Commentary
When the Vicar of Christ joins the media scrum
Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register Wednesday, December 17, 2025 It has become a new papal convention. Every Tuesday evening, as Pope Leo XIV departs for the Vatican after his now-routine day of rest at Castel Gandolfo, he will stop to…
Hanukkah Light in a Dark World
Mendel Horowitz, First Things Tuesday, December 16, 2025 Before the Hamas war against Israel, the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, and yesterday’s shooting attack in Australia, I associated Hanukkah with triumph rather than…
Sanity being restored? Sharp decline in transgender identification
Ryan Burge, Graphs About Religion Tuesday, December 16, 2025 Has there been a noticeable decline in the share of 18–22-year-olds who identify as transgender over the last couple of years? The answer is unequivocal: yes. In 2020, 8.6 percent of…
Bearing the largest Cross in the world
Kristen Ziccarelli, First Things Monday, December 15, 2025 In recent months, Spain has become an epicenter in the battle over Europe’s diminishing Christian identity. At stake is the fate of the Valle de los Caídos (the Valley of the Fallen)…
This British government is anti-British
Frank Haviland, European Conservative Monday, December 15, 2025 “By their deeds shall ye know them.” So reads the Gospel of Matthew, a timeless admonition against the perils of hypocrisy. Nowhere is this warning more appropriate than in the…
Our Lady of this particular place
Fr. Raymond J.de Souza, First Things Friday, December 12, 2025 Marian feasts are among the most popular in the Church. So, it was a bit unusual when the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a “doctrinal note” last month on…
Rome and the Church in the United States
In a conversation with the great historian John Tracy Ellis, Baltimore’s Archbishop Michael J. Curley, who had had his share of tussles with the Vatican, once blurted out, “Rome will use you, abuse you, and then throw you away!” It was an…
The grace to see things right
Fr. Gerald E. Murray, Human Life Review Thursday, December 11, 2025 Gratitude is the right approach to life; those who live gratefully develop an appreciative attitude towards everyone and everything around them, beginning with the Good Lord.…
Memo to the White House: God became man at conception
Editors, National Catholic Register Thursday, December 11, 2025 According to the recent presidential message celebrating the Virgin Mary’s own conception without any stain of original sin, “God became man when Mary gave birth to a son, Jesus,…
Why is Christianity so hard to find in the Trump administration?
Ross Douthat, New York Times Wednesday, December 10, 2025 There’s a lot of talk these days about “Christian nationalism,” and it seemed to be a feature of the 2024 Trump campaign. Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s order to rain down death on…