By Judie Brown

In Pope Francis, we have seen an excellent example of the kind of leader our Church needs. This is not always the case with other members of the clergy, especially here in the United States. If we cannot find the truth, wisdom, and understanding of Church law from those we should look up to in the faith, then how can we ever expect anyone else to understand or follow? When leadership crumbles, so do the people. And we see a massive amount of crumbling today.

Flub: to make a mess of; blunder FULL POST

Recent numbers from UNICEF report there are 151 million orphans worldwide. This figure represents not only children who have lost both parents, but also those who have lost a father or mother. Of the 151 million children classified as orphans, 17.9 million have lost both parents.

People will often ask if we are making progress in the orphan crisis. This is a difficult question to answer given the large number of orphans and the lack of data. Let me address this question by sharing some of my personal experience and thinking of what has transpired in the last 5-10 years.

As of 2009, UNICEF reported 163 million orphans worldwide. In 2011 that number dropped to 153 million, and today UNICEF is reporting 151 million orphans worldwide. In the United States, at one time there were 130,000-150,000 children waiting for an adoptive home. This number has now been reported to be 104,000 and continued progress is being made to reduce the number of children in foster care who are waiting for an adoptive family.

Asia and Africa are the two geographic locations with the most daunting numbers. However, we rejoice in the victories we see beginning to grow there. For example, the number of children living in orphanages in China is declining as a result of foster care and increasing in-country adoption. Bethany has been involved in this activity in China and continues to work with the Chinese government to reduce the number of orphans living in institutions. FULL POST

(Photo: Reuters/Bill Waugh)

Leah Hill (L), of Shawnee, Oklahoma, is hugged by friend Sidney Sizemore, as they look through Hill's scattered belongings from her home which was destroyed by a tornado, west of Shawnee, Oklahoma May 19, 2013. A tornado half a mile wide struck near Oklahoma City on Sunday, part of a massive storm front that hammered the central United States. News reports said at least four people have died.

A time for prayer for Oklahoma.

My stories at The Christian Post

Chechen terrorists, the Tsarnaev brothers could have been deported the moment it was known that they returned to the country they sought asylum from or when Tamerlan was arrested and convicted for domestic violence in 2009. Neither brother was given the boot.

Fast forward to May 14, 2013 where the Romeike family of German home schoolers are denied asylum by Barack Obama and his twiddling twin Eric Holder, then the Sixth District Court of Appeals upholds the Obama Administrations decision.

Injustice, absurdity, incongruity and perversity are just a few of the words that can be used to describe the nonsense of the aforementioned. Bombers are in, but good parents who are raising kids with world-class intelligence that soars above anything coming out of public schools, are given the boot back to Germany.

The arguments that rage between liberals and conservatives were at one time only slight political disturbances that could be hashed out between men and women that loved America, and would, after some debate, buckle down and do what was right for the country, in the spirit of bi-partisanship? That day is all but gone. FULL POST

By Judie Brown

While we were all horrified by the actions of Kermit Gosnell, we should likewise be horrified by the millions of babies killed since abortion was decriminalized, and by the number of lives lost because of contraception. A baby is a baby from the moment he is created, but most people either choose to ignore that fact or remain uneducated. We must learn from the horrors we have seen and vow to do whatever we can to ensure that life, in all stages, is respected and protected.

The dust has settled now; a brutal killer has been found guilty of murder. The cowardly abortionist chose life in prison instead of appealing his case, thus avoiding the possibility of facing the death penalty, and life goes on.

But in a very real sense, life will never be the same again—not for the families of the dead or for those left behind in the wake of his brutality.

And at a more fundamental level, this tragic story of one abortion practitioner should not disappear without some soul-searching on the part of each and every American. The fundamental question about this case that nobody wants to address is the irony of it. FULL POST