The testy confrontation by the White House, over Pope Leo XIV’s stating the obvious about unjustified war on Iran, has apparently branched out into outright nastiness.
Last night, Pope Leo’s brother Louis was forced to evacuate his home, south of Chicago, due to a bomb threat. The New Lenox (Illinois) Police Department issued a statement confirming the bomb threat. They carried out an extensive search and determined the threat had been made without a bomb actually having been placed. They allowed people in the neighborhood to return to their homes and stated: “The incident remains under investigation as authorities work to determine the origin of the report. Making false reports of this nature is a serious offense and may result in criminal charges.”
Also yesterday, as reported by the Miami Herald, the Trump administration ended the funding for a Catholic church-based charity that shelters immigrant children. The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami said the White House had pulled a longstanding $11 million contract from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) for a program that provides specialized services for unaccompanied and undocumented minors who have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Miami’s Archbishop, Thomas Wensky, told the Herald: “The US government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship … and [the services] will be forced to shut down within three months…. [The] services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a model for other agencies throughout the country. Our track record in serving this vulnerable population is unmatched.”
Washington’s Health and Human Services Department spokesperson, Emily Hilliard, attributed the closing to downsizing, saying that the average daily population of unaccompanied migrant children was down to 1,900, so ORR’s previous services are being cut back.
