Pope Leo implores us to ‘Listen to the gentle voice of God’; IRS says churches can now endorse political candidates; SCOTUS clears way for Trump to pursue federal layoffs; Economy adds 147,000 jobs; FBI investigating John Brennan, James Comey over Trump-Russia probe; Vances asks, ‘Who the Hell Does Mamdani Think He Is?’; John-Henry Westen no longer CEO and Editor-in-Chief at LifeSite; Pope congratulates Cdl. Burke on his Golden Jubilee; and more —
IRS ends 70-year gag rule, says churches can now endorse political candidates
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this week backed off a decades-old rule first established during the Eisenhower administration, declaring for the first time since the 1950s that churches and other nonprofits can openly endorse political candidates without risking their tax-exempt status.
The order resolves a lawsuit launched in August 2024 by a coalition of religious broadcasters, one that challenged the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which says that 501(c)(3) nonprofits may not “participate in or intervene in” political campaigns.
Read more at Catholic News Agency
Reacting to new IRS stance, USCCB emphasizes that Church does not endorse, oppose candidates
A spokeswoman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops emphasized that “the Catholic Church maintains its stance of not endorsing or opposing political candidates,” following a new IRS interpretation of the Johnson Amendment.
Named after then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, the 1954 amendment to the tax code states that churches must “not participate in or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”
Read more at Catholic Culture
Supreme Court clears the way for Trump’s federal workforce overhaul
The Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to move forward with its sweeping plan to downsize the federal workforce July 8, lifting a lower court’s injunction that had halted layoffs and agency restructuring efforts.
The unsigned decision allows the implementation of President Donald Trump’s February executive order, which instructs federal agencies to root out what Trump called “waste, bloat, and insularity” within the bureaucracy.
Read more at Catholic Vote
Economy adds 147,000 jobs, defying expectations of a slowdown
The U.S. economy added 147,000 jobs last month, as employers shrugged off concerns that economic uncertainty and President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown would negatively affect growth.
The Labor Department’s June report is the latest in a string of favorable economic data to bolster Trump’s case that the job market and price levels can sustain the massive policy shifts that he’s bringing about.
Read more at Politico
Trump admin unveils National Farm Security Action Plan on foreign ownership, safeguarding research
Senior Trump administration officials announced a plan Tuesday to protect U.S. farmland from Chinese ownership and other threats to American agricultural resources.
“Every family, every home, every community depends upon what our farmers do, and they support and sustain us, not merely by keeping us materially fed, but by keeping us spiritually strong,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a press conference.
Read more at Just the News
DHS to End ‘Shoes-Off’ Travel Policy
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a new policy today which will allow passengers traveling through domestic airports to keep their shoes on while passing through security screening at TSA checkpoints.
The new policy will increase hospitality for travelers and streamline the TSA security checkpoint process, leading to lower wait times. …
Read at US Transportation Security Administration website
FBI launches criminal investigations of John Brennan, James Comey over Trump-Russia probe: report
Former CIA Director John Brennan and ex-FBI Director James Comey are being investigated for potential criminal conduct related to the 2016 Trump-Russia collusion probe.
The criminal referral involving Brennan was passed to the FBI by current CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Justice Department sources told Fox News Digital. The investigation into the Obama-era spy chief involves allegations that he made false statements to Congress …
Read more at the New York Post; watch also Jesse Watters on X
Vance on Mamdani: ‘Who the Hell Does He Think He Is?’
Vice President JD Vance roasted New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for trashing the United States on Independence Day, asking, “Who the hell does he think that he is?”
Mamdani, the Ugandan-born Democrat nominee to lead the nation’s most populous city, said the U.S. is “beautiful,” yet “contradictory” and “unfinished” in his one post on the July 4 holiday:
Read more at Breitbart; watch entire speech at Blaze TV
Cernovich: I Believe Bongino and Patel That The Epstein Files Are Gone, But We Must See The Chain Of Custody
Mike Cernovich talks to “TimCast” host Tim Pool about what he believes happened to the Epstein files and why the investigation focused on his one home in New York and not all the other properties he owns in the United States and around the world.
Read more/watch at Real Clear Politics
LA mayor ripped for interfering with ICE raid at crime-ridden local park: ‘Full of s—‘
Karen Bass attempted to interfere with ICE agents conducting immigration raids, calling it “outrageous” and “un-American.”
Her actions sparked immediate pushback from critics on social media:
“If only Karen Bass worked as hard for fire victims in Los Angeles as she does criminal illegals,” GOP Congressman Darrell Issa, who represents California’s 48th Congressional District, posted on X.
“Democrats aren’t used to seeing the law being enforced,” …
Read/see more at Fox News
“Unprepared And Entitled”: College Grads Unpopular with Hiring Managers, Survey Finds
A recent survey from Intelligent found that “1 in 4 hiring managers say recent grads are unprepared for the workforce” and “1 in 8 managers [are] planning to avoid hiring them in 2025.”
The main reasons for this are lack of preparation, a so-so work ethic, and a sense of entitlement among the grads, according to the survey.
“24% of hiring managers believe recent college graduates are unprepared for the workforce, while 33% cite a lack of work ethic, and 29% view them as entitled,” the survey found.
Read more at Zerohedge
Peace looks possible in the Middle East – Essay by Andrea Widburg
When I look at the world today, I’m beginning to wonder whether, in place of the Trio of Titans in the 1980s [Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II], the third decade of the 21st century will bring us the Dynamic Duo of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. Working in tandem in the last few months, these months have brought about the military downfall of Iran and its proxy armies (Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis), even as we’re witnessing the resurgence of the Abraham Accords, which will bring Israel into the fold of its Arab-Muslim Middle Eastern neighbors.
Read more at The American Thinker
LifeSiteNews announces that John-Henry Westen is no longer CEO and Editor-in-Chief
LifeSiteNews announces that John-Henry Westen is no longer CEO and Editor-in-Chief following a recent board vote. He is now on a well-earned sabbatical, spending valuable time with his family. We acknowledge the significant online speculation surrounding this decision but wish to clarify that much of it is inaccurate.
The board’s decision was made after careful consideration, extensive prayer, and a commitment to best serve our donors, readers, and employees, guided by numerous factors aligned with our mission.
Read more at LifeSiteNews
Catholic priest offers to cover funeral costs for children who died in Texas floods
The flooding in central Texas has left at least 82 people, including 28 children, dead and Lexington priest Father Jim Sichko is offering to help devastated families during their time of grief.
A post on X from Father Sichko read:
“To any parents who lost a child in the TX flooding: As a Papal #MissionaryOfMercy, I will cover the full cost of your child’s funeral, should you so need.”
Read more at LEX18
Inquest shows how governments enable Fulani jihadists in Nigeria
A disturbing investigation says governments in Nigeria are facilitating Fulani jihadists as they steal Christian farmland and murder its populations.
For a long time, there have been reports of Fulani Jihadist persecution of Christians in Nigeria – focused largely on the Middle Belt – but the investigation carried out by Catholic criminologist and Director of the Catholic inspired NGO, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, (Intersociety), Emeka Umeagbalasi says the problem is even worse than initially thought.
Read more at Crux
Anti-Christian Hostility Is Rising — and the Silence Is Deafening
In recent months, the West has witnessed a troubling rise in anti-Christian violence, a trend we can no longer afford to ignore.
Attacks we once believed were isolated incidents overseas are now occurring frequently in our own neighborhoods, challenging America’s foundational identity of coexistence and religious freedom.
Europe has experienced a disturbing increase in anti-Christian sentiment, highlighted by laws aimed at limiting religious expression. In the United Kingdom, individuals have faced arrest simply for silently praying near abortion facilities, accused of violating restrictive “buffer zone” laws.
Read more at National Catholic Register
Nuncio celebrates historic Mass in Canterbury Cathedral in honor of St Thomas Becket
In a historic moment for the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom, on Monday, 7 July, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated at Canterbury Cathedral by the Papal Nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía.
The Mass marked the Feast of the Translation of St Thomas Becket, which commemorates the ceremonial transfer of Becket’s remains in 1220 from his original tomb in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral to a grand shrine behind the high altar. …
While Catholic Masses have taken place in Canterbury Cathedral since the Reformation … this was the first occasion in modern history that a papal nuncio presided over a Mass in the historic Anglican cathedral.
Read more at the Catholic Herald
Gay blessings ‘will remain’ under Pope Leo, Vatican doctrine chief says
The Catholic Church’s approval of blessings of couples in same-sex relationships “will remain” under Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Vatican’s doctrine office told an Italian reporter in a brief interview.
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández made the statement in response to a question from a journalist for the Rome-based daily Il Messaggero as he left the Holy See Press Office on July 3.
Fernández’s remarks are the clearest indication to date since Pope Leo’s election of a likely continuation of Pope Francis’ gay-blessings declaration. However, the impromptu interview falls short of an explicit, official statement from the Vatican.
Read more at the National Catholic Reporter
Parish Priests Are the Cure to the Crisis
Most of the faithful are familiar with both sides of the current Catholic coin: rampant unbelief and apostasy on one side and a small but powerful movement toward orthodoxy and tradition on the other. Many young priests have begun the hard work of improving catechesis and liturgy, emphasizing Confession, and building devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. In many of their parishes, the exodus appears to have stopped. Parishioner numbers are beginning to stabilize and, in some select cases, even grow.
Read more at Crisis Magazine
Navy guy coded the Catholic catechism in his spare time
“You can just do things.” That’s the opening line of a viral Facebook post that’s been making Catholics everywhere stop and think. It tells the surprising story of how the American English translation of the Catechism got online. …
Here’s the story behind the online Catechism, directly from the man who made it all happen. …
Read more at Aleteia
Member of Irish parliament: We Irish might be a minority here, soon
A member of the Irish parliament Richard O’Donoghue claimed that “Irish people here could end up being a minority in years to come.” The comment made in the context of the upcoming Irish election has been branded a “dog whistle” and “dangerous” by other TDs.
O’Donoghue stated that his party wants to support a candidate for the forthcoming presidential election who “supports our culture in this country, that it’s not obliterated”.
“We welcome other cultures in here, and we do that 100%, but we also want to make sure the Irish culture is recognised and set in stone for the future,” he said.”
Read more at Gript
Polish farmers join border patrols as German migrant dumping scandal escalates
Polish farmers protesting European Union climate mandates are now patrolling the German border, deepening a political crisis for Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Since mid-May, Polish farmers have blocked roads over the EU’s Green Deal and cuts to agricultural subsidies. But now, many are shifting focus to what they call a more immediate threat: reports of German federal police secretly dropping off illegal migrants inside Polish territory.
Read more at LifeSiteNews
Douglas Murray hits out at the new Superman movie for going woke
Author Douglas Murray discusses Disney and other major movie studios going down the “political” route when producing new films. Head of DC Studios James Gunn says the new Superman film is about the story of America, following an immigrant who came from other places and populated the country.
“You would have thought the studios would have learnt from the Snow White disaster over the last year,” Mr Murray told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “It’s always just this tedious, predictable, juvenile politicking being forced on us, whether on flags on the streets, whether by the police, whether by the studios.”
Watch at Sky News Australia (7 min)
Cardinal Raymund Burke receives this letter from Pope Leo on the Golden Jubilee of his ordination
I am very humbled to have received this letter from His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, for the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of my ordination to the Holy Priesthood. Please join me in thanking Our Lord for the election of Pope Leo XIV, Successor of Saint Peter, as the Shepherd of the Church throughout the world. … Viva il Papa!
Read more @Cardinal Burke on X
Pope Leo implores us to do this one thing to truly hear God
In our super‑charged world it’s easy to forget that God still speaks — in fact, He speaks most often in the quiet voice of our hearts. As Pope Leo XIV recently reminded young pilgrims, each of us is created “with a purpose and a mission in this life,” and God is calling us all through a still, small voice deep within.
The trouble is, we don’t shut out the static enough to hear it.
We run from alarm to Zoom call to social post, “listening to music” and letting “our ears [be] flooded constantly with all kinds of digital input,” as the Pope observed. In the din of life, we often miss the gentle voice of God and our own truest desires.
Read more at Aleteia
