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Pope Leo XIV emphasizes relevance of Second Vatican Council before meeting with cardinals

January 7, 2026 Catholic News Agency 8
Pope Leo XIV gives the first general audience of 2026 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Jan. 7, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 7, 2026 / 09:37 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV began a series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council at his first general audience of 2026 on Wednesday.

The public audience, held indoors in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall due to low temperatures, took place shortly before the start of Leo’s first consultation with cardinals, called a consistory, convened for Jan. 7–8.

The pope noted that though the Second Vatican Council took place just over 60 years ago, its generation of bishops, theologians, and lay Catholics is no longer alive — necessitating a renewed study of its teachings.

“While we hear the call not to let [the council’s] prophecy fade, and to continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights, it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through ‘hearsay’ or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content,” the pope said on the morning of Jan. 7.

He affirmed that the magisterium of Vatican II “still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey today.”

“As the years have passed, the conciliar documents have lost none of their timeliness; indeed, their teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation of the Church and the current globalized society,” he said, quoting Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope Leo XIV gives the first general audience of 2026 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Jan. 7, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV gives the first general audience of 2026 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Jan. 7, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

The Holy Father also recalled the original impulse of this great ecclesial event, convened by St. John XXIII, which paved “the way for a new ecclesial season” following a “rich biblical, theological, and liturgical reflection spanning the 20th century.”

Leo reviewed some of the council’s principal fruits, including that it “rediscovered the face of God as the Father who, in Christ, calls us to be his children.”

It also led, he said, to a renewed understanding of the Church “as a mystery of communion and sacrament of unity between God and his people,” and it initiated an important “liturgical reform” by placing the mystery of salvation and the active and conscious participation of the entire people of God at its center.

“It helped us to open up to the world and to embrace the changes and challenges of the modern age in dialogue and co-responsibility, as a Church that wishes to open her arms to humanity,” he explained.

Quoting St. Paul VI, he stated that the Church embarked on a new path in order “to seek the truth by way of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and dialogue with people of goodwill.”

That same spirit, he added, “must characterize our spiritual life and the pastoral action of the Church, because we have yet to achieve ecclesial reform more fully in a ministerial sense and, in the face of today’s challenges, we are called to continue to be vigilant interpreters of the signs of the times, joyful proclaimers of the Gospel, courageous witnesses of justice and peace.”

“As we approach the documents of Vatican Council II and rediscover their prophetic and contemporary relevance, we welcome the rich tradition of the life of the Church and, at the same time, we question ourselves about the present and renew our joy in running towards the world to bring it the Gospel of the kingdom of God, a kingdom of love, justice, and peace,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Facing impending death, renowned cartoonist announces intent to convert

January 6, 2026 Catholic News Agency 1
Cartoonist Scott Adams announced his intention to convert to Christianity in January 2026. | Credit: Art of Charm, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jan 6, 2026 / 17:38 pm (CNA).

Scott Adams, the 68-year-old cartoonist who created the decades-long “Dilbert” comic strip, announced he is converting to Christianity amid his deteriorating health caused by terminal cancer.

Adams, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in May 2025, had previously been critical of organized religion and expressed skepticism about traditional faiths in blog posts and two fiction books titled “God’s Debris” and its sequel, “The Religion War.”

On the Jan. 1 episode of his podcast “Real Coffee with Scott Adams,” the cartoonist expressed a change of heart following numerous conversations with Christian friends.

“I’ve not been a believer, but I also have respect for any Christian who goes another way to try to convert me,” Adams said. “Because how would I believe [that] you believe your own religion if you’re not trying to convert me? So I have great respect for people who care enough that they want me to convert and then go out of their way to try to convince me.”

Adams then informed his viewers “it is my plan to convert,” adding: “I still have time, but my understanding is, you’re never too late.”

“And on top of that, any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be instantly answered if I wake up in heaven,” he said.

Speaking to “my Christian friends,” Adams said: “It’s coming, so you don’t need to talk me into it.”

Adams appeared to invoke “ Pascal’s Wager,” which is an argument about the risks and rewards of following Jesus Christ, which was articulated by the 17th-century French Catholic philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal.

The argument was not meant to be a “proof” for God or even an argument about whether God exists. Rather, Pascal argued that accepting God can lead one to eternal life if he exists and it carries little risk even if he did not exist, but rejecting God will lead to eternal consequences if he exists and does not yield significant benefits even if he did not exist.

As Adams summarized his view: “If it turns out that there’’s nothing there, I’ve lost nothing, but I’ve respected your wishes, and I like doing that. If it turns out there is something there and the Christian model is the closest to it, I win.”

Adams’ cancer has spread through his bones and he is paralyzed below his waist. He is also suffering from heart failure.

Father Thomas Petri, a Dominican theologian, said this announcement is “very good news” and that he will continue to pray for Adams.

Petri said he has seen some Christians online try to suggest the conversion is not genuine because “he seems to be doing it merely as a wager in case God exists.” Yet, Petri said, “I’m fine with that wager.”

“Few people come to God with a perfectly formed faith,” he said. “Yet, because we believe God is love, it’s hard to think that Scott Adams’ gesture would not be received and blessed by him.”

“Naturally, as we approach death we become more focused on ultimate things and questions,” Petri added. “Trusting in God opens us to the possibility that death is not an end but an avenue to something greater. I pray that even the most hardened sinners have some desire for God even in their last moments. I think that’s enough for God to work with.”

Jimmy Akin, a senior apologist at Catholic Answers who debated Adams on assisted suicide in 2015, said he is “very glad that [Adams] has decided to seek out God in this difficult time.”

“God has many ways of drawing people to himself,” Akin said.

“On the human level, we’re built to think about events and challenges that we will soon be facing, so as we see that death is drawing near, it’s only natural for people to begin thinking about what may come after death and to try to make plans for it,” he said. “This can create an openness to the idea of God and to Christianity, even if a person was not religious previously.”

In other cases, Akin said some people “have become hardened by years of living without God” but that “God can still reach out by his grace … and being the person to him.”

“As Jesus taught us, it is never too late in this life for a person to turn to God,” he said. “That’s one of the major points of the parable of the workers in the vineyard.”

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