VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A new book of recipes, The Vatican Christmas Cookbook, presents a collection of meals enjoyed by the Swiss Guards, who often dine with the pope.

(The Conversation) — Making and breaking New Year’s resolutions is a familiar and discouraging annual ritual for many people. The problem is most people set out with their resolutions without identifying a practical path for the journey.

PHOENIX (AP) — The church was the largest sponsor of Boy Scouts of America troops and its greatest ally until January, when it pulled more than 400,000 young people from the program.

(RNS) — The real moral hazard they’ve fallen into is building a faith identity or communal solidarity on otherness, victimhood or grievance.

(RNS) — Protecting all people, no matter who they love, is the first step to going into the future together.

(RNS) — ‘It pains me because I think when this all dies down and we get back to Mass, there will be a lot of empty pews,’ said one nurse, who has worked at a hard-hit nursing home throughout the pandemic.

(RNS) — ‘I felt such a sense of joy — like Christmas really was here,’ said Daniel Russell, a hospice and hospital chaplain in Los Angeles.

(RNS) — These famous few lines suggest a kind of compassionate solidarity, a sense of deep connection when others die, or might die. But Donne’s real point is not just compassion for others, even during a plague, but the necessity of attention to the self.

(RNS) — NBA star Kyrie Irving, who has Native American roots, burned sage during a warmup in a practice known as smudging.

(The Conversation) — Food preparation makes the intangible aspects of culture and religion tangible.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Questions about stabilizers that use pork products — banned by some religious groups — have raised concerns about the possibility of disrupted immunization campaigns.

(RNS) — With thousands of lives on the line, America’s diverse religious communities are uniquely prepared to unite to meet this moment.