1. “The Vatican on Wednesday accepted a voluminous dossier that puts French priest Jacques Hamel, who had his throat slit by Islamists in 2016, on the path to sainthood.” More here.

2. From The Gospel Coalition: Most Abortion-Minded Women Aren’t Calculating Killers. They’re Afraid.

(Explore the Sisters of Life if you’re looking for part of the solution and someone to support.)

3. Ed Mechmann on Alabama: A Bold but Risky Step on Abortion

4. (Related to Alabama and pretty much everything else in the world): Lisa Wheeler is among other things, a lead publicist for the movie Unplanned, the story of Abby Johnson’s journey from Planned Parenthood clinic director to pro-life activist. She was also a speaker at a National Review Institute adoption forum last year. This is from her Facebook page:

I have fostered over 15 children from the foster care system. I am pro-life. I have adopted two. I am pro-life. I have three foster sons in my home who I have loved and parented as my own for three years. I am pro-life. Recently, I received a call from DFCS about a sibling group of three (now 4) who are back in the system but may need an adoptive home. Would we be willing to keep them together and adopt them? Our answer: yes. I am pro-life. I give up two months of my year every Christmas to running a program for all the foster children in our area, a program that matches kids with specific sponsors who give specific gifts not a Toys for Tots approach. Over 400 kids receive exactly what they need and want for Christmas. I am pro-life. I speak out to my church and community on the connection between our whole life principles as advocates for the unborn and the responsibility to journey with struggling mothers and care for our modern orphans. I am pro-life. I serve on panels, give talks and give interviews about the crisis of foster care and what ALL of humanity can do to make a difference not just the “anti-choicers”. I am pro-life. I stand for the unborn because EVERY child from the moment of conception is unique, fully human and unrepeatable, AND EVERY child deserves a family who will love them, protect them and give them the opportunity for a future. I am pro-life. There is no reason for abortion. None. I will stand and advocate for foster kids, for struggling families who want to love and protect their kids, and for the unborn until I have no breath in me because all lives matter. I am pro-life. Don’t be fooled. This latest ploy of the pro-abortion lobby to hoodwink you with the statistics and “stories” of children in foster care as a by-product of “anti-choice” sentiment is desperation. They are as much to blame for our modern orphan crisis as those in our movement who don’t consider the consequences of protecting the unborn as they should. Children are not in foster care because they are unwanted. God wants them. I want them. I know many of my friends longing for motherhood want them. Children are in foster care because we have forgotten how to love one another. It’s time right or left, Pro-life or pro-choice that we stand in the gap to help the mothers and the children who need us the most.

Also, here are 20 pro-life things we could all afford to consider taking up.


5. Abby Johnson’s husband talks about being a stay-at-home father

6. The father of teen girls who encountered that Pennsylvania state representative outside Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia writes: It’s Time to Teach Our Children to Stand Up for Life — No Matter Who Stands in Their Way

7. A typically thoughtful column from Megan McArdle — on faith and tolerance and the Middle East and us



8. The sociologist Paul Hollander has died. R.I.P.

I once interviewed him about his book Extravagant Expectations: New Ways To Find Romantic Love In America

9. Our Kids Are Losing Their Empathy & Technology Has A Lot to Do With It

10. CNBC: Have four or more babies in Hungary and you’ll pay no income tax for life, prime minister says

11. A high-school senior does something for children in foster care


12. Andrew Sullivan: Who Should Be Allowed to Compete in Women’s Sports?

13. Susan Collins as a profile in courage

14. In case you’re a subscriber but not on Twitter, I thought you might want to know this:

My oldest brother reading old National Reviews was a formative thing in all the Carney boys' lives. I've known the writers and editors for nearly 20 years. I've read it for that long. It's an honor to have my first piece appear in the magazine this week: https://t.co/xdElOKpKtz — Tim Carney (@TPCarney) May 17, 2019

15. A homily for today

(This has been amended since posting.)