From the January issue: “The problem with the evangelical elite is that there isn’t one.” So begins another of Aaron Renn’s seminal sociological essays about American Christianity’s largest denomination. In it, he examines why evangelicals have failed to produce leaders in realms other than their own churches.

For further reading: Renn’s “The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism” (February 2022) is one of the most influential essays First Things has ever run.

A commission set up by Pope Francis to examine the possibility of ordaining women as deacons published its finding this month, concluding that women cannot be admitted to Holy Orders. Though some commentators seized on a phrase in the report that seemed to leave the issue open to further study, Damian Thompson writes that the commission has in fact “slammed shut that particular door with tremendous force.”

For further reading: Thompson wrote about women's ordination within the Anglican Communion (and how it doesn’t even approach its biggest problem) in the December issue’s “Canterbury Fails.”

Conservative Catholic José Antonio Kast was elected president of Chile this weekend over Communist Party candidate Jeannette Jara. On the eve of the election, José Ignacio Palma, researcher at Chilean think tank Ideas Republicanas, wrote about how Kast brings Catholic social teaching to government, providing a way forward for the country after years of upheaval and leftist governance.

For further reading: On the topic of Chilean Catholicism, Philip Lawler wrote about the unprecedented resignation of thirty-four bishops in response to the sex abuse crisis in “The Chilean Bishops Crisis” (2018).

In the wake of yesterday’s shooting in Australia, the war in Israel, and Mamdani’s election as New York mayor, this year’s Hanukkah feels different, Mendel Horowitz writes. This year will be a somber remembrance of “less exhausting times.”

For further reading: Dov Lerner wrote about the symbolism of the Hanukkah candles in “Dignity in Flames” (2019).

Upcoming Events

• February 1, 2026: Second Annual Neuhaus Lecture at the New College of Florida: “Recovering the University's Soul’ ft. Bishop Robert Barron | Sarasota, FL. Register here.

• March 7, 2016: Annual D.C. Lecture: ”Our Crisis is Metaphysical” ft. Mary Harrington | Washington, D.C. Details coming soon.

Until next time,

VIRGINIA AABRAM

Newsletter Editor