Jeanie Hannaman

By Tessa Gervasini, CNA - Abp. Paul Coakley said this week he is looking forward to speaking with Pres. Donald Trump in “the near future.”... Abp. Coakley, who was elected president of the USCCB in November, said he has “not had any personal conversations” with Trump or VP JD Vance but anticipates “engaging with them over matters of mutual concern.”... When Abp. Coakley meets with the administration, “undoubtedly, the question of immigration is going to come up,” he said in an interview on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Dec. 21. “I think we have opportunities to work together. We have opportunities to speak frankly with one another.”

The Pillar, by Staff, (Complicit Clergy) - The U.S. bishops’ conference is at the start of a restructuring process that could see its Washington, D.C. headquarters sold or leased, as the conference faces ongoing financial challenges and a recent round of layoffs... A task force of bishops was charged last month with leading a process to review the USCCB’s priorities and operations, in order to make concrete decisions about asset and resource allocation in future budget cycles... While conference leaders say that USCCB finances are healthy, the task force approaches its work after a significant loss of federal funds, and personnel cuts across several departments in recent years.

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture - In the Book of Genesis, God witnesses the marriage between Adam and Eve. Adam delights in his new bride during his honeymoon: “At last, bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!” God establishes a covenant with our First Parents and gives them the gift of the fruit of the tree of everlasting life if they agree to obediently avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A good deal, when you think of it. In perfect goodness, why would they want to know anything about evil? God honored His side of the bargain. But Adam and Eve broke the agreement and brought sin, suffering, and death into the world. ...