The House Judiciary Committee this week revealed that under the Biden administration, the FBI spied on a Catholic priest who refused to disclose private conversations with a parishioner who was arrested.
FBI employees at the Richmond field office discussed the priest’s ordination, recruitment efforts, location, and credit card information through email. They also communicated with their London office to monitor him during a trip to the United Kingdom, according to the <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/pdfs/judiciarycommitteereport.pdf">report</a>.
They launched a “formal investigative assessment” against the priest after he refused to answer whether a parishioner had expressed “desires and plans to commit violence.” The employee wrote in an email to the counterterrorism unit at FBI headquarters that the priest “became very uncomfortable and started incoherently stuttering.”
He said the priest “requested to speak with the church’s leadership and attorneys” and “refused to speak with us any further but has continued to speak with [the parishioner] while in prison, and even attempted to visit him.”
He also incorrectly stated in his email that the priest’s communications were “not considered privileged” since the parishioner “has not completed his catechism or been baptized in the Church.”
Virginia law <a href="https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title19.2/chapter16/section19.2-271.3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">protects</a> confidential communications between ministers of religion and any “persons they counsel or advise.”
“The priest-penitent privilege rightly protects communications between a clergy member and an individual seeking spiritual guidance,” the House Judiciary Committee report notes. “It is not dependent on the individual achieving certain milestones in his or her spiritual life.”
The report determined that the Richmond office’s investigation was unlawful: “There appeared to be no legitimate law-enforcement purpose for investigating this priest.”
The report, which was compiled by the Committee and Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, was issued in response to a 2023 leaked <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/fbi-anti-catholic-memo.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">memo</a> from the Richmond FBI field office that revealed the agency attempting to link “Radical-Traditionalist Catholic ideology” to violent racism and the “far-right white nationalist movement.”
It found that the Richmond office was gathering intelligence on “Radical-Traditionalist Catholics &#8220;(RTC), a group which, the committee notes, FBI staff couldn’t even define.
A presentation titled “Traditionalist Catholicism Overview” outlined their “core ideology and beliefs.”
“Core concepts” included the Traditional Latin Mass, “conservative family values/roles,” a “rejection of modernity,” and a “tendency toward isolationism.”
It alleged that radical Catholics’ main tenets include the “belief that mainline Catholicism is illegitimate” and were accused of holding “hardline positions on abortion, LGBTQ matters, and interreligious dialogue.”
It also claimed that RTC contains “apocalyptic overtones,” “rigid fundamentalism [and] integralism,” and an “undertone of antisemitism.”
In its information gathering, the FBI used “politically biased and anti-Catholic source material,” the report notes. Many of the articles they cited openly accuse Catholics of being white supremacists. One article titled “The Catholic Church has a Visible White Power Faction” from Sojourner, a progressive Christian publication, was <a href="https://sojo.net/magazine/august-2020/catholic-church-has-visible-white-power-faction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taken down</a> at one point because of misleading statements that editors claimed “called into question the entire substance of the article.”
The FBI also relied heavily on the Southern Poverty Law Center, a “far-left, anti-religion group that focuses on labeling conservative leaning groups as &#8216;hate&#8217; groups.” The SPLC considers groups like Focus on the Family, a global evangelical ministry widely popular in Christian circles, to be hate groups for opposing LGBTQ and abortion.
“The FBI analysts who developed the Richmond memorandum relied on literature with an inherent prejudice against people of faith and those with widely-held, deeply personal views of the sanctity of life,” the Committee notes.
Though former FBI director Christopher Wray minimized the significance of the 2023 memo, saying that it was a single product of a single office, the committee found that the Richmond office was working with FBI headquarters and that its “religious liberty abuses were more widespread than the FBI initially admitted and led the public to believe.”
Employees worked with FBI headquarters to develop a “Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report” for external use. They pitched the project to headquarters in December 2022, a month after the memo was created. It was later abandoned after the memo was leaked to the public.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said in a <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/265497/judiciary-committee-fbi-spied-on-catholic-priest-for-not-divulging-info-on-parishioner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> to the Catholic News Agency that lawmakers “knew the Biden-Wray FBI was targeting Catholics, but new documents obtained by the committee — thanks to the leadership of FBI Director [Kash] Patel — shows that it was worse than anyone thought.”
“Contrary to Director Wray’s statements, the targeting of Catholics went beyond the Richmond Field Office and extended not to just offices across the country but around the world.”

Rosary Beads in Hands of Catholic Woman

Biden FBI Spied On Catholic Priest Who Refused To Disclose Private Conversations With Parishioner

Biden Administration

Catholic Church

Christopher Wray

Virginia

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mourned the deaths of three people killed when a missile launched by an Israel Defense Forces tank inadvertently struck a Catholic church in Gaza.
On Thursday morning, a stray missile struck the Holy Family Church; nine people were also injured, one of whom is in critical condition.
&#8220;Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza&#8217;s Holy Family Church,&#8221; Netanyahu said, as Israel National News <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/411846">reported</a>. &#8220;Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful. We are grateful to Pope Leo for his words of comfort. Israel is investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting Holy Family Church on Thursday morning. One of the injured is in critical condition. civilians and holy sites.&#8221;
“Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty,” Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Oren Marmorstein <a href="https://x.com/OrenMarmorstein/status/1945790701280649412?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet">stated</a> on X. “The IDF is examining this incident, the circumstances of which are still unclear, and the results of the investigation will be published transparently. Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians.”
The IDF issued a statement saying, &#8220;The IDF is aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review. The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them.&#8221;
A telegram sent by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on behalf of Pope Leo <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-demands-ceasefire-after-gazas-catholic-church-hit-apparent-israeli-strike">read</a>, &#8220;His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, and he assures the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, and the whole parish community of his spiritual closeness.” Pope Leo also apparently called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
The terrorist group still holds roughly 50 hostages from its October 7, 2023, massacre of over 1,200 Israelis. Although only 20 are believed to be alive, Hamas has not released them or the bodies of the dead hostages.

Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Meets With Congressional Lawmakers On Capitol Hill

‘Every Innocent Life Lost Is A Tragedy’: Netanyahu’s Statement After IDF Mistakenly Hits Catholic Church

Benjamin Netanyahu

Gaza

Global Politics

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

World

WASHINGTON—Asked about a Catholic bishop in California who told illegal immigrants they no longer have to go to Sunday mass, White House Border Czar Tom Homan did not mince words.
&#8220;This is BS,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire in response to news that San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas issued a decree on July 8 dispensing those in his diocese from attending Mass &#8220;due to potential immigration enforcement actions by civil authorities&#8221; if they have &#8220;genuine fear of immigration enforcement actions.&#8221; His dispensation is in effect until &#8220;such time as this decree is revoked or amended.&#8221;
The bishop was referring to President Donald Trump&#8217;s immigration actions, which include ICE raids throughout the country. Rojas stated that he is &#8220;guided by the Church&#8217;s mission to care for the spiritual welfare of all entrusted to my care, particularly those who face fear or hardship.&#8221;
Homan dismissed the announcement, saying, &#8220;I do not know of a single incident of a church arrest.&#8221;
The bishop&#8217;s decree may stem in part from the Trump administration&#8217;s reversal of a Biden-era policy blocking immigration officials from making arrests at schools, houses of worship, or other &#8220;sensitive locations.&#8221; The Department of Homeland Security said in January that it would not &#8220;tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.&#8221;
&#8220;We would only go in if there was a violent criminal who was actively hiding out there or something,&#8221; Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire, suggesting that an arrest at a church only might occur if an MS-13 gang member was inside.
The Diocese of San Bernardino did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.

White House Border Czar Tom Homan Speaks To Media At White House

Tom Homan Has Some Choice Words For The California Bishop Who Said Illegals Can Skip Mass

Illegal Immigation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Tom Homan

On Wednesday, I had a pretty incredible experience. I went to the Vatican for an event at St. Peter&#8217;s Square that’s held every Wednesday when the Pope holds a general audience.
It’s an amazing event. There are tens of thousands of people — divided by country of origin — who gather in St. Peter&#8217;s Square from all over the world. It&#8217;s a reminder that godly, Biblical values are the guiding force for billions of people around the world. The world seems like a very dark place from time to time, but the reality is that if you stick to eternal values, it does make the world a brighter place.
The Pope came in his vehicle, drove around, greeted the entire audience, and then he came up in the center of St. Peter&#8217;s Square, right in front of the basilica, and gave an address about the Bible which was read out loud in a variety of different languages.
I got to sit up there near where the Pope was. What the Pope said was quite beautiful. He quoted from the Book of John, the story about the Pool of Bethesda, in which Jesus goes to the Pool of Bethesda, where there are people who are ill and people who are paralyzed. There&#8217;s a man there who&#8217;s been sick and infirm for 38 years. And Jesus goes to that man and he tells him that he ought to get up, take his mat with him, and walk.
And the Pope said we should all reflect on Jesus&#8217; statement. At that moment when we feel stuck and trapped in a dead end, instead of allowing that to become an excuse for others to take care of us, we should not allow this to become a justification to avoid making decisions about our lives. Instead, we should get away from fatalism and embrace personal responsibility.
It is these kinds of messages that are implicit in the Biblical narrative that the Pope is spreading, and that is a wonderful thing for our civilization.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2220-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
I&#8217;ve talked about this before — I&#8217;m an Orthodox Jew. Obviously. I don&#8217;t have a dog in the fight when it comes to internal battles over doctrine in Catholicism, except to the extent that the Catholic Church remains a lodestone for Western civilization, a great spreader of Biblical values to humanity.
In the same way, there are Protestant churches that do the same. People of God, people of the book, people of the Bible are spreading eternal values. It is worth acknowledging that and honoring that.
That&#8217;s actually what I said to the Pope when I had an opportunity to meet him. I handed him a letter asking for an interview and introduced myself. You&#8217;re supposed to bring the Pope a gift.
I explained who I was. (Obviously, he has a lot of things to do, so I doubt he&#8217;s a regular listener to my show.) At this point, I explained to him that I was there to pay honor to the fact that he was representative of biblical values in the world. Then I added, “I happen to have been a devout White Sox fan since the time I was a child.”
Of course, Pope Leo is a White Sox fan. He recently spoke at Comiskey Park via video to some 30,000 people.
I told him that while he is Catholic and I am Jewish, one of the miracles that we can agree on is the 2005 White Sox winning the World Series. I brought with me from my personal collection a 2005 World Series White Sox baseball signed by the entire team, and gave it to him.
He seemed a little bit surprised, not by the fact that I was giving a gift, but because it was a gift and not just me showing him something cool, I suppose. You could see him crack a bit of a smile as he received it. He was pretty delighted by it.
So it was really a terrific experience. Honestly, the entire event was amazing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It was an honor to meet His Holiness, <a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pontifex</a> in Vatican City today, and to thank him for standing up for Biblical values in a chaotic world…and to present him with a signed 2005 White Sox World Series baseball I had in my collection (we’re both fans). <a href="https://t.co/hxlhUnKU7F">pic.twitter.com/hxlhUnKU7F</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1935350580458733762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
My impression of him is that Pope Leo seems to be a man who has enmeshed himself in the office. And when you meet the Pope, you can see he’s a deeply humble man. You can tell that right away just from meeting him. And you could see the sheer joy that he had, I think, from getting the baseball, which is such a small thing for this man who has the weight of the spiritual fate of over a billion people on his shoulders.
I share that because there are a lot of moments in the political world that are not uplifting. There are a lot of moments that are fraught, that feel as though darkness is encroaching.
And so, there needs to be a meeting of the minds between all of us who believe in Biblical values, and that those Biblical values ought to be purveyed. It&#8217;s one of the reasons why I have encouraged people who are Catholic to go to church, people who are Protestant to go to church, and Jews to go to synagogue and relearn their traditions and engage with those traditions.
I&#8217;m very much in favor of the strengthening of the Catholic Church and the strengthening of Protestant churches all over the United States and the rest of the West.
I&#8217;m very much in favor of people reengaging with the values that made the West what it was in the first place.

Pope Leo XIV Arrives To Lead His Weekly General Audience At St Peter’s Square In The Vatican On June 18, 2025.

I Met The Pope. It Was Amazing.

Ben Shapiro

Bible

Catholics

Italy

Major League Baseball

Opinion

Pope Leo

The Vatican

VATICAN CITY — Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro met with Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square, thanking him for his &#8220;strength in standing for Biblical values in a world of darkness.&#8221;
Shapiro was granted a rare opportunity to meet with the pope during the baciamano — a gesture of reverence traditionally reserved for heads of state and diplomats. Shapiro recounted a brief but warm exchange with the pontiff during their meeting.
“I said, ‘Your Holiness, I wanted to express my appreciation for your strength in standing for Biblical values in a world of darkness,’” Shapiro said.
Then, offering a moment of levity, he added: “Also, I’m a lifelong White Sox fan. So while you’re Catholic and I’m Jewish, I think a miracle we can both agree on is the 2005 White Sox winning the World Series.” Shapiro then offered the pope a personal gift, “He smiled at my remark, and then I handed him a White Sox 2005 team signed baseball. He asked if it was a gift, and seemed surprised and delighted that it was — you can see it on the tape.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="I Met The Pope...PLUS SCOTUS Hands Matt Walsh A Win!" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bN2KsIyajnc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Shapiro concluded, “I believe this is a man who truly lives in joy.”
Catholics customarily kiss the ring as part of this tradition, honoring the pope as the successor of Saint Peter. Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew, did not take part in that particular ritual, but approached the pope with visible courtesy and deference, recognizing the significance of the moment.
“The pope is, unsurprisingly, deeply humble,” Shapiro told The Daily Wire. “You can gather that from him in an instant.”
Shapiro described the event as “beautiful — a reminder that Biblical values span the globe, across languages and borders.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It was an honor to meet His Holiness, <a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pontifex</a> in Vatican City today, and to thank him for standing up for Biblical values in a chaotic world…and to present him with a signed 2005 White Sox World Series baseball I had in my collection (we’re both fans). <a href="https://t.co/hxlhUnKU7F">pic.twitter.com/hxlhUnKU7F</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1935350580458733762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The general audience opened with a reading from the Gospel of John: “Jesus, seeing him lying there and knowing that he had been in that condition for a long time, said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’” (John 5:6)
Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis series on the Jubilee theme “Jesus Christ, Our Hope,” reflecting on the healing of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. He emphasized Christ’s offer of interior healing and urged those present to bring their suffering to God “with faith, without fear.”
As is customary, the pope greeted delegations in multiple languages and concluded the audience with the recitation of the Pater Noster and his apostolic blessing. He also issued a public appeal for peace, citing ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Israel, and Iran.
Today’s audience is one of the last for the general public in Rome, as announced by the Vatican earlier this week. Pope Leo XIV has restored the tradition for the pope to reside during the hottest summer months in the mountain town of Castel Gandolfo. It will be from there that the pope will continue his public and private audiences until August 17.
It seems Providence was, indeed, at work for Shapiro—and all who gathered to see the Roman Pontiff, today.

mixcollage-18-jun-2025-11-29-am-4875_720

Here’s What Ben Shapiro Said To The Pope At The Vatican

Vatican

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered New York courts to reconsider a case in which the state forced Catholic and Anglican nuns, Catholic dioceses, Christian churches, and faith-based social ministries to pay for their employees’ abortions.
The case, <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.wmJVV7EIOKgMqWuqPA8IcVsJ07WAeiFBuLy0jUj8eItjneP6UJdM3CTs1HhxsCCtXmPZGdQBQzUXpy1zS9eJUOS2aNloDvyCIdEPPe2YSZHZBxZdNB6RpqlI0tPWI7l9E14K_03HZEuPE3hkcx2fMUSyQ63zYk0dEzg0x5dq45YpE12w9VZ7X5-2BCSHojkEG5GhTxSEBpdsKU-2F3K1QrAcJyEWsgtRkDwcU40iQUik8SMvQV9G6UPoh3vgWW7vvd0gOy-2FqxpSJHBxrZwab8G8xn29PqA-2BRkHWRYm0fl-2B7snVYimzkEiMKB4sW1Trm-2F6-2FCGTM9yEq5YJO1mWE-2BZQFjF31cliQRinS-2FR9BqxGM82oWsQetEtjmPgy-2F-2F2oRoccUtDEFpnGk9BfiigDntWCWu3vXAB1idFL-2FJZ8MjmPaf9dwa91k8POb-2B4coDhdksWsV6o9bZxbl-2Bihku4WXhfXwHiiK-2B7ySxyikWI-2F5nAFDdnLSIy5HioU67w23epBt4MbKqcZQ0uA" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn%3Du001.wmJVV7EIOKgMqWuqPA8IcVsJ07WAeiFBuLy0jUj8eItjneP6UJdM3CTs1HhxsCCtXmPZGdQBQzUXpy1zS9eJUOS2aNloDvyCIdEPPe2YSZHZBxZdNB6RpqlI0tPWI7l9E14K_03HZEuPE3hkcx2fMUSyQ63zYk0dEzg0x5dq45YpE12w9VZ7X5-2BCSHojkEG5GhTxSEBpdsKU-2F3K1QrAcJyEWsgtRkDwcU40iQUik8SMvQV9G6UPoh3vgWW7vvd0gOy-2FqxpSJHBxrZwab8G8xn29PqA-2BRkHWRYm0fl-2B7snVYimzkEiMKB4sW1Trm-2F6-2FCGTM9yEq5YJO1mWE-2BZQFjF31cliQRinS-2FR9BqxGM82oWsQetEtjmPgy-2F-2F2oRoccUtDEFpnGk9BfiigDntWCWu3vXAB1idFL-2FJZ8MjmPaf9dwa91k8POb-2B4coDhdksWsV6o9bZxbl-2Bihku4WXhfXwHiiK-2B7ySxyikWI-2F5nAFDdnLSIy5HioU67w23epBt4MbKqcZQ0uA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1750171062531000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Wl1ajChm1jjIAEOq-vAp7">Diocese of Albany v. Harris</a>, involved the nuns and their fellow plaintiffs suing over the New York requirement in 2017. “When the New York State Department of Financial Services initially proposed the abortion mandate for health care plans, it promised to exempt all employers with religious objections. But after facing pressure from abortion activists, New York narrowed the exemption to cover only religious groups that primarily teach religion and primarily serve and hire those who share their faith,” the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit law firm, <a href="https://www.lifenews.com/2025/06/16/supreme-court-rules-for-catholic-nuns-fighting-abortion-mandate/">noted</a>.
But New York courts upheld the mandate, at which point the firms Becket and Jones Day appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. In 2021, the Supreme Court reversed the state courts’ decision and told them to reconsider it after Becket won the case, <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.wmJVV7EIOKgMqWuqPA8IcVsJ07WAeiFBuLy0jUj8eIsBV6B2fmopmEPfhx7n-2Fvn2E-2BCGL9ikjm4gijh-2BScV9C9TNs3D9GUfEAcl9sUY8rHHBPV7rj5zDHZ3ylgxdVfhIFTS0_03HZEuPE3hkcx2fMUSyQ63zYk0dEzg0x5dq45YpE12w9VZ7X5-2BCSHojkEG5GhTxSEBpdsKU-2F3K1QrAcJyEWsgtRkDwcU40iQUik8SMvQV9G6UPoh3vgWW7vvd0gOy-2FqxpSJHBxrZwab8G8xn29PqA-2BRkHWRYm0fl-2B7snVYimzkEiMKB4sW1Trm-2F6-2FCGTM9yEq5YJO1mWE-2BZQFjF31cliQbFd2GXlpGjkQvBYXCTVufaGRtfi4w6Xzkxqo0lx35xqsydd2FsI7-2FAEawAP2aukNR3VjzaO9cdOxyEzK9jbjTnxMm7JOqr15rToNcDMlATzXd5h9qg9ubyJOb2GbsFuAu6WUox19sqTKIEii7ivDbNTZ-2Fp9qUI7Hgd45QGcEDY4">Fulton v. City of Philadelphia</a>, but the state courts stated that Fulton was inapplicable to the Diocese case.
Then, last week, Becket won a unanimous victory in <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.wmJVV7EIOKgMqWuqPA8IcVsJ07WAeiFBuLy0jUj8eIujB-2FCd-2BrsvGEWKhj-2Fijzx76evWChPJeqTsjiWS7svnAA-3D-3D2brI_03HZEuPE3hkcx2fMUSyQ63zYk0dEzg0x5dq45YpE12w9VZ7X5-2BCSHojkEG5GhTxSEBpdsKU-2F3K1QrAcJyEWsgtRkDwcU40iQUik8SMvQV9G6UPoh3vgWW7vvd0gOy-2FqxpSJHBxrZwab8G8xn29PqA-2BRkHWRYm0fl-2B7snVYimzkEiMKB4sW1Trm-2F6-2FCGTM9yEq5YJO1mWE-2BZQFjF31cliQfWAymowTHMHK0UlhXb5IhhEOJKrWB-2FPy4iDNo47XON-2FfZLqZZhKu-2FsZBTrJgz47Km8gvmSV-2BdS9K9x2KBd1d4kHb-2BJpuYZxOouMpN1r4syhT4-2BrYIHh6wjjv-2BmXRx6PWscMzRBSqUAUA2ipqkzqbKHuqdofGuaWGyyuRR-2F1czNe" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn%3Du001.wmJVV7EIOKgMqWuqPA8IcVsJ07WAeiFBuLy0jUj8eIujB-2FCd-2BrsvGEWKhj-2Fijzx76evWChPJeqTsjiWS7svnAA-3D-3D2brI_03HZEuPE3hkcx2fMUSyQ63zYk0dEzg0x5dq45YpE12w9VZ7X5-2BCSHojkEG5GhTxSEBpdsKU-2F3K1QrAcJyEWsgtRkDwcU40iQUik8SMvQV9G6UPoh3vgWW7vvd0gOy-2FqxpSJHBxrZwab8G8xn29PqA-2BRkHWRYm0fl-2B7snVYimzkEiMKB4sW1Trm-2F6-2FCGTM9yEq5YJO1mWE-2BZQFjF31cliQfWAymowTHMHK0UlhXb5IhhEOJKrWB-2FPy4iDNo47XON-2FfZLqZZhKu-2FsZBTrJgz47Km8gvmSV-2BdS9K9x2KBd1d4kHb-2BJpuYZxOouMpN1r4syhT4-2BrYIHh6wjjv-2BmXRx6PWscMzRBSqUAUA2ipqkzqbKHuqdofGuaWGyyuRR-2F1czNe&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1750171062531000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ix941axI3_-7_2zV2eYsR">Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor &amp; Industry Review Commission</a>. That case involved the court ruling in favor of a Catholic charity that sued the state of Wisconsin after it was forced to pay certain unemployment taxes while other religious organizations were exempted. That ruling led to the court’s decision to remand the Diocese decision back to the New York Court of Appeals.
“The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted,” the Supreme Court <a href="https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20250616093307/Supreme-Court-Order-List-6-16-2025-Diocese-of-Albany.pdf">wrote</a>. “The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the Court of Appeals for New York for further consideration in light of Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor &amp; Industry Review Comm’n.”
“New York wants to browbeat nuns into paying for abortions for the great crime of serving all those in need,” Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, stated. “For the second time in four years, the Supreme Court has made clear that bully tactics like these have no place in our nation or our law. We are confident that these religious groups will finally be able to care for the most vulnerable consistent with their beliefs.”
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-sides-with-christian-charity-targeted-by-wisconsin">Supreme Court Sides With Christian Charity Targeted By Wisconsin</a>

Nun folding hands holding a rosary praying

SCOTUS Gives Victory To Nuns Fighting New York Abortion Mandate

Abortion

New York

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a Catholic charity that sued Wisconsin after it was mandated to pay certain unemployment taxes while other religious organizations were exempted.
In its <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-154_2b82.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruling</a>, the court struck down a decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court that said the Catholic Charities Bureau had to pay taxes on unemployment compensation. The court said that the interpretation of state tax law by Wisconsin&#8217;s Supreme Court violated the First Amendment.
&#8220;The First Amendment mandates government neutrality between religions and subjects any state-sponsored denominational preference to strict scrutiny,&#8221; Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the majority decision. &#8220;The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s application of [Wisconsin law] imposed a denominational preference by differentiating between religions based on theological lines.&#8221;
Catholic Charities Bureau is an organization that provides services to poor people, the disabled, the elderly, and children with special needs as a ministry of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Superior. According to its <a href="https://ccbsuperior.org/about-us/">website</a>, it provides around 50 programs to over 10,500 people.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion, saying that in addition to violating the First Amendment, the Wisconsin Supreme Court violated the church autonomy doctrine, which means that a religious institution is not defined by any corporate entity it may form.
&#8220;I would reverse for an additional reason — that the Wisconsin Supreme Court violated the church autonomy doctrine,&#8221; Thomas wrote. &#8220;However incorporated, Catholic Charities and its subentities are, from a religious perspective, a mere arm of the Diocese of Superior. The Wisconsin Supreme Court should have deferred to that understanding, and its failure to do so amounted to an unlawful attempt by the State to redefine the Diocese’s internal governance.&#8221;
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
Thomas noted that the government could not use entities created by religious institutions as a backdoor means to regulate their internal governance.
&#8220;In short, the corporation is made for the church, not the church for the corporation. Both the basic principles of church autonomy and the history of religious corporations establish that religious institutions are more than the corporate entities that they form,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;It follows that the government may not use such entities as a means of regulating the internal governance of religious institutions.&#8221;
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson also issued a separate concurring opinion.

DOGE-FED-BUILDINGS

Supreme Court Sides With Christian Charity Targeted By Wisconsin

Clarence Thomas

First Amendment

Religious Liberty

Sonia Sotomayor

Wisconsin

Vice President JD Vance will attend Pope Leo XIV&#8217;s inaugural Mass on Sunday at the Vatican, his office announced.
&#8220;Vice President JD Vance will lead a U.S. Delegation to Vatican City to attend the inaugural Mass of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV,&#8221; the vice president&#8217;s office said in a statement Thursday.
Second Lady Usha Vance will accompany her husband, and so will Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife Jeanette Rubio. Rubio is also a Catholic.
Vance is the first Catholic convert to serve as vice president, his office noted. He met with the late Pope Francis on Easter Sunday, the day before the pontiff died at age 88.
Back in 2013, Joe Biden, then vice president and also a Catholic, led the delegation to Pope Francis&#8217; inaugural mass.
Pope Leo XIV, who is 69, was elected the first American pope by the conclave of cardinals on May 8.
Leo, who was previously Cardinal Robert Prevost, was born in Chicago and spent much of his priesthood in Peru until 2023, when he was made a cardinal by Pope Francis.
Francis made Prevost the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, the Vatican official responsible for recommending priests to be made bishops around the world.
Prevost has been strong on Church doctrine, but he is seen as a centrist on political issues.
In February, before becoming pope, Leo <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-leo-twitter-x-trump-vance-criticism-9c311123985ebce282877071f75b6d80" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appears</a> to have shared an article on X from a Catholic outlet with the headline, &#8220;Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn&#8217;t ask us to rank our love for others.&#8221;
The new pope has also previously <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/15/vp-jd-vance-rubio-to-attend-inaugural-mass-of-pope-leo-xiv/83644101007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a> several posts critical of the Trump administration&#8217;s immigration policy.
Despite any political differences, President Trump offered a congratulatory message after Leo was announced as the new pope.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114473380014194441" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on Truth Social.
Trump also attended Francis’ funeral in Rome last month.
Vance congratulated the new pope the day he was elected.
&#8220;Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election! I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!&#8221; Vance <a href="https://x.com/JDVance/status/1920550545061810261" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X.
During his last visit, Vance and his wife and children attended the Passion of Christ Mass celebrated by a cardinal marking Good Friday at St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica.

U.S. Vice President James David Vance, along with his wife

JD Vance To Attend Pope Leo XIV’s Inaugural Mass In Rome

JD Vance To Attend Pope Leo XIV's Inaugural Mass In Rome

Catholic

JD Vance

Religion

&#8220;The View&#8221; host Sunny Hostin, who criticized the newly-elected Pope Leo XIV on Friday because his views on marriage and the LGBTQ+ community aligned with the Catholic Church&#8217;s traditional teachings, appeared to reverse course after learning that he had black heritage.
Hostin, who has often touted her own &#8220;devout&#8221; Catholic faith in spite of her support for abortion and other social issues not embraced by the Church, said it was a &#8220;chef&#8217;s kiss&#8221; moment when she&#8217;d learned that Pope Leo XIV — formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost from Chicago — had &#8220;Haitian and black roots.&#8221;
WATCH:
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After denouncing him last week, The View&#8217;s race baiter, Sunny Hostin does a 180-flip-flop on Pope Leo once she found out of his black ancestry: 
&#8220;As it turns out, our new American pope has Haitian and black roots! So, we actually have a black pope! &#8230; It&#8217;s a chef&#8217;s kiss for me… <a href="https://t.co/EYzfI7jbYR">pic.twitter.com/EYzfI7jbYR</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/1921981640072364101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;There&#8217;s one other thing that&#8217;s also very interesting to me because President Trump, as you remember, called Haiti a certain type of country,&#8221; Hostin began, recalling Trump&#8217;s assertions that Haiti was a &#8220;s***hole country.&#8221;
&#8220;As it turns out, our new American pope has Haitian and black roots! So, we actually have a black pope! Apparently — it&#8217;s like a chef&#8217;s kiss for me — so apparently both of his maternal grandparents are described as black, Haitian, or mulatto in several census documents. And on their marriage license, his birth — the grandfather&#8217;s birthplace is Haiti, listed as Haiti, her birthplace is listed as born in New Orleans. They were identified as people of color, but in 1920 when they migrated to Chicago, the census reflected their race as white.&#8221;
&#8220;So I&#8217;m loving everything about this new pope,&#8221; cohost Ana Navarro interjected.
&#8220;So, I’m loving it. I’m really enjoying it,&#8221; Hostin agreed. &#8220;And it’s good to have a black pope!&#8221;
Just three days earlier, during Friday&#8217;s broadcast of the ABC midday talk show, Hostin raised her concerns about Pope Leo XIV — primarily citing his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/catholic-hosts-of-the-view-were-hoping-for-a-new-pope-who-was-less-catholic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previous statements</a> about the LGBTQ+ community.
&#8220;I’m a little concerned about this choice for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2012, he gave an address to bishops, and he lamented ‘the popular culture fostered and sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel.’ And that’s a quote,” she complained. “And then he cited the homosexual lifestyle and alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.&#8221;

The View’s “Behind The Table” Podcast

Flip-Flop: ‘The View’ Host Approves Of New Pope After Learning He Has Black Ancestry

Flip-Flop: 'The View' Host Approves Of New Pope After Learning He Has Black Ancestry

Media

Politics

Race

Sunny Hostin

The View

There&#8217;s quite a mystery unfolding right now at the highest levels of one of the largest churches on the planet. And it&#8217;s a pretty confounding question: Where exactly is the archbishop of Canterbury, the senior bishop of the Church of England? No one has any idea. To be clear, this isn&#8217;t a missing persons case. The post has been vacant for more than four months. And yet, to this day, the position still hasn&#8217;t been filled. As of May 12th, 2025, there is still no archbishop of Canterbury. And at least on paper, this is something of a head-scratcher. Here you have a Protestant church with something like 26 million baptized members all over the world, and hundreds of thousands of active members, by some estimates. It&#8217;s known as the &#8220;mother church of the Anglican tradition.&#8221; And yet, as of right now, there&#8217;s no clarity whatsoever as to when they&#8217;ll pick a new archbishop to lead the church.
There doesn&#8217;t seem to be any urgency, either. Lawyers are <a href="https://anglican.ink/2025/05/08/process-to-elect-next-archbishop-of-canterbury-an-omnishambles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> getting involved for one reason or another. The latest estimate is that it&#8217;ll be several more weeks, at a minimum, until the Church of England decides who&#8217;s in charge. And it&#8217;s not as if this vacancy was a surprise. The previous archbishop didn&#8217;t die suddenly or anything like that. Instead, it was announced months in advance that the archbishop would resign, before he finally stepped down in January. But here we are. It&#8217;s now May, and the church of England still has no archbishop.
The contrast with the Catholic Church, especially after the election of Pope Leo the 14th, could not be any more clear. On the one hand, you have total dysfunction and chaos among the Anglicans. On the other, the Catholics had a new pope two days after the conclave started. When Pope Francis died, everyone heard about it. People flooded into Rome from all over the world. And when his successor was selected, there were celebrations all over the globe. Meanwhile, almost no one has even realized that there isn&#8217;t an archbishop of Canterbury anymore. In fact, if you ask a random person on the street about the archbishop of Canterbury, there&#8217;s a very good chance that no one will have any idea what you&#8217;re talking about.
One of the reasons for this distinction is that, for quite some time, the Anglicans have been effectively leaderless, even when they&#8217;ve had an archbishop. The monarchs in England stopped caring about religion, and their bishops don&#8217;t really have the authority to do anything. So in response, they became &#8220;progressive&#8221; in a desperate bid for relevance that obviously hasn&#8217;t panned out. The Anglicans tied their fortunes to the King&#8217;s power back in the days of Henry the 8th. But once that power waned, they had no answer whatsoever. We&#8217;re left now with a very trendy church &#8212; one that supports gay marriage and so-called LGBT clergy &#8212; that also has few core guiding principles, no real authority, and ultimately no archbishop. The Church of England became liberal to win over the liberals, but in the end, the liberals don&#8217;t care. And in the process, they&#8217;ve lost the conservatives, too. So now, no one even notices the fact that, for several months, there has been no archbishop of Canterbury.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1594-the-left-discovered-the-new-pope-is-actually-catholic-and-they-re-horrified?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a>
Billions of people noticed the lack of a pope, though, because the pope actually stands for something. In particular, he&#8217;s the successor of Saint Peter and the vicar of Christ, whose responsibility includes teaching and interpreting Catholic doctrine. And in the Catholic church, unlike the Church of England, doctrine does not change on a moment&#8217;s notice. It isn&#8217;t revised because trans activists or feminists or corporate overlords start screeching at maximum volume. The doctrine remains consistent because it&#8217;s not a response to political demands. It&#8217;s not beholden to polls or media pressure. This is one of the reasons why people care about the identity of the pope. It&#8217;s why they notice when the papacy becomes vacant. When you teach the word of God instead of reading the latest talking points from the Human Rights Campaign, people pay a lot more attention.
Or at least, most people pay attention. Not everyone seems to understand the implications of the selection of Pope Leo, or the point of the papacy in general. And in particular, at the moment, there appears to be a genuine panic among the media and LGBT activists about the very unsettling and incomprehensible prospect that the new pope might actually be Catholic, if you can imagine that. They&#8217;re &#8220;unearthing&#8221; some of the pope&#8217;s previous comments on same-sex relationships and abortion, for example. And they can&#8217;t believe what they&#8217;re seeing.
Here&#8217;s the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/09/pope-leo-xiv-lgbtq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guardian&#8217;s reporting</a> on the dismay that&#8217;s now supposedly rampant among Catholics: &#8220;After years of sympathetic and inclusive comments from Pope Francis, LGBTQ+ Catholics expressed concern on Thursday about hostile remarks made more than a decade ago by Father Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo the 14th, in which he condemned what he called the &#8216;homosexual lifestyle&#8217; and &#8216;the redefinition of marriage&#8217; as &#8216;at odds with the Gospel.&#8217; In a 2012 address to the world synod of bishops, the man who now leads the church said that &#8216;Western mass media is extraordinarily effective in fostering within the general public enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel – for example abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia.'&#8221;
Over at &#8220;The View,&#8221; self-described &#8220;devout Catholic&#8221; Sunny Hostin offered her expert analysis of these comments. She begins by explaining that she thinks papal conclaves are &#8220;exciting&#8221; because of the whole white smoke/black smoke thing. And then she articulates her greatest fear about the new pope. Watch:
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Purported &quot;devout Catholic&quot; Sunny Hostin fears Pope Leo XIV because of he believes marriage is between a man and a woman: &quot;I&#39;m a little concerned about this choice for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2012 he gave an address to bishops, and he lamented &#39;the popular culture fostered and… <a href="https://t.co/HirlDlUQyq">pic.twitter.com/HirlDlUQyq</a>
&mdash; Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/1920861014561530227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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As a general rule, if you&#8217;re a Catholic in public life &#8212; especially one who delivers opinions and analysis every day &#8212; nobody should be surprised to learn that you are a Catholic. Your Catholicism should be evident in your worldview, politics, ideology, et cetera. But you would never know that people like Sunny Hostin are &#8220;Catholic&#8221; based on what they say and do every day. Therefore, she has to declare that, contrary to all outward appearances, she is indeed a &#8220;devout Catholic.&#8221; Even though she rejects essentially all of the fundamental moral teachings of the Catholic church &#8212; two years ago, she was <a href="https://x.com/NickFondacaro/status/1633500417698181121" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanding</a> female priests &#8212; that&#8217;s not important. The important thing is that Sunny Hostin likes looking for the white smoke, and gets really excited during the conclaves. And based on her experience getting excited during conclaves, Sunny Hostin wants you to know that she&#8217;s very concerned about this new pope&#8217;s previous comments on gay marriage.
That&#8217;s when we heard from Ana Navarro, who describes herself as a &#8220;sinful Catholic&#8221; &#8212; as opposed to all the other Catholics apparently. And for her part, Navarro tried to calm Sunny Hostin down by explaining that the pope&#8217;s comments were from all the way back in 2012. And that&#8217;s plenty of time for fundamental church teachings to change, she says. Watch:
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Self-described &quot;sinful&quot; Catholic Ana Navarro points out that what Hostin was quoting was from 2012, and she hopes Leo has changed his mind about Catholic doctrine: &quot;Maybe, you know, with the weight of the papacy and the idea that he just said when he went out on the balcony that… <a href="https://t.co/8hbcaAVYwS">pic.twitter.com/8hbcaAVYwS</a>
&mdash; Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/1920862957065421147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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This is one of the better ways of illustrating why no one cares about the missing archbishop of Canterbury. In the Church of England, what Ana Navarro just said is totally plausible. Anglicans could very well change their fundamental positions in a matter of years.
But in the Catholic church, it&#8217;s a very different story. Of course this pope isn&#8217;t going to abolish 2,000 years of moral teaching for the sake of &#8220;accepting&#8221; LGBT lifestyles and validating LGBT &#8220;marriages.&#8221; And Pope Francis, for all the talk of his liberalism and his softer &#8220;tone&#8221; on these issues, didn&#8217;t do that either. Ana Navarro seems to think he did, but she&#8217;s wrong. Francis didn&#8217;t change church doctrine on gay marriage in any way. The church teaches, and has always taught, that the homosexual lifestyle is disordered and mortally sinful. Marriage can only occur between one man and one woman. Gay marriage is a contradiction in terms. There can&#8217;t be a gay marriage for the same reason that there can&#8217;t be a square circle. This is church teaching, whether the &#8220;devout Catholics&#8221; in the media like it or not.
At the moment, no one in the corporate press seems to realize that. Neither do many LGBT activists or academics, including people who describe themselves as Catholics. NBC News, for example, just ran this <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/pope-leo-xiv-lgbtq-catholics-francis-legacy-acceptance-rcna205690" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quote</a> from someone named Jason Steidl Jack, who identifies as a &#8220;gay Catholic and an assistant teaching professor of religious studies at St. Joseph’s University, New York.&#8221; Here&#8217;s what he had to say: “The church’s teaching, even under Pope Francis, remains incredibly homophobic, and the church goes on inventing new ways of being transphobic as it really avoids learning about trans people and their experiences.&#8221;
Again, this is a professor of religious studies at a supposedly Catholic university. And he&#8217;s openly rejecting some of the most fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church. In fact, he&#8217;s not just rejecting these teachings. He&#8217;s calling them hateful and ignorant. Of course, you can have that perspective. It&#8217;s a free country. This isn&#8217;t Canada or North Korea. You can mock whatever you want to mock, as long as Democrats don&#8217;t control the Justice Department. But I&#8217;ll make this as clear as I possibly can: If you publicly denounce fundamental tenets of the Catholic faith, then you&#8217;re not a Catholic. If you represent yourself as Catholic, for the purposes of speaking to NBC News or teaching a class at a Catholic university, even as you deny the teachings of Christ, then you are a fraud.
What we&#8217;re seeing with this panic over Pope Leo is precisely the reason why progressives can never actually be devout Catholics or devout members of any other ancient faith, for that matter. They can&#8217;t even be devout, patriotic Americans. They want to corrupt and destroy every institution that has existed for more than about 15 minutes. They deny timeless moral truths in principle. They despise tradition. They reject the wisdom of our ancestors. They believe that basically everyone who lived on Earth (and certainly every Catholic leader and theologian) has been wrong about essentially everything. They think that they alone hold the truths of the universe that nobody before them could see. If they are devoted disciples of any church, it is the Church of the Self. There is plenty of room for people like this in the Church of England, where nothing means anything, to the point that they don&#8217;t care if the archbishop disappears for half a year. But there cannot be room for people like this in the Catholic Church. For all his mistakes, the previous pope understood that. And based on these newly &#8220;unearthed&#8221; comments from Pope Leo &#8212; and the resulting howls from Left-wing activists &#8212; Catholics can be assured at the moment that the new pope understands it, too.

The Left Discovered The New Pope Is Actually Catholic And They’re Horrified

Leftists

LGBT

Liberals

Matt Walsh

The world eagerly awaits details about the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, who made history for being the first pontiff to hail from the United States.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, was born in Chicago, and according to one family member, he spent his leisure time doing two things that many Americans will instantly recognize. Pope Leo’s brother, John Provost, said that the newest head of the Catholic Church enjoys playing Wordle and just watched the Academy Award-winning film, “Conclave.”
“First we do Wordle ‘cause this is a regular thing, then we do Words with Friends,” John <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nbcnews/video/7502211263188225326?_r=1&amp;_t=ZP-8wCYrET9bMl">told</a> NBC News. “It’s something to keep his mind off life in the real world.&#8221;
He continued, referencing the red socks that Catholic cardinals are traditionally required to wear.
 &#8220;And then we talk about what’s going on and I said, ‘Well, do you have your red socks?’ That doesn&#8217;t go over well all the time. And then just that kind of stuff.&#8221;
“And I said, ‘Well are you ready for this?’ I said, ‘Did you watch the movie ‘Conclave’ so you know how to behave?” John said. “And he had just finished watching the movie ‘Conclave.’ So he knew how to behave. So it’s that kind of stuff because I wanted to take his mind off of it. You know, laugh about something because this is now an awesome responsibility.”
“Conclave,” directed by Edward Berger and starring Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, is a political thriller that explores the process of electing a new pope following the sudden death of the previous pontiff. It’s based on a 2016 thriller novel by the same name. 
In the film, the College of Cardinals convenes within the Vatican, and Lawrence uncovers hidden scandals and power struggles among the leading candidates, including revelations of corruption and personal indiscretions. 
Some practicing Catholics have <a href="https://www.missiodeicatholic.org/p/why-as-catholics-we-should-not-support">called the film</a> “blasphemous,” saying it “misaligns with our values” and “mocks the church.”
The real-life conclave began on Wednesday and concluded on Thursday, with Prevost selected as pope. He appeared before the assembled crowd in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday, addressing them in both Italian and Spanish.
&#8220;We still keep in our ears that weak but always courageous voice of Pope Francis blessing Rome,&#8221; Pope Leo said. &#8220;The Pope who blessed Rome gave his blessing to the world, to the whole world that morning on Easter Sunday.&#8221;

Pope Leo Recently Watched The Movie ‘Conclave,’ His Brother Says

Pope Leo Watched The Movie 'Conclave,' His Brother Claims

American-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is chosen as the next pope, the Trump administration signs a trade deal with the United Kingdom, and a Daily Wire investigation uncovers fraud in an African Aid group.
It’s Friday, May 9, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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<h2>A New Pope</h2>
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Topline: The world has a new pope – the first American in history — Pope Leo XIV.
A new pope was named on Thursday. Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native, was elected pope on the second day of the conclave. Leo XIV, the Church&#8217;s 267th pope, will lead 1.4 billion Catholics around the world.
Pope Leo appeared visibly emotional as he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and addressed the massive crowd in the square.
“Peace be with you all! Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the resurrected Christ, the good shepherd who has given up his life for God, and I should also like this greeting of peace to enter our hearts and your families and to all those people wherever they are. All peoples throughout the world, peace be with you.”
Leo was born in the United States, but spent much of his priesthood in Peru. He became Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru for eight years until 2023, when he was made a cardinal by Pope Francis. He also led the Augustinian Order. Francis then made Prevost the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops — this means he was a Vatican official responsible for recommending priests to be made bishops around the world. Prevost was not considered the most likely cardinal to become pope, but Vatican officials are often considered for the position.
Pope Leo has been strong on Church doctrine, but he has overall been seen as a centrist on political issues.
<h2>Trump Secures U.K. Trade Deal</h2>
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Topline: President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with the United Kingdom on Thursday, and the markets responded well amid hope of more trade deals to come.
Ever since President Trump rolled out his Liberation Day tariffs, he’s promised that U.S. trading partners would come to the negotiating table and that deals would follow — and on Thursday, we saw the first such deal. The president announced a “full and comprehensive” trade agreement to “cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come.”
&#8220;This morning, I&#8217;m thrilled to announce that we have reached a breakthrough trade deal with the United Kingdom,” Trump said. “Today is a victory day in World War II, we won the war together, so there could be no more perfect morning to reach this historic agreement.”
The president held firm on the ten percent universal tariff he put in place last month, but did offer concessions elsewhere –  for example, he agreed to lower the tariff on British automobiles from 27.5% to 10%, while the rate for steel and aluminum will fall to zero.
For their part, the British agreed to open their markets to American ethanol, beef, and poultry — the White House said that means billions of dollars in new profits for our farmers and ranchers. They also agreed to purchase $10 billion of Boeing airplanes in exchange for the elimination of U.S. tariffs on Rolls-Royce engines and plane parts. Tech stocks skyrocketed when it was announced that the Brits would also eliminate a digital tax on American tech companies.
Trump hinted that he was “very close” on “numerous deals,” adding that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would be heading to Switzerland for negotiations with China. He also made sure to note that, rather than taking a piecemeal approach with the rest of Europe, he’s working on a single comprehensive deal with all of the EU – but the president also suggested that future deals would be unlikely to lower tariffs to the same degree.
<h2>Fraud Uncovered In African Aid</h2>
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Topline: A new Daily Wire investigation uncovers how one government agency went to great lengths to block a DOGE audit.
The African Development Foundation was deemed a resistance hero by the media for stonewalling DOGE auditors, including locking their doors. A small federal agency with 30 employees and a $45 million budget, by law, the foundation is tasked with giving grants of up to $250,000 for economic development in Africa, and it’s only allowed to give to African-run entities.
Employees at the African Development Foundation refused to let DOGE in, and said they wouldn’t recognize Trump’s appointee to lead it – Peter Moracco, who was also dismantling USAID. They also filed a lawsuit claiming DOGE was intruding on their privacy. Ultimately, the Trump administration seized the building with the assistance of U.S. Marshals.
A Daily Wire investigation found that the African Development Foundation would give money to African organizations and then require them to redirect that money back to the United States to pay officials, their friends, or former employers. Americans who worked at the headquarters of this agency in D.C. were wired money from African entities.
“I literally have a receipt for $17,000 from Kenya to a woman who was working as the assistant to the African Development Foundation’s CEO,” Daily Wire Investigative Reporter Luke Rosiak told Morning Wire. “The CEO, CD Glin, would actually push unwanted projects on Africans as a way of steering money to his friends. In one case, they told African groups that they’d give a grant to manufacture COVID masks, but they had to subcontract it to Glin’s friend in Colorado. The African groups said there’s no demand for that, we already have all the COVID masks we need, but Glin didn’t care.”
USAID inspector general agents suspect that at least some of the refusal to cooperate with DOGE was an attempt to cover up criminal conduct. The African Development Foundation’s chief financial officer, Matthieu Zahui, repeatedly steered about a million dollars in grants and contracts to an African company called Ganiam Ltd. without competition. One of them was for “travel” during COVID, when international travel dropped precipitously. USAID IG seized Zahui’s phone and found that Ganiam was owned by Zahui’s friend, and every time he gave it a contract, the friend sent money to Zahui’s personal bank account. But Zahui was never arrested.

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Morning Brief: A New Pope, Trump Secures U.K. Trade Deal & Fraud Uncovered In African Aid

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