When Church leaders obscure truth, faithful Catholics must step forward to defend it
Our presence in Rome exposes the scandals and ideologies threatening the Church. Please help us to continue reporting the truth on the ground and defend life, family, and the faith.
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Thu Mar 12, 2026 - 11:11 am EDT
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(LifeSiteNews) — Dear friends,
Today, the Church traditionally celebrates the feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great.
And we really need another pope like St. Gregory the Great.
St Gregory’s world was a lot like our own. Imperial Rome was crumbling, and descending into the plague, civil unrest, and war.
But out of the ashes of Imperial Rome rose a phoenix – Catholic Rome, Papal Rome, Eternal Rome.
And St. Gregory was key to that miracle.
It’s said that the United States is a Christian nation.
But it looks like any sense of Christianity is crumbling in America too.
How can the U.S. be a Christian nation when 61 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases?
Or when over 40 percent of self-identified conservatives say that homosexuality and same-sex “marriage” should be accepted?
Or – get this – when 84 percent of self-identified Catholics support birth control?
The collapse of a nation’s morals is a far worse fate than being overrun by barbarians.
And there is only one solution that can save the United States of America.
The problem is sin, and the solution to sin is Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Cross.
Our nation must fall at the feet of Christ, and recognize that He is the King of our society.
And it can only do this with the help of the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church was founded by Christ, and she alone – no other Christian organization – has the authority given by Christ when he said, “I am with you always, even to the consummation of the world.”
Even non-Catholics can see that, from a human perspective, the Catholic Church is the only hope.
The only sure moral teaching is that of the Catholic Church – everything else is just interpretation and opinion.
The only sure paths to true liberty, and true political theory, are those of the Catholic Church – everything else lays hold of partial truths about society, without the whole truth about what we are, why we are here, and how we can flourish.
The only sure way to a Christian nation is that of the Catholic Church – the necessity of Christ the King reigning over society, which no other Christian group can properly teach or explain.
And the only sure way to happiness, in this life and in the next, is that of the Catholic Church – because it is through her alone that we receive the grace of Christ.
But there’s a big problem here. Because as we all know, the current occupants of the Vatican are hell bent on leaving all this aside, and promoting the very evils that have brought our beloved nation to its knees:
· LGBT processions welcomed into St. Peter’s Basilica,
· Sickening Ramadan messages sent to Muslims by Cardinal Koovakad of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue,
· The canonization of a bishop who wrote about being naked in bed with a young man, and letting indigenous youth touch his genitals,
· The promotion of pro-homosexual, pro-interfaith, and McCarrick-linked clergy as bishops throughout the world.
It’s an absolute disgrace. It’s like another religion.
Even worse: Catholic truth is actually being obscured by the very men who claim to be our “shepherds.”
This is why LifeSiteNews’ work in Rome itself is so absolutely crucial.
That’s because Rome is where the fight is happening. And our presence there is under threat.
The catastrophic loss of faith in the 20th century happened, in part, because the Catholic in the pew had less access to the truth of what was happening in Rome – leaving them at the mercy of the Judas Priests who dismantled the religion of their childhood.
We cannot let that happen again.
In the last few decades, all that has changed: thanks to internet outlets like LifeSiteNews, Catholics can know what is happening, arm themselves against the machinations of the modernists, and fight back against error with the truth.
For over a decade, LifeSiteNews’ annual Rome Life Forum conferences have upheld Catholic truth in the very city where truth is being attacked on a daily basis.
This is not just another conference, where everyone gets together and feels good about themselves. The Rome Life Forum really matters, and has had a massiveimpact over the years.
Let me tell you about three of those:
· In 2017, Cardinal Caffarra revealed Sr. Lucy of Fatima’s message at the Rome Life Forum, that we are living the final battle for marriage and the family.
· In 2018, Archbishop Viganò listened as Bishop Schneider and I urged bishops to take action – and just months later, he published his bombshell testimony on McCarrick.
· In 2023, Bishop Strickland made headlines worldwide, warning about Pope Francis and against the Synod on Synodality. Days later, Francis removed him from his diocese.
Our LifeSiteNews reporters have reported on every major event in Rome since the start of the Synod on the Family in 2014, to the conclave in May, up to this very moment.
Many other Catholic outlets have folded since that conclave, and are now unwilling to speak up, ask the difficult questions, and hold the powerful to account.
That’s why Vatican prelates hate us so much. For years, LifeSiteNews has been a full-time thorn in their side.
They know we are present in Rome. And they are not happy about it.
When they realize they’re speaking to a LifeSiteNews journalist:
· They become visibly irritated,
· They tell us off,
· They give us the cold shoulder,
· They even threaten us with lawsuits!
Our presence in Rome must continue.
· Unborn babies need the protection of the state,
· The state needs the guidance of the Church,
· The Church needs faithful leaders on fire with love for God and His truth.
And this is where you come in.
Our Rome coverage, and crucial efforts like the Rome Life Forum, can be very costly.
We needs these funds to prepare for the Rome Life Forum 2026, and to keep our investigative Catholic coverage going.
In order to do that, and to maintain LifeSiteNews’ operations for the coming quarter, we must raise £600,000 – and we must do it in the next couple of weeks.
Without these funds, our operations will shrink, right at the moment the Church needs them the most.
And I can assure you: those promoting abominations in the Vatican while America burns have no financial concerns at all.
Your support right now will determine whether we can hold the line in Rome.
Every dollar you give helps to keep our Rome presence alive – and without funding, that work stops. It is that simple.
· $500 helps sustain our Rome reporting through the coming months.
· $1,000 helps make events like Rome Life Forum possible in 2026.
· $5,000 or more is a transformative gift that secures our Rome presence for the long term.
If you believe Christians deserve the truth – even when ruthless forces want it silenced – please act now.
Generous donations of $50 and $100 and $250 are the backbone of LifeSiteNews’ work defending life, faith, family, and freedom.
They open up new horizons to play our part in promoting the reign of Christ the King more rapidly.
They can make the difference between the truth being proclaimed – and the truth being suppressed.
And without this truth being proclaimed in Rome, unborn babies in the U.S. will be butchered, schoolchildren will be forced to suffer LGBT propaganda in their schools, and the elderly will be killed off with euthanasia as soon as they become inconvenient.
Larger gifts of $500 and $1,000 and $10,000 can help us push forward harder and faster for Christ the King.
When hirelings occupy so many offices in the Church’s institutions, tearing away the mask is the most important part of LifeSiteNews’ work.
We will not abandon Rome, and we will not abandon our uncompromising Catholic coverage in defense of the faith and the natural moral law.
But we cannot do that without you.
Will you give $50 today to support our faith-saving Catholic coverage?
Yours in the fight for truth,
John-Henry Westen
CEO & Editor-in-Chief
LifeSiteNews
P.S. While other outlets bury their heads in the sand about the Vatican, the modernist and globalist agenda advances, and any hope for making America truly great fades.
If we fail to raise the $600,000 needed to secure operations for this quarter, the consequences will be swift, and they will be brutal:
· Our presence in Rome will evaporate,
· Our operations will wither,
· Our dedicated pro-life, pro-family team will shrink,
· Our ability to report real, unvarnished Vatican news – and hold the powerful to account – will die.
And the only Catholic media outlet willing to confront corruption in Rome may be forced to step back.
If you want LifeSiteNews to remain on the ground in Rome – to expose the truth, defend the faith, and give a voice to the faithful – please give today.
P.P.S. If you prefer, you can mail your donation to our U.S. or Canadian offices, or call (800) 775-7009.
US MAILING ADDRESS
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Front Royal, VA 22630
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FOLLOW JOHN-HENRY
John-Henry is the co-founder and CEO of LifeSiteNews.com. He and his wife Dianne have eight children and they live in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada.
He has spoken at conferences and retreats, and appeared on radio and television throughout the world. John-Henry founded the Rome Life Forum, an annual strategy meeting for life, faith and family leaders worldwide. He is a board member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family. He is a consultant to Canada’s largest pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and serves on the executive of the Ontario branch of the organization. He has run three times for political office in the province of Ontario representing the Family Coalition Party.
John-Henry earned an MA from the University of Toronto in School and Child Clinical Psychology and an Honours BA from York University in Psychology.
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