The world’s cardinals are gathered in Rome this week for the extraordinary consistory of the college, convened by Pope Leo XIV to mark the beginning of his first full year as Bishop of Rome. Cardinals, bishops, and curial staffers across the Vatican have, in the months since the conclave which elected Leo, reported that the new pope consciously decided to close 2025 before embarking on any major tone-setting or shifting projects.

When Pope Leo XIV announced this week’s consistory in Rome — somewhat earlier and more unexpectedly than most Vatican watchers predicted — it sent ripples of surprise and speculation through the Church. Yet perhaps the consistory shouldn’t surprise us at all. In fact, it may well offer a window into the inner logic of a pontificate that is only beginning to reveal its shape.

For generations, the archbishop of New York has held a singular place in the life of the Catholic Church in the United States — standing at the crossroads of culture, conscience and public witness. Few shepherds embodied that national role more clearly than Cardinal John O’Connor, who died in May 2000 after nearly 16 years as archbishop of New York...

The ongoing protests in Iran are considered the largest in years, both in duration and geographic spread. Since erupting on Dec. 28, 2025, demonstrations have continued without interruption, expanding across the country’s north, south, east, and west. Large numbers of Iranians from diverse social and religious backgrounds have taken part, including Christian citizens.

The archbishop of the U.S. military services said Sunday that he does not believe military action to take control of Greenland could be justified – and that U.S. troops in good conscience could refuse orders to do so. Speaking to the BBC on Jan. 18. Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services said he “cannot see any circumstances” in which an American military operation to take control of Greenland...

As the nation erupts in civil unrest, the Church gives us St. Sebastian’s feast day on Jan. 20, celebrating the young man who stood up to the wicked emperor Diocletian, and praying that we will each be more like him: “O Lord, grant us the spirit of fortitude, so that guided by the example of the martyr St. Sebastian, we may learn to bear witness to the Christian faith.” We need a model like St. Sebastian to show us the right kind of witness right now...

In his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul provides a blueprint for assenting to a new life wholly dedicated to Christ. He prefaces his proposal by telling us that if we have been raised by Christ, then we must seek the things from above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. He confirms his position by reminding us to set our minds on things that are above, not in things that are on earth...

Hans Egede was born in January 1686, and baptized a Lutheran, possibly at a medieval stone church at Trondenes, Norway, or in another nearby local parish church. Don’t hold it against him that Hans was baptized a Lutheran — he was only an infant, you see, plus, his grandfather was a Lutheran cleric and his uncle was too...

Eight centuries before Christ, that part of the kingdom where the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali lived was attacked by the Assyrians, and the tribes were hauled off into captivity. It marked the beginning of the kingdom’s end. The Davidic empire finally crumbled in the sixth century BC, when Jerusalem was seized by Babylon and the remaining tribes were driven into exile...

The philosopher Dr. Sebastian Ostritsch was scheduled to give a lecture entitled “Is God’s Existence a Matter of Rational Understanding? Thomas Aquinas vs. Immanuel Kant” at the Jesuits’ Munich School of Philosophy on November 27, 2025. But after protesting students took to social media, university officials canceled his lecture. The students had threatened to disrupt the lecture, reminded everyone about what happened to Charlie Kirk...