(Vatican Radio) The new U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has warned allies of the NATO military alliance that they must start increasing defense spending by year's end or the Trump administration will "moderate its commitment" to them. Mattis made the remarks at a NATO summit in Brussels which was also overshadowed by reports that Russia violated a Cold War-era treaty by deploying a cruise missile, charges Moscow denies. Listen to the report by Stefan Bos: Mattis echoed a demand made repeatedly by President Donald Trump: The alliance must adopt a plan this year to force governments to meet a military funding goal of two percent of gross domestic product. He did not detail what the United States might do if NATO members failed to fall in line. But he warned the Trump administration would "moderate its commitment to them". Mattis made clear that NATO face major challenges such as Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. &...
(Vatican Radio) The new U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has warned allies of the NATO military alliance that they must start increasing defense spending by year's end or the Trump administration will "moderate its commitment" to them. Mattis made the remarks at a NATO summit in Brussels which was also overshadowed by reports that Russia violated a Cold War-era treaty by deploying a cruise missile, charges Moscow denies.
Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:
Mattis echoed a demand made repeatedly by President Donald Trump: The alliance must adopt a plan this year to force governments to meet a military funding goal of two percent of gross domestic product.
He did not detail what the United States might do if NATO members failed to fall in line. But he warned the Trump administration would "moderate its commitment to them".
Mattis made clear that NATO face major challenges such as Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. "The events of 2014 were sobering and we must continue to adapt to what’s been revealed to us in terms of our security challenges. The alliance remains a fundamental bedrock for the U.S.,” he said.
RUSSIAN ROCKET
The NATO alliance is also worried about other Russian actions. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance would be concerned if reports that Russia has violated a Cold War-era treaty by deploying a cruise missile prove true.
U.S. intelligence agencies claim the missile became operational late last year, possibly violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on the development and testing of cruise missiles.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin denied that Russia had violated this key treaty.
Amid these tensions, Stoltenberg seemed please that the new US defense secretary did not repeat President Trump's remarks that the alliance had become obsolete. “The challenges that we face are the most complex and demanding in a generation.
Neither Europe nor North America can tackle them alone.Therefore I welcome the US commitment to the transatlantic bond,” the NATO chief said.
Yet more discussions are expected on who will fund the expensive alliance.
Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne. / Credit: Diocese of Burlington, VermontCNA Staff, Apr 29, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).A New England prelate is urging Catholics to both minister to transgender-identifying individuals in the Catholic Church while still continuously affirming "the goodness of human creation" as male and female.Coadjutor Archbishop Christopher Coyne of Hartford, Connecticut, told CNA last week that he would make it a point not to challenge a transgender-identifying man or woman when they present as the opposite sex.Coyne appeared on Connecticut Public Radio earlier this month arguing against the basic claim of gender ideology, which argues that men and women who "identify" as the opposite sex should be treated as such."Biology is biology. You're either XX or XY. That's a scientific fact. You can't un-prove that fact," the bishop told public radio. But, he argued, the LGBT debate has "pulled me more into a place of understanding and care," including regarding trans...
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Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...