Readers react to a papal election on the big screen.

Five matters have been on my mind in the weeks since Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election, each of them connected to my work as a moral theologian.

In the face of fear and threats to our community, Latinos from around the city gathered in a public veneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe––seeking comfort in her and in each other.

Pope Francis has called on all nations to eliminate the death penalty, to divert a fixed percentage of arms spending to a global fund to fight hunger and climate change, and to cancel the international debt of developing nations.

Catholic Extension Society’s 2024 Spirit of Francis Award was given to Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA.

“The idea of schadenfreude, taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others, is rejected by Jesus in the Gospels,” Daniel Daly said of those celebrating the murder of UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. Brian Thompson.

He might not have intended to, but Mario Cuomo paved the way for the Pilate-like indifference of so many Catholic politicians to abortion today.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell take a closer look at Pope Francis’ latest consistory, which created 21 new cardinals on Saturday, Dec. 7.

As the fighting in Gaza drags on, Pope Francis welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican. The Vatican press office said the two spoke privately for 30 minutes.

Trump, who has pledged to carry out “the largest deportation program in American history,” plans to scrap the longstanding ICE policy preventing immigration arrests at what are seen as sensitive locations.

Many Syrians remain apprehensive about how religious minorities, including Christians, will be treated in a new political reality being established by a Sunni militia that is still listed as a terror organization by the U.S. State Department.

Preparing the way of the Lord? Then lose some baggage.

The Nativity scene generated headlines when it was unveiled Dec. 7 because of the presence of the keffiyeh, the black-and-white checkered headscarf that has become a potent symbol of the Palestinian cause.

A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr, by Jill Rice

A Reflection for the Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church, by Sebastian Gomes

A Reflection for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, by Leilani Fuentes

In places like Compton and East L.A., Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated as a symbol of hope and protection. She is the protector of the unborn, the oppressed and the immigrants.

A Reflection for Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent, by Michael Simone, S.J.

Perhaps even more shocking than the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. Brian Thompson was the response in some places to this crime: celebration, lionization and valorization of the killer.

Bishop John Cummins had a significant and lasting impact on the Catholic Church in his own diocese and elsewhere through his quiet leadership and ministry. He was a reminder to many of what Pope Francis meant when he called for bishops who are “pastors, not princes.”