Catholic News
- Jerusalem Patriarch sees ceasefire as necessary first step (Vatican News)
A ceasefire in Gaza is “the necessary turning point,” but lasting peace remains a distant goal, says the Latin Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem. ”This is only the first step,” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. “Peace will take much longer to achieve because the end of the war is not the end of the conflict.” Nevertheless the cardinal welcomed the ceasefire, noting that it provides an opportunity for delivering much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, where the residents are now completely without resources and rely entirely on relief efforts. Cardinal Pizzaballa also questioned why leaders of the opposing forces had taken so long to agree to a ceasefire, prolonging the fighting with its toll of death and destruction. He observed that “the agreement was more or less the same discussion that was had months ago.” - Retired bishop decries 'vigilante approach' to immigration (Crux)
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has cautioned against what he calls a “vigilante approach” to illegal immigration, denouncing the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations. The retired Bishop of Brooklyn also criticized the Laken Riley Act, which calls for the immediate deportation of illegal immigrants charged with crimes He said the overall Trump plan is “a vigilante approach to a mythical problem that these people are hurting us.” Bishop DiMarzio recalled the crackdown on illegal immigration in the 1970s, saying that it caused massive disruption of the community and unnecessary dangers. The bishop was once the executive director of the US bishops’ office for migration, later chaired the USCCB committee ono migration, and in 2000 was named to the Pontifical Council for Migrants. - Pope upholds Argentine saint as model for future priests (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis received seminarians from the Argentine Priests’ College in Rome on January 16 and upheld an Argentine saint, St. Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero (1840-1914), as a model for their priesthood. The Pope recalled that it was said of the saint that “Brochero could be none other than a priest.” The Pontiff commented, “We must firmly assume this priestly identity, realize that our vocation is not an addendum, a means to other ends ... Absolutely not. Vocation is God’s plan for our life, what God sees in us.” The Pope also spoke of the saint’s love for the Eucharist and his sense of priestly fraternity. The Pope explained: First of all, with the bishop, of whom he considers himself a simple soldier, in order to emulate the feats of the heroes, fighting alongside him, side by side, to the last cartridge. And with his brother priests, he wants to share everything he has, he invites them to correct him with confidence and he does so for them with frankness, asking them to lead a life of deep piety, with frequent confession. - Cost of US sex-abuse scandal tops $5 billion (Crux)
The latest study of the clerical sex-abuse crisis in the US has found that American dioceses and religious orders have paid more than $5 billion to resolve abuse cases. The study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), covering abuse charges that have been filed in the past 20 years, puts the overall cost of the scandal a just over $5 billion, including legal fees. The study finds that the number of sex-abuse complaints has dropped, with only 3% of the cases involving incidents that occurred after 2000. More than 90% of the cases covered in the study dated back to before 1989; in many such cases the alleged perpetrator was already deceased. The CARA study confirmed that 80% of the abuse complaints involved male victims, with a vast majority (80%) involving adolescent or teenage boys. - USCCB committee chairman issues statement for Religious Freedom Day (USCCB)
Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, the chairman of the US bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, issued a statement for Religious Freedom Day (January 16), which commemorates the anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. “As we look to 2025, we anticipate that long-standing concerns will continue to require our vigilance, while new concerns, and perhaps opportunities, will also present themselves,” Bishop Rhoades wrote. “Political leaders of countries may change, and public policy priorities may shift amidst various contemporary circumstances, but our patient and steadfast commitment to Jesus Christ and the Gospel must not change.” - Vatican City State puts AI guidelines in place (CNS)
The Vatican City State’s government has released AI guidelines that “highlight the importance of a balanced and mindful approach in regulating artificial intelligence” and that will inform future laws and regulations. “The key principle is that technological innovation cannot and should never overtake or replace human beings,” according to the new guidelines. “The aim is to make artificial intelligence a resource that, if properly regulated, will be able to foster well-being and progress, without compromising ethical and social principles.” Content that has been created with the assistance of AI must “be labeled with the acronym AI,” Catholic News Service reported. Judicial offices may use AI for “organization and simplification,” but never for judicial analysis and interpretation. - Pence, in Hong Kong, asks freedom for Jimmy Lai (Wall Street Journal)
Speaking at a conference of financiers in Hong Kong on January 16, former Vice President Mike Pence issued a strong call for the release of Jimmy Lai, the jailed Catholic human-rights activist. “There is probably no more compelling gesture in the short term to send a message of good will to the people of the United States, or the free world, than if China were to take steps to free Jimmy Lai,” Pence said. He made the remark in the same city where Lai is now facing trial on the latest of several questionable criminal charges. - Pope welcomes Albanian Muslim delegation, praises interreligious dialogue (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis welcomed an Albanian Muslim delegation and praised the relations between the Catholic Church and the Bektashi, a Sufi Islamic community there. “Whenever religious leaders come together in a spirit of mutual esteem and commit themselves to the culture of encounter through dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation, our hope for a better and more just world is renewed and confirmed,” the Pope said on January 16 to members of the delegation, led by Baba Mondi, the current Bektashi leader. “How much our world needs such hope!” “In these troubled times, all of us are called to reject the logic of violence and discord, in order to embrace the logic of encounter, friendship and collaboration in the pursuit of the common good,” he added. “Indeed, our religious convictions help us to embrace more clearly these fundamental values of our common humanity.” Baba Mondi and the Pope met during the Pontiff’s 2014 apostolic journey to Albania, and later during a 2016 audience at the Vatican. - French basilica vandalized (Rennes Info (French))
A French basilica has been vandalized twice in recent days. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good News, also known by its older name of St. Aubin’s, is located in Rennes, a city of 225,000 in Britanny, in northwestern France. The vandal, or vandals, shattered a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and overturned chairs. Later, a statue of the infant Jesus in an outdoor Nativity scene was beheaded. - Pope to Spanish seminarians: recognize signs of hope (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis met on January 17 with seminarians from Cordoba, Spain, and told them: “In the journey of life, we can identify hope as the signs that indicate the way to us.” During the Jubilee Year of Hope, the Pope suggested three such signs: “the direction: toward heaven;” the “dangers on the way;” and “the areas of refreshment” - M23 terrorizing North Kivu, missionary says (Aid to the Church in Need)
Father Marcelo Oliveira, a Portuguese Comboni missionary priest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reports that the rebels of the March 23 Movement, or M23, are terrorizing North Kivu (map), in the eastern part of the nation. “Many people are fleeing,” the missionary said. “Some of these communities have become ghost-villages, and people cannot get what they need.” M23 rebels, he added, “continue to massacre and torture the people who are going from place to place.” - Pope injured in household fall (AP)
Pope injured his arm in a household fall on January 16—the second such accident in recent weeks. The Vatican reported that the Pope’s right arm was badly bruised, but not broken. His arm was immobilized in a sling “as a precautionary measure.” Pope Francis fell in his apartment at the Santa Marta residence, the Vatican disclosed. He had suffered a similar fall on December 7, when he stumbled into a nightstand, resulting in a visible bruise on his jaw. The 88-year-old Pontiff regularly uses a walker at home. He moves around the Vatican in a wheelchair, due to the deteriorating condition of his knees. - UN agency leader meets with Pope, praises him for support of people in rural areas (@IFADPresident)
Pope Francis received Alvaro Laro, the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in a January 16 audience. “What an honor to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican today,” the UN agency leader tweeted. “It is particularly special to be meeting His Holiness during the Jubilee 2025. His strong support of the world’s rural people is invaluable to IFAD.” - Background: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 (CWN)
The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins on January 18. - God 'has become a nomad with the Gitano people,' Pope writes in message (Vatican Press Office)
In a message for the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the Gitano people in Spain, Pope Francis wrote that “God is a pilgrim in history with humanity and has become a nomad with the Gitano people.” The Pontiff asked the Gitanos (known elsewhere as Roma, Romani, or Gypsies) to walk with their bishops and to evangelize. “Now is the time to proclaim, with the strength of the Lord Jesus, the personal love of God who became man, who gave himself up for us, who is living and who offers us his salvation and his friendship,” the Pope wrote, as he recalled the example of Gitanos who have been beatified. - Cuban prisoner release a hopeful sign: Cardinal Parolin (CNA)
The Vatican’s Secretary of State said that Cuba’s decision to release over 500 prisoners at the start of the Jubilee Year is “a sign of great hope.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin added that the decision of US President Joe Biden to commute the death sentences of 37 convicted felons was a welcome response to the Jubilee. Regarding the Cuban prisoner release, he told a Vatican News interviews: “It is significant that Havana authorities linked this decision directly to Pope Francis’ appeal.” Cuba began releasing prisoners immediately after Biden announced he would change the American designation of Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism. - Holy Land bishops welcome ceasefire agreement (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land has issued a statement welcoming the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. “We hope that this ceasefire will mark an important end to the violence that has caused immeasurable suffering,” the bishops stated. “It is a necessary step to halt the destruction and meet the urgent humanitarian needs of countless families affected by the conflict.” The bishops also urged “political leaders and the international community to develop a clear and just political vision for the post-war period. A future built on dignity, security and freedom for all peoples is a prerequisite for true and lasting peace.” - 'The moral purpose of the economy is to support the flourishing of families,' bishops tell congressional leaders (USCCB)
Emphasizing that “the moral purpose of the economy is to support the flourishing of families,” the chairmen of five committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have weighed in on congressional negotiations on the federal budget. In a January 13 letter to congressional committee leaders, the bishops offered suggestions under ten headings: Protect human life and dignity Care for the poor Family formation and strengthening Progressivity of the tax code Adequate revenue for the sake of the common good Avoid cuts to poverty programs to finance tax reform Incentivize charitable giving and development Support parental choice in education Inclusion of immigrant and mixed-status families Energy and environment “We appreciate the competing priorities and difficult decisions you will have to contend with in the days ahead,” the bishops added. “We urge you to seek the common good, uplift those who are most vulnerable among us, and commit to authentic dialogue with one another.” - 1 in 7 Christians worldwide face high levels of persecution, discrimination (Open Doors International)
One in seven Christians worldwide face “very high or extreme levels” of persecution or discrimination, according to Open Doors International, which advocates on behalf of persecuted Christians. The organization estimates that 4,476 Christians were murdered on account of their faith in 2024, and 7,679 churches and other Christian properties were attacked. The ten nations with the highest levels of persecution, according to its World Watch List 2025, are North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. - Pope issues bonus to Vatican employees with large families (Katholisch)
Pope Francis has decided that lay Vatican employees with three or more children will receive a monthly bonus of €300, to be paid until the children are adults. The Pope also has decided to lengthen the paid leave that employees are given when a child is born: from three days to five. The allowances for children are a partial response to complaints from Vatican lay workers, who have said they are being asked to bear a disproportionate share of the Vatican’s cost-cutting efforts. - More...