Holy Family and All Saints Catholic Church Witham

Catholic News Agency

ACI Prensa's latest initiative is the Catholic News Agency (CNA), aimed at serving the English-speaking Catholic audience. ACI Prensa (www.aciprensa.com) is currently the largest provider of Catholic news in Spanish and Portuguese.

Nigerian government urged to secure release of 167 worshippers abducted from churches
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 16:26:25 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 16:26 pm (CNA).

Christin Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a U.K.-based human rights organization, has called on Nigerian authorities to “secure the release” of 167 worshippers reportedly abducted during coordinated attacks on three churches in Kurmin Wali community, Kajuru local government area (LGA) of Kaduna state.

In a Tuesday, Jan. 20, report shared with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, CSW leadership condemned the mass abduction that reportedly took place on Jan. 18 while worshippers were attending Sunday church services.

According to the report, attempts by CSW Nigeria staff to access the community to verify the incident were blocked by the military, which reportedly cited standing orders barring entry into the area.

“CSW is highly concerned by the official efforts to obscure the abductions that took place in Kurmin Wali and to prevent residents from speaking to the press,” CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said in the report.

Thomas urged Nigerian authorities to “do everything in their power to secure the release of those abducted from Kurmin Wali on 18 January, as well as all other abductees currently held in terrorist captivity in Nigeria’s central and northern states.”

“The government of Nigeria at both state and federal levels must be transparent about the scale and severity of the security crisis the country is experiencing, and specifically about the asymmetry with which Christian communities are being targeted, in order to ensure an effective response to the terrorism that has blighted the lives of vulnerable citizens across central Nigeria for far too long,” Thomas said.

According to the CSW report, armed assailants believed to be Fulani militia stormed Kurmin Wali at around 9 a.m., arriving on foot and on motorcycles.

The attackers reportedly split into three groups, targeting the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Albarka Cherubim and Seraphim 1, and Haske Cherubim and Seraphim 2 churches.

Local sources told CSW that worshippers were rounded up and forced into nearby bushland. Elderly women and young children were later released, while 11 individuals managed to escape.

As of Jan. 20, CSW said 167 people remained in captivity.

The CSW report further indicated that the “Adara people of Kajuru LGA have been under sustained attack since their traditional ruler, the Agom Adara III, HRH Dr Maiwada Raphael Galadima, was abducted and murdered by Fulani assailants in 2018, despite payment of a ransom.”

“Kurmin Wali and surrounding communities have endured repeated attacks and abductions. For example, on Jan. 11, 2026, 21 people were abducted from the community and were only freed after paying around 7 million Naira (US$4,932) in ransom,” the report further indicated.

The report recounted that earlier, on Jan. 2, ECWA church leader Rev. Philip Adamu “was among four people abducted from Ungwan Danladi village in Kajuru LGA by assailants who spoke Fulfude, the Fulani language, and who called the community the following day, demanding ransoms of 20 million Naira [about $14,000] for Rev. Adamu, and 10 million Naira [about $7,000] for the other hostages.”

CSW described the repeated attacks as a failure of government responsibility, warning that rural communities are being driven deeper into poverty by ransom payments and forced displacement.

“While applauding the military successes recorded in the past few months, CSW condemns the repeated attacks on the vulnerable people in Kurmin Wali and surrounding communities,” said Rev. Yunusa Sabo Nmadu, the chief executive officer of CSW.

He urged the security agencies to “ensure the prompt release of those abducted and to enhance security for all other vulnerable areas.”

“We also call on the government to strengthen the local capacity of these villagers to serve as the first line of defense against terrorists who are increasingly emboldened by each unchallenged abduction,” Nmadu said.

The recent attacks come despite the Nigerian government’s designation of the Fulani militia and other armed groups as terrorist organizations in December 2025 under a new counterterrorism doctrine. CSW said the continued abductions raise serious concerns about the enforcement and protection of civilians.

Meanwhile, CSW reported that in neighboring Kogi state, 24 of 30 worshippers abducted in December 2025 have been released following the payment of a ransom, though six people remain in captivity and several others died while being held.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa. It has been adapted by EWTN News English.

Health spending bill would keep ban on tax-funded abortion
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 15:49:30 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 15:49 pm (CNA).

A federal health spending bill would impose a long-enforced ban on using taxpayer funds for elective abortion, known as the Hyde Amendment.

The U.S. House is set to consider the bill this week, which would fund the departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services. Lawmakers would need to pass spending bills in both chambers and send them to the White House by Jan. 30 or the government could face another partial shutdown.

Republican President Donald Trump had asked his party to be “flexible” in its approach to the provision in a separate funding bill. According to a Jan. 19 news release from the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee, the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill includes the provision “protecting the lives of unborn children” known as the Hyde Amendment.

The Hyde Amendment, which is not permanent law, was first included as a rider in federal spending bills in 1976. It was included consistently since then although some recent legislation and budget proposals have sometimes excluded it. The provision would ban federal funds for abortion except when the unborn child is conceived through rape or incest or if the life of the mother is at risk.

Katie Glenn Daniel, director of legal affairs and policy counsel for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said the amendment is “a long-standing federal policy that’s been included for the last five decades and is popular with the American people.”

“Americans don’t want to pay for abortion on demand,” she said.

Many Democratic lawmakers have sought to eliminate the rider in recent years, saying it disproportionately limits abortion access for low-income women. Former President Joe Biden reversed his longtime support of the Hyde Amendment in the lead-up to the 2020 election and refused to include it in his spending proposals, saying: “If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s zip code.” But Republicans successfully negotiated the rider’s inclusion into spending bills.

In January 2025, Trump issued an executive order directing the government to enforce the Hyde Amendment. A year later, Trump urged Republicans to be “a little flexible on Hyde” when lawmakers were negotiating the extension of health care subsidies related to the Affordable Care Act. A White House spokesperson also said the president would work with Congress to ensure the strongest possible pro-life protections.

The House eventually passed the extension without the Hyde Amendment after 17 Republicans joined Democrats to support the bill. The Senate has not yet advanced the measure, where the question of whether to include the Hyde Amendment has been a point of contention between Republicans and Democrats.

In mid-January, Trump announced a plan to change how health care subsidies are disbursed. There was no mention of the Hyde Amendment in the White House’s 827-word memo.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has consistently lobbied for the inclusion of the Hyde Amendment in spending bills. On Jan. 14, the bishops sent a letter to Congress “to stress in the strongest possible terms that Hyde is essential for health care policy that protects human dignity.”

“Authentic health care and the protection of human life go hand in hand,” the letter said. “There can be no compromise on these two combined values.”

10,000 pro-lifers march in Paris for annual March for Life
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 14:55:03 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 14:55 pm (CNA).

Approximately 10,000 people — mainly a young and engaged crowd — gathered at Place Vauban in Paris for the annual March for Life on Jan. 18.

Each year, the march is held around Jan. 17 because on that date in 1975 abortion was first legalized under the Veil Act, named after the health minister at the time, Simone Veil.

This year’s march was held two years after France made history in 2024 by becoming the first and only country in the world to enshrine access to abortion directly in its constitution.

Paris’ March for Life has not been solely focused on abortion, with the debate over life issues becoming intensified in recent months. In March 2025, the French National Assembly approved a bill to legalize assisted dying for adults suffering from incurable, serious, and terminal illnesses, both physical and psychological.

Demonstrators at the march on Sunday protested the French government’s plans to legalize euthanasia.

“They say you can help people die. But the intention is to give death, and that is not our job. It cannot be our job,” said geriatric doctor Geneviève Bourgeois in an interview with EWTN News. “That’s not how you soothe people. There is suffering, but if you kill the sufferer, you don’t kill the suffering, you kill the patient.”

‘Life is a gift from God’

One of the most prominent Catholic voices in France is Bishop Dominique Rey, one of the few senior Church leaders to attend a March for Life.

“We must not touch life. Life is a gift from God,” Rey told EWTN News. “In the defense of life, we need freedom and the courage not to be afraid, even when some media are very opposed to the defense of life, liberty, and freedom.”

He continued: “In France, in Europe, and in the world, we need the courage of the Church to say that this is very important for the future of humanity and for the future of the Church: to be strongly engaged in the defense of life.”

Among those present at this year’s march was Emilie Quinson, who had three abortions earlier in her life. “What was very difficult for me was that I was not informed about what an abortion was, under what circumstances it would take place, or about its consequences,” she told EWTN News.

Today, she is a leading figure in the pro-life movement. “I got married, I have five wonderful children, and my daughter is here with me today,” she said. “I went through a long process of rebuilding and forgiveness, because for a woman who has had an abortion, the hardest thing is forgiveness — first forgiving herself, and then receiving God’s forgiveness.

‘History is a great teacher’: A Mexican bishop’s reflections on the Cristero War
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 14:03:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 14:03 pm (CNA).

As the centenary year of the Cristero War, also known as the Cristiada, begins, Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Mena of the Archdiocese of Yucatán in Mexico emphasized that “history is a great teacher.”

In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Mena noted that when he was in elementary and high school, the Cristero War was not mentioned in Mexican history classes.

Mena, 70, emphasized that Christians, “from the perspective of our faith, must know the entire history” and “learn from this event,” acknowledging that “it will always be controversial; it has its virtues, its flaws, its excesses, but I believe we must learn from this event.”

Father Javier Olivera Ravas will also be giving a conference on “The Cristero Resistance” on Feb. 6 at the Foro Cine Colón in Mérida, Yucatán.

Addressing the theme accompanying the announcement for the conference — “Where There Is the Cross and Sacrifice, Glory Is Born” — Mena highlighted that as the early Church theologian Tertullian said, “‘the blood of the martyrs is the seed’ of new Christians.”

The prelate recalled that when Pope John Paul II visited San Juan de los Lagos in 1990, in the region known as the Altos de Jalisco — where the Cristeros had a very strong presence — “one thing that really struck me was that they placed in the square in front of the cathedral [the title] ‘Land of Martyrs.’”

According to Mena, the large number of vocations found in that region, and in other areas with a strong Cristero history, is explained by the fact that parents often take their children “to different places and say: ‘This is where such and such a martyr lived, this is where so-and-so martyr was the parish priest, this is where this layperson lived.’ In other words, from a young age, they were thinking about those who had given their lives for Christ.”

Church-state relations in Mexico

In the decades following the Cristero War — which officially took place from 1926 to 1929 — the government did not repeal the oppressive laws restricting religious freedom that had triggered the rebellion but rather simply ceased to enforce them.

Mena noted how, during Pope John Paul II’s first trip to Mexico in 1979, “there were those who protested because he was wearing his cassock, which was prohibited by the laws that were still in effect at the time.”

In 1992, the 1917 Constitution — the origin of many of the restrictions that would later trigger the Cristero War — was reformed, and the so-called “Calles Law” was replaced with the current “Law on Religious Associations and Public Worship.” In this way, relations between church and state were reestablished.

Nevertheless, the prelate acknowledged that the relationship between the Catholic Church and state can occasionally be “a little tense,” although “there are open channels through which we can dialogue” with the authorities.

Lessons from the Cristero War for today

For the auxiliary bishop of Yucatán, an important lesson that the Cristero uprising in Mexico taught, a century after it occurred, “is that we must always sit down and discern how we, as a Church, are responding.”

“The important thing right now is to understand this great event in depth, as much as possible, to sit down and discern it from the perspective of God’s word and our mission as a Church,” he said, pointing to an important concern: “Is the evangelization we are carrying out in the Church today creating mature Christians?”

Regarding the apostolate to young people today, who are immersed in social media, the prelate emphasized the importance of “making them think,” “engaging them in a dynamic where they feel challenged,” and “encouraging them to ask questions.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

New York backs off trying to force religious groups to pay for abortion after Supreme Court order
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:33:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 13:33 pm (CNA).

A coalition of religious groups that includes an order of Protestant nuns and two Catholic dioceses scored a major victory after the state of New York backed off trying to force the groups to cover abortion in their health insurance plans.

The state government in a Jan. 16 agreement agreed to drop its efforts to force abortion coverage onto the dioceses of Ogdensburg and Albany, along with two Catholic Charities groups and numerous other religious plaintiffs.

The concession came months after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state court of appeals to review the long-running case in light of a major religious liberty victory at the high court in June 2025.

That victory, Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review, saw the Supreme Court unanimously affirm that the U.S. Constitution “ mandates government neutrality between religions” and that states may not impose unlawful “denominational preferences” between religious organizations.

In the Wisconsin case, the state had attempted to argue that a Catholic charity’s undertakings were not “primarily” religious and that the group thus did not qualify for a tax exemption. The New York government had adopted a similar argument, exempting religious groups from the abortion mandate only if they primarily employ members of their own faith.

In a press release celebrating the New York victory, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty — which represented the religious groups in their fight against the mandate — described the state’s effort as a “disgraceful campaign.”

“This victory confirms that the government cannot punish religious ministries for living out their faith by serving everyone,” attorney Lori Windham said.

In addition to the Protestant nuns and the Catholic groups, the plaintiffs included a Lutheran church, a Baptist church, and a Teresian nursing home.

The nuns, a contemplative order called the Sisters of St. Mary, are known for raising Cashmere goats at their cloister in Greenwich, New York.

Their sponsorship of a 4-H club and their leasing of the goats to local youth led the state to deny them the exemption to the abortion mandate, according to Becket. The religious exemption, Becket had argued, was “so narrow” that “Jesus himself would not qualify for it.”

Vatican weighing Trump invitation to join Gaza ‘Board of Peace’
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:03:12 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 13:03 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has received an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to participate in a proposed “Board of Peace” focused on Gaza and is currently evaluating how to respond, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Wednesday.

“We too have received the invitation to the Board of Peace for Gaza. The pope has received it and we are seeing what to do; we are looking into it in depth,” Parolin told reporters on Jan. 21, according to the official Vatican News outlet. “I think it is an issue that requires a bit of time to give an answer.”

The cardinal said Trump is “requesting the participation of various countries” and noted that, based on what he had read in the press, “Italy is also reflecting on whether to join or not.”

According to the report, the initiative aims to establish a Board of Peace to address global conflicts, with particular attention to the war in Gaza, as an entity independent of the United Nations. Participating countries would be asked to make a financial contribution that would grant them a permanent seat.

Several states have publicly announced their participation, including Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Egypt, and Israel, the report said.

Parolin ruled out a Vatican financial contribution and said the Holy See would be in a different position than other states.

“We are not even in a position to do that,” he said. “However, evidently we find ourselves in a different situation with respect to other countries, so it will be a different consideration, but I think the request will not be to participate financially.”

Asked about tensions between the United States and Europe, Parolin said “tensions are not healthy” and “create a climate that worsens the international situation, which is already serious.”

“I think what is important would be to eliminate tensions, discuss the points that are controversial, but without entering into polemics or generating tensions,” he said.

Parolin also underscored the importance of “respecting international law” when asked about remarks made by Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the U.S. president expressed a strong desire to acquire Greenland, according to the report.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Cardinal Ryś: Catholics and Jews must ‘listen to each other’ to combat hate
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:30:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

A prominent Polish cardinal and the country’s chief rabbi warned against silence in the face of hatred and called for peace at the central celebration of the 29th Day of Judaism in the Catholic Church in Poland on Jan. 15.

“Too much pain, too much tragedy, too much death. We pray for peace,” Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich said during the event in Płock, a city in central Poland where most of its prewar Jewish population of 9,000 was murdered or deported during the Nazi occupation.

Schudrich recalled the words of Holocaust survivor Marian Turski that “Auschwitz did not fall from the sky,” noting that the Shoah would not have happened without the silence of good people. He underlined the need to combat antisemitism and all forms of racism and hatred.

Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, the archbishop of Kraków and chairman of the Polish Bishops’ Conference’s Council for Religious Dialogue, called for Catholics and Jews to “listen to each other, because the other perspective is important for each side.”

“It is not the case” that the loss of Płock’s Jewish community “changes nothing in the community of citizens who lived together,” Ryś said, noting that the Day of Judaism — observed this year under the theme “Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16) — serves to remember them.

The cardinal added that “all Church documents since the Second Vatican Council” have demonstrated the connections between Christianity and “living Judaism.”

“The whole history of salvation boils down to this: God gathers people, and the evil one scatters them,” Ryś observed. “You will never be happy if you want to be happy alone.”

Israel’s ambassador to Poland, Yaakov Finkelstein; local Bishop Szymon Stułkowski; and Płock Mayor Andrzej Nowakowski also attended the Jan. 15 celebrations.

Events took place at multiple locations, including the Płock Cathedral, the Benedictine Abbey, and the Museum of Mazovian Jews, which is housed in a former synagogue. The day included joint prayers, a commemorative walk through sites linked to Płock’s Jewish history, and exhibitions including one titled “Some Were Neighbors: Choice, Human Behavior, and the Holocaust,” produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Sister Katarzyna Kowalska, co-chair of the Polish Council of Christians and Jews and vice president of the International Council of Christians and Jews, said the Church today calls the faithful to “sit down at one table” and explore important issues.

“We discussed memory, hope, and the promises made to the chosen people, in which we are also included and which we share in,” Kowalska said.

The Day of Judaism is traditionally observed on Jan. 17 in Poland’s liturgical calendar, coinciding with the eve of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Similar days of Jewish-Catholic remembrance and dialogue are celebrated by the Catholic Church in a number of European countries.

Thousands gather at Bangladesh Marian shrine where villagers were saved during 1971 war
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

Thousands of pilgrims gathered at a Marian shrine in northern Bangladesh on Jan. 16 to express gratitude to Mary for protecting villagers during the country’s 1971 War of Independence.

The annual pilgrimage at Nabai Battala village in the Rajshahi Diocese concluded a nine-day novena with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Sebastian Tudu of Dinajpur. The pilgrimage commemorates an incident during Bangladesh’s war for independence from Pakistan when Pakistani soldiers surrounded the village church but left without harming anyone inside.

“It is not like this that Mother Mary does not listen to anyone’s prayers,” Tudu said in his homily. “The people of Nabai Battala have already received the grace of Mother Mary. During the War of Independence in 1971, they trusted Mother Mary to save their lives. And Mother Mary has indeed protected the devotees in the arms of her love.”

Prayer amid danger

During the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, Pakistani troops, aided by local Razakars — Bangladeshis who opposed independence — came to Nabai Battala village to capture freedom fighters. Villagers had agreed that if such an attack occurred, they would gather in the church when the bell rang and pray to Mary.

When more than 100 Pakistani soldiers arrived, villagers — both Christians and Hindus — took refuge in the church. The troops surrounded them and ordered some to pray, but the Hindus could not comply with the order. The soldiers then aimed their guns at the villagers.

No one fled. They continued praying, and for reasons unknown, the Pakistani troops departed without firing a shot. Since then, villagers have expressed their gratitude to Mary through annual prayers at the site.

Many of the Hindu villagers later converted to Christianity.

Official recognition

On Jan. 16, 2004, the then-bishop of Rajshahi, Paulinus Costa, declared Nabai Battala — an Indigenous-dominated area about 186 miles north of Dhaka — a pilgrimage site. The location has been celebrated annually with increasing solemnity since.

In 2019, new meditation scenes and statues were installed at 14 stations along the Way of the Cross and at the grotto of Mary, and a new pilgrimage altar was constructed.

Bishop Gervas Rozario formally designated Nabai Battala as a pilgrimage center of the Rajshahi Diocese in 2023.

Living faith

“Pilgrimage is essentially an expression of a Christian’s living faith — where the deep devotion, hope, and desire of the heart combine to create a yearning for the closeness and intimacy of God,” Tudu said. “From this yearning comes the celebration of communion, joy, and gratitude.”

He added that “the pilgrimage site of the protector Mother Mary of Nabai Battala is also a place of unique blessing. In this holy land, God continues to shower mercy on his devotees through the intercession of the protector Mother Mary.”

Costantina Hansda, a community leader and social activist from Nabai Battala, said the annual pilgrimage has been celebrated since 1971. “On that day, all our villagers were saved from the hands of the Pakistani army by praying to her intercession. Therefore, we perform this pilgrimage every year to thank and express our gratitude to Mother Mary.”

Answered prayers

A couple who traveled about 124 miles to the shrine told EWTN News they came to thank Mary for answering their prayers. Their 3-year-old son had cried inexplicably at night for an extended period, and doctors were unable to help.

“Last year we prayed to Mother Mary, and since then our son has not cried at night like previous years. He is fine now. That is why we came to thank Mother Mary,” the couple said.

They added: “Mother Mary is truly a mother who listens to her children and fulfills their prayers.”

On the night of Jan. 15, pilgrims from surrounding villages carried candles in procession to the shrine, participated in Eucharistic adoration, and went to confession in preparation for the feast day.

On the morning of Jan. 16, pilgrims gathered at the Way of the Cross before the Mass, which was attended by thousands of Marian devotees, priests, religious brothers, and sisters.

Vatican employees report distrust of managers, mistreatment in the workplace
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:30:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 11:30 am (CNA).

A survey of Vatican employees conducted by the Vatican Lay Employees Association (ADLV) found broad dissatisfaction with career advancement, widespread distrust of leadership, and significant reports of workplace mistreatment among respondents.

The poll — carried out between Dec. 15, 2025, and Jan. 7 and published on the ADLV website — is being described by the association as the first representative survey of staff working across Vatican offices and entities. The ADLV functions as an internal employee association, though it does not have formal union recognition in the Vatican’s legal system, where strikes are not permitted.

According to the ADLV, 250 people responded to the questionnaire, about 80% of whom are members of the association. The Holy See employs roughly 4,200 workers, though most are not affiliated with the ADLV — a limitation the group acknowledged while describing the sample as “limited, but significant.”

Among the most striking findings: 73.9% of respondents said they perceive a clear distance between Vatican leadership — typically office heads and superiors, many of them cardinals or bishops — and employees. Just 12.8% said they were satisfied on that point.

More than 71% of participants said superiors are not selected through transparent criteria or a clearly defined professional path, while 26% said it is not possible to maintain a free and sincere dialogue with direct managers.

Respondents also reported a strong sense of professional under-appreciation. About 75.9% said human resources are not appropriately placed, valued, or motivated, and 75.8% said the workplace does not reward initiative, merit, or experience gained through seniority.

More than half report mistreatment

The ADLV said more than 56% of respondents reported having experienced injustices or humiliating behavior from superiors — concerns the association argued merit urgent attention even though Vatican law does not formally define “mobbing,” or workplace bullying, as a specific offense.

In a related finding, 73.4% of respondents said they perceive favoritism, unequal treatment, and insecurity about the protection of their rights, including concerns connected to the pension system.

The survey also indicated major frustration with career progression: 73% reported a perceived “block” in professional advancement and pointed to the continued suspension of a biennial wage step that had previously been added to base salary and factored into pensions and end-of-service benefits (TFR). The ADLV noted that Pope Francis eliminated the benefit in 2021 as a cost-saving measure amid Holy See budget deficits.

Assessments of labor reforms over the past decade were largely negative in the survey: 68% said reforms have not produced concrete benefits but instead increased restrictions, and more than 79% said insufficient investment is being made in staff formation and training.

Calls for recognized representation and stable dialogue

The survey points to strong demand for officially recognized representative bodies with greater capacity to intervene in labor disputes. More than 71% of respondents said they would turn to the ADLV in the event of a workplace conflict, compared with about 10% who said they would go to the Vatican labor tribunal (ULSA).

Nearly 75% said direct dialogue between the ADLV and dicastery leadership is the most effective way to resolve problems.

Respondents also offered suggestions addressed to Pope Leo XIV, frequently urging that workers be given greater dignity, voice, and real protection through representation, transparency, dialogue, and respect for personal rights. The ADLV said Pope Leo’s election has raised expectations for change, pointing to what it called early positive signs — including prompt action involving the labor tribunal, authorization of a bonus linked to the conclave that had previously been removed, and indications of openness to a shared path of dialogue.

The ADLV said it contacted the Secretariat for the Economy, which oversees the Holy See’s Human Resources Office, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

How to be a Christian on social media: A priest offers his perspective
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 11:00 am (CNA).

During a time “marked by aggression, fragmentation, and polarization,” Argentine priest Father Gregorio Nadal has released a Spanish-language book, “How to Be Christians on Social Media: Human Relationships and Ethical Presence in the Digital World,” which offers perspective not only for believers but also for “anyone who wonders how to safeguard their own dignity and that of others” in an environment of screens, messages, and reactions.

Written from a Christian perspective, his work begins with a spiritual question: “How can we be Christians on social media?” and from there seeks to open a dialogue that is not limited to “within the Church” but is directed to a broader audience, Nadal explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News English.

To this end, Nadal offers “an invitation to examine what happens within us when we are connected, how the content we consume affects us, and what kind of people we are becoming as we browse social media, comment, read, or react.”

The inspiration for his work comes from two Church documents: the encyclical Fratelli Tutti by Pope Francis and a 2023 document from the Dicastery for Communication, “Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media.”

3 challenges of social media

Analyzing the current landscape of social media, Nadal identifies three significant challenges: The first is normalized aggression. “Fratelli Tutti pointed this out, stating that there is a verbal violence that has become commonplace” and that “it’s not just about what we write but also about what we read, share, and allow into our hearts.”

“This aggression ends up shaping our perspective, our patience, and our way of making connections with others, even when we don’t actively participate in it,” he warned.

The second major challenge, he explained, is the fragmentation of the heart. In this case, citing the dicastery’s document, the priest pointed out that “technology is not neutral: It shapes our inner lives. The pace of hyper-connectivity fragments attention, weakens silence (essential for listening to God), and hinders genuine, face-to-face interaction.”

“It’s not just about how much time we spend in front of a screen but about what this way of being connected does to us internally: What it agitates in us, what it empties us of, what it unsettles in us, and what it builds up in us,” he explained, because, ultimately, “what is at stake is inner unity.”

And as a third challenge, Nadal mentioned the immediate reaction: “Social media drives us to respond quickly, often from a place of hurt. The document expresses this clearly: The human style — and also the Christian style — cannot be reactive but reflective.”

This means that “when we react without discernment, our words become weapons, even when we ‘are right’ or ‘are defending our Christian values.’” Therefore, he said he considers it crucial to “recover the inner space between the stimulus and the response” in order to not lose our freedom.

Advice for young people

In this context, Nadal encouraged young people to ask themselves questions that will help them become freer, for example: “How do I enter social media and how do I leave afterward? What happens inside me when I read certain comments? What content makes me feel more agitated, sad, or angry? Am I the one making the choices, or am I often being swept along?”

He also advised them to protect “something very valuable today: their attention,” because “where your attention goes, there your life goes,” as the Gospel says: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Specifically, he encouraged them to “reclaim small screen-free spaces — true silence, uninterrupted conversations, walking, reading, being with others without being ‘half-present’” — clarifying that it’s not about “rejecting digital technology” but rather “protecting our inner selves, safeguarding our hearts so they don’t become scattered by a thousand stimuli and can inhabit life with greater presence and freedom.”

He also suggested “before writing or responding, pause for a moment”; because “that brief second, when anger or wounded pride flares up, is a crucial moment. That’s where we decide who we are going to be.”

“Freedom isn’t about saying everything but about being able to choose from where and why we speak,” he summarized.

‘Added value’ of being Christians on social media

The priest said the contribution that Catholics are called to make in the digital world is to humanize it, “not with speeches, but with their presence.”

“In an environment where hurt, sarcasm, and denigration are rampant, we Christians are called not to add to the noise or the mob mentality but to foster encounter, care, and respect,” he noted.

The “added value” of Catholics on social media, Nadal explained, “is not having more arguments but being good neighbors.” This will sometimes involve “respectfully defending someone who is being attacked or a truth of our Catholic faith”; at other times, “writing a private message of comfort”; and at other times, “not sharing something that is humiliating” or “choosing silence so as not to fuel a destructive dynamic.”

Digital evangelization should not be reduced to a mere strategy

Regarding digital evangelization, Nadal said he considers it a real and necessary possibility, provided that “it is not reduced to a strategy” because, as the dicastery document indicates, communication is, above all, presence, and “presence is neither improvised nor calculated: It is lived.”

Therefore, “evangelizing in the digital world is not about occupying spaces or increasing visibility but about learning to be present in a human and Christian way where much of life unfolds today.”

“Social media is currently one of the places where wounded people abound: individuals who are exposed, humiliated, attacked, or simply tired and lonely. Faced with this, the challenge is not to pass by indifferently, nor to observe from the sidelines with judgment or just as an onlooker, but to pause for a moment,” he proposed.

“In this sense, digital evangelization means choosing to be neighbors to one another, even on our screens: looking with compassion, carefully choosing our words, not reducing others to a single mistake or opinion, and asking ourselves who needs to be cared for in that specific interaction,” he explained.

“In an environment saturated with voices, perhaps the most eloquent thing is not a brilliant message but a genuine presence, capable of pausing in the face of suffering and opening spaces for encounter, even through a screen,” he noted.

Who is Father Gregorio Nadal?

Gregorio Agustín Nadal Zalazar was born on May 26, 1982, in Concepción del Uruguay, Argentina. He entered the Mary Mother of the Church diocesan seminary in 2002 and was ordained a priest on Sept. 24, 2009, in St. Joseph Cathedral in Gualeguaychú. He holds a diploma in vocational ministry from the Theological-Pastoral Institute in Colombia and completed a bachelor’s degree in theology with a specialization in pastoral studies at Argentine Catholic University.

He served as a formator at the diocesan seminary Mary Mother of the Church, completed the Seminary Formators course in Quito, Ecuador, offered by the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops’ Council, and the spiritual psychology course at the Catholic University of Córdoba, Argentina.

He is currently the pastor at the Immaculate Conception Basilica in Concepción del Uruguay, general secretary of the presbyteral council, a member of the diocesan team for the ongoing formation of the clergy, and recently appointed episcopal delegate for evangelization.

His Spanish-language publications include: “Remember Me: In Memory of Father Alcides,” “Dilexi Te, a Spiritual and Reading Guide to Pope Leo XIV’s Document,” “How to Be Christians on Social Media,” “The Grieving Soul: A Christian and Human Path Through Loss,” and coming soon: “The Soul in Search of Happiness” and “One Heartbeat on the Path of Love: A Journey to Easter.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV receives lambs on feast of St. Agnes
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday received a pair of lambs to be blessed for the feast day of the Roman virgin and martyr St. Agnes — the first time a pope has welcomed lambs at the Vatican, part of a centuries-old tradition, since 2017.

The presentation took place in the 17th-century Urban VIII Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, where the lambs’ bleats punctuated the brief ceremony Jan. 21. The wool of the blessed lambs will be used to make pallia — narrow white vestments worn by metropolitan archbishops.

It was a tradition for the pope to bless the lambs every year on the feast of St. Agnes until Pope Francis discontinued the practice after 2017.

St. Agnes, who was killed in Rome in A.D. 304 at the age of 12 or 13 for being a Christian, is associated with the lamb as a symbol of her purity and because her name means “lamb” in Latin.

The lambs — carried in baskets dressed in white with red roses for St. Agnes’ virginity and martyrdom — were later blessed in the Mausoleum of Constantina, an ancient church close to the Minor Basilica of St. Agnes Outside the Walls, which is temporarily closed.

The Benedictine nuns of the Basilica of St. Cecilia will take over care of the lambs, shearing them during Holy Week, then weaving their wool into pallia, which the pope will bestow on new metropolitan archbishops on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

The pallium is a narrow, circular band of white wool with pendants hanging down the front and the back. It is adorned with six small black crosses and three pins (called spinulae), which resemble both thorns and the nails used to crucify Jesus.

It is bestowed on the Latin-rite patriarch of Jerusalem and metropolitan archbishops — the diocesan archbishops of the primary city of an ecclesiastical province or region — as a symbol of communion, authority, and unity with the pope and his pastoral mission to be a shepherd for the people of God. The pope also wears the pallium over his chasuble when he is celebrating Mass.

Before the vestments are bestowed on the metropolitan archbishops, they are placed for a time in a spot near the tomb of St. Peter, under the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, to reinforce the bishop’s connection to Peter through apostolic succession.

Catholics remain the largest religious group across Latin America, Pew says
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 10:00:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 10:00 am (CNA).

A Pew Research Center report found Catholics remain the largest religious group across Latin America despite increases in other religious identities.

The report, “Catholicism Has Declined in Latin America Over the Past Decade,” draws on a nationally representative face-to-face survey of 6,234 adults conducted from Jan. 22 to April 27, 2024, in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.

The analysis was produced by Pew Research Center as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world.

The research released Jan. 21 found that Latin American adults are more religious than adults in many other countries Pew has also surveyed in recent years, especially in Europe where many adults have left Christianity since childhood.

Pew analyzed the changes in religion among adults in Latin America from 2013 to 2024. It found Latin Americans are about as likely to believe in God as they were a decade ago. Even among those who identify as religiously unaffiliated, most said they believe in God.

Of those surveyed, 97% of adults in Peru said they believe in God, 98% in Brazil, 94% in Mexico, 97% in Colombia, 90% in Argentina, and 89% in Chile.

Most adults are active in their faith, poll showed

Catholicism remains the largest religion in Latin America. In 2024, roughly half of Brazilians (46%) and Chileans (46%) identified as Catholic, and the majority of all adults in Peru (67%), Mexico (67%), Colombia (60%), and Argentina (58%) identified as such.

In those countries, most adults are active in their faith. In 2024, the majority of adults in Brazil (76%), Colombia (71%), and Peru (58%) said they pray “daily or more often.”

Since 2013–2014, the Catholic population in all six countries surveyed decreased. Colombia experienced the largest decline in Catholics, with a drop of 19 percentage points. Peru had the lowest drop with a 9-point decrease.

Former Catholics in Latin America tend to identify as either religiously unaffiliated or Protestant, while former Protestants tend to have become “nones.” As of 2024, there were more religiously unaffiliated adults than Protestants in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico.

The report noted a reason for the decline of Catholicism and growth of religiously unaffiliated populations in Latin America is religious switching by adults who were raised Catholic but no longer identify with the religion. Across the six Latin American countries surveyed, around 20% or more adults said they were raised Catholic but have since left the religion.

The research found that Brazil is the only country surveyed where former Catholics are more likely to have become Protestant (13%) than to be religiously unaffiliated (7%). It also found that in Peru there is a roughly equal number of former Catholics who have become Protestants (9%) and “nones” (7%).

Pew also found that about half or more of adults surveyed in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru said religion is very important in their lives. Prayer is fairly common, as majorities of Brazilian, Colombian, and Peruvian adults said they pray at least once a day.

Hispanic Catholics in the U.S.

Similar to the religious changes in Latin America, fewer Hispanics in the United States identify as Catholic in 2024 (42%) than they did a decade ago (58%), according to Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.

The number of Hispanics who are religiously unaffiliated has also increased in the U.S. since 2014, with about a quarter now describing their religious identity as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular.”

Of Hispanic adults in the U.S., 40% said religion is very important in their life, and 47% said they pray at least daily. A large majority (83%) also said they believe in God, according to a 2023 Pew Center survey.

Pope Leo XIV: In Christ, God shows us our true identity
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 08:05:34 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 08:05 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV said Wednesday that the grandeur of the Incarnation cannot be reduced to viewing Jesus as a mere messenger of “intellectual truths,” but must be received as God’s full embrace of the human condition — including Christ’s “true and integral humanity.”

Speaking at his general audience on Jan. 21 in the Paul VI Hall, the pope said that divine revelation is not primarily a set of abstract ideas but a living encounter in which God gives himself to humanity and invites a relationship of communion.

“We have seen that God reveals himself in a dialogue of covenant,” the pope said, “a relational knowledge, which not only communicates ideas, but shares a history and calls for communion in reciprocity.”

Continuing a catechesis cycle on Dei Verbum, the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Leo XIV emphasized that believers come to know God by entering into Jesus’ own relationship with the Father through the action of the Holy Spirit.

Wednesday's talk was part of a longer series on the documents of Vatican II which the pope began earlier this month.

“Jesus reveals the Father to us by involving us in his own relationship with Him,” he said.

The pontiff highlighted that in Christ, God not only discloses who he is, but also reveals who we are. “In Christ, God has communicated himself to us,” he said, and “he has manifested to us our true identity as his children.”

Leo XIV underlined that the integrity of Christ’s humanity is essential to understanding revelation: “God’s truth is not fully revealed where it takes something away from the human,” he said, adding that “the integrity of Jesus’ humanity does not diminish the fullness of the divine gift.”

The pope also stressed that salvation is not limited to the paschal mystery understood in isolation, but is bound up with Christ’s whole person and presence: the Lord “who becomes incarnate, is born, heals, teaches, suffers, dies, rises again and remains among us.”

Pointing to the believer’s confidence grounded in Christ, Leo XIV said that following Jesus “to the very end” leads to the certainty that nothing can separate humanity from God’s love, echoing St. Paul’s assurance: “If God is for us, who is against us?”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Catholics in Ireland reject ex-president’s claim that baptism violates children’s rights
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Former president of Ireland Mary McAleese, a lawyer and canon lawyer, recently said in an op-ed in the Irish Times that infant baptism denies children their human rights and is an act of control on the part of the Church.

Catholic clergy and laity in Ireland have pushed back on her claims, viewing it as an opportunity to share what baptism is really about.

Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan, bishop of Waterford and Lismore, explained to EWTN News that infant baptism is commonplace in most Christian denominations and has been practiced in the Church since the first century.

“Jesus gives us a command to go and baptize. So the Church baptizes in obedience to an express command that is supported by the Bible. So to baptize infants into the body of Christ is something very good,” he said.

“If we were to say we will wait until a child is an adult to make such a decision, well, then, what other decisions would we deny taking for our children? Would we, for example, not give them good food? Will we show them the beauty of exercise and would we not give them good medical care? Would we wait until they could make their own decisions?”

Cullinan added: “One of the first things that the Catholic parent does to their child is to take his little hand or her little hand and make the sign of the cross. What a beautiful thing. Why do parents do it? Because they want their child to have a relationship with a living God throughout their life and lead them into eternal life.”

Father Owen Gorman, a parish priest in the Clogher Diocese, said the Church “encourages infant baptism out of love for souls, and so that the babies of Catholic parents would receive the best start in life, that they would be plunged into the mystery of Christ and that they would be filled with God’s life.”

He continued: “And that is a great good, and it is a great good that should not be postponed. The Church wants children to experience that immersion in Christ to be part of his body, so that they may have life and have it to the full.”

In her article, McAleese stated that baptismal promises made and renewed at confirmation are “fictitious” and that infant baptism ignores children’s later rights to freely decide for themselves their religious identity, to accept and embrace Church membership, or to change religion if that is their choice.

Mahon McCann is a doctoral student in ethics who was baptized into the Catholic faith on Easter Saturday 2025. He was raised as an atheist by parents who were baptized Catholic. He told EWTN News that it should be the choice of parents whether to baptize their children and continue the tradition they inherited.

“Infant baptism does not require an ‘opt-out’ unless you truly believe you were opted into something real in the first place,” he said. “To want some kind of formal procedure to ‘opt out’ is to implicitly accept the Church’s moral authority in the first place.”

Rather than doing this as an act of power and control as McAleese asserts, Gorman said the Church does it “as an act of love.”

“As a mother, she is loving her children, and she is wise in directing parents to bring the children to the grace of God and the saving waters of baptism from a young age. It is about providing that which is best for them, so it enables them to have the best life possible, as part of the body of Christ, the Church. So the Church desires it not out of a sense of wanting to control people or exert power over them but to give as a wise and provident mother,” he said.

McCann agreed and pointed to his own experience. “My parents simply ‘canceled their subscription to the Resurrection’ in their own minds and stopped going to Mass, etc., like many Catholics today. The Church can do nothing to legally compel you to pursue holiness.”

In her article, McAleese wrote that baptism “restricts children’s rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 and United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989, to which both Ireland and the Holy See — which governs the Catholic Church and is effectively the author of canon law — are state parties.”

McCann told EWTN News that rather than evaluating infant baptism through the lens of “rights,” we should ask: “Are human rights the proper ethical standard [by which] to evaluate Catholic moral theology?”

“The answer would be no,” he said. “Catholic moral theology is teleological, aims at the holiness of the person, and therefore whatever brings one to holiness is ‘good’ and whatever takes one away from holiness is ‘bad.’ Human rights ethics are not concerned with achieving holiness and therefore are not the right ethical framework to evaluate Catholic sacraments or practices.”

McCann explained that he didn’t fully understand infant baptism before becoming a Catholic but disagrees with the idea that it is like a legal contract between two parties.

“That is a very superficial modern understanding of the rite of baptism and really of tradition as such, he said.

“A tradition, by definition, is intergenerational — a tradition that isn’t passed on from one generation to another isn’t a tradition,” McCann said. “Infant baptism is primarily a decision of the parents, who are gifting their offspring membership into the life of the Church and the traditional Catholic way of life that leads to their salvation,” he said.

“The idea that babies and children should ‘consent’ to be part of a particular tradition is as ridiculous as saying that they should choose what language they are going to speak,” McCann said.

Pope Leo XIV highlights ‘valuable contribution’ of Neocatechumenal Way
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received the leaders of the Neocatechumenal Way — including Kiko Argüello, who along with the late Carmen Hernández founded the apostolate — and members of the international team, María Ascensión Romero and Father Mario Pezzi, in an audience at the Vatican on Monday.

In his Jan. 19 address, the Holy Father highlighted the missionary zeal of the families that make up this ecclesial movement of Catholic initiation, founded in Madrid, Spain, in 1964, which, as the pontiff recalled, invites people “to rediscover the meaning of baptism.”

He also praised their charism, as well as their evangelization and catechetical work, which, according to the Holy Father, represents “a valuable contribution to the life of the Church.”

In this context, he emphasized that the members of the Neocatechumenal Way have “rekindled the fire of the Gospel wherever it seemed to be dying out” and have accompanied many people and Christian communities in “rediscovering the beauty of knowing Jesus.”

He also emphasized that living the experience of the Neocatechumenal Way and carrying out its mission requires “inner vigilance and a wise critical capacity” to discern certain risks that are always lurking in spiritual and ecclesial life.”

Pope Leo XIV stressed that charisms “must always be placed at the service of the kingdom of God and the one Church of Christ.” In this regard, he noted that “no gift of God is more important than others — except for charity, which perfects and harmonizes all of them — and no ministry should become a reason to feel superior to our brothers and sisters or to exclude those who think differently.”

He therefore invited them to be witnesses of unity and reminded them: “Your mission is unique, but not exclusive; your charism is specific, but it bears fruit in communion with the other gifts present in the life of the Church; you do much good, but its purpose is to enable people to know Christ, always respecting each person’s life journey and conscience.”

The Holy Father also exhorted them to live their spirituality “without ever separating themselves from the rest of the ecclesial body, as a living part of the ordinary pastoral care of parishes and their various realities and in communion with your brothers and sisters and in particular with priests and bishops.”

“Continue forward with joy and humility, without closed-mindedness, as builders and witnesses of communion,” he counseled them.

At the end of his address, the Holy Father added that catechesis and various forms of pastoral action must always be free from constraint, rigidity, and moralism,” so that they do not give rise to “feelings of guilt and fear instead of inner liberation.”

Finally, Pope Leo thanked them for their commitment, witness, and service to the Church in the world.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

How to watch the March for Life 2026: EWTN’s live coverage
Wed, 21 Jan 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Jan 21, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

With tens of thousands of pro-life Americans gathering for the 53rd annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Jan. 23, EWTN will provide live coverage of the event.

The yearly national pro-life event marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, drawing together thousands to protest abortion and advocate for life. This year’s theme is “Life Is a Gift,” which the March for Life official website says emphasizes the “unshakeable conviction that life is very good and worthy of protection, no matter the circumstances.”

Thursday, Jan. 22: March for Life prayer vigil

5 p.m. ET: EWTN’s National March for Life coverage kicks off before the march with a night of prayer at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The National Prayer Vigil for Life is held annually on the eve of the March for Life, bringing thousands of pilgrims across the nation together to pray for an end to abortion.

At 5 p.m. ET, EWTN will stream the opening Mass followed by the Holy Hour of the National Prayer Vigil for Life at 7 p.m. as pro-lifers pray and prepare for the upcoming march.

Friday, Jan. 23: March for Life

8 a.m. ET: The all-night prayer vigil will conclude with the closing Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the shrine, televised live by EWTN.

9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET: EWTN will air coverage of the March for Life, featuring a keynote by Sarah Hurm, a single mom of four who went through a chemical abortion reversal to save the life of her child.

JD Vance will speak for the second time at the annual event as vice president of the United States. Other speakers include Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana; Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey; and March for Life President Jennie Bradley Lichter. The march will also feature pro-life entrepreneurs including Shawnte Mallory, founder of Labir Love And Care, and Debbie Biskey, CEO of Options for Her, as well as student activist Elizabeth Pillsbury Oliver, a convert to Catholicism who heads Georgetown University’s Right to Life group.

Rev. Irinej Dobrijevic, a Serbian Orthodox bishop of the Diocese of Eastern America, and Cissie Graham Lynch, spokesperson for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, will also speak at the event.

In addition, the Christian band Sanctus Real will perform at the rally and the Friends of Club 21 choir — a chorus of young adults with Down syndrome — will perform the national anthem.

3 p.m. ET: EWTN will broadcast the second annual Life Fest Mass, sponsored by the Sisters of Life and the Knights of Columbus as part of the Life Fest Rally. The Life Fest Rally begins the evening before the march with live music from Matt Maher and other Christian bands.

Saturday: Walk for Life West Coast

2:30 p.m. PT: The 21st annual Walk for Life West Coast will begin with a rally followed by the walk. EWTN will livestream coverage of the walk.

5 p.m. PT: EWTN will televise highlights from One Life (Una Vida), a one-day event centered on witnessing human dignity with a focus on the pro-life issues as well as other issues such as human trafficking and homelessness. The coverage will be hosted by Astrid Bennett and Patricia Sandoval, along with EWTN producers, during the march.

8 p.m. PT: EWTN will televise a pro-life Mass from Los Angeles, concluding the weekend’s pro-life coverage.

Catholic Church provides pastoral care to victims of tragic train accident in Spain
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 17:07:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 17:07 pm (CNA).

Following a tragic train accident that occurred on Sunday evening, Jan. 18, in the Spanish town of Adamuz in the Córdoba province, the Catholic Church is providing pastoral care for those affected.

In addition to the help offered immediately after the accident by the local parish priest and the provision of diocesan resources by Bishop Jesús Fernández of Córdoba after he visited the scene of the accident on Monday morning, the diocese has assigned a team of three priests to the area.

The priests, Leopoldo Rivero, Francisco J. Granados, and Manuel Sánchez, will remain at the Poniente Sur Civic Center in Córdoba, the support center for the families of the victims, for as long as needed.

In a statement, the diocese emphasized the importance of a priestly presence in “a place where despair and uncertainty take their toll as people search for any indication as to the whereabouts of their loved ones.”

Rivero stated that with its presence, the Church is providing “the spiritual care so necessary at this time,” as rescue operations continue, given that many passengers are still missing and may be trapped in the wrecked train cars.

To date, authorities have confirmed the deaths of 41 people and the transfer of 152 injured people to hospitals, where they are receiving treatment, some of them still in very serious condition. At least 43 people remain missing.

Psychologists are referring “families who need [pastoral care] to the priests so that they can be with them, accompany them, and pray with them so that they feel warmth, closeness, and comfort,” Rivero added.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV meets FSSP leaders amid visitation, ‘Traditionis Custodes’ fallout
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:37:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 16:37 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV and leaders of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), a community dedicated to the traditional Roman rite, held a “cordial half-hour meeting” on Monday, Jan. 19, at the apostolic palace.

The priestly fraternity said in a Jan. 20 statement that the Holy Father received in private audience its superior general, Minneapolis-born Father John Berg. Also present was Father Josef Bisig, a co-founder of the FSSP and its first superior general, who now serves as rector of the FSSP’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska.

The FSSP is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right founded in 1988 by priests who broke with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the Society of St. Pius X, precisely in order to remain fully under the Roman pontiff while preserving the older liturgy.

The FSSP’s leaders, who had requested the meeting, said in a cautiously worded statement that it was “an opportunity to present to the Holy Father in greater detail the foundation and history of the fraternity as well as the various forms of apostolate that it has been offering to the faithful for almost 38 years.”

They added that the papal audience also provided an “opportunity to evoke any misunderstandings and obstacles that the fraternity encounters in certain places and to answer questions from the supreme pontiff.”

The audience came at a sensitive time for the fraternity and for those who value the traditional form of the Latin rite as a whole following Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes that imposed sweeping restrictions on parishes and communities dedicated to the traditional Roman rite.

Due to Traditionis Custodes, the FSSP is currently undergoing an apostolic visitation initiated by the Holy See in late 2024. The visitation is part of a broader process of accompanying institutes formerly under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei but that now, due to Traditionis Custodes, fall under the auspices of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Both the FSSP and the dicastery have both stressed that the apostolic visitation is not punitive but a normal exercise of oversight so the dicastery can “know who we are, how we are doing, and how we live so as to provide us with any help we may need.” The fraternity also underwent an apostolic visitation in 2014.

Although Pope Francis gave the FSSP a kind of protected but precarious niche, explicitly exempting it from some of the restrictions in a Feb. 11, 2022, decree, the priestly fraternity was still subjected to tighter structural control and scrutiny than under Benedict XVI. That decree arose from a prior private audience between Pope Francis and FSSP leaders.

Monday’s meeting was therefore significant, representing Leo XIV’s first clear, personal outreach to a leading traditional community and showing his willingness to listen to their concerns.

It also follows on the heels of the Holy Father granting Cardinal Raymond Burke the celebration of a pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica last October, along with the pope’s willingness to grant case-by-case exemptions to some traditional communities. The pope appears to be pursuing a policy of “pragmatic leniency” with such communities, neither willing to undo Francis’ liturgical changes but also not enforcing them with the same rigor.

Observers have therefore welcomed Monday’s meeting and are taking solace in the fact that the Church now has an American pope willing to listen to a fellow American superior general of a traditional order at a time when, according to one insider, “the waters are rough.” Berg also brings much experience to his role, having already served as the fraternity’s superior general from 2006 to 2018.

Like many traditional Roman rite communities and parishes, the FSSP is a flourishing community with several hundred priests and seminarians worldwide, a steady flow of vocations, and well-attended liturgies.

In its communique, the FSSP said Pope Leo XIV gave his blessing, “which he extended to all members of the fraternity.”

“The Fraternity of St. Peter is grateful to the Holy Father for offering this opportunity to meet with him,” the statement concluded, adding that it “encourages the faithful to continue to pray fervently during the 30 days novena of preparation for the renewal of its consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Feb. 11.”

‘Our embodied, sexed nature has been ordered for our salvation,’ former atheist says
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:07:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 16:07 pm (CNA).

“We have the good news that our culture needs to hear: that men and women are ordered to the good and made for amity for each other. Our embodied, sexed nature has been ordered for our salvation.”

So said Leah Sargeant, a former atheist and author who delivered the final keynote at a recent conference in Houston titled “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman.”

At the conference, sponsored by the Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies program at the University of St. Thomas on Jan. 9–10, Sargeant suggested that our culture’s view of sexuality is premised on two lies. First, that “women’s equality is premised on being interchangeable with men,” and second, that “autonomy is foundational to a fully human life.”

To the first point, she noted that “it’s been common for people who advocate for women to minimize differences [between the sexes].”

Based on this lie, women, she said, are seen as “defective men.”

However, she continued, “the fundamental asymmetry between men and women is how we engender and bear children.”

It is based on this premise that the second lie, that individual autonomy is fundamental to being fully human, gets its strength, she said.

‘Forming a society open to dependency’

Sargeant said that when a woman is pregnant with another human being, the baby’s dependence and fragility does two things: It makes the baby’s life seem less valuable to those who believe autonomy is required to be fully human, and it makes the woman less-than when compared with a man, who never biologically has to enter into such a dependent relationship.

“The idea of having our lives upended by someone else [the baby’s] is a blow to women’s equality. This is the original argument for women’s access to abortion,” she said.

“The right to privacy wasn’t good enough because men always have the opportunity to abandon a child: that only required an act of cowardice. He could walk away, run, leave no forwarding address, and sever the connection. For a woman, she couldn’t divorce herself from her child by failing to step up: It would require outside, active, violent intervention in the form of poison or a scalpel.”

Women had to have what Sargeant called “an equality of vice” with men: namely, abortion. They had to “access to this cowardice as well or they could not be interchangeable with men and would lose political equality.”

Fundamentally, she concluded, both men and women must reject the lies of sameness and the “lie of autonomy” and be “radically dependent on God” and one another to live in the truth.

She quoted St. John Henry Newman, who wrote that “we cannot be our own masters. We are God’s property, by creation, by redemption, by regeneration … Independence was not made for man. It is an unnatural state that may do for a while, but will not do till the end.”

Sargeant reminded her listeners that we should not be afraid to “invite others into our lives or be ashamed to place demands on others.”

“We were always made to need each other,” she said. “We are not betraying ourselves when we expose ourselves as deeply human.”

Our task, she said, “is to give people reassurance that this truth is good,” reminding them that “hope doesn’t come from excesses of strength but in the midst of our frailty, and reminds us of how we are loved, and by whom.”

Sargeant's talk at the conference was based on her latest book, "The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto," which was released in October 2025.

100 years since the Cristero War in Mexico: What you should know
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:37:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 15:37 pm (CNA).

The Cristero War in Mexico, also known as the “Cristiada,” was not only an armed conflict but also a head-on clash between a state seeking forced secularization and a society that refused to renounce its Catholic identity. This bloody episode left a legacy of martyrs and a historical wound that has marked the complex relationship between the church and state in modern Mexico.

Background: The 1917 constitution

The conflict did not erupt overnight. Its roots lie in the 1917 Mexican Constitution, which incorporated anticlerical articles designed to subject the Church to the absolute control of the state.

Article 3 prohibited religious corporations and ministers of religion from operating primary schools. Article 5 banned the establishment of monastic orders and the taking of religious vows. Article 24 limited public worship to the interior of churches, always under government supervision. Article 27 stripped churches of their legal capacity to own property, transferring such property to the nation. Article 130 denied legal personality to churches, barred ministers of religion from participating in politics, and empowered individual states to limit the number of priests. These provisions formed the legal basis for the anticlerical enforcement that culminated in the “Calles Law,” which intensified the restrictions and sparked the Cristero War.

In 1926, President Plutarco Elías Calles escalated the situation with the “Law on Crimes and Offenses Related to Religious Worship and External Discipline,” also known as the “Law of Religious Tolerance” or simply the “Calles Law,” which amended the penal code by establishing severe penalties.

Among its harshest restrictions, the new law prohibited priests from wearing cassocks or any other religious symbols outside of churches, subjecting violators to fines and imprisonment. Priests who were not born in Mexico faced fines and deportation. The establishment of monastic orders or convents was banned, and existing convents were dissolved. Additionally, ministers of religion were forbidden from criticizing the fundamental laws of the country, the authorities in particular, or the government in general.

The Catholic Church’s response was drastic, unprecedented, and disciplined among all the Mexican archbishops and bishops: On July 31, 1926 — with the Holy See rejecting the “Calles Law” and “any act that could signify or be interpreted by the faithful as an acceptance of the law itself” — public worship was suspended throughout Mexico.

The outbreak

“It is indeed the suspension of religious services that may mark the beginning of the Cristero War, states the Franco-Mexican historian Jean Meyer in the opening pages of the first volume of his work “La Cristiada.”

Meyer quotes a letter from some Cristeros to their parish priest, who had been arrested by the authorities and urged the Cristeros to surrender: “Without your permission or command, we threw ourselves into this blessed struggle for our freedom, and without your permission or command, we will continue until we win or die.”

Thus, in different parts of the country, Catholic faithful spontaneously rose up in arms.

The willingness to engage in armed resistance against the government was not unanimous. “The bishops undoubtedly preached resistance,” Meyer notes, but at the same time, “they specified that they wanted no resistance other than passive and peaceful resistance.”

Although many prelates provided pastoral support to the Cristeros in some way, “the enemies of armed action were more numerous,” he points out.

Nor was the situation uniform among the priests. A list compiled by the Franco-Mexican historian indicates 100 “priests were actively hostile to the Cristeros,” while 40 were “actively favorable to the Cristeros.” Five priests are recorded as “combatants,” while 65 were considered “neutral.”

The number of priests “who abandoned rural parishes and priests from cities” totaled 3,500, while the priests “executed by the government” numbered 90.

It was “the people, ‘the Indian,’” who reacted, the historian says, and they did so “violently” because “the Church was more than just a building of piled-up stones, and popular sentiment had been struck to its very core, since the profane and the sacred are inextricably intertwined.”

“The people, the vast majority or many peasants — who were the ones who fought the guerrilla war most fiercely in the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Colima, and other central states — didn’t have much theology ... nor did they make many distinctions between things, but rather it was something, let’s say, of the heart and of religious feeling ..., of love for their faith,” that motivated them, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Cancún-Chetumal, Bishop Pedro Pablo Elizondo Cárdenas, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Some key figures

It is difficult to compile a specific list of the key figures and those who lost their lives at the hands of the anticlerical federal troops, especially considering that the Mexican Bishops’ Conference estimates that there were “more than 200,000 martyrs who gave their lives defending their faith."

But to understand the magnitude of the Cristero War, it is necessary to identify some of the actors who spearheaded the movement, as well as the figures who embodied the spiritual resistance against federal persecution.

The Cristero resistance was coordinated by the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty — known as “The League" — which, although it managed to secure 2 million signatures in an attempt to reform the 1917 Constitution (an effort that ultimately failed) and organized a relatively successful boycott, threw itself into war effort without being “prepared to face the situation," according to Meyer.

Blessed Anacleto González Flores, known as “Maestro Cleto” and also nicknamed the “Socrates of Guadalajara” in reference to his origin in the state of Jalisco, was a layman who led peaceful efforts to confront the persecution by the government and was martyred on April 1, 1927. He is the patron saint of the Mexican laity.

St. José Sánchez del Río, affectionately called Joselito (“dear little José”), was martyred at the age of 14. He joined the war assuring his mother that “it had never been so easy to gain heaven as now, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity.” He was captured, tortured, and killed. Before dying, he asked that this message be delivered to his parents: “Long live Christ the King, and we will see each other in heaven.”

The photograph of the execution of Blessed Father Miguel Agustín Pro on Nov. 23, 1927, shows the Jesuit priest with his arms outstretched in the form of a cross in front of the firing squad. It is one of the most powerful symbols of the brutal religious persecution suffered by Catholics during the first half of the 20th century.

Among those murdered out of hatred for the faith during the religious persecution unleashed by the federal government, six priests who were members of the Knights of Columbus stand out. This fraternity played a leading role, both economically and socially, in supporting religious freedom during that tragic period in Mexico, even to the point of offering their own lives.

The six priests, canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000, are Luis Bátis Sáinz, José María Robles Hurtado, Mateo Correa Magallanes, Miguel de la Mora de la Mora, Rodrigo Aguilar Alemán, and Pedro de Jesús Maldonado Lucero. All of them were canonized on May 21, 2000, along with 19 other Mexican martyrs, including St. Cristóbal Magallanes.

‘Agreements’ of 1929 and the end of hostilities?

Officially, the Cristero War ended on June 21, 1929, with the so-called “Agreements” between Mexican Archbishop Leopoldo Ruiz y Flores, as apostolic delegate of Pope Pius XI; the bishop of Tabasco, Pascual Díaz; and the then-president of the country, Emilio Portes Gil, successor to Plutarco Elías Calles.

However, the “Agreements” did not entail any changes to the 1917 Constitution or the “Calles Law” but rather established a “modus vivendi” in which the federal government committed to not applying the laws to persecute Catholics, while the bishops resumed religious services and the Cristeros laid down their arms.

But the persecution was far from over. Meyer writes that “for the Cristeros, the ‘modus vivendi’ (a way to peacefully coexist) very quickly became a sinister ‘modus moriendi’ (a way to die), suffered as a trial worse than the war itself and borne like a cross, an incomprehensible mystery which they underwent out of love for the pope and for Jesus Christ the King.”

Meyer notes that “all the former Cristeros say: ‘More people died after the “Agreements” than during the war.’”

“In the capital of the republic, the party line was to assure and repeat that everything was over, but in the records of the Ministry of War, there are reports of campaigns up to 1941 and the generals discussing the means of subduing the rebels, who were sometimes very dangerous, here and there,” Meyer writes in another part of the first volume of “La Cristiada.”

This period is commonly considered the “Second Cristero War,” but Meyer points out that “if the first stage (1926–29) of the Cristero War was already a war [fought by] the poor, the second was a war of the destitute, without resources, without support.”

Long road to religious freedom in Mexico

It would not be until 1992 — after two visits to Mexico by Pope John Paul II, in 1979 and 1990 — that relations between church and state would be formally reestablished in the country with a reformed 1917 Constitution and the new and current “Law on Religious Associations and Public Worship,” which allows for the recognition of the legal personality of the Catholic Church.

Only since 1992 has the Catholic Church been allowed to own churches in Mexico, but all those built before that year — including the Guadalupe Basilica (completed in 1976) — are the property of the nation.

However, current law still prohibits both religious associations and ministers of religion from owning or managing “radio or television stations or any type of telecommunications” as well as “managing any of the mass media.” In fact, the law only permits the publication of “printed materials of a religious nature.”

A call from the Mexican bishops on the centenary

In their most recent message to the faithful, the Mexican bishops called for “honoring the memory” of the “Cristero resistance.”

They warned that this centenary “cannot be a mere nostalgic commemoration. It must be an examination of conscience and a renewed commitment.”

“Our martyrs ask us today: Are we willing to defend our faith with the same radical commitment? Have we lost our sense of the sacred? Have we become complacent in a culture that wants to relegate faith to the private sphere?”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Reports of Christian casualties and arrests are emerging as mass protests continue in Iran
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:07:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 15:07 pm (CNA).

The ongoing protests in Iran are considered the largest in years, both in duration and geographic spread. Since erupting on Dec. 28, 2025, demonstrations have continued without interruption, expanding across the country’s north, south, east, and west. Large numbers of Iranians from diverse social and religious backgrounds have taken part, including Christian citizens.

Human rights and church reports indicate that some Christian participants have been killed, injured, or arrested by Iranian security forces. The overwhelming majority of Christians in the Holy Land are Eastern Orthodox or Catholic.

According to ARTICLE 18, a London-based nonprofit dedicated to the protection and promotion of religious freedom in Iran, seven Iranian Christians of Armenian origin were killed in recent days by security forces. Armenian media outlets, however, have so far confirmed only one victim by name: Ejmin Masihi, who was killed in the capital, Tehran, amid unconfirmed reports that three other Iranian Armenians were wounded.

In addition, one Christian reported that police opened fire on two of his nephews in the city of Shiraz. Both were transferred to a hospital for treatment.

Christians have played a notable humanitarian role during the protests. Hormoz Shariat, president of Iran Alive Ministries, told ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, that a number of Christians have been providing food and water to demonstrators.

Shariat recounted that a Christian couple prepared approximately 50 sandwiches, carrying them in backpacks along with bottles of water to distribute in the streets. He said other Christians have been treating injured protesters in their homes, away from the eyes of authorities, noting the case of one demonstrator who later converted to Christianity after learning that the nurse who stopped his bleeding was a Christian.

Concerns for the safety of Christians are mounting amid the tense security situation, particularly as churches in Iran, both official congregations and underground house churches, maintain spiritual ties outside the country.

Observers warn that any discussion of foreign political interference, or even allegations of it, could make Christians an easy target for accusations or a “scapegoat” within the broader security crackdown.

In this context, Barnabas Aid reported that at least 10 Christians were arrested in three different locations in Fars province in western Iran before Jan 4. Citing one pastor from an unregistered church, the organization reported: “Security forces raided the homes of several believers, accusing us of providing ideological fuel for the street protests. Our people remain confined to their homes, yet the raids continue relentlessly.”

Anxiety has intensified notably over the past week following the Iranian government’s complete shutdown of internet access, which has made it increasingly difficult to verify developments on the ground.

The blackout has further heightened fears of arbitrary arrests or extrajudicial killings under the cover of chaos, especially targeting Christians, who are considered among the most vulnerable groups during this sensitive period.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pro-life movement has mixed reaction after Trump’s first year of second term
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:37:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 14:37 pm (CNA).

Members of the pro-life movement have mixed thoughts on the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, noting many wins early into his presidency but a number of shortfalls as time has gone by.

Some wins include defunding Planned Parenthood, walking back some of President Joe Biden’s initiatives, and removing foreign aid funding for organizations that promote abortion. However, a lack of action on chemical abortions and weakened rhetoric surrounding taxpayer-funded abortions are causing concern.

A notable pro-life win was included in the tax overhaul bill signed by Trump in July, which cut off all Medicaid reimbursements for organizations that provide a large number of abortions, such as Planned Parenthood.

Amid funding cuts, nearly 70 Planned Parenthood affiliates shut down. The administration also initially cut off Title X family planning grants from the abortion giant, but those have resumed.

The president pardoned pro-life protesters convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and blocked foreign aid from supporting organizations that promote abortion. He rescinded several policies from the Biden administration, including one that paid Pentagon workers to travel for abortions. He also established strong conscience protections for pro-life doctors.

“Right out the gate, we saw some progress on the pro-life issue,” Kelsey Pritchard, a spokesperson for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA), told EWTN.

Yet, she cautioned: “We have also not seen progress in the one area that matters the most — and that’s on abortion drugs.”

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched a study into the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone in September 2025, but so far no action has been taken to curtail the drug. Rather, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) went in the opposite direction, approving a generic version of mifepristone later that same month.

Pritchard said that move was “the opposite of what they should have done,” and referred to the generic mifepristone as “a new kill pill to increase the number of abortions that are done in this country.”

She said Kennedy’s promised study has “absolutely been moving too slow” and added that there is no confirmation it even began or is taking place. SBA called for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to be fired following allegations he was “slow-walking the report for political reasons,” she said.

Trump has said abortion should be regulated by the states, but Pritchard warned “those [pro-life] laws can’t be in effect at all, really, when mail-order abortion happens with the abortion drugs.”

“They’re allowing [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom and [New York Gov.] Kathy Hochul and their blue state friends to completely nullify the pro-life laws in states like Texas and Florida,” she said.

Joseph Meaney, a senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, similarly said “the delay in the promised review of the rushed process in which mifepristone was approved as an abortion drug by the FDA has frustrated pro-lifers.”

“When the FDA approved a second generic version of mifepristone, … it highlighted the lack of progress in fighting the leading means of doing abortions in the [United States],” he said.

Trump also began to waver on taxpayer-funded abortions early in 2026, asking Republicans to be “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment amid negotiations on extending health care subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. Trump later unveiled “The Great Healthcare Plan” and said the White House intends to negotiate with Congress to ensure pro-life protections.

Pritchard called taxpayer-funded abortion “a very basic red line” and said it’s “concerning to see Republicans back away from something so basic.”

She warned Republicans to not take pro-life voters for granted in the upcoming midterms, saying “you’ll lose the elections and we won’t have the majority of Congress” without pro-life voters.

“You must remain the pro-life party or you will lose the midterms if you decide to bow to the pro-death Democrat agenda,” Pritchard said.

Meaney said there is “a widespread feeling that the second Trump administration has seemed to deprioritize issues important to the pro-life community,” adding he has “seen calls for pro-life groups to ‘flex their muscles’ and show that they cannot be taken for granted.”

However, he said the shortfalls “should not obscure the fact that the Trump administration has rolled back the Biden-era pro-abortion measures internationally and domestically.”

“It even achieved a temporary defunding of Planned Parenthood domestically in legislation,” he said. “The federal government no longer funds research on fetal tissues and defends the conscience rights of health care professionals and others robustly.”

Trump also signed an executive order that directed departments and agencies to boost access to and reduce the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The Catholic Church opposes IVF, which results in the destruction of human embryos, ending human lives.

Broglio: U.S. threat of military action in Greenland ‘tarnishes’ U.S. image around the world
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:07:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 14:07 pm (CNA).

Military Archbishop Timothy Broglio says the United States’ threat to use the military to annex Greenland “tarnishes” the reputation of the United States around the world.

The archbishop made the comments during a Jan. 18 interview with the BBC, speaking to broadcaster Edward Stourton. As the archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Broglio oversees clergy and sacraments for the U.S. armed forces.

Asked about the Trump administration’s apparent willingness to use military force to take Greenland if diplomacy fails, Broglio said he “cannot see any circumstance” where doing so would, as Stourton put it, “fulfill the criteria of a just law.”

“Greenland is a territory of Denmark,” the prelate said. “Denmark is an ally. It’s part of NATO. It does not seem really reasonable that the United States would attack and occupy a friendly nation.”

“It’d be one thing if the people of Greenland wanted to be annexed,” the archbishop pointed out. “But taking it by force when we already have treaties there that allow for a military installation in Greenland — it doesn’t seem acceptable to invade a friendly nation.”

Military force in such a scenario would “tarnish” the image of the U.S., Broglio said, because “traditionally, we’ve responded to situations of oppression” instead of engaging in proactive invasion.

The archbishop acknowledged that soldiers who are “put in a situation where they’re being ordered to do something that is morally questionable” are within their rights of conscience to disobey such a directive.

“But that’s perhaps putting that individual in an untenable situation, and that’s my concern,” he said.

A sparsely populated landmass with little Church presence, most of the Catholic population in Greenland is concentrated in a single parish, Christ the King Church in Nuuk. That parish falls under the administration of the Diocese of Copenhagen, located approximately 2,000 miles east of Nuuk.

U.S. plans to annex the landmass have drawn international backlash and rebuke from leaders in Europe and elsewhere. Catholics in the region have reportedly expressed opposition to Greenland falling under American control.

Asked if he believes he can “make a real difference” in the international dispute by “laying down red lines,” Broglio acknowledged that it’s unknown “whether the powers that be will listen to those admonitions.”

But “I think it is my duty to speak appropriately as I’m able,” he said.

March for Life 2026: ‘Life Is a Gift’
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:37:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 13:37 pm (CNA).

Thousands will gather for the 53rd National March for Life in the nation’s capital on Friday, Jan. 23.

Every January, tens of thousands of people march on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., for “the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world,” according to the March for Life website. The event’s 2026 theme is “Life Is a Gift,” which invites “all people to rediscover the beauty, goodness, and joy of life itself.”

The theme emphasizes “what lies at the heart of the pro-life movement — an unshakeable conviction that life is very good and worthy of protection, no matter the circumstances,” according to the event’s website. “‘Life Is a Gift’ invites everyone to embrace life as something to be cherished and celebrated from the very beginning.”

The first March for Life was on Jan. 22, 1974, in Washington, D.C. It took place one year after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion nationwide. While the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision returned the matter to the states in 2022, the organization continues its mission to protect life at the state and federal levels.

“The March for Life is not just a protest … It is a celebration of each and every life, from the moment of conception,” organizers of the event reported. “We envision a world where every life is celebrated, valued, and protected. We envision a world where these moments are celebrated, valued, and protected by everybody — both in the private sector and in the public sphere.”

Schedule

The day is more than just the walk on Capitol Hill; it offers numerous other opportunities to celebrate life.

The festivities will kick off with a pre-rally concert at 11 a.m. on the National Mall by Sanctus Real, a Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning Christian band.

Then the rally will kick off at noon and will feature a number of special guests including a national anthem performance by Friends of Club 21 Choir, a chorus of young adults with Down syndrome, and a lineup of speakers.

The crowd will depart from the National Mall at 1 p.m. for the march and will make its way to the ending point at the Supreme Court building.

Speakers

The leaders set to speak at the rally include a number of pro-life advocates who will share testimonials and encouragement ahead of the march.

JD Vance will speak for the second time at the annual event as vice president of the United States. He will be joined by other U.S. leaders including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey.

Jennie Bradley Lichter, March for Life president, will address the crowd at her first march as president. Lichter has served as deputy general counsel at The Catholic University of America and in the White House during the first Trump administration.

Sarah Hurm will share her testimony about how the experience of starting a chemical abortion and reversing it changed her perspective and led her to pro-life advocacy.

Elizabeth Pillsbury Oliver, president of Georgetown University Right to Life and a Catholic convert, will offer a pro-life student’s perspective and about how her faith gives her courage to defend life.

Other pro-life leaders and ministry workers from across the nation will also take the stage at the National Mall ahead of the march.

Additional events

The March for Life is just one of the ways pro-lifers can celebrate life the weekend of Jan. 23.

The National Prayer Vigil for Life:

The weekend will start with The National Prayer Vigil for Life, which is hosted annually by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The vigil takes place on the eve of the March for Life, marking the date of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

The National Prayer Vigil for Life will begin on Jan. 22 with an opening Mass at 5 p.m. in the Great Upper Church of the basilica. Following Mass, the National Holy Hour for Life will be at 7 p.m. in the Crypt Church. The National Prayer Vigil will conclude with a closing Mass celebrated by Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, OFM Cap, archbishop emeritus of Boston, at 8 a.m. on Jan. 23 in the Great Upper Church.

Overnight seminarian-led Holy Hours will also take place from 9 p.m. on Jan. 22 until 8 a.m. on Jan. 23.

Life Fest

The Knights of Columbus and Sisters of Life will host Life Fest at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Doors open at 6 a.m. on the morning of Friday, Jan. 23, before the march. Life Fest will kick off with live music from the Sisters of Life’s band All the Living, with Father Isaiah, CFR, Damascus Worship, followed by a Eucharistic procession and Mass.

The event will also include opportunities for confession, first-class relic veneration, and powerful witnesses, including pro-life advocate and founder of Live Action Lila Rose.

Cardinal O’Connor Conference:

Named in honor of Cardinal John O’Connor, who committed himself to advocate for the unborn, the annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life works to promote intellectual “discourse on the sanctity of human life as well as build a culture of life both within and beyond the Georgetown community,” the conference’s website reported.

Started by Georgetown students in 2000, the conference has become the largest student-run, pro-life conference in the U.S. The Jan. 24 conference will feature a Holy Hour, a number of speakers, breakout sessions, a panel discussion, and a Mass for life.

U.S. cardinals urge White House to pursue ‘genuinely moral’ foreign policy
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:07:36 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 13:07 pm (CNA).

Three U.S.-based cardinals issued a statement this week renouncing war as “an instrument for narrow national interests” and calling for the U.S. to engage in military action “as a last resort in extreme situations, not a normal instrument of national policy.”

Chicago archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich; Washington, D.C., archbishop Cardinal Robert McElroy; and Newark, New Jersey, archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSsR, issued a joint statement discussing U.S. foreign policy in comparison to the principles set forth by Pope Leo XIV in his Jan. 9 address to members of the diplomatic corps.

Following the capture of Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro and signaling from President Donald Trump that he wants to annex Greenland in some form, the cardinals said the country’s “moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination.”

In the Jan. 19 statement they urged a U.S. foreign policy that “respects and advances the right to human life, religious liberty, and the enhancement of human dignity throughout the world, especially through economic assistance.”

“The sovereign rights of nations to self-determination appear all too fragile in a world of ever greater conflagrations,” the cardinals said. “The balancing of national interest with the common good is being framed within starkly polarized terms.”

“In 2026, the United States has entered into the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War,” the cardinals wrote. “The events in Venezuela, Ukraine, and Greenland have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace.”

They added: “The building of just and sustainable peace, so crucial to humanity’s well-being now and in the future, is being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies.”

Pope Leo’s word as a ‘compass’ for foreign policy

Pope Leo’s Jan. 9 comments on foreign policy have “provided us an enduring ethical compass for establishing the pathway for American foreign policy in the coming years,” the cardinals said.

“In our time, the weakness of multilateralism is a particular cause for concern at the international level,” the pope said to members of the diplomatic corps. “War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading.”

“Peace is no longer sought as a gift and desirable good in itself, or in pursuit of ‘the establishment of the ordered universe willed by God with a more perfect form of justice among men and women.’ Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion,” the Holy Father said.

The cardinals stressed Pope Leo’s reiteration of Catholic teaching that “the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation for every other human right.”

The pope “points to the need for international aid to safeguard the most central elements of human dignity, which are under assault because of the movement by wealthy nations to reduce or eliminate their contributions to humanitarian foreign assistance programs.”

The Holy Father “points to the increasing violations of conscience and religious freedom in the name of an ideological or religious purity that crushes freedom itself,” the cardinals said.

“As pastors and citizens, we embrace this vision for the establishment of a genuinely moral foreign policy for our nation. We seek to build a truly just and lasting peace, that peace which Jesus proclaimed in the Gospel.”

“Pope Leo has given us the prism through which to raise it to a much higher level. We will preach, teach, and advocate in the coming months to make that higher level possible,” they said.

Catholics express mixed views on first year of Trump’s second term
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:21:27 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 12:21 pm (CNA).

Catholics are offering mixed reactions to the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, which included domestic policy actions that align with U.S. bishops on gender-related issues, and also tensions over immigration, expansion of the death penalty, and reduced funding for organizations that provide food and basic support to people in need.

Trump secured his electoral victory in 2024 with the help of Catholics, who supported him by a double-digit margin, according to exit polls. A Pew Research Center report found that nearly a quarter of Trump’s voters in 2024 were Catholic.

Throughout his first year, Trump — who calls himself a nondenominational Christian — has invoked Christianity and created a White House Faith Office. He created a Religious Liberty Commission by executive order in May 2025 and became the first president to issue a proclamation honoring the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception in December.

Last year, the president also launched the “America Prays” initiative, which encouraged people to dedicate one hour of prayer for the United States and its people in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.

Immigration, poverty, and NGOs

John White, professor of politics at The Catholic University of America, said the first year of Trump’s second term “challenged Catholics on many levels.”

“The brutality of ICE has caused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to issue an extraordinary statement at the prompting of Pope Leo XIV,” White said, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a special message in November opposing indiscriminate mass deportations, calling for humane treatment, urging meaningful reform, and affirming the compatibility of national security with human dignity.

The Trump administration, with JD Vance, the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history, cut billions of dollars in funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which financially damaged several Catholic nonprofits that had received funding. Trump also signed into law historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“The cuts to NGO funding, SNAP, and Medicaid benefits, alongside the huge increases in health care costs, have hurt the poor and middle class at home and around the world,” he said. “Instead of being the good Samaritan, Trump has challenged our Catholic values and narrowed our vision of who we are and what we believe. JD Vance’s interpretation of ‘Ordo Amoris’ of a hierarchy to those whom we love rather than a universal love is a case in point and has been repudiated by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV,” he said.

The cuts aligned federal policy with the administration’s agenda, which included strict immigration enforcement, mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally, and less foreign aid support.

Catholic Charities USA was previously receiving more than $100 million annually for migrant services, and the Trump administration cut off those funds. In response, the organization scaled back its services.

Since Trump took office, the administration said it has deported more than 600,000 people.

Karen Sullivan, director of advocacy for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), which provides legal services to migrants, said she is “very concerned about the way that immigration enforcement has been carried out,” adding her organization is “very concerned that human dignity of all persons [needs to] be respected.”

Sullivan said the administration is “enabling their officers to use excessive force as they are taking people into custody” and “denying access to oversight at their detention centers.” She also expressed concern about the administration increasing fees for asylum applications and giving agents more leeway to conduct immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, such as churches, schools, and hospitals.

She said the large number of deportations and the increase in expedited removals has “been a strain” on organizations that seek to provide legal help to migrants.

CLINIC affiliates receive inquiries from people who are facing deportation and also those who fear they may be deported. She said: “The worry and the fear among those people [who may face deportation] makes them seek out assistance and advice even more often.”

“The pace of the changes that have been happening in the past year have been very difficult to manage,” she said. “We are having to respond very quickly to changes."

Executive actions on gender

Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), viewed the first year of Trump’s second term in mostly successful terms.

“As Catholics we know that the law educates, and during Trump’s first year in office we witnessed an actual shift in public opinion on the LGBT/transgender ideology due to his asserting the scientific and natural common sense that there are only male and female,” Hanssen said.

Trump took executive action to prohibit what he called the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children, such as hormone therapy and surgical transition. He signed a policy restricting participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. He legally recognized only two genders, determined by biology: male and female.

“His strong executive action on this essential point — domestically in making the executive branch remove its trans-affirming language, the executive department of education stop subverting parental rights over their children, and women’s rights in sports, and (importantly) putting an end to USAID’s [U.S. Agency for International Development] pushing this gender agenda on the countries who need our economic assistance,” she said.

“This has led to a genuine public shift, with fewer independent corporations choosing to enforce June as LGBT Pride month on their customer base, fewer DEI programs pushing the gender agenda on hiring, and a shift (especially among young men) towards disapproval of gender transitioning children and even towards disapproval of the legalization of so-called same sex ‘marriage,’” she added. “We will need to see how these executive branch victories will affect judicial and legislative action moving forward.”

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, had a similar view of some of the social changes.

“The current administration has focused significant energy on the important task of ‘putting folks on notice,’ so it’s hard to deny, for example, that the misguided medico-pharmaceutical industry that has profited handsomely from exploiting vulnerable youth and other gender dysphoric individuals can no longer miss the loud indicators that these practices will not be able to continue unabated,” he said.

Death penalty

Trump signaled a renewed and more aggressive federal capital-punishment policy in 2025, in opposition to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office directing the Justice Department to actively pursue the federal death penalty for serious crimes. He also directed federal prosecutors to seek death sentences in Washington, D.C., homicide cases. His administration lifted a moratorium on executions, reversing a pause in federal executions and following President Joe Biden’s commutations of federal death sentences.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, then-president of the USCCB, in a Jan. 22, 2025, statement called Trump’s support for expanding the federal death penalty “deeply troubling.” Newly elected USCCB president Archbishop Paul Coakley likewise called for the abolition of the death penalty.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated CLINIC receives inquiries from people facing deportation.It has been corrected to say that CLINIC affiliates receive the inquiries. (Published 10:10 a.m. Jan. 21, 2026).

Pope Leo to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass at St. John Lateran after hiatus under Pope Francis
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:34:46 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 11:34 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV will celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Basilica of St. John Lateran on April 2, restoring a long-standing Roman tradition that Pope Francis set aside throughout his 12-year pontificate.

The announcement appeared last week in the calendar of papal liturgies published by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household.

In his first Holy Thursday as pope on March 28, 2013, Pope Francis chose to celebrate the Mass in Coena Domini in the chapel of the Casal del Marmo juvenile detention center on the northern outskirts of Rome. As he had often done as archbishop of Buenos Aires, he carefully washed the feet of 12 inmates, including an Italian Catholic woman and a Muslim woman from Serbia.

From that point on, and for the next 12 years, Francis left aside the Holy Thursday celebration at St. John Lateran — the cathedral of the bishop of Rome — in a pastoral approach that broke with the customary practice of his predecessors.

For Monsignor Giovanni Falbo — a canon of the Lateran, camerlengo of the cathedral chapter, and provost of the basilica — that decision should be understood as an interlude.

In his view, Pope Leo XIV’s decision to recover the tradition on April 2 shows that the Francis years were an “exception.”

“The years of Pope Francis’ pontificate,” Falbo explained, “as happened with many other celebrations and initiatives, constitute an exception, motivated by the desire to offer the world a clear sign of predilection for the poor and the last, bringing the attention of the bishop of Rome to places of suffering.”

Falbo told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the approach was “a praiseworthy intention” that nevertheless resulted in “a certain privatization of the celebration of the Last Supper,” since limited space in such locations made it impossible for priests of the Diocese of Rome to take part.

With his decision, Falbo said, Leo XIV resumes the tradition of the Church in Rome in line with the uninterrupted practice of the last century, without diminishing attention to the poor.

“There are countless occasions throughout the year,” Falbo said, “to underscore the predilection of the Lord and of the Church for the last.”

In that sense, he said, the return to St. John Lateran is another sign of the new pope’s desire “not only to be, but to behave as bishop of Rome.”

Falbo also pointed to the bond between Leo XIV and the Lateran basilica that became visible on May 25, when the pope took possession of the chair of the bishop of Rome — the pope’s episcopal seat — in what is considered the first Christian basilica built after the peace of Constantine in the fourth century.

That ceremony marked a fundamental step at the beginning of Leo’s pontificate, since the pope is not only successor of St. Peter and pastor of the universal Church but also bishop of the Diocese of Rome.

Historical roots of the foot-washing rite

Falbo recalled that the rite of washing feet “naturally has its roots in the gesture carried out by Jesus in the upper room, when he washed the feet of his apostles before the institution of the Eucharist.”

He noted that the Gospel of John is the only one to transmit the episode, accompanied by a catechesis that makes it a symbol of fraternal love and of the “new commandment,” concretizing love in reciprocal service.

For that reason, he said, “already in the early Church, the washing of the feet was considered a relevant sign for recognizing the authentic disciples of the Lord.”

Falbo added that the rite has varied over the centuries. The Council of Toledo in 694 regarded the washing of feet performed by a bishop for his collaborators as a semi-liturgical and obligatory rite. The Ordo Romanus XII even describes a second mandatum in which, after offering lunch to 13 poor people in a hall of the papal palace, the pope washed, dried, and kissed their feet.

In the 15th century, the chronicles of Giovanni Burcardo — papal master of ceremonies from Innocent VIII to Julius II, including under Alexander VI — systematically mention the pope washing the feet of 13 poor people in one of the halls of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

Falbo also recalled that before the definitive move to the Vatican after the return from Avignon in 1378, popes lived for nearly 1,000 years near the Lateran cathedral, from the pontificate of St. Miltiades (d. 314) to Clement V (1305–1314).

Although the washing of feet is a rite proper to Holy Thursday, Falbo noted that at least since the pontificate of Innocent I in 416, three separate Masses were celebrated that day: a morning Mass for the reconciliation of penitents; another for the blessing of the holy oils, especially the chrism; and a third evening Mass as a memorial of the Lord’s Supper.

For that reason, he said, the foot-washing was not originally joined to the Holy Thursday Mass, even though the Gospel proclaimed at the Eucharist in Coena Domini refers precisely to Jesus’ gesture.

Falbo also pointed to the profound reform of the Sacred Triduum carried out by Pope Pius XII in 1955, which took effect the following year, with the goal of restoring greater historical fidelity in the celebrations.

Since then, he said, the practice of the bishop of Rome — conditioned by no longer residing near his cathedral — has been to divide the Triduum liturgies between St. John Lateran and St. Peter’s, reserving to the lateran the evening Holy Thursday celebration with the foot-washing rite, after the chrism Mass celebrated in the morning at the Vatican basilica.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Why will Chiclayo, Peru, host the World Day of the Sick?
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 10:52:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 10:52 am (CNA).

Cardinal Michael Czerny explained the reasons for choosing the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace in Chiclayo, Peru, as the international site for the solemn celebration of the 34th World Day of the Sick, which will take place there Feb. 9–11.

“The choice of Chiclayo is not due primarily to the pope, but to a practical reason,” Czerny told reporters at the Vatican during the presentation of the pope’s message for the day.

“We needed a place where, given the climate in February, it would be less likely that the celebration would be affected by bad weather,” the cardinal said, calling the decision a “happy coincidence.”

Chiclayo, on Peru’s northern coast, is located in a typically warm region. In February, during the Southern Hemisphere summer, temperatures can range from about 19 to 30 degrees Celsius (66 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit).

Czerny also highlighted Pope Leo XIV’s reaction, saying the pope was “very happy with the choice” the Vatican made in November 2025. In that context, he said, the pontiff wanted to share in his message his pastoral experience in the region.

Leo XIV was a missionary in Peru beginning in 1985, first in Chulucanas, and he returned to the country in 1988 to carry out pastoral work in Trujillo, where he served for more than a decade. In 2015, he was named bishop of Chiclayo.

Later, in 2023, Pope Francis placed him at the head of the Dicastery for Bishops at the Vatican. He also holds Peruvian citizenship.

“It moved me to hear how he himself has been touched by the way the people of his diocese respond to suffering — not only the professionals, but everyone,” Czerny said.

The Vatican prefect added that during the celebration in Chiclayo — which he said he will attend as the pope’s envoy — it will be possible to perceive “the importance of the theme of compassion and care for the sick, combined with the joy that the pope comes from this region.”

The cardinal concluded by saying he hopes the World Day of the Sick observance will reflect both the spiritual dimension of care for the ill and the active participation of the entire local community.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV urges faithful to rediscover the beauty of charity
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 10:22:07 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 10:22 am (CNA).

In his message for the 34th World Day of the Sick, to be celebrated Feb. 11, Pope Leo XIV calls on Catholics to rediscover “the beauty of charity and the social dimension of compassion,” insisting that authentic Christian love is concrete, personal, and directed toward those who suffer.

“Love is not passive; it goes out to meet the other,” the pope writes, reflecting on the Gospel parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). “Being a neighbor is not determined by physical or social proximity but by the decision to love.”

This year’s principal observance is set to take place in Chiclayo, Peru, where Leo previously served as bishop. In the message — titled “ The Compassion of the Samaritan: Loving by Bearing Another’s Pain“ — he presents the good Samaritan as a model for Christians living in a society marked by haste and indifference.

“We live immersed in a culture of speed, immediacy, and haste — a culture of ‘discard’ and indifference that prevents us from pausing along the way and drawing near to acknowledge the needs and suffering that surround us,” he writes.

Drawing on Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Leo emphasizes that compassion and mercy cannot be reduced to a private virtue. At the heart of the message is a summons to become the kind of neighbor Christ calls for: “Jesus does not merely teach us who our neighbor is but rather how to become a neighbor; in other words, how we can draw close to others.”

Compassion that moves to action

The pope stresses that compassion is not an idea or a mood but a force that leads to real service.

“Compassion, in this sense, implies a profound emotion that compels us to act,” he writes. “In this parable, compassion is the defining characteristic of active love; it is neither theoretical nor merely sentimental but manifests itself through concrete gestures.”

Leo highlights the Samaritan’s practical care — approaching the wounded man, tending his wounds, and providing for his needs — while underscoring that the Samaritan also seeks help from an innkeeper, a detail he uses to stress communal responsibility: “The Samaritan discovered an innkeeper who would care for the man; we too are called to unite as a family that is stronger than the sum of small individual members.”

Reflecting on his pastoral experience in Peru, the pope points to families, neighbors, health care professionals, and those engaged in pastoral care who draw near to accompany the sick and suffering, giving compassion a genuine social dimension.

Love of God expressed in service

Leo ties the call to compassion to the primacy of love for God, insisting that care for the suffering is not peripheral to Christian life but a test of its authenticity.

“The primacy of divine love implies that human action is carried out not for self-interest or reward but as a manifestation of a love that transcends ritual norms and find expression in authentic worship. To serve one’s neighbor is to love God through deeds,” he writes.

He closes with an appeal for a Christian way of life shaped by fraternity and courage: “I genuinely hope that our Christian lifestyle will always reflect this fraternal, ‘Samaritan’ spirit — one that is welcoming, courageous, committed and supportive, rooted in our union with God and our faith in Jesus Christ.”

He also entrusts the sick and all who care for them to the intercession of the Virgin Mary under her title Health of the Sick, and he imparts his apostolic blessing to the sick, their families, and health care and pastoral workers.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Devotion, not tourism: 5 million mark Santo Niño feast in Philippines
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 09:25:49 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 09:25 am (CNA).

More than 5.2 million devotees joined the feast of Santo Niño (Infant Jesus) in Cebu, central Philippines, on Jan. 18 in what religious leaders emphasize is a centuries-old act of devotion rather than folklore or tourism. The attendance figure was provided by the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

A spiritual celebration

“The feast of Sto. Niño in Cebu is not a tourist event but a spiritual and religious celebration,” Sister Aileenette Pangilinan Mirasol, a member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, told EWTN News.

Born and raised in Cebu, Sister Aileenette recalled that even before the Sinulog Festival — an annual Filipino religious event held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu that draws millions as a major cultural and tourist festival — “we have been celebrating the feast of the Santo Niño as a spiritual and religious event.”

“So, as a Cebuana, I would say that the feast is rooted in the deep Catholic faith of the Cebuano people and less of a tourist event,” Sister Aileenette said.

“While visitors may come, enjoy, and participate, the heart of the feast is not tourism but worship, devotion, and gratitude to the Santo Niño, reflecting centuries-old religious tradition and belief,” she said.

Sister Jennibeth Sabay, a member of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Castres, told EWTN News that “the feast of Santo Niño de Cebu is a celebration of love and thanksgiving to God.”

“It may be a tourist event for others. But for Catholics and devotees of Santo Niño, it is a celebration of thanksgiving and honoring the Holy Child Jesus, the ‘Batobalani sa Gugma,’ or ‘magnet of love,’” she explained.

Pope Leo XIV sent greetings to the faithful celebrating the fiesta at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu. Through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, the pope stressed that it is an opportunity to reflect on the unity and grace received in baptism.

In his letter, dated Jan. 5, the pope said the annual feast, guided by the theme “In Santo Niño We Are One,” would inspire the faithful to live out their baptismal commitment through a grace-filled life in Christ, marked by service, charity, and solidarity, particularly toward those on the margins of society.

“It is, therefore, his hope that you will be inspired by a greater desire to embrace the baptismal call to live a grace-filled life in Christ and in service to your brothers and sisters, especially those on the margins of society, so that you will bear greater witness to Christ’s call to unity and reflect the life of charity of the Most Holy Trinity,” the pope said.

The celebration was marked by religious fervor and festivity, with the theme “United in Faith and Love” highlighting its significance as a celebration of faith, history, and culture.

Archbishop Alberto Sy Uy of Cebu officiated the pontifical Mass at Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu, which houses the original statue.

In his homily, he urged all to strengthen their relationship with God and care for each other.

“When we are connected with God, every moment is filled with love, and we serve others with compassion,” he said.

“In the Señor Santo Niño, we are one, meaning we are united with Christ not because of our human efforts but because of his redeeming love,” Uy said.

“As we conclude this year’s festivities, may the fire of faith continue to burn in our hearts. We carry the blessings of the Holy Child as we return to our daily lives, strengthened by him,” he added.

Prayer formed a central part of the festival, with tens of thousands of people attending the nine-day novena before the feast at the Basilica del Santo Niño.

Historical roots

On Jan. 17, a galleon carried the image of Santo Niño during the fluvial procession across the Mactan Channel, reenacting its arrival in Cebu in 1521, when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Cebu and introduced Christianity to the island.

Queen Juana of Cebu, wife of Rajah Humabon, was baptized on April 14, 1521, and received the Christian name Doña Juana along with a Santo Niño image as a baptismal gift. This marked the beginning of Christianity and devotion to the Holy Child Jesus in the Philippines, an archipelago of 116 million people.

Today, the Santo Niño of Cebu is the oldest Christian icon in the country, holding a central place in the Catholic faith and devotion of the Filipino people.

The Señor Sto. Niño is one who answered prayers, who granted healing, who gave strength, enlightenment, protection, and guidance, and who bestowed blessings to families, Sister Jennibeth said. He provided consolation and strength during troubled times. He is a refuge for people during times of challenges and difficulties.

“We shout, ‘Pit Senyor.’ ‘Sangpit sa Senyor’ means to ‘call upon’ and to entrust to God whatever concerns we have,” said Sister Jennibeth, a native of Cebu.

Despite the many challenges people of Cebu have faced — typhoons, earthquakes, and disasters — people remain hopeful, resilient, and strong with the grace and blessings of Sto. Niño, protector of Cebu and the Philippines.

Pope Leo XIV receives Czech president, discusses democracy and transatlantic tensions
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 08:44:50 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 08:44 am (CNA).

Amid international tensions, Pope Leo XIV received Czech President Petr Pavel in an audience on Monday, with both leaders agreeing that “democratic countries are and should be natural partners,” the president said during a brief press conference for Czech media following the meeting.

The two leaders discussed “dynamic changes in the contemporary world,” Pavel said. He warned of a possible split in the European Union if some member states “will prefer the principles of force” instead of adherence to “the values and principles on which the EU was founded.”

“Not all the options available to resolve” current tensions between the United States and Europe have been used, Pavel stressed.

Pavel thanked Pope Leo XIV for the Vatican’s efforts to help secure the release of Czech citizen Jan Darmovzal from Venezuela. Darmovzal was detained in September 2024 by Venezuelan authorities and released this month following the U.S. capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

“The Church has an extraordinary diplomatic reach, and Pope Leo XIV is trying very actively to moderate disputes and help resolve conflicts,” Pavel acknowledged.

A Vatican press release appreciated “good bilateral relations” between the Holy See and the Czech Republic and expressed “the desire to further strengthen them.” Pavel said relations were at a high level, adding that Pope Leo XIV was invited to visit the Czech Republic.

OneLife LA 2026 to gather thousands for life, family, and faith in Los Angeles
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Jan 20, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles will present its 12th annual OneLife LA event on Saturday, Jan. 24, beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the plaza of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. The day will highlight a variety of life and family issues, including advocating for the protection of the unborn. 

The event includes a roster of speakers and performers beginning at 2 p.m. followed by a Walk for Life at 3 p.m. and a Requiem Mass for the unborn celebrated by Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez at 5 p.m.

In addition to Gómez, each of the auxiliary bishops in the archdiocese’s five pastoral regions typically attend, as well as bishops in neighboring dioceses.

In a statement, Gómez said: “Every life is precious and must be loved and protected, from conception until natural death — as children of God made in his image, every person has a sanctity and dignity that cannot be diminished.”

Speakers for the event include Gómez; El Paso,Texas, Bishop Mark Seitz; pro-life and prenatal health advocate Nora Yesenia; Sofía Alatorre González, who will discuss a life-changing accident she had at age 8; archdiocesan priest Father Matt Wheeler; Daniela Verástegui, a mother who speaks on family life issues and sister of actor Eduardo Verástegui; and Ken Rose of the Knights of Columbus.

As part of the event, Rose will receive a $10,000 Dr. Tirso del Junco grant on behalf of the Knights, which will be distributed to 20 local pregnancy centers along with matching funding from the Supreme Knight.

Rose has been a regular attendee at OneLife LA as well as other pro-life walks throughout the state of California and said he was “honored” to receive the grant on behalf of the Knights, an annual grant that has been made since 2020. He said: “It’s an awesome event, and I’ve been surprised at the turnout, especially considering the challenges they’ve had in recent years.”

The challenges he referenced include heavy rain in frequently sunny Southern California in 2024, and in 2025, due to heavy smoke caused by L.A.’s Eaton and Palisades wildfires, participants remained indoors at the cathedral. (The 2026 forecast so far is partly cloudy, no rain, with mild temperatures.) The 2025 event included testimonials from local residents who had lost their homes in the fires, as well as the display of the tabernacle of Corpus Christi Parish in Pacific Palisades, which was rescued from the ruins of the church after it had burned down.

In previous years, Rose has been impressed with a large number of young people who turned out for the walk, including teens as well as young adults. He also noted that it drew a large number of his fellow Knights (some in official regalia), as “we are Catholic gentlemen who are asked to step up on behalf of people who are less fortunate than us.”

Rose said in his remarks he plans to tell those in attendance “that life is special in all its stages. We must protect it, from birth to natural death. It’s what we believe as Catholics.”

Isaac Cuevas of the archdiocesan Office of Life, Justice, and Peace, said he believes the Knights to be a worthy grant recipient, as the Knights “exemplify service rooted in faith and respect for the dignity of every person. Their work strengthens families, supports those in need, and builds a culture that honors life at every stage.”

In addition to the Knights, other key participating organizations include 40 Days for Life, NET Ministries, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Sisters Poor of Jesus Christ, Catholic Charities Los Angeles, Sofesa, Depaul USA, Program for Tortured Victims, Order of Malta, Options United, and Care for Creation. The event also draws groups from Catholic parishes and schools as well as local religious.

Like-minded individuals

Other repeat participants include Ann Sanders, who began participating 12 years ago as part of the Order of Malta and today is an event organizer with the archdiocesan Office of Life, Justice, and Peace. 

“I’ve always enjoyed participating because it is an opportunity to be around like-minded individuals who desire to protect the beauty and dignity of human life,” she said. “People come together to support the life-affirming work that is being done throughout the archdiocese.”

Previous years have drawn 5,000 or more participants, she continued, and the archdiocese is hoping for strong attendance again in 2026.

Tim Shannon, who is also a member of the Order of Malta and is president of the Order of Malta Mobile Ministries, will also attend again in 2026. His group distributes food to Southern Californians in need; at OneLife LA members distribute supplies such as sunscreen and water, offer basic medical care, and provide seating where older or disabled walkers can rest. Donations for items come from the Order of Malta.

He, like Rose, noted the participation of large numbers of young people, “which is refreshing. They’re our future,” he said.

In addition to speakers, performers at the event include Francis Cabildo, worship leader and songwriter, and Miriam Solis, a Mexican singer from Guadalajara. Companion events to OneLife LA include a OneLife LA Holy Hour on Friday, Jan. 23, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Christ the King Parish in Los Angeles.

Series of pro-life walks

OneLife LA is one of a series of pro-life walks offered throughout the state of California hosted by Catholic dioceses or often organized by Catholics. The second-largest pro-life walk in the country, Walk for Live West Coast, will be held in San Francisco on the same day, with San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone playing a prominent role, as well as a San Diego Walk for Life sponsored by the Diocese of San Diego with San Diego Bishop Michael Pham participating. 

On Jan. 23 at Oakland City Hall, there will be the Standing Up 4Life rally and walk featuring many speakers from the Black pro-life community. The National March for Life in Washington, D.C., also occurs on Jan. 23; March for Life will hold a rally and march at the California state capitol in Sacramento on March 16.

OneLife LA is free to attend, but participants are asked to register online at www.onelifela.org.

Vatican confirms it tried to mediate with Maduro to avoid military intervention in Venezuela
Mon, 19 Jan 2026 13:02:34 -0500

Jan 19, 2026 / 13:02 pm (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin confirmed Saturday that the Holy See attempted to mediate to avert U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, which culminated Jan. 3 with the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

“We had tried precisely — as, among other things, has appeared in some newspapers — to find a solution that would avoid any bloodshed, trying perhaps to reach an agreement even with Maduro and with other figures in the regime, but this was not possible,” Parolin told reporters on the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 17, outside Rome’s Domus Mariae church.

Parolin had just celebrated Mass there for the public veneration — for the first time — of relics of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati.

In remarks reported by, among others, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Parolin — who served as apostolic nuncio to Venezuela from 2009 to 2013 — said the Vatican has “always supported a peaceful solution,” adding: “But we, too, find ourselves faced with a fait accompli, a de facto situation.”

He described Venezuela’s current moment as “a situation of great uncertainty.”

“We hope it evolves toward stability, toward an economic recovery — because the economic situation is truly very, very precarious — and also toward the democratization of the country,” the cardinal said.

Parolin declined to provide further details about a Jan. 9 Washington Post report stating that the Holy See had attempted to help facilitate Maduro’s departure from Venezuela by offering asylum in Russia.

After that report was published, the Holy See Press Office confirmed that the conversation took place during the Christmas period, while adding that it considered it “disappointing that parts of a confidential conversation are published without accurately reflecting its content.”

Pope Leo XIV has referred to the Venezuelan crisis on several occasions, most recently Jan. 9 in his address to diplomats accredited to the Holy See, when he called for respect for the will of the Venezuelan people and for peaceful solutions free of “partisan interests.”

The pope also received Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Monday, Jan. 12 — three days before her meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, whom ACI Prensa identified as a 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Speaking afterward at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., Machado said the Holy Father “knows very well what is happening in Venezuela,” adding that he is “fully aware of what the Catholic Church is experiencing, due to the persecution and pressure on our bishops and priests.” She also said the pope is “not only concerned, but is helping and actively supporting” efforts toward a peaceful transition.

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

Bishop Barron says ICE should focus on ‘serious’ criminals, urges protesters to ‘cease interfering’
Mon, 19 Jan 2026 09:34:42 -0500

Jan 19, 2026 / 09:34 am (CNA).

Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron has called on federal immigration officials to focus on deporting only serious criminals while also urging U.S. protesters to “cease interfering” with the work of immigration agents.

The bishop’s plea comes amid heightened national tensions in response to mass deportations and the killing of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis.

Barron issued the statement on Jan. 18 via X. A native of Chicago, he was made bishop of the southern Minnesota diocese in 2022.

The prelate made the remarks as officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continue enhanced deportations of immigrants in the country illegally. The mass deportation effort is a major part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s domestic policy in his second term.

Tensions were heightened greatly on Jan. 7 when an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis as she apparently engaged in a protest of ICE enforcement in the city.

Good had partially blocked a street with her car and was approached by ICE agents, who ordered her out of the vehicle; when she attempted to speed away she allegedly struck ICE agent Jonathan Ross with her car. Ross shot and killed her in response. The killing generated national outrage and major protests throughout the country.

‘There is a way out’

Barron, who regularly weighs in on Catholic and other issues in the public sphere, said on X that his “heart is breaking” over the “violence, retribution, threats, protests, deep suspicion of one another, political unrest, [and] fear” that has spread throughout Minnesota in recent weeks.

Offering “a modest proposal” for resolving “this unbearable state of affairs,” Barron urged immigration officials to “limit themselves, at least for the time being, to rounding up undocumented people who have committed serious crimes.”

“Political leaders should stop stirring up resentment against officers who are endeavoring to enforce the laws of the country,” he continued. “And protestors should cease interfering with the work of ICE.”

Americans, meanwhile, “must stop shouting at one another and demonizing their opponents.”

“Where we are now is untenable. There is a way out,” the bishop said.

Minneapolis is only the latest flashpoint in ongoing national unrest over the federal government’s immigration actions, one that has touched the U.S. Catholic Church in numerous ways.

Multiple U.S. bishops have issued dispensations from Mass for those who are afraid of being arrested and deported, including the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Diocese of San Bernardino, and numerous others.

In December 2025 ICE agents arrested a Catholic church employee in Minnesota, after which they surveilled the parish, with the church pastor claiming the agents were “terrorizing” locals “just by their presence.”

Church leaders have regularly attempted to reach out to immigrants who have been targeted for deportation by ICE. In November 2025 Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez led the Stations of the Cross at an ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, while prelates such as Lincoln, Nebraska, Bishop James Conley have urged the government to allow pastoral access to detained immigrants.

At their November 2025 plenary assembly, the U.S. bishops declared their opposition to the indiscriminate mass deportation of immigrants in the country illegally. The bishops urged the government to respect the dignity of migrants as well.

Catholic Church in Mexico convokes National Dialogue for Peace
Mon, 19 Jan 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Jan 19, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church in Mexico will bring together more than 1,000 leaders from various fields for the second edition of the National Dialogue for Peace to be held Jan. 30–Feb. 1 at the campus of ITESO Jesuit university in Guadalajara, Jalisco state.

A statement by the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, (CEM, by its Spanish acronym) indicated that 1,370 people will participate in the event, including bishops, priests, and Catholic laypeople; victims of violence, university students, business leaders, government officials, intellectuals, experts, and people of different religious faiths.

The National Dialogue for Peace, in addition to the CEM, is sponsored by the Bishops’ Commission for the Laity, the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious Orders in Mexico, and the Jesuits of Mexico.

The statement emphasized that this edition of the National Dialogue for Peace will not simply be “an event” but “the beginning of a decisive decade for Mexico.”

The urgent need for this dialogue became clear after the murder of Jesuit priests Javier Campos and Joaquín Mora, who were trying to protect tour guide Pedro Palma in Cerocahui, Chihuahua state, in June 2022.

According to the statement, the incident “added to hundreds of thousands of murders and disappearances in the country [and] triggered the largest listening movement in Mexico’s recent history: more than a thousand forums throughout the national territory that documented more than 20,000 testimonies of victims, Indigenous communities, young people, business leaders, academics, churches, and civil organizations.”

“This process gave rise to the National Peace Agenda, the most comprehensive and participatory assessment of the violence crisis in Mexico, which revealed extensive territories where the state no longer governs and where violence has become the only law,” the statement explained.

As part of the process, the press release noted, participants emphasized that “without truth and justice for the victims, there is no peace for anyone.”

“Mexico is not condemned to violence. Peace is possible, it is measurable, and it must begin today,” the CEM affirmed.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language news service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Thousands expected at San Francisco’s Walk for Life West Coast
Mon, 19 Jan 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Jan 19, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Thousands are expected at this year’s Walk for Life West Coast, which will be held in the streets of downtown San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 24. The event is in its 22nd year and previously has drawn crowds as large as 50,000.

Major features of the event include a rally at the City’s Civic Center Plaza beginning at 12:30 p.m. followed by a 1.8-mile walk to Embarcadero Plaza beginning at 1:30 p.m. 

Rally speakers include filmmaker and podcaster Jason Jones, Spokane pregnancy center director Glendie Loranger, pro-life advocate and convert to the pro-life cause Elizabeth Barrett, and Baptist pastor Clenard Childress. 

“This is an effort to bequeath to our children a civilization of love and life,” said Jones, who is attending the walk for the second time and his first as a speaker.

Jones’ motivation to join the pro-life movement, he explained, dates back to his “irreligious” teen years when, at age 16, he learned he had impregnated his girlfriend. 

He joined the U.S. Army upon turning 17 as a way to support his child, only to learn that his girlfriend, due to pressure from her father, had had a late-term abortion. He recalled: “It was insane. Even as an uneducated high school dropout, I could see that abortion was unspeakably evil.”

Jones began his pro-life activism while stationed in Hawaii, later becoming a prominent pro-life advocate in the media and participating in the production of pro-life films such as “Bella” in 2006. His chief activities today include serving as president of The Vulnerable People Project, through which he defends “the most vulnerable across the globe, from the unborn to persecuted minorities in war zones.”

Jones said he is excited about the progress the pro-life movement has made in recent years, particularly after the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision striking down the nation’s anti-abortion laws. 

“The abortion establishment is a billion-dollar industry fighting for its life. They’re at the end of their rope,” he said. “The pro-life movement, conversely, is vibrant, lively, spirited, and diverse.”

He lamented that the pro-life movement “lacks the political power it should have” but noted that much of the efforts of pro-lifers are directed at operating pro-life pregnancy centers at the local level. Their work, he said, is “the biggest untold story in American history.”

Today, Jones is a Catholic convert living in Texas and is married with seven children. Of his faith, he remarked: “I’m so glad I’m Catholic. Whether it be dehumanizing ideologies that lead to abortion or other evils, our faith inoculates us and enables us to see the truth.”

Catholic schools and parishes

Participating in the walk annually are groups from Catholic schools and parishes. Among the most prominent participants are students from Thomas Aquinas College (TAC) in Santa Paula, California, which this year will turn out over 250 walkers. These include senior Patrick Daly, a regular walk participant during his college years. 

“It’s really cool to see the number of people who make the trip to San Francisco from long distances, especially high school students,” Daly said. “The younger generation tends to lead the walk, which gives it a lot of energy.”

Daly also said each time he walks the experience is “eye-opening” and “rekindles the fire against abortion.”

He noted that unlike many political demonstrations that can be loud, vulgar, and violent, in contrast the West Coast Walk for Life is peaceful and joyful, with participants singing the “Salve Regina” or praying the rosary. 

“It’s a beautiful experience. We’re not there to fight or to yell. We humbly walk and ask God to intervene on behalf of our nation, that we develop a greater respect for human life,” he said.

Daly acknowledged that the political culture of San Francisco is at odds with the pro-life beliefs of Catholics, but added: “We’re bringing a Christian influence on an evil city. It is a special walk in a broken place.”

TAC sophomore Basil Gutch is another repeat walker, annually participating because “it is a way to share my beliefs in a community setting.”

“Abortion is a modern-day holocaust. It hits close to home when I realize that a third of my generation has died by abortion. Also, the abortion industry is corrupt, selling dead fetuses for experimentation. When we walk, we wrestle with its grave evil and pray for it to end," he said.

Gutch noted that in last year’s walk residents approached his group seeking to dialogue about abortion — both from curiosity and trying to convert his group to a pro-choice view. He continued: “While there were people who were yelling pro-choice slogans at us as we walked by, these conversations were surprisingly civil.”

Other activities

Other activities for the Walk for Life West Coast include a Silent No More Awareness Campaign led by Georgette Forney and Frank Pavone of Priests for Life from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The event precedes the rally and features testimonies of individuals harmed by abortion. There will also be an Info Faire on the Civic Center Plaza, in which pro-life groups share information about their activities.

Additionally, there will be a series of events on the Friday before the walk and the day of the walk. Friday events include a Walk for Life prayer vigil at St. Dominic’s Church at 5 p.m. followed by Mass, a Holy Hour, and confessions, and adoration for life at Sts. Peter and Paul Church from 8 to 10 p.m. 

Saturday events include a Walk for Life Mass with San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone at St. Mary’s Cathedral at 9:30 a.m. and a Traditional Latin Mass at the Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi at 5 p.m. Star of the Sea Parish will host a barbecue and all-night adoration for life beginning at 5 p.m. For a complete list of activities, visit the event website at www.walkforlifewc.com.

Organizers request that participants register for free on the website. The site includes helpful information on such topics as parking, public transportation, and accommodations, as well as a code of conduct for the walk.

The nuns who witnessed the life and death of Martin Luther King Jr.
Mon, 19 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0500

Jan 19, 2026 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Sister Mary Antona Ebo was the only Black Catholic nun who marched with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.

“I’m here because I’m a Negro, a nun, a Catholic, and because I want to bear witness,” Ebo said to fellow demonstrators at a March 10, 1965, protest attended by King.

The protest took place three days after the “Bloody Sunday” clash, where police attacked several hundred voting rights demonstrators with clubs and tear gas, causing severe injuries among the nonviolent marchers.

Sister Mary Antona Ebo died Nov. 11, 2017, in Bridgeton, Missouri, at the age of 93, the St. Louis Review reported at the time.

After the “Bloody Sunday” attacks, King had called on church leaders from around the country to go to Selma. Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter of St. Louis asked his archdiocese’s human rights commission to send representatives, Ebo recounted to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2015.

Ebo’s supervisor, also a religious sister, asked her whether she would join a 50-member delegation of laymen, Protestant ministers, rabbis, priests, and five white nuns.

Just before she left for Alabama, she heard that a white minister who had traveled to Selma, James Reeb, had been severely attacked after he left a restaurant and later died from his injuries.

At the time, Ebo said, she wondered: “If they would beat a white minister to death on the streets of Selma, what are they going to do when I show up?”

In Selma on March 10, Ebo went to Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, joining local leaders and the demonstrators who had been injured in the clash.

“They had bandages on their heads, teeth were knocked out, crutches, casts on their arms. You could tell that they were freshly injured,” she told the Post-Dispatch. “They had already been through the battleground, and they were still wanting to go back and finish the job.”

Many of the injured were treated at Good Samaritan Hospital, run by Edmundite priests and the Sisters of St. Joseph, the only Selma hospital that served Blacks. Since their arrival in 1937, the Edmundites had faced intimidation and threats from local officials, other whites, and even the Ku Klux Klan, CNN reported.

The injured demonstrators and their supporters left the Selma church, with Ebo in front. They marched toward the courthouse, then were blocked by state troopers in riot gear. She and other demonstrators knelt to pray the Our Father before they agreed to turn around.

Despite the violent interruption, the 57-mile march drew 25,000 participants. It concluded on the steps of the state capitol in Montgomery with King’s famous March 25 speech against racial prejudice.

“How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” King said.

King would be dead within three years. On a fateful April 4, 1968, he was shot by an assassin at a Memphis hotel.

He had asked to be taken to a Catholic hospital should anything happen to him, and he was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Memphis. At the time, it was a nursing school combined with a 400-bed hospital.

There, too, Catholic religious sisters played a role.

Sister Jane Marie Klein and Sister Anna Marie Hofmeyer recounted their story to The Paper of Montgomery County Online in January 2017.

The Franciscan nuns were walking around the hospital grounds when they heard the sirens of an ambulance. One of the sisters was paged three times, and they discovered that King had been shot and taken to their hospital.

The National Guard and local police locked down the hospital for security reasons as doctors tried to save King.

“We were obviously not allowed to go in when they were working with him because they were feverishly working with him,” Klein said. “But after they pronounced him dead we did go back into the ER. There was a gentleman as big as the door guarding the door and he looked at us and said, ‘You want in?’ We said yes, we’d like to go pray with him. So he let the three of us in, closed the door behind us, and gave us our time.”

Hofmeyer recounted the scene in the hospital room. “He had no chance,” she said.

Klein said authorities delayed the announcement of King’s death to prepare for riots they knew would result.

Three decades later, Klein met with King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, at a meeting of the Catholic Health Association Board in Atlanta where King was a keynote speaker. The Franciscan sister and the widow of the civil rights leader told each other how they had spent that night.

Klein said being present that night in 1968 was “indescribable.”

“You do what you got to do,” she said. “What’s the right thing to do? Hindsight? It was a privilege to be able to take care of him that night and to pray with him. Who would have ever thought that we would be that privileged?”

She said King’s life shows “to some extent one person can make a difference.” She wondered “how anybody could listen to Dr. King and not be moved to work toward breaking down these barriers.”

Klein would serve as chairperson of the Franciscan Alliance Board of Trustees, overseeing support for health care. Hofmeyer would work in the alliance’s archives. In 2021, both were living at the Provinciate at St. Francis Convent in Mishawaka, Indiana.

For her part, after Selma, Ebo would go on to serve as a hospital administrator and a chaplain.

In 1968 she helped found the National Black Sisters’ Conference. The woman who had been rejected from several Catholic nursing schools because of her race would serve in her congregation’s leadership as it reunited with another Franciscan order, and she served as a director of social concerns for the Missouri Catholic Conference.

She frequently spoke on civil rights topics. When controversy erupted over a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer’s killing of Michael Brown, a Black man, she led a prayer vigil. She thought the Ferguson protests were comparable to those of Selma.

“I mean, after all, if Mike Brown really did swipe the box of cigars, it’s not the policeman’s place to shoot him dead,” she said.

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis presided at her requiem Mass in November 2021, saying in a statement: “We will miss her living example of working for justice in the context of our Catholic faith.”

A previous version of this story was first published on Catholic News Agency on Jan. 17, 2022.

Catholic women discuss beauty, difficulty, redemptive nature of Church’s teachings on sexuality
Sun, 18 Jan 2026 10:26:04 -0500

Jan 18, 2026 / 10:26 am (CNA).

This past week, nearly a quarter of U.S. states sued the federal government for defining biological sex as binary, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for and against legally allowing males to compete against females in sports, and a Vatican official called surrogacy a “new form of colonialism” that commodifies women and their children.

These are just the latest legal and cultural effects of a “mass cultural confusion” surrounding the meaning and purpose of the human body, and particularly women’s bodies, according to Leah Jacobson, program coordinator of the Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

On Jan. 9–10, the program sponsored a symposium titled “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman,” which brought together a group of Catholic women who have used their gifts of intellect and faith to serve as what Jacobson calls an “antidote” to the “chaos and confusion” of the cultural moment.

The speakers presented on a wide range of topics concerned with the beauty, truth, and necessity of the Church’s teachings on human sexuality, while also acknowledging how difficult living according to those teachings can sometimes be.

‘Each of these acts is an act of human subtraction’

In one of the first talks, writer Mary Eberstadt argued that the question “Who am I?” became harder to answer due to the widespread use of the birth control pill, which has led to huge increases in abortion, divorce, fatherlessness, single parenthood, and childlessness.

“Each of these acts is an act of human subtraction,” Eberstadt said. “I’m not trying to make a point about morality, but arithmetic.”

“The number of people we can call our own” became smaller, she said.

While she acknowledged that not everyone has been affected equally, “members of our species share a collective environment. Just as toxic waste affects everyone," she said, the reduction in the number of human connections “amounts to a massive disturbance to the human ecosystem,” leading to a crisis of human identity.

This reduction in the number of people in an individual's life, she argued, resulted in widespread confusion over gender identity and the meaning and purpose of the body.

Eberstadt also attributed the decline in religiosity to the smaller number of human connections modern people have.

“The sexual revolution subtracted the number of role models,” she said. “Many children have no siblings, no cousins, no aunts or uncles, no father; yet that is how humans conduct social learning.”

“Without children, adults are less likely to go to church,” she said. “Without birth, we lose knowledge of the transcendent. Without an earthly father, it is hard to grasp the paradigm of a heavenly father.”

‘A love deficit’

“Living without God is not liberating people,” she continued. “It’s tearing some individuals apart, making people miserable and lonely.”

When the sexual revolution made sex "recreational and not procreative, what it produced above all is a love deficit,” Eberstadt said.

At the same time, secularization produced “troubled, disconnected souls drifting through society without gravity, shattering the ability to answer ‘Who am I?’”

“The Church is the answer to the love deficit because Church teachings about who we are and what we’re here for are true,” she said.

She concluded with a final note on hope, saying “it is easy to feel embattled, but we must never lose sight of the faces of the sexual revolution’s victims,” she said, “who are sending up primal screams for a world more ordered than many of today’s people now know; more ordered to mercy, to community and redemption.”

The Church’s teachings were ’truly beautiful’ but 'very, very hard to live'

Erika Bachiochi, a legal scholar and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center who has taught a class for the graduate program, shared her experience as a mother of seven who tried to live according to the Church’s “difficult” teachings.

As her children began to arrive at “a breakneck pace” and each pregnancy was “a bit of a crucible,” Bachiochi said being a mother was “very hard” for her, partly due to wounds from her youth (among other troubles, her own mother had been married and divorced three times), and partly because of a lack of community.

Echoing Eberstadt’s “arithmetic” problem, Bachiochi described having very few examples of Catholic family life and a very small support system.

Bachiochi said she believes God heals us from our wounds through our “particular vocations,” however.

Of motherhood, she said: “I think God really healed me through being faithful to teachings that I found quite hard, but truly beautiful. I was intellectually convinced by them and found them spiritually beautiful, but found them to be very, very hard to live.”

“Motherhood has served to heal me profoundly," she said, encouraging young mothers to have faith that though it might be difficult now, there is an “amazing future” awaiting them.

“It’s really an incredible gift that Church has given me ... the gift of obedience,” she said.

She also said by God’s grace, she was given an “excellent husband” and has found that “just as the Church promises, that leaning into motherhood, into the little things, the daily needs, the constant requests for my attention, has truly been a school of virtue.”

The Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies Program is a new part of the Nesti Center for Faith and Culture at the University of St. Thomas, a recognized Catholic cultural center of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Catholic women discuss beauty, difficulty, redemptive nature of Church’s teachings on sexuality
Sun, 18 Jan 2026 10:26:04 -0500

Jan 18, 2026 / 10:26 am (CNA).

This past week, nearly a quarter of U.S. states sued the federal government for defining biological sex as binary, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for and against legally allowing males to compete against females in sports, and a Vatican official called surrogacy a “new form of colonialism” that commodifies women and their children.

These are just the latest legal and cultural effects of a “mass cultural confusion” surrounding the meaning and purpose of the human body, and particularly women’s bodies, according to Leah Jacobson, program coordinator of the Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

On Jan. 9–10, the program sponsored a symposium titled “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman,” which brought together a group of Catholic women who have used their gifts of intellect and faith to serve as what Jacobson calls an “antidote” to the “chaos and confusion” of the cultural moment.

The speakers presented on a wide range of topics concerned with the beauty, truth, and necessity of the Church’s teachings on human sexuality, while also acknowledging how difficult living according to those teachings can sometimes be.

‘Each of these acts is an act of human subtraction’

In one of the first talks, writer Mary Eberstadt argued that the question “Who am I?” became harder to answer due to the widespread use of the birth control pill, which has led to huge increases in abortion, divorce, fatherlessness, single parenthood, and childlessness.

“Each of these acts is an act of human subtraction,” Eberstadt said. “I’m not trying to make a point about morality, but arithmetic.”

“The number of people we can call our own” became smaller, she said.

While she acknowledged that not everyone has been affected equally, “members of our species share a collective environment. Just as toxic waste affects everyone," she said, the reduction in the number of human connections “amounts to a massive disturbance to the human ecosystem,” leading to a crisis of human identity.

This reduction in the number of people in an individual's life, she argued, resulted in widespread confusion over gender identity and the meaning and purpose of the body.

Eberstadt also attributed the decline in religiosity to the smaller number of human connections modern people have.

“The sexual revolution subtracted the number of role models,” she said. “Many children have no siblings, no cousins, no aunts or uncles, no father; yet that is how humans conduct social learning.”

“Without children, adults are less likely to go to church,” she said. “Without birth, we lose knowledge of the transcendent. Without an earthly father, it is hard to grasp the paradigm of a heavenly father.”

‘A love deficit’

“Living without God is not liberating people,” she continued. “It’s tearing some individuals apart, making people miserable and lonely.”

When the sexual revolution made sex "recreational and not procreative, what it produced above all is a love deficit,” Eberstadt said.

At the same time, secularization produced “troubled, disconnected souls drifting through society without gravity, shattering the ability to answer ‘Who am I?’”

“The Church is the answer to the love deficit because Church teachings about who we are and what we’re here for are true,” she said.

She concluded with a final note on hope, saying “it is easy to feel embattled, but we must never lose sight of the faces of the sexual revolution’s victims,” she said, “who are sending up primal screams for a world more ordered than many of today’s people now know; more ordered to mercy, to community and redemption.”

The Church’s teachings were ’truly beautiful’ but 'very, very hard to live'

Erika Bachiochi, a legal scholar and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center who has taught a class for the graduate program, shared her experience as a mother of seven who tried to live according to the Church’s “difficult” teachings.

As her children began to arrive at “a breakneck pace” and each pregnancy was “a bit of a crucible,” Bachiochi said being a mother was “very hard” for her, partly due to wounds from her youth (among other troubles, her own mother had been married and divorced three times), and partly because of a lack of community.

Echoing Eberstadt’s “arithmetic” problem, Bachiochi described having very few examples of Catholic family life and a very small support system.

Bachiochi said she believes God heals us from our wounds through our “particular vocations,” however.

Of motherhood, she said: “I think God really healed me through being faithful to teachings that I found quite hard, but truly beautiful. I was intellectually convinced by them and found them spiritually beautiful, but found them to be very, very hard to live.”

“Motherhood has served to heal me profoundly," she said, encouraging young mothers to have faith that though it might be difficult now, there is an “amazing future” awaiting them.

“It’s really an incredible gift that Church has given me ... the gift of obedience,” she said.

She also said by God’s grace, she was given an “excellent husband” and has found that “just as the Church promises, that leaning into motherhood, into the little things, the daily needs, the constant requests for my attention, has truly been a school of virtue.”

The Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies Program is a new part of the Nesti Center for Faith and Culture at the University of St. Thomas, a recognized Catholic cultural center of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Pope Leo XIV urges prayers for peace in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sun, 18 Jan 2026 09:44:01 -0500

Jan 18, 2026 / 09:44 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged prayers for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as violence in the country’s east continues to drive families from their homes and across borders.

“Many have been forced to flee their country – especially to Burundi – due to violence, and they are facing a serious humanitarian crisis,” the pope said after praying the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Jan. 18. “Let us pray that dialogue for reconciliation and peace may always prevail among the parties in conflict.”

Leo also assured those affected by severe flooding in southern Africa of his prayers.

The pope also marked the start of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

“During these days, I invite all Catholic communities to deepen their prayers for the full, visible unity of all Christians,” Leo said, recalling that “the origins of this initiative date back two centuries,” and noting that Pope Leo XIII “greatly encouraged it.”

The theme for this year’s observance is drawn from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” (4:4). The prayers and reflections, the pope said, were prepared by “an ecumenical group coordinated by the Armenian Apostolic Church’s Department of Interchurch Relations.”

In his reflection before praying the Angelus, Leo connected the call to peace and unity with a warning against what he described as a culture of appearances, urging the faithful to follow the example of St. John the Baptist, who stepped aside once he had pointed others to Christ.

The day’s Gospel reading (Jn 1:29-34), the pope noted, shows John identifying Jesus as the Messiah: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29). John’s humility remains a needed witness, Leo said, because “approval, consensus and visibility are often given excessive importance, to the point of shaping people’s ideas, behaviors and even their inner lives.”

“This causes suffering and division, and gives rise to lifestyles and relationships that are fragile, disappointing and imprisoning,” the pope said.

Instead of chasing what he called “substitutes for happiness,” Leo said Christians should remember that “our joy and greatness are not founded on passing illusions of success or fame, but on knowing ourselves to be loved and wanted by our heavenly Father.”

Leo emphasized that God’s love is not about spectacle but about closeness and compassion: “The love of which Jesus speaks is the love of a God who even today comes among us, not to dazzle us with spectacular displays, but to share in our struggles and to take our burdens upon himself.”

He concluded by urging believers to resist distractions and cultivate prayer and simplicity: “Let us not waste our time and energies chasing after appearances,” he said, encouraging Catholics to make time each day, when possible, for silence and prayer — “to withdraw into the desert,” in order to meet the Lord.

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

Virginia bishops condemn proposed abortion amendment: ‘We will fight’
Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Jan 18, 2026 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Virginia Catholic bishops on Friday spoke out against an abortion amendment that would remove state protections for unborn children, calling the measure “extreme.”

The Virginia General Assembly passed a proposed amendment that would add a fundamental right to abortion to Virginia’s constitution, if voters approve it this November.

The proposed abortion amendment would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one’s own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.”

Bishops Michael Burbidge of Arlington and Barry Knestout of Richmond called the move “shocking to the conscience,” noting that lawmakers quickly moved the proposed amendment through both chambers in the early days of its 60-day session.

“The extreme abortion amendment, which will proceed to a referendum for voters to decide later this year, would go far beyond even what Roe v. Wade previously allowed,” the bishops said in the Jan. 16 statement. “It would enshrine virtually unlimited abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no age restriction.”

The bishops cautioned that the amendment would “severely jeopardize Virginia’s parental consent law, health and safety standards for women, conscience protections for health care providers, and restrictions on taxpayer-funded abortions.”

“Most tragically of all, the extreme abortion amendment provides no protections whatsoever for preborn children,” the bishops continued.

“Most importantly, human life is sacred,” the bishops said. “The lives of vulnerable mothers and their preborn children must always be welcomed, cared for, and protected.”

“Parental rights and the health and well-being of minors must be defended,” the bishops said. “So too must religious liberty. No one should ever be forced to pay for or participate in an abortion. Health and safety should be enhanced, not diminished.”

In addition, the bishops urged Virginia voters to oppose a measure that would repeal a 2006 provision defining marriage as between one man and one woman. The bishops also expressed support for a measure that would restore voting rights to those who have completed prison sentences.

“We will be deeply engaged in the work of helping to educate voters on these proposed amendments and will fight the extreme abortion amendment with maximum determination,” the bishops concluded.

The joint statement followed a statement by Burbidge, who on Jan. 15 urged Catholics to “to pray, fast, and advocate for the cause of life” amid the “looming threat” of the abortion amendment.

“Prayer opens our hearts to God’s wisdom and strengthens us to act with courage and charity,” Burbidge wrote. “Fasting makes reparation for sin and reminds us that true freedom is found not in self-indulgence but in self-gift. Advocacy allows us to bring our convictions into the public square with respect, clarity, and perseverance.”

“Our response as Catholics — and as citizens committed to justice — must be rooted in faith, truth, and love,” he continued.

Burbidge also reminded Catholics of the mercy of the Church. 

“It is essential to reaffirm a truth that lies at the very center of the Church’s pro-life mission: The Church is a loving mother,” Burbidge continued. “To any man or woman who carries the pain, regret, or sorrow of participation in abortion, know this clearly — you are not alone, and God awaits you with love and mercy. The Church desires to walk with you on a journey of healing and hope.”

“May we together pray fervently, act courageously, and serve generously,” Burbidge said. “May our witness help build a culture in Virginia — and beyond — that recognizes every human life as sacred, every person as beloved, and every moment as an opportunity to choose life.”

Over 40 parishioners in South Africa archdiocese face excommunication after disruptive protests
Sun, 18 Jan 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Jan 18, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Archbishop Dabula Mpako of South Africa’s Catholic Archdiocese of Pretoria has issued a canonical decree requiring a group of parishioners who reportedly incited a series of protests at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in the archdiocese to undergo a “rehabilitative process” or be penalized — including the possibility of excommunication.

In the decree circulated on Jan. 11, Mpako described the events of December 2025 in which some parishioners of the cathedral are said to have organized demonstrations, inciting other parishioners to participate in them. He said that they disrupted Mass to protest a pastoral decision that was made by the bishop concerning “a pastor of the archdiocese.”

The actions of Dec. 7 and Dec. 28, Mpako said, “seriously harmed ecclesial communion and the good name of the Church” as well as the freedom of the archbishop in the legitimate exercise of his pastoral office.

He said that penalties will include possible excommunication that “is reserved for those who, after due warning, persist in the schismatic behavior of inciting revolt against the lawful authority of the bishop.”

Parishioner protests

On Dec. 7, a group of approximately 42 parishioners are said to have unlawfully assembled in front of the cathedral and conducted a public protest “denouncing the diocesan bishop for a legitimate pastoral decision concerning the pastor.”

The group is said to have made false and defamatory public assertions regarding the reasons for the bishop’s decision and to have incited opposition, resistance, and hostility against the bishop.

Mpako said the protesters caused public scandal and disturbance to the ecclesial order. He claimed that prior to the Dec. 7 event, the same group “instrumentalized” the celebration of Mass by engaging in coordinated protest actions during the sacred liturgy, thereby gravely violating the sanctity of divine worship and the reverence owed to the Eucharistic celebration.

Afterward, the individuals are said to have disseminated photographs and videos of the demonstration through social media platforms, further propagating false accusations and aggravating scandal among the faithful.

The same group reportedly wrote and sent letters of appeal to certain Church authorities based on what the bishop claims are false and defamatory public assertions regarding his decision.

The parishioners are said to have encouraged others to attach their digital signatures to the allegations.

On Dec. 28, a smaller number of the same individuals reportedly staged another protest at the conclusion of Pretoria’s jubilee year celebration.

Mpako said these actions seriously harmed the reverence owed to sacred worship and that in their conduct, the parishioners violated 11 canon laws, including failure to preserve communion with the Church.

He said the parishioners also violated the law that speaks about “illegitimate and harmful expression of opinions contrary to reverence toward pastors and the common good of the Church.”

Among the canonical penalties that may be given, the archbishop highlighted interdict, meaning that protesters may be barred from receiving the sacraments and sacramentals, and from participating in liturgical actions as ministers.

The other penalty falls under Penal Remedies and Penances, and includes public reprimand, withdrawal of permission to hold ecclesiastical office, and the imposition of pious or charitable works.

Other penalties include suspension from ecclesiastical offices, excommunication, as well as “just penalties for sacrilege” given the sacrilegious abuse of the Mass the parishioners reportedly may have committed.

The archbishop, however, proposed a corrective and rehabilitative process, saying that he desires “the conversion, reconciliation, and pastoral restoration of the offenders.”

The process he suggested includes a public retraction and apology requiring those responsible to retract the false accusations made publicly; remove scandalous content from social media; and issue an apology “in a manner determined by the diocesan authority.”

He also advised that for a determined time, participants in the protests may be barred from liturgical ministries, leadership roles, and public ecclesial functions. The parishioners are also to refrain from organizing or participating in public demonstrations related to ecclesiastical governance.

Mpako further directed mandatory participation in sessions on ecclesiology, the theology of episcopal authority, the nature of obedience and communion, as well as the sacredness of the liturgy.

As for “spiritual rehabilitation,” the archbishop said the protesters must engage in mandatory spiritual direction, acts of penance, and prayers for ecclesial unity, as assigned. “If any step is refused or neglected, the ordinary will proceed to impose canonical penalties as warranted.”

Further, he added: “This decree takes effect immediately upon notification and is to be communicated to the individuals concerned in the most expedient manner.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa.

How one woman’s unexpected pregnancy launched a pro-life group helping women in need
Sun, 18 Jan 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Jan 18, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Amy Ford was 19 years old when she found herself with an unplanned pregnancy. Scared and thinking her life and dreams were over, she attempted to get an abortion but was unable to go through with it.

Ford and the baby’s father turned to their church for support and received none. The experience led her to create Embrace Grace, a nonprofit that provides support and community through local churches for pregnant mothers in need.

The story behind the ministry

Ford told EWTN News that she thought “my life was over, my dreams were over, that my parents were going to hate me.” She said she thought she would end up homeless.

“The father of the baby felt the same way and we just thought we could have an abortion and maybe that’s a quick fix and we’ll just deal with the consequences of a broken heart later. And even though we grew up knowing abortion was wrong, we just kind of went into this mode of trying not to feel anything,” Ford recalled.

So, she went to an abortion clinic. As the nurses explained what they were going to do during the procedure, Ford began to hyperventilate and passed out. She was told she was “too emotionally distraught” to make a decision and that she could go back to the abortion clinic another day.

As she walked into the waiting room, she told the baby’s father that she was still pregnant. At that moment, the two decided they would keep the child. The high school sweethearts knew they wanted to get married one day; they just didn’t expect to have a child before marriage.

The two went to an evangelical pastor whom they knew personally to ask him if he could marry them.

“He said, ‘No, I’m sorry, because you sinned I will not bless this marriage,’” Ford shared.

The couple found another pastor to marry them and got married when Ford was 16 weeks pregnant. They tried going back to their church after that but it was “the elephant in the room” — others changed how they interacted with them and they decided to stop attending church for a period of time.

Ford and her husband welcomed their son — who is now 27 years old and also works in the pro-life movement — and have been married for 27 years, welcoming three more children after their firstborn.

Helping women

Looking back at her experience, Ford felt called to help women who found themselves in these situations, not sure where to go, and weren’t aware of the resources available to them. So she started a small group at her church for women who were experiencing an unexpected pregnancy.

Ford admitted that back then she didn’t know what a pregnancy center was or what the pro-life movement was.

“If someone would have said, ‘I work in the pro-life movement,’ I would have assumed that meant picketing because that’s the only thing the media shows,” she admitted. “I didn’t know what a pregnancy center was even when I started Embrace Grace, the group. I didn’t know anything about it. So, I never thought, ‘I’m starting a pro-life group.’ That wasn’t even on my mind. I just wanted to start a small group for women that have unexpected pregnancies.”

In 2008 Ford hosted her first group, which was made up of three women who met at a local church in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. After meeting for 12 weeks as a group, “they didn’t even seem like the same person by the end of it,” Ford recalled.

“They had completely transformed. They were empowered as women to be the moms that God created them to be.”

After the first group, Ford held another Embrace Grace session, and another and another. With each passing session, more and more young women were attending and slowly more and more churches were getting involved.

Today, Embrace Grace is in over 1,200 churches across the country — mostly in evangelical, Baptist, and Catholic churches.

A woman who joins an Embrace Grace group goes through a 12-week curriculum that aims to help her experience healing and remind her of who God made her to be as a daughter of God and a mother. Additionally, the church hosting the group throws each woman a baby shower.

Embrace Grace also has two other programs: Embrace Life and Embrace Legacy.

Embrace Life is a 20-week program that teaches the women more practical skills in terms of parenting, the newborn phase and postpartum, how to manage finances, and more. Embrace Legacy is a 12-week program aimed at new or single fathers.

Ford hopes that Embrace Grace serves as a tool of “courage and the bridge to get them actually going to church and raising their kids in the church and being a part of a spiritual family.”

The nondenominational nonprofit also works in partnership with local pregnancy centers that are within a 30-mile radius of a church that hosts an Embrace Grace group by giving them what they call “Love Boxes” to give women who find out they are pregnant and are seeking support. The Love Box contains a onesie with the words “Best Gift Ever,” a book called “A Bump in Life” — which contains 20 testimonies from women who chose life — a journal, a handwritten letter encouraging a new mother, and an invitation to join the local Embrace Grace group.

“Because most pregnancy centers have sonogram machines, that means they’re medical, which means they have HIPAA laws that they have to abide by. So, they can’t just give the church the girl’s name,” Ford explained. “So these Love Boxes are kind of a way, another touch, for the mom to find out more … and that there’s a church that wants to walk alongside you.”

Embrace Grace recently reached a milestone by giving out 150,000 Love Boxes since its launch in 2018.

Looking ahead, Ford’s goal is to be in 23,400 churches. If that number sounds specific, that’s because it is. By using different tools, Ford and her team concluded that if they want every woman who finds herself in an unplanned pregnancy to be able to turn to a church for support, Embrace Grace needs to be in “23,400 churches strategically placed around the United States … so that no mom would ever have to walk alone.”

“We are just putting it out there, trying to partner with as many churches as possible, so that we can make that happen,” she said. “That is our big dream. That that’s what the world would look like — that no mom would have to walk alone and that she would have a church to turn to in her local area.”

“I believe in leading Embrace Grace, we have front-row seats to miracles.”

From Baptist pastor to Catholic priest: A unique journey to priesthood
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

Jan 17, 2026 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Father Travis Moger has been a Catholic priest for just nine months, and his journey to ordination was a unique one. A former Baptist pastor and Navy chaplain, he was ordained in May 2025 in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, seven years after he, his wife, and his son entered the Catholic Church.

“I didn’t come into the Church in order to be a priest; God used prayer to draw me to the Catholic Church,” Moger told EWTN News reporter Julia Convery.

During a military campaign as a Navy chaplain, Moger; his wife, Amelia; and his son, Mark, all separately began to feel the call toward Catholicism. While Moger was away, his wife had begun attending RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, which is now called OCIA — the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults).

Father Thomas Falkenthal, Moger’s former Navy chaplain supervisor, witnessed the seeds being planted in Moger’s heart.

“He was connecting with the liturgy. The Catholic Mass was certainly far from his tradition. I could tell it was touching him,” Falkenthal shared with Convery.

“He didn’t realize it, but all the way back home in the United States his wife, Amelia, was going to RCIA and preparing to join the Catholic Church. So when he came home from that deployment, they both had something to share with each other. Now I think that’s an amazing movement of the Spirit to keep that couple so close," Falkenthal said.

“It was definitely a God thing definitely to draw her towards the Catholic Church,” Moger added.

After a five-year journey of study and conversion, Moger, his wife, and his son were received into the Catholic Church on Easter Sunday 2018.

“I entered the Church not knowing if there would be a path to the priesthood for me,” Moger shared.

Bishop Mark Brennan of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston explained that Pope Francis eventually granted Moger a dispensation from the usual requirement of celibacy for the Catholic priesthood, allowing him to be ordained a priest.

The bishop also pointed out that he believes having a desire for a family is a trait that makes a good priest.

“When I was a vocations director, I always looked for would this man make a good husband and father? If he would, then he’d probably make a good priest,” Brennan said.

Moger also highlighted this trait as one that allows him to have a unique perspective into his now-spiritual fatherhood.

“There’s something about being able to bring a child into the world and then nurture them and you’re fully invested in another person. And I think that experience does inform the way you look at spiritual fatherhood and the way you look at God’s fatherhood,” Moger said.

Moger’s son, Mark, told EWTN News that his father’s newly found spiritual fatherhood has brought a “deeper spirituality” into their family.

Maddy Cordle, Moger’s daughter, added: “I’ve had the privilege of watching his conversion from the beginning — same with my mom and my brother —and I just got to watch how it brought them so much closer to each other in their marriage, together as a family, but also really, really strengthened their relationship with God.”

“To him there’s nothing more important than the impoverished and the cast aside. That’s his charism and you’ll see it throughout his ministry,” Mark added.

Despite his unconventional journey to the priesthood, Moger sees it as the result of saying “yes” to God.

“God honors it when we start moving in the direction that he’s leading us, trusting that he’s going to work it out,” he said.

Former U.S. ambassador to Holy See weighs in on Vatican diplomacy in Venezuela, U.S.
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 10:00:00 -0500

Jan 17, 2026 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Francis Rooney, former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, said Pope Leo XIV’s papacy marks a period of opportunity for the Church in the U.S. in an interview this week with “EWTN News In Depth.”

The former diplomat and congressman highlighted Leo’s measured approach to diplomacy in light of U.S. involvement in Venezuela. “He’s always calm, he’s always careful, and he’s very judicious in his comments," Rooney said in a report that aired Jan. 16.

“The Holy See has a long tradition of intervening in hostage situations and situations of marginalized people or people under great stress and change, like a regime change,” Rooney said.

The Vatican’s move to host opposition leader María Corina Machado this week, he said, likely had diplomatic intentions to strengthen her standing.

“I think it’s predictable that [Pope Leo XIV] would want to shore up her position on the international stage as well as he can,” Rooney said. “So a pre-Trump meeting with the Holy Father is a global expression of her importance right now.”

Reacting to a speech by Pope Leo to diplomats at the Vatican, during which the Holy Father lamented that “peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good,” Rooney pointed out that while Leo does not do so in the same manner as Pope Francis, “he speaks very clearly and says a lot of the same things.”

“[Leo’s] willing to call out bad activities by world leaders. He’s willing to call out the actions of Trump undermining the post-World War II order and creating potential consequences of bad actions by other people like North Korea, Russia, China,” he said, adding: “He’s not at all like Pope Francis. He’s calm, deliberate.”

Rooney served as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 to 2008. He was a Republican member of the U.S. House from Florida from 2017 to 2021.

“The Church has a love-hate relationship with the United States. They resent our power, but they love our money, and they love our number of Catholics in the United States,” he said. “So this is an opportunity for Pope Leo to close that gap, earn more respect for the United States for the important role it plays in the Church, and also in Latin America.”

U.S. President Donald Trump met with Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, on Jan. 12. Rooney, whose congressional Florida district included Fort Myers and Naples, speculated the closed meeting likely revolved around immigration.

“We have Alligator Alcatraz down here near where we live, and a lot of migrants are being kicked out of the country who have no criminal record,” Rooney said. “I think most Americans would agree that we need workers. If theyve been living here a long time, some of their kids have gone to school with our kids, they should be able to stay and have an orderly rational plan for citizenship like President George W. Bush tried to accomplish but didn’t get it done.”

“On the other hand, if they’re criminals, they should go. I don’t think anybody would argue that we shouldn’t police the border and have a strong border,” he said, concluding that Coakley and the president likely “spoke about that a great deal.”

U.S. bishops say multimillion-dollar Eucharistic revival bore spiritual fruit
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Jan 17, 2026 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Catholic clergy and lay people reported a stronger devotion to the Eucharist after the National Eucharistic Revival.

This week, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released the report for the National Eucharistic Revival Impact Study. Done in collaboration with the National Eucharistic Congress corporation and Vinea Research, the study surveyed nearly 2,500 lay Catholics, clergy, and Church staff during the summer and fall of 2025.

The online survey asked questions about revival promotion, participation, and impact one year after the initial National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress. The price tag of the Eucharistic congress was more than $10 million, organizers said.

“Never in my tenure of working for the Church have I seen such deep impact,” said Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress, in a press release. “The fruits of the National Eucharistic Revival are real, lasting, and will continue to shape the life of the American Church for years to come.”

The revival, sponsored by the USCCB, launched in June 2022 with the mission to “renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the holy Eucharist.”

The three-year initiative, which concluded in 2025, included the 10th National Eucharistic Congress and the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in 2024 and 2025.

In a Jan. 16 interview on “EWTN News In Depth,” Bishop Andrew Cozzens, chair of the National Eucharistic Congress, said he was “extremely heartened” by the results of the study.

“I had a sense that the revival had a big impact on people and especially on our Church,” he said. “But it was great to see that confirmed by the data and to see some of the actual statistics.”

Impact on clergy members

Of 249 clergy members of priests and deacons surveyed, 49% reported feeling “more encouraged’ since the revival began. Specifically, 38% said they feel “somewhat more encouraged” and 11% said they feel “significantly more encouraged.”

Nearly half, 48%, said they feel “more comfortable encouraging others to share their faith.”

The research found the revival “refocused clergy on the Eucharist,” with the majority reporting changes to their pastoral approach since 2021. The report found that 70% of clergy reported a stronger “focus on the Eucharist in teaching [and] ministry,” and 69% said they have a stronger “emphasis on evangelization and outreach.”

Clergy also reported personal advancements with their relationship with the Eucharist. More than half (51%) said their “time spent in personal adoration” is stronger now than it was in 2021.

“I was so grateful when I saw that priests found it encouraging. They were encouraged by this opportunity to focus on the Eucharist,” Cozzens said. “I know so much more preaching and encouragement about Eucharistic devotion happened in our parishes during this time.”

“If our priests are encouraged and they’re drawing closer to Jesus in the Eucharist, that’s going to help our people so much, and it’s going to help our Church so much,” he said.

Impact on lay Catholics

Among 1,758 of the lay Catholics surveyed, 874 were labeled as “national participants” who attended the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, National Eucharistic Congress, or both.

“We wanted Catholics to come together and to experience more deeply a profound love for Jesus in the Eucharist, and then from that, to be sent out on mission,” Cozzens said. The study “showed that anyone who attended one of our National Eucharistic Pilgrimages or National Eucharistic Congress said they were 50% more likely to do outreach, to share their faith, to do some act of service.”

“I think the thing that most stood out to me is that we accomplished our goal,” he said. “Our goal was really to bring about a missionary conversion of Catholics.”

Another 425 of lay Catholics were “local participants” who took part in local processions, small groups, and revival-specific Holy Hours. Most (83%) of the laypeople surveyed who participated at the national or local level said their “overall level of faith” is stronger now than it was in 2021.

The other 459 laypeople surveyed were “nonparticipating contacts” who did not participate in any revival activities. Most came from the USCCB’s newsletter distribution list and they were aware of the revival but not involved. Even though they did not directly participate, 79% reported their “overall level of faith” was stronger following the revival.

When asked to compare their faith practices with those in 2021, lay Catholics overwhelmingly reported praying more, attending adoration more frequently, and going to confession more often.

The research took a deeper look at how lay Catholics’ faith evolved, examining the changes in the level of “importance” of faith-related activities over the last three years. The greatest growth in importance was observed in volunteering and spending time in Eucharistic adoration.

In 2021, 57% of lay national participants reported “spending quiet time in Eucharistic adoration” was “very important” or “extremely important” to them. Following the revival, the number had jumped to 76%. There was also an increase for local participants with a rise from 65% to 82%. Among those who did not directly participate, there was the largest increase from 49% to 69%.

Continuing to spread the ‘fire’

The bishops have confirmed that the country’s second National Eucharistic Congress of the 21st century will take place in 2029.

“As we continue to strengthen the core of our faith and those people who are committed, and they begin to draw closer to Jesus from Eucharist, what the study showed is that they get on fire, and then they start to spread that fire,” he said.

“It’s the way Jesus worked himself. Jesus certainly did preach to crowds, but most of the time he spent with his 12 apostles and with those people who were with him. Because if he could convert and strengthen them, then they could go out and convert the world,” he said.

“I think that’s really the goal of the whole Eucharistic movement that we have now is strengthening those people so that they can become the witnesses that we’re called to be,” he said.

Abortions hit record high in England and Wales
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 08:16:00 -0500

Jan 17, 2026 / 08:16 am (CNA).

Abortions in England and Wales hit a record high as use of the abortion pill continues to rise.

The number of abortions jumped 11% from 2022 to 2023, going from 250,000 to 270,000 according to figures from the Department of Health.

Almost 90% of these abortions were done via abortion pills, and most were performed on very young unborn children, usually aged two to nine weeks. Surgical abortions have been decreasing for the past two decades, according to the Department of Health

The abortion rate is estimated to be at 12.3 per 1,000 women in 2023, almost doubling the 2013 rate, which was 7.1 per 1,000 women. About 40% of women who had abortions in 2023 in England and Wales had already had an abortion in the past.

Pregnancy support line takes 1.3 million calls in 2025

Heartbeat International’s pregnancy support helpline broke records with 1.3 million calls in 2025, according to a recent report by the group.

The Option Line tripled the number of calls it received in 2025 --- calls which, more than 90% of the time, come from men and women who are at risk for abortion, according to the organization.

Via its High Risk Response Network, Option Line helps connect those in need to local pregnancy help centers for prompt telecare consultations, as well as in-person visits. According to Heartbeat International, 9 out of ten callers show up for virtual consultation appointments, and three in four callers show up for pregnancy help appointments after they call.

Gov. Newsom rejects abortionist extradition request

California Gov. Gavin Newsom refused to extradite a California abortionist who allegedly provided abortion pills to a man who coerced his girlfriend into having an abortion.

Newsom on Wednesday rejected Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s indictment for abortionist Remy Coeytaux, who was charged with criminal abortion in Louisiana after Rosalie Markezich’s boyfriend allegedly ordered abortion pills from him and forced her to take them. Newsom said in a statement that he would “never be complicit with Trump’s war on women.” 

South Carolina lawmakers introduce bill to ban coerced abortion 

South Carolina lawmakers introduced several pro-life bills at the start of this year’s legislative session, including a bill to protect women from coerced abortions. 

The bill would make it a crime to coerce a woman into having an abortion, with penalties up to one year in prison and $5,000 in fines, or higher if she is a minor or if the perpetrator is the father of the child.

This bill was among several other newly-introduced pro-life bills, including a bill to protect unborn children after conception. The Life Begins at Conception Act, sponsored by Sen Matt. Leber (R-District 41), would protect unborn children after conception unless they were conceived by rape or incest. Legislators also introduced a bill that would ban chemical abortion pills.

Lawmakers also introduced a bill to classify abortion drugs as a controlled substance. This bill, if passed, would make possession without a prescription a felony, while exempting pregnant women from prosecution.

Another bill would make it a felony to pay for or reimburse the cost of an abortion for a South Carolina resident and would criminalize donating to organizations who fund women crossing state lines for abortions. Another bill would permanently bar abortion clinics from receiving Medicaid funds for any services, codifying a 2017 executive order. 

‘We only want treatment’: Catholics caught in Bangladesh-India visa crisis
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Jan 17, 2026 / 08:00 am (CNA).

For decades, India was the most affordable and trusted destination for Bangladeshis seeking medical treatment abroad. Among them were thousands of Catholics who relied on Indian hospitals — many run by Christian institutions — for lifesaving care. But following political unrest in Bangladesh in July–August 2024 and the subsequent strain in relations with New Delhi, tightened Indian visa policies have sharply reduced access, leaving Catholic patients and families struggling both medically and emotionally.

An average of 3.6 million Bangladeshis used to travel to India annually for tourism, medical treatment, and business. Since Aug. 5, 2024, however, the number of Bangladeshi travelers — especially medical patients — has dropped dramatically, largely due to stricter visa procedures.

“I wanted to go to India for treatment of my heart disease, but I did not get a medical visa,” said Mita Corraya, a Catholic from Dhaka. “My cousin recovered after receiving treatment at Christian Medical College Vellore. Sadly, I was not given a visa.”

Corraya told EWTN News that she is now receiving similar treatment in Dhaka, but at a much higher cost. “So far, my treatment has cost nearly 1 million taka [about $8,101]. If I had been able to go to India, it would have cost around 500,000 taka [about half],” she said.

Cancer patients among the most affected

The visa complications have hit cancer patients particularly hard. Rina Gomes, a Catholic from Tejgaon parish in Dhaka, said she has been unable to return to India for follow-up care for breast cancer.

“I went to India for treatment in May 2024,” Gomes said. “Now I cannot go back. The political relationship between India and Bangladesh has become worse, and ordinary people are suffering. This should be stopped.”

Bangladesh ranks 10th globally among countries whose citizens seek medical treatment abroad. According to health sector data, 51% of Bangladeshi patients travel to India, followed by Thailand and Singapore at 20% each. Smaller numbers go to the United Kingdom (3%), Japan and Malaysia (2%), and China and the United Arab Emirates (1%).

More than half of Bangladeshi patients traveling abroad go primarily for diagnosis and medical checkups. Among those seeking treatment, heart disease, kidney ailments, cancer, and cataract surgeries are the most common reasons.

‘People are suffering because of politics’

“Previously, many patients traveled to India on tourist visas and consulted doctors,” said Dr. Edward Pallab Rozario, a Catholic Bangladeshi family medicine specialist and certified diabetologist as well as a children, skin, VD, sex, and burn physician. “Now they must apply for medical visas. About 80% receive approval, but 20% do not.”

Rosario explained that Indian hospitals remain popular because of their affordability and patient-centered approach. “Patients tell us Indian doctors spend time with them and listen carefully. The cost is also lower. That is why people still want to go, despite the difficulties.”

Beyond medical care, visa restrictions have strained family relationships within Bangladesh’s small Catholic community, which has long-standing cross-border ties with India.

A Telugu Catholic living in Dhaka, who requested anonymity, told EWTN News that members of his family live in Andhra Pradesh. “One of my sisters married there, and two studied there. We used to visit once a year, but now we cannot get tourist visas.”

“My mother has become ill because she has not seen her daughters for more than a year,” he said.

He also described the distressing case of a Christian student who failed to obtain a visa extension in India and attempted to cross the border irregularly. The student was arrested and jailed by Indian authorities. “Community leaders are working for his release,” he said.

He urged both governments to improve relations. “People are suffering because of politics. This should not happen.”

Trade tensions deepen uncertainty

The strain in bilateral relations has extended beyond visas into trade, further impacting livelihoods in Bangladesh.

Following political changes on Aug. 5, 2024, India imposed trade restrictions. On April 8, it canceled transshipment facilities that allowed Bangladesh to export goods to third countries via Indian airports. India later imposed phased restrictions on Bangladeshi exports through land ports, affecting garments, processed food, jute products, cotton-yarn waste, plastic goods, and wooden furniture.

Bangladesh responded by halting yarn imports from India through land ports on April 15.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh exported goods worth $760 million to India during the first five months of the current fiscal year (July–November), compared with $810 million in the same period last year — a decline of 6.68%.

Exports of processed food products dropped by 13%, while jute and jute products fell by 37%.

‘Economics should not be mixed with politics’

Economists warn that continued restrictions could further weaken Bangladesh’s export capacity.

Khandaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), told EWTN News that Bangladesh has limited export markets, making India strategically important.

“Even after Bangladesh restricted yarn imports, imports from India increased,” he said. “But after India imposed restrictions, Bangladeshi exports declined. Economics should not always be mixed with political issues.”

Kamruzzaman Kamal, director of marketing at PRAN-RFL Group, Bangladesh’s largest processed food exporter, said rising logistics costs have reduced profitability. “There are additional costs at land ports, and many products are no longer viable,” he told EWTN News. “We want initiatives to strengthen bilateral relations and reopen land ports.”

Hope for dialogue

Despite the current strain, business leaders in India have described the trade crisis as temporary. Economists on both sides argue that dialogue is essential — not only to revive trade but also to reduce the human cost borne by patients and families.

For Bangladesh’s Catholic minority, the crisis is deeply personal.

“We do not want conflict,” Corraya said quietly. “We only want treatment, dignity, and the chance to live.”

As war and division spread, Europe’s churches renew call for prayer and unity
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Jan 17, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) issued an appeal to Christians across Europe to pray for peace during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed Jan. 18–25.

In a letter addressed to Catholic bishops across the continent, Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius linked this call to prayer with the recent updating of the Charta Oecumenica, the key ecumenical charter for cooperation and unity among Christian churches in Europe, formally signed in Rome on Nov. 5, 2025.

The Lithuanian prelate said that “this unity among the baptized in Christ is a powerful instrument of peace throughout the world,” especially in a “war-torn world.”

What is the Charta Oecumenica?

The Charta Oecumenica was first adopted in 2001 as a roadmap for deeper cooperation among Christian communities in Europe. The 2025 revision, concluded after a three-year process led by a joint working group of the CCEE and the Conference of European Churches (CEC), reflects modern European realities concerning migration and secularization to rising societal prejudices.

The CEC is a fellowship of Orthodox, Protestant, and Anglican churches from the nations of Europe.

The revised document encourages churches to broaden mutual understanding and to witness together the Gospel in a continent shaped by cultural diversity, secular pressures, and geopolitical tensions.

Grušas’ appeal touches upon recent remarks by Pope Leo XIV during his audience with Christian leaders following the Charta’s signing. The pope observed that Christians today “often feel increasingly like a minority” in some contexts and urged greater fraternity and openness “amid the clamor of violence and war, whose echoes resound throughout the continent.” His message highlighted the urgency of ecumenical cooperation not as an abstract ideal but as a witness to peace and reconciliation.

For Grušas, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is not only about cohesion among churches but also about fostering peace “among all parties in conflict with one another.”

He invited the faithful to entrust this shared intention to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Europe, and the patron saints of Europe, highlighting prayer as the foundation for spiritual and societal transformation.

Mercy as a practical response to conflict

The archbishop’s announcement comes at a significant moment for the Church in Europe. His archdiocese is preparing to host the sixth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM 6) from June 7–12, an international Catholic gathering focused on the theme “Building a City of Mercy.”

The congress, drawing thousands of faithful, clergy, and laypeople from around the globe, aims to deepen understanding of divine mercy and its role in addressing the spiritual and humanitarian needs of the modern world. It encourages Catholics to become “builders of a culture of mercy” in their families, communities, and societies.

CUA professor launches AI marketplace in line with Catholic social teaching
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 06:00:00 -0500

Jan 17, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

An artificial intelligence (AI) marketplace launched by a business professor at The Catholic University of America seeks to offer products and services in a venue consistent with the social teachings of the Catholic Church — it is called Almma AI.

Lucas Wall, who teaches finance at the university and has led several entrepreneurial ventures, began building Almma AI in mid-2023. The marketplace facilitates transactions for AI-related products, allowing people to upload their creations to be purchased or, in some cases, used for no charge.

The types of products that can be offered on the marketplace include Large Language Models (LLMs) — similar to ChatGPT and Grok — along with AI prompts, personas, assistants, agents, and plugins.

Although other marketplaces exist, Wall told EWTN News that Almma AI is designed to ensure the average person can “benefit from this new revolution that is coming” by selling or purchasing products in the marketplace.

“With most technological revolutions and changes, there are only a handful of people who make fortunes,” Wall said.

Almma’s mission statement is “AI profits for all,” and Wall said it is meant to “help people monetize their knowledge.” He said the marketplace can “build bridges across cultures” because people anywhere can access it, and “allows people to make solutions for their neighbors or for their parishes.”

Almma does not exclusively offer Catholic-related products, but it does block the sale of anything that is immoral or could provoke sin, which Wall said was another major contrast with other AI marketplaces.

“I want to be part of the group of people who help innovation meet morality,” he said.

Among the examples of problems within larger AI companies, he noted, are the development of artificial romantic chatbots and the creation of erotica and artificial pornographic images and videos. He also expressed concern about AI consultation in end-of-life care.

“I refuse to believe we don’t have enough imagination as a Catholic community and the courage to build something better,” Wall said.

AI and Catholic social teaching

Wall said the development of Almma AI was “responding to the call of Pope Francis that he very clearly outlined in [the 2025 doctrinal note] Antiqua et Nova” and also took inspiration from Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum.

In Antiqua et Nova, the Vatican holds that the development of AI should spur us to “a renewed appreciation of all that is human.” It teaches that AI should be used to serve the common good, promote human development, and not simply be used for individual or corporate gain.

That note builds on the framework provided in Rerum Novarum, which expressed Catholic social teaching in the wake of the industrial revolution. At the time, Pope Leo XIII emphasized a need to seek the common good and safeguard the dignity of work when many laborers faced poor working conditions.

“Wages ought not to be insufficient to support a frugal and well-behaved wage-earner,” Leo XIII writes. “... If a workman’s wages be sufficient to enable him comfortably to support himself, his wife, and his children, he will find it easy, if he be a sensible man, to practice thrift, and he will not fail, by cutting down expenses, to put by some little savings and thus secure a modest source of income.”

Wall said Almma AI follows those guidelines by “trying to help people earn a decent living and keeping their dignity.” He added: “If you want to monetize a skill, we have the tools for you.”

When the current pontiff Leo XIV chose the name “Leo,” he said he did so to honor Leo XIII, who “addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution.” He chose the name, in part, because AI developments pose “new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor,” Leo XIV explained.

Leo XIV has spoken at length about AI. This includes warnings about anti-human ideologies, the threat to human connections and interactions, and concern about the displacement of workers. However, he has also highlighted the potential benefits of AI if used to advance humanity and uphold the dignity of the human person.

Wall welcomed continued guidance from the Vatican, saying the Church has “moral foundations … beyond what anyone in secular society can point at.” He expressed hope that Leo XIV will author a document similar to Rerum Novarum that addresses the changes AI is bringing about to the global economy

“I pray daily for it,” Wall said.