Pope Francis Meets with Critical Cardinal Burke on Salary, Apartment Ending; Pope Stripped Burke of Salary, Apartment Benefit for Non-Support

Pope Francis on Dec. 29 2023 had an audience with Cardinal Raymond Burke, the Vatican said, several weeks after a flurry of reported controversy involving the pontiff and the 75-year-old U.S..--born prelate, the National Catholic Register website reports.

A release from the Holy See Press Office briefly mentioned that the Pope had met with Cardinal Burke in an audience on Dec. 29. No reason was given for the meeting , nor were details of the audience shared by the press office.

The meting comes weeks after reports that Pope Francis has stripped Cardinal Burke , of his Vatican housing and salary privileges with the Holy Father claiming that Cardinal Burke was a source ofy "disunity" in the Church and was using the privileges afforded to retired cardinals against the Church. 

Maine Bars Former Pres. Trump from Being on Ballot; Trump Was Booted by Colorado High Court

 Maine's Democratic secretary of state today (Dec. 29, 2023) removed former President Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot,becoming the first election official to take action unilaterally in a decision that has potential electoral college consequences ,the LA Times website reports. 

Although Maine has only four electoral votes it  is one of two states to split them.

The decision by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows follows a December ruling by the Colorado Supreme Cout that booted Trump from the ballot there under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

White House Runs Out of Money for Ukraine;US Sec. of State Urges Congress to Provide Aid Fast

 The White House had previously warned it would "run out of  resources" for Ukraine "by the end of the year," the Euronews website reports today (Dec.28, 2023).

The Kremlin, for its part, has banked on warning  Western aid as key on an eventual win in Ukraine. 

"It is imperative that Congress act as soon as possible to advance our national security interests by helping Ukraine defend itself," U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Binken said in a statement  yesterday.

Israel Army Chief: Israel-Gaza War to Continue for Months; Israel Raises Operations to Central Gaza

 Israel's Army Chief has said that Israel's war with Hamas militants in Gaza will continue for "many more months," the BBC website reports. 

"There are no magic solutions," Herzi Halevi told reporters. On Dec. 26, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the campaign was "not close to being over."

Israel says it hit more than 100 sites on Dec. 26. It is reportedly extending ground operations to central Gaza. 

Drone from Iran Strikes Tanker in Indian Ocean; Many Ships Attacked in Red Sea in Recent Weeks

 A drone launched from Iran struck a chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean early on Dec. 23, in what appears to be the fir vessel outside the Red Sea since a recent flurry in the aerea , the Euro News website reports. 

The Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker was struck at approximately 6 a.m. GMT in the  Indian Ocean 200 nautical miles from the coast of India by a one-way drone fired from Iran, a Pentagon spokesperson said. 

A string of attacks have taken place in the Red Sea on commercial ships in recent weeks. 

Top Ukraine Prelate : Vatican Rule on Same-Sex Blessing Affects Only Latin Church; Says Greek Cath. Church in Ukraine Has Its Own Rules

 Amid a broad spectrum of reactions unleashed by Fiducia Supplicans, a new Vatican document permitting non-liturgical blessings of same-sex couples,Ukraine's Greek Catholic Church -- the main Church of Ukraine -- has become the first eastern communion to  declare explicitly that the document does not apply outside the Latin Church,the Crux website reports today (Ded.24, 2023).  

"On the basis of canon. 1492 of the CCCC this Declaration concerns purely the Latin Church and has no legal force for the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek--Catholic Church," said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Church, in a  Dec. 22 statement. 

Shevchuk was referring s  to a provision of the Code of Canons authority of the Church, in which the passive subject is not expressly indicated, affect only the Christian faithful of the Eastern Churches insofar as they treat matters of faith or morals or declarations of divine law , or these Christian faithful are explicitly included in these laws, or they grant favor which contains nothing contrary to the Eastern rites."

Biden Pardons Thousands Convicted of Marijuana; Rectifies Racial Disparities in the Justice System

 President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia. the White House said Dec. 22, 2023, in his latest round of executive clemencies meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system, .the AP website reports.

The categorical pardon builds on a similar round issued just before the 2022 midterm elections that pardoned thousands convicted of simple possession on federal lands eligible. Yesterday's action broadens the criminal offenses covered by the pardon. Biden is also granting clemency to 11 people serving what the White House called "disproportionately long" sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.

Biden, in a statement, said his actions would help make the "promise of equal justice a reality."