Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 16

The Borders of USA and the Walls around the Vatican

The walls are imposing and impenetrable. The bricks rise to the sky around the 2.5-mile perimeter. Swiss Guards in their colorful uniforms stand at the entrances. The Vatican is the headquarters of my Roman Catholic Church—and I say “my Church” because I converted to Catholicism and consider it mine.

I cannot tell you how many times I have run around the walls of the Vatican early in the morning, in the heat of the day, or in the cool of the evening. I always deviate off the sidewalk to enter St. Peter’s Square, which is open to the public.

(You can watch my walk around the Walls of the Vatican in October here on YouTube)

I cross myself and bow to Jesus, and acknowledge Sts. Peter and Paul and the 140 saints atop the colonnades reaching out as arms to welcome us.

Yes the colonnades warmly welcome us into the arms of Mother Church. But try to enter the Vatican at one of the eight entrances into this tiny nation and see what happens.

No one enters without special permission and without the proper paperwork. You will not find immigrants lined up at the entrances or climbing the walls.

The Vatican has strict newly implemented laws about entering the Vatican. According to the Catholic News Agency,

In a decree issued last month by the Holy See, the monetary sanctions and prison sentences for those who violate the strict security regulations of Vatican City have been considerably increased.

The document, signed by Cardinal Fernando Vérguez Alzaga, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, provides for monetary fines ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 euros (about $10,200 to $25,700) and prison sentences ranging from one to four years.

These fines will apply especially to those who enter by means of violence, threats, or deception, bypassing border controls or security systems.

The Pope just sent a letter to the US Bishops challenging our attempt to restrict illegal entry into the United States. He substantially called on our bishops to continue our current policy under Biden Immigration, in effect, resisting our president.

Immigration should be legal and our country is very generous and always has been. I find myself is agreement with JD Vance who seems to understand the situation better than a lot of sheltered and seemingly misinformed clerics.

We are spending untold millions to house illegal immigrants while our own people are neglected (e.g., recent hurricane victims). Why are our citizen ignored while illegals are housed in posh hotels across the country.

Josh Mercer, VP of CatholicVote wrote,

Those closest to the Pope have failed to give him the full picture of the humanitarian crisis we have experienced this last four years. Biden’s border policies were a boon to Mexican cartels, who made $30 million a day smuggling drugs and people across our southern border.

This reckless open border policy allowed migrant women and children to be exploited. When Trump took office there were 300,000 migrant children who were missing.

American Catholics have compassion for the plight of people in other countries and have long shown incredible generosity to other countries. But we don’t understand why our already-generous immigration laws are not respected.

The Vatican is protected by impenetrable walls and strict laws and penalties, yet they expect us to open our borders to anyone that wants to enter? Why the double standard?

Babies are not allowed to be born inside the Vatican Walls which would give them citizenship—they must be taken outside to hospitals in Rome for birth.

We cannot insist on legal processes for immigration? We should not take care of our own disadvantaged and needy first?

We all want to care for the poor and needy. That is what we as Americans have always done. But we want it implemented in a legal and orderly manner.

 

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Fast-paced Hour of Apologetics

I joined Bill McIntosh of Quarum Radio for a fast-paced audio show on apologetics.

He “threw snowballs” at me in rapid fire to see how I would respond. Fun show!

The interview starts at the 3:00 minute mark. He introduces me as Steve Ray “the Papist”.

https://catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/monquorumradio.mp3

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Mystery of the Missing Bible Verses

My new article about the mystery of the missing Bible verses. New in Catholic Answers Magazine.

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-mystery-of-missing-bible-verses

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Care for Family and Country First – then others. Was JD Vance correct?

Yes, JD Vance was correct, very biblical and Catholic in his common sense assertion that a person should love family first, then his church/community, then his country and THEN others in the wider world. This is the principle foundation when considering immigration and care for others.

What does St. Paul say in 1 Timothy 5:8:

“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

JD Vance told the media and nay-sayers that the old Christian adage Ordo Amoris (The Sacred Order of Love) applied as the foundational consideration when discussing a countries borders and immigration.

For a good article on this, and what Thomas Aquinas has to say in confirmation, read HERE. It starts out,

The vice president was being interviewed by Fox, and he made a straightforward observation: There is an order or hierarchy of loves—what is classically called an ordo amoris. We should love our family first, then our neighbors, then love our community, then our country, and only then consider the interests of the rest of the world. Vance called this a Christian view.

Some reacted with horror. To be Christian is to be universal and impartial, they said! Vance is endorsing an anti-Christian nativism! But Vance is correct. The Christian tradition has a consistent teaching that we are to love those near with a greater fervor than those far away….

(Click here for the whole article. Another two are here and here.)

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Great Saturday in Baton Rouge

Great time speaking for Sister Dulce Maria at the Cyprus Springs Mercedarian Prayer Center in Baton Rouge Louisiana. Three talks today. Lovely folks and great Cajun food.

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Twenty-seven Years Ago – short clip of my appearance on EWTN’s Journey Home

Wow! My appearance on EWTN’s The Journey Home a few years after our conversion. Probably 1997.

Steve Ray on Journey Home 1997

Screenshot

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What are Deportations? And why do many Catholics have it wrong?

The US bishops and many others seem to misunderstand what “deportation” means in the language and content of Church documents. Very interesting read.

The article starts:

“PROBLEM: Official Church documents on faith and morals have perennially been written in LATIN.  That fact is not the PROBLEM to which I referred.  The PROBLEM is that, at least in these USA, not many of our clergy – particularly in the upper ranks – can read Latin. …

So we can rightly ask, What Does The Church Really Teach about “deportation”.

Here is an idea or two for our bishops to mull over before making sweeping statements in which the word “deportation” might appear.”

Click below for the whole article.

What is Catholic teaching about “deportation”? Maybe not what some higher-ups think.

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Forced to Sign though her Tears: A mother’s unforgettable testimony of a forced abortion

As published in The Loop:

As the legal case Women’s Life Care Center v. Ellison unfolds, it is bringing to light numerous troubling stories about the irreversible pain caused by coerced abortions.

One such story is that of Brittany Weston, who submitted a declaration in support of the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in this case.

Her testimony reveals that women had been facing coercion at Planned Parenthood Minnesota, Planned Parenthood North Dakota, Planned Parenthood South Dakota, and Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPMNS/PPNCS) facilities for many years before Women’s Life Care Center v. Ellison was filed.

In 2005, Weston was dating a 41-year-old man when she discovered that she was pregnant. She was 22 years old and on the cusp of graduating from college at the time.

“When she found out at a medical clinic that she was pregnant, she immediately ruled out an abortion. She wanted to raise her baby herself,” the Women’s Life Care Center v. Ellison complaint states.

But the baby’s father demanded that she get an abortion. According to Weston’s declaration testimony, he eventually coerced her into going to a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

“There was no discussion about the reason for an abortion. The ‘counselor’ just had to check a box. In fact, there was no counseling at all,” says Weston in recollection of the day of the abortion. “No discussion of the risks. There was no information about how I could keep my baby, or what organizations were available to give me assistance.”

PPMNS only required a signature of “consent” and payment upfront without having Weston speak with a counselor first.

Despite suffering from depression and her reluctance to proceed, Weston’s counseling session lasted only five minutes. Weston claims that its only purpose was to ensure she had signed the consent form.

PPMNS made no effort to determine if Weston was voluntarily submitting to the abortion. Realizing this, Weston became distressed. She recalls that she “bawled her eyes out” and exclaimed to a PPMNS worker, “I feel like I’m killing my baby if I go through with this.”

PPMNS proceeded with the abortion anyway.

“I felt completely helpless. No one was helping me,” Weston remembers. “I was being pressured to have an abortion, and all Planned Parenthood was doing was making that abortion happen.”

Later that year, Weston submitted a declaration in the Planned Parenthood v. Rounds case, testifying that the baby’s father forced her to have an abortion and PPMNS subjected her to an unwanted procedure.

Then, in 2006, she submitted another declaration of the same facts in the PPMNS v. Daugaard/Noem case using the pseudonym “Jane Doe #1.”

PPMNS failed Weston and other mothers by not providing essential counseling on the abortion procedure or offering resources to help them keep their children.

Now, Weston is standing up for other mothers who underwent coerced abortions by supporting the plaintiffs of Women’s Life Care Center v. Ellison. Please consider supporting the plaintiffs in their fight for life by making a meaningful contribution here. Learn more about the case here.

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Janet’s Speech on Pilgrimages (a rarity for her to give a public talk)

Fr. James Conlon, one of our favorite pilgrimage priests, asked Janet to share her thoughts and experiences on pilgrimages.

Consider joining us this year on a Footprints of God Pilgrimage on our 20th Anniversary!

Our anniversary celebration on the Danube River Cruise is sold out, but you can still jump on our Poland, Italy and France pilgrimages. Also, we are heading back to the Holy Land.

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Back to the Holy Land – “Flash Pilgrimage” for those who want to the first ones back

In conjunction with our agents, friends, and advisers in the Holy Land, Janet and I have planned a pilgrimage back to the Land of Our Lord and Lady in March of this year. This will be a smaller and intimate group.

If you would like to join us, visit our webpage HERE. There, you will find an interactive map, brochure, pricing, and itinerary.

My friend and partner in Nazareth wrote his invitation for you to join us. He is in the picture below. We have led over 100 groups together!

We have had a good number of folks ask about getting back sooner rather than later and already have some registering for this pilgrimage.

“I am delighted to invite you to join us on an exclusive pilgrimage to the Holy Land from March 19 to March 28, 2025. Contrary to common perceptions, Israel remains a safe global destination globally.

My family and I have called this sacred land our home for years, a testament to the safety and stability it offers. This pilgrimage will provide access to all regions of Israel and its revered Holy sites, ensuring a deeply enriching and seamless spiritual journey.

“This is a particularly opportune time to visit, as the Holy Land is remarkably quiet in regards to travel, with fewer tourists giving us easy access to sacred sites without the usual crowds or delays. The borders are secure, with no current tensions in the north following the CF agreement with Lebanon, which is set for renewal, and the situation in Gaza is locally contained and has significantly stabilized, with a hostage release agreement on the horizon.

“Ben Gurion Airport is fully operational, ensuring smooth travel in and out of the country. Don’t miss this exceptional opportunity to experience the profound beauty, history, and spirituality of the Holy Land in such a calm and welcoming environment.” 

Kind Regards, Amer Shehadeh- CEO
Agent and Guide since 1990, Resident of Nazareth

All the places we visit are open and waiting for us and away from conflict and tension.

Our first group in 2005 — who would have dreamed we’d take 99 more groups following this one!

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