Weekly Summary: 1/24/2026
The week in review, from the perspective of a veteran Catholic journalist
As the week began, I argued that the Trump administration must act— quickly— to prosecute the radical activists who broke into a Minnesota church and disrupted worship services last Sunday. By the end of the week I was pleased to report that arrests have begun.
The redoubtable Cardinal Zen charged that influential Vatican officials manipulated the recent consistory to prevent cardinals from speaking freely. “Isn’t this the exact opposite of the purpose for which Pope Leo called the consistory?” he asked. Good question, I say.
If you’ve been following my work over the years, you know that I’ve been saying, over and over, that when Catholic bishops delve into partisan politics, they divide the faithful, and thereby undermine their own authority. Early in the week I made that argument again, applying it to the public statement by three cardinals criticizing President Trump, and an unfortunate remark from Archbishop Broglio suggesting that soldiers might refuse to obey a presidential order. Then on this week’s Home Front podcast, Leila and I discuss the American bishops’ criticism of Trump policies. Then we go on to talk about Trump, Greenland, NATO, and more.
Pro-lifers and conservatives generally have warned for years that China’s draconian ‘one-child-only’ population policy would have irreversible negative effects. At last that reality has dawned on the legacy media; a Washington Post editorial acknowledged that China’s future is in danger, and the country’s overdue efforts to reverse the population implosion are probably too little, too late.
Like so many people who knew his work, I was saddened to learn of the death of John Allen, who for years had set the standard for reporting on the Vatican— and for decency and generosity as well.
A bit of good news that passed nearly unnoticed this week: The National Institutes of Health have extended a ban on federally-funded research that uses fetal tissue from abortions. The ban now extends to any research involving federal support.
Wrapping up a series of short essays on how just-war thinking should shape our views on nuclear weapons, I ask: If we aren’t happy with nuclear deterrence (especially the theory of mutually assured destruction), what are the realistic alternatives?
Finally, as I read reports about the snowstorm that’s due to hit us here in New England tomorrow, I reflected on our neighbor the opossum, who somehow seems to know it’s coming. Why do the animals know more about the weather than we do?
