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On Monday, Pope Francis made the following request for forgiveness during closing Vespers at the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the Basilica of St. Paul: "As Bishop of Rome and pastor of the Catholic Church, I want to ask for mercy and forgiveness for the behavior of Catholics towards Christians of other Churches which has not reflected Gospel values."

It's one of those stories that looks like good being called evil and evil being called good. Nevertheless. Monday's indictment of pro-life Journalist David Daleiden and his assistant, Sandra Merritt, who produced the undercover video showing Planned Parenthood selling baby body parts, is being met with the ire of tens of thousands who have signed a petition calling for the charges against him to be dropped.

It's been said that Turkey has taken in about half of all of the Syrians who have fled to their country due to the civil war. As of last year, Turkey has received a total of 1.9 million refugees. Turkey is typically the first choice of Syrian families who feel that they must flee because it is right on Syria's border. But for the 45,000 Syrian Christians who have reportedly chosen Turkey, life is only slightly better at best.

Last year was the first time in history that healthcare spending exceeded what the nation was receiving in Social Security payments from the work force. The CBO reported on Monday that Medicare, Medicaid, The Children's Health Program and Obamacare all combined meant that the nation had forked over $936 billion, which is $54 billion more than Social Security received in labor force payments. That along with the 2016 federal deficit increase and significant increases in public debt means that a national financial crisis is looming that would last for decades.

A video was released on Sunday by ISIS which featured some of the Paris attackers performing beheadings. Since one of the terrorists featured in the video was killed in the Paris attacks (Bilal Hadfi) it was determined that the footage was shot before the Paris terror attacks. However, the head of the EU's law enforcement agency has reason to believe that the terrorists who performed the Paris attacks are in the process of pulling together multiple large-scale attacks across Europe.

Though about one-third of the nation is expected to feel the impact of the monster blizzard of 2016, Washington DC is being watched especially closely. Washington DC is expected to get at least two feet of snow. The situation is expected to be so severe, that many government offices in DC closed at noon, and the Washington DC National Guard has been called up to support the nation's capital.

Donald Trump may be one of the most controversial candidates running in the 2016 presidential election. Former VP presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin offered her endorsement of Trump, Conservative media talk show host giant Rush Limbaugh is endorsing Trump, even some religious leaders are supporting Trump. But Glenn Beck, another conservative talk show host giant, and over 20 other fairly well-known conservative talking heads are in the opposite camp, going as far as expressing their views in an editorial in the conservative magazine called, "National Review" with an article entitled, "Against Trump".

General Jerry Boykin is a retired US Army General who served in intelligence and as a Green Beret. He was recently interviewed on the Prophetic Perspectives program on MorningStarTV.com. Boykin offered the sobering warning during the show, "If America does not stand with Israel, it will pay a price." Below are few highlights from that interview.

The UN is estimating that 3500 people in religious and ethnic groups are being held as slaves in Iraq alone, with as many as 18,800 total civilians having been killed since 2014. The UN is charging ISIS jihadists with, "war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide."

Many are calling the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini a miracle and testimony to the power of prayer. While there is certainly plenty of truth in that, there was also a strategy involved. Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) worked tirelessly in connection to the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini. He says his "three point strategy" was to first, "get the State Department engaged. Secondly, we knew that we had to work with the international community as well. And, finally, here at home, we knew that it was vital to get members of Congress involved in the fight to free Pastor Saeed."

David Oyelowo didn't hold back his disgust with the Academy Awards and its Oscar nominations in regard to the lack of diversity. He was overlooked for his role as Martin Luther King Jr in Selma, and has gone on record as saying, "The Academy has a problem," at the King Legacy Awards. He added that, "It's a problem that needs to be solved."

The civil war in Syria has forced millions of Syrian refugees to be displaced and flee their home country for a better life. The UN estimates that there are 4.39 million that need assistance. UN refugee agency Chief Filippo Grandi is challenging countries around the world to be more proactive in helping to settle Syrian refugees. During a visit to a refugee camp he said efforts, "cannot only concern the countries neighboring Syria," and that, "I think we need to be much more ambitious. What is needed is a better sharing of responsibilities.''

ISIS reportedly stormed the city of Deir Ezzor in northern Syria over the weekend. At least 400 families of pro-regime fighters were captured by ISIS and transported to the countryside, according to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and CNN. In a similar report, Syria's official news agency, SANA, stated that ISIS had, "committed a massacre in al-Bagaliyeh,"which is just north of the city. Approximately 300 were murdered. On Monday, Syria's Foreign Ministry delivered letters to the UN requesting assistance.

Pastor Saeed Abedini's wife, Naghmeh, said in a Fox interview that, "I couldn't stop my tears and I'm ready to welcome him home. I'm getting ready to fly out to Germany to see him." She added that the children are also really excited to see him and that they've made welcome home signs.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has predicted that 2016 will be a financially "cataclysmic year." They are warning their clients to, “Sell everything except high quality bonds. This is about return of capital, not return on capital. In a crowded hall, exit doors are small.”

Demonstrators in Warsaw, Poland are claiming that Poland is in the process of becoming a "Democratic Dictatorship." There were 20,000 peaceful protesters that gathered in front of State Broadcasting Center (TVP) to express their ire about a bill that Polish President Andrzej Duda signed into law last week. The bill basically gives the Government control over the polish media.

Business leader Steve Forbes said that Obama's State of the Union, "speech was really a trip to fantasy land. His description of the US economy is not what most Americans experience in their paychecks, his statements about how we're regarded abroad, about ISIS, I think just strike people as a man who is not in touch with reality. It's getting uglier out there, not better."

Bill Gothard, founder of Institute of Basic Life Principles, is being sued by 10 more women claiming sexual abuse during his time with the ministry. There are now over 60 women who have come forward with such claims.

For all of his disdain for the Christian religion and God, renowned atheist Richard Dawkins has actually been willing to admit that he sees Islam as a far bigger threat to world peace than Christianity. He has also willingly admitted that, "Christianity may actually be our best defense against aberrant forms of religion that threaten the world."

Natalie Cole passed away on New Year's Eve. Her family finally revealed the cause of her death as being heart failure induced by lung disease. The Grammy award winning singer and daughter of jazz star Nat King Cole was 65.

David Bowie can never be accused of being unwilling to explore as many options as possible. The rock star's journey through the music industry was just as varied as his exploration of religions.

Truck driver Rodney Gibson was driving down a Bloomington, Indiana highway when he saw the police cruiser lights flashing in his rearview mirror. He had just received the horrendous news that his daughter, who had been fighting breast cancer, was not responding to chemotherapy treatments and didn't have long to live. Then he was brought to tears when the state trooper issued prayer rather than a ticket.

There was a move in California this week to repeal California's End of Life Option Act. The Californian petition drive to reject the End of Life Option Act fell short of the required number of signatures necessary to make it onto the ballot. The initiative would have allowed the people of California to decide if they wanted physician assisted suicide in their state or not. Though the bill was signed into law back in October by Governor Jerry Brown, it didn't officially go into effect until January 1 of this year.

The mystery of how life began on earth has baffled many in the sciences for as long as humans have existed. Water is popularly thought to be a key item of necessity for the beginnings of life. Where that water comes from has never been something that could really be proven. However, a breakthrough finding that involves a volcano in Brazil, an ugly but unique diamond, and an olivine mineral called ringwoodite adds some fresh credibility to the Biblical account of creation.

Mona Walter spent her childhood and most of her teen years in the country of war-torn Somalia, which is located in the 10/40 window. She was a "cultural" Muslim and never read the Koran for herself. Then in her teen years, she immigrated to Sweden as a war refugee. At first she was excited to be able to leave a warzone. But it was in Sweden that she had the opportunity to read the Koran for herself for the first time. She said she discovered that Islam is, "about hating and killing those who disagree with Islam. It’s about conquering."