Skip to content

National Catholic Register

Heritage Foundation Aims to Tackle Marriage, Family Crisis

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts is releasing a report outlining ways to promote and support family life amid low marriage and birth rates on Jan. 12, 2026.

New report is titled ‘Saving America by Saving the Family: A Foundation for the Next 250 Years.’

Pope Leo Walks the ‘Early Francis’ Path — With a New Approach

Daniel Ibáñez
Pope Leo XIV walks down the steps at the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall during a meeting with students Oct. 30, 2025, for the Jubilee of the World of Education.

COMMENTARY: Early signs from Leo’s first consistory suggest continuity with Pope Francis’ original pastoral vision — more in what he said than in how he later governed.

The Story Behind Pope Leo XIV’s New Papal Staff

Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV introduced a new papal staff on Jan. 6, 2026, during the closing of the Holy Door.

The papal staff, used only by the pope and topped with a cross or a crucifix, is different from the bishop’s crozier — the shepherd’s staff — which ends in a curve and is used by bishops and archbishops.

Pope Leo XIV Meets Venezuelan Opposition Leader María Corina Machado

Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV meets Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican on Jan. 12, 2026.

Machado, one of the leading figures of the Venezuelan opposition, has been a prominent voice in denouncing the institutional, economic, and humanitarian crisis facing the country.