By Joseph Pearce, Crisis Magazine – Something weird and wonderful is happening across the globe and is even reaching the grass roots in my own hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. This year, the five Catholic parishes in Greenville (Our Lady of the Rosary, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Mary’s, St. Mary Magdalene, and Prince of Peace) have seen a remarkable 44 percent increase in the number of adults being received into the Church compared to 2025.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – John 21:20-25 – 20 Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” …

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture – One of the most troubling aspects of arguing with those who hold all the standard popular errors is that false positions are so often advanced and defended based either on personal “feelings” (for which we can often read personal “desires”) or on what “everybody knows”, meaning that counter-opinions are instantly categorized as both inadmissible and personally vicious. Moreover, the intellectual and spiritual darkness is so willfully pervasive that it is hard even to get in a position to open a window to shed some light.

By Ingrid Skop, M.D., FACOG, LifeNews – A concerning trend has been noted from abortion advocates and their media allies in the face of any perceived threat to “abortion access.” As abortion limitations were implemented in many states in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade in 2022, medication abortion utilizing the FDA approved regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol was increasingly promoted ….

By Regis Martin, National Catholic Register – I once had an encounter with a hapless young cow that had gotten itself caught in a bush and, seeing that it was too stupid to figure out how to untangle itself, I simply went over and set the poor fellow free. He quickly rejoined his mother, who seemed grateful enough to get him back… Too bad it wasn’t some poor sheep I’d rescued. Or, better still, a cute little lamb to remind me of Jesus, who seems to have had a special connection with such creatures. Isn’t that why we call him the Good Shepherd? .

By John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist – This week, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina introduced a joint resolution to bar foreign-born U.S. citizens from serving in Congress, the federal judiciary, and as Senate-confirmed political appointees. The Constitution already prohibits foreign-born citizens from serving as president and vice president, but Mace, who is currently running to be South Carolina’s next governor, wants to extend that to other high levels of government.

By Fr. Anil Prakash D’Souza, OP, Catholic Exchange – A few years ago, I travelled to Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, India, to teach classes. My overnight bus to Nagpur was scheduled for 9:30 pm, but it was delayed nearly two hours. I waited at the stop—perhaps dozing off or absorbed in my phone—distracted, not fully attentive. When I finally looked up, the bus had come and gone and was well on its way to my destination. I had missed it.

By Dr. Matt Mehan, Catholic Exchange – Patriotism can be a difficult virtue to practice, but the first step is to realize that it is a virtue and an important one at that. Without getting too technical, we can describe patriotism as the love of one’s civic fathers and mothers. It is a reverential love borne of gratitude for the many goods received from the hands of those fathers and mothers … With America’s 250th birthday or Semiquincentennial coming this July 4th and with Memorial Day coming up in this special year in our country’s history, we might do well to think more deeply about overcoming the obstacles to a deeper patriotism this summer and beyond. …

By Bridget Sielicki, LiveAction – The Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization has announced the installation of its very first boxes in New England — one in Maine and one in New Hampshire — bringing the total number of states offering the life-affirming option of baby boxes to 25… The boxes mark the first time the Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization has come to New England… Safe Haven Baby Boxes offer a way for anonymous, legal surrender, and provide an option for parents who feel unable to parent their newborns. …

By Gayle Somers, Catholic Exchange – This Sunday’s Gospel tells us that Jesus surprised the disciples “on the evening of that first day of the week” by appearing in their midst without using a door (locked “for fear of the Jews”).  We wonder if He had to calm them down a bit, because He said, twice, “Peace be with you.”  We can imagine how startled they were.  He showed them His wounds, in case they thought He was a ghost.  Then, Jesus gave the apostles an astonishing commission: “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.”

By Mary Rose, Zeale News – Federal officials announced sweeping new Medicaid fraud charges in Minnesota May 21, accusing 15 defendants of schemes involving more than $90 million in alleged losses tied to autism services, disability care, housing support, and child care programs. The announcement came just hours after Aimee Bock, the “mastermind” behind the massive Feeding Our Future case, received the longest sentence yet connected to that fraud investigation.

By Mary Rose, Zeale News -Emotional scenes unfolded across Miami on May 21 after U.S. officials announced the indictment of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro over the 1996 shootdown of civilian aircraft operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue… Outside Miami’s historic Freedom Tower — long regarded as a symbol of refuge and hope for Cuban exiles — crowds waved Cuban and American flags, prayed, and chanted slogans celebrating an act of justice they had waited three decades for. …

By John M. Grondelski, The Catholic Thing – The dignity of the human person was so central to the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II that it was the focus of his inaugural encyclical, “The Redeemer of Man” (Redemptor hominis). Nor did that pope tire of quoting Gaudium et spes (no. 22) that Jesus Christ “fully reveals man to himself.” Note what the Council says – and doesn’t. The Council doesn’t say Christ “fully reveals God to man” (though that’s true). It affirms Jesus “fully reveals man to himself.”

By Auguste Meyrat, Crisis Magazine – President Trump recently signed an executive order to pull the United States out of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD). Affiliated with the United Nations’ Global Compact for Migration, GFMD was one among countless organizations devoted to promoting “the right to migration.” In a written statement, Trump’s spokesman Tommy Pigott explained, “For too long, international organizations have fueled an endless flow of mass migration and have sought to compel Americans to accept the same destructive agenda.”

By J. J. Ziegler, Catholic World Report – 3,035 diocesan seminarians are preparing for priestly ordination in the Latin-rite dioceses of the United States, an increase of nearly 2% over the previous year, according to data published in the most recent (2025) edition of The Official Catholic Directory… Diocesan chancery offices supply statistics to the Directory, which also offers, as of January 1, 2025, an authoritative list of tax-exempt entities under the umbrella of the USCCBs. The statistics published in the 2025 edition of the Directory are thus over a year old ….