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National Catholic Register

President Trump Meets With Archbishop Coakley

Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the United States Conference of Catholic bishops, meets with President Donald Trump on Jan. 12, 2026.

The meeting was closed to the press, but White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told EWTN News correspondent Owen Jensen she would ask the president about providing a readout of the meeting.

The Lions Come

Jean-Léon Gérôme, “The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer,” ca. 1863-1883, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland

COMMENTARY: From Rome’s arenas to today’s streets, every attempt to silence the faith only strengthens it.

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.