News

By Nathan Stone, The Federalist – We can exercise power, or we can allow our enemies to exercise it. Choose wisely… Unless Virginia voters reject the new congressional district plan created and passed by a Democrat legislature and signed by a “moderate” Democrat governor, Republicans are set to lose four congressional seats they currently hold. The new map allows only one of Virginia’s 11 districts to be represented by a Republican, despite Republicans representing almost half of the Virginia electorate. Meanwhile, Republicans in Indiana refused to redraw their congressional maps because of “principle.”

Catholic Herald Today – Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s legacy is most notable for his charisma and his ability to use modern media to evangelise. However, his personal piety and devotion to the Eucharist inspired generations of Catholics, particularly priests, to commit themselves to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. He famously encouraged the practice of spending a Holy Hour in front of the Eucharist, crediting it as the “secret of whatever success I have had in my life.”

By Alyssa Murphy, National Catholic Register – As Pope Benedict XIV reminded us: ‘The Eucharist inexhaustibly strengthens the indissoluble unity and love of every Christian marriage.’… We are in the midst of National Marriage Week, an annual event that has been in practice for 30 years, always centered around Valentine’s Day, where love is in the air and couples actually do try to take the time to get a babysitter for a quick date night… Founded in the United Kingdom by Richard Kane, his motto was: “If you’re fortunate enough to be in a marriage, you should look after it.”

By Ammon Blair, The Federalist – “If these are not attacks upon the stranger among us, what is?” Mamdani asked. “There is no reforming something so rotten and base.”… This is an inversion of moral authority… Mass migration is framed as a moral and civilizational imperative, demanding compassion and openness, while serious pushback on enforcement is recast as intolerant, unjust, or even xenophobic. This framing mirrors elements of the Muslim Brotherhood’s doctrine of tamkeen (institutional entrenchment)… a phased civilizational strategy built on population presence, parallel institutions, resistance to full assimilation, and long-term influence over policy, law, and public narrative… The result is a classic hypocrisy cost in the weaponization of mass migration …

By Donald DeMarco, National Catholic Register – Welsh Archbishop John Murphy knew that the secular world places its hope on career, comfort and cash… During his tenure as archbishop of Cardiff, Wales, from 1961-1983, he became rightly known as “The Builder.” When he arrived in Cardiff, there were only two Catholic secondary schools in the whole of South Wales… Before the end of the decade, the archdiocese had established 14 comprehensive schools… (betwn.) 1960 and 1980, Archbishop Murphy supervised the building of 39 churches, 14 new secondary schools and 33 new primary schools. His achievement was both singular and historic. …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 8:1-10 – 1 In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him, and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; 3 and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?” …

By Elise Winland, Zeale – The U.S. House of Representatives voted Feb. 11 to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, advancing a Republican-led effort to tighten election rules and require people to show proof of citizenship and voter ID before they can vote in federal elections… The bill cleared the chamber largely along party lines, by a vote of 218-213. Republicans unanimously voted in favor of it, and all but one Democrat — Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas — opposed it. An earlier version of the measure passed the House in April 2025 but stalled in the Senate amid Democratic opposition.

By Jordan Boyd, The Federalist – No amount of regulation can fix a system that is predicated on encroaching on a child’s natural right to his biological mother and father… Eyebrows certainly raised in July 2025 when 21 children belonging to a Chinese couple were placed in state custody after a baby arrived at the hospital with a brain bleed. The real shocker came when news broke that most of the kids were under three years old, and many were reportedly created using a deceptive multi-state simultaneous surrogacy scheme called Mark Surrogacy… There are no laws banning the use of multiple simultaneous surrogacy ….

By Kari Lake, Newsmax Wires – Kari Lake  told Newsmax on Thursday that the Senate should pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, as it would “go a long way toward securing our elections.”… She questioned why some lawmakers appear unwilling to support it despite broad public backing…. On “Bianca Across the Nation,” the acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media noted polling showing “83% are for it,” adding, “I really question the 16%” who were shown to be against it.

By The Editors, Patriot Post – Canadian trans shooter, drug cartel drones, end of immigration crackdown in Minnesota, House passes SAVE Act, Bad Bunny lost nearly 10M viewers, and more…. Canadian trans shooter: The tragic school attack in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on Tuesday claimed eight lives, not counting the deceased assailant. The 18-year-old attacker killed six at the school after killing his mother, who expressed support for trans rights, and his stepbrother at home. Early reports suggested that the “female gunperson” was actually a man who identified as a woman, which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has now confirmed. ….

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – More Catholic bishops are voicing sharp condemnation of the University of Notre Dame’s decision to appoint a pro-abortion professor to lead one of its academic institutes… Their condemnation is amplifying concerns that the move undermines the school’s Catholic mission and causes scandal among faithful Catholics… Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, became the latest church leader to criticize the appointment Thursday, saying he stands “in support of Bishop Rhoades and share his concern.” …

By Fr. Ignatius John Schweitzer, OP, Catholic Exchange – The Sermon on the Mount raises the moral bar, as it goes beyond the mere letter of the Law into the spiritual depths of the heart. It challenges us to cultivate hearts attuned to the ways of God. Our righteousness is to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees by not simply avoiding murder, adultery, and false oaths, but by living out the spiritual core of these commands from the heart.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 7:31-37 – 31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand upon him. 33 And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; …

By Suzanne Bowdey, LifeNews – Family Research Council’s Mary Szoch, director of the Center for Human Dignity, is equally emphatic that it’s time for the Trump administration to undo the damage done by Biden. “It’s disappointing that the FDA is continuing to drag out the studies of the abortion drug mifepristone… While we wait for these results, countless unborn children’s lives will be ended, and many of their mothers’ bodies will be maimed and their hearts broken. The Trump administration does not have to wait until the review is conducted to mitigate the damage caused by mifepristone.”

By Eddie Scarry, The Federalist – Just like the last time Democrats threw the government into a shutdown, they have no leverage but are now withholding votes to fund the Department of Homeland Security while making ridiculous demands that the Trump administration is entertaining… If Congress doesn’t push more money to DHS by Saturday, funding to TSA and FEMA will be cut off this weekend. Democrat leaders say they won’t agree to any deal that doesn’t reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is to say, make it effectively impossible to deport illegal aliens.

By Peter Wolfgang, Catholic Culture – Readers of this column know that I occasionally opine on matters of Biblical scholarship about which I have no expertise. Buckle up because I am about to do it again. In fact, it is because I have no expertise that I want to say something about this. Something on behalf of us little people, the non-experts… Last month I attended a Bible conference in Connecticut put on by the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. The talks were given by Scott Hahn, who founded the Center, along with two of the Center’s affiliated scholars, John Bergsma and Jeff Morrow.

By Alyssa Murphy, National Catholic Register – Delving even deeper into ways to quell the unease, the Register turned to not only Bishop Burbidge, but Msgr. Charles Pope, Dominican Father Joseph-Anthony Kress, Dominican Sister Mary Madeline Todd, Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Naumann, and EWTN Radio hosts Gregory Popcak and Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers… “We live in unsettling and stormy times as we witness riots in our streets,” Archbishop Naumann said.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – The Catholic bishop whose diocese includes the University of Notre Dame has sharply criticized the school’s decision to appoint a professor known for her pro-abortion advocacy to a key leadership role… The church leader is calling the move a cause of scandal and urging university officials to rescind it… Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend expressed “dismay” and “strong opposition” to Notre Dame’s naming of Susan Ostermann as director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.

By Derek Rotty, Catholic Exchange – To grow in perseverance, De Sales proposes three foundational habits in this section of the Introduction, listing the virtues of humility and detachment first. To cultivate the former, he notes that a disciple must be distrustful of self over God; to cultivate the latter, a disciple must be able to enjoy “delights, tender feelings, and consolations” only for the sake of God, the highest good (IV.5, 13)… After humility and detachment, he encourages laity to find and focus on sweet consolations. Like little children who are enticed to obedience and good deeds with “bits of sugar,” God uses “bait and allurement to entice us” to love Him (IV.13).

By Veronique de Rugy, The American Spectator – Your representatives may finally grab the feared “third rail” of U.S. politics. When the Social Security and Medicare trust funds run out in the early 2030s, the law is clear: Benefits must be slashed. That would mean a roughly 24 percent cut to Social Security checks and an 11 percent cut to Medicare benefits. But Congress almost certainly won’t let that happen… The easy, though irresponsible, political path may seem obvious: Change the law, keep benefits whole, and pay by borrowing the money. This way legislators won’t have to cast unpopular votes for spending cuts or tax hikes. …

By Tessa Gervasini, EWTN – A Pew Research Center report found that Catholics’ support for President Donald Trump’s agenda has not changed significantly over the past year… The analysis examined how U.S. religious groups view Trump, including his plans and policies and his ethics. It focused on Protestants, Catholics, and religiously unaffiliated adults… The report, “White Evangelicals Remain Among Trump’s Strongest Supporters, but They’re Less Supportive Than a Year Ago,” includes information from a survey of 8,512 U.S. adults who are part of the center’s American Trends Panel (ATP).

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 7:24-30 – 24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid. 25 But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” …

By Chris Jackson, Hiraeth In Exile, Substack – All this is fitting preparation for Rossi’s next big praise. In the days after the May 2026 conclave, he rhapsodized about the new pontiff Leo XIV: calling Leo’s election “a gift from God” and claiming the new pope is “the man the Church and the world need right now”. Rossi insisted Leo follows “the same line” as Francis and “isn’t trying to go backwards… he’s no dinosaur”. In other words, no reform is coming. Leo XIV is explicitly “continuity Francis,” in the words of Rossi himself. For Trad Inc., this is the latest evidence they’ve been hiding the truth: even Leo’s supporters know he stands for more of the same.

By Craig Bannister,  CNS News – The nation’s employment picture enjoyed broad-based improvement in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Statistics (BLS) report released Wednesday… Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 130,000 jobs from the previous month, more than doubling analysts’ predictions. The Dow Jones consensus prediction for job growth, for example, was a mere 55,000. Private payrolls (excluding government) grew by 172,000 jobs in January, well above the LSEG expectation of 70,000.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – Only a few pages into The Making of the American Mind, I paused in my reading and looked at the Index. The way Matthew Spalding introduced his subject (the book is subtitled “The Story of our Declaration of Independence”) gave me the sense that this would not be the standard boilerplate treatment, interpreting the Declaration as the thought of John Locke, filtered through the pen of Thomas Jefferson.

By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – Another week in American politics wouldn’t be complete without an elected Republican betraying constituents… That’s what happened on Tuesday when Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced her opposition to the latest iteration of the SAVE Act. The bill (now the “SAVE America Act”) seeks to mandate widely supported photo ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements in federal elections.

By Darrick Taylor, Crisis Magazine – The Society of St. Pius X made news recently with its announcement that in July of this year they will consecrate bishops without the consent of the Holy Father. I am not a canon lawyer nor a theologian, but I do know enough to say I think these issues are more complicated than many make them out to be. If the Society does go ahead with the consecrations, it will likely deepen the rift between the Society and Rome.

By T.J. Burdick, Catholic Exchange – Lenten sacrifices are such a sliding scale both physically and spiritually that, sometimes, it’s hard to figure out our true motive for making them. Do I fast to lose a couple pounds or to build up my spiritual reserves (Mt. 17:21)? Do I pick up a Lenten devotional because that’s what everyone else in my parish is doing or because I truly desire holiness? Do I give a little bit more to my tithe so that I can get more back on my tax refund or because my diocese can fund our local soup kitchen?… The answers to these questions, of course, are deeply personal. They are also complex, paradoxical, even.

By Stephen Moore, Patriot Post – If anyone had predicted that in a little more four decades the Dow would surpass 50,000, they might have been admitted into a mental institution. But U.S. stocks have grown 60-fold (not counting inflation). Even accounting for inflation, the Dow is up about 12-fold… We have lived through the greatest period of wealth creation in perhaps the history of the world… No other nation has come even close in modern times. Consider that American publicly traded companies are now worth more than $70 trillion. …

By Fr. Kevin Drew, Catholic Exchange – You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not let the salt of the covenant with your God be lacking from your grain offering… That was God’s instruction in Leviticus (2:13). Salt was poured on the offering to prevent decay and corruption. It prevented the ancient Hebrews from giving the Lord a second-rate and therefore unacceptable sacrifice. … For several centuries, up until 1970, blessed salt was placed in an infant’s mouth by the priest at baptism. …

By Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal – Democrats aired their grievances against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown at a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday, even questioning the salvation of agency leaders… Questioning grew so contentious that Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., slammed his gavel to remind his colleagues of House “decorum” standards… Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was questioning Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on his salvation.

By Ellie Gardey Holmes, The American Spectator – As Gavin Newsom works to project inevitability as the Democratic frontrunner, progressives are coalescing behind a single conclusion: He is not their man… Progressive California journalist and political adviser Gil Durán published an op-ed with the Guardian Tuesday harshly titled “Gavin Newsom’s likely presidential bid is built on broken promises.” He makes the case that the California governor has repeatedly failed to deliver on his progressive commitments.  

By Fr. Shenan J. Boquet, Human Life International – Last week, I told you about how pro-euthanasia and assisted suicide measures are stalling in several nations in Europe, as opponents are raising significant concerns about how such laws have been abused in other nations, and how there are dignity-protecting options that provide authentically loving support for those facing end-of-life situations and dilemmas, e.g. better palliative care… Now, this week I can report a remarkable new development in the fight against radical gender ideology….

By Anthony Esolen, Crisis Magazine – The current fury over immigration in the United States reminds me of my experience, over 25 years, teaching in the Development of Western Civilization program at Providence College… When I arrived in 1990 as a young professor in the English department, I was politically liberal, with certain Catholic modifications. I believed that abortion was homicide. I believed that suicide was criminal. I believed that marriage was for keeps. I believed that the social, cultural, and intellectual benefits conferred upon the world by the Christian Faith were incalculable ….

By Daniel Payne, EWTN News – The Franciscan Friars of California have announced a $20 million settlement with alleged abuse victims, with the eight-figure payout coming after the group filed for bankruptcy several years ago… The friars announced in 2024 that they had filed a Chapter 11 petition “to address 94 child sexual abuse claims.”… The order said at the time that the dozens of claims came about due to California state laws that “allowed abuse survivors to file decades-old complaints that were otherwise time-barred or expired under the state’s statute of limitations.” …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 7:14-23 – 14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? ….

By Kenneth Craycraft, Catholic World Report – Broadly speaking, there are three major fronts in the war against transgender ideology: males cheating females in athletics; men invading women’s private spaces; and the medical and surgical mutilation of children. Recent news is very good on two of those fronts: athletics and mutilation. I am hopeful that the momentum in these campaigns will have a positive impact on protecting women’s private spaces.

Catholic Apostolate Center – Our Lady of Lourdes was a Marian apparition that occurred in Lourdes, France in 1858. Mary appeared to a 14 year old girl, St. Bernadette Soubirous. Bernadette’s faith was so strong that she continued to visit the site even when her parents were unsure about the apparitions. In 1862, Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions. The apparitions at Lourdes revitalized the faith of millions of people, and continues to do so today. …

By Dan Hart, The Washington Stand – The results of a new study on the role that fathers play in the health of their children has surprised researchers, revealing that the amount of attentiveness that a father pays to his infant affects the child’s future heart and metabolic health, while finding no such correlation with mothers. The study reinforces a massive body of evidence pointing to how critical both a father and a mother are to the healthy development of their children.

By Shaun McAfee, Catholic Exchange – For some Catholics, Mardi Gras is an embarrassment. The beads, the excess, the headlines, and the image of immorality have convinced some that the entire celebration is little more than a secular bacchanal—at best a distraction from Lent, at worst an outright contradiction of it. “How,” the objection goes, “can a Catholic possibly defend a festival that appears to glorify indulgence immediately before a season of penance?”… The question is understandable. But it is also historically thin and theologically incomplete.

By Suellen Brewster, Catholic Exchange – In colonial days before the diocese was founded, the Faith was kept alive by the laity itself. Before there was even a regular traveling priest assigned to the region, Catholics held the torch by teaching, praying, and keeping the liturgical calendar in their homes and communities… Frontier days aren’t usually described by words like crisis, but practicing the Catholic Faith was banned from the then-British province of New York, and with no priest nor church building, a crisis it was. As time went on, Catholicism was no longer outlawed, but practicing it required long waits between priestly visits. …

By Tessa Gervasini for EWTN News, (Catholic World Report) – Finally, some good news. We can only hope that the final step to sainthood moves more smoothly than all the preceding ones once he is beatified and the requisite miracle is documented… The Holy See has officially informed Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, that the cause for the Venerable Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen can proceed to beatification, according to an announcement from the diocese… “The next step in the process is the celebration of the beatification, in which Fulton Sheen would be declared Blessed,” Tylka said.

By John M. Grondelski, Ph.D., Catholic World Report – If marriage is justified by callow appeals to “love is love”–with love being whatever somebody says it is at a given moment–then marriage has little to no social content or meaning… February 7-14 is observed this year as National Marriage Week, intended to promote awareness and appreciation of the institution of marriage. The effort seems particularly timely, given the decline in people getting married (and having children) and marriage’s competition with other forms of “relationship” more or less permanent.

By Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal – After multiple recent deadly car crashes across the United States involving illegal aliens, Florida has changed its driver test policy to require all prospective drivers to take the test in English… “All driver license knowledge and skills testing will be conducted in English” for both non-commercial and commercial driver’s licenses, according to the new policy… The state “remains committed to ensuring safe roadways for all Floridians and visitors by promoting clear communication, understanding of traffic laws, and responsible driving behavior.” …

By Olivia Gans Turner, LifeNews – On Friday February 6th, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the bill that send the deceptive and misleadingly labeled “Right to Reproductive Freedom Act” to the fall ballot. While that is the only official role Spanberger has to play formally in this process, she has been outspoken in her support for the passage of this extreme and reckless amendment to the Virginia Constitution… Now it is indeed, as she has said, up to the voters of Virginia to cast the deciding votes.

By Tessa Gervasini, EWTN New – Lai, Catholic entrepreneur and media tycoon, was sentenced over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations… “The Hong Kong High Court’s decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years is an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio… Jimmy Lai, Catholic entrepreneur and media tycoon, was sentenced on Feb. 9 to 20 years in prison over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations… The sentencing comes after Lai’s December 2025 conviction, which ended several years of what advocates have described as a politically motivated show trial.

By Kevin T. DiCamillo, Crisis Magazine – First: a healthy respect for the police. There was always at least one policeman present on those Friday mornings, and he would, in no uncertain terms, lay down the law, literally, about how we were to conduct ourselves if we didn’t want to wind up in the back of his squad car… The main thing was that we had to keep moving: no blocking the doctor’s—make that “doktor” since this man had more in common with Mengele than St. Anthony Maria Zaccaria—driveway. We didn’t have to run or jog or anything of that sort; we just could not stand still. We were to keep to our beads and process back and forth. Simple.

By Gregory Lyakhov, Patriot Post – The United States is heading toward a demographic cliff, and most policymakers still refuse to acknowledge it. In 2024, the United States recorded a fertility rate of roughly 1.6 births per woman — far below the 2.1 replacement rate required to sustain a stable population. When birth rates collapse, economies weaken, social systems strain, and national confidence erodes… No modern country has reversed population decline without first enduring serious consequences.

By Aurelio Porfiri, OnePeterFive – I do not know whether you share this impression, but when one looks at the current situation of the liturgy, it seems to resemble that of a “Mexican standoff.” This expression, perhaps coined in the nineteenth century, refers to a situation in which three or more contenders hold each other at gunpoint in a state of great tension, where anyone may emerge as the winner or the loser… Of course, in our case not all the “contenders” are on the same level. There are those liturgists who view the liturgical reform of Vatican II as a break with the past, inspired by the hermeneutic promoted by the so-called “Bologna School.” Unfortunately, this interpretation has prevailed for decades, even though it is intrinsically false.

Chip Roy – “Sharia is inconsistent with Western civilization. Sharia is inconsistent with the constitution of the United States, the declaration and the rule of law in our country. That is why we’ve been putting forward legislation.” “We’re not going to let Dallas or Houston or any other city in this great country become what has happened to London and to Paris.” “We are going to fight for this country. And that’s what I’m proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these great men and women to say that we’re going to do.” Repel Islam from the West!

By Joseph Pronechen, National Catholic Register – Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979) was one of the best-known Catholics of 20th-century America and the world. His preaching on radio and TV drew acclaim, and he also served as a bishop, first as an auxiliary of the Archdiocese of New York and then as bishop of Rochester, New York, from 1966 to 1969… On July 6, 2019, Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to Fulton Sheen’s intercession, paving the way for the venerable bishop to be beatified that Dec. 19. …

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced plans to open two new clinics that pro-life advocates say will facilitate the killing of unborn babies through abortions, under the guise of providing “reproductive care” to young people ages 16 to 25… The clinics, named “Elevate You,” will be located at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull in North Brooklyn and NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens in Southeast Queens… Backed by $4 million from MetroPlusHealth, the facilities will offer a range of services, including … so-called reproductive care — which includes abortion.

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture – Among the most entertaining modern phenomena is the proliferation of “conspiracy theories.” The phrase was popularized after the assassination of JFK and has occupied every corner of the culture since then. Conspiracy theories even extend to the institutional Church and every religion, so it is a worthy exercise to examine the interplay between facts and narratives as we consider the inner workings of any conspiracy theory.

By Brianna Lyman, The Federalist – Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny ended his abysmal halftime performance by rattling off dozens of Latin American countries before holding up a football that read: “Together we are America.”… But Bad Bunny’s subversive message was obvious to anyone capable of critical thinking… Bad Bunny wasn’t trying to make a feel-good statement about unity. He was making an inherently political claim that the left has been pushing for years, which is that the United States of America — colloquially known as America — isn’t for Americans and that national borders are arbitrary at best but illegitimate at worst. …

By Catholic Apostolate Center – St. Scholastica was the twin sister of St. Benedict of Nursia and the foundress of the women’s branch of Benedictine monasticism. Each year, she and her brother would meet near his abbey in Monte Cassino to pray and discuss faith, issues of the day, and Scripture. One year, as her brother prepared to leave, she prayed to God and asked that her brother would stay. Suddenly, a storm broke out, preventing Benedict’s departure. ….

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 7:1-13 – 1 Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.) …

By Jerome Hudson  Breitbart – The Turning Point USA All-American Halftime show kicked off Sunday night to millions of fans who streamed the patriotic event online, an alternative to Bad Bunny’s Spanish-only Super Bowl 60 intermission that ended with the Puerto Rican pop star making a politically charged immigration message… “Welcome to the Turning Point USA All-American Halftime show. And this one’s for you, Charlie,” host Jack Posobiec said, honoring Turning Point USA’s late founder Charlie Kirk, before a rousing electric guitar rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” was played by Brantley Gilbert… Gilbert got the concert started with a patriotic version of “Real American,” followed by a powerful rendition of Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem.”

By  Brianna Lyman, The Federalist – The Super Bowl is supposed to be one of the cultural cornerstones in American life that still belongs to Americans. There are only a handful of days each year when most of the country pauses and gathers around the same screen to participate in something recognizably ours. It’s a shared experience — rooted in common language and culture and tradition. Which is why the Super Bowl half time show this year was a clear display of pure contempt for America.

By Ngala Killian Chimtom, Catholic World Report – As Catholics mark the Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita on February 8, harrowing testimonies from survivors of human trafficking across Africa are shedding light on the horrendous treatment they endure… John, a mechanic from Nigeria, is one such survivor. He recalls being trafficked to Libya in 2015 after being promised a good-paying job that would generate the income he needed to eventually migrate to Europe… “When I got to Libya, I discovered it was all a lie,” he told CWR… “Terrible things were done to us in that place,” he said, revealing scars on his body as proof. “Eventually, I was sold out for $300 to go and work in a mine.” ….

By Dawn Beutner, Catholic World Report – While Pope Saint John Paul II made the promotion of canonizations a hallmark of his pontificate, it is more common in Church history for canonizations to proceed very slowly. The Church has generally been willing to wait for many years for God to make known His will about the sanctity of a deceased Catholic. On the other hand, sometimes the Vatican chooses to delay canonizations for the sake of peace in international politics. For example, now would not be a propitious moment for the Vatican to honor the many Catholics who have died as martyrs in communist China

Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing – When great people you have known are dead, their influence on you takes a different form. Parents and extended family and even their friends – if you’ve been lucky enough to have had them in these troubled days – assume an almost mythological status.  We didn’t need Freud or Jung to spell this out. Most of us already knew it in our bones. Much of later life, then, becomes a series of starts and stops in conversation with persons dead and forgotten, then remembered, again and again, as we make our way through our own dusty days.

By Katherine Matt, The Daily Signal – President Donald Trump announced Thursday that on May 17, in conjunction with America’s 250 birthday celebration, a prayer event will be held on the National Mall to “rededicate America as one nation under God.”… But who’s going to show up?… For much of the modern era, religious identification in the United States and other Western nations has steadily declined. Pew Research Center data show that the percentage of adults identifying as Christian dropped from 78% in 2007 to roughly 62% by 2025.

By Bishop Joseph Strickland, Pillars of Faith – There is a question in the Gospel that is not asked gently. It is not asked in safety. It is asked when truth demands a decision… Our Lord has just taught the truth about His Body and His Blood. He has spoken plainly. He has not softened His words. He has not explained them away. And many who had followed Him decide they can no longer stay. They walk away… And then Jesus turns to the Twelve – not to rebuke them, not to reassure them – but to ask a question that every generation of the Church must answer again for itself. “Will you also go away?”

By Victoria Cardona, Catholic Exchange – In the Catholic tradition, life and death are companions on a shared journey toward a final encounter with Love. If we understand the human and the Divine as collaborators in our sanctification from the moment of Baptism, then death represents the moment where this collaboration reaches its peak (CCC 1026). In dying, the imperfections of our lives are gathered in Christ; the virtues we practice, even when clouded by weakness, are crowned by God’s mercy (CCC 1022).

By Nicholas Ballasy, Just the News – “This ‘Show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day — including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History!” Trump wrote on Truth Social… “The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence. Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.” …

By Darrick Taylor, Crisis Magazine – The Church of Rome is the head and mother of all the churches, and the pope in Rome is the primate of the Church universal. We who commune with her do so because we believe in her authority, as we believe in the authority of the Church universal, because of the testimony of her founder, Jesus Christ. We believe this on the basis of the written testimony of Sacred Scripture and the witness of apostolic tradition. This much is uncontroversial, I think, for those in communion with Rome.

By Craig Bannister, Newsbusters – 111,620 California borrowers suspected of committing $8.6 billion of pandemic-era fraud have been suspended by the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced Friday… “I’m here in San Diego, standing at an address that is registered to 14 businesses that took $2 million in pandemic-era loans Those loans haven’t been paid back,” Administrator Loeffler says in a social media video reporting the suspensions….

By Kate Quiñones, EWTN News – An Irish bishop has observed that the nation has lost the equivalent of 300 primary school classes of children to abortion in one year… Bishop Kevin Doran of Achonry and Elphin drew attention to the impact of abortion on population, citing a recent figure that found that 10,852 unborn babies were aborted in Ireland in 2024, The Irish Catholic reported… “The closure of primary schools across Ireland, and especially in rural communities, has surfaced as a major cause of concern in recent weeks,” Doran said. “There are complex reasons for this, but the impact of abortion on population is becoming increasingly clear.” …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 6:30-34 – 30 The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. …

By John Derbyshire, Chronicle – So it was in mid-January, as I was scrolling through X over my morning coffee. A tweet from the Department of Homeland Security scolded Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for having released 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets of his state instead of helping ICE detain them. “It is common sense,” said DHS. “Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets.”… Of course not, but the phrase “common sense” snagged my attention. I am a big fan of common sense and too frequently find myself lamenting its paucity in today’s social and political discourse.

By Victor Davis Hanson,  American Greatness – Democrats, lacking a positive agenda, bet on chaos, Trump hysteria, and media allies to spark a midterm backlash as Trump’s economic rebound gains steam… Recent regional special elections have seen Democratic candidates win a number of special election races… Now energized left-wing politicos remind the nation daily that every incumbent president, except three over the last century, has suffered substantial midterm losses in Congress.

By Saverio Perugini, National Catholic Register – Since ChatGPT’s release in November 2022, headlines about artificial intelligence (AI) have been sensational. AI is being touted as a panacea for everything from educating our youth to curing cancer… As pressure mounts to fundamentally change the way we do everything, so does anxiety. While some are bullishly enthusiastic about AI and others find the hype nauseating, AI is affecting an ever-increasing segment of the population, including Catholics.

Saint of the Day for February 7: Bl. Pope Pius IX – Blessed Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Ferretti, was one of the longest reigning popes. During his 31 year papacy, he dealt with Church controversies, external turmoil, and the dissolution of the Papal States. Even though he faced many difficulties and medical aliments in his lifetime, he persevered from a very young age and after being rejected as a cadet for the Noble Guard, he became a priest. He was elected Pope in 1846, and took the name Pius IX in honor of Pope Pius VII. …

By Bridget Sielicki, Live Action New – SB 359 would allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to patients who have been given a terminal diagnosis of six months or less to live. As written, the law would only apply to Virginia residents age 18 or older, and in order to qualify patients would need to make two oral requests at least 15 days apart. The doctor would also be required to have a one-on-one conversation with the patient to ensure the patient is not being coerced. In the committee hearing this week, Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington) maintained that these were “enough guardrails,” to protect against any abuse.

By Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal – President Donald Trump says a “softer touch” may be needed to carry out his immigration enforcement agenda… “I learned that maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough. These are criminals – we’re dealing with really hard criminals,” Trump told NBC News… Two separate polls confirm the president’s conclusions are in line with the American public’s view of U.S. immigration policy. …

By Daniel Payne, EWTN News, (Catholic World Report) – The Connecticut-based ministry, which for nearly half a century has ministered to Catholics dealing with same-sex attraction, said in a press statement that leaders associated with the group, including Bridgeport Bishop Frank Caggiano and group Executive Director Father Brian Gannon, met with the Holy Father in a private audience… “The opportunity to share with the Holy Father the works of the apostolate, to provide pastoral accompaniment to persons who experience same-sex attraction but who strive to live chaste lives or to accompany family members who have a loved one who identifies as LGBTQ, was a momentous occasion,” the group said. …

By Tyler Arnold, Catholic News Agency, based in EWTN News – President Donald Trump addressed the 74th annual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Feb. 5, touting his record on religious issues and announcing that the United States will hold an event to rededicate the nation to God… “This prayer breakfast comes at a special time for our country as we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence”… “When our founders proclaimed the immortal truths that echoed around the world and down all the way through time, they declared that all of us are made free and equal by the hand of our Creator,” the president said.

By Fr. Ignatius John Schweitzer, OP, Catholic Exchange – Recently I had a conversation with an older gentleman who has had a serious spirituality of the Word for over 50 years. He’d heard a talk I gave on the three spiritual senses of Scripture and had some time to practice them in his own prayer. He marveled over the riches they brought out of the text and wondered why he was hearing about it only now, after half a century. That is a good question. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a rich section on spiritual exegesis precisely so it does not remain hidden any longer (see CCC 108-18).

By James Lynch, National Review – Notre Dame is experiencing significant backlash from pro-life Catholics in and around the school because of its decision to appoint vocal abortion advocate Susan Ostermann to lead the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the Keough School of International Affairs. Two scholars — Professors Robert Gimello and Diane Desierto — have resigned from the Liu Institute in recent days over Ostermann’s appointment.

By Jorge Bonilla, Newsbusters – The debate over immigration rages on in this country, with a disproportionate media focus on the enforcement side. But there continue to be horrific crimes committed by illegal aliens that garner no coverage from the network evening news…The horrific truck crash in Indiana that killed four Amish individuals was not reported across the evening news. Here’s how it was covered on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier ….

By Kathy Schiffer, National Catholic Register – Have you ever heard of St. Homobonus?… Omobono Tucenghi (also called “Homobonus,” which means “good man”) was a 12th-century tailor from the town of Cremona, on the bank of the Po River in northern Italy. He was a married layman who inherited a large estate from his father, a successful tailor and merchant… Homobonus was humble and generous, believing that God had permitted him to be successful in business so that he might donate a large proportion of his income to help the poor.

By Kennedy Hall, Crisis Magazine – First, the act of consecrating bishops without permission is not, according to Canon Law, automatically penalized with a charge of schism, although Canon Law does have provisions wherein a jurist could decide to apply a charge of schism to said penalty. Second, the Code does provide for a case of necessity, clearly so. And we cannot argue that consecrating without permission is intrinsically evil because the practice of consecrating vis-à-vis permission from Rome has undulated throughout the centuries (if it were intrinsically evil, it would never have been permissible). …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 6:14-29 – 14 King Herod heard of it; for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife ….

By Fr. Francesco Giordano, STD, Catholic Exchange – For decades, debates over sexuality and the end of life have been framed as settled in advance, leaving many with the sense that Western societies would not merely change, but steadily accelerate away from the moral framework of Christian civilization. In both areas, moral change has been presented as moving in a single, predictable direction—what is often described as the steady widening of the Overton window. Dissent, when it appears, is treated as a temporary delay rather than a genuine challenge. …

By Hayden Daniel, The Federalist – Former Vice President Mike Pence really wants you to think he is a principled man. He really goes on and on about how he, seemingly alone, stands for those bedrock conservative values that made this country great. His foundation, Advancing American Freedom, even boasts “The Conservative Movement Lives Here.”… He’s a constitutional conservative to his core. Until he isn’t.

By Erica Inzina, J.D., LifeNews – Louisiana Attorney General announced today that she plans to sue New York Governor Kathy Hochul and California Governor Gavin Newsom for their refusal to honor Louisiana’s extradition requests for doctors in their states who have committed felonies in Louisiana by sending abortion pills into the state… Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life has issued the following response: “Louisiana Right to Life wholeheartedly supports AG Murrill’s consistent effort to protect Louisiana women and their unborn babies. …”

By Pedro Rodriguez, The Daily Signal – The House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government will hold a hearing on Feb. 10 to uncover how Sharia law is “contrary to America’s founding principles” and “may violate federal law and the Constitution,”… At the hearing, titled “Sharia-Free America: Why Political Islam & Sharia Law are Incompatible with the U.S. Constitution,” witnesses and members will discuss “where, why, and how Islamic extremists are attempting to establish Sharia-based institutions in the U.S.,” a statement provided to The Daily Signal claimed.

Catholic Apostolate Center Feast Days – St. Paul Miki and Companions are also known as the “Holy Martyrs of Nagasaki.” A generation after St. Francis Xavier brought Christianity to Japan, the faith had spread rapidly throughout the country. The Japanese emperor felt threatened, and had Catholics banished. Paul Miki and others worked underground, until they were captured. Paul Miki and his companions were martyred by crucifixion. They were the first martyrs of Japan …

By Tosin Akintola, The American Spectator – On Tuesday, the Department of Justice charged four men with using 115 stolen identities across several states, including Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island, to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance… Bulk purchases of pork, beef, and chicken for El Primo Restaurant in Leominster, Massachusetts, were paid for by the state’s taxpayers and those of Rhode Island. …

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Speaking before a gathering of faith leaders, lawmakers and dignitaries, Trump highlighted the Declaration of Independence’s assertion that humans are “endowed with our sacred rights to life, liberty and not by government but by god almighty himself.”… “Some major politicians refuse to say the word God. They don’t want to say it. I say it.”… “That we are endowed with our sacred rights to life, liberty, and not by government, but by God Almighty Himself.”

By Eddie Scarry, The Federalist – It’s useful, if unserious, for congressional Democrat leaders this week to have issued a list of demands in exchange for votes to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration law enforcement. The administration should see it as a reminder that the default position of Democrats is “pretend to support deporting illegal aliens while overcomplicating the process so as to render it impossible.”…

By Sheryl Collmer, Crisis Magazine – Dear bishops, we are tired of the never-ending scandals and your pretending that nothing is amiss. We are tired of being used by you… If a particular bishop is innocent, let him at least address our concerns and give us solid, documented reasons to believe he is truthful. A clean, independent audit report would be the most direct way… Bishops, there are capable accounting firms in every diocese of this country. …

By Mark Lambert, Catholic Unscripted, Youtube – Join host Mark Lambert in a thought-provoking conversation with Reverend Doctor Alexander Lucie-Smith, a Catholic priest, moral theologian, and writer. They dive into the recent release of the Epstein files, exploring its far-reaching implications for the British establishment, the monarchy, politics, and even parallels within the Catholic Church. From Prince Andrew’s controversies to Peter Mandelson’s scandals, they discuss how wealth and power erode moral accountability, leading to institutional rot and societal disillusionment.

By Abigail James,  Catholic Online News – How to Prepare in the Two Weeks Before Ash Wednesday… You don’t need a color-coded Lent planner or a heroic self-denial strategy… You need honesty—and a little intentional space… Here are simple, realistic ways to prepare: 1. Decide what Lent is actually for… Lent is not about proving spiritual toughness. It’s about making room for God. Before choosing what to “give up,” ask what you want more of: peace, prayer, patience, clarity, healing.

By Constance T. Hull, Catholic Exchange – When the opportunity presented itself for me to read and review Rebuilding Trust: Clergy Morale in the Wake of the Abuse Crisis, I jumped at the chance. I have spent the last eight years studying the state of the priesthood ever since the abuse crisis blew wide open in the summer of 2018. I have had many conversations with priests, seminarians, and friends who minister to priests in multiple dioceses. I have seen firsthand much of what is reported in the book.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 6:7-13 – 7 And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. …

By Complicit Clergy, Staff – This week we learned that the Archdiocese of New York was being OPPOSED BY ITS OWN INSURANCE COMPANY because of its ongoing cover-up of the sexual abuse of minors… Later this week, Bishop Ronald Hicks of the diocese of Joliet will be installed as Archbishop of New York, replacing Timothy Dolan.  Hicks is a protegee of Cardinal Blase Cupich, having acted as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago before being elevated to Bishop of Joliet.  A recent column highlights the influence Cupich has had in U.S. bishop appointments.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – So now the Chinese Communist Party is learning another painful lesson—and it is a lesson that Western governments should learn as well: Economic incentives alone do not produce population growth. Couples do not have children because they want tax breaks or maternity benefits or special bonus payments. Babies are produced not by government policies but by acts of love. Not love for the nation or the Communist Party or the Five-Year Plan or the prospect of world domination, but the love of men and women for each other.

By Carol Tobias, LifeNews – In January, the Trump administration took several giant steps forward in protecting innocent, preborn human life. Here’s just a partial list… *The Mexico City Policy [MCP], first issued by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, prevented US tax dollars from being given to international organizations that “perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.”  That policy was rescinded and re-enacted several times as pro-abortion Democrat presidents and pro-life Republican presidents cycled through the White House. …

By Noel Yaxley, Chronicles – Recently, a female skier in China was rescued from a mountaintop after being seriously injured in an attack by a snow leopard… upon spotting the rare animal on her drive back to her hotel, somehow decided that it would be a good idea to get out of her car, approach the animal, and take photos. In video footage, she is seen lying motionless in the snow with the predator nearby… Apparently, the woman was credulous enough to believe that an unpredictable wild animal might take a break from its hunt for an Asiatic ibex to pose for a selfie with her.

By Elise Winland, CatholicVote – Johnson concluded that mercy and justice are complementary, not competing, principles in Christian teaching, writing: “God specifically requires His people to practice both (Micah 6:8). Despite the unfounded claims of the Left, supporting a strong national border is a very Christian thing to do. The Bible tells us so.”… In a post on X, CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt praised Johnson’s remarks to reporters and highlighted CatholicVote’s recent analysis of immigration enforcement and Christian moral teaching.

By Catholic Apostolate Center – St. Agatha was a Christian virgin and martyr. Along with our Blessed Mother, St. Agatha is one of seven women commemorated by name in the Roman Canon of the Mass. Agatha dedicated her life to God at an early age, but was sought out by many men. One of these men became angry with Agatha. He imprisoned Agatha in a brothel. During her time in the brothel, Agatha was assaulted, which led to many injuries. In time, she was miraculously healed by God from all of her injuries. The man who imprisoned Agatha ignored her miraculous healing and had Agatha rolled over hot coals. She survived this torture and returned to prison. Agatha died in the year 251. She is a patron saint of breast cancer patients.

By Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., What We Need Now, Substack – Maleness is a matter of biology. It just happens. Manhood must be learned and earned and taught. So our prayer today and every day should be that God will plant the seed of that new knighthood in the hearts of every Christian man—and make them the kind of “new men” our families, our Church, our nation, and our world need.

By Daniel Payne, EWTN – A steep decline in Catholic marriages in the U.S. over the past few decades is underscoring the need for “proactive” marriage support in the Church… Data obtained by EWTN News from the Official Catholic Directory shows a major drop-off in U.S. Catholic marriage, from about 267,000 in the year 2000 to just 111,718 in 2024, a decline of nearly 60%… The drop is even starker when compared with midcentury numbers: In 1970 there were about 426,000 Catholic marriages in the United States, compared with about 108,000 in 2025, a roughly 75% drop-off …

By Casey Chalk, The Federalist – How Leftists Accelerate Civilizational Collapse… In “Suicide of the West”, Burnham censures those of the West “who hate their own civilization, readily excuse or even praise blows struck against it, and themselves lend a willing hand, frequently enough, to pulling it down.” The reasons leftists do this originate in their beliefs about human nature and society. They believe man’s nature is not fixed but changing, “with an unlimited or at any rate indefinitely large potential for positive (good, favorable, progressive) development.”

By David Edwards, Raw Story, (Complicit Clergy) – “How would you respond to Pope Leo in scripture?” the reporter wondered… “So you want me to give you a theological dissertation?” Johnson replied. “Borders and walls are biblical. From the Old Testament to the New, God has allowed us to set up our civil societies and have separate nations. Immigration is not something that’s frowned upon in Scripture. In fact, it’s welcome. We’re to welcome the sojourner and love our neighbor as ourselves.” …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 6:1-6 – 1 He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! ….

By Mark Haas, Crisis Magazine – In free solo climbing, the climber ascends massive structures or rock faces without ropes, harnesses, or protective equipment. There is no safety net. No backup plan. One slip, one moment of fatigue, one miscalculation—and death is horrifically instant. Every movement must be perfect. Every grip must hold. The free climber lives, quite literally, seconds away from catastrophe at all times… Honnold himself has acknowledged this reality. He knows that his life hangs on his fingertips. He accepts the risk. He trains relentlessly. He remains intensely focused because he knows what is at stake.

By Auguste Meyrat, The Catholic Thing – What is a feminist? This used to be an easy question to answer. When feminism simply meant equal rights and opportunities for women, most people felt comfortable identifying as such. After all, who could be against women having the right to vote and owning property?… Even as feminists have broken glass ceiling after glass ceiling, however, it has become less clear what their goals are anymore. Worse still, the rise of transgenderism has undermined the core claims of feminism by questioning the objective reality of womanhood.

By Paul Kengor, Grace Reilly, The American Spectator – The woke NFL show is finally rivaled!… For years, the NFL has become more woke, less family-friendly, and less patriotic. This year’s halftime performer, Bad Bunny, is confirmation of this fact… Turning Point USA recognized that many Americans have had enough, so they’ve announced a rival All- American Half Time Show that will feature Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett… Watch the full episode …

By Jeffrey Mirus, Catholic Culture – Christmas seems to take a very long time to arrive, while Lent leaps out and grabs us before we have time to blink. Ash Wednesday 2026 is just a week away. So now we are called upon to reflect not on the baby in the manger but on the man whose “sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:44). The realities of the passion and death of Jesus Christ trigger in us a significantly different response than do the details of His nativity.

By Elise Winland, Zeale – A vast majority of Americans — including Democrats and ethnic minorities — favor requiring photo identification (ID) to vote, according to an analysis from CNN Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten… The data undercuts claims by some Democratic lawmakers that voter ID laws are broadly unpopular and intended to disenfranchise non-white voters… Speaking during a Feb. 3 segment on CNN, Enten cited recent Pew Research Center surveys showing 83% overall support for photo voter ID requirements. Support has remained consistently above 75% since 2018, the data suggest.

By Garrett Johnson, Catholic Exchange – Until I was given my true freedom, I didn’t clearly see the false freedom of the hedonistic lifestyle I’d been living. I was pleased to find that the Church had consistently fought for people’s freedom from its inception. One of the significant battles she was involved in when I returned was deeply personal to me: the battle over identity. I gladly joined this fight, in part, by joining the Courage apostolate and by writing and creating videos on my website.

Peters Pence Class Action, Feb. 3, 2026 – The Peter’s Pence class action lawsuit against the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was originally filed in January 2020.  The lawsuit alleges that USCCB routinely asks Catholics throughout the country to donate money to the annual Peter’s Pence collection to “help victims of war, oppression, natural disaster, or disease,” but the money actually goes into funds which invest in such ventures as luxury condominium developments and Hollywood movies. The Plaintiff claims the USCCB is liable under theories of common law fraud, unjust enrichment, and breach of fiduciary duty.

By Jordan Boyd, The Federalist – Over the last 25 years, gunmen and gunwomen have launched around two dozen fatal attacks at Christian churches across the nation. As demonstrated by the invasion of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota last month, even congregations that haven’t encountered an armed threat still face mounting hostility against their faith and parishioners… There’s no denying houses of worship are targets for violence. There’s also no denying that death tolls in church shootings were kept at a minimum thanks to the heroic actions of good guys with guns like Jack Wilson, Caleb Engle, and Jeanne Assam.

By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – Nearly two-thirds of likely 2026 midterm election voters support deporting illegal aliens from the United States, a new poll released Monday shows… In its latest survey of 1,004 likely 2026 voters, the political polling firm Cygnal found that respondents support removing illegal aliens from America and sending them back to their country of origin by a nearly 2:1 margin (61 to 34 percent). The poll also found strong support for ICE enforcement of federal immigration laws and agreement that illegally entering the United States is a violation of such laws.. “Voters see illegal immigration as a simple question of law and order,”

By Jonathan Liedl, National Catholic Register – The cardinal-archbishop of Chicago has profoundly reshaped the American hierarchy over the past 10 years and is poised to exert a lasting influence… At an upcoming Mass in Manhattan, Bishop Ronald Hicks will become the 11th archbishop of New York. But during the Feb. 6 installation in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Chicago native will also be the latest addition to another sort of lineage… Archbishop-designate Hicks is set to become the fourth former deputy of Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich to be named to a major American see in just the past 13 months. …

By James Kalb, Catholic World Report – To say that Trumpism is better politically than progressivism is not to say that it is an adequate view of politics and social life, or that it is likely, if it runs its course, to lead to a good or even sustainable society… We live in unusual times, and Donald Trump is, to put it mildly, an unusual politician… We need to understand him to deal with him, and with that in mind, I will present my own theory… What strikes me most is that Trump has distinctive ways of doing things that never seem to vary. Just as he always eats, drinks, and dresses the same, he always operates the same—he wants to make deals ….

By Chris Jackson, Hiraeth in Exile, (Substack) – On February 2, the Society of St. Pius X publicly announced that new episcopal consecrations will take place on July 1. The Superior General, Fr. Davide Pagliarani, says he requested an audience, wrote again to explain the need, received a letter from the Holy See that “in no way” answered the Society’s requests, and judged that “the objective state of grave necessity in which souls find themselves” requires the decision… The next months force the Vatican II machine to show its hand again, in public, with the same familiar pattern: thunder at Tradition, soft voices for schism, smiles for the regime in China, gentle language for Eastern separation, and a permanent allergy to precision whenever Rome’s new ecumenical theology starts contradicting itself.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 5:21-43 – 21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him; and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and seeing him, he fell at his feet, 23 and begged him, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” 24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. …

By Fr. Francesco Giordano, STD, Catholic Exchange – A priest friend recently expressed his concern about the increasing fluidity of human identity and values over the past twenty years. His observation prompted me to reflect on insights drawn from Medieval philosophy—particularly from St. Thomas Aquinas—regarding the notion of tabula rasa, the idea that the human person is born as a “blank slate.”… While modern thinkers such as John Locke emphasized this concept in a radical sense, Aquinas and the classical tradition understood that it must always be held together with a robust account of nature.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – In a significant pro-life victory, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, has voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit challenging a key defunding provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that revokes its taxpayer funding… The dismissal, filed quietly on Friday, comes after a federal appeals court ruling that allows the Trump administration to continue withholding Medicaid reimbursements from abortion companies. …

Source: Catholic Apostolate Center – St. Blaise, Patron Saint of Throat Illnesses – St. Blaise was Bishop of Sebaste, modern day Turkey, in the beginning of the 4th century before his martyrdom in 316. He was a physician who was known for his miraculous healings, particularly healings involving the throat. This lead to the tradition of blessing throats on his feast day. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, being invoked against throat illnesses. “Through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

By Mary Rose, Catholic Vote – A retired University of Notre Dame priest and historian has called the university’s appointment of a pro-abortion advocate to lead a campus institute “untenable,” disputing the advocate’s recent pledge to uphold academic freedom and mutual respect… Father Wilson Miscamble, a Holy Cross priest and professor emeritus of history, made the remarks in a letter published Jan. 30 in The Observer, Notre Dame’s student newspaper. His response came after Susan Ostermann, an associate professor of global affairs, defended her appointment as incoming director of the Keough School of Global Affairs’ Liu Institute of Asia and Asian Studies.

By Bridget Sielicki, Live Action News – The Indiana Senate passed a bill last week that would curtail illegal abortion pill distribution in the state by allowing private lawsuits against those who manufacture, prescribe, or distribute the pill… The Indiana Senate passed a bill that would allow civil lawsuits against those who manufacture, prescribe, or distribute the abortion pill… Indiana law protects nearly all preborn children from abortion… The bill aims to stop the flow of illegal abortion pills into the state.

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic  Register – The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) announced Monday that it plans to consecrate new bishops on July 1 even without authorization from the Holy See, a move that would likely lead to automatic excommunication of all the bishops who take part and harden a decades-old split with Rome. … The SSPX, which exclusively celebrates the traditional Latin Mass and maintains doctrinal differences with certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, has not consecrated new bishops since 1988 when the Society’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without Rome’s approval. …

By Randall Smith,  The Catholic Thing – If we are devoted to the truth, as our devotion to God demands, then perhaps we should take more care not to settle on any of these false, illusory “half-truths” or pass them on to others in our conversations and social media posts… Did we imagine truth would be easy?  That it would always make us “feel good,” puff us up with pride, and feed our sense of self-righteousness?  What in Christianity could possibly have led us to think that?  The truth in its fullness is more likely, like God, to humble us and cause us to realize how small our minds and hearts have been.

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture – Since we spend a quarter to a third of our lives asleep, one would think that Scriptures would help us understand the mystery of sleep. It does. The beatitudes are virtues brought to perfection by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the crown jewel of discipleship. Among them is: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) The peace of sleep becomes a kind of final beatitude, a daily reminder of God’s desire to give us rest from our toil.

By Rachel Bovard, The Federalist – What if I told you Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has the power and the votes — right now — to save Republicans’ congressional majorities, President Trump’s second-term agenda, and maybe the republic itself, all while poleaxing Democrats on the short side of an 84-15 issue?… It sounds like fantasy. But like the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend, 2026 is offering up to the GOP a political weapon almost as powerful as Excalibur itself: an extended Democrat talking filibuster of national voter ID legislation.

By Kevin Cohen, The American Spectator – ICE is not a substitute for local policing or courts. It is the only authority with the mandate to remove non-citizens once state and local processes conclude. In a fragmented system — where police arrest, courts adjudicate, and legislatures set policy-ICE functions as the final integrating mechanism. When that mechanism is resisted or disabled, risk does not disappear. It circulates… Recent events in Minnesota offer a clear illustration of how this dynamic plays out. Over the winter, federal agents expanded targeted enforcement operations in Minneapolis and the surrounding Twin Cities region, prompting protests, political backlash, and public clashes between local officials and federal authorities. The controversy focused largely on optics and tactics. Far less attention was paid to the profiles of those actually being arrested.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Laura Fernández, a staunch pro-life advocate who has described abortion as nothing more than murder, won Costa Rica’s presidential election on Sunday, securing a first-round victory and becoming the Central American nation’s next leader… Fernández, who previously served as planning minister and chief of staff under outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, triumphed in what outlets described as a landslide, capturing 48.3% of the vote with 94% of polling stations counted, surpassing the threshold to avoid a runoff.

By Jennifer Gregory Miller, Catholic Culture – On February 2, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, forty days after Christmas. In the 1962 calendar the feast is called the “Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and commonly referred to as Candlemas. When this feast falls on a Sunday the General Norms of the Liturgical Year and Calendar specifies that Feasts of Our Lord that fall in the General Roman Calendar take precedence over the Sundays in Ordinary Time, so this feast would be celebrated instead of the Sunday in Ordinary Time.

By Adam Johnston, The Federalist – The unrest surrounding immigration enforcement in Minnesota is a flashpoint for a much deeper struggle over U.S. sovereignty… A sovereign nation, by definition, must be able to enforce its laws within its own territory… When federal immigration law is openly resisted, and elected leaders excuse, rationalize, fail to deter, or even encourage violence against those tasked with exercising constitutional authority, both the federal government and the nation lose their fundamental legitimacy.

By Fr. Shenan J. Boquet, Human Life International – Advocates for euthanasia and assisted suicide see “dying with dignity” as “liberation,” believing that a life with pain and suffering lacks meaning. By contrast, Catholic tradition values both the dignity of the human person and the gift of life through the lens of Christ’s redemptive love. The Church knows that suffering is an inescapable aspect of life and that this suffering ultimately unites us to God… The more our society opens the door to and positively incentivizes assisted suicide, the less free individuals (and now, couples) will be to embrace the trials of the end of life, free of the psychological, moral, and medical pressure to take the “quick and easy” way out.

By Carl E. Olson, Catholic World Report – During this Sunday’s Gospel Reading, we hear the Beatitudes, among the most well-known and oft-quoted sayings of Jesus. The Beatitudes consist of nine “Blessed are…” statements that together form an introduction and doorway to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)… In Jewish literature, beatitudes were common in works having to do with worship and wisdom, such as the Psalms, Proverbs, and the Book of Wisdom (or Wisdom of Solomon). They described a situation in which God’s blessing is experienced, and they exhorted the listener to live in a way that would lead to such a blessing.

By Ashley Herzog, The American Spectator – Much has been made of how a federal judge last week struck down the Education Department’s guidance advising schools to dismantle their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives or risk losing federal funding. Supporters of DEI have seized on the ruling as proof that their cause is resilient… But the larger picture tells a different story. Whatever its legal status, DEI has already lost cultural legitimacy — on campus, among students, and even within the academic left itself…

By Craig Bannister, CNS News – In the past 10 days, New York’s failure to honor detainer requests by U.S. ICE has resulted in the release of nearly 7,000 criminal illegal aliens, the DHS warned Friday, reacting to the plan of the state’s Democrat governor, Kathy Hochul, to legally prohibit state and local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE… In a statement, DHS said that it “condemns Governor Hochul’s legislative proposal to bar local police departments from partnering and cooperating” with ICE law enforcement, warning that such partnerships are “key to removing criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from American communities.”

By Nancy Flanders, Live Action News – Though end-of-life care has been debated for decades, well-meaning Americans have been misled by those who intentionally conflate palliative care with euthanasia and assisted suicide — but only one of these options is ethical… Some U.S. states have in recent years passed legislation allowing doctors to become both killers and suicide accomplices. While marketed to the public as a “compassionate” way to help people facing so-called “terminal” diagnoses, behind the scenes, health insurance companies and governments have touted how “assisted dying” saves them money.

By Greg Piper, Just the News – An advocacy group that fights “unwanted medical treatments” is asking the high court to take a fresh look at the case, Jacobson v. Massachusetts, and how courts have interpreted it – extrapolating the holding far beyond the facts of the case – and getting an assist from several red states and a public interest law firm that seeks to rein in the administrative state… Last week, the justices considered whether to accept Health Freedom Defense Fund’s petition to review a ruling by the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, overturning a three-judge panel that said it’s irrelevant whether COVID vaccines stop infection or transmission for the purposes of Los Angeles Unified School District’s onetime employee mandate.

The Catholic Apostolate Center – The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord takes place forty days after Jesus’ birth, when Mary and Joseph take their newborn son to the Temple. There, they encounter Simeon and Anna. Simeon prophesied the redemptive mission of Jesus when he says, “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight for all your people.” Luke 2:30-31. …

By M.C. Holbrook, Catholic Exchange – And so, the scene ends with Mary and Joseph, once again, submitting to the law in obedience. Even their act of returning home is an offering on behalf of God’s will. Which brings us to our second lesson: not all our acts of obedience will be hard for us to carry out, nor will they make us miserable. After all, it is certain that as much as it would have been lovely to see friends and family again, Mary and Joseph would have been ready and eager to go home—especially after receiving the sobering news that Simeon had to share.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – Do you notice something missing? The clerics cite their “fear” that religious services might be disrupted “by aggressive enforcement tactics.” In their rush to place all blame on one side, they fail to notice that in Minnesota, church services already have been disrupted—not by federal enforcement officers, but by the activists who have been opposing them. Those same radical activists indeed might choose to disrupt worship services in Washington, DC, before too long. …

By Mary Eberstadt, The Catholic Thing – For over sixty years, after all, we have lived under the tyranny of a collective declaration that I am my own, and no one else’s – that I decide matters of life, and the giving, taking, or preventing of life; that I, and no one else, have the right to do with my body whatever I see fit… And this repudiation of the truth that we are not our own can now be judged by its fruits, which are everywhere around us. The declaration that I am my own, the fundamental battle cry of the sexual revolution, has rendered life radically different, and in several respects, worse for us than for any other human beings in history.

By Anne Hendershott, The American Spectator – After securing the Supreme Court majority that overturned Roe v. Wade, President Trump now finds himself lectured to by a vocal minority of pro-life activists who seem to have forgotten who delivered the greatest pro‑life victory in half a century. A movement that spent decades fighting for the end of Roe should be united in gratitude to the president, yet an increasing number of pro‑lifers have chosen to treat President Trump not as the leader who delivered the impossible, but as a disappointment measured against their ever‑shifting purity tests.

By Casey Chalk, Catholic Exchange – Most importantly, forgiveness draws us into deeper fellowship with Christ. The more we do it, there we appreciate what Christ did for us on the cross; and the more we can perceive that we can, in our own little way, extend the same grace that Jesus extended when He forgave His enemies on the cross. Friendships, families, and entire communities can in time be healed by a radical willingness to forgive. Don’t allow old grievances to oppress your soul. There is freedom to be had. You need only forgive.

By Jonah McKeown, National Catholic Register – Nashville Bishop J. Mark Spalding, speaking to the Register, noted that his is a diocese experiencing rapid, large-scale growth — about 1.5% on average per year for the Nashville metro, while the national average is well under 1% — primarily driven by large numbers of people moving into Middle Tennessee. People are primarily moving to the area for economic opportunities, he said, but also because the region is perceived as family-friendly and value-oriented, creating the soil for a vibrant and dynamic Catholic culture to spring up.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 4:35-41 – 35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?”

By Tyler Arnold for EWTN News, (Catholic World Report) – “[Hegseth] definitely wants to return the chaplaincy to responsibility for religious services, religious instruction, and advising the commanders,” Broglio said in a speech at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28… In December, Hegseth ended the use of the official spiritual fitness guide, which he said never mentions virtue and only references God once but makes 11 references to “feelings” and nine to “playfulness.” He said the guidelines were “pushing secular humanism” and were a disservice to military service members who have religious faith.

By Joseph Pearce, Crisis Magazine – Today, as a citizen of the United States, I hope and pray that we might move beyond the desire for power, for political “greatness,” to once again embrace the true greatness of goodness. I pray that America will be great because she is beautiful from sea to shining sea.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – The Catholic Bishop of Saskatoon in Canada has issued a strong condemnation of abortion, describing it as resulting in the killing of unborn children and contributing to a broader cultural devaluation of human life… In a pastoral message released January 24 for Reverence for Life Sunday—observed Jan. 25 in the Diocese of Saskatoon—Bishop Mark Hagemoen highlighted the ongoing impact of the 1988 Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Morgentaler case, which struck down restrictions on abortion and left in place abortions up to birth for any reason

Catholic Apostolate Center – Throughout his life, St. John Bosco was dedicated to vocational education and publishing. Today, his intercession is sought as the patron of young apprentices and Catholic publishers. Inspired by Saint Francis de Sales, he and his followers informally banded together, and founded the Salesian religious order, which is among the largest and most influential communities in the Catholic Church. John Bosco and the Salesians developed a theory of education based on love and support, rather than punishment. “Young people should not only be loved but that they themselves should know that they are loved.” -St. John Bosco

By Father Jerry J. Pokorsky, Catholic World Report – In the prescient 1980s BBC comedy series Yes, Prime Minister, Prime Minister Jim Hacker must choose the next Anglican bishop of Bury St. Edmunds. His choice is between an atheist and a socialist. The prime minister’s adviser dryly observes, “It’s interesting, isn’t it? That politicians want to talk about moral issues, and bishops want to talk about politics.”… Catholics may notice a similar pattern today.

By Matt Kittle, The Federalist – Looking to beef up election integrity ahead of November’s midterms, Republicans are introducing the Make Elections Great Again, or MEGA, Act… The bill, led by House Administration Committee Chairman Brian Steil, R-Wisconsin, includes many of the measures that election integrity-hating Democrats have fought so feverishly to kill. It requires photo ID to cast a ballot, proof of U.S. citizenship to vote, and bans practices that have plagued election security and voter confidence for years.

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing – Loyalty is a republican virtue, and more than that.  “The American people have been chary of the word loyalty, perhaps because they regard it as the correlative of royalty,” Orestes Brownson says, in his great work on our country, The American Republic, “but loyalty is rather the correlative of law.”… That fact pops up from a cursory glance at the components of the word. It clearly comes from the French for law,loi.  Loyalty is loi-alty.  In Medieval Latin, it was simply legalitas.   Loyalty is most fundamentally lawfulness.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – The Department of Veterans Affairs has halted the killing of unborn babies in abortions at its facilities nationwide, complying with a Justice Department opinion that restores longstanding federal prohibitions on taxpayer-funded abortions for veterans… The reversal, effective immediately, overturns a 2022 Biden administration policy that had expanded abortion access within the VA system, allowing VA doctors to perform abortions even in violation of federal law and state protections for the unborn.

By Jonah McKeown, National Catholic Register – Could computer programs ever come to truly think and understand? Can artificial intelligence (AI) possess a “mind” the way humans do and, by extension, ever be described as a “person” with a soul?… If you ask some of the leading creators and proponents of AI products, at least some of them would answer “Yes” to these questions — a “Yes” that, if true, would raise other far-reaching and potentially dangerous ideas: Should AI programs be given rights? Should they be considered as equal in dignity to humans, or even obeyed as our superiors?!

By Fr. Ignatius John Schweitzer, OP, Catholic Exchange – Some time ago, I had the practice of reading the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7) or the Last Discourse of John (Jn. 14-17) at least once a week. I did so because these passages are so fundamental to the Christian life. Regularly going through the Sermon on the Mount caused varying dimensions of the Sacred Page to come forth, such as seeing it in terms of Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit in our life as Christians. Our Gospel this Sunday, on the Beatitudes, is a brief, introductory summary of the whole sermon and so gets us to the heart of the Sermon on the Mount.

By Nate Jackson, Patriot Post – One last point: Why was Pretti there? Because he hates ICE. Why was ICE there? Because Trump is attempting to clean up the very deliberate crisis created by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and now leftist Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey. Biden and Harris may be gone, but their open border policy is still claiming American lives. Nothing ICE agents have done even remotely compares to the violence and death against entirely innocent people like another nurse named Laken Riley.

By Paul du Quenoy, Chronicles – In Democrat thinking, every illegal in the country is a potential voter, a future voter, or a parent to future voters. Trump’s closing of the border has shut off the supply of new arrivals, but his active removal of illegals and other measures—such as excluding them from the census, which determines each state’s number of congressional representatives—is reducing the absolute numbers already present and reducing their weight in American electoral politics.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 4:26-34 – 26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, 27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. 28 The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” …

By Katherine Matt, The Daily Signal – In recent years, many parents have begun questioning long-standing assumptions about traditional education. Concerns about bureaucracy, one-size-fits-all curricula, and institutional failures have eroded confidence in the public school system for many families… Some parents are also increasingly wary of ideological instruction in public schools, particularly when it comes to gender ideology and sex education… While debate over education is healthy in our society, a growing number of families believe the system has become less responsive to individual needs

By Jeffrey Lord, The American Spectator – Pennsylvania’s Democrat U.S. Senator John Fetterman has got it exactly right… Recently, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, also a Democrat, decided it was a good idea to call ICE agents “wannabe Nazis.”… Which prompted Senator Fetterman to condemn Krasner, correctly saying, “members of ICE are not Nazis” and that in calling them Nazis, Krasner could easily incite violence… Well exactly. Good for Senator Fetterman. …

By Greg Piper, Just the News – When a medical transparency group sought all records on the government’s approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration told a court it would need 55 years to redact them under Freedom of Information Act exemptions. The gambit didn’t work… The FDA won’t take that long to finish an abortion pill’s safety review, which was prompted by a think tank report last spring, promised by Commissioner Marty Makary in June and reiterated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in September, but the agency can’t give a specific timeframe.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture – Since the last three popes have all recommended Msgr. Robert Hugh Benson’s 1907 apocalyptic novel Lord of the World, perhaps a few words about this remarkable portrayal of the end times are in order… Benson foresees the future state of the world in which he recognized he was already living—a world focused entirely on the present material potentiality of humankind, and completely blind to spiritual reality. It is also a world in which a kind of humane gentleness (including the widespread availability of “euthanasia houses”) is maintained beneath a façade of tolerance for those still attached to the old religions, of which only Catholicism is perceived as potentially threatening.

Franciscan Media, January 30 – Today we honor a woman who submitted to God’s will throughout her life—a life filled with pain and suffering… Born in 1825 in central Poland and baptized Sophia, Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska contracted tuberculosis as a young girl. The forced period of convalescence gave her ample time for reflection. Sophia felt called to serve God by working with the poor, including street children and the elderly homeless in Warsaw’s slums. In time, her cousin joined her in the work.

By Sheena Rodriguez, Live Action News – Though the Trump administration claims to be pro-life and has made efforts to combat destructive transgender ideology, it has also disturbingly thrown support behind the expansion of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), which comes with a heavy cost in the destruction of a staggering number of the most vulnerable human beings… To make good on his intention to make IVF more accessible and affordable, President Trump promised access to discounted IVF drugs through the TrumpRX website. This month, it is set to officially launch, with the inclusion of a fertility drug from biopharmaceutical company EMD Serono.

By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal – Vice President JD Vance announced that the Trump administration has created a new assistant attorney general position to crack down on fraud nationwide… The new official will have “nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud,” Vance said at Thursday’s White House press briefing… “Unfortunately, the American people have been defrauded in a very nationwide way,” Vance said… Federal prosecutors have estimated that welfare fraud in the state could have topped $9 billion, and more than 90 individuals have been charged in connection to fraud schemes there.

By John Daniel Davidson, the Federalist – Forget January 6. It turns out January 7 might go down as the date when insurrection really arrived in America — not from the MAGA right, but from the anti-Trump left… In the aftermath of the fatal shooting Wednesday in Minneapolis of a woman who appears to have tried to ram an ICE agent with her vehicle, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced at a press conference that he had issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard to mobilize to “protect Minnesotans” from “rogue ICE agents.”… Walz said, “We’ve never been at war with our federal government,” and at one point told Minnesotans, “do not allow them to deploy federal troops here.” …

By Greg Piper, Just the News – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s in-house publication gave mainstream media ammunition to attack Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s scrutiny on vaccine safety and efficacy, running a study that implies COVID vaccines saved healthy kids from serious outcomes last season… The research appeared in the CDC’s Dec. 11 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which is not peer-reviewed and was accused of publishing methodologically weak research upholding COVID dogma between President Trump’s terms. …

By Elise Winland, Catholic Vote – In remarks at a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy celebration Jan. 8, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused major health organizations of promoting nutrition advice shaped by corporate interests… Speaking one day after HHS unveiled the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030, Kennedy argued that long-standing federal warnings against saturated fat reflected conflicts of interest rather than settled science… He singled out the American Heart Association, saying it “was and continues to accept millions of dollars from the biggest processed food makers in this country” ….

By Srdja Trifkovic, Chronicles – Operation Absolute Resolve in the early hours of Jan. 3 showcased military professionalism bolstered by first-class intelligence. It opened with shock-and-awe air strikes that neutralized Venezuela’s air defenses and provided the cover for the Delta Force raid on President Nicolás Maduro’s compound and his prompt transfer to USS Iwo Jima… It was a truly unprecedented event: a de facto extradition of a head of state, with the objective of effecting major policy changes by his successors. … This was a clear demonstration, on (Jan. 3, 2026), that the world has moved beyond those nebulous and inherently dangerous constructs of Team Biden’s “rules-based international order.” …

By Anne Hendershott, Catholic World Report – Too many in the media try to force a long tradition of papal diplomacy into the narrow world of American politics while ignoring the centuries of Catholic teachings on war, peace, and justice… Pope Leo’s recent comments on the United States military operation in Venezuela were quickly labeled left‑leaning by some media outlets, including The Daily Beast, Yahoo News, and a growing list of syndicated sites… But that framing misses the point. It forces a long tradition of papal diplomacy into the narrow world of American politics while ignoring the centuries of Catholic teachings on war, peace, and justice.

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register – Some cardinals and faithful who have a devotion to the traditional Roman rite have expressed concern that the liturgy appears to be sidelined in the extraordinary consistory currently underway at the Vatican after the cardinals voted to give priority to other issues on the agenda… In his opening address to the consistory yesterday, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed to the cardinal participants that they will have the opportunity to “engage in a communal reflection” on four themes already pre-announced to be on the meeting’s agenda. …

By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – Since Wednesday’s shooting of a violent anti-ICE demonstrator at the hands of U.S. immigration officials in Minneapolis, Democrats and their left-wing lackies have taken to doing what they do best: lying… Within hours, these self-professed “misinformation” experts spread disinformation of their own by claiming that the now-deceased woman — who is on video obstructing law enforcement operations and accelerating her vehicle at an ICE agent — was nothing more than an innocent “legal observer.” …

By Franciscan Media – By Franciscan Media – Though Saint Adrian turned down a papal request to become Archbishop of Canterbury, England, Pope Saint Vitalian accepted the rejection on the condition that Adrian serve as the Holy Father’s assistant and adviser. Adrian accepted, but ended up spending most of his life and doing most of his work in Canterbury.

By Ryan Neuhaus, Chronicles – Politicos keep talking about an affordability crisis, and they’re not wrong; there clearly is one. But the price pressures everyone is obsessing about sit atop something deeper. The truth is that the affordability crisis is the result of choices, policy decisions made over decades, that reshaped the country in ways that no longer reward responsible behavior. The crisis is not primarily about inflation or deregulation or unemployment, or any other economic metric. It is about a generation of young Americans waking up and realizing that the path they were told to take no longer leads where they were told it would. …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Luke 4:14-22 – 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the Sabbath day. And he stood up to read; 17 and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. ….

By John Solomon, Just the News – Officials say movement of cash out of Minnesota was substantially abnormal and should have raised red flags during the Biden administration… Homeland Security Dept. officials said the statistics they have gathered in recent weeks show the movement of cash out of Minnesota was substantially abnormal and should have raised red flags during the Biden administration, long before the Trump administration began investigating it as part of a major fraud scheme that stole billions from taxpayers in the state.

By Chris Jackson, Hiraeth In Exile, (Complicit Clergy) – Leo XIV does not treat Vatican II as one council among many, held inside a long Catholic memory and judged by what the Church already received. He treats it like the hinge of history, the moment the Church “begins,” the point where the past becomes raw material and the future becomes mandate. He reads Lumen gentium as program, not as reference. He frames it as light. Then, almost immediately, he announces a whole catechesis series dedicated to Vatican II, presented as permanently relevant, permanently urgent, permanently required for reading the world.

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register – Participants in the Jan. 7-8 extraordinary consistory in Rome shared their thoughts with the Register Wednesday on Pope Leo XIV’s first major meeting with the College of Cardinals since his election in May… “It will be a moment of grace, of sharing, of deepening, and of listening on various topics,” predicted Cardinal Francis Leo of Toronto, as he walked from his Rome residence to the Synod Hall in the Paul VI Hall to attend the gathering’s opening session. “I’m going with an open heart, let’s see how it develops.”

By Matt Kittle, The Federalist – Assaults on ICE agents have exploded over the past year. In November, DHS reported that “sanctuary politicians’ rhetoric” fueled a 1,150 percent “increase in violence against ICE law enforcement.” In light of last month’s Operation Metro Surge, an ICE enforcement effort targeting “the worst of the worst who flock to Minnesota because they know sanctuary politicians will protect them,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the liberal politicians were only making things tougher for law enforcement officials.

By Dr. R. Jared Staudt, Catholic World Report – What would the collapse of civilization look like?… We might immediately think of cutoff utilities, disruptions in the supply chain, violence in the streets, and the lack of functional government. While it’s true these might serve as external indicators of a functioning modern society, they do not constitute the essence of civilization. A civilized person doesn’t just live in the city (the civitas that gives civilization its name) but conforms to an ideal of culture. A barbarian lives for immediate needs and wants …

By Craig Bannister, MRC TV – “I’ve issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed, if necessary,” Democrat Minnesota Governor Tim Walz threatened Wednesday, denouncing the federal government’s efforts to enforce U.S. immigration law in his state… Gov. Walz made the apparent threat during a press conference following the death of a Minnesota anti-immigration enforcement protester who was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent as she, according to video of the incident, drove her vehicle into the agent. …

By Nancy Flanders, Live Action News – According to new reports, Canada is allowing prisoners to end their lives through assisted suicide despite having banned capital punishment decades ago… Canada fully banned capital punishment — the death penalty — in 1998… Medical Assistance in Dying was approved in Canada in 2016… From 2016 to 2025, at least 67 prisoners in Canada have requested assisted death, with at least 15 approved and killed. …

By M.C. Holbrook, Catholic Exchange – John the Evangelist begins his Gospel account of the wedding feast at Cana by pointing out first that Mother Mary is in attendance. That Jesus is also there is secondary. But isn’t Jesus always the most important character in any of the Gospel stories? Of course—which is perhaps the reason John references the Blessed Mother namelessly, pointing to her instead as “the mother of Jesus.” Still, the fact that John singles her out, all in her own

By Randall O’Bannon, Ph.D., LifeNews – Since the Dobbs decision, the Guttmacher Institute has been publishing monthly abortion estimates based on data submitted from a national sample of abortionists. In the last few weeks, it has compiled these monthly totals and published a new estimate for abortions in 2024 – 1,126,970… Guttmacher says this number reflects 1,050,660 abortions “provided by clinicians in U.S. states without a total ban in 2024″ plus an additional 76,310 “provided via telehealth to states with total bans in 2024,” according to estimates Guttmacher takes from the Society of Family Planning (SFP). …

By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal – When Rep. Mary Miller saw President Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to ban large investors from buying single-family homes, she immediately volunteered to introduce a bill to codify it, she said… “It’s been an issue that the Family Caucus has been discussing, and I’m thrilled to see President Trump’s tweet and that he’s making this a priority,” Miller (said)… Miller expects Trump to sign an executive order banning large investors from buying single-family homes, and then her bill will codify that policy into law. ….

By Mark Alexander, Patriot Post – What an amazing year just passed, and the one ahead more so! I may be the last person wishing you a Happy New Year, but know this: I mean it from the heart!… It is fitting, with humility, that our 30th year advancing our mission “to support and defend” Freedom would fall on our nation’s 250th year in the eternal battle required to sustain American Liberty and extend it to the next generation… It did not occur to me on Constitution Day, 17 September 1996, when we launched The Patriot Post, that our 30th anniversary would coincide with such a magnificent moment in American history. …

By Veronique de Rugy, The American Spectator – Fraud is widespread and persistent… Growing national outrage over Minnesota’s welfare fraud is justified, but not because of where it took place or because it implicates members of any immigrant community. It’s much more than a “Minnesota” story… The outrage is justified because Americans are finally getting a concrete look at what happens when pushing public money out the door matters more than verifying the eligibility of the recipients, confirming services were delivered, or, ultimately, being a good steward of taxpayers’ money. …

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – Through the first eight months of his pontificate, Leo XIV has been a calming presence in Rome. There have been no shocking statements from the apostolic palace to prompt sensational headlines, no dramatic policy announcements to unveil grand new plans. Vatican-watchers are still waiting to see what sort of papacy this will be. The consistory of cardinals meeting this week— his first unexpected initiative— may answer their questions… To date Pope Leo has appeared content to continue along the path set by Pope Francis.

Franciscan Media – Some saints show marks of holiness very early. Not Angela! Born of a leading family in Foligno, Italy, she became immersed in the quest for wealth and social position. As a wife and mother, she continued this life of distraction.

By Eddie Scarry, The Federalist – That Tim Walz is abandoning his reelection campaign for Minnesota governor amid a maddening multibillion-dollar welfare fraud scandal should serve as a big reminder: Democrats are robbing you every day and hardly even trying to hide it… Recall Walz as the stereotypical self-abasing Democrat white male, presumably heterosexual, who was inexplicably chosen to be Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election. His stint in that role was the equivalent of a 300-pound belly flop into a pool full of sand ….

By Max Dublin, The American Spectator – South America is moving on from socialist fantasies, just as the North begins to embrace them… With all the hullabaloo relating to the extraction and arrest of Venezuelan narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro, it is easy to forget that in recent years — and even recent months — good things have been happening in the southern hemisphere without America’s helping hand… Shortly before the recent election in Chile, I visited that country to attend a wedding. …

By Sarah Cain, Crisis Magazine – The new and already infamous Bishop Michael Martin began by targeting the reverent churches that have produced vocations, and he has now turned to target the seminarians themselves. He wishes to delay the ordination of young men by a year, forcing them to work as lay teachers midway through the seminary program. After they have received their bachelor’s degree in philosophy through Belmont Abbey College, and before they begin their theology education for their master’s, they will work as teachers in diocesan schools.

By Edward Welsch, Chronicles – Unlike my ancestors, the Somalis did not come to the United States to work. They came to America to become government dependents and clients of the Democratic Party… They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you, okay? Someone will say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care. I don’t want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks and we don’t want them in our country.

By Terry Hursh, Catholic Exchange – Many people are incredibly active, yet spiritually stagnant—especially in the most important aspect of life: knowing, loving, and serving God… Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009), former editor of “First Things,” once observed, “It seems like most of us spend our lives discovering we are merely ‘creatures’ and not the Creator. We want to create our own successful world…without understanding that it is the Creator—not the created—who is in control.”

By Tyler Arnold, Catholic News Agency – “Now you have to be a little flexible on Hyde,” the president said. “You know that you got to be a little flexible. You got to work something [out]. You got to use ingenuity. You got to work. We’re all big fans of everything, but you got to be flexible. You have to have flexibility.”… Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, criticized Trump for urging flexibility on the provision, calling its support “an unshakeable bedrock principle and a minimum standard in the Republican Party.”

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 6:45-52 – 45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. ….

By Felix Miller, Catholic Vote – The Catholic Church in the U.S. has reportedly seen a surge in requests for exorcisms in the past few years, leading to an increased number of priests being trained as exorcists, according to recent reports… The Catholic Church teaches that demons are real and that they can possess human beings. According to paragraph 1673 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, there are two forms of exorcism: the simple form, which occurs at every baptism, and the solemn or “major” exorcism, which deals with serious cases of demonic possession.

By Michael Haynes, PerMariam, Substack – Cardinal Radcliffe, who served as spiritual advisor to the Synod on Synodality, has given his support to “moving ahead quickly” with ordaining women to the diaconate… Timothy Cardinal Radcliffe OP made a number of revelatory comments, not least about the fact that he apparently fell in love with a woman just shortly after he was ordained a priest and invited her to stay at his priory to meet the Dominican community there… But it is his position on women’s access to the diaconal order which is a standout aspect of the interview.

By Ryan Colby, LifeNews – The State of Colorado must pay $5.4 million in attorneys’ fees to Becket following the state’s unconstitutional effort to outlaw abortion pill reversal. Becket represented Bella Health and Wellness, a Denver-area Catholic pro-life healthcare clinic, defending them against Colorado’s attempt to make it illegal for doctors and nurses to help women who take the first abortion pill but then decide to continue their pregnancies.

By Gina Christian, OSV News – Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans issued a formal apology to abuse survivors in that archdiocese. This follows a court approval of a $230 million settlement in a five-year-long bankruptcy case. “With this letter,” he wrote, “I express on behalf of the clergy, religious, and laity of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, my predecessors, and myself, profound regret over the tragic and inexcusable harm you have suffered at the hands of your abusers.”

By Complicit Clergy, by Staff – A year ago, the news surprised the Catholic world: on January 6, 2025, Pope Francis appointed the first woman to head a Vatican dicastery. The Consolata missionary Simona Brambilla was named to oversee more than 600,000 religious sisters and brothers (including 128,559 priests) worldwide… No less unprecedented was the appointment of a pro-prefect, a position not previously provided for by curial norms in this case. Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB, assumed this role, whose performance remains opaque.

Franciscan Media – Since Raymond lived into his hundredth year, he had a chance to do many things. As a member of the Spanish nobility, he had the resources and the education to get a good start in life… By the time he was 20, he was teaching philosophy. In his early 30s he earned a doctorate in both canon and civil law. At 41 he became a Dominican…

Patriot Post, Headlines – Maduro update: Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro appeared in a New York City court on Monday following his arrest by U.S. forces in Caracas over the weekend. Wearing a prison uniform, Maduro pleaded not guilty to charges connected to narco-terrorism, contending that he was “a decent man” and that he was “innocent” and “not guilty of anything that is mentioned here.” His wife, Cilia Flores, who was arrested and charged with him, also entered a not-guilty plea. …

By Sandra Miesel, Catholic World Report – The Wise Men—not yet called kings—make only a single appearance in Holy Scripture. St. Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 2:1-12) tells of their arrival in Jerusalem shortly after the birth of Jesus. They have come seeking the newborn King of the Jews because they had seen his star rise in the East. Herod, the current ruler, knows nothing of an upstart princeling but learns that prophecies place him in Bethlehem. Herod directs the Wise Men to search there for the Child and keep him informed. Following their star, the Wise Men find Jesus with his Mother.

By John Cassara, Crisis Magazine – Greed is part of the human condition. It has always been with us. Yet in our progressive, post-Christian, materialistic, and debased culture, it seems like we are seeing more and more instances of egregious criminality based on greed… For example, Minnesota’s Somali community has recently faced scrutiny over major fraud cases, particularly the multimillion-dollar “Feeding Our Future” scandal. It involved Covid pandemic food aid and other forms of government assistance, including Medicaid fraud, child care, housing, and autism programs. Estimates of the fraud vary from between $9 and $18 billion. …

By Katy Faust, The Federalist – Then there is Elon Musk, who has openly declared that having many children is a moral duty to save civilization. Musk has at least 14 publicly known children, many conceived through IVF, surrogacy, or relationships intentionally structured around reproduction rather than marriage. He has said that “smart people” need to have more kids — and has used reproductive technologies to curate which women will bear them. …

By Michael Hichborn, Lepanto Institute – According to the assistant chaplain, Thomas More University enrolls students who are Catholic, members of other Christian denominations, and adherents of non-Christian religions, including Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. He stated that because many such students lack transportation to off-campus houses of worship, students “on their own, were using space that was not appropriate or conducive to prayer.”… after considering space constraints, noise, and security concerns, students of all faiths were offered the use of the meditation or prayer room as an interfaith chapel.

By Father Jerry J. Pokorsky, Catholic World Report – Every person, from king to commoner, lives by a moral code. Catholic moral theology is grounded in the Ten Commandments and the principles of Natural Law…. The Catholic Church clusters its moral precepts—Natural Law, God’s positive law, and Church discipline—around the Ten Commandments. Catholic moral theology is reasonable and governs human acts. The deliberate violation of a moral precept, with freedom and full consent, renders a person guilty. Although most sins are venial and weaken the soul, some sins are mortal and rob it of sanctifying grace. God grants His grace and the sacraments to restore that grace and return us to the path of salvation.

By Christopher Jacobs, The Federalist – I could go on (and on and on), but I won’t. Here’s hoping that, regardless of what happens with the upcoming vote in the House, Republicans stop playing into Democrats’ hands and start turning their attention toward reducing the underlying cost of health care, rather than throwing good taxpayer money over bad at a failing Obamacare program.

By Cassy Cooke, Live Action News – If 2025 proved one thing, it’s that the pro-life movement is not slowing down. And Live Action continues to lead where culture, truth, and accountability meet… Here are some of the biggest victories the pro-life movement celebrated in 2025… Defunding Big Abortion of an estimated $700 million… This summer, the reconciliation bill known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed Congress and was subsequently signed by President Trump on July 4.

By Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing – Pope Leo has summoned the world’s Cardinals to a Consistory this week, a return to normal practice that was mostly sidelined for the past dozen years in favor of “synodal” gatherings. So now that the Jubilee Year has concluded, the current pope is doing something new – and old – in any event, a departure from his predecessor’s ways, in the very first days of 2026. What might that mean?

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Mark 6:34-44 – 34 As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; 36 send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat.” ….

By Fr. Mario Alexis Portella, Crisis Magazine – The era of socialism in New York City has begun as Mayor Zohran Mamdani was ceremoniously sworn in by the socialist Democrat Senator of Vermont, Bernie Sanders. In his inauguration speech on New Year’s Day, the new mayor said: “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism…. I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist.”… Mamdani, aside from seeking to freeze rent on the city’s nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments as part of his socialist agenda, has also vowed to implement city-owned grocery stores.

By Nancy Flanders, Live Action News – Fox News contributor and liberal commentator Leslie Marshall has shared the heartbreak of her journey with in vitro fertilization (IVF), including that she went through 13 cycles and 11 miscarriages… Marshall and her husband have two children: one from adoption and one via IVF. Her first son died as an infant due to Canavan disease, a genetic condition. There was a 25% chance that any child they had would have the condition and a 75% chance that the child wouldn’t. …

By Franciscan Media – Brother André expressed a saint’s faith by a lifelong devotion to Saint Joseph… Sickness and weakness dogged André from birth. He was the eighth of 12 children born to a French Canadian couple near Montreal. Adopted at 12, when both parents had died, he became a farmhand. Various trades followed: shoemaker, baker, blacksmith—all failures. He was a factory worker in the United States during the boom times of the Civil War.

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Radical pro-abortion Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who signed a law allowing infanticide by letting babies die who survive abortions, announced Monday he will not seek reelection amid an ongoing fraud scandal plaguing his administration… Walz, a pro-abortion Democrat who initially launched his bid for a historic third term in September, reversed course, citing the need to focus on combating widespread fraud in state programs rather than campaigning.”

By David Catron, The American Spectator – The 1973 War Powers Resolution allows him to deploy military forces without prior approval of Congress… It was hardly necessary to consult the Delphic Oracle to know that every Democrat within reach of a microphone would denounce President Trump’s military action against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. It was, however, surprising to discover how ignorant the Democrats are about the President’s authority to deploy military forces. …

By Mark Rose, Rorate Caeli – The following op-ed, by guest writer Mark Rose, is in the style of Paul Harvey’s “If I were the Devil.”… If I were the Bishop—if I were the successor to the Apostles, charged with the care of souls in the United States—I’d want to make the Church irrelevant. I wouldn’t do it with persecution; that only makes the faithful stronger. I’d do it with “modernization.”… I’d begin by whispering that the old ways are dead. I’d convince you that we need to “update” the Church, not to convert the world, but to be liked by it. I would invoke the “Spirit of Vatican II” to dismantle the structures that held the faith together for centuries, taking into account the data showing that the Council’s implementation triggered a worldwide collapse in Mass attendance. …

By Srdja Trifkovic, Chronicles – In this hope, Maurras was disappointed: Pétain was outwitted by outright Nazi collaborationists. His turn of phrase nevertheless describes President Donald Trump’s December 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) for those who hope America can be once again a regular nation in its foreign affairs: powerful, secure, and focused on its pragmatic interests, in the realist tradition…. The president prefaced the 33-page document as “a roadmap to ensure America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history and the home of freedom on earth.”

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – Louisiana is pushing to temporarily reinstate an in-person requirement for dispensing abortion pills in a federal lawsuit that could protect thousands of unborn babies from chemical abortions enabled by a Biden administration rule… The state’s motion, filed December 17 in U.S. District Court, challenges the 2023 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy rule from the Food and Drug Administration, which allows remote prescription and mailing of the abortion drug mifepristone. A hearing on the request to restore the in-person safeguard is set for February 24.

By Nathanael Blake, The Federalist – Americans do not need illegal immigrants to raise our children… Atlantic writer Olga Khazan disagrees. She is angry at President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration because it is disrupting the easily exploited servant class that provides cheap childcare. As she explains, “Millions of parents in the United States … rely on immigrants to take care of their kids. … Immigrants make up at least 21 percent of the child-care workforce — and this may be an undercount.”… Fertility is about priorities and character, not immigration policy. The birth rate will go up if Americans prioritize having and raising their own children, not because they are offered a supply of cheap, easily exploited foreign women to change diapers.

By Mary Stroka, Catholic Vote – Since then, significant related developments have unfolded, including the following… Rubio explains U.S. policy in Venezuela.. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Kristen Welker of NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S. is at war with drug trafficking organizations, not Venezuela. He told Welker after she asked about President Donald Trump’s statement “We’re going to run the country” that the U.S. is “running policy” regarding changes in Venezuela.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 4:12-17,23-25 – 12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” ….

By CNA Staff, Catholic World Report, Catholic News Agency – President Donald Trump announced Saturday that U.S. forces have “captured” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro following a “large-scale strike” on the South American nation… “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” Trump wrote.

By Fr. Wayne Sattler, Catholic Exchange – “Mental prayer,” St. Teresa of Avila writes, “is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us” (The Book of Her Life, ch. 8, par. 5)… When we make time frequently to be alone with anyone we love, the time will not always be filled with noticeable activity.  We come to enjoy simply being with them without much concern as to what we might be doing. …

By Casey Chalk, The Federalist – No one looms larger in the story of our nation’s struggle for independence than George Washington, who today seems almost mythical… There are many things to celebrate during our nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations, and many men to honor for their part in our country’s birth: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and John Hancock among them. But no one looms larger than George Washington, who today seems almost mythical. At Washington’s funeral, Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee famously eulogized Washington as, “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” In 2026, it is our duty to ensure that honorific remains as true as when it was first spoken.

By Samantha Stephenson, Crisis Magazine – Amid so much toxicity, we find ourselves in desperate need of an antidote. (January 1st), on this Feast of Mary, Mother of God, I submit that it is she, our Queen, who is the antidote… Amid so much toxicity, we find ourselves in desperate need of an antidote. (Jan. 1st), on this Feast of Mary, Mother of God, I submit that it is she, our Queen, who is the antidote. Her example is the remedy we need to clear the poisons from our systems, and we need no other resolutions this year but to cling more closely to Mary, who mothers us all. …

By Edward Pentin, Substack – The vital importance of sacred music to the liturgy, the need for every Catholic to be watchful and prepared for the Four Last Things, and the recognition that only Christ’s kingship will bring true peace were among the key messages Cardinal Robert Sarah brought to the United States late last year… Cardinal Sarah’s visit to the U.S. was centered around the launch of his new book, The Song of the Lamb: Sacred Music and Heavenly Liturgy, co-written with Church musician Peter Carter.

By Anthony Esolen, The Catholic Thing – Will not “blood” be one of the evangelist’s most crucial motifs?  Will not “flesh” be taken up in the very next line?  Why must all the mysterious suggestions be reduced to the bald and the banal, as if John were transcribing the minutes for a committee?… If such a thing is held as inseparable from the Novus Ordo, along with the rest of the flattening – if, I say – then novus would be the wrong word.  Praeteritus, rather, for a bygone fad, like loud polyester slacks, or that palma Felicis.  Bishops, I beg you, take heed.

By Franciscan Media, January 5 – Perhaps because the United States got a later start in the history of the world, it has relatively few canonized saints, but their number is increasing… Saint John Neumann was born in what is now the Czech Republic. After studying in Prague, he came to New York at 25 and was ordained a priest. He did missionary work in New York until he was 29, when he joined the Redemptorists and became its first member to profess vows in the United States. …

By Kevin T. DiCamillo, Crisis Magazine – But we had all been hoodwinked: Bishop Fisher, who has absolutely no ties to any part of Western New York—indeed, his ecclesiastical career was based in Washington, D.C., under former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, and had never reached past the Mason-Dixon Line—had acted in bad faith. He took advantage of a young pastor’s obedience and the people of St. Raphael’s parish by having us pay for a paint job he capriciously and arbitrarily ordered, only to close and sell the very same church he had visited exactly twice: once to confirm the faithful (and complain to the pastor) and once to shut it down.

By Elise Winland, Catholic Vote – Federal authorities are ramping up investigations into alleged fraud tied to Minnesota’s child care and nutrition programs, bringing new charges and convictions in what prosecutors have described as one of the largest pandemic-era fraud schemes in U.S. history… The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Dec. 29 X post that prosecutors have now charged 98 individuals in connection with the case, with more than 60 defendants having pleaded guilty or been convicted. In a separate Dec. 29 post, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that 85 of the 98 individuals charged are of Somali descent.

By J. J. Ziegler, Catholic World Report – Nine new saints and 199 new blesseds—most of them martyrs—were honored in the two canonization ceremonies and 13 beatification ceremonies that took place in 2025… A 2005 curial document notes that “canonization is the supreme glorification by the Church of a Servant of God raised to the honors of the altar with a decree declared definitive and preceptive for the whole Church, involving the solemn Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff.” Canonization is typically preceded by the papal approval of a miracle attributed to the saint’s intercession.

The Editors, National Catholic Register – Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón just signed a bill into law that affirms the biological fact that life begins at conception… Indeed, it’s a gift that’s bestowed lovingly by God himself upon every single human being he has created, in his own image and likeness… And it’s a gift that needs to be cherished and protected throughout the entirety of every human journey, from the moment of conception through the time of natural death… Properly catechized Catholics already know this…

By James H. McGee, The American Spectator – On Christmas night, the U.S. delivered a long-called for and long-hoped for present to Nigeria’s Christians. More than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles, fired from a U.S. Navy destroyer off the coast of Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea, struck ISIS terrorist bases in the Sokoto state in northern Nigeria, a region increasingly dominated by ISIS. According to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), a significant number of terrorists were killed, and operational support facilities destroyed. Nigerian authorities confirmed that the strikes were coordinated with the Nigerian government.

By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV, Catholic Exchange – One of the concrete manifestations of growing in good will towards God is by writing out, in a clear and practical way, a “Plan of Life.” The aim is to improve our lives and make them more pleasing to God. So let us make the Psalmist’s prayer our own: “O Lord give success to the work of our hands.”… A Plan of Life ought to bring order to whatever is disordered in our lives. Due to sin, our lives are marked by upheaval, confusion, and disorder. Opposing this is the Holy Spirit, who brings about good order. From this order comes peace of heart, mind, and soul. The Augustinian definition of peace is “tranquility of order.”

From Saint Boniface Catholic Church website – The angel said to [Mary], “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”  Luke 1:35. The Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God is a liturgical celebration observed on January 1st which falls exactly one week after Christmas, the end of the octave of Christmas… The Blessed Virgin Mary is honored as the Mother of God because she conceived and gave birth to Christ, who is the incarnation of God the Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

By Luke J. Ayers, Crisis Magazine – Around 2015, at the age of 18 and having been Catholic for almost a full year, I was sitting in the pew of my large, suburban parish, reflecting on the readings and waiting for the homily. The presiding priest was (replace by a different celebrant who) walked in from the back of the church in a hard hat. In place of the homily, and after putting the hard hat down on the altar, he read The Little Engine That Could and gave an update on the state of the parish’s capital campaign to raise money for a new parish hall. …

By Fr. Nnamdi Moneme, OMV, Catholic Exchange – I used to think that I was humble…until I entered the seminary and started living with people of different temperaments and attitudes. Then I discovered that I had a lot of pride to deal with… I thought I was courageous until I faced the reality of clerical scandals and cover-ups in the Church. Then I discovered how easily I gave in to discouragement… I thought I was patient until I had to drive in traffic. Then I discovered how impatient I was… What was the lesson that I learned from all these? …

By Bridget McCartney Nohara, National Catholic Register – There is a ceaseless drone of noise in our modern culture. Smartphones buzz, notifications ping, and advertisements play automatically, adding to a cacophony that at times seems to drown out our very thoughts. Streaming, scrolling, and sometimes merely stepping out our door provides us with an endless loop of content. Though present all year long, the clatter seems to hit a new decibel in December.

By Brooke Myrick BSN, RN, LifeNews – With the irrefutable data being released from a recent study investigating the dangers of mifepristone, the truth of the harmful impact this drug continues to have on women is inescapable… After review of the study evaluating insurance claim data of women who had undergone a chemical abortion, it is now understood that mifepristone is 22 times more dangerous than previously shared by the abortion industry… This data supports and is equivalent to what medical professionals in pregnancy help organizations have understood for some time. …

By Fr. Shenan J. Boquet, Human Life International – Two major reports this week have drawn attention to the horrors of the commercial surrogacy industry… On Dec. 13, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an exposé on Chinese videogame billionaire Xu Bo, who has allegedly fathered more than 100 children using the services of paid surrogates… Meanwhile, the day after The Wall Street Journal published its exposé, The New York Times published its own devastating and lengthy exposé of the abuses that are rampant within the commercial surrogacy industry.

By Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas, The Catholic Thing – The Church, “expert in humanity” (as Pope Paul VI put it), knows that the mystery of Christmas (like that of Easter) is so great that it cannot be adequately plumbed – let alone celebrated – in a single day.  And so, taking a page out of our Jewish liturgical heritage, the Church gives us an octave observance – eight full days to consider the central doctrine of the Incarnation, enabling us to reflect on it from a variety of perspectives, not unlike holding a diamond up to the sun to appreciate its beauty from many different angles.

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture – Catholics are accustomed to viewing the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as the model for every family. Yet because all three were celibate—understood in a broad and proper sense—this connection requires clarification. Mary was perpetually a virgin. Joseph was her “most chaste spouse.” The celibacy of Jesus was integral to His sacred mission… Far from undermining family life, virginity and celibacy buttress and strengthen every holy family because they signify obedience, unity, and love ordered toward God. …

By Complicit Clergy, by Staff – … we learn that before he went to work for Hicks, Salvato worked as a canon lawyer for Archbishop Jose Gomez for 10 years. Salvato worked in the Metropolitan Tribunal were he oversaw the investigation of nearly 200 marriage annulment cases each year. Did you get that? Gómez assigned a homosexual man to make decisions about hundreds of marriage annulments in his archdiocese. How is someone who does not subscribe to the Catholic Church’s teaching on human anthropology make decisions about a sacramental marriage involving a man and a woman? A Catholic woman shared similar concerns in a comment on the Salvato news last week.

By Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, Bishop Emeritus, Pillars of Faith – We are still in Christmas. The Church insists on that. She stretches the feast across days because the mystery is too large to be taken in all at once. The joy is real. Heaven has opened. God has come among us. The Word has taken flesh, and nothing can undo that triumph. The light shines, and it is not overcome… But this joy is not fragile, and it is not naïve. It is strong enough to look straight at the truth… That is why the Church does not ask us to leave Christmas behind when she places these witnesses before us. She asks us to understand Christmas more deeply. ….

By Laura Echevarria, LifeNews – A new law in Puerto Rico recognizes that unborn babies are people starting at conception. It’s a precursor to potentially passing an abortion ban that would truly protect babies before birth… Signed into law by Governor Jenniffer González Colón in late December 2025, PS 504 amends Puerto Rico’s Civil Code to recognize the unborn child as a “natural person” from conception for civil purposes, such as inheritance or other favorable rights.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Luke 2:22-35 – 22 And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

By Amanda Prestigiacomo, DailyWire – A new childhood vaccination schedule under Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could look a lot more like Denmark’s schedule — meaning more parental control, fewer overall shots, and nixing very early doses… Kennedy has made it clear that he wants to overhaul how vaccines are recommended — and mandated — in the United States. So far, the secretary has handpicked a new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) panel and green-lighted changes to the Hep B and COVID vaccines.

By M.C. Holbrook, Catholic Exchange – The Holy Family offers us a beautiful model to follow in our own families, even though Scripture reveals so little about the “hidden years” before the time of Jesus’ public ministry. We are invited to imagine the love that poured forth from their little home, the abundant peace palpable to anyone who entered in, the joyful welcome to any guest, the cleanliness of each room down to every corner, the fresh and delicious smell of warm bread baking in the oven, ready to be served to an unexpected visitor.

By Srdja Trifkovic, Chronicles – On this Christmas Day, let us spare a thought for the plight of Middle Eastern Christians, arguably the most endangered religious minority in today’s world. I addressed this neglected issue 14 years ago (“A Grim Christmas,” Chronicles, December 2011), and those communities’ position has grown much worse since then.
Counting Eastern Christians is difficult: few reliable surveys have been conducted, and, moreover, religious leaders tend to overestimate their numbers. Statistics thus vary from one source to another and should be considered indicative rather than absolute.

By John Mac Ghlionn, Blaze TV – From Michigan to Melbourne, exorcisms are rising — an odd trend in an age when Christianity is supposedly retreating… Odd, that is, if you accept the official story: that faith has faded, churches have emptied, and modern life has supposedly outgrown such concerns. Yet behind parish doors and rectory walls, priests report the opposite: more calls, cases, and urgency… The demonic, it seems, didn’t get the secular memo.

By Franciscan Media – A strong man who wavered for a moment, but then learned one cannot come to terms with evil, and so became a strong churchman, a martyr, and a saint—that was Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in his cathedral on December 29, 1170… His career had been a stormy one. While archdeacon of Canterbury, he was made chancellor of England at the age of 36 by his friend King Henry II. …

By Fr. Kevin Drew, Catholic Exchange – Pour forth we beseech thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts That we to whom the Incarnation Of Christ thy Son, was made known By the message of an angel May by His Passion and Cross Be brought to the glory of His resurrection… That is the Collect, the Opening Prayer for last Sunday’s Mass, prayed for centuries on the 4th Sunday of Advent. 

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Luke 1:67-79 – 67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; ….

By Joseph Pearce, Crisis Magazine – Christmas, for Christians, is primarily about our only true home, which is to be found in Heaven, the gates of which were opened by the coming of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… There’s no place like home for the holidays. So sang Perry Como in the popular Christmas hit of 1954, and so sings Perry Como and numerous other singers every year on countless “holiday” channels on the radio throughout the Advent season, right through until the advent of Christmas itself… Home—for many people, Christmas is all about home and the love of home.

By Alexandra Greeley, National Catholic Register – Long associated with family gatherings and shared labor, tamales continue to anchor Christmas celebrations across cultures… Celebrating the Christmas season should be filled with good cheer, family gatherings, special events and, of course, a memorable holiday dinner. Forget serving roast turkey, glazed ham or prime rib of beef. Instead, introduce family and friends to a Latino Christmas dish that dates back thousands of years.

By Bring Me The News, (Complicit Clergy) – Archbishop Hebda just directly associated himself with arguably the most radical, corrupt Governor in the nation… Joined by faith leaders and Twin Cities mayors, Governor Tim Walz addressed ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and federal immigration enforcement across the Twin Cities at a joint news conference on Tuesday… Federal officials began “Operation Metro Surge” on Dec. 1, with the Department of Homeland Security claiming they have arrested “the worst criminal illegal aliens, including child sex offenders, domestic abusers, and violent gang members” across Minnesota.

By S.A. McCarthy, The Daily Signal – Hundreds of Christians in China will likely spend Christmas in jail this year, according to a recent report. Starting on Dec. 13, the Chinese Communist Party mobilized “more than a thousand police officers, SWAT units, anti-riot forces, and firefighters” in the Zhejiang Province’s Yayang Town in Wenzhou City, raiding churches and conducting mass arrests of Christians, ChinaAid reported Friday… “Belongings of relevant individuals were illegally confiscated, roads leading to the church were completely blocked by police, and Christians in Yayang Town were unable to enter the Yayang church.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – Edna Costello was one of those irreplaceable women who seem to appear in every healthy parish. She was the most active member of the altar guild, the Rosary circle, the parish council, the Bible study, marriage preparation classes, the pro-life league, and the ladies’ sodality. You could find her in church every morning, a half-hour before the early Mass. She would still be there for another hour after the Mass was over: making her thanksgiving, tidying up the pews, saying her Rosary, arranging flowers, making the Stations of the Cross. …

By Salena Zito, Patriot Post – After surviving two assassination attempts, one of which nearly killed him, and seeing the brutal murder of his friend Charlie Kirk, Trump recognizes that returning to huge outdoor rallies is impossible. Kirk’s death, he says, has changed him, shaping not only how he thinks about security but affecting him personally as well… After surviving two assassination attempts, one of which nearly killed him, and seeing the brutal murder of his friend Charlie Kirk, Trump recognizes that returning to huge outdoor rallies is impossible. Kirk’s death, he says, has changed him, shaping not only how he thinks about security but affecting him personally as well.

By Kim Hayes, LifeNews – “Women considering abortion should be informed of the possibility that they may experience persistent emotional distress,” Paul Sullins, Ruth Institute senior research associate concluded in a report published in the International Journal of Women’s Health Care… Most women seeking help are at a minimum five years removed from the abortion experience with one, two or even as much as three decades passing before women (and even men) seek healing through these ministries. …

By Derek Rotty, Catholic Exchange – Christmas is quickly approaching, and remembering to recognize it as a season offers an opportunity to extend its graces and lessons further into our lives… Venerable Fulton Sheen helps us to understand this reality well. Each year, in his syndicated newspaper column published close to Christmas day, he provided rich teaching, application to everyday life, and memorable turns of phrase that help deepen our insight into the Christmas mystery and apply it to our lives beyond December 25th.

By Fr. John A. Perricone, Crisis Magazine – One by one, as though on a conga line for the Democratic National Committee, our bishops last November recited a scripted Instagram paean to illegal immigration. Moreover, at the end of their recent November meeting, it was reported that they also, by overwhelming majority, huffed and puffed: “We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of peoples.”… For greater effect, they should have hired a better costume director. Except for one or two, they looked like unmade beds. Of course, this is part of the episcopal Spirit-of-Vatican-II look: casual, unkempt, pedestrian.

By Patti Maguire Armstrong, National Catholic Register – A woman, tired from Christmas shopping and carrying a large number of bags, pushed the button for the elevator. When the door opened it appeared at capacity with other tired, package-laden shoppers, but they squeezed together to make enough room. “Whoever came up with all this ought to be put in jail,” she exclaimed. Others agreed… And then a voice from the back of the elevator said, “Don’t worry. He already was put in jail and crucified.”

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Luke 1:57-66 – 57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” …

By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal – The Department of Justice has reversed the Biden administration’s decision to allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to perform abortions on the taxpayers’ dime… After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration told Veterans Affairs doctors that they could perform abortions, even though federal law prohibits taxpayers from funding abortion… In 2022, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel advised that federal law authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs and its employees to provide abortion services.

By Brad Miner, The Catholic Thing – There’s a story (likely a legend echoing the earlier Roman tale of Androcles and the lion) that one day in his study, St. Jerome (c. 342-420), hard at work translating the Holy Bible into Latin, had a visit from a lion. The lion had a splinter in its paw and begged the saint to remove it, which Jerome did, after which man and beast became inseparable… Being a cat lover, I would very much like to have a lion as a friend, although not as a pet. I’ve seen videos of a South African “lion whisperer,” who raised some abandoned lion cubs and stayed friends with them over the years ….

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is offering to pay illegal aliens $3,000 and provide a free plane ticket out of the U.S. if they register by the end of the year for self-deportation on the CBP One app…. “Self-deportation through the CBP Home app is the best gift that an illegal alien can give themselves and their families this holiday season,” the release asserts. “Those illegal aliens who don’t take advantage of this special offer today have only one alternative: They will be arrested, deported, and they will never be able to return to the United States.”

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 Samantha Flom, The American Spectator – We are either all created equal with the unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” or we are not. There is no single point during pregnancy when a human being suddenly becomes a person worthy of those rights. There is no magic in the birth canal that transforms a “fetus” into a “baby” deserving of legal protection… The only qualification for human rights should be humanity. Here’s hoping that this time around, it doesn’t take another bloody war for the United States to acknowledge that.

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. …

Franciscan Media – John of Kanty was a country lad who made good in the big city and the big university of Kraków, Poland. After brilliant studies he was ordained a priest and became a professor of theology. The inevitable opposition which saints encounter led to his being ousted by rivals and sent to be a parish priest at Olkusz. An extremely humble man, he did his best, but his best was not to the liking of his parishioners. ….

By Carl E. Olson, Catholic World Report – Looking on thee, O Unwedded One, and dreading a hidden wedlock, O Sinless One, the chaste Joseph was riven in mind with a storm of doubts… That is how the anxious state of Joseph was poetically described by the unknown author of the great Akathist hymn (c. 6th century) to the Blessed Virgin Mary as he considered what to do with his young and pregnant betrothed. Joseph, following the usual Jewish practice, had been covenanted to Mary; their betrothal was, for all intents and purposes, as legally binding as marriage. According to Jewish law, this meant the betrothal could only end in one of two ways: divorce or death (Deut. 24:1-4). …

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – A pro-life activist was arrested while distributing pregnancy resource pamphlets on a public sidewalk outside a Planned Parenthood abortion center in San Francisco… The arrested is being called a violation of First Amendment rights of pro-life Americans to protest abortion or help women find alternatives… Anastasia Rogers, an organizer with the pro-life group Survivors San Francisco, was handcuffed and taken into custody Thursday after a security guard at the abortion giant alleged “threatening language” in an Instagram post she made about her sidewalk outreach, Pro-Life San Francisco said in a statement. 

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Luke 1:46-56 – 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. …

By Casey Chalk, Crisis Magazine – Surely one of the most provocative conversations this year has been that sparked by conservative essayist Helen Andrews, whose October essay “The Great Feminization”—which censured what she describes as the feminization of Western institutions—went so viral that even liberal corporate media couldn’t ignore it. The New York Times welcomed her to write an op-ed on her thesis, and conservative Catholic columnist Ross Douthat brought Andrews onto The New York Times podcast to discuss it with conservative Catholic feminist Leah Libresco Sargeant. …

By Carole Novielli, Live Action News – The State of Louisiana and coerced abortion victim Rosalie Markezich have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) enforcement of the 2023 REMS safety protocols, which removed in-person dispensing requirements for the abortion pill mifepristone (200mg)… The lawsuit contends that the 2023 REMS “unlawfully remov[ed] the in-person dispensing requirement for the sole purpose of allowing out-of-state doctors to facilitate illegal mail order abortions in pro-life states like Louisiana.”…

By  M.D. Kittle, The Federalist – A jury late Thursday found Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of felony obstruction but determined there wasn’t enough evidence to convict her on a misdemeanor charge of concealing an individual from arrest… But the jury determined Dugan, who previously served as executive director of illegal immigrant advocate Catholic Charities, broke the law. … Dugan faces up to five years in prison on the obstruction conviction, but she is unlikely to be given that maximum penalty. Adelman, a leftist judge who has himself been publicly censured, will ultimately decide the judge’s sentence.

By Dr. Donald DeMarco, Catholic Exchange -Two colleagues of mine from the university, though brought up as Catholics, decided to leave the Church because of the scandalous behavior of certain members of the clergy.  This pains me because I believe that there is nothing outside the Church that could provide them with a more comprehensive way of living their lives in a Godly fashion.  On a lesser significant level, it is as if they are telling me that I must be foolish to remain in such a scandal-ridden institution.

By Susan Klemond, The American Spectator – Amy Grant’s 2008 song, “I Need a Silent Night,” resonates with those of us who feel frazzled at this time of year. Unlike many of her soft Christmas ballads, this song is an anthem of the tired and overextended at holiday time: I’ve made the same mistake before: Too many malls, too many stores December traffic, Christmas rush It breaks me till I push and shove…

By David Catron, The American Spectator – If you have struggled to find any reason to support the Democratic Party, you are by no means alone. A new Quinnipiac poll revealed last week that 73 percent of voters disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job. Yet, somehow, the party’s candidates managed to overperform its 2024 margins in all five House special elections this year. How did they work this miracle? One clue can perhaps be found in the recent revelations about election “irregularities” in Fulton County, Georgia.

By Nathanael Blake, The Federalist – Parents have good reasons to want to keep their kids out of government-run schools. Here in Virginia, the Loudoun County school district notoriously covered up a rape that was ideologically inconvenient. Just before the start of this school year, a Loudoun elementary school teacher was arrested for soliciting a minor. And the school board is being sued over their policy allowing students to use wrong-sex facilities like locker rooms and for punishing kids who object.

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Luke 1:26-38 – 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. …

By Caroline Manno, Crisis Magazine – If you want the main course and dessert, you really need to read Maria von Trapp’s own writings on her family’s life and deep spirituality. The best place to start is The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (1949), on which The Sound of Music is based. The film portrays well Maria’s conflict between her desire to be a nun and God’s upending of her plans to fulfill His own—that she marry Georg and raise a family with him. You can see Maria speak briefly about her decision in this interview.

By Susan Ciancio, Catholic World Report – They arrive in the dark of night to give Christmas joy to grieving families who have suffered unimaginable losses. Quietly, they leave gifts, decorate trees and walkways, and then depart, hopefully undetected… The Christmas Commandos, as they are called, have been providing love and comfort to families grieving out-of-order losses—the loss of a child or the loss of a young spouse—for over 25 years. ….

By Paul Suski, Catholic Exchange – “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.”… With these famous opening words of the Confessions, St. Augustine frames any genuine inquiry into the nature of inner peace… The desire for inner peace is written upon our very nature. Although many individuals make choices that result in internal disorder and even chaos, these decisions are often driven by a misguided understanding of what truly brings fulfillment.

By Rep. Paul Gosar, Chronicles – When insurers deny care, manipulate rules, extract taxpayer subsidies, and reward executives handsomely for it, Congress cannot look away. Healthcare CEOs should not be shielded from scrutiny simply because their industry is powerful. Instead, they should be required to appear before Congress, answer hard questions, and explain—under oath—why an industry built on public support has completely failed the public it is meant to serve.

By Matthew McDonald, National Catholic Register – A retired NY bishop (Bishop Edward Scharfenberger) has filed for personal bankruptcy protection in federal court after a state jury verdict found him, along with other officials, personally liable for the collapse of a Catholic hospital pension fund that left about 1,100 retirees without the lifetime monthly payments they were expecting… Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, 77, who served as bishop of Albany from April 2014 until his retirement in October, is seeking protection from creditors for his assets valued at between $100,001 and $500,000, according to a filing Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York… he has between 100 and 199 creditors and debts totaling between $1,000,001 and $10 million.

By Franciscan Media – It’s not the founder of the Dominicans we honor today, but there’s a poignant story that connects both Dominics… Our saint today, Dominic of Silos, was born in Spain around the year 1000 into a peasant family. As a young boy he spent time in the fields, where he welcomed the solitude. …

By Rob Sexton, Catholic Exchange – We speak often of Mary’s Fiat, and rightly so. Her yes stands at the center of salvation history. But Scripture gives us another yes, one that is quieter and almost hidden in the background. It is the yes of a man who receives no annunciation from an angel in broad daylight, who hears God not through a message addressed to him by name but through a dream. Joseph wakes from that dream and obeys.

By Gayle Somers, Catholic Exchange – As our time of preparation and waiting in Advent draws to a close, we find ourselves listening to St. Matthew’s account of how Joseph became an important part of the first Advent. In some ways, the example of Joseph is the perfect pivot point as we move from anticipation to reality in the Incarnation, celebrated all through the liturgical season of Christmas. How?

By Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal – ICE agents are “maxed out,” a senior Trump administration official told The Daily Signal, and yet there is “frustration” within the administration that deportation numbers aren’t higher… “I think it is just an enormous challenge to get 20 million people out of this country,” the official said, referring to an estimation of the number of illegal aliens living in the U.S. …

By Craig Bannister, CNS News – Three House Democrats voted Wednesday to protect children from transgender procedures, passing a bill that would otherwise have failed because four Republicans voted against it… The “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” (H.R. 3492) passed 216-to-211. Without the help of the three Democrats, the bill would’ve failed, 214-213… Two of the three Democrats voting for the “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” represent districts in Texas ….

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Luke 1:5-25 – 5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

By Stella Morabito, The Federalist – We’ve heard endless claims by the propaganda press and campus “protesters” that Islamic terrorists are oppressed, and “white” Christians are the oppressors. For example, recall how New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani famously suggested that the real victims of 9/11 are New York City’s Muslims because his “Auntie” felt like people looked at her funny while she wore her hijab on the train.

By Michael New Ph.D., LifeNews – Last week the Society of Family Planning released updated abortion data through its #WeCount project. The latest update contains both state and national abortion data through the first six months of 2025. Unfortunately, the news is not good for pro-lifers… According to the WeCount data, over 591,000 abortions were performed in the first six months of 2025. This represents a 1.1 percent increase when compared to the first six months of 2024… The WeCount data provides some important information on how policy changes impact the incidence of abortion.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture – In 1901, Gilbert Keith Chesterton married Frances Alice Blogg. As the Catholic world knows now, Chesterton was a prolific thinker and writer who operated through genius more than well-organized habits, and Frances (who was also a writer) often served as his secretary and kept him on track. By all accounts, including their own, they were deeply in love, and it was a sadness that they were unable to have children. But some of Chesterton’s literary energy was directed toward his wife, to whom he wrote many poems.

By Nancy Flanders, Live Action News – Coalition Life, a hearse arrived at the Planned Parenthood in Fairview Heights, Illinois, on October 31. The driver told sidewalk counselors she was there “picking someone up to take them to the funeral home.” She later exited Planned Parenthood with a bag… On October 31, a hearse arrived at the Planned Parenthood in Fairview Heights, Illinois… The driver told sidewalk counselors that she was there “picking someone up to take them to the funeral home.”… The driver later left Planned Parenthood carrying a bag believed to contain a baby aborted late in pregnancy. ….

By Elise Winland, Catholic Vote – The Trump administration on Dec. 18 took its most aggressive federal action yet against “transgender” medical interventions for minors, with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announcing six regulatory and administrative moves aimed at ending what he called “sex-rejecting procedures” for children… The actions target hospitals, federal health programs, drug manufacturers, and research funding tied to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and related interventions often termed “gender-affirming care.”

By Fiona Melton, Crisis Magazine – In her most recent Crisis article, Breaking Up With Toxic Femininity, Ann Burns points out the hypocrisy of many “conservative” strains of anti-feminism: they fall prey to the same lie that many liberal feminists do, viewing women through a hypersexualized, pornographic lens. I agree with her main critique; conservatives cannot attempt to revive traditional values by glorifying displays of immodesty, indecency, and instantiating male lust as a virtue.

By John M. Grondelski, The Catholic Thing – A suburban Boston Catholic parish ignited a controversy this Advent when its outdoor Nativity scene replaced the figure of the Baby Jesus in His crib with a sign, “ICE was here.”  The pastor contends the display moves “beyond static traditional figures and evoke[s] emotion and dialogue.”… A new battlefront is emerging in the “War on Christmas.”  For years, the “war on Christmas” was primarily a confrontation with encroaching secularism: many Americans’ first encounter with the “naked public square” was the city hall park from which the traditional Nativity scene had been evicted ….

By Jonathan Liedl, National Catholic Register – The Cupich Connection – In addition to Pope Leo XIV, Bishop Hicks is also connected to another Chicago Churchman: Cardinal Blase Cupich… The archbishop-elect is the third former auxiliary of Cardinal Cupich’s to be named to a U.S. archdiocese in the past year and a half, joining Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee and Archbishop Robert Casey of Cincinnati… Cardinal Cupich, 76, has long exerted considerable influence upon major episcopal appointments in the U.S. ….

By Franciscan Media – In 1362, the man elected pope declined the office. When the cardinals could not find another person among them for that important office, they turned to a relative stranger: the holy person we honor today… The new Pope Urban V proved a wise choice. A Benedictine monk and canon lawyer, he was deeply spiritual and brilliant. …

By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – How many innocent civilians have to be senselessly murdered before Western powers admit that mass importation of Third-World migrants was a mistake? Apparently, the answer is: many more… most Americans have heard of the horrific terrorist attack that occurred at Bondi Beach in Australia over the weekend, in which two Islamists opened fire on a crowd of Jewish festivalgoers… The prime minister all but admitted the attack was “driven by” radical Islamic ideology.

By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal – President Donald Trump touted his 2025 accomplishments in a national address Wednesday night… “Tonight, after 11 months, our border is secure, inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down, our nation is strong, America is respected, and our country is back,” he said, “Stronger than ever before. We’re poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen.”… 1. Lowering Prices… Trump said the Biden administration “looted the Treasury,” driving up prices, but he is bringing them down. …

By Anna Callahan, LifeNews – In response to GOP Reps. Fitzpatrick, Lawler, Bresnahan and Mackenzie partnering with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ push to force a vote on extending Obamacare subsidies without Hyde protections, SBA Pro-Life America issued the following statement: “The GOP cannot afford to take its pro-life base for granted heading into 2026,” said SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dan …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 1:18-25 – 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife …

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing – Let’s start with the “O Antiphons.”  They began yesterday.  There are seven of them, and they end on December 23. Then, with Christmas Eve and Christmas, they make nine – a novena – which is a period of expectation, the same in number as the months of pregnancy… So, the lead up to Christmas is like a leading up to birth… It’s fine and all to discourse about the O Antiphons, but to hear them in situ, it is necessary to go to Mass for those seven days, or to pray Vespers.  If the first, and we receive Holy Communion, we repeatedly express our hope of receiving the Lord by, well, receiving the Lord.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – The Little Sisters of the Poor have appealed a federal court’s decision that would require them to offer coverage for contraception and abortion in health-care plans for their employees… Upon reading the sentence above, you might double-check the date, and ask, “Didn’t the Little Sisters of the Poor already win that case? Didn’t the Supreme Court rule in their favor?”.. Yes, the Supreme Court did find in favor of the Little Sisters— twice, in fact. Yet here they are, facing yet another legal challenge.

By Greg Maresca, The American Spectator – (recently a) discerning headline ran in the Wall Street Journal: “The Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via Surrogate.” Chinese billionaires are using surrogacy laws in the U.S. to construct family dynasties, while raising significant ethical, legal, and national security concerns in the process… The most prolific case that highlighted this growing and largely unregulated surrogacy marketplace was that of Xu Bo, a billionaire Chinese video game mogul who has fathered over 100 children… Yes, you read that right.

By Marcus Peter, Crisis Magazine – When a public figure speaks harshly during a season of grief, even when the target represents ideological opposition, the moment presents an opportunity for Christians to demonstrate a distinct moral grammar… The latest social media flare involving Donald Trump and filmmaker Rob Reiner arrived with a predictability that modern political culture has trained everyone to expect. Upon the news of Reiner’s passing from suspected homicide, a sharp post appeared, the tone was dismissive, and the timing coincided with a moment of public mourning connected to Reiner’s family. …

By Victoria Cardona, Catholic Exchange – Many Catholics struggle with a persistent, sometimes invisible anxiety: the fear that their lives are unfinished, their hearts too weak, their failings many, and that their efforts go unnoticed. We glance back at our own histories and see failures, missed opportunities, and unfinished projects. We wonder whether God sees only what we have failed to do… From the earliest days of the Church, believers struggled with the tension between human frailty and the call to holiness. Yet St. Paul reassures man: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Phil. 1:6).

Fr. Shenan J. Boquet, Human Life International – Why Canada Is an Outlier on Late-Term Abortion Laws… When, very occasionally, the topic of abortion comes up, the almost uniformly pro-abortion media is effective at throwing sand in the eyes of their readers. They will dutifully quote pro-abortion propaganda claiming that while it is “technically” true that Canada has no abortion law, no late-term abortions actually occur in Canada. …

By Ngala Killian Chimtom, Catholic World Report – Fr. Augustine Anwuchie: Of course, it would be an oversimplification to describe the violence as a purely anti-Christian genocide because terrorism in Nigeria does not always distinguish between Christian and Muslim victims. Yet, there are undeniable patterns that make the charge of genocide against Christians difficult to dismiss… to understand this, one must grasp the historical roots of Islam in Northern Nigeria. …

By Angeline Tan, Live Action News – Vatican Nativity scene sends a strong pro-life message for Christmas
The Vatican’s Nativity scene for Christmas this year is being applauded for its pro-life message… The Vatican puts a different Nativity scene on display each year for Christmas… (the Nativity) Titled “Nacimiento Gaudium,” or “Joyful Birth,” this year’s Nativity was created by a Costa Rican artist with the help of pro-life prayer ministry 40 Days for Life… The scene will display more than 25,000 ribbons instead of straw; each represents a baby saved through the prayers and witness of 40 Days for Life.

By Franciscan Media – Anthony’s father died when his son was only 10 years old, but the young lad inherited his father’s devotion to Our Lady of Loreto. As a schoolboy, he frequented the local church of the Oratorian Fathers, joining the religious order when he was 17… Already a fine student, Anthony soon gained a reputation in his religious community as a “walking dictionary,” who quickly grasped Scripture and theology.

By Dr. R. Jared Staudt, Catholic World Report – Advent draws us to contemplate Christ’s first coming, even as we expect his coming again in glory. The season contains an almost incomprehensible reality: God has become man, “infinity dwindled to infancy,” as Gerard Manley Hopkins put it. Israel’s centuries-long yearning for the Messiah blossomed in the first Advent as Our Lady became God’s tabernacle in the world. Even as we look toward the manger, Advent can become a time to honor Jesus’ time in the womb, when he initiated his sanctification of human life.

By Johanna Duncan, Refinelife.co – Traditions don’t just “happen;” they are built consciously, lovingly, and sometimes imperfectly, but consistently year after year. And in a world where culture shifts faster than we can process, traditions matter more than ever. They are the anchors that remind us who we are, where we come from, and who we belong to… The good news? You don’t need a picture-perfect, Hallmark-style family to build meaningful traditions. You don’t need money, matching pajamas, or a cabin in the woods. What you do need is consistency, intention, and the willingness to show up

By John J. Waters and Adam Ellwanger, Chronicles – In retrospect (of Sept. 11, 2001), Donald Trump’s 2015 presidential campaign was the true start of the 21st century. He was the first political figure to offer a coherent account of where America had gone wrong—and the first to propose a genuinely different prescription for fixing the rot in our institutions. More than that though, he restored national pride to the center of politics. Approximately 80 percent of Americans said they were proud of their country in January 2001. …

By Anne Hendershott, Crisis Magazine – Jimmy Lai, the Catholic Hong Kong media tycoon and outspoken critic of Beijing, has just been convicted in what many observers are calling a “show trial” under China’s sweeping National Security Law. The trial of the 78-year-old Lai, which was conducted without a jury and overseen by three government‑appointed judges, ended with guilty verdicts on charges of collusion with foreign forces and sedition—offenses that could keep him imprisoned for the rest of his life.

By Raimundo Rojas, LifeNews – Last week at the United Nations, the American delegation did something no U.S. administration had ever done. It walked straight into the middle of the UN’s flagship humanitarian debate and said, in clear diplomatic language, that killing unborn children is not humanitarian work and never will be… The General Assembly was considering its yearly resolution, “Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations.” For more than thirty years, this omnibus text sailed through by consensus.

By Edward Pentin, Register’s Senior Contributor and EWTN News Vatican Analyst – Christ must be put back into Christmas, and Britain needs to return to her Christian roots and values if the country is to survive… This was the overriding message of a four-hour carol service on Saturday afternoon in the heart of London, just yards from Downing Street and close to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament… An estimated 1,000 people of a variety of ages, ethnicities and backgrounds… took part in the service led by Christian musicians and Protestant pastors who gave rousing speeches calling on the nation to honor her Christian heritage and proclaim, “Christ is King.” ….

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 1:1-17 – 1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab ….

By Complicit Clergy by Staff – In stark contrast, we have never witnessed a time in the history of our nation when Catholic Bishops have expressed so much vitriol towards an administration as in the case of their response to Trump’s enforcement of our immigration laws.  We can only conclude that bishops are seeking retribution for being cut-off from the over $3 billion in federal grants they received under the Biden administration to help facilitate the illegal invasion of our nation…. Is it any wonder that U.S. bishops have exactly ZERO credibility with faithful Catholics on the issue of immigration?

By Dee Morrison, Michigan Public Radio – A 300-page report released by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel Monday details accusations of sexual misconduct against both adults and children by Catholic clergy in the Grand Rapids area since 1950… Of the 51 priests accused, 37 have died, and none of the remaining 14 is active in ministry in the diocese, said the AG’s office and the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids… The report is the fifth in a seven-part series on allegations of abuse in each of the six Catholic dioceses in Michigan and the Archdiocese of Detroit. …

By James V. Schall, S.J., Catholic World Report, (From the Archives) – Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Vatican II, states that the Mohammedans “profess their faith as the faith of Abraham, and with us they worship the one, merciful God who will judge men on the last day” (par 16)… At first sight, that statement appears friendly and matter-of-fact; the “faith” of Muslims is evidently thought to be the same “with us”. We “agree” about a last judgment and a merciful God who is one. This mutual understanding apparently comes from Abraham. ….

By Fr. Kevin Drew, Catholic Exchange – What a great question by Christ.  After all, John the Baptist was hardly one to have weak, wobbly knees, for he was the bridge that connected the Old and the New Covenants.  What a fitting place then for John to be—out in the river… But in Gaudete Sunday’s Gospel, John was no longer in the river.  He was in Herod’s dungeon.  His crime?  He called out the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and called out Herod Antipas for stealing his brother’s wife. ….

By Sarah Neely, LifeNews – Operation Rescue’s 2025 survey of every abortion clinic in America revealed 54 clinics that have closed or halted abortions — the highest number of closures since 2022, when Operation Rescue verified 88 closures following the fall of Roe… Of those 54 closures, 36 were Planned Parenthood abortion facilities. However, Planned Parenthood also closed an additional 28 referral locations since OR’s last survey, which amounts to a record total of 64 Planned Parenthood closures in one year.

By John M. Grondelski, Crisis Magazine – The New York Times ran a December 12 feature whose thesis is depressingly simple: American elementary and secondary students no longer read full-length books. The title says it all: “Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.” “Rarely” now means perhaps one or two books a year—four at most. And even those few tend to come from a narrowing, predictable list: To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth. Even Shakespeare often gets reduced to the balcony scene.

Franciscan Media – Abbess, artist, author, composer, mystic, pharmacist, poet, preacher, theologian—where to begin in describing this remarkable woman?
Born into a noble family, she was instructed for ten years by the holy woman Blessed Jutta. When Hildegard was 18, she became a Benedictine nun at the Monastery of Saint Disibodenberg.

By Fr. Nnamdi Moneme, OMV, Catholic Exchange – John the Baptist had a grim message for the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to receive his baptism: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’”… Why is the Baptist so harsh with these leaders? Is it not enough that they are coming to receive his baptism like everyone else?

By Mary Rose, Catholic Vote – Jimmy Lai, the outspoken pro-democracy media tycoon whose rise and fall have drawn attention to Hong Kong’s shrinking political freedoms, was convicted Dec. 15 in a landmark national security trial that could see him spend the rest of his life in prison… Lai, 78, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and conspiring to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. The verdict was delivered by three government-vetted judges in a non-jury trial, according to AP News.

By Elise Winland, Catholic Vote – President Donald Trump signed an executive order Dec. 15 that designates illicit fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals as weapons of mass destruction, citing the drug’s role in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans… “No bomb does what this is doing: 200,000 to 300,000 people die every year that we know of,” Trump said at the White House before signing the order. “So we’re formally classifying it a weapon of mass destruction.” …

By Brianna Lyman, The Federalist – At least 15 people were murdered at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia on Sunday after two alleged Islamic terrorists opened fire… One of the suspects, Sajid Akram, moved to Australia in 1998 on a student visa before becoming a permanent resident, while his son, Naveed Akram, was born in Australia, according to Sky News. Authorities previously investigated the son “on the basis of being associated with” alleged terrorists, but authorities ultimately determined “there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” according to the report. …

By Randall Smith,  The Catholic Thing – I am often annoyed and frustrated at Mass. Not with the Mass, mind you. I used to get annoyed and frustrated a lot with the way Mass was done when I first became Catholic. But some of that craziness from earlier years seems to have subsided somewhat. Or maybe it’s just that I’m fortunate in the places I go to Mass these days. Mostly, I’m just grateful to be going to Mass at all.  A lot of people don’t have that luxury, or they risk their lives to go.

By Lloyd Billingsley, The American Spectator – At Branham High School in San Jose this month, eight students formed a human swastika on the football field. A photo of the formation was posted online with a quote from Adolf Hitler: I want to be a prophet again today. If international financial Jews inside and outside Europe were to succeed in plunging nations into a world war once again, the result will not be Bolshevization of the earth and thus a victory for Judaism, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe. ….

By Jonathan Liedl, National Catholic Register – Another criticism is that the bishops do not acknowledge the impact that historically unprecedented levels of undocumented immigration are having on members of American society, including the less privileged. As one commenter on a recent article said, “Where is the equal compassion and consideration for all the millions of legal citizens whose health care, social security benefits, schools, housing, personal safety, etc. have been vitally impacted by the sudden influx?” What is your response to this kind of critique? Should these kinds of considerations be factored into immigration policy?

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 21:28-32 – 28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, `I will not’; but afterward he repented and went. 30 And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” ….

By Anthony Stine, Return to Tradition, (Complicit Clergy) – Here’s a link to the story. Sister Kari Pohl is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, Pennsylvania, and currently serves as her congregation’s coordinator of justice and peace. She also has the privilege of working as a registered nurse at a federally qualified health center. Here’s Sister Pohl’s contact information for those who would like to comment on her proposal. …

By Greg Piper, Just the News – Citing the unanimous SCOTUS ruling against Wisconsin in the Catholic Charities tax fight, the brief says the contraceptive mandate makes distinctions between religious groups based on “theological lines” and thus constitutes a “paradigmatic form of denominational discrimination.” Both involve governments requiring “exclusively religious” activities for exemptions… The mandate also violates the nondelegation doctrine because Obamacare does not limit or inform “how the HRSA is to exercise its plenary delegated authority to decide what services are covered under the ACA,” the nuns’ lawyers said.

By Angeline Tan, Live Action News – New reproductive technology is again highlighting the eugenics-based mindset prevalent within the fertility industry… In 1978, the first baby conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) was born… Millions more have been born since then, though countless millions more have been created and then destroyed… IVF often leads to the commodification of children, with would-be parents choosing embryos based on various characteristics and traits. ….

By George Caldwell, The Daily Signal – The Republican bill is not a highly ambitious repeal, reform, or restructuring of Obamacare. Rather, it is a bundle of focused tweaks to the health insurance system that aims to lower health care costs, instead of the government’s current strategy, which has been to have government subsidize an increasingly unaffordable health care system… The bill’s lack of highly controversial provisions is by design, as Republicans will need to rally their narrow majority in the House and pick up at least seven Democrat votes in the Senate to have any chance of the bill reaching the president’s desk before the credit expiration date. …

By David G. Bonagura, Jr., Catholic Culture – Sure enough, in the century-long crescendo to the liturgical reforms initiated by the Second Vatican Council, liturgists became enamored with ancient forms of the Mass and desired a return to them. After the council, a committee commissioned by the pope—this time, without his direct involvement—scrapped the Roman Rite codified over a millennium earlier in favor of a new order of the Mass that was allegedly closer to the original. Once again, some Catholics did not receive the new version with joy, though, unlike in the seventeenth century, Rome was keen to see nearly every church and monastery adopt the new order.

By Franciscan Media – Wenceslaus Kozminski was born in Biala Podlaska in 1829. By the age of 11 he had lost his faith. By the age of 16 his father had died. He studied architecture at the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Suspected of participating in a rebellious conspiracy against the Czarists in Poland, he was imprisoned from April 1846 until March of 1847.

By Msgr. Roger Landry, National Catholic Register – On Gaudete Sunday, we have another reason to rejoice this year: 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of St. Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation on Christian joy, Gaudete in Domino (“Rejoice in the Lord always”) from Philippians 4:4, the same expression from which the Third Sunday of Advent gets its nickname… While we sing of joy throughout the Advent season — “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!” — this Sunday’s Mass begins with a special imperative taken from St. Paul’s charge to the first Christians in Philippi: Gaudete semper in Domino. Iterum dico: Gaudete! (“Rejoice in the Lord always. …

By Daniel B. Gallagher, Catholic Exchange – My family still celebrates St. Nicholas day on December 6th, a tradition my wife and I inherited from our parents. Our kids wake up to shoes stuffed with goodies brought by the holy 4th-century bishop. As they grow older, they will begin to understand the reason Nicholas practiced such generosity towards children and the poor: his belief that Jesus is one-in-substance with the Father, a truth Nicholas vigorously defended at the Council of Nicaea—the anniversary of which Pope Leo just commemorated in Turkey.

By McKenna Snow, Catholic Vote – A Dec. 20 breakout session at a conservative organization’s sold-out annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona, is set to include a period of Eucharistic adoration — an act of devotion one advocate says is key to renewal in the country… “Though our hearts are heavy, we do not grieve as those without hope,” TPUSA states on AmFest’s website. “Charlie’s legacy endures in his family, in Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action, and in every person he inspired to live with conviction.”

By Christine Chen, Scott Murdoch, Renju Jose, The Daily Signal – Two alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach were a father and son, police said on Monday… The father, a 50-year-old, was killed at the scene, taking the number of dead to 16, while his 24-year-old son was in a critical condition in hospital, police said at a press conference on Monday. Officials have described Sunday’s shooting as a targeted antisemitic attack.

Guest Column, by Elizabeth Sutcliffe, Live Action News – As a Canadian author, Catholic speaker, and post-abortive advocate, I am writing to my American neighbors with a sincere warning. What has unfolded in Canada over the past several decades is not simply political drift or cultural confusion — it is what happens when protections for the most vulnerable are stripped away, when moral boundaries are dismissed, and when good people do not rise up to defend life… Canada has become the canary in the coal mine, and what has happened here will happen elsewhere when truth is abandoned.

By Martin Barillas, Catholic News Agency – Several college campuses across the country are witnessing a notable rise in baptisms and confirmations among students. Catholic evangelists tell CNA that this growth reflects a deepening desire among young adults for certainty, stability, and faith amid today’s turbulent cultural landscape… For example, at Arizona State University, the Newman Center is experiencing its largest group of students entering the Church. Ryan Ayala, a former seminarian and campus minister who has served at ASU for three years, oversees the evangelization efforts.

By Braden Hock, Crisis Magazine – On November 26, 2014, a post was made on what was then Twitter by the user @dril (one of the individuals at the forefront of what was affectionately referred to as “weird Twitter”): “my big sons have made a mess of the garage again after being riled up by the good word of the Lord.”… Truly, is there any simpler way to sum up the burgeoning influence of Gen Z (the “Zoomers”) on culture, economics, society, and religion? …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 21:23-27 – 23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you a question; and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men?” …

By Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing – And then there is the question of massive immigration. Much of Europe is now waking up to the unwisdom of admitting millions of Muslims whose culture cannot be squared with Western mores… Islam itself is, in large historical perspective and despite all the necessary qualifications, a threat to Western ways. The question of relations with Islam cannot be resolved by simply repeating the false mantra that it’s a “religion of peace.” It is, but only after conversion, conquest, or submission… The pope, like his predecessor, has a soft spot for migrants. And both have encouraged a new title for the Virgin Mary, Comfort of Migrants. ….

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a key provision of President Donald Trump’s signature domestic policy bill, allowing the administration to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business… The One Big Beautiful Bill that Trump signed this summer withholds Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood and other major abortion sellers, delivering a major victory to pro-life advocates seeking to end taxpayer support for organizations that kill babies in abortions. …

By Professor Timothy O’Donnell, Corpus Christi for Unity and Peace Team – Catholic tradition, from the Catechism to Popes Pius XII, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, has always taught both the duty to welcome migrants and the equal duty of nations to regulate their borders for the sake of the common good; open-border ideology is therefore contradicts, rather than fulfills, authentic Church teaching. The uncontrolled influx of millions of illegal immigrants in recent years has produced grave evils: 400,000+ unaccompanied minors lost in the system, record fentanyl deaths, surging human trafficking and sexual exploitation, violent crime by criminal aliens, and massive welfare strain on American citizens—harms that ordered charity seeks to prevent, not enable.

By Lou Aguilar, The American Spectator – It’s a divisive Christmastime on the Right. Just over a year after Donald Trump won the biggest Republican electoral victory in 20 years, and two months since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, conservatives are squabbling like the First Triumvirate. This was the unofficial alliance between Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus that boosted the supremacy of Rome, only to end in civil war when Pompey backed the Senate against Caesar… It took less time to fracture the American Right, and potentially destroy the country.

Source: La Abeja – More erotic obscenities from Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), formerly the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, have been reported  by the Argentine Catholic website  El Wanderer , which described the newly discovered material as “not only pornographic but also detestable.”… The “repugnant” erotic texts are in line with the previously known “theology” books by the DDF director,  Heal Me With Your Mouth: The Art of Kissing  and  Mystical Passion: Spirituality and Sensuality, which use pornographic images. …

The Watchman’s Lamp by Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, Bishop Emeritus, Pillars of Faith –  I believe the Lord is calling us to face something that most people don’t want to acknowledge. It is a truth we see with our eyes, we feel in our bones, and yet the world – and far too many in the Church – treat it as nothing at all. And the truth is this: we are becoming a numb generation. A generation that no longer notices when the serpent is standing right in front of us… This numbness did not fall on us overnight. It crept in slowly, quietly, almost politely, dulling our senses little by little until the things that once would have shocked us now barely stir the soul. We have grown used to darkness ….

By Michele McAloon,  The Catholic Thing – Advent in Germany is brightened by its world-famous Christmas markets. The smell of grilled sausage, Germany’s famous mulled gluhwein, and gingerbread (Lebkuchen) blend together under multicolored  lights creating a cheerful experience in anticipation of Christ’s birth… Tragically, in the past ten years, festivities have been marred by violence.  Terrorists have murdered market-goers in  Magdeburg, Trier, Berlin and in several markets in France. German and French authorities have now been forced to take measures to prevent these threats almost everywhere.

By Anna Callahan, LifeNews – Abortions in the U.S. have increased this year under a remaining Biden policy that subverts the pro-life laws in 21 states. This week #WeCount issued a report showing a 40% increase in mail-order abortions from the first six months of 2024 to the first half of 2025… Biden’s mail-order abortion policy removed basic standards on mifepristone that were in place during the first Trump administration like in-person doctor visits. Since then, women have come forward after being poisoned by abusers. …

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, ….

By Michael Augros, National Catholic Register – AI raises an endless stream of questions: Will it take our jobs? Cure diseases? Destabilize governments? Make us rich — or make us targets for hackers and terrorists?… Beneath all these loud debates sits a quieter and far more basic one: Can AI truly think? Perhaps it can “think” or “perceive” in some metaphorical sense, just as a spell-checker “thinks” you misspelled a word even when you didn’t. But does it possess real understanding — an interior awareness of itself and the world, like the awareness we find in ourselves? Or is it simply a well-designed circuit shuttling electrical signals about ….

By Tyler O’Neil, LifeNews – Senate Democrats today blocked a Republican health plan that would defund abortion by ensuring that Obamacare subsidies are not used to fund killing babies in abortions… Democrats blocked the Crapo Cassidy bill on a 51 to 48 vote, with 60 votes necessary for the measure to move forward for debate and a final vote… The vote was remarkable in the sense that over 50 Republican Senators agreed to the pro-life healthcare plan that would ensure that abortions are not funded with taxpayer dollars.

By Rob Sexton, Catholic Exchange – The spiritual life grows the way a house does. Not all at once, and not because we force it to. It grows because the foundation is sound. Ignatius knew that, which is why he begins the Spiritual Exercises with the Principle and Foundation. Before you worry about anything else in your life or in your prayer, he says, remember what you were made for: to praise, reverence, and serve God, and to let everything else in your life serve that one purpose.

By Greg Piper, Just the News – “He is swayed by data, the scientific method, and clinical experience” but a mob got Kirk Milhoan fired because he leads a CDC advisory body, wife says. Elite American magazine admits COVID vaccines “may” have killed kids, as vaccines chief says… Can medical professionals work with the Trump administration and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services without risking their careers, even as articles of faith in public health fail under the evidence?

By Ethan Savka, Crisis Magazine – Over the past five years, conservative constitutional theory has fractured over two competing visions: the dominant originalism and textualism seen across the federal courts, and the rising common good constitutionalism movement rooted in the classical legal tradition and Catholic natural law teachings. Although the conversations remain mostly esoteric, in recent months, the divide between originalists who prefer the traditional textualist ….

By Matthew Bunson, National Catholic Register – One year after the 2024 presidential election returned him to the White House, President Donald Trump remains popular among Catholic voters, whose support proved pivotal to his re-election, a new EWTN News RealClear Opinion Research Poll shows… That backing extends to the chief flashpoint of Trump’s first year since regaining the presidency: the ongoing mass deportation of hundreds of thousands of illegal or undocumented immigrants.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture – In 2008, Dr. George Delgado, a family physician in San Diego County, California, received a phone call from a pro-life sidewalk counselor, Terry Palmquist, explaining that a woman in Texas had asked her for help after starting a chemical abortion using mifepristone. The woman had changed her mind and wanted desperately to know whether the abortion could be stopped… In response to Terry’s request for a solution, Dr. Delgado wracked his brain. Then he asked Dr. Thomas Hilgers at the Saint Paul VI Institute in San Francisco to comment on the possibility of combatting the mifepristone with progesterone. …

By Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, (Complicit Clergy) – White House border czar Tom Homan on Dec. 7 said more than 60,000 children who were illegally smuggled into the United States have been located by the Trump administration and that some were rescued from dire situations, including sex trafficking and forced labor… on Dec. 7, Homan said that the previous administration “lost track of 300,000” children who were “smuggled into” the US saying some of those children were released to ”unvetted sponsors.”… Since President Donald Trump took office in January, 62,000 children who were taken into the US had been found …

Author Don Schwager, Servants of the Word – Matthew 11:11-15 – Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

By Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist – In a major win for the Trump administration, a federal appellate court upheld the Pentagon’s prohibition on trans-identifying individuals from serving in the military on Tuesday… In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals fully paused a March injunction issued by Biden-appointed District Judge Ana Reyes that sought to prevent the aforementioned policy from going into effect. As The Federalist’s Joy Pullmann previously reported, Reyes “identifies as some variety of LGBT, is a longtime Democrat Party donor ….

By Doug Bandow, The American Spectator – Religious persecution remains a global scourge, and America’s nominal friends are sometimes as bad as its adversaries. Such as India, in which religious minorities suffer greatly under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The country’s underlying intolerant attitudes have been highlighted by recent Hindu nationalist criticism of Vice President JD Vance’s Catholic faith.

By James Finn, Nola – The Archdiocese of New Orleans is allowing Catholics who are fearful of leaving their homes to miss Mass while U.S. Border Patrol agents fan out across the city in the second week of an immigration enforcement operation… Archbishop Gregory Aymond granted the dispensation for Catholics who are “rightfully afraid to participate in Mass” due to the sweeps… The dispensation will be valid “until the individual Catholic determines it is safe to attend Mass again or this dispensation is revoked or amended,” Aymond said in a letter Monday to New Orleans’ Catholic clergy.

By Stephen P. White, The Catholic Thing – The word “nostalgia” was coined in the seventeenth century by a Swiss physician named Johannes Hofer. The word was a Latinized combination of two Greek words: nostos, meaning “a return home” (think Odysseus), and algos, meaning “pain.” Hofer used his new word to describe a medical condition, one he noticed to be particularly common among Swiss mercenaries serving abroad, which might best be described as acute homesickness – homesickness so acute that it could sometimes be fatal.

By Jeff Minick, Intellectual Takeout 2024 – So ran the chorus to Aretha Franklin’s 1967 hit song “Chain of Fools.”… One hundred twenty years earlier, the Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels proclaimed: “Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!”… The chains of Franklin’s song and those of the Marxist slogan are linked by one word: fools… For over 175 years, believers have bought into Marxist visions of utopia. From the European revolutions of 1848 to the 2025 election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York, devotees of communism …

By Dr. Donald DeMarco, Catholic Exchange – Envy, according to the classical definition, is sadness at another’s good fortune.  Envy, which is the second of the Deadly Sins, robs one of the joy he could share with another person’s gifts.  God grants people His gifts to please the recipient, but also to be shared with others.  We should rejoice when anyone displays God’s gifts… Our duty is two-fold:  to nurture our own gifts and admire the gifts of others.  Therefore, we should be more concerned about counting our own blessings rather that those conferred on others.  Envy is a terrible intruder that places sadness where joy should abound.