Christian News

The direction of the Leonine pontificate is still not yet clear, but the consistory of cardinals last week gave some further indications. Pope Leo XIV intends to continue in the direction of his immediate predecessor, but he prefers to do as Pope Francis said, rather than what Pope Francis did. In announcing the topics for the consistory last month, Leo chose four that were central to the Francis pontificate...

Catholic theology has always maintained a clear hierarchy of obligations. Before contributing financially to the Church, the faithful must ensure they can meet essential personal and family responsibilities. These include providing for one’s own and one’s family’s basic needs and, generally speaking, paying just debts and avoiding deeper indebtedness.

Jesus speaks through the prophet Isaiah in today’s First Reading. He tells us of the mission given to Him by the Father from the womb: “‘You are My servant,’ He said to Me.” Servant and Son, our Lord was sent to lead a new exodus—to raise up the exiled tribes of Israel, to gather and restore them to God. More than that, He was to be a light to the nations, that God’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth...

The book of Revelation describes the Devil as the deceiver of the whole world.[1] What is significant about this description is that the Devil’s disposition is to encourage confusion, distrust, fear, doubt, anxiety, and worse hatred toward God. He is the fallen Angel who would welcome nothing more than to encourage anyone to follow in his path. In his first epistle, St. John reinforces the danger...

When referring to a soft drink, do you say pop, soda, or Coke? Your stance on the centuries-long debate reveals more about your roots than your flavor preference. In some states, ordering a "Coke" could get you a Dr Pepper. And if you grew up saying "soda," hearing someone ask for a "pop" might make you do a double-take.

Last year delivered doses of drama and excitement in the space business, with a record number of launches, breathtaking vistas of other worlds, and a multitude of breakthroughs and setbacks. 2026 is shaping up to be another thrilling year in the cosmos. For the first time in more than 54 years, astronauts are training to travel to the vicinity of the Moon, perhaps within the next couple of months...

Have you ever wished to go back to another decade for what may have been simpler times? With the Nuclear Savings Rule, you can — at least where your budget is concerned. The Nuclear Savings Rule looks at 1950s spending habits. Many people of that era had lived through the Great Depression and maintained their frugal lifestyles...

In P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves & Wooster, Lady Glossip, mother of an eligible daughter, asks Bertie Wooster how he would support a wife. His answer: “Well, I suppose it depends on whose wife it was. A little gentle pressure beneath the elbow while crossing a busy street usually fits the bill.” Misguided youth is nothing new, as Wodehouse knew well in 1923. His Aunt Agatha’s reproach rings true about many men today...

In The Cost of Discipleship (1937), Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes that Christ invited St. Peter “to the supreme followship of martyrdom for the Lord he had denied ... thereby forgiving him all his sins. In the life of Peter, grace and discipleship are inseparable.” In Bonhoeffer’s famous reckoning, this was a case of costly, as opposed to cheap, grace. Bonhoeffer, of course, would come to embody the former...

The Vatican Mosaic Studio of the Fabric of Saint Peter has completed the mosaic medallion dedicated to Pope Leo XIV, the Holy See Press Office announced on Wednesday. In accordance with the ancient tradition that accompanies the election of every Pope, just over eight months after the election of Pope Leo XIV, the studio has completed the mosaic portrait destined for the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls...

The University of Notre Dame plans to install as director of a university-wide institute a scholar who has described laws prohibiting abortion as “violence,” “sexual abuse” and “trauma” and has linked efforts to end abortion to white supremacy. “Abortion access is freedom-enhancing, in the truest sense of the word,” states a column in Salon co-authored by Susan Ostermann...

This morning, I read a beautiful and practical insight about a power for good at my fingertips. The effects of kindness are disproportionately far-reaching. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced. And really encouraged. At times the ugliness of how people treat each other can be overwhelming. It doesn’t help that the failings and weaknesses we directly experience...