Federal Court rules against Little Sisters of the Poor; Trump slams dishonest media before Putin summit; UK schools making 5-year-olds write Valentine’s Day cards to asylum seekers; Melania Trump threatens $1 billion lawsuit against Hunter Biden; 9 parishes sue Diocese of Buffalo over clergy abuse settlement contributions; Pope Leo: ‘Evil is real but does not have last word’; and more —
Trump blasts ‘sick and dishonest’ media ahead of Putin summit
John Bolton served as national security advisor during Trump’s first term, but was fired by the president, in part, due to his hawkish position that did not align with Trump’s foreign policy vision.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday tore into the media over its coverage of his planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week, accusing them of pronouncing a negative outcome before it even took place. …
“Very unfair media is at work on my meeting with Putin. Constantly quoting fired losers and really dumb people like John Bolton, who just said that, even though the meeting is on American soil, ‘Putin has already won.’ What’s that all about?” he posted on Truth Social. “We are winning on EVERYTHING. The Fake News is working overtime (No tax on overtime!).”
Read more at Just the News
First lady Melania Trump puts Hunter Biden on $1B notice over ‘false, defamatory’ Epstein comments
First lady Melania Trump is putting Hunter Biden on $1 billion notice over what she claims are “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” made about her, demanding he immediately remove and retract the content and issue an apology or face legal action, Fox News Digital has learned.
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the letter that Alejandro Brito, attorney serving as litigation counsel for the first lady, sent to Hunter Biden and his attorney, Abbe Lowell, Aug. 6.
Read more at Fox News
Federal Court Rules Against Little Sisters of the Poor in Latest Contraception Lawsuit
A federal court has ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor in their long-running legal dispute over government contraception mandates, dealing a blow to the religious order of sisters even after multiple court victories, including at the Supreme Court.
The legal advocacy group Becket said on Aug. 13 that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of both New Jersey and Pennsylvania in finding that the federal government had not followed protocol when issuing exemptions to contraceptive requirements, including for the Little Sisters.
Read more at the National Catholic Register; watch also Bishop Barron’s reaction to the ruling @Bishop Robert Barron on X
Governor Glenn Youngkin Directs Virginia State Police to Open Full Criminal Investigation into Alleged School-Funded Abortions in Fairfax County
Governor Glenn Youngkin directed the Virginia State Police to open a criminal investigation into allegations of school-funded abortions in Fairfax County. The investigation comes after a report published detailed allegations of school staff members allegedly facilitating minors to get abortions without parental consent.
“I am deeply concerned with the allegations that Fairfax County Public Schools officials arranged for minors to get abortions without parental consent and may have misused public funds to pay for them. I am directing the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation to open a full criminal investigation into the matter immediately,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Read more at Official Governor of Virginia website
Rein in Federal Reserve or Risk Dollar Crisis: US Rep. Davidson
It is time for Congress to rein in and audit the Federal Reserve as it continues to undermine the U.S. dollar and usurp new powers, explained U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson on Conversations That Matter with The New American magazine Senior Editor Alex Newman.
Davidson, who has sponsored and co-sponsored multiple bills targeting the Fed, warned that the dollar’s position as the global reserve currency is under threat. He also explained that Congress must know what is going on through an audit, as the Fed cannot be accountable only to itself.
Rep. Davidson is working on numerous other important pieces of legislation, he explained. Among those he discusses in this interview: Excluding illegal immigrants from the Census to ensure proper congressional representation, ending immunity from liability for vaccine manufacturers, repealing the “PREP Act,” and commissioning research on “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS).
Read more at The Liberty Sentinel
36 Seats Could Be Up for Grabs in New Supreme Court Redistricting Case
Dozens of Democrat-held House seats could soon become competitive for Republicans, should the court overturn a 1960s race-based gerrymandering law. …
On August 1, the Supreme Court announced it would reexamine a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that mandates racial gerrymandering—”majority-minority” congressional maps that virtually guarantee a non-white candidate wins that House seat.
The question before the court: Whether drawing racially gerrymandered maps violates the Civil War-era 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, which together mandate “equal protection” to all U.S. citizens regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” A decision is expected in October.
Read more at Restoration News
DHS Debunks Media Lies About ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Americans’ trust in corporate media has plummeted to its lowest level in more than five decades, according to Gallup polling. That trust gap should come as no surprise when reading the propaganda press’s hyperbolic coverage of the Trump administration’s immigration law enforcement policies.
Department of Homeland Security officials say reporting on Alligator Alcatraz, the new Florida Everglades-based holding facility for illegal aliens facing deportation, has been drenched in “lies” and “baseless allegations” …
Here are just five examples of hoax reporting on the holding center –
Read more at The Federalist
Black Cincinnati Community-Leaders Demand Arrest Of Beatdown Victim Who Allegedly ‘Incited’ Mob Violence
Black community leaders in Cincinnati held a press conference on Monday to demand the arrest of one of the victims of the black-on-white mob attack that garnered national attention last month.
Six alleged assailants – Aisha Devaughn, Jermaine Matthews, Montianez Merriweather, Dekyra Vernon, Dominique Kittle, and Patrick Rosemond – have been indicted on eight charges each, including felonious assault and aggravated rioting, following a grand jury indictment. …
[Lawmaker Cecil] Thomas, a former police officer, said the lack of charges for the white victim in the white shirt who allegedly “incited” the mob violence “raises serious questions on whether there is bias involved in the investigation.”
Read more at Zerohedge
Mexico Sends 26 Top Cartel Leaders to the U.S. as Part of an Agreement with Trump Admin
In a new turn in U.S.-Mexico relations, Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum’s administration consented to send 26 top cartel leaders who are wanted in the United States, including one who allegedly killed a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy.
The move is part of a major agreement between Mexico and the U.S., which is leading a crackdown on drug smuggling. In addition, the Trump administration had declared a war on Latin American cartels, with President Donald Trump instructing the Pentagon to move against them.
According to Just the News, Trump officials agreed to not seek the death penalty for the cartel members. The death penalty is illegal in Mexico.
Read more at Catholics for Catholics
Kennedy Center nominees include Stallone, George Strait, band Kiss; Trump to host award ceremony
President Donald Trump will personally host the Kennedy Center honors, he confirmed. …
Under the administration, the center has overhauled its programming to include more shows with mass appeal. Republican legislators have also floated renaming the center after Trump himself while some have supported naming the opera house after first lady Melania Trump.
Trump also announced the honorees during the visit, including rock band Kiss, country singer George Strait, actor Sylvester Stallone, actor Michael Crawford, and recording artist Gloria Gaynor.
Read more at Just the News
‘You are welcome’: Major outrage over Birmingham [UK] making 5-year-olds write Valentine’s Day cards to asylum seekers
Some children in Birmingham schools as young as five have been asked to write Valentine’s Day cards to asylum seekers, stoking a major outrage. The activities in Labour-run Birmingham were co-ordinated by the Schools of Sanctuary Network, which includes an estimated 1,200 primary and secondary schools across the country, UK Telegraph reported.
Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, said that “children as young as five shouldn’t be used to push political agendas”.
“Classrooms should be for teaching maths, not immigration. Labour-run Birmingham council are allowing political campaigning to creep into our schools,” Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip said.
Read more at Times of India; watch ‘Surely They Wouldn’t…’ at Daniel Boland on YouTube
Report finds over 400 cases of vandalism, other ‘hostile’ acts against churches [in the US] in 2024
A report published by the Family Research Council (FRC) documented more than 400 cases of “acts of hostility” against Catholic and other Christian churches in the U.S. in 2024.
The report, published on Aug. 11, found 415 incidents, which included 284 acts of vandalism, 55 cases of arson, 28 gun-related incidents, 14 bomb threats, and 47 other hostile acts.
In every month, there were at least 20 hostile acts against churches, with the highest numbers occurring in June with 49 incidents and February with 45 incidents. The average was 35 incidents per month.
Read more at the Catholic News Agency
Persecution of Christians Escalates Across India
A coordinated campaign by law enforcement officials, Hindu activists, and extremist politicians is deploying draconian anti-conversion laws to systematically target Christians across India, according to a new report published by the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI).
The EFI report follows national outrage over the arrests of two nuns who were falsely accused of human trafficking and forced conversion. The sisters were released on bail amid revelations that militant Hindus tortured a young girl into making false statements against the nuns.
Read more at Crisis Magazine
Esteemed priest and theologian publishes open letter to Pope Leo XIV on Francis’ document on the family – Amoris Laetitia
Fr. Brian Harrison has requested the pope consider appropriate measures for overcoming disunity and confusion caused by a “most pastorally pressing” issue in the 2016 encyclical:
The letter begins: I address to you this heartfelt petition regarding an urgent and practically unprecedented problem that Your Holiness has inherited from the previous pontificate. It is one which I and many other Catholics believe lies at the very heart of the mission entrusted to you by Our Lord as the Successor of Blessed Peter: that of guarding and teaching the uncorrupted doctrine of Christ that was “once and all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
I refer to the fact that Chapter VIII of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation of 19 March 2016, Amoris Laetitia, teaches doctrines which none of its apologists have succeeded in reconciling persuasively with the bimillennial magisterial tradition of the Catholic Church, derived directly from Sacred Scripture. …
Read more at One Peter 5
Archbishop Bans Latin Mass and Elevates Priest tied to Pro-LGBT Women’s Ordination
Archbishop Weisenburger of Detroit recently banned the Traditional Latin Mass and has now elevated Fr. Mark Buersmeyer, who has publicly supported homosexual ‘marriages’ and defended a priest excommunicated for his role in the ordination of a woman. Taylor Marshall discusses the news with Michael Hichborn, president of the Lepanto Institute.
Watch at Dr. Taylor Marshall on YouTube
‘Very scary’: Hearing held for parishes suing the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo
Nine parishes in Western New York are taking legal action to stop payments toward the Diocese of Buffalo’s proposed $150 million settlement with more than 800 survivors of sexual abuse.
The settlement was announced in April, and the diocese said it would be paid through unrestricted funds of the diocese and individual parishes, as well as contributions from members of Catholic affiliates.
In June, parishes learned how much they’re being asked to pay towards the settlement. The contribution percentages range from 10 to 80 percent of each parish’s unrestricted cash and investments, with the highest percentage applied to parishes scheduled to be closed or merged.
Read more at 7ABC News Buffalo
Vatican-ordered investigation underway in Lima
Investigators have in recent weeks summoned priests and archdiocesan employees to answer questions about the financial situation of Caritas Lima, a network of diocesan schools, and multiple alleged coverups of sexual misconduct — including cases previously reported by The Pillar, among them sexual misconduct claims linked to the archdiocesan seminary.
Senior archdiocesan sources told The Pillar that a group fo Augustinian priests led by Fr. Alexander Lam, OSA, his order’s assistant general for Latin American, had been interviewing clerics and archdiocesan employees virtually about allegations of abuse coverup and financial misconduct by Cardinal Carlos Castillo.
Read more at The Pillar
The Nagasaki mission house built by St. Maximilian Kolbe that survived the atomic bomb
When the American military dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, 80 years ago on Aug. 9, 1945, the city was completely devastated — more than 40,000 people were instantly killed by the blast as well as about 60,000 more in the following five years as a result of radiation-related diseases.
Everything within a mile and a half of the plutonium bomb’s hypocenter was destroyed, including 14,000 homes and the Urakami Cathedral, where the faithful had gathered that morning for Mass in preparation for the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary shortly before “Fat Man” was detonated.
While the bombing devastated both the city of Nagasaki and its large Catholic population, the monastery of Seibo no Kishi located in the mountains on the outskirts of Nagasaki was spared.
Read more at the Catholic News Agency
Pope Leo XIV: Evil Is Real but Does Not Have the Last Word
Pope Leo XIV during his Wednesday general audience on Aug. 13 said the Gospel does not teach people to deny evil but to recognize its reality as an opportunity for conversion. …
“In order to be saved it is necessary to feel that one is involved, to feel that one is beloved despite everything, to feel that evil is real but it does not have the last word,” he said.
“The Gospel does not teach us to deny evil but to recognize it as a painful opportunity for rebirth,” he added.
Read more at the National Catholic Register
Happy Feast of St Maximilian Kolbe!
“God sends us friends in the whirlpool of struggle. In the company of friends, we will find strength to attain our sublime ideal.” — St. Maximilian Kolbe
Thanks, @grok, for bringing St Maximilian Kolbe’s photo inside Rome, to life!
Watch @Bree A Dail on X
