内容摘要：In his first years as pope, critics had a living alternative in Pope Benedict XVI, who had resigned and was living on the Vatican grounds. That amplified the right-wing opposition to Francis’ reform agenda. Some called him a heretic after he opened the way in 2016 to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion. In 2018, the Vatican’s retired U.S. ambassador Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano published an accusation that U.S. and Vatican officials for two decades covered up McCarrick’s sexual misconduct and demanded that Francis resign. After Vigano amplified his criticisms and drew a following of his own, the Vatican in 2024 excommunicated him for schism.

In his first years as pope, critics had a living alternative in Pope Benedict XVI, who had resigned and was living on the Vatican grounds. That amplified the right-wing opposition to Francis’ reform agenda. Some called him a heretic after he opened the way in 2016 to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion. In 2018, the Vatican’s retired U.S. ambassador Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano published an accusation that U.S. and Vatican officials for two decades covered up McCarrick’s sexual misconduct and demanded that Francis resign. After Vigano amplified his criticisms and drew a following of his own, the Vatican in 2024 excommunicated him for schism.

The territorial conflicts are also a delicate fault line in the regional rivalry between China and the United States, which lays no claims to the busy sea passage but has backed smaller states like the Philippines as they confront Beijing’s growing aggression in the offshore region.U.S. Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson said the Chinese coast guard’s “aggressive actions against a lawful civilian mission near Sandy Cay recklessly endangered lives and threaten regional stability.”

“We stand with our Philippine allies in support of international law and a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Carlson said in a post on X.China and the Philippines have hadover Sandy Cay, which is called Pag-asa Cays by Filipinos.

In January, the Chinese coast guard and a naval helicopter drove away a group of Philippines fisheries ships that were attempting to conduct a scientific survey around Sandy Cay.Last month, a Chinese state-owned newspaper posted exclusive photos of coast guard officers on Sandy Cay, including one of them holding up a Chinese flag. Three days later, a joint Philippines coast guard, navy and maritime police team headed to the three sandbars and posed for a photo holding up their national flag.

Both the former Biden and current Trump administrations have warned that the U.S. is obligated to defend the Philippines under a Mutual Defense Treaty if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

China has warned the U.S. not to meddle in what it calls a purely Asian conflict.MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers approved a slew of bills on Thursday that would expand the use of Christian texts in public schools and limit protections for LGBTQ+ students, in lockstep with a national conservative agenda that has divided statehouses across the country.

Three bills led to hours of debate in the Republican-dominated Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday. The bills — passed with overwhelming majorities — would mandate in public schools the display of the Ten Commandments, ban drag shows, prohibit teachers from displaying pride flags or facilitating formal discussion of sexuality, and allow chaplains to volunteer as school counselors.Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter described the bills as “common sense” while members of the Democratic caucus condemned the legislation as “a waste of taxpayer money” that “won’t bring down the cost of eggs.”

The legislation is part of a widespread effort in conservative states to regulate how schools handle social issues, a mission that has beenAlabama joins at least 20 states that have considered legislation in 2025 that would mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools or state buildings, according to an Associated Press