Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won the presidential straw poll at the Values Voter Summit for the third year in a row on Saturday, cementing his position as the favorite of social conservatives in the Republican presidential field.

He drew 35 percent support among the nearly 1200 attendees that voted in the straw poll, while retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson took second with 18 percent support and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee came in third with 14 percent support. The only other candidate in the field to draw more than 100 votes was Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who placed fourth with 13 percent support.

As much as the straw poll handed a predictable win to Cruz, it offered a notable rebuke to two of the field's top contenders: businessman Donald Trump and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Trump came in fifth place, drawing just 56 votes, or 5 percent support, even as polls have shown him to be the first or second pick of evangelical voters.
 

Rare Australian jellyfish spotted off the coast of San Diego's South Bay, a long way from home, may have been swept up north by El Nino currents.

Researchers at the Living Coast Discovery Center received a tip Thursday saying there were dozens of jellyfish swimming off the Chula Vista coast.

But when crews arrived, they didn’t find the moon jellies native to the San Diego area they had been expecting.

Instead, they found Australian Spotted Jellies, a rare type native to the western side of the Pacific Ocean.

“What they’re doing here is kind of a mystery,” said Education and Guest Experience Manager Elizabeth Argyle with the center in Chula Vista. The center is housing the jellyfish for the time being. 

The jellyfish, found scattered throughout the South Bay, are known to sting humans, but the sting generally just leaves a burning sensation and is not harmful, she said. 

Scientists believe the jellyfish may have been swept up to San Diego in El Nino currents.

“During an El Nino year, there’s usually warm water currents that come across our Pacific Ocean and that can bring other organism such as these jellyfish, which are kind of a drifter and kind of at the mercy of a current,” Argyle said.

Argyle said scientists also speculate they may have gotten stuck to the bottom of a boat and been pulled all the way to San Diego or may have reached local shores some other way.

“The reason they are surviving is because South San Diego Bay has warm waters in the area,” she said.

The center is working to put the jellyfish on display. She said they should be on display in the near future.

The Imperial County Sheriff’s Department will receive a $74,770 grant from the Justice Department as part of a $23.2 million body camera funding program.

73 local and tribal agencies in 32 states have been awarded government grants for the program.

The body-worn camera pilot program, announced in May 2015, includes $19.3 million to purchase body cameras, $2 million for training and technical assistance and $1.9 million to examine the impact of their use.

“This vital pilot program is designed to assist local jurisdictions that are interested in exploring and expanding the use of body-worn cameras in order to enhance transparency, accountability and credibility,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. “The impact of body-worn cameras touches on a range of outcomes that build upon efforts to mend the fabric of trust, respect and common purpose that all communities need to thrive.”

The grants require a 50/50 in-kind or cash match and can be used to purchase cameras and train officers in their use. Each agency is responsible for proper training and long term storage of cameras.

The award was announced Monday at a White House Champions of Change event co-hosted by the Office of Justice Programs and the Community Oriented Policing Services Office.

The event honored officers and young people working to improve relations between police and youth in their communities.

The importance of transparency in law enforcement has become a prominent issue since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson in August of 2014 and a number of officer involved shootings that followed.

The OJP’s Bureau of Justice Studies is collecting data from law enforcement agencies on body camera usage, and will eventually survey prosecutors and public defenders about how body camera footage is used in court.

Last December President Obama asked for more funding for body cameras and better training, saying there is a “simmering distrust” between minority communities and law enforcement.

“This is not a problem of Ferguson, Missouri. This is a national problem,” the president said.
 

An American student was one of two tourists killed during a kayaking trip to New Zealand, NBC News reported.

Daniel Thomas Hollnsteiner, 21, from New York and James Robert Murphy, 20, from London, were members of a party of 11 students who got into difficulty while kayaking on Lake Tekapo in the South Island, local police confirmed.

Mid-South Canterbury area commander Inspector Dave Gaskin told local media that winds picked up on the lake during Friday afternoon and water swamped the students' kayaks.

Local volunteers and emergency workers managed to rescue the other nine members from the group of 11 who had all been wearing life jackets at the time, local media reported.

Both the victims were studying at Monash University in Australia.

Sharp Healthcare held its fourth annual disaster preparedness Expo in Kearny Mesa Saturday, which gave participants important information on being ready for fires, earthquakes, and power outages.

"People generally are not ready," Sharon Carlson Director of Emergency Preparedness at Sharp Healthcare said."Some of it is because they don't know what they need, and so the purpose of the expo is to tell them this is what you need for a kit.”

Organizers say most people know to stock bottled water and a flashlight in case of an emergency, but few think to have a fire extinguisher, tools, or local maps at the ready. They also remind pet owners to include pet supplies in any disaster kit.

The expo incuded the Quake Cottage, an earthquake simulator that jostles riders around in the way a magnitude-8.0 quake would.

Emergency responders treated several patients at a Tempe, Arizona, concert Saturday after a crowd rushed the stage, NBC News reported.

The severity of the injuries was not immediately available. The injuries occurred at the Summer Ends Music Festival at Tempe Beach Park after fans began pushing toward a stage, the Tempe Fire Department said.

"There were too many people there. I could not breathe and was getting trampled every five minutes," concertgoer Rayna Feerer, 16, from Ahwatukee in Phoenix, told NBC News. "It was one of the worst experiences of my life."

The Tempe Fire Department said it treated 12 people in conjunction with the rush to the stage. One patient was transported to a hospital with a head injury, the department said. The surge began as the band Rebelution started playing, NBC News reported. 

A South Florida man is facing multiple charges after authorities say he strangled a cat belonging to his ex-girlfriend's mother in South Miami.

Eric Henry Medero, 25, is charged with animal cruelty, burglary, stalking and criminal mischief following his arrest Thursday, according to a Miami-Dade Police report.

Medero was being held without bond Friday, jail records showed. It was unknown if he's hired an attorney.

According to the report, Medero broke into the home by prying a door open with a crow bar. The victim, who was at work, saw the man inside her home using a security camera and called police.

When officers arrived at the home they saw Medero leave through the front door. He ran away but was taken into custody after a short foot pursuit, the report said.

Officers searched the home and found the cat strangled to death in the room of the woman's daughter. Medero had scratches on both of his forearms "consistent with being clawed by a cat," the report said.

The woman told officers her daughter had an injunction against Medero for "dating violence," the report said.

An 8-year-old cancer survivor in San Diego whose life was saved by her little brother is now leading her own charge in the fight against childhood cancer.

On Mother’s Day 2013, at the age of just 5, Rancho Penasquitos resident Rina Sy was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia – Acute Lymphoblast Leukemia, Philadelphia Chromosome.

Her mother, Marianne Sy, said the family immediately began exploring bone marrow transplant options for Rina’s treatment, checking the compatibility of loved ones. Chances were slim, Sy said – a one in four chance that someone would be Rina’s match.

The answer was right before their eyes: Rina’s little brother, Patrick, turned out to be her perfect bone marrow match.

The family moved forward with the transplant. Since then, Marianne said her daughter has been cancer-free.

“He was that second chance at life for Rina, to help save her life,” Marianne told NBC 7. “As parents, we would do anything for our kids. We had no idea Patrick would be able to give Rina that gift of life – beyond what any parent could give their children.”

Though cancer-free for more than two years and running, Marianne said Rina continues to receive medical check-ups every three months – something she’ll likely need to do for the rest of her life.

Today, the family organizes fundraising efforts in support of research for childhood cancer, hoping every child has a chance to find their superhero, as Rina did. Those efforts are chronicled on their family blog, “Resilient Rina.”

The family’s latest project was a fundraiser dubbed “Go Gold,” held at Rina’s school Friday as part of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. During the event, everyone was invited to make donations in little boxes hand-wrapped in gold paper by Rina and her family.

The slogan for the gold box movement was, “Gold is the new pink – fight like a kid!”

“There is hope, for the rest of the lives of these kids and [Rina] to know that there will be a cure someday for childhood cancer,” Marianne said at the event.

Students and faculty were all dressed in gold for the fundraiser and special assembly at the school,
some wearing pins that read, “I Wear Gold for Rina.”

Fittingly, Patrick – Rina’s real-life superhero – was decked out in a gold cape.

Rina showed off his cape and hugged him tight, grateful for her brother and grateful for her chance at long, happy, healthy life ahead.

Marianne said she was overwhelmed by the support from the school principal, PTA, students and parents, and said it fuels the family’s passion to pay it forward and find ways to help fellow families impacted by childhood cancer.

You can follow their journey and ongoing fundraising efforts on the Resilient Rina blog.

A raging fire ripped through a home in Vista Friday night, causing extensive damage, officials said.

The blaze sparked around 11:30 p.m. at a house in the 1300 block of Clear Crest Drive. When Vista Fire Department crews arrived, they encountered heavy smoke and flames shooting from the home, including flames peering from the roof.

Crews from the Oceanside Fire Department arrived on scene to assist, and together, 34 firefighters battled the flames, while senior volunteers from the Vista Fire Department also helped.

Vista Fire Department Battalion Chief Martin Parish said the fire collapsed the home’s roof line, making firefighting efforts more challenging. Initially, flames from the back of the house posed a potential threat to neighboring homes, but Parish said firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other structures.

Within 35 minutes, firefighters had knocked out the blaze. Crews remained on scene monitoring hot spots until 3:30 a.m.

Officials said no one was home at the time of the fire, and no civilians or firefighters were injured.

Deputy Chief Ned Vander Pol, with the Vista Fire Department, said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. The home was heavily damaged but an estimate on the total loss was not immediately available Saturday.
 

Sheriff’s Deputies are looking for a hit-and-run driver who hit two pedestrians Friday night in Vista, leaving one victim with life-threatening injuries.

Deputies found the victims lying on the right shoulder at the 200 block of Sycamore Avenue. The incident happened at approximately 11:55 pm.

A woman was transported to a nearby medical center with life-threatening injuries. The man’s injuries appeared to be minor.

The suspect is believed to have driven a 97 to 99 Lexus ES-300 with damage to the passenger side marker light and right side mirror.

Anyone with information should call the Sheriff's Department non-emergency line at (858)565-5200 or Crime Stoppers at (888)580-8477. People with Information leading to an arrest are eligible for a $1000 reward.
 

The head coach of the San Diego Chargers is Mike McCoy. The head coach of the Minnesota Vikings is Mike Zimmer. But make no mistake, neither of those men will have nearly as big an impact on Sunday’s game in Minneapolis as two of their coordinators will.

Chargers Defensive Coordinator John Pagano and Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner will finally get to match wits in a game that counts. Pagano was an assistant coach for all six years of Turner’s time as head coach in San Diego, the first five as linebackers coach and the last one as defensive coordinator. They know each other extremely well, but have never called plays against one another in a game that puts a tally in the Win-Loss column.

“I was kind of joking with Pags,” said quarterback Philip Rivers. “I said y’all have dress rehearsed this for no telling how many times. Hundreds of practices out here on the field when Pags was calling the defenses and Norv was calling the offenses all those times in practice and training camp, all those good battles.”

So the big question now is … who has the advantage?

“I don’t know that there’s a competitive advantage either way,” said Rivers, expertly toeing the line of diplomacy.

The personnel is different but the schemes are the same. The Bolts only have 11 guys on the team who played under Turner. The Chargers have not seen running back Adrian Peterson since 2011 and have never seen quarterback Teddy Bridgewater or tight end Kyle Rudolph.

So we have to rely on tendencies. That means the Vikings are going to take shots down the field with their speedy wide receivers while the Chargers use exotic sub packages and unique looks to cause confusion in the offense. That brings us to this week’s three players to watch out for.

Ryan Carrethers, DT

A healthy scratch the first two weeks of the year, Carrethers is almost guaranteed playing time behind Sean Lissemore in Minnesota. The Chargers released tackle Mitch Unrein during the week so Carrethers will see the field. When he’s there, he’s going to have to give San Diego something they have not enjoyed since Jamal Williams was wearing a lightning bolt on his helmet: an interior presence that can get to the passer. The Chargers have been abysmal in their ability to create pressure up the middle. They’re good enough on the edges with Melvin Ingram, Jeremiah Attaochu and the emergence of Kyle Emanuel but the thing quarterbacks hate the most is pressure in their faces. Bridgewater is in his second season. If Carrethers and Lissemore (and Darius Philon) can get a push on the interior it should make the young, talented QB make a mistake or two.

Keenan Allen, WR

After a monster opener Allen was largely quiet against the Bengals. He has the ability to blow a game wide open with his playmaking ability in the offense but I don’t have him on this list because of his pass catching. Keenan is here because Jacoby Jones is out with an ankle injury so Allen is likely returning punts again. It’s not a stretch to say the Cincinnati game turned in the first quarter when the San Diego defense forced a 3-and-out on the Bengals opening drive only to have Allen muff the punt, give the Bengals a short field to score a touchdown and take control of the afternoon. The Chargers don’t need Allen to make plays as a punt returner. Anything he does on a change of possession is a bonus. What they need is for him to just not turn the ball over. If he hangs on to the football and gets in the huddle where he becomes a real difference maker, the Bolts should be alright.

Corey Liuget, DE

This one ties in to getting a push in the middle and the familiarity between Pagano and Turner. After signing a big contract in the off-season Liuget has gotten a lot of attention from opposing offensive lines. He broke through for six tackles (one for a loss) against the Bengals and he’ll have a big hand in trying to contain Peterson. One of the men he’ll see a lot of is Mike Harris. You all remember Mike Harris, right? He’s the undrafted rookie out of UCLA who made the Chargers roster in 2012 and was forced in to being the starting left tackle because former Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith didn’t realize Jared Gaither was going to pull a Steve Miller Band (he took the money and ran), nearly getting Philip Rivers killed and eventually helping usher Turner out the door. Well Harris is now the starting right guard in Minnesota and through two games he’s been arguably the Vikings’ best lineman. Liuget knows Harris well from their time on the practice field in San Diego, which could help Corey shake loose for his first sack of 2015.

Derek’s Prediction

The Vikings looked awful in a Week 1 loss in San Francisco but much better in a Week 2 win against the Lions. They have some nice pieces on offense but Bridgewater only has one TD pass (to Rudolph) as he continues to learn Norv’s system.

Zimmer was the defensive coordinator in Cincinnati through 2013 and the Bengals still run the same system. Now Zimmer is calling those plays in those formations but with lesser talent than the Chargers saw last week. Getting that look in back-to-back weeks will help put the Bolts over the top in what’s probably not going to be a high-scoring afternoon.

Final score: Chargers 20, Vikings 16

San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)  to approve a new electricity rate hike that will ask customers to pay almost $380 million in settlement fees associated with the 2007 wildfires, SDG&E said Friday. 

SDG&E first owed $463 million to firestorm victims after an independent report by Cal Fire determined its power lines caused the Witch, Rice, and Guejito fires. Two people died and 1,300 homes burned down. Losses have run upwards of $2 billion.

Initially, SDG&E faced 2,500 lawsuits related to the 2007 fires and $4 billion in claims, but the company settled most of them at a cost of $2.4 billion. The cost of some of the settlements was taken from the company's liability insurance and recoveries from third parties. 

Today, $420 million in costs remains unpaid.

On Friday, SDG&E filed paperwork in an attempt to pass along the costs to ratepayers. Shareholders would pay 10 percent of the remaining bill, or $42 million. Customers would pay for the remaining $379 million of that legal tab. 

SDG&E said the average customer's bill would cost $1.70 more per month for a customer using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month. The company has said it would take six years to pay off the sum at that rate. 

“We have gone to great lengths to minimize the impact to our customers by successfully settling these lawsuits rather than taking them to trial, which would have been significantly more costly,” said Lee Schavrien, chief administrative officer for SDG&E, in a statement. “We are in the final stages of this proceeding, and after eight years, we believe that, as a company, a community and a region, we are much better prepared for a future fire emergency.”

If the change is approved, it would likely take effect in 2017. 

Since the 2007 fires, SDG&E said it has taken steps to prevent similar incidents from happening by installing over 170 weather stations across its service territory. Those stations enhance operational safety and overall situational awarness, SDG&E says.

This is not the first time SDG&E has asked CPUC to approve a new electricty rate hike. In Dec. 2012, CPUC denied a request from the company to retroactively impose a rate hike of nearly half a billion dollars to cover the cost of power-line caused fires in 2007, plus the cost of future damages.

SDG&E had asked that ratepayers cover 95 percent of the losses with Sempra investors on the hook for the rest. The company said this would cost the average customer around $190, payable at the rate of $3 to $4 per month for up to four years.

Former City Attorney Michael Aguirre said his law firm, Aguirre & Severson, plans to file suit against the SDG&E's efforts to charge ratepayers for the wildfires. 

In a statement, Aguirre called the the proposed rate increase "outrageous."

CPUC will likely issue their final decision by the first quarter of 2017. 

A DUI suspect rammed her vehicle into a parked car and dumpster in San Diego’s Bay Park community overnight, killing her passenger – her mother – in the crash, police confirmed.

The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said the driver, an unidentified 26-year-old woman, was driving southbound at high rate of speed in the 3500 block of Clairemont Drive around 2:20 a.m. when she lost control of her vehicle.

As she drifted off the roadway, she slammed into a parked car, which pushed that vehicle into another parked car nearby. She then drove onto a sidewalk and plowed into a dumpster, investigators said.

The woman was accompanied by her 60-year-old mother, who was sitting in the passenger seat. The mother suffered critical injuries in the collision and was pronounced dead at the scene, police confirmed.

Investigators said the daughter, suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, was taken to a local hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. After she’s released from the hospital, she will be arrested and charged with felony DUI, police said.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the crash should call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

This was just one of several deadly accidents on local roadways overnight.

On Woodside Avenue in Lakeside, a DUI suspect plowed into a family that had just finished having dinner together at a nearby restaurant. A couple from Texas, in town visiting their sons, was critically injured in that crash. The mother succumbed to her injuries, officials confirmed Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, near Sharp Mary Birch Hospital, a driver hit two pedestrians on Health Center Drive, killing one of them. That accident, however, did not involve alcohol, officials said.

France said Sunday it has launched its first airstrikes against ISIS in Syria in coordination with coalition partners, NBC News reported.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls told BFM-TV that the strikes targeted ISIS training centers where militants were being prepared for carrying out attacks in France.

"We are acting in self-defense," Valls said, according to Reuters.

The French presidency said that the strikes hit targets identified as a result of aerial reconnaissance missions over the past two weeks.

"We will strike each time our national security is at stake," the presidency said in a brief statement.

Within a span of 45 minutes, police received four calls about shootings, including a car-to-car shooting that left one driver dead in Southern California, Banning Police said late Saturday.

A man went on what police said appeared to be a random shooting rampage as he drove through the city of Banning.

Two people were killed and three others suffered injuries after shootings occurred in multiple areas.

Police took the driver into custody at the nearby city of Beaumont, police said. 

The first shooting attack occurred on John Street at 11:36 a.m.

The driver of a car was killed and the passenger was injured.

Ten minutes later, another call came in reporting car-to-car shots near Nicolet Middle School at the intersection of San Gorgonio Avenue and Nicolet Street. 

The victim in the shooting suffered minor injuries to the face when broken glass shattered from shots fired. 

The violence continued at an AM-PM store on the intersection of 22nd and Ramsey Streets.

The suspect started repeatedly punching the next victim as he was sitting in his car. The suspect then grabbed a blunt instrument and continued the attack. 

At 12:15 p.m., police were called to East Lincoln Drive.

A car crashed, and police found the driver dead in the vehicle. 

The suspected shooter then began knocking on residents' doors of American Street. 

He also broke a car's window while people were sitting inside of it. 

Shortly after, Beaumont Police took him into custody. 

The police said there was no clear motive as the shooter had no relation to the victims.

Because his clothes and vehicle matched the descriptions at each location, police said they believe this is the work of one man, but would need to investigate to determine that he was responsible for every shooting.

Police arrested a man Wednesday who is accused of impersonating a police officer and threatening to shoot a taxi cab driver while yelling at him for blocking in his car while waiting to pick up a customer in Orange, Connecticut, police said.

Anthony White, 47, of Derby, flashed a badge and handcuffs at the taxi driver, implying he was an officer, during an argument over where the cab was parked while waiting to pick someone up, police said. White complained that the cab was blocking his car. He followed the cab driver into an office and yelled at him, threatening to shoot him, police said.

Someone else broke up the altercation, so White left the premises, police said.

Police from the Orange Police Department found White at home. He admitted to police that he thought the cab driver would be more likely to take his complaint seriously if he thought he was a cop, police said. The incident happened at about 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday.

Officers discovered three fake police badges, handcuffs, a pistol replica and folding knife at White's home.

Police took White into custody and charged him with first-degree threatening, second-degree breach of peace and impersonation of a police officer.

White was held in police custody on a $5,000 bond and was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Editor's Note: Pope Francis departed from his prepared text at the beginning of his address. Here is a translation of those remarks.

I carry in my heart the stories, the suffering and the pain of the minors that have been sexually abused by priests. I’m overwhelmed by the shame that people who were in charged of caring for those young ones raped them and caused them great damages. I regret this profoundly. God cries! The crimes and sins of the sexual abuse to minors can't be kept a secret anymore. I commit to the zealous oversight of the Church to protect minors, and I promise that everyone responsible will be held accountable. You, they, the survivors of abuse have become real heralds of hope and ministers of mercy. Humbly we owe each one of them and their families our gratitude for their immense courage for making the light of Christ shine over the evil of minor sexual abuse. I say this because I have just met by a group of people who where abused when they were children, that are helped and accompanied here in Philadelphia, with a especial care from Monsignor Chaput.
 

Prepared Remarks:

Dear Brother Bishops,
I am happy to be able to share these moments of pastoral reflection with you, amid the joyful celebrations for the World Meeting of Families.

For the Church, the family is not first and foremost a cause for concern, but rather the joyous confirmation of God’s blessing upon the masterpiece of creation. Every day, all over the world, the Church can rejoice in the Lord’s gift of so many families who, even amid difficult trials, remain faithful to their promises and keep the faith!

I would say that the foremost pastoral challenge of our changing times is to move decisively towards recognizing this gift. For all the obstacles we see before us, gratitude and appreciation should prevail over concerns and complaints. The family is the fundamental locus of the covenant between the Church and God’s creation. Without the family, not even the Church would exist. Nor could she be what she is called to be, namely “a sign and instrument of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race” (Lumen Gentium, 1).

Needless to say, our understanding, shaped by the interplay of ecclesial faith and the conjugal experience of sacramental grace, must not lead us to disregard the unprecedented changes taking place in contemporary society, with their social, cultural – and now juridical – effects on family bonds. These changes affect all of us, believers and non-believers alike. Christians are not “immune” to the changes of their times. This concrete world, with all its many problems and possibilities, is where we must live, believe and proclaim.

Until recently, we lived in a social context where the similarities between the civil institution of marriage and the Christian sacrament were considerable and shared. The two were interrelated and mutually supportive. This is no longer the case. To describe our situation today, I would use two familiar images: our neighborhood stores and our large supermarkets.

There was a time when one neighborhood store had everything one needed for personal and family life. The products may not have been cleverly displayed, or offered much choice, but there was a personal bond between the shopkeeper and his customers. Business was done on the basis of trust, people knew one another, they were all neighbors. They trusted one another. They built up trust. These stores were often simply known as “the local market”.

Then a different kind of store grew up: the supermarket. Huge spaces with a great selection of merchandise. The world seems to have become one of these great supermarkets; our culture has become more and more competitive. Business is no longer conducted on the basis of trust; others can no longer be trusted. There are no longer close personal relationships. Today’s culture seems to encourage people not to bond with anything or anyone, not to trust. The most important thing nowadays seems to be follow the latest trend or activity. This is even true of religion. Today consumerism determines what is important. Consuming relationships, consuming friendships, consuming religions, consuming, consuming... Whatever the cost or consequences. A consumption which does not favor bonding, a consumption which has little to do with human relationships. Social bonds are a mere “means” for the satisfaction of “my needs”. The important thing is no longer our neighbor, with his or her familiar face, story and personality.

The result is a culture which discards everything that is no longer “useful” or “satisfying” for the tastes of the consumer. We have turned our society into a huge multicultural showcase tied only to the tastes of certain “consumers”, while so many others only “eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Mt 15:27).

This causes great harm. I would say that at the root of so many contemporary situations is a kind of impoverishment born of a widespread and radical sense of loneliness. Running after the latest fad, accumulating “friends” on one of the social networks, we get caught up in what contemporary society has to offer. Loneliness with fear of commitment in a limitless effort to feel recognized.

Should we blame our young people for having grown up in this kind of society? Should we condemn them for living in this kind of a world? Should they hear their pastors saying that “it was all better back then”, “the world is falling apart and if things go on this way, who knows where we will end up?” No, I do not think that this is the way. As shepherds following in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd, we are asked to seek out, to accompany, to lift up, to bind up the wounds of our time. To look at things realistically, with the eyes of one who feels called to action, to pastoral conversion. The world today demands this conversion on our part. “It is vitally important for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear. The joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded” (Evangelii Gaudium, 23)

We would be mistaken, however, to see this “culture” of the present world as mere indifference towards marriage and the family, as pure and simple selfishness. Are today’s young people hopelessly timid, weak, inconsistent? We must not fall into this trap.

Many young people, in the context of this culture of discouragement, have yielded to a form of unconscious acquiescence. They are paralyzed when they encounter the beautiful, noble and truly necessary challenges which faith sets before them. Many put off marriage while waiting for ideal conditions, when everything can be perfect. Meanwhile, life goes on, without really being lived to the full. For knowledge of life’s true pleasures only comes as the fruit of a long-term, generous investment of our intelligence, enthusiasm and passion.

As pastors, we bishops are called to collect our energies and to rebuild enthusiasm for making families correspond ever more fully to the blessing of God which they are! We need to invest our energies not so much in rehearsing the problems of the world around us and the merits of Christianity, but in extending a sincere invitation to young people to be brave and to opt for marriage and the family. Here too, we need a bit of holy parrhesia!

A Christianity which “does” little in practice, while incessantly “explaining” its teachings, is dangerously unbalanced. I would even say that it is stuck in a vicious circle. A pastor must show that the “Gospel of the family” is truly “good news” in a world where self-concern seems to reign supreme! We are not speaking about some romantic dream: the perseverance which is called for in having a family and raising it transforms the world and human history.

A pastor serenely yet passionately proclaims the word of God. He encourages believers to aim high. He will enable his brothers and sisters to hear and experience God’s promise, which can expand their experience of motherhood and fatherhood within the horizon of a new “familiarity” with God (Mk 3:31-35).
A pastor watches over the dreams, the lives and the growth of his flock. This “watchfulness” is not the result of talking but of shepherding. Only one capable of standing “in the midst of” the flock can be watchful, not someone who is afraid of questions, contact, accompaniment. A pastor keeps watch first and foremost with prayer, supporting the faith of his people and instilling confidence in the Lord, in his presence. A pastor remains vigilant by helping people to lift their gaze at times of discouragement, frustration and failure. We might well ask whether in our pastoral ministry we are ready to “waste” time with families. Whether we are ready to be present to them, sharing their difficulties and joys.

Naturally, experiencing the spirit of this joyful familiarity with God, and spreading its powerful evangelical fruitfulness, has to be the primary feature of our lifestyle as bishops: a lifestyle of prayer and preaching the Gospel (Acts 6:4). By our own humble Christian apprenticeship in the familial virtues of God’s people, we will become more and more like fathers and mothers (as did Saint Paul: cf. 1 Th 2:7,11), and less like people who have simply learned to live without a family.

Our ideal is not to live without love! A good pastor renounces the love of a family precisely in order to focus all his energies, and the grace of his particular vocation, on the evangelical blessing of the love of men and women who carry forward God’s plan of creation, beginning with those who are lost, abandoned, wounded, broken, downtrodden and deprived of their dignity. This total surrender to God’s agape is certainly not a vocation lacking in tenderness and affection! We need but look to Jesus to understand this (cf. Mt 19:12).

The mission of a good pastor, in the style of God – and only God can authorize this, not our own presumption! – imitates in every way and for all people the Son’s love for the Father. This is reflected in the tenderness with which a pastor devotes himself to the loving care of the men and women of our human family.

For the eyes of faith, this is a most valuable sign. Our ministry needs to deepen the covenant between the Church and the family. Otherwise it becomes arid, and the human family will grow irremediably distant, by our own fault, from God’s joyful good news.

If we prove capable of the demanding task of reflecting God’s love, cultivating infinite patience and serenity as we strive to sow its seeds in the frequently crooked furrows in which we are called to plant, then even a Samaritan woman with five “non-husbands” will discover that she is capable of giving witness.

And for every rich young man who with sadness feels that he has to calmly keep considering the matter, an older publican will come down from the tree and give fourfold to the poor, to whom, before that moment, he had never even given a thought.

May God grant us this gift of a renewed closeness between the family and the Church. The family is our ally, our window to the world, and the evidence of an irrevocable blessing of God destined for all the children who in every age are born into this difficult yet beautiful creation which God has asked us to serve!

While a petition worked its way around the Internet last month for Pope Francis to bless Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford’s knees, one local fan was hoping that the pontiff could help out the entire team.

“I’m not gonna say ‘divine intervention' — but it certainly can’t hurt!” said Arthur Manos.

The Folcroft native nailed a sign into the ground on Friday afternoon, one that he hoped would be visible to Francis on his trip to Center City from the airport.

“My intention was to be down there holding the sign, but with what’s going on that was completely out of the question,” Manos said.

The sign, located next to a telephone pole at an on-ramp from the airport to I-95, states “God Bless Pope Francis! God Bless America! Pope Francis, Bless our E-A-G-L-E-S!”

“When I was mounting it, state troopers came up to me and said that as long as there’s nothing derogatory or wrong, it could stay up,” Manos said.

Manos noted that he came back to the site late Friday night before closures went into effect, and was tempted to move the sign because it’s a lesser-used ramp.

“I wasn’t sure they’d drive by that way,” said Manos. “It’s not a highly trafficked area. It used to be the only on-ramp to 95, but not anymore.”

Workers at stores nearby confirmed that Francis’ motorcade did in fact drive by the sign.

Manos, who says he’s Greek Orthodox but has been excited for the papal visit regardless, was inspired by his meeting with Pope John Paul II in 1979. He was driving near the Girard Point Bridge on I-95, when he approached the papal motorcade on the highway. Back then, the roads were never completely shut down.

Manos says he and a friend were waved ahead by a police officer, and while passing the motorcade, they saw Pope John Paul II in a limo, who blessed the two of them as they drove by at 35 MPH. Manos was hoping Pope Francis could help out the entire city with a blessing for Philadelphia’s football team.

“I put the sign right before the curve where they have to slow down, so he definitely saw it,” the diehard Eagles fan said. “I know soccer is his favorite sport, but I figured someone he’s with would be able to tell him who the team is and why they need help.”

Nevertheless, Manos still expects a victory from the Birds on Sunday.

“You know, honestly, I think they’ll win," he said. "I sure as hell hope they win.”

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump continue to lead the fields for their parties’ nominations while Carly Fiorina has seen the biggest ascent, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

In the GOP race, Trump is the first choice of 21 percent of Republican primary voters — followed by Carson at 20 percent and Rubio and Fiorina tied at 11 percent each.

In the Democratic race, the former secretary of state is the first choice of 42 percent of primary voters, Sanders is in second at 35 percent and Joe Biden third at 17 percent. That's down from Clinton's 34-point lead over Sanders in July and her whopping 60-point lead in June.

Carly Fiorina on Sunday stood by her disputed description of a scene from the videos targeting Planned Parenthood, but refused to say definitively that Republicans should force a government shutdown to defund the organization.

"Not at all. That scene absolutely does exist, and that voice saying what I said they were saying — "We're gonna keep it alive to harvest its brain — exists as well," Fiorina said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Fiorina's description during the last GOP debate of a scene she said she saw in the anti-Planned Parenthood videos has been widely disputed in media reports, and there is no definitive proof it existed.