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Children’s author says his faith-based books are a way to fight the culture war: ‘Kids are on the frontline’
As Easter serves as a reminder of renewal and hope for many in the Christian faith, the author of a series of new children’s books warns that the culture war and the fight for family values isn’t over.
Anthony DeStefano is a bestselling author renowned for his Christian-themed books for adults and children. His books often bring Biblical stories to life through vivid, animated storytelling. His latest, «From Bread and Wine to Saints Divine,» introduces children to the Eucharist—a central element of Catholic and Orthodox communion—in a way that’s simple and accessible.
«If the electorate rejects wokeism, what other options does the left have? What’s their most effective strategy? It’s to go after the kids,» DeStefano told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
«It’s true that American voters have rejected the physical mutilation of children’s bodies through puberty blockers, sex hormones and irreversible gender transition surgeries,» DeStefano said. «But they also must recognize that the woke left, through the entertainment industry, is just as determined to mutilate the minds and souls of children through ideological propaganda. That’s a tough statement, but it’s true. Wokeness is not just about mutilating children’s bodies. It’s about mutilating children’s souls.»
POPE REMARKS ON ‘BLESSING’ THAT COMES WITH FRAILTY; SAYS ‘WAR APPEARS EVEN MORE ABSURD’ IN HIS CURRENT STATE
Children’s book author Anthony DeStefano meets with Pope John Paul II. (Anthony DeStefano)
DeStefano’s works have been published in 18 countries and translated into 12 languages. For him, the path to becoming a children’s book author wasn’t so clear-cut from the start.
A native New Yorker, he attended Manhattan’s prestigious Stuyvesant High School, known for its rigorous academics programs—and where he met his English teacher. That teacher, Frank McCourt, won the Pulitzer Prize for his memoir «Angela’s Ashes,» later adapted into a film.
McCourt’s influence on DeStefano was immediate.
«He assigned us to write children’s books,» DeStefano recalled. «He wanted to force us to stop writing elaborately, as teenagers often do.»
«I had always wanted to be a doctor,» he said. «A surgeon, to be exact.»
Yet, obstacles like organic chemistry and integral calculus led him to reassess his goals, he joked.
In his mid-to-late twenties, DeStefano’s life took a turn in another direction, though. He found a deep connection to the Catholic faith, influenced by the writings of C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton, which led him back to writing.
«I thought, ‘Ah, maybe, maybe there’s a way to combine both these great desires to be a writer and to be a doctor.’ Maybe what God really wants me to do is to be a healer of some kind, but to heal people, not with surgery, but through my writing,» he said.
CATHOLIC BISHOP AND ORTHODOX ARTIST DISCUSS MATERIALISM, SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENTS FOR CHRIST, REUNIFICATION
Children’s book author Anthony DeStefano meets with Pope Francis. (Anthony DeStefano)
«That’s the genesis of my whole writing career, and writing simply,» DeStefano said. «And then, of course, as I got older, and I recognized more and more that there was a culture war going on, I realized that children represented the front lines in that cultural war. And so I thought to myself, if I could write books that help instill timeless traditional values at an age when kids are still open, curious and impressionable, then I would be doing something meaningful to counterbalance the secular messages that bombard them from the legacy media and the entertainment world.»
In 2018, DeStefano deviated from writing children’s books and wrote «Inside the Atheist Mind: Unmasking the Religion of Those Who Say There Is No God,» which immediately drew criticism and negative reviews online.
Of that experience, he said, «it was exhilarating,» adding that «if you’re attacked by the secular culture, then that means you’re doing your job.» For DeStefano, restoring «objective truth» of family values and faith to the current social landscape is one of the keys to reject «moral relativism» prevalent in the culture today.
CONCERNED PARENTS OF TRANS KIDS COMPARED TO ‘HATE GROUPS’ BY COLORADO DEM: WOULDN’T ‘ASK THE KKK’ FOR OPINION
The sun rises on Easter morning in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)
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«Now, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection, and that’s the ultimate proof that light conquers darkness,» he said. «The same power that rolled away the stone on Easter morning is available to us as we push back against the lies that are being fed to us.»
Politics,Religion,World Religions Christianity,DEI,Roman Catholic,Family Faith & Values,US Faith & Values,Lifestyle
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Flashback: Biden repeatedly equated Islamophobia and antisemitism amid surge in attacks on Jews
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As violent instances of antisemitism break out around the country this year, Fox News Digital took a look back at former President Joe Biden’s penchant for equating antisemitism and Islamophobia.
While the former president rightly condemned hate directed at Jews in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis and the subsequent war in Gaza, Biden was almost always sure to draw an equivalency with anti-Muslim sentiment.
«In recent years, too much hate has given too much oxygen, fueling racism, the rise of antisemitism, Islamophobia right here in America,» Biden said, days after the war broke out, in a prime-time address from the White House. He added: «We can’t stand by and stand silent when this happens. We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism. We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia.»
Biden added during a Human Rights Campaign event in October 2023: «We have to reject hate in everything, because history has taught us again and again, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, they’re all connected. Hate toward one group left unanswered opens the door for more hate toward more groups, more often, regularly.»
Instances of antisemitism spiked to new highs last year, with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) finding in a new report that there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents in 2024, a 5% increase from 2023 and a staggering 926% increase since it began tracking such data in 1979.
TRUMP ADMIN CRACKS DOWN ANTISEMITISM AS DOJ OFFICIAL EXPOSES ‘VIOLENT RHETORIC’ OF RADICAL PROTESTERS
Former President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference on the final days of office. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
The war in Israel initially fanned the flames of antisemitism on campuses in the form of protests, menacing graffiti and students reporting that they felt as if it was «open season for Jews on our campuses.» The protests heightened to the point that Jewish students at some schools, including Columbia University, were warned to leave campus for their own safety.
Agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide last school year to protest the war, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they did not feel safe on some campuses.
Protesters on Columbia University’s campus in New York City, for example, took over the school’s Hamilton Hall building, while schools such as UCLA, Harvard and Yale worked to clear spiraling student encampments where protesters demanded their elite schools completely divest from Israel.
ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN AMERICA AS SOME INVOKE INTIFADA AND TARGET JEWS
Anti-Israel protesters link arms on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, May 6, 2024, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Steve LeBlanc)
As the protests hit a fever pitch last year, Biden again equated antisemitism with Islamophobia, even though it was clear that Jews were the group being targeted with harassment and violence.
«There should be no place on any campus, no place in America for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students. There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia, or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans,» Biden said from the White House in May 2024 as the protests on college campuses continued.
«It’s simply wrong. There is no place for racism in America.»
Biden faced condemnation from conservatives and other critics for not simply denouncing antisemitism as Jews in the U.S. faced protests and instances of antisemitism.
JEWISH STUDENTS WELCOME TRUMP ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN ON ANTISEMITISM, HAMAS SYMPATHIZERS ON CAMPUSES
«At a time when no college campus is on lockdown over Islamophobia, Joe Biden felt the need to spend as much time in his speech denouncing Islamophobia and ‘discrimination against Arab Americans’ as he did antisemitism. He is never able to just call out antisemitism,» radio host Erick Erickson commented on X in May 2024 as campus protests against Israel raged.
Anti-Israel protesters rally outside of New York University’s campus in New York City on May 3, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
«Biden repeats his both-sideisms,» veteran James Hutton wrote last year of Biden’s previous comments. «Only the Jewish students are being violated. Biden knows that, but he really wants those votes in Michigan.»
«Biden is incapable of simply condemning antisemitism. Yet another equivocation. This administration is an embarrassment,» Kerry Rom, deputy communications director for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote on X last year.
ISRAELI COLUMBIA PROFESSOR WANTS TRUMP TO BLOCK CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS FROM RECEIVING FEDERAL FUNDING
Family and friends gather outside Congregation Beth Torah after a funeral for Sarah Milgrim, a staffer at the Israeli Embassy who was killed outside a Washington Jewish museum, May 27, 2025, in Overland Park, Kansas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
This year, the Trump administration is cracking down on antisemitism and attacks on American Jews, which were underscored by a shooting that left a Jewish couple dead on the streets of Washington, D.C., last month outside of a Jewish museum, as well as a terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, last Sunday when an Egyptian national identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly hurled Molotov cocktails at people participating in a solidarity event for Israeli hostages still in Hamas captivity.
Boulder firebomb attack and suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman (Storyful/KDVR)
Soliman’s charging documents stated that he «traveled to Boulder, Colorado, in his vehicle with the Molotov cocktails and threw two of the cocktails at individuals participating in a pro-Israel gathering. He also stated that he picked up gas at a gas station on the way to Boulder. He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.»
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES NATIONAL STRATEGY TO COMBAT ISLAMOPHOBIA, ANTI-ARAB HATE
Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro – the Keystone State’s third Jewish governor – faced his own instance of antisemitism when a suspect set fire to the governor’s residence while he and his family were asleep on the first night of Passover.
President Donald Trump’s administration has taken steps to crack down on antisemitism in the U.S. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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President Donald Trump meanwhile, signed an executive order on «Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism» in January as his administration launched its crackdown on antisemitism. While federal law enforcement officials have arrested individuals allegedly tied to the widespread anti-Israel protests last year, the White House has threatened to end federal funding to universities that allow violent anti-Israel protests and is investigating immigration status of those accused of leading campus protests or carrying out antisemitic attacks.
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Francia: comienza en Niza la conferencia de Naciones Unidas para proteger los océanos del mundo
Ciudad blindada y ciudadanos enojados
Un centro construido en tiempo récord
El presidente francés, Emmanuel Macron y el príncipe Alberto II de Mónaco (centro-der.), posan en el escenario al final del Foro de Economía y Finanzas Azules, antes de la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Océanos de 2025 en Niza. Foto EFEObjetivos y acciones
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El atentado contra Miguel Uribe agudiza el temor en Colombia a menos de un año de las elecciones presidenciales
Tras el atentado a balazos contra el senador y precandidato presidencial Miguel Uribe Turbay, el fantasma de las épocas más oscuras de magnicidios y atentados sobrevuela Colombia.
El ataque causó una enorme conmoción en un país que está atravesado por una creciente polarización y una gran tensión derivada del continuo enfrentamiento entre el gobierno de Gustavo Petro y la oposición liberal y de derecha.
Leé también: “Máxima gravedad”: se conoció el parte médico del candidato presidencial colombiano Miguel Uribe
El atentado contra el senador y precandidato del Partido del Centro Democrático (derecha) se produjo a menos de un año de las elecciones presidenciales del 31 de mayo de 2026 y a nueve meses de los comicios legislativos de marzo de ese mismo año.
“Ha vuelto a aparecer el recuerdo de la época de los atentados y asesinatos políticos, particularmente de las elecciones de 1990 en la que tres candidatos presidenciales fueron asesinados. Hoy no estamos en esta situación. No sabemos cuáles son los móviles de este atentado. Pero es cierto que esto sucede en un momento político tenso entre el gobierno y la oposición», dijo a TN el analista Yann Basset, profesor de Ciencias Políticas de la Universidad del Rosario de la capital colombiana.
En esa campaña fueron asesinados el comunista Jaime Pardo Leal, el liberal Luis Carlos Galán y el izquierdista Bernardo Jaramillo. Además, el país estuvo atravesado por un período de atentados con bomba y asesinatos políticos en el marco de una guerra entre el narcotráfico y el Estado.
Miguel Uribe Turbay, durante un acto el 23 de noviembre de 2024. (Foto: EFE/Carlos Artega).
Qué está pasando en Colombia
La tensión política es hoy muy fuerte en Colombia. Antes del atentado, Petro había anunciado que decretaría la celebración de una consulta popular sobre su ambiciosa reforma laboral, ignorando el dictamen del Senado que en mayo rechazó la convocatoria de esa iniciativa.
El clima es de absoluta confrontación. El presidente acusó a la oposición de impulsar un golpe de Estado para sacarlo del poder e incluso denunció un plan para acabar con su vida.
Leé también: Quién es el adolescente que fue detenido por el atentado al candidato presidencial colombiano Miguel Uribe
Petro ha endurecido en los últimos meses su discurso contra los dirigentes opositores, a los que calificó de “fascistas”, “asesinos”, “nazis”, “golpistas” y hasta “ratas de alcantarilla”. También llamó “hijo de puta” al presidente del Senado, Efraín Cepeda, por obstaculizar su llamado a referéndum por su reforma laboral.
“Aquí hay un debate político irrespetuoso impulsado por Petro, en un contexto de marcada violencia verbal y ataques sistemáticos contra la oposición”, opinó a TN la analista colombiana Natalia Morales.
Desde esa misma oposición se ha intentado mostrar a Petro como un adicto a las drogas después de la acusación en ese sentido lanzada por su propio excanciller Álvaro Leyva. La denuncia está siendo investigada por el Congreso.
El presidente Gustavo Petro habla durante una ceremonia militar el viernes 6 de junio de 2025, en Bogotá, Colombia. (AP Foto/Iván Valencia)
“Ahora no son narcos matando gente para evitar su extradición a Estados Unidos. Aquí la trama es política, entre los liderazgos políticos. Los ánimos de sectores radicales se activan cuando ven un excesivo ambiente de tensión que ya trasgredió las normas básicas de respeto. Esto va a cambiar el tono de la campaña. La gente no quiere violencia”, afirmó Morales.
Basset dijo que hoy más que nunca es necesario ser prudente. “Es cierto que en el país hay un auge de la violencia vinculada a los grupos armados desde la ruptura de las negociaciones entre el gobierno y el ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional). Pero no sabemos si ese atentado estuvo vinculado a eso”, señaló.
Para el analista, es necesario ahora bajar la tensión política a menos de un año de las elecciones presidenciales.
Quién es el autor intelectual del atentado
Un adolescente de 15 años fue detenido como autor del atentado a balazos perpetrado el sábado en Bogotá.
Pero nadie duda de que hay una mente detrás del ataque. Más de 100 investigadores de la policía están buscando a los autores intelectuales del intento de asesinato. “Todas las hipótesis están abiertas”, dijo Petro. De hecho, la investigación comenzó con los escoltar del legislador.
Uribe, de 39 años y nieto del expresidente Julio César Turbay Ayala, es un fuerte crítico de Petro, de la izquierda y de las guerrillas y grupos narco que operan en Colombia.
Colombia, Gustavo Petro
Flashback: Biden repeatedly equated Islamophobia and antisemitism amid surge in attacks on Jews
Francia: comienza en Niza la conferencia de Naciones Unidas para proteger los océanos del mundo
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El Gobierno de Milei condenó el atentado en Colombia contra Miguel Uribe, precandidato presidencial
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