Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 10:7-15 – 7 And preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. 9 Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. …

By Jarrett Stepman, The Daily Signal – The crime and dysfunction in Washington, D.C., is an embarrassment to the country. President Donald Trump rightly called out the problem at a press conference on Tuesday and offered a solution… “We have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to. We could run D.C. I mean, we’re … looking at D.C.,” Trump said. “Susie Wiles is working very closely with [Mayor Muriel Bowser].”… “I think that we should govern District of Columbia,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One in late February, according to Reuters. “We should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawlessly beautiful. And I think we should take over Washington, D.C.—Make it safe.”

By Stephen P. White, The Catholic Thing – Human beings, having a rational nature, are free to choose between good and evil. This freedom constitutes, in the words of Pope Leo XIII, “the highest of natural endowments.” We are not only free to choose between good and evil, but we are also responsible for those choices. We are responsible for the intentions by which we act, for the actions themselves, and, to some degree, for the consequences of those actions.

By Jules Gomes, The Stream – USCCB (has) launched a new offensive against Pres. D. Trump, asserting that his One Big Beautiful Bill, is morally objectionable, inconsistent with Catholic values, and harmful to the weakest in society… A day before Trump signed the bill, Abp. Timothy P. Broglio, president of the USCCB, blasted it for ramping up immigration enforcement and making steeper cuts to Medicaid and clean energy tax credits. It also threatens the “social justice” policies of the bishops, who are known to be mostly left-wing in their political orientation and who favor big government, unlimited immigration, welfare spending, and state intervention on climate change.

By Elise DeGeeter, Catholic Vote – House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced July 8 that President Donald Trump’s newly signed “Big Beautiful Bill” enshrines 28 of his executive actions into federal law… “Congress has cemented President Trump’s agenda by passing the Administration’s signature legislation — the One Big Beautiful Bill,” Johnson announced in a July 8 statement. “In this historic act, Republicans included 28 of President Trump’s top executive actions – now codifying some of the most significant America First priorities.”

By Gary Bauer, LifeNews – Freedom won big today! In a victory for religious liberty and free speech, the IRS has determined that pastors can endorse candidates for public office from the pulpit… The announcement was the result of the IRS agreeing to settle a lawsuit filed by two Texas churches challenging the Johnson Amendment, a regulation that muzzles nonprofit groups when it involves political speech. This settlement would not have happened if Kamala Harris controlled the IRS.

By Joy Pullmann, The Federalist – Over the weekend, CNN published a hysterical feature wailing over feminism’s fading appeal to younger women. It comes a few months after a similar New York Times feature. Of course, the legacy publications ingeniously blame “hatred” and misogyny for younger women seeking life patterns outside feminism. You see, it’s not patronizing or psychotic to tell women we can’t make choices that Cluster B covens don’t approve of.

By Charles Collins, Catholic Herald – For comparison, the Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325—exactly 1,700 years ago this year—took less than three months to define the Divinity of Christ and set the date for Easter. After four years of synodality, we still do not have a clear working definition of what synodality even is… Asked by the Vatican’s own news service to define synodality, the Undersecretary of the Synod Secretariat, Sister Nathalie Becquart, referred to the Final Document, quoted Australian theologian Ormond Rush—who called synodality “the Second Vatican Council in a nutshell”—and pointed to the Synod’s tagline: “Communion, participation, mission.” This was not an impromptu exchange but a formal interview to highlight the Pathways document. …

By John M. Grondelski, Crisis Magazine – …dismissing a Mass for “care of creation” as some kind of ecclesiastical tree hugging loses the perspective that the world over which God gave us dominion is valuable: intrinsically albeit finitely. The “world” (together with the flesh and the devil) should not divert us from God; rather, it is intended to lead us to Him. (That is, in part, what natural theology is about). Let’s not devalue creation.

Franciscan Media – Veronica’s desire to be like Christ crucified was answered with the stigmata… Veronica was born in Mercatelli, Italy. It is said that when her mother Benedetta was dying she called her five daughters to her bedside and entrusted each of them to one of the five wounds of Jesus. Veronica was entrusted to the wound below Christ’s heart.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – When “the most significant pro-life law ever” is enacted, you might expect a celebratory message from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). If so, you would be disappointed. In a statement released after the bill’s passage, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the USCCB president, “lamented the great harm the bill will cause to many of the most vulnerable in society…” … Ironic, isn’t it? Unborn children are surely among “the most vulnerable in society” today. 

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 10:1-7 – 1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. …

By Hannah Hiesteron, Catholic Vote – About one in 10 adults under 55 years old have left their childhood religion, with Buddhists the most likely to disaffiliate or switch to another religion, a June study from the Pew Research Center discovered… Pew analyzed surveys from 117 different countries and territories to calculate the rates of “religious switching” — the numbers of those under 55 who changed their religious identity after childhood or became religiously unaffiliated. Pew found that young adults were more likely than older adults to switch their religion.

By Gary Bauer, Patriot Post – There have been several deliberate, coordinated assassination attempts against federal law enforcement officers of the United States over the past few days.
In recent days, violent left-wing extremists have attempted to murder federal immigration police officers. These are not peaceful protests that got out of hand. These are deliberate, coordinated assassination attempts against federal law enforcement officers of the United States. …

By John Zmirak, The Stream – Our country’s in deep, deep trouble. It’s only patriotic to admit that starkly and squarely. If your family member has cancer, you do him no favors by insisting he’s perfectly fine, that “those doctors just want to suck you dry.” Self-styled conservatives who keep offering you ideological crack pipes stuffed with balled-up old Ronald Reagan speeches aren’t “standing for principle.” They’re trying to squeeze the last few dollars out of a dying, discredited grift.