Irish Catholic ambivalence ahead of pope

DUBLIN — In 1979, Pope John Paul II visited Ireland. An estimated 2.7 million people came to see him.

That enthusiasm is noticeable ahead of this week’s papal visit, but Pope Francis will visit a different Ireland.

Contraception is now readily available, divorce is legal and so is same-sex marriage. This year, Irish voters decided to repeal the constitutional ban on abortion.

Most recently, news from Pennsylvania detailed the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by Catholic priests.

This is a story Irish Catholics have been reckoning with for at least a decade. Still, there is genuine excitement about the visit.

Parishioners from St. Eugene’s in Derry will be among those making the journey to Dublin. Their chartered train will be the first direct service from Derry to Dublin in 50 years.

In the midst of the scandal, Father Paul Farren says demand for tickets shows solid faith among Catholics.

While joyous pilgrimages will take place, many want to hear from Pope Francis during his visit about the issue of child sexual abuse.

Russian arms treaty

WASHINGTON— The Trump administration is “very early in the process of considering” action onthe main existing arms control treaty between the United States and Russia, White House national security adviser John Bolton said Thursday after meeting with his Russian counterpart.

The New Start agreement, limiting both sides’ strategic nuclear arsenals, expires in early 2021. When he met with President Donald Trump in Helsinki last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to implement a fiveyear extension to the treaty.

Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump have spoken about modernizing their nuclear arsenals, but the Trump administration has not indicated a position on the treaty limits.

Turnbull loses support

CANBERRA, Australia — Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull lost the support of key members of his party Thursday and rivals emerged to challenge his leadership.

Mr. Turnbull, a moderate former investment banker, has been under increased pressure to step aside since a dispute over a proposed energy plan to cut emissions resulted in a mutiny within his conservative Liberal Party earlier this week.

On Thursday, with Mr. Turnbull’s position in obvious jeopardy, two members of his Cabinet said they would run in a party ballot expected to be held on Friday, and a third was also expected to do so. Such votes are held in secret and the rules are loosely defined, meaning that a dark horse candidate could yet emerge and win the leadership.

Senate approves spending

WASHINGTON — The Senate has approved an $854 billion measure that funds much of the government, including $675 billion for the Defense Department.

The bill combines military spending with disbursements for Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and other agencies.

The bill was easily approved for a House review.

With the vote, the Senate has passed nine of the 12 mandatory spending bills for the budget year that begins Oct. 1. That’s a departure from recent years, when individual spending measures were routinely ignored in favor of giant spending packages that fund the entire government.

The Senate had not passed such a spending bill in more than a decade.

The bill boosts military pay by 2.6 percent and the National Institutes of Health by 5 percent.