While the news that Japan has announced it has scrapped plans to kill 50 humpback whales on its yearly whale hunt is welcomed by all, there is deafening silence in the mass media about the fate of millions of other animals who are not the subject of intense diplomatic lobbying, and who will, without any fanfare, be put to death to satisfy the palettes of Christmas revelers this year.
They plan to take a lot of photos and record the experience when they go on a faith-based trip to Italy and Bosnia in May. The Grand Rapids couple will visit the Vatican, as well as religious sites in Monte Ste. Angelo, Loreto and Lanciano. In Bosnia, the city of Medjugorje holds a place where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to children every day since 1981.