By Anne Hendershott, The American Spectator – In the end, the Vatican meeting between Pope Leo and Governor Pritzker illustrates the peril of selective alliances. While agreement on immigration may appear noble, it risks obscuring the governor’s radical opposition to Catholic teaching on life itself. By lending moral credibility to a politician so deeply invested in the culture of death, the Church jeopardizes its witness, leaving the faithful to question whether its defense of human dignity is consistent or compromised.

By Nancy Flanders, Live Action News – A new method of in vitro fertilization (IVF) known as “natural” or “ethical” IVF has gained popularity, especially among adults experiencing infertility who don’t want to create multiple embryos that will generally not survive… For individuals wishing to use IVF, but feeling conflicted about creating more embryos than they would want to carry to term, “ethical” or “natural” IVF appears to be a solution — but is it?

Complicit Clergy, by Staff – Days After Meeting With Pope Leo, Governor Pritzker Signs Euthanasia Bill Into Law – X Post by Mary Miller – @Miller_Congress – Every human life has dignity and value, no matter their age, illness, or circumstance… JB Pritzker just signed a bill that tells the sick, the elderly, and the disabled that their lives are expendable… This is a complete and total moral failure. Government should NEVER offer death as a solution.

By Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, Abp. of San Francisco, National Catholic Register – To survive and flourish, every great civilization needs to cherish the story of its origin… It is good, then, that plans are taking shape to celebrate next year’s 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence. But a country as great as America has more than one origin story to tell… This Dec. 12, millions of Hispanics will celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe as part of their own origin story as Americans…

By Matthew Plese, Fatima.org – What Are Precepts?… In a Catholic context, the word “precept” is nearly synonymous with the word “commandment.” In general, the word “commandment” makes us think of the ten moral laws which God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). However, since Our Lord has entrusted His authority to the Catholic Church, the Church can also decree moral laws which bind us… Today the laws of the Church are generally grouped as a body in the Code of Canon Law. The faithful remain largely ignorant of most of these laws

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 17:9a,10-13 – 9a And as they were coming down the mountain 10 the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He replied, “Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things; 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

By Franciscan Media – .. The single fact survives that a disappointed suitor accused Lucy of being a Christian, and she was executed in Syracuse, Sicily, in the year 304. But it is also true that her name is mentioned in the First Eucharistic Prayer, geographical places are named after her, a popular song has her name as its title, and down through the centuries many thousands of little girls have been proud of the name Lucy.

By Kevin Cohen, The American Spectator – As churches empty, mosques take their place across the West… On certain Sunday mornings in America, you can still hear a church bell toll across an otherwise silent neighborhood. The sound is familiar, but the congregation it once summoned has vanished. Pews sit undisturbed, hymnals gather dust, and sanctuaries once filled with life now echo only with the footsteps of estate agents measuring out a future that will no longer be Christian. In much of the West, the bell remains — but its audience has gone. …

Franciscan Media – The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the 16th century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story… A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower, and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.

By Elise Winland, Catholic Vote – The House passed the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Dec. 10, approving a roughly $900 billion military spending blueprint that includes millions in security assistance for Ukraine and Israel… The measure, which sets policy and funding priorities for the Pentagon, advanced by a vote of 312-112 and now heads to the Senate for consideration. While the bill authorizes Pentagon programs, it does not provide money for them; Congress must still pass a separate spending bill for the fiscal year ending September 2026, according to Reuters.

By Jan Bentz, Catholic Herald – In this wide-ranging conversation, Cardinal Müller reflects on the true nature of Advent as a time of purification and hope, offers counsel for resisting the noise of consumer culture, and examines Europe’s paradoxical blend of secularism and religious revival. He speaks candidly about Vatican II, the challenges posed by the SSPX, and the turbulence of the German Synodal Path. What emerges is a bracing and luminous vision of the faith — one grounded in Christ, rooted in the Tradition, and unflinching in the face of the Church’s present trials.

By Jarrett Stepman, The Daily Signal – But Scott said the Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010, has been an “absolute disaster” that turned out to be based on “complete lies.”… “Oh, you’re going to keep your doctor. That was a complete lie. Oh, you get to keep your plan. Lie,” he said. “Oh, you’re going to save $2,500 per family. Lie. And so, what’s frustrating is it’s been sold on a lie.”… What’s happened since the passage of Obamacare is that “costs have skyrocketed,” Scott said. He explained that a high-deductible plan has risen in price from around $3,000 to “$6,500, $10,000, $15,000.

By Dr. Christopher Shannon, Catholic World Report – “All men are created equal!” Perhaps more than any other principle, this phrase captures the transcendent ideal that inspired the Founders to declare their independence from Great Britain. The triumph of the principle of equality in modern Western politics has dulled the contemporary mind to the radicalism of this assertion… Despite the claim of the Declaration of Independence, this principle was by no means “self-evident.” The stalemate with Parliament over the meaning of the “rights of Englishmen” forced the colonists to appeal to principles beyond the English tradition ….

By Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune – Over the last two years, Paxton has launched investigations into at least a dozen companies, mostly immigrant-serving nonprofits, claiming they were breaking the law, or in some cases, their own corporate charters. None of these allegations have yet been proven in court… What two key Texas courts and a federal appeals court have said, though, is that Paxton has wide authority to demand internal corporate records and file lawsuits to revoke a company’s right to do business in Texas if he believes they are violating the law. He can bring these legal actions without offering evidence to back up his claims, a Texas appeals court ruled. …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 11:16-19 – 16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, 17 `We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon’; 19 the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, ….