Breaking new evidence shows no clear basis for Traditionis Custodes; Senate passes Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by a hair; USAID officially ceases operations; NCAA rips titles from Lia Thomas, bans trans athletes; AOC Under federal investigation; Churches in Syria resume liturgies amid heightened security; and more —
Official Vatican Report Exposes Major Cracks in Foundation of Traditionis Custodes
New evidence has come to light that exposes major cracks in the foundation of Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis’ 2021 decree that restricted the traditional Roman liturgy.
[A] previously undisclosed text … reveals that “the majority of bishops who responded to [a] questionnaire stated that making legislative changes to Summorum Pontificum would cause more harm than good” [contradicting] the stated rationale for imposing Traditionis Custodes and [raising] serious questions …
Read more of this exclusive at Diane Montagna Substack
Senate passes Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” in 51 to 50 vote after marathon session
The Senate narrowly passed President Trump’s massive tax and spending bill Tuesday after a marathon series of amendment votes that stretched more than 24 hours, delivering a major victory for the president and bringing the signature piece of legislation of his second term one step closer to his desk.
The measure passed in a 51 to 50 vote, with all but three Republicans supporting the bill. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. GOP Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Democrats in voting against the bill.
Read more at CBS News
See also Catholic Vote
USCCB, in action alerts, urges opposition to environmental, SNAP, Medicaid budget cuts
Following the passage of the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in a 51-50 vote, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued two action alerts on July 1.
“Ask your member of Congress to protect our common home and oppose steep cuts to clean energy and environmental programs,” the bishops’ conference stated in “Urgent: Stop clean energy and environmental cuts in budget reconciliation.”
In “Tell Congress Not to Cut SNAP, Medicaid, and Other Programs that Help the Poor and Vulnerable,” the USCCB stated …
Read more at Catholic Culture
President’s Big Bill Heads to the House
After weeks of clashes between Republicans and Democrats, President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is headed to The House, where a showdown between the two political rival factions will be inevitable.
Political experts say the faceoff can be as early as Wednesday, while some Republicans are predicting that the bill could be passed and sent to Trump by the Fourth of July.
Read more at Catholics for Catholics
Rubio: USAID officially ceases operations
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the official end of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuesday, after rapidly dismantling the government’s foreign aid arm since President Trump’s return to the White House.
USAID’s official shutdown comes following a study published Monday in the Lancet Medical journal projecting that more than 14 million additional deaths could occur globally as a result of the U.S. aid reductions, including 4.5 million deaths among children.
Read more at The Hill
See also @Catholics for Catholics on X
Bishop Strickland condemns ‘cruelty’ against Palestinians, forced removal from lands
Bishop Joseph Strickland denounced the ‘weaponization’ of hunger and other abuses in Gaza and the forcible removal Palestinians in Ras Ain al-Ouja in a powerful new statement.
Read the Bishop’s statement at Lifesite
Churches in Syria resume liturgies amid heightened security and unease
A week after the deadly attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, the churches there have not shut their doors. Divine Liturgies were celebrated on Sunday, June 30 — albeit with significantly lower attendance due to a prevailing atmosphere of fear and anxiety.
Father Antonios Raafat Abu Al-Nasr, parish priest of Our Lady of Damascus for the Melkite Greek Catholics, told ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, that there was a “very shy turnout” at his church.
Read more at the Catholic News Agency
DOJ hits LA with lawsuit: ‘There’s a new sheriff in town’
Fox News reports on the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Los Angeles over its sanctuary city policies. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli weighs in.
Watch at Fox News
Stephen Miller calls on GOP governors to build immigrant detention facilities
Stephen Miller sends a message to EVERY RED STATE GOVERNOR after Alligator Alcatraz opens. “Every governor of a red state, if you are watching tonight: pick up the phone, call DHS, work with us to build facilities in YOUR state so we can get the illegals and criminals out.” They should all be calling tonight!
Watch at Fox News
AOC Under FEDERAL INVESTIGATION for Allegedly Hiring Illegals, Undermining U.S. Law
Explosive new allegations claim Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may have hired an illegal immigrant to work alongside her in Congress — and now federal authorities are reportedly circling with a new investigation. Tom Homan confirms the investigation is taking place.
Watch at Trish Regan on YouTube
On immigration, the US bishops see only one side – commentary
Looking at the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce US immigration laws, and the sometimes violent reactions, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, speaking as president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) perceives “a profound social crisis before which no person of good will can remain silent.”
Well, we can all agree that the immigration problem has attained the proportions of a crisis. But why is the USCCB speaking out now?
Read more at Catholic Culture
Bishop Christensen releases statement on north Idaho tragedy
The Catholic Diocese of Boise is heartbroken by the tragic and horrific ambush that claimed the lives of two brave firefighters and left another seriously injured while they responded to a brush fire on Canfield Mountain near Coeur d’Alene. …
As Catholics, we are called to uphold the dignity of every human life and to stand in solidarity with those who suffer. Today, we mourn the fallen firefighters, whose courage and sacrifice reflect the love and service taught by Christ. … Our prayers are with the injured firefighter, who continues to fight for his life, and we ask for God’s healing grace to sustain him.
Read more at Idaho Catholic Register
Penn finally accepts that Lia Thomas is a biological man
The University of Pennsylvania just reversed course on one of the most controversial sports decisions in recent memory. After a federal investigation, the university agreed to restore titles and records to biological female swimmers who were forced to compete against Lia Thomas – a transgender-identifying male athlete. …
It’s being hailed in some circles as a win for common sense and women’s rights. And it is. But let’s be clear: this was not a moral epiphany. It was a forced retreat.
Read more at The Spectator World
For more information see @Benny Johnson on X
Cardinal Ambongo: Opposition to Same-Sex Blessings Not an ‘African Exception’
The leader of Africa’s Catholic bishops pushed back Tuesday on the narrative that it was only Africans who objected to a 2023 Vatican declaration permitting blessings for same-sex couples.
“The position taken by Africa [on the declaration] was also the position of so many bishops here in Europe. It’s not just an African exception,” Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap, told EWTN News on July 1.
Read more at the National Catholic Register
Cardinal Joseph Zen weighs in on the destruction of Sodom
On his personal blog, respected Churchman Cdl. Zen comments on Genesis 19:15-29 (Tuesday’s reading):
“The most merciful God is so disgusted with same-sex sex because this crime is too far from God’s plan for people. His plan is to combine a man and a woman with dedicated and permanent love to cooperate with God so that new life can be born and grow in the warmth of the family. … Same-sex behavior not only undermines God’s plan, but also obviously harms society and is more likely to cause personal tragedy.
Of course, the church loves and welcomes all people, no matter what knowledge they live in, but it should not let them stay in ignorance. It should give them the opportunity to understand God’s plan in the church, gain strength through prayer and sacraments, overcome temptation, take the path of chastity, and move towards eternal life.”
Read more at oldyosef.hkcatholic.com
Former Liberation Theology leader criticizes ‘excess’ of social issues by Latin American bishops
An open letter to the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Latin America (known by the Spanish acronym CELAM) released in June by Father Clodovis Boff spurred controversy among clergy members and theologians in Brazil.
In the document, Clodovis Boff – once a major leader of the Liberation Theology movement in Latin America along with his brother Leonardo Boff and now a frequent critic of such a theological school – accuses the bishops of prioritizing social issues to the detriment of Jesus’s good news.
Read more at Crux
CBS, Paramount Forced to Pay Trump Massive 8-Figure Settlement for Deceptively Editing ’60 Minutes’ Kamala Harris Interview
Paramount and CBS was forced to pay millions of dollars to President Trump and agreed to change its editorial policy in a settlement.
President Trump filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the network’s parent company Paramount for deceptively editing a ’60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris.
Trump will be paid $16 million up front, according to Fox News.
Read more at the Gateway Pundit
Polish “citizen patrols” formed on German border to prevent migrant returns
Self-declared “citizen patrols” – some of them hundreds strong – have gathered on the Polish side of the border with Germany to oppose returns of migrants whom the German authorities have found to have entered illegally from Poland. …
“Poland’s western border is ceasing to exist!” wrote Mariusz Błaszczak, a deputy leader of PiS and former defence minister, today. “Illegal migrants are regularly being transferred to us from Germany, and Tusk’s government is pretending that nothing is happening.”
Read more at Notes from Poland
Progressive Globalists Celebrate Turnout at Budapest Pride, While Majority of Hungarians Back Ban
Globalist newspapers and media outlets are celebrating the massive turnout at Budapest Pride as a resounding defeat for Viktor Orbán, but reality tells a very different tale.
The event drew an impressive 100,000 participants, shattering the previous record of 35,000. However, reports confirmed a significant influx of foreigners, spurred by Ursula von der Leyen’s public statement, with 70 European Parliament members, activist Greta Thunberg, and other outsiders joining the march.
Read more at The Gateway Pundit
Canadian politician introduces bill to stop MAID expansion for mental illness
Canadian member of Parliament (MP) from Cloverdale-Langley City in British Columbia, Tamara Jansen, has introduced a private member’s bill to stop the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAID) for mental illness alone.
Jansen’s Bill C-218 would amend the criminal code to prevent mental disorders from being considered a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” for the purposes of MAID.
Read more at Catholic News Agency
In retrial, judge acquits man charged in assault on pro-life protester
A Baltimore Circuit judge on June 25 acquitted Patrick Brice, 28, in a retrial over whether the injuries he inflicted on pro-life protester Mark Crosby in a May 26, 2023 incident were intentional.
In February, Brice was found guilty of two counts of second-degree assault and reckless endangerment for injuries he caused to Crosby and fellow pro-life advocate Richard Schaefer outside the Planned Parenthood Baltimore City Health Center.
Read more at The Catholic Review
Cleveland Planned Parenthood Shuts Down, Cites Trump Funding Cuts
The Planned Parenthood abortion center in Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood has permanently closed, with the organization attributing the shutdown to the Trump administration’s freeze on federal Title X funding and anticipated Medicaid cuts.
The abortion center at 7997 Euclid Ave ceased operations over the weekend, leaving three other Planned Parenthood facilities in Cuyahoga County—Old Brooklyn, Rocky River, and Bedford Heights.
Read more at Life News
The Traditional Feast Day of the Visitation – July 2
Learn about the deep meaning of this feast and how it reveals Our Lady as the Ark of the New Covenant. Learn about the feast’s traditions, music – do you know which famous Bach piece was written for the day? – And even ancient recipes celebrating this monumental occasion.
Read more at Fisheaters.com
