By Tyler Arnold, EWTN News – U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch said he intends to focus on issues that unite President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV in his role to foster a relationship between the two leaders rather than on recent disagreements about the Iran War… “As the U.S ambassador for the Holy See, my efforts are many, but one of the roles as a diplomat is to remind stakeholders of what unites us and what must never divide us,” Burch said after delivering remarks on the persecution of Nigerian Christians at the U.S. embassy to the Vatican in Rome.

By Chris Nesi, NY Post – President Trump says Iran has ‘agreed to give us back the nuclear dust’… President Trump had stern words for Israel as he made clear that the US is in the driver’s seat for the 10-day cease-fire between the Jewish state and Lebanon… “Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!” the president wrote in a sharply worded Truth Social post Friday… Trump also threw cold water on a cash component being part of the ongoing negotiations to end the war in Iran ….

By Marcus Peter, Catholic World Report – Christians worship the crucified and risen Son. Muslims reject His Sonship, His Cross, and therefore His saving identity. As the late New Testament scholar Larry Hurtado once wrote, “to speak about God without reference to Jesus is inadequate discourse about God.” Tucker would do well to learn that point. The Islamic Isa is a revised religious character stripped of Calvary and emptied of divinity. Therefore, Tucker’s remark was asinine, as Muslims and Christians do not revere the same Jesus at all.

By Kevin Wells, Wellspring -This past Sunday’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles brought back the memory of an image from a book of stories I used to pull from the blue bookshelf in my childhood bedroom… It covered two pages, showing a small village in a valley, hemmed in by a cashmere blanket of green mountains. A handful of shops, a white-steepled church, and a dozen or so homes rested by a lake fed by a brook that zigzagged down a mountain. On a hill in the distance, a locomotive chugged along, passing by a few tidy homes that clung to the mountainside.  …

Catholic Culture – Esther Blondin was born on April 18, 1809 to a Catholic farm family in a rural community in Quebec, Canada. Her mother taught her to worship at the Eucharist and recognize Divine Providence. Her father taught her to have a strong faith and to be patient in times of suffering.

By St. Thomas Aquinas – (Muhammad) seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh goads us. His teaching also contained precepts that were in conformity with his promises, and he gave free rein to carnal pleasure. In all this, as is not unexpected, he was obeyed by carnal men… He seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh goads us. His teaching also contained precepts that were in conformity with his promises, and he gave free rein to carnal pleasure… He did not bring forth any signs produced in a supernatural way, which alone fittingly gives witness to divine inspiration; for a visible action that can be only divine reveals an invisibly inspired teacher of truth. On the contrary, Muhammad said that he was sent in the power of his arms—which are signs not lacking even to robbers and tyrants. …

By Bridget Sielicki, Live Action – Mark Houck, the pro-life sidewalk counselor and father of nine who was shockingly arrested when FBI agents stormed his home in September 2022, has been awarded a seven-figure settlement in response to a lawsuit filed against the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ)… In 2021, Houck was praying outside an abortion facility in Philadelphia when he had an altercation with an abortion facility escort who was harassing Houck’s 12-year-old son. Local police and authorities declined to charge Houck with any crime… Houck was later arrested by the Biden DOJ when FBI agents raided his home in 2022 at gunpoint …

By Samantha Flom, The American Spectator – Behind the mask of ‘reproductive freedom’ lies a strategy to keep women single, childless, and reliably blue… In Democrats’ rush to distribute Washington state’s massive abortion pill stockpile like Easter candy, it’s astonishing they didn’t trip over what they left behind: their narrative… For decades, Democrats have positioned themselves as the defenders of women. They’ve lectured us all about so-called “reproductive freedom” and how the “right to choose” an abortion is necessary for our health. …

By Austin Ruse, Crisis Magazine – The president seems to be surprised that Catholics of all stripes are rushing to defend Pope Leo from his odd attacks… On Tuesday he went after Giorgia Meloni of Italy. She said his attacks on Leo were “unacceptable.” He said, “She’s unacceptable. She’s unacceptable because she doesn’t mind that Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if they had the chance.”

By Amanda Head, Just the News – Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, has disclosed to Just The News that the House of Representatives, where President Donald Trump was impeached during his first term over a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is moving to expunge that impeachment from the congressional record… “You need a majority vote, we need a bill, and it’s actually something we’re looking at,” Jordan told Just The News.

By Gayle Somers, Catholic Exchange – Isn’t it interesting that when Jesus appeared to two “downcast” (Lk. 24:17) disciples on Resurrection Day, He didn’t do the very thing that would have broken through their despair—identify Himself?  Why were these men traveling away from Jerusalem?  Surely it was because Jesus’ death there had deeply disappointed them.  They had been “hoping that He would be the one to redeem Israel” …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – John 6:1-15 – 1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, “How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” …

By Fr. Jerry J. Pokorsky, Catholic Answers – … even the worst of times cannot extinguish our obligation for patriotism, which struggles against national suicide… Patriotism is a form of piety—the acknowledgment that we owe our gratitude to God, our family, and our nation for the gift of life and sustenance. We owe our lives to God, our parents, and to a country that provides the soil and cultural structures for communal living. Piety—and, deriving from it, patriotism—renders the affection and loyalty due to our benefactors. Patriotism is indispensable to our love of God and neighbor. …

By: Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – “Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence, and hence our form of government,” Thomas said. “It holds that our rights and our dignities come not from God, but from government. It requires of the people a subservience and weakness incompatible with a constitution premised on the transcendent origin of our rights.”

By Craig Bannister, LifeNews – A new Justice Department (DOJ) report details specific ways the Biden Administration weaponized its law enforcement arm to persecute pro-life individuals and organizations… Titled “The Biden Administration’s Weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act,” the report released Tuesday presents the findings of the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group’s review of more than 700,000 internal records and provides more than 800 pages of exhibits documenting abuse of federal law enforcement power.