By Elise Winland, Zeale News – The HHS announced May 18 that it is reviving a dedicated division focused on religious freedom and conscience protections as part of a broader reorganization of its Office for Civil Rights (OCR)… President Donald Trump created the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in 2018 during his first administration, but the Biden administration dissolved it in 2023, folding conscience and civil rights work into a single policy division, according to an HHS press release.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – John 17:11-19 – 11 And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. ….

By Brad Miner, The Catholic Thing – About this time next year, Mel Gibson will release the 2-part sequel to The Passion of the Christ. Better late than never, some will say, although not, perhaps, Jim Caviezel, who so memorably played Jesus, and who has, over the two decades since, spoken with excitement of the ever-imminent production of The Resurrection of the Christ.

By John Melnikov, Crisis Magazine – There is no group of people on Earth more sick and tired of hearing about the ill effects and addictive properties of social media than teenagers. In their homes, classrooms, team meetings, youth groups, etc., Western kids are inundated with warnings about what could happen to them if they fall victim to criminals or manipulators over the Internet.

By Suellen Brewster, Catholic Exchange – St. Therese of Lisieux, after a long struggle to discover what her life as a Carmelite was about, famously said, “My vocation is love!” If she couldn’t be a missionary or a soldier or a priest or any of the other things her wildly generous heart wished to be, she realized that she was to be love burning brightly inside the cloister.

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Catholic Stand – It is important to understand that the people we surround ourselves with have a massive impact on our lives. Our approach to life, the goals we set, and the opportunities we are given are usually correlated with the friends we choose and the relationships we forge… Parents would be smart to pass this knowledge on to their children. 

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – On May 8, the anniversary of the election of Pope Leo XIV, the internet was packed with commentary about how much we now know (or don’t know) about the new Pope’s pastoral plans. I refrained from joining in analysis, because frankly I still have questions about what this pontificate will bring. Next week we’ll know much more.

Bellarmine Forum – IN 1408, St. Vincent Ferrer once suddenly interrupted his sermon to declare that there was among his hearers a young Franciscan who would be one day a greater preacher than himself, and would be set before him in honor by the Church. This unknown friar was Bernardine. …

By Robert Lazu Kmita, PhD, OnePeterFive – Discussing the possible types of government, Saint Thomas follows the classification of the main types of political system used by Aristotle in Πολιτικά (Politics). The first type of government is that of a single individual—the king. If the king is corrupt and comes to ignore the common good, pursuing only his personal interests and whims, he becomes a tyrant, resulting in the worst form of government: tyranny …

By Elise Winland, Zeale News – RALLY ON NATIONAL MALL EMPHASIZES REPENTANCE. Thousands gathered for a daylong prayer rally to rededicate America to God Sunday, marking the 250th anniversary of a day of prayer called by the Continental Congress. In a video message, Trump recited a long passage of Scripture – in part: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

By Scott McKay, The American Spectator – I’ve done a few national radio and podcast interviews since Saturday night, when Bill Cassidy’s career in electoral politics came to an abrupt end. A lot of the national folks are absolutely shocked at Cassidy’s dismal performance. I’m having to tell them that nobody in Louisiana — other than perhaps Cassidy and his wife — is at all surprised. Cassidy didn’t just lose Saturday night. He got clobbered. He finished third with only 25 percent of the vote behind Congresswoman Julia Letlow (45 percent) and State Treasurer John Fleming (28 percent).

By Joshua Arnold, The Washington Stand, (Patriot Post) – “GOOD RIDDANCE!” Trump proclaimed over the demise of the previous alarmist model. “The United Nations TOP Climate Committee just admitted that its own projections (RCP8.5) were WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!”… As he so often does, President Trump showed solid political instincts but a tenuous grasp of the details. Thus, he grasped the political implications of the change at once, “For far too long Climate Activism has been used by Dumocrats to scare Americans, push horrible Energy Polices, and fund BILLIONS into their bogus research programs. …

By Casey Chalk, Crisis Magazine – In the face of increasing hostility towards religion, and especially the Catholic Church, lay Catholics should in fact more fully live their faith… How “out” should Catholics be in the public square? Depending on the part of the country you live in, your career, and even your coworkers or boss, you might have a very different answer to that question. In some parts of the United States, finding a devout, practicing Catholic is about as rare as seeing a protected species in the wild. …

By FSSPX News – Dutch Cardinal Willem Eijk has also raised his voice against the final report of Study Group No. 9 of the Synod on Synodality. In an opinion piece published on May 14, 2026, by the National Catholic Register, the Archbishop of Utrecht and Primate of the Netherlands asserts that this document is not simply a pastoral reflection, but a direct attack on Catholic moral doctrine.

By Donald DeMarco, National Catholic Register – Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America’s most outstanding novelists, had a deep respect for the Catholic Church, although he never became a Catholic. He did have a strong influence on his daughter Rose, who not only embraced the Church but also founded what has come to be known as the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne.