Catholic News
- Pontiff closes holy door of St. Peter's Basilica, ending jubilee year (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV closed the holy door of St. Peter’s Basilica this morning, ending the ordinary jubilee year of 2025 (booklet, pp. 3-13; video, 7:12-24:17, especially 20:25). - Vatican, Italian officials take stock of jubilee year; 33.4 million pilgrims came from 185 nations (CWN)
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization, said at a Vatican press conference yesterday that at least 33.4 pilgrims from 185 countries came to Rome for the 2025 jubilee year (video). - Colombian bishop condemns US strikes on Venezuela, describes President Trump as authoritarian (Crux)
A Colombian bishop described US strikes on neighboring Venezuela as “inadmissible,” characterized President Donald Trump as authoritarian, and expressed concern about a possible US attack on Colombia. On January 3, President Trump said that Colombia’s president is “making cocaine” and “does have to watch his a—.” Bishop Juan Carlos Barreto of Soacha told Crux if the US action against Venezuela, which “is totally inadmissible, is expanded to Colombia, a country in which there’s a legitimately elected president, we’d see a much more serious aggression, one with terrible consequence.” Bishop Barreto expressed concern that the president acted “without observing the principles of the United Nations and without consulting the US Congress” and described the action as “evidence of his authoritarianism.” - Lazio's president meets with Pontiff, hails papal commitment to peace and the poor (CWN)
Francesco Rocca, the president of Italy’s Lazio region, met with Pope Leo XIV on January 3 and discussed the meeting in a subsequent Facebook post. - English archdiocese announces apologetics initiative (Archdiocese of Southwark)
The Archdiocese of Southwark, England, announced yesterday that it is launching Ambassadors for Christ, an apologetics initiative for parishes and schools. “As someone who converted to Catholicism as a teenager myself, I know what it is like to search for answers, to thirst for the truth which only the Lord Jesus offers,” said Archbishop John Wilson. “As Catholics, leading people to Christ has to be at the heart of everything we do, because it is the Lord Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.” “I want the faithful—from converts to cradle Catholics—to feel confident and assured of their faith, so that when they are asked the reason for the hope within them, they can confidently speak of the Lord Jesus and his saving work,” Archbishop Wilson added. The archdiocese stated that the project will “consist of 52 videos, posted every Monday on YouTube in 2026 ... To ensure doctrinal accuracy, each script draws from a foundation of Scripture, primary Church Father documents, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and official papal and Church teachings.” - Vatican officials to present 'Pray with the Pope' campaign (CWN)
The Holy See Press Office announced yesterday that a press conference will be held on January 7 to present the “Pray with the Pope” prayer campaign. - New Orleans archdiocese releases public apology letter to abuse claimants (Archdiocese of New Orleans)
The Archdiocese of New Orleans has released a letter from Archbishop Gregory Aymond to “all child sexual abuse claimants” in the archdiocese. “I express on behalf of the clergy, religious, and laity of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, my predecessors, and myself, profound regret over the tragic and inexcusable harm you have suffered at the hands of your abusers,” Archbishop Aymond wrote in his letter, dated December 26 and released January 3. “I sincerely apologize to you for the trauma caused to you and to those close to you as a survivor of sexual abuse perpetrated by a member of the clergy, a religious sister or brother, or a lay employee or volunteer working within the Catholic Church,” he continued. “Sexual abuse is an inexcusable evil, and I am ashamed that you or anyone should have been sexually abused by someone working within the Catholic Church.” The prelate added, “The Archdiocese of New Orleans takes responsibility for the abuse you have suffered and pledges to keep children and all vulnerable people safe in our ministry.” - Green Bay bishop begins inquiry into life of Servant of God Adele Brice (CNA)
Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, has issued an edict announcing a diocesan inquiry into the “life and heroic virtues, as well as on the reputation of holiness and of signs” of the Servant of God Adele Brice (1831-1896), a Belgian-American Third Order Franciscan who received Marian apparitions in 1859. In 2010, Bishop Ricken declared the apparitions at Champion, Wisconsin, “worthy of belief.” In 2016, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops designated the apparition site as a national shrine. Iin his December 28 decree, Bishop Ricken exhorted “all the faithful to provide me with useful information about the Cause.” - Gunshots fired at Palermo parish (Avvenire (Italian))
In recent days, gunshots have been fired twice at the Church of St. Philip Neri in Palermo, Italy. “At the end of December, a firecracker and gunshots were fired at the secondary entrance of the church,” the Italian bishops’ newspaper reported. “A few days ago, more gunshots. But this time, the bullets arrived inside. Fortunately, no one was there.” The Archdiocese of Palermo condemned the attack, and the parish priest called for state action “to remedy the sea of illegality, drug dealing, and violence” in the area. Archbishop Corrado Lorefice will celebrate an Epiphany Mass at the parish today. - USCCB announces annual pro-life novena (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced yesterday that its 14th annual 9 Days for Life novena will begin on January 16. The novena’s “overarching intention,” according to the announcement, is “the end to abortion. Each daily prayer intention highlights a related topic and is accompanied by a reflection, educational information, and suggested daily actions.” - Venezuelan bishops call for fervent prayer for peace (Vatican News (Spanish))
The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference issued a message after the United States launched airstrikes on the South American nation and captured Nicolás Maduro, the country’s ruler since 2013. “In the face of the events that our country is experiencing today, let us ask God to grant all Venezuelans serenity, wisdom, and strength,” the bishops said. “We stand in solidarity with those who were injured and the families of those who died. Let us persevere in prayer for the unity of our people.” “We call on the People of God to live more intensely in hope and fervent prayer for peace in our hearts and in society, and we reject any type of violence,” they continued. “May our hands be open for encounter and mutual help, and may the decisions that are made always be for the good of our people.” Pope Leo said yesterday that he was following developments in Venezuela “with a heart full of concern” and that “the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail above every other consideration.” - Terrorists attack Nigerian villages, reportedly re-abduct some Catholic school students (Premium Times (Abuja))
Terrorists attacked two villages in Nigeria’s Niger State, killed at least 35 people, and abducted “many others,” the Abuja-based Premium Times reported. “Our parish priest narrowly escaped abduction when the terrorists visited our mission house three days ago,” said a spokesman for the Diocese of Kontagora. “They destroyed some religious items, carted away two motorcycles and cash of over N200,000 [$139]. They were looking for the priest, but he escaped. Some villagers, including children, were abducted.” According to the report, among the abducted villagers were some of the 315 persons abducted on November 21 from a Catholic school in Papiri, all of whom eventually escaped or were released. - Pope Leo: 'The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail above every other consideration' (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV said today that he is following developments in Venezuela “with a heart full of concern” (video, 12:39). - UN chief calls on Israel to reverse ban on Caritas, other humanitarian organizations in Gaza (AFP)
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to reverse its decision to bar dozens of aid groups, including Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Jerusalem, from operating in Gaza, effective March 1. Caritas Internationalis is the Church’s confederation of relief and development agencies. Guterres “calls for this measure to be reversed, stressing that international non-governmental organizations are indispensable to life-saving humanitarian work and that the suspension risks undermining the fragile progress made during the ceasefire,” said his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric. Israel made its decision after the organizations “refused to share lists of their Palestinian employees with government officials,” Agence France-Presse reported. - Vatican to publish documents associated with abandoned 'Fundamental Law of the Church' (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
A Vatican official announced that the Vatican publishing house will soon publish a volume of all of the documents associated with the Lex Fundamentalis Ecclesiae [Fundamental Law of the Church], an authoritative text on the common Western and Eastern legal heritage of the Church. The project was initiated by Pope St. Paul VI and abandoned by Pope St. John Paul II. “The idea was presented to St. Paul VI by Cardinal Döpfner, bishop of Munich and subsequently president of the German Episcopal Conference, supported by the founder of the Institute of Canon Law in Munich, Klaus Mörsdorf,” Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, wrote in a lengthy article in the January 3 edition of the Vatican newspaper. “Subsequently, the work to update the Latin Code and that for the new Fundamental Law progressed in parallel for years, followed shortly afterwards, at a later stage, by the work for the Eastern codification.” Nine drafts were considered until December 1981, when St. John Paul, according to Bishop Arrieta, “decided to postpone the eventual publication of the Fundamental Law, fearing possible risks in the ecumenical field and wanting to avoid the ambiguous signal that the Church intended to adapt itself in this way to the constitutionalism of secular societies.” Nonetheless, the drafts influenced the eventual Code of Canon Law (1983) and Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (1990). - Ukrainian Catholic leader hopes 2026 will bring just and lasting peace (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
In a new year’s greeting, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said that “we Christians know and believe that the future belongs to God. Therefore, we enter that future, the year 2026, with courage, dignity, and freedom as children of God.” “We implore the Lord God to end the war in Ukraine,” Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk continued. “We wish that, with God’s help, this year will finally bring us the long-awaited, just, and lasting peace, and that it will be a year of rebuilding Ukraine, which should become better than it was before the war.” The Major Archbishop also said that 2025 was a year of hope, and that “thanks to this power of hope, we were able to resist the plans of the Russian aggressor.” The year 2025, he added, was “a year of resilience for us, which is the secret of our victory.” - Indianapolis parish files lawsuit in order to demolish deconsecrated church (CNA)
Citing the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act, an Indianapolis parish has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Indianapolis so that it can demolish a church that was closed in 2014 and deconsecrated in 2019. The Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission granted the Church of the Holy Cross an emergency historic designation in 2024 to prevent its demolition. The church had previously become part of St. Philip Neri Parish, which filed the suit. “The continued maintenance of the unusable Subject Property forces St. Philip Neri to incur substantial costs, which is a significant portion of the parish’s operating budget for the entire year,” the parish argued in its lawsuit. - Vatican consultor sees need to 'rethink' psycho-affective formation of priests (CWN)
A consultor to the Dicastery for the Clergy said that because the priest is “a man among men, it is necessary to cultivate and rethink the psycho-affective formation of priests.” - Historic Dutch former Catholic church destroyed by fire on New Year's Day (CNA)
The Vondelkerk, a historic Catholic church in Amsterdam, was destroyed by a fire on New Year’s Day. The church was closed in 1978 and deconsecrated amid concerns about structural instability. It later became an event venue. The cause of the fire is under investigation. - Priestly vocations surge in Ohio diocese (Catholic Times (Columbus))
Priestly vocations have surged in recent years in the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. Bishop Earl Fernandes said recently that “the diocese has 43 seminarians this year, up from 17 in 2022,” and that “he expects as many as 50 young men to be in formation for the priesthood this next year,” according to the diocesan newspaper. The prelate, now 53, was installed as diocesan bishop in 2022. - More...