Vatican Uses Secular ‘BCE’ Instead of ‘BC’ in English Version of Papal Text, Prompting Outrage
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — A number of Catholics have expressed consternation after the Vatican used the non-Christian dating notation “BCE” instead of the Catholic style of “Before Christ” in a papal document.
In recent days, social media posts on X (formerly Twitter) highlighted passages from Pope Francis’ July letter on the role of literature in formation.
Section 12 of the Pope’s text contained two quotations from writers who lived before Christ’s birth, and reads:
This verse contains two quotations: one indirect, from the poet Epimenides (sixth century B.C.E.), and the other direct, from the Phaenomena of the poet Aratus of Soli (third century B.C.E.), who wrote of the constellations and the signs of good and bad weather.
The traditional designations of year dates has been “B.C.,” meaning “before Christ,” and “A.D.,” meaning “anno Domini” or “in the year of Our Lord,” for the time since Christ’s birth. The entire system is thus derived oriented around the birth of Christ.
However, in recent years the terms “before the common era (BCE)” and “common era (CE)” have become commonly used to replace “B.C.” and “A.D.” While BCE and CE largely owe their wider use to Jewish scholars in the 1800s, their use has especially predominated in recent decades in an attempt to divorce mainstream culture from any orientation to Christianity, despite following the Gregorian calendar.
Indeed, use of the BCE/CE terms has been commonly linked to direct attempts to present de-Christianized historical accounts, and has divided opinion accordingly.
Criticism of the Vatican’s use of the term has thus been made, with Catholics accusing the Vatican’s text of being “pernicious” and of representing “apostasy.” Others have suggested that using the term was a genuine, though unfortunate, error.
While many have swiftly criticized the Vatican for employing the terminology, the BCE term only appears in the English translation, with the seven other language versions of the Pope’s letter using the “B.C.” term.
The French version refers to the sixth and third centuries “before Jesus Christ,” as do the Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, German, and Arabic translations.
The sole use of the “BCE” term in the English translation would appear to be the result of the officials in the Secretariat of State and the Holy See Press Office tasked with preparing the Pontiff’s discourses and writings for public consumption.
News releases and papal statements from the Vatican come as part of a coordinated effort between office-based officials in the Secretariat of State and staff at the press office. The press office in turn is under the auspices of the Dicastery for Communication.
The predominant language of the Vatican is Italian. English is a widely spoken additional language among a number of clerical and lay officials, particularly with the continued growth of English-speaking Catholic media based at the Vatican.
Despite this, numerous minor inaccuracies and errors regularly appear in the Holy See Press Office’s online releases, with the English translation often being notably out of date and less detailed when contrasted with the daily Italian listings.
“I would classify this under ‘dumb’ rather than ‘evil.’ It’s most likely that the English translator is some woke bureaucrat,” commented Crisis Magazine Editor-in-Chief Eric Sammons. “But it does reflect badly on the Vatican that such people are hired in the first place. Well-run organizations vet their people carefully.”
Problems between various language translations of Vatican texts is not a recent problem, and predates the current pontificate. However, with the Dicastery for Communications receiving one of the largest budgets in the Holy See (some tens of millions of euros), particular attention is justly being given to the proper use of such a sum of money.
US to Give Zelensky ‘Free Hand’ on Deep Strikes into Russia – Moscow
Washington is prepared to lift its ban on Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia’s territory with the use of US-supplied weapons, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
Last week, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that US “policy does allow for Ukraine to conduct counter fires to defend itself from Russian attacks coming over that border region,”including Kursk Region, where an incursion by Kiev’s forces has been ongoing since early August.
On Monday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Washington was aware of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s “desire” to be allowed to fire US weapons such as ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 300km (186 miles), deep into Russia. “We will keep the conversations with the Ukrainians going [on the issue], but we are going to keep them private,” he said.
“Extremely serious conclusions” can be drawn from the latest statements coming from Washington, Zakharova said on Friday. “Ukraine has been given a carte blanche for operations in Russian regions,” she added.
Read more UK backs Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles inside Russia – media
“Furthermore, the administration of [US President] Joe Biden is obviously getting ready to make new concessions to Zelensky and give him a free hand to use virtually any type of American weapons, including [for attacks] deep into Russian territory,” the spokeswoman stressed, as cited by RIA Novosti.
Through its continued support for Kiev, Washington “has effectively become a party to the armed conflict over Ukraine,” she insisted.
“The US course towards escalation is becoming increasingly outrageous. It seems that the American elites have cast aside the last vestiges of common sense and believe that anything is allowed to them,” Zakharova said.
Earlier this week, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov compared the US and their allies to “children playing with matches” over their continued speculations about greenlighting Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory. “It is a very dangerous thing to do for grown-ups, who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country,” he said.
READ MORE: West ‘playing with fire’ – Lavrov
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned earlier that Moscow might engage in an asymmetrical response to the US supply of long-range systems to Ukraine, by arming groups or countries hostile to Washington – such as North Korea – with advanced weaponry.
Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Released from Jail on $5 Million Bail, Faces Criminal Charges
PARIS (LifeSiteNews) — Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov has been released from jail on bail but is forbidden from leaving France and must check in with the French police twice a week.
On Wednesday, August 28, Durov was released on 5 million euros (5,537,620 USD) bail. However, French authorities also indicted Durov on six charges related to allegedly illegal activity on the popular messaging app.
Politico quotes the Paris prosecutor’s office press release, stating that the charges include complicity in managing Telegram “in order to enable an illegal transaction in organized group.”
Durov was reportedly also charged with “complicity in the offenses of making available without legitimate reason a program or data designed for… organized gang distribution of images of minors presenting child pornography, drug trafficking.”
READ: Telegram founder tells Tucker Carlson that US intel agents tried to spy on user messages
Telegram “appears in multiple cases involving various offenses (child sexual abuse offenses, trafficking, online hate),” the prosecutor’s office stated, highlighting “Telegram’s almost total failure to respond to judicial requests.”
“When consulted, other French investigation departments and public prosecutors’ offices, as well as various Eurojust partners, notably Belgian, shared the same observation,” the French prosecutor added. “This led… to opening an investigation into the possible criminal responsibility of the managers of this messaging service.”
A French judge will now investigate these charges further.
The prosecutor also mentioned that a preliminary investigation into Telegram and its co-founder had already been opened in February. Politico reports that arrest warrants for both Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai were issued by French authorities in March.
Durov’s lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski said, “The only statement I’d wish to make is that Telegram is in conformity with every aspect of European norms on digital matters. It is absurd to think that the head of a social network is being charged.”
READ: Arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov signals an increasing threat to digital freedom
Durov, who is a Russian, French, and UAE citizen, was arrested on August 24 after his private jet landed at Le Bourget airport. His arrest sparked outrage and concern among prominent free speech advocates such as Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson and has triggered diplomatic tensions between France, Russia, and the UAE, with the latter two offering support to Durov.
French President Emmanuel Macron denied the charges of Durov’s arrest being politically motivated.
“The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Macron wrote on X. “It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.”
However, if one of the main concerns of the prosecution is child sexual abuse and human trafficking allegedly facilitated through Telegram, as it has stated, other social media platforms would need to be charged as well. Reports in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal revealed that social media giant Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, knew about its platforms being used to facilitate child sexual exploitation but neglected to solve the issue. Yet, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has faced no legal consequences.
South African Vaccine Injury Group Say Mpox Jabs Are Dangerous, Ineffective & Unnecessary
The South African ‘Vaccine Injury Medico-Legal Study Group‘ (SAVIMS) have declared that they do not support the Africa CDC and WHO declaration of a global health emergency for monkeypox. In a statement issued on August […]
The post South African Vaccine Injury Group Say Mpox Jabs Are Dangerous, Ineffective & Unnecessary appeared first on The People’s Voice.
Trump Media Defies The Mainstream with Truth+ Streaming Platform
As streaming platforms continue to shape how we consume entertainment, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) recently unveiled Truth+, a streaming service that stands as a defiant countermeasure to the current market. This platform positions itself as an “uncancellable” sanctuary, diverging sharply from mainstream offerings. Truth+ aims to revitalize viewer choice by ensuring a breadth of diverse and often underrepresented content, providing a robust alternative for those seeking freedom from the constraints typically imposed by larger media corporations.
This new platform, stemming from the same crew as the social media platform Truth Social, and spearheaded by President Donald Trump and CEO and former Congressman Devin Nunes, seeks to carve a unique niche in a competitive market.
Content Aiming to Fill Gaps
A new Truth+ tab has been added to the Truth Social app.
At launch, the platform boasts a variety of channels encompassing news, commentary, weather, and lifestyle and entertainment content. But TMTG doesn’t plan to stop there. The future roadmap includes the integration of Christian content and family-friendly programming, aiming to appeal to a broader audience underserved by the incumbents and Hollywood.
The development of a proprietary content delivery network (CDN) by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) for their new streaming service, Truth+, marks a significant move towards technological independence. Owning their CDN allows TMTG to control distribution, ensuring that Truth+ can operate without interference from larger tech companies, crucial for maintaining access despite external pressures or policy conflicts. This autonomy enhances the platform’s resilience, making it virtually “uncancellable” and capable of delivering a steady, responsive user experience, crucial for streaming services that demand high bandwidth and low latency.
This strategic infrastructure not only ensures operational stability and scalability but also supports TMTG’s broader aim of positioning Truth+ as a bastion for free expression. It potentially attracts users and creators who feel marginalized by mainstream platforms, while facilitating rapid implementation of innovative features to stay competitive. By building its CDN, TMTG not only optimizes content delivery but also aligns closely with its branding as an unrestrictive, ideologically consistent platform, underscoring its appeal in a crowded market.
The Truth+ interface on mobile.
TMTG has big plans for Truth+, with a slew of features intended to enrich user experience. These include a 14-day interactive show guide, replay capabilities for recent programs, video on demand, subscription video on demand, and even a marketplace for content creators. Such enhancements are geared towards not just matching but exceeding the current offerings of other streaming giants.
As the platform evolves, it will be intriguing to see how it resonates with an audience that craves diversity in programming and freedom from the editorial constraints of Big Tech. With its innovative technology and strategic content expansion, Truth+ may well become a formidable player in the streaming game.
Nunes spoke last month to Breitbart News, emphasizing a commitment to maintain worldwide open lines of communication. He underscored the fact that Truth Social’s expansion was designed to keep those communication channels open for residents from America and beyond its borders.
“We’ve tried to take the best of all the platforms, whether it be – everybody knows Trump for mean tweets and all that,” Nunes said.
“But, I tell people, Truth Social is not a replacement for Twitter. Truth Social is taking the best of Twitter, the best of Facebook, the best of Instagram, the best of Reddit, the best of all the platforms. And, we try to make it simple and easy to use.”
BREAKING VIDEOS: Illegal Alien Hordes Now Hijacking School Buses As Apartment Complexes Across US Are Taken Over By Armed Venezuelan Gangs!
Illegal aliens, emboldened after encountering no resistance from the Biden-Harris regime, are invading American towns and endangering US citizens.
Alex Jones reports on the crisis unfolding at our doorstep due to “border czar” Kamala Harris’ ineffective policies and failure to secure the border.
BREAKING VIDEOS: Illegal Alien Hordes Now Hijacking School Buses As Apartment Complexes Across US Are Taken Over By Armed Venezuelan Gangs! pic.twitter.com/hVYM7tvonJ
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 29, 2024