Merry Christmas, Quick Break, and What’s Ahead for 2026

“This day is born to you a Saviour” (Luke 2:11)…

Merry Christmas, Quick Break, and What’s Ahead for 2026

“God Himself will come and will save you.” (Isaias 35:4)

Dear Readers, Friends, and Supporters of Novus Ordo Watch:

An eventful year is coming to a close. It was a year that saw one of the greatest apostates of history go to his particular judgment. It was a year that saw his successor continue in his footsteps and double down doctrinally while keeping a pleasant and aesthetically-pleasing outward appearance.

It’s been a year of blessing for Novus Ordo Watch. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of supporters, there has been lots of funding, and this means we are able to step things up a bit.

What’s Ahead

Novus Ordo Watch has been working behind the scenes to find ways to streamline daily tasks so that content can be produced more copiously, more efficiently, and more professionally. To that end, we have invested money in upgrading technical equipment and also in web development. Podcast production will become easier as we implement best practices and use the latest tools to generate high-quality Catholic audio content. We also intend to produce occasional commentary videos in the new year. Technology has advanced a lot in recent years, and it is high time we made use of it.

Furthermore, we have engaged a professional web developer to redesign the Novus Ordo Watch web site from the ground up, essentially to make it more user-friendly and easier to find content. At some point in 2026, visitors will see a new Novus Ordo Watch web site, optimized both for desktop and laptop computers and for hand-held devices.

In addition, Novus Ordo Watch will receive a new and permanent logo next year. The pencil-drawn profile of Pope Pius XII — the last known true Pope — is fitting, but it bears too much resemblance to Antipope Leo XIV, whose profile is very similar to that of Pope Pius XII. The new logo will once again show the emblem of the vacant Holy See (sedes vacans).

‘Artificial Intelligence’

Then there is the vexing issue of so-called ‘artificial intelligence’, usually abbreviated as ‘AI’. It has been quite annoying to see AI robots pop up everywhere, and there are lots of dangers associated with the use of this pseudo-intelligence. At the same time, some type of AI has been around for quite a while and everyone inevitably uses it in some fashion at least on occasion (for example, when using an automatic translator for a text).

AI certainly has its legitimate usefulness, and Novus Ordo Watch uses it behind the scenes to summarize YouTube videos, articles, and books in order to save time and increase productivity. We also use it to help in researching things; not, however, in the sense of blindly trusting what AI cranks out (which is often inaccurate), but rather in assisting with where to look things up in original sources, which we then do manually to ensure accuracy.

What Novus Ordo Watch will never do is use AI to generate blog posts. Unfortunately, there are some bloggers that appear to be doing just that. They have AI draw up content for them, which they then merely edit before hitting the ‘publish’ button. Thankfully, however, this need not go undetected, for AI can be used on itself, and there are now tools available to discover what content has likely been AI-generated. One of them is GPTzero. Running GPTzero on a text will show how much of it was probably generated by an AI robot, and it even gives the reasons for its assessment.

Rest assured, Novus Ordo Watch will never use AI to generate a post; and while we may sometimes use AI to generate summary content to be used in a blog post, we will always label it as having been AI-generated so there is no deception. (Here is an example of where we did just that.) After all, publishing a text as one’s own that was in fact put together by a computer is, at the very least, of doubtful honesty and perhaps akin to plagiarism. But even more so, who wants to read something written by a computer?

A Quick Break

Between now and the new year, please do not expect much new content. A short period of rest will be important, not only for some personal time off but also to be able to take care of things that often go under, such as attending to email correspondence, handling administrative matters, learning new technology, and preparing new projects.

Unless there is some major breaking news, therefore, please expect no posts until December 31, when we will publish our next NEWS DIGEST. In the meantime, keep in mind that for the latest news and posts by Novus Ordo Watch, you can always check our X/TWITTER FEED, which is updated frequently.

THANK YOU to all who have been supporting Novus Ordo Watch with their prayers and spiritual sacrifices, their word of mouth, and their monetary assistance. This apostolate could not exist without you! May God bless and reward you.

An Edifying Christmas Movie

In order to help you celebrate this Christmas worthily, especially all those many souls unable to assist at Holy Mass, we would like to make you aware of a most beautiful movie rendition of the Life of Our Lord, one that is very dignified, modest, and edifying. It is a trilogy called The Life of Christ, produced in Spain in 1957. You can watch it here:

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The first part is called The Savior, followed by The Redeemer and The Master. The entire trilogy runs approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes, but the films are also sold individually on DVD here (caution: vendor is Novus Ordo).

As you (hopefully) spend time with loved ones this Christmas, or even if you have to spend it alone with your guardian angel, this Life of Christ will be a source of great joy, consolation, and inspiration to you. Whereas the Modernist Sect in Rome does not hesitate to celebrate Hanukkah with the faithless Jews (2017), thus denying the Lord who bought them (cf. 2 Pet 2:1), we Catholics rejoice in and celebrate the Birth of the Divine Infant, the only Savior (see Jn 14:6; Acts 4:12), who came to “save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21).

Have a peaceful, grace-filled, joyous, and blessed Christmas season!

Image source: Shutterstock (rawpixel.com)
License: paid