A nervous Congress took a step back from the nation’s fiscal cliff last night, but Pope Benedict XVI used his New Year’s Day message to warn that “unregulated capitalism” remains a major threat to peace in the world, along with “various forms of terrorism and crime.”

In his final New Year’s Day message, outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says religion should not be seen as an “old-fashioned embarrassment” but instead a “silent conspiracy of generous dedication” evidenced by legions of volunteers who serve others. It is the silent energy that holds the universe together, he says. Higgs Boson rediscovered?

Proof that everything is marketable: Remember that fresco of Jesus that a Spanish grandmother botched when she tried to “restore” it? Now it’s a fingernail design. (Via Buzzfeed.)

Good news of the day: an antique Bible stolen from a St. Louis church has been recovered thanks to a sharp-eyed antiques dealer.

Russell Moore, dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has adopted five children with his wife and thinks more evangelicals should consider adoption as part of their “pro-life” witness.

In the U.S. we debate whether growing marijuana for medical purposes is okay. In Israel, weed is also illegal but is being cultivated for spiritual reasons as well – a higher purpose, you might say. (Yes, I had to say that.)

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