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Pope Leo XIV meets with JD Vance, Marco Rubio following pontiff’s opening Mass

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From LifeSiteNews

By Antonino Cambria

Vice President J.D. Vance, a Catholic, presented the new pontiff with a letter from President Trump inviting him to the White House, and a Chicago Bears jersey bearing the pontiff’s name.

Pope Leo XIV held a private audience with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who led an official American delegation to the Vatican for the pontiff’s inauguration Mass.

Leo XIV held the Monday morning meeting with Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both of whom are Catholic, just one day after the pontiff’s opening Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The officials discussed collaboration between Church and state, religious freedom, and ongoing international conflicts, per the Vatican.

Vance also presented the new pontiff with a letter from President Donald Trump inviting him to the White House, and a Chicago Bears jersey bearing the pontiff’s name and the number “XIV.”

“This morning, Monday, 19 May 2025, His Holiness Leo XIV received in audience the Vice President of the United States of America, the Honorable James David Vance, who subsequently met with His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations,” the Vatican said in a statement.

The Vatican noted that the discussion was cordial and emphasized that various issues, such as collaboration between Church and state, religious freedom, as well as international and humanitarian issues, were discussed.

“During the cordial talks held at the Secretariat of State, satisfaction was once again expressed at the existing good bilateral relations, and the collaboration between Church and State was discussed, as well as some matters of special relevance to ecclesial life and religious freedom,” the Vatican said.

“Finally, there was an exchange of views on some current international issues, during which hope was expressed that humanitarian law and international law be respected in areas of conflict and that there be a negotiated solution between the parties involved,” they added.

“I was humbled and honored to meet Pope Leo XIV and lead the presidential delegation to Rome for his inaugural address. We had a great conversation, and I know he is a true servant of God. I hope all Americans will join me in praying for the new pope as he begins his ministry,” Vance wrote in an X post following the audience.

Prior to being elected pope, Leo XIV appeared to share views opposed to those of Vance on the issue of immigration.

The article criticized the vice president for arguing that citizens owe more immediate responsibility to one’s own family members and country than to those overseas – a position taught by St. Thomas Aquinas and reiterated in the “social encyclicals” of the 19th- and 20th-century popes.

Rubio echoed Vance’s sentiments about the honor of meeting with Pope Leo XIV in an X post.

“May the Lord and our Blessed Mother bless and guide, [Pope Leo XIV],” he wrote.

Last week, Rubio discussed the new pontiff’s previous comments about the Trump administration’s immigration policies with reporters, stressing that they are not incompatible with the pontiff’s sentiments about showing compassion for migrants.

“We too are compassionate towards migrants; I would argue there’s nothing compassionate about mass migration,” the secretary of state said. “There’s nothing compassionate about open borders, that allows people to be trafficked here. There’s nothing compassionate … to the American people about flooding our country with individuals that are criminals and prey on our communities.”

As an American, Leo XIV’s relationship with the Trump administration on a number of issues, such as immigration, pro-life topics, and “climate change” policies, will be key to observe in order to help determine his own policies as pope.

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espionage

Declassified evidence reveals Obama admin meddling to undermine Trump’s 2016 win

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From LifeSiteNews

By Doug Mainwaring

Tulsi Gabbard released documents that ‘detail a treasonous conspiracy by officials at the highest levels of the Obama White House to subvert the will of the American people.’

President Barack Obama and his national security cabinet members manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Donald Trump, according to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, who just released a trove of newly declassified documents providing hard evidence of the Obama administration’s subterfuge.

On Friday, Gabbard released a series of statements making damning claims about the Obama administration’s actions “subverting the will of the American people and undermining our democratic republic.”

“For months preceding the 2016 election, the Intelligence Community shared a consensus view: Russia lacked the intent and capability to hack U.S. elections,” Gabbard wrote on X. “But weeks after President Trump’s historic 2016 victory defeating Hillary Clinton, everything changed.”

“On Dec 8, 2016, Intelligence Community officials prepared an assessment for the President’s Daily Brief, finding that Russia ‘did not impact recent U.S. election results’ by conducting cyber attacks on infrastructure,” Gabbard continued. “Before it could reach the President, it was abruptly pulled ‘based on new guidance.’ This key intelligence assessment was never published.

“The next day, top national security officials including FBI Dir James Comey, CIA Dir John Brennan and DNI James Clapper gathered at the Obama White House to discuss Russia,” Gabbard said. “Obama directed the Intelligence Community to create a new intelligence assessment that detailed Russian election meddling, even though it would contradict multiple intelligence assessments released over the previous several months.”

 

“Obama officials immediately leaned on their allies in the media to advance their falsehoods,” she noted. “Anonymous Intelligence Community sources leaked classified information to The Washington Post and others that Russia had intervened to hack the election in Trump’s favor.”

“On January 6, 2017, just days before President Trump took office, DNI Clapper unveiled the Obama-directed politicized assessment, a gross weaponization of intelligence that laid the groundwork for a years-long coup intended to subvert President Trump’s entire presidency,” Gabbard explained. “According to whistleblower emails shared with us today, we know Clapper and Brennan used the baseless discredited Steele Dossier as a source to push this false narrative in the intelligence assessment.”

“This betrayal concerns every American. The integrity of our democratic republic demands that every person involved be investigated and brought to justice to prevent this from ever happening again,” she averred.

“The issue I am raising is not a partisan issue. It is one that concerns every American. The information we are releasing today clearly shows there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government. Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup with the objective of trying to usurp the President from fulfilling the mandate bestowed upon him by the American people,” Gabbard said in a statement. “Their egregious abuse of power and blatant rejection of our Constitution threatens the very foundation and integrity of our democratic republic. No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. The American people’s faith and trust in our democratic republic and therefore the future of our nation depends on it. As such, I am providing all documents to the Department of Justice to deliver the accountability that President Trump, his family, and the American people deserve.”

The declassified files cited by Gabbard have been available to the public at DNI.gov.

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Great Reset

U.S. rejects WHO pandemic amendments, citing threat to sovereignty

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Quick Hit:

The U.S. has officially rejected the WHO’s 2024 pandemic rule changes. In a joint statement, Secretaries Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Marco Rubio said the amendments threaten American sovereignty, free speech, and privacy—handing too much power to unelected global bureaucrats.

Key Details:

  • The U.S. State Department and HHS transmitted the official rejection of the 2024 amendments to the WHO’s IHR.
  • Officials cited threats to national sovereignty, vague terminology, and the WHO’s political susceptibility—particularly to China—as grounds for rejection.
  • The amendments would have mandated WHO-led responses, digital health documentation, and “equitable access” initiatives regardless of U.S. withdrawal from the WHO.

Diving Deeper:

The rejection represents a sharp rebuke of the World Health Assembly’s 2024 amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005), which sought to centralize global pandemic decision-making power within the WHO. Kennedy and Rubio emphasized the amendments’ “vague and broad” language and their potential to create policy rooted in politics and global “solidarity” rather than science and national interest.

Among the most controversial changes were new authorities for the WHO to unilaterally declare health emergencies, coordinate international responses, and guide member states toward “equitable access” to vaccines and other health commodities. The amendments also encouraged countries to implement digital health documents—raising red flags for privacy and surveillance concerns.

“The amendments risk unwarranted interference with our national sovereign right to make health policy,” the joint statement read. Kennedy and Rubio specifically criticized the lack of public input in drafting the new rules and warned that WHO directives could suppress legitimate scientific debate and restrict Americans’ freedom of speech under the guise of “controlling misinformation.”

The officials pointed to the WHO’s well-documented failures during the COVID-19 pandemic, including its deference to the Chinese Communist Party, as a stark example of why international bodies should not be granted binding authority over U.S. domestic policy. “These amendments… fail to adequately address the WHO’s susceptibility to political influence and censorship—most notably from China—during outbreaks,” the statement noted.

Even more alarming, the statement highlighted that the amended rules would have bound the U.S. regardless of its current status in the WHO, essentially imposing obligations on a nation that is no longer part of the organization. This drew particular concern from Rubio, who has long warned against ceding U.S. autonomy to global institutions.

In reaffirming their commitment to “put Americans first,” Kennedy and Rubio vowed to continue resisting international encroachments on U.S. freedoms. “We will not tolerate international policies that infringe on Americans’ speech, privacy, or personal liberties,” they declared.

This formal rejection marks a victory for critics of globalism and top-down health mandates, signaling that under the current administration, American decision-makers are prioritizing sovereignty, transparency, and constitutional protections over global consensus driven by unelected bureaucrats.

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