By Riaan Van Zyl, Integrity Magazine – The gathering furthered the false Gospel of anthropocentrism while declaring total war on doctrinal stability… The consistory overhelmingly proved that the anthropocentric orientation of the religion of the Second Vatican Council has now reached its most developed expression in synodality and confirmed it is the central organizing principle of Leo’s reign… Leo XIV repeatedly defended the concept against critics who regard it as incompatible with traditional understandings of authority and hierarchy. Addressing the cardinals, he insisted that synodality is not opposed to authority but instead reveals its authentic nature through “listening, participation, and shared responsibility.”

By Mary Rose, Zeale News – The Texas State Board of Education voted June 26 to require public school students to read Bible stories as part of a statewide reading list, making Texas one of the first states to require biblical texts as part of its English language arts curriculum… The Republican-controlled board voted 9-5 with one member absent to adopt the reading lists, which were required under a 2023 state law directing the board to specify required vocabulary and at least one literary work for each grade level.

By Helen Raleigh, The Federalist – Backed by New York City’s socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani and far-left organizations, multiple Democratic Socialists of America candidates scored major victories in this week’s Democratic primaries in NY City. … The most striking upset came in New York’s 13th Congressional District, which includes Manhattan and the Bronx, where 32-year-old Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. ..

By Michael J. Mazza, Catholic World Report – The Church in the States has a long way to go before it recovers “the trust of our people”—and the document from the recent USCCB gathering will likely not help in solving those difficulties… Leaders cannot ignore the demands of justice and expect their people to follow (or to donate, for that matter). Neither can they paper over profound violations of the natural law and expect God to hear their prayers. The Lord is certainly merciful, but he is also just—and he cannot be fooled. …

By Thomas F. Farr, The Public Discourse – Evidence that the consensus is dying lies in plain sight. Recent Democratic administrations have openly, proudly abandoned the transcendent truths claimed in the Declaration, embracing instead radical human autonomy as America’s guiding vision. By so doing they are undercutting the moral ground on which America was established and on which it has flourished. Their flight from our founding principles constitutes an American apostasy, a treacherous betrayal of what has made our nation great. ….

By Peter Wolfgang, Catholic Culture – What books do you take on vacation? Usually I pack something light for the beach. But this year my vacation ends on the Fourth of July, and this is no ordinary Independence Day. America250 marks the nation’s biggest anniversary in half a century, so I decided to bring Robert R. Reilly’s America on Trial: A Defense of the Founding. It is not light reading. But it may be essential reading. …

By Zelda Caldwell, National Catholic Register – As we mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, how do you think the American experiment is going?… Answer: Professor Robert George: “Experiment” is the right word. Our founders knew that the constitutional republic they proposed to establish would be an experiment — and that experiments can fail. Indeed, over the course of history, attempt after attempt to establish systems of self-government had failed. And when republics failed, they often collapsed into the worst forms of tyranny. …

By Greg Maresca, The American Spectator – As America marches toward its 250th birthday, a revival of CBS’s Bicentennial Minutes, the nightly Emmy-winning feature that aired from July 4, 1974, through December 31, 1976, would have been a scheduling coup on any and all media platforms… For those old enough to recall, the Bicentennial Minutes was a one-minute historical vignette featured at the end of CBS’s primetime programming during the run-up to America’s 200th birthday. …

By Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, Bishop Emeritus, Pillars of Faith – In moments of great tension within the Church, we must remember that every judgment made must ultimately serve the salvation of souls. Truth can never be separated from charity, nor charity from truth… As discussions continue regarding the Society of St. Pius X, I believe we must ask a question that reaches deeper than canonical arguments or historical disputes. What has moved these priests and faithful throughout the past fifty years?… To understand the Society, we must remember its beginnings.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 8:5-17 – 5 As he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,’ and he goes, and to another, `Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,’ and he does it.” …

By John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist – What can be done about it? One immediate step that could be taken, if the Trump administration and the GOP had the political will (which they don’t seem to right now) would be mass deportations coupled with mass denaturalization. Get the people who have come here only to make money, or stage a revolution, out of the country. Mobilize the National Guard, if that’s what it takes. If American cities riot, as they did in Minneapolis, send the National Guard into those places and declare martial law. If Democrat mayors and governors impede these operations, arrest them.

By Walter B. Hoye II, Live Action – Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger introduced her euphemistic “Negro Project” on Sunday, June 25th, 1939, 87 years ago. And Black America has never been the same since… Margaret Sanger’s Negro Project — the targeting of Black Americans by eugenicists — could come to fruition in a relatively short period of time… According to the Population Reference Bureau, dedicated to informing people around the world about the population, health and the environment, long periods of low fertility rates have an “irreversible consequence.” ….

By Elise Winland, Zeale News – President Donald Trump on June 24 canceled a planned signing ceremony for a major bipartisan housing affordability bill, saying he would delay action on the measure until the Senate passes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act… “Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post hours before the scheduled event.

By Derek Rotty, Catholic Exchange – “Have I ever witnessed a miracle?” is a worthwhile question in our Western culture dominated by rationalism, materialism, and scientism, as many skeptics and agnostics—and even some Christians—believe miracles impossible… A miracle, according to Merriam-Webster, is “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides a bit more texture in its definition: “A sign or wonder, such as a healing or the control of nature, which can only be attributed to a divine power.”

By Austin Ruse, Crisis Magazine – What we have seen these past weeks is a veritable love fest between Europeans and Americans and a grand reopening of the European mind about almost all things America… The White House cage fights, the military flyover, and the bald eagle were quite remarkable spectacles on the South Lawn the other day, especially as they laid down a working-class marker on America 250. Various fancy-pants tut-tutted, and all the better they did. Remember, Abe Lincoln went in for ear-biting-eye-gouging rasslin’. These are our roots.