which came unto me at [g]Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, which persecutions I suffered: but from them all the Lord delivered me.

12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution.

13 But the evil men and deceivers shall wax [h]worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and which are committed unto thee, knowing of whom thou hast learned them:

15 And that thou hast known the holy Scriptures of a child, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 [i]For the whole Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable to teach, to convince, to correct, and to instruct in righteousness,

17 That the [j]man of God may be absolute, being made perfect unto all good works.

Footnotes

2 Timothy 3:1 The seventh admonition: we may not hope for any Church in this world without corruption: but there shall be rather great abundance of most wicked men, even in the very bosom of the Church, which notwithstanding shall make a show and countenance of great holiness and charity.

2 Timothy 3:2 Which make no account, either of right or honesty.

2 Timothy 3:5 We must not dally with such men as resist the truth not of simple ignorance, but of a perverse mind, (which thing appeareth by their fruits which he painteth out here lively) but we must rather turn away from them.

2 Timothy 3:9 He addeth a comfort: The Lord will at length pluck off all their vizards.

2 Timothy 3:10 That we be not deceived by such hypocrites, we must set before us the virtues of the holy servants of God, and we must not be afraid of persecution, which they suffered willingly, and which always followeth true godliness. But we must especially hold fast the doctrine of the Apostles, the sum whereof is this, that we are saved through faith in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:10 Thou knowest thoroughly, not only what I taught and did, but also how I was minded and disposed.

2 Timothy 3:11 Which is in Pisidia.

2 Timothy 3:13 Their wickedness shall daily increase.

2 Timothy 3:16 The eighth admonition, which is most precious: A Pastor must be wise by the word of God only: wherein we have perfectly delivered unto us, whatsoever pertaineth either to discern, know and establish true opinions, and to confute false, and furthermore, to correct evil manners, and to frame good.

2 Timothy 3:17 The Prophets and expounders of God’s will, are properly and peculiarly called, Men of God.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Timothy%203&version=GNV