Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 2/11/2026

Why Christian clergy see risk as part of their moral calling
The Conversation: How Christian clergy and thinkers consider personal risk when they feel called to engage in social action.

Meet the US’s oldest Catholic priest 
Religion Unplugged: James C. Turro turned 104 years old on Jan. 26 — and now is believed to hold the title of oldest priest in the Archdiocese of Newark — and likely the oldest Catholic cleric in all the United States.

New Orleans archbishop meets with survivors of clergy sexual abuse
The Guardian: The series of meetings is mandated by $305m settlement agreement for 600 survivors of decades-long abuse scandal
The Guardian: Pope Leo accepts resignation of embattled New Orleans archbishop Gregory Aymond

Donald Trump, pagan king*
The New York Times: Pagans generally believed that their gods favored the strong and were indifferent to the weak. Christianity upended these assumptions.

Cardinal Cupich says feds stopped priests, demanded citizenship proof
Religion News Service: “I’ve had some priests who are of a different color being targeted and arrested — stopped — because of their color and asking them to prove that they’re citizens. That’s not America,” the Chicago cardinal said.

The Spark

The babies kept in a mysterious Los Angeles mansion
A wealthy couple obtained dozens of children through surrogates,* The New Yorker says. Did they want a family, or something else?

*access is limited for nonsubscribers