Trump meets Zelensky today in DC; Trump beats back media criticism of peace effort; First Lady sends ‘peace letter’ urging Putin to protect ‘innocence of children’; Little Sisters of the Poor still fighting ObamaCare; Costco says it will not dispense abortion drug at its pharmacies; Detroit Latin Mass Society calling for prayers; Pope advises that ‘common good of peoples be placed first’ in peace negotiations’; and more —
Zelensky to Meet with Trump at White House [Today]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday after Trump’s positive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Trump, who is looking to bring the Ukraine war to a close, took to Truth Social early Saturday morning to announce that he had spoken with Zelensky following the Putin summit in Alaska, and the understanding among all parties is that a peace deal, rather than a ceasefire, must be reached. He also revealed Zelensky is coming to Washington.
Trump said Friday that the meeting he and Putin shared was “extremely productive,” though a deal had not yet been reached.
Read more at Breitbart
Trump Beats Back Criticism of Peace Effort, Touts ‘Big Day’
President Donald Trump pushed back against media criticism of his diplomatic efforts, blasting “fake news” attacks claiming merely inviting Vladimir Putin to the U.S. was a “major defeat” and reiterating Ukraine could swiftly end the war with Russia, or continue to fight.
“Big day at the White House tomorrow,” Trump posted in nightcaps of a Truth Social thread. “Never had so many European Leaders at one time.
“My great honor to host them!!! President DJT”
Read more at Newsmax
European leaders celebrate Trump-Putin summit as Russian strikes continue: ‘Glimmer of hope’
European leaders largely heralded the Alaska summit held between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend as a key step toward ending the Ukraine war.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he “welcomed” the president’s efforts to “achieve a just and lasting peace;” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the summit represented “important progress;” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed Friday as a “glimmer of hope;” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said “the world is a safer place than it was yesterday;” and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico praised Trump for launching “a vital process.”
Read more at the Washington Examiner
Putin agrees that US, Europe could offer NATO-style security guarantees to Ukraine, Trump envoy says
Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump that the United States and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the war, a U.S. official said Sunday.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks Friday at a military base in Alaska, said it “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that” and called it “game-changing.”
Read more at Associated Press
Zelensky Declares ‘Impossible’ for Ukraine to Give Up Territory to Russia, Doubles Down on Ceasefire Demand
Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Sunday that it would be “impossible” for Kyiv to cede territory to Russia and reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire.
Speaking from the European Commission headquarters in Brussels ahead of his planned sit-down with President Donald Trump in the United States on Monday, Zelensky appeared set to maintain his maximalist position towards the war with Russia, and seemingly shoot down officially recognising Moscow’s territorial gains in exchange for a peace agreement.
Read more at Breitbart Europe
First Lady Melania Trump’s ‘peace letter’ to Putin: ‘It is time [to protect children]’
First Lady Melania Trump wrote a “peace letter” to Russian President Vladimir Putin telling him “it is time” to protect children and future generations around the globe, Fox News Digital has learned.
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the “peace letter” the first lady penned to Putin, which President Trump hand-delivered to the Russian leader before their summit in Alaska, Fox News Digital has learned.
Read more at Fox News
Putin confirms a 2020 Trump presidency would have prevented the Ukraine War
Vladimir Putin is making Democrats FURIOUS after saying: “When President Trump says if he was the president back then, there would be no war…it would indeed be SO. I can confirm that.”
Jack Posobiec’s firsthand account of ‘Alaska Accords’ upon returning at to DC
Watch @Jack Poso on X
Could Peace Break Out in Ukraine? Trumps Meets Putin as Deep State Seethes by John Zmirak
On Friday, I laid out the background to the war our Deep State provoked in Ukraine. That started with broken U.S. promises to Russia and the push to extend NATO right up to Russia’s borders. In 2013, our CIA staged a coup in Ukraine and took de facto control of its government. Then Obama officials floated the prospect of Ukraine joining our military alliance. This was exactly parallel to the USSR putting nuclear missiles in Cuba, and Vladimir Putin’s reaction wasn’t much different from John F. Kennedy’s: He called in the military.
A million dead or wounded European Christians and trillions of dollars later, after several close brushes with World War III, we see a futile stalemate that Ukraine cannot break short of American boots on the ground. …
Read more at The Stream
Putin, Trump, and the Elusive “Peace” by Victor Davis Hanson
At the August 15 Alaska summit, Vladimir Putin performed as expected. He desperately wants an end to Western sanctions, détente with the U.S., and assurances that the U.S. will not impose a disastrous anti-Russian secondary boycott—and, apparently, some additional Ukrainian territory.
Consequently, Putin, in his media synopsis, talked more about restored friendship with a “neighborly” United States under Trump. He scarcely mentioned Ukraine directly—other than to imply to Westerners that he seeks not merely to annex a foreign country, but to reclaim what he views as a former Soviet province with ancient ties to the Russian people.
Trump did not get his ceasefire with Putin. But he quickly pivoted to remind us that the table is set for a supposedly comprehensive peace without first requiring a temporary cessation of arms. …
Read more at American Greatness
It’s Official: D.C. No Longer A Sanctuary City As Trump Cracks Down On Crime
Washington, D.C., has officially lost its status as an illegal alien sanctuary city amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital.
Attorney General Pam Bondi stripped the city’s Chief of Police Pamela Smith of her power this week, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order, instead naming Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole as the new emergency police commissioner.
Read more at the Daily Wire
Trump vows to do ‘everything’ to ‘save’ Jimmy Lai ahead of trial verdict
President Donald Trump has vowed to do “everything [he] can” to “save” imprisoned Catholic activist Jimmy Lai, promising to “see what we can do” to help the longtime human rights advocate who has languished in jail for years.
Trump made the remarks during a radio interview with Fox News this week, stating that he has “already brought it up” in government circles.
The U.S. president’s vow comes as Lai, imprisoned by Chinese Communist Party authorities since 2020, is nearing the end of a lengthy national security trial in Hong Kong.
Read more at the Catholic News Agency
Little Sisters of the Poor are still fighting ObamaCare—as states force nuns to violate their faith
More than a decade after the Obama administration first tried to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to buy contraception including abortifacient drugs for employees, states are still hounding the nuns in court.
At its heart, ObamaCare was a massive welfare program meant to redistribute health-care costs to the middle class.
But it was also a social engineering project aimed at coercing religious organizations and businesses to adopt progressive values.
Read more at the New York Post
Costco Decision to Not Sell Abortion Pill is a Huge Pro-Life Victory
Costco said it will not dispense the abortion drug mifepristone at its pharmacies, delivering a major victory to pro-life advocates, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The wholesale giant said it will not sell the abortion pill at its more than 500 pharmacy locations across the country, according to Bloomberg.
The move follows pressure from pro-life investors and conservative groups that had formally asked Costco and other grocery chains not to dispense the abortion drug last year.
Read more at Life News
Smithsonian’s American History Museum Is Wall-To-Wall Anti-American Propaganda
[B]ecause of its academic and historical nature, the [Smithsonian Institute], established by an act of Congress that was signed by President James K. Polk in 1846, has always been in a precarious situation where dishonest and destructive actors who have deep disdain for the United States might take over its stewardship.
That appears to be what has happened, particularly under the Biden administration, as museum halls are adorned with gay “pride” flags and exhibits are filled with pseudo-history or history that is framed dishonestly — seemingly in an attempt to degrade the American experience.
That is a far cry from the Smithsonian Institution’s mission: to be “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,” as initial patron James Smithson (after whom the institution is named) said in 1826 when willing his estate ultimately to the United States.
Read more at The Federalist
Detroit Latin Mass Society calling for prayers
We are now coming up on week seven since the Archbishop of Detroit ended most Traditional Latin Mass Celebrations in the Archdiocese of Detroit. The parishioners who attend those Masses feel beaten down and ignored.
Pray for them, the Priests, the Detroit Archbishop and the Archdiocese of Detroit
See @Detroit Latin Mass Society on X
Chant Camp aims to help children appreciate beauty and tradition of the Mass
Canticle Chant Camp was held at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from July 28 to Aug. 1 and was attended by more than 40 children and teens.
[The camp offered] a crash course in Gregorian chant as well as posture, breathing, and other elements of sacred choral music [for] youth ages 8 to 18.
Referring to sacred music, [the instructor of the course said]: “It’s important to pass down this tradition. Beautiful sculpture, paintings, architecture, and stained-glass windows can last hundreds of years: All of them help us to pray. But music, once it is performed, is gone. It’s an offering to the Lord in real time. And if we don’t hand it down with every generation, we lose it.”
Read more at the Catholic News Agency
After pushback, Toulouse archbishop appoints new chancellor
The Archbishop of Toulouse appointed a new chancellor Saturday, after widespread opposition to his recent appointment of a priest convicted of sexually assaulting a minor.
But while Archbishop Guy de Kerimel said August 16 that he apologized to victims of sexual abuse for causing them harm, he also defended his initial appointment, insisting it was a “sign of hope for abusers.”
“In order not to provoke division among bishops, and not to remain at a standoff between those ‘for’ and ‘against,’ I decided to reverse my decision; this has now been done, with the appointment of a new chancellor,” Archbishop de Kerimel wrote in an Aug 16 statement.
“My decision was interpreted by many people as a snub to the victims of sexual abuse; I ask the victims’ forgiveness. This was obviously not my intention.”
Read more at The Pillar
Egypt’s War Against the World’s Oldest Christian Monastery
St. Catherine’s Monastery, 275 miles from Cairo in the depths of the Sinai desert, is the world’s oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery. It is also one of Christianity’s oldest institutions, built at the foot of the mountain where Moses is believed to have seen the burning bush and subsequently received the Ten Commandments. Run by Greek Orthodox monks—some 25 of them live there today—it has served as a sanctuary of worship, refuge, and scholarship for more than 1,500 years. …
But the standing of this holy place is now at grave risk.
In May, an Egyptian court ruled that the monastery’s monks are mere “occupants,” allowing the state to essentially take control of what is—and is not—allowed at St. Catherine’s, and stripping the monks of all legal authority. With enough pressure, they may be forced to abandon the monastery altogether.
Read more at The Free Press
Franciscan Mariologist: Devotion to Immaculate Heart of Mary Is Urgent Need for Today’s World
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is more pressing than ever and essential if humanity is to turn from an era dominated by a culture of death towards entering the mystery of the true love of God, a Franciscan Mariologist has said.
Italian Franciscan Father Alessandro Maria Apollonio believes that the image of true love par excellence can be witnessed through devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “the first maternal cooperator, closest to us, of our joy, which will only be complete in paradise.”
Read more at National Catholic Register
Pope Leo’s 100 Days: Top 5 Viral Moments
[August 16] marks a special anniversary for Pope Leo XIV: 100 days as successor of St. Peter, but the date may be more significant for Catholics across the globe who have been moved by this American-born Pope who always seems to be speaking with a smile.
From his inaugural Mass to the moving moments of 1 million youth kneeling in adoration during the Jubilee of Youth; from weeping tears of joy to blessing babies from aboard the popemobile, here are five of the blessed moments we have witnessed thus far in this Leonine papacy.
Read more at the National Catholic Register
Pope Leo: Give the common good first priority in peace negotiations
Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal for prayer for peace on August 17 and said that the common good should be given first priority in negotiations.
“Let us pray that efforts to bring wars to an end and to promote peace may bear fruit, and that in negotiations the common good of peoples may always be placed first,” Pope Leo said following his Angelus address.
The Pontiff made his remarks two days after the 2025 Russia–United States Summit and a day before a meeting between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and European leaders.
Read more at Catholic Culture; see also Vatican.va
