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At a press briefing last week, the White House said that President Joe Biden “has a difference of opinion” with Catholics who are concerned that the Equality Act would trample conscience rights and religious liberty. Owen Jensen of EWTN News Nightly asked Jen Psaki, White House press secretary: “What does the President, who we know is Catholic, say to Catholic doctors, Catholic institutions, who are fearful that if the Equality Act passes, it has the potential to trample on their conscience rights?”

Silence is golden, and technology companies are making the phrase their mantra when it comes to religious groups on social media. Alarmingly, according to a white paper issued by the Napa Legal Institute, religious groups and figures have been silenced by tech companies at a rate of about one a week.

As we begin the Sacred Triduum today on Holy Thursday, our eyes can now become fixed on knowing that after the Passion and death of Jesus comes Easter, the greatest feast on the Church calendar, when Jesus is raised from the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus carries the promise that death cannot separate us from God. Christ lives and so will we.

Earlier this month, President Biden issued yet another one of his executive orders that should concern Catholics and all people of faith. This new executive order could promote gender ideology in public and some private schools while affecting both the privacy of women and the intellectual freedom of children.

Amazon continues to be part of “cancel culture” by purging free speech and religious liberty in banning certain books from its online store. The latest example is its removal of scholar Ryan Anderson’s 2018 book, When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. The book, which had been sold for three years on Amazon, explores the meaning of human embodiment and public policy considerations related to transgender issues.

Last Friday evening at 8 p.m., EWTN News launched a new weekly discussion show “EWTN News In Depth,” covering the intersection of faith and current events. With Montse Alvarado, a Hispanic Catholic who also serves as vice president and executive director of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty as host, the show is important programming in these turbulent times for all Catholics in our nation.

When Gov. Henry McMaster (R) of South Caro­lina signed the Fetal Heart­beat and Protection from Abortion Act on Feb. 18, he called it “a major step forward in the pro-life movement in South Carolina.” Michael Acquilano, director of the South Carolina Catholic Conference, said, “It was a historic day for the pro-life movement in South Carolina.”

The good news last week was that nearly one-third of the members in the U.S. House of Representatives supported a new bill to ban most abortions after 20 weeks. The bad news is that with Democrats holding control of the House, the legislation is not expected to pass a vote.

On Ash Wednesday, the Church began the holy season of Lent, our 40-day journey of prayer, fasting and almsgiving that ends with Holy Week, culminating in the joyous celebration of Easter. For Catholics, praying daily, especially during Lent, helps to deepen their relationship with God and neighbor and is an opportunity for personal and spiritual growth.

Is sitting at table for a family meal together sadly becoming outdated in our society? It certainly seems so, as over the past three decades family time at the dinner table and family conversation, in general, has declined by more than 30 percent.

Not to be confused with a moment created by Hallmark to sell more cards was the announcement by Pope Francis Sunday of the establishment of a day to honor grandparents and the elderly to take place each year in July. World Day for the Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of July, most fittingly, close to the feast of the grandparents of Jesus, Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

So much for the “unity and healing” of the nation President Biden called for in his inaugural address Jan. 20. Two days later, on Jan. 22, the 48th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, while the prolife community was fasting and praying for an end to this abomination, President Biden and Vice President Harris issued a statement delivering a gut punch to everyone who believes in the sanctity of life in the womb.

In many states across the nation, pro-life advocates are seeing some light in their ongoing efforts to curb abortion. In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem (R), in her 2021 State of the State address, asked state lawmakers to introduce a bill banning abortions based on a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. “The Declaration of Independence summarizes what we all know in our hearts to be true — that God created each of us and endowed all of us with the right to life. This is true for everyone, including those with an extra chromosome,” she said to a standing ovation from legislators.

After gains were made in the pro-life movement in 2020 to protect life, the outlook for further gains in 2021 is certainly not as promising at both the federal and state levels. With Democrats now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, a key focus of pro-lifers at the federal level is the preservation of certain pro-life “riders,” or amendments, enacted by Congress that are attached to spending bills.

The Pew Research Center recently reported that government restrictions on religion worldwide (and in the U.S.) are at their highest point since 2007. This is a grave threat not only to our religious freedoms but also to human rights. Globally, religious freedom protects human dignity, promotes security and supports American national security. Here in our own nation anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism are increasing.

The recent release of COVID-19 vaccines has caused some to question the efficacy of the vaccines due to their quick clinical trials, but beyond that, some Catholics have questioned the ethics of taking a vaccine that may have used cell lines from aborted fetuses. The Vatican Congregation for the Doc­trine of Faith (CDF) addressed those questions last week when it stated that it is “morally acceptable” to receive COVID-19 vaccines produced using cell lines from aborted fetuses when no alternative is available.

Christmas Day is squarely in our sight, just hours away. As we prepare our hearts for this most joyous day when the Word became Flesh, there is no question that Christmas will be different this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything in our lives. So many have had to deal with illness, economic hardships and the loss of loved ones.

With the countdown to Christmas Day dwindling to single digit numbers, it is gratifying to see how many of our readers have thought about the needs of others in this year of pandemic. This Advent and Christmas season is like no other in our lifetime. The physical, mental and financial damage caused to our lives by COVID-19 has been wide-ranging, turning our normal lifestyles upside down. The pandemic has caused many to lose hope in this season of hope as we await the birth of the Christ Child.

All of us who grew up as a student in Catholic schools or a parish religious education program, have a soft spot in our hearts for the religious who taught us not only academic subjects but also formed our faith in the Catholic Church. And we all have great memories of those days gone by.

Throughout this year of pandemic, restrictions imposed by state officials varied, except for houses of worship that were deemed “non-essential,” severely limiting the right to worship. That all changed the night before Thanksgiving when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that New York’s state restrictions during the pandemic are in violation of the First Amendment’s protection of free religious exercise.