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...

A rise in executions in the United States in 2025 occurred alongside “shifting public opinion” against the death penalty, offering anti-death-penalty advocates a hopeful sign going into 2026 even amid high levels of capital punishment. The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit group that tracks and catalogs executions in the United States...

Have you ever met someone and immediately liked them? Why such a good first impression? Afterward you realized: She was interested in you. She genuinely liked hearing about the bits and pieces of who you are. Your mother-in-law believes your parenting could use some adjustment. She comments and corrects, each time you listen slower and argue faster...

Twenty years ago, I published a small book, The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics Without God. It enjoyed a fair sale, got translated into French, Spanish, Polish, Italian, Portuguese, and Hungarian, and was named a Foreign Affairs Bestseller. In it, I argued that Europe was experiencing a crisis of “civilizational morale,” evident in sclerotic governmental bureaucracies...