Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 10:32-45 – 32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise.”

By Bridget Sielicki, Live Action – In the latest episode of Human Matters, host Sami Parker discussed why cohabitation before marriage isn’t a good idea… She pointed to statistics that show that couples who live together before marriage face higher rates of divorce than couples who do not cohabitate… Cohabitating couples and married couples face the same challenges, but those who are married have made a vow and entered into a commitment to stay together, while cohabitating couples don’t have the same levels of commitment.

By Stephen Kokx, Integrity – On Tuesday, May 26, Integrity senior writer Riaan Van Zyl and podcaster The Catholic Esquire appeared on the Integrity Magazine podcast to discuss Leo’s deeply problematic encyclical Magnifica Humanitas… Earlier this week, Riaan wrote an essay about the document titled, “Vatican II’s religion of man on full display in Leo’s AI encyclical.” It has quickly become Integrity’s most-viewed essay published over the last seven days.

By David L. Gray, ThM, Catholic Stand – Chapter Four, “Truth, Work, Freedom,” is where the encyclical’s promise thins. Having diagnosed an “anti-human vision” that equates fullness with “having more” (§112), Leo arrives at work and retreats into the familiar grammar of Rerum Novarum and Laborem Exercens: the value of work, the dignity of the worker, the problem of unemployment, fair remuneration, “an economy that values dignity.”… Leo defends the worker’s place within that system; he does not imagine what labor might be when that system no longer needs most human labor. This is the document’s central omission, and it is a theological one before it is an economic one….

By McKenna Snow, Zeale News – The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) announced May 26 the names of the four priests chosen to be ordained bishops in July, weeks after the Vatican doctrinal chief declared warned that the ordinations, which lack papal approval, would “constitute ‘a schismatic act.’”… In its announcement, the SSPX stated that its superior general, Father Davide Pagliarani, maintains that the episcopal consecrations neither challenge nor deny the Pope’s authority over the Church.

By Fr. Kevin Drew, Catholic Exchange – Why does the Sign of Peace take place after the Our Father, right before Holy Communion? It almost seems to be in a bad location at Holy Mass. At the large parishes I’ve been at through the years, things got loud and disruptive. I would start singing the Lamb of God at the top of my lungs to get people to be quiet. And sometimes I’d get dirty looks for interrupting the community ritual of back slapping and shaking of hands.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – Although I generally admired Pope Leo’s first encyclical, I was dismayed to read, in paragraph 192: Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the “just war” theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated… Pope Leo is not the first Pontiff to say that just-war theory is outdated. Pope Francis said the same thing. …

By Daniel Payne, EWTN News – The U.S. bishops will continue to face a lawsuit over millions of dollars in contested papal donations after the U.S. Supreme Court on May 26 refused to weigh in on the case… The decision represents a blow for the USCCB, which was seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed on religious liberty grounds… The high court did not explain its reason for rejecting the petition from the U.S. bishops, issuing the decision as part of a larger order list. …

By Andrew J. Peach, Crisis Magazine – Americans have lost faith in either party to bring about a just economy. The Left has descended into communism, putting the means of production and the power to distribute property in the hands of the State. The Right disingenuously touts a free market while tilting the playing field toward the rich and wealthy corporations. Whatever crumbs either provides to the masses come at the cost of freedom. Both create slaves—the Left to government and the Right to the wealthy few (and government).

By Bishop Joseph Strickland, Bishop Emeritus, Pillars of Faith – As a successor of the Apostles, I have a solemn duty not only to preach the Gospel, but also to help the faithful discern the spirits of the age in the light of the unchanging truth entrusted to the Church by Our Lord Jesus Christ… Therefore, I feel it is important to address concerns regarding the recently released Encyclical Letter, “Magnifica Humanitas,” of the Holy Father Leo XIV. Some have found parts of it insightful and compelling. Others have experienced a deep uneasiness while reading it – a concern that, beneath many true statements, the document reflects a broader theological shift that risks placing man at the center in a way that obscures the primacy of God. ….

By Muji Kaiser, Catholic World Report – The persecution of Christians currently taking place in Nigeria was foretold by the Blessed Virgin Mary in a church-approved apparition that many have never heard of… In 1992, the Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl named Christiana Agbo in Aokpe… In her first message to Christiana, Mary said, “I come from Heaven. I am the refuge of sinners. I come from Heaven to gain souls for Christ and give refuge to my children in my Immaculate Heart. I want you to pray for the souls in Purgatory, and for the world, and to console Jesus. Will you accept?” …

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture – In our highly politicized culture, we often use secular terms such as “issues” or “Church policies” to refer to the precepts of Catholic morality. However, policies come and go. God’s law remains forever. The framework and vocabulary of traditional Catholic moral theology reinforce the moral certainties that uphold our human dignity… The Blessed Trinity is the first mystery of the faith, gradually revealed throughout the Scriptures. The Father is Creator through His Word, Jesus, while the Holy Spirit sanctifies us: Creator (Genesis); Redeemer (the Gospels); Sanctifier (Pentecost).

By H. W. Crocker III, Crisis Magazine – According to the extraordinary research of Dr. Ryan Burge, Catholic seminaries are producing the most orthodox seminarians in living memory. Of priests ordained between 1965 and 1969—graduating in the immediate post-Vatican II world—68 percent described themselves as theologically progressive, and only 16 percent described themselves as theologically conservative. In every subsequent four-year period, however, those numbers shift—and always in the same direction. Of priests ordained since 2020, two percent describe themselves as theologically progressive and 84 percent describe themselves as theologically conservative.

By Carole Lieberman, The American Spectator – It is no secret that RFK Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, doesn’t like psychiatrists, and he has had good reason, based upon his personal life experiences. For example, his aunt, Rosemary Kennedy, was treated with a prefrontal lobotomy at age 23 in 1941, a dark chapter in the history of psychiatry which left her institutionalized for life. He credits his own recovery from addiction to abstinence-based 12-step programs, focusing on spiritual principles and peer support, rather than on psychiatrists or medication.

By Fr. Shenan J. Boquet, Human Life International – On May 8, Päivi Räsänen, a Christian Finnish parliamentarian and former Minister of the Interior, announced that she will take her case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This follows seven years of police investigations, two unanimous acquittals overturned by the state, and finally a 3-2 conviction by Finland’s Supreme Court this past March under a statute on “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”… Her offense? Authoring a 2004 pamphlet for her Lutheran congregation, titled Male and Female He Created Them ….