The 3 - June 2, 2024

The latest iteration of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, features another flap over a graduation speech, in which a student, after numerous attempts to censor his message, made a bold declaration of faith in Christ and was delayed in receiving his diploma.  Also, a Memorial Day service at a Virginia cemetery was allowed to proceed as planned after being disallowed by a governing body.  And, the World Health Assembly is now history, and while a proposed pandemic agreement was not passed, other harmful directives for member nations were approved.

KY student temporarily prevented from receiving diploma due to Christian content

Micah Price is a recent graduate of Campbell County High School in Alexandria, KY.  He was selected to give a speech in the graduation ceremony, but he had to jump through some hoops before being allowed to give the speech.

CBN News reported on its website:

The grad told a local Fox News affiliate he had submitted a total of eight drafts of his speech before a final one was approved. During his commencement speech, he used parts of his final draft, but when the opportunity presented itself, he decided to speak from the heart.

"Class, before another word leaves my mouth, I must give the honor, the praise, and the glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," Price said to the graduates during the ceremony on May 24 held at Truist Arena at Northern Kentucky University.

He continued by saying: "Who in his very words tells us He is the Light, He is the Way, the Truth, and Life. Class, anyone in the audience today, I'm here to tell you that if you don't have any of those things in your life and can't seem to find the answer, then my Lord and Savior is your answer..." CBN stated that, "Price said he was green-lighted to give praise to God during the speech but was advised to only read from the pre-approved script."

Keep in mind it took eight drafts in order to clear the censors.  The invitation had been included in earlier versions, but had been nixed. 

CBN related:

Superintendent Shelli Wilson told WKRC that all speakers were warned that ad-libbing would have consequences.

"All speakers were told that going off their submitted speech, or any unplanned choices at graduation, may have repercussions as they would at any school function," she explained.

The story said that Price met with school administrators and was "forced to apologize." He did receive his diploma after a delay.

Memorial Day service allowed to proceed after initial refusal

You would think a traditional Memorial Day service at a cemetery would not contain any religious freedom concerns, but the Knights of Columbus in Petersburg, VA had been denied by the National Park Service the ability to hold the service this year and last year. 

First Liberty represented the organization and even filed a federal lawsuit.  Its website states:

Until last year, the Knights had always held a Memorial Day mass within the Poplar Grove National Cemetery, and the mass (or a prayer service when a priest was not available) had been celebrated there every year without incident since at least the 1960s. But last year, for the first time, the NPS denied the Knights a permit to hold the service in the cemetery, citing a new policy that designates “religious services” as prohibited “demonstrations.”

The Thursday before Memorial Day, it was announced that the service would proceed as requested. The lawsuit was dismissed. Roger Byron, Senior Counsel at First Liberty, said: “The Knights are thrilled that they will be able to exercise their religious beliefs and keep this honorable tradition alive. We appreciate the tremendous support of Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares in this case.”

WHO are you?  World leaders consider reducing national sovereignty in unprecedented health power grab

The convocation of unelected, yet influential influencers in the arena of public health has wrapped up in Geneva, Switzerland.  A primary focus of the World Health Assembly was to craft an agreement in which member nations, including the United States, would cede national sovereignty in order to implement measures to respond to a "pandemic."

The World Health Organization's website contains this statement:

...the World Health Assembly, the annual meeting of its 194 member countries, today agreed a package of critical amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), and made concrete commitments to completing negotiations on a global pandemic agreement within a year, at the latest.

That gives the growing opposition to such an agreement the necessary time to educate people about the dangers of such an agreement.  So, that is a bit of a positive sign.  Yet, there were a host of other disturbing developments that demonstrate the globalist ambitions of those gathered under the banner of the WHO.  But, the passage of the IHR regulations represents a way to implement global cooperation and governance without having to exceed a high bar necessary for the Pandemic Agreement to pass.

Concerning those IHR regulations, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General is quoted as saying: “The amendments to the International Health Regulations will bolster countries' ability to detect and respond to future outbreaks and pandemics by strengthening their own national capacities, and coordination between fellow States, on disease surveillance, information sharing and response. This is built on commitment to equity, an understanding that health threats do not recognize national borders, and that preparedness is a collective endeavor."

Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, on its website, late last week, noted:

The WHO’s International Negotiating Body is continuing to pressure countries to sign on to the WHO Pandemic Treaty. The treaty requires 2/3 of WHO members to approve it before it becomes international law.

But a revision of the WHO’s IHR only requires a simple majority approval of the member states. So, facing too much opposition on the Pandemic Treaty, the globalists are simply writing the treaty provisions into the revised IHR, which they hope to pass.

The WHO is violating its own charter and rules while trying to force the IHR vote. Article 55 of the current IHR (2005) says any amendments to the IHR must be submitted four months in advance of the World Health Assembly at which they are asked to vote. The deadline to submit those changes to members was January 27, 2024. But never one to worry too much about breaking laws, Director-General Tedros has chosen to violate the WHO’s own Article 55 to get his globalist agenda passed.

Family Research Council tweeted out:

Good: @WHO failed to agree on text for its Pandemic Preparedness Accord during last week's World Health Assembly. 

Bad: 

-Work on the pandemic agreement will continue with a goal of completion by the 2025 World Health Assembly.

-International Health Regulations (IHR) amendments illegally passed at the last minute of the World Health Assembly create more interlocking requirements, integrate a focus on COVID (or pandemics more broadly), require greater sharing of resources and technologies between countries, try to integrate national governments on their pandemic responses, and push for more funding.