Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said that Christian organizations are working to resettle undocumented immigrants and refugees in the U.S. because “Satan’s controlling the church.”

Said Greene: “What it is, is Satan’s controlling the church. The church is not doing its job, and it’s not adhering to the teachings of Christ, and it’s not adhering to what the word of God says we’re supposed to do and how we’re supposed to live.”

“A team of scholars, faith leaders and advocates unveiled an exhaustive new report that documents in painstaking detail the role Christian nationalism played in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and calling it an unsettling preview of things to come,” the Religion News Service reports.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI asked for forgiveness for any “grievous faults” he committed in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases, the AP reports.

A must-read from Gabriel Sherman at Vanity Fair:

“Jerry Falwell Jr. was the Trump-anointing dark prince of the Christian right. Then a sex scandal rocked his marriage and ended his lucrative stewardship of the evangelical education empire founded by his father.”

“In a series of exclusive interviews, Falwell—accompanied by his wife, Becki—describes the events that led to his ouster, their fallout, and why he’s finally ready to admit he never had much use for his father’s church anyway.”

Thomas Lecaque: “An underappreciated aspect of last year’s insurrectionist mob attack at the U.S. Capitol is its religiosity. The involvement of conspiracy-minded QAnon adherents was vividly on display as the insurrection was televised live, and the participation of extremist political groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers has been widely reported.”

“But less obvious and less well understood is the extent to which Christian groups played a part in the day’s events—groups like the Jericho March, one of several prominent efforts to bring Trump supporters to the nation’s capital on January 6th.”

“We’ve turned the other cheek, and I understand, sort of, the biblical reference — I understand the mentality — but it’s gotten us nothing. Okay? It’s gotten us nothing while we’ve ceded ground in every major institution in our country.”

— Donald Trump, Jr., quoted by The Atlantic, rejecting a central teaching of Christianity.

“Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist for racial justice and LGBT rights and retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, has died, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Sunday,” the AP reports.

Washington Post: “A small, effervescent man with a crooked nose and infectious toothy grin, Archbishop Tutu served as Black South Africa’s informal ambassador to the world during the dark days of repression and as a crucial voice in the campaign for racial equality that culminated with Nelson Mandela’s election as the country’s first Black president in 1994.”

“It’s a tree that unites us. It brings us together. It’s about the Christmas spirit. It is about the holiday season. It’s about Jesus. It’s about Hanukkah. It is about everything that we stand for as a country.”

— Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt, speaking about the Christmas tree set on fire outside of the Fox News studio.

Pope Francis appealed for a return to “good politics”, saying democracy has deteriorated dangerously as discontented people are lured by the “siren songs” of populist politicians who promise easy but unrealistic solutions, Reuters reports.

A plumber made a shocking discovery when fixing a toilet wall at televangelist Joel Osteen’s megachurch in Houston last month — more than 3,000 envelopes stuffed with cash and checks, KPRC reports.

U.S. Catholic bishops have dropped their effort to ban Communion for politicians who support abortion rights, avoiding a rift with President Biden, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Michael Flynn, former national security advisor for President Donald Trump, suggested that the United States should have just one religion.

Said Flynn: “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God, and one religion under God.”

“President Biden said that Pope Francis told him he should keep receiving Communion, after holding an unusually long meeting with him at the Vatican,” Reuters reports.

“Asked if abortion came up in the talks, Biden said the Pope told him he was happy he was a good Catholic.”

President Biden to Pope Francis as he departed their meeting: “God love ya!”