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St. Patrick Cathedral in the Diocese of Charlotte. | Credit: Diocese of CharlotteJan 13, 2026 / 11:41 am (CNA).Reacting to Bishop Michael Martin's Dec. 17, 2025, pastoral letter announcing the impending abolishment of altar rails and kneelers in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, 31 of the diocese's priests have signed a letter to the Vatican's Dicastery for Legislative Texts containing a set of questions, or "dubia," related to the matter. According to The Pillar, which obtained a leaked copy of the diocesan priests' letter last week, the priests directly question "whether a diocesan bishop may prohibit the use of kneelers to assist members of the faithful who, of their own accord, wish to receive holy Communion kneeling." In December, Martin issued a pastoral letter saying that by Jan. 16, the use of altar rails, kneelers, and "prie-dieus" (movable kneelers) will no longer be permitted in the diocese, and any "temporary or movable fixtures used for kneeling for the ...
Bishop Stanislav Pribyl of Litomerice celebrates Mass with Bishop Wolfgang Ipolt of Görlitz, Germany, and other clergy at the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians in Filipov, Czech Republic, on Jan. 13, 2025, during the annual pilgrimage commemorating the 1866 healing of Magdalena Kade. | Credit: Lubomír Holý/Clovek a víraJan 13, 2026 / 12:11 pm (CNA).Eighty years after the expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia, a Czech bishop has declared a local Year of Reconciliation to address wounds that remain from World War II and its aftermath.Bishop Stanislav Pribyl of Litomerice announced the initiative in a pastoral letter dated Dec. 31, 2025, following the end of the Jubilee of Hope on Jan. 6. The year marks two anniversaries on Jan. 13: the 1866 healing of Magdalena Kade and the 1946 founding of Ackermann-Gemeinde, a Catholic reconciliation group established by expelled Germans."The end of World War II brought not just joy and relief but also reckoning with people...
Angola is one of the African countries Pope Leo XIV plans to visit in what will be his first pastoral trip to the continent as Pontiff. | Credit: Vatican Media/Catholic Archdiocese of LuandaJan 13, 2026 / 12:41 pm (CNA).Angola is one of the countries Pope Leo XIV plans to visit in what will be his first pastoral trip to the continent of Africa as pontiff, the apostolic nuncio in the southern African nation has announced.Addressing journalists during a press conference on Tuesday, Archbishop Kryspin Witold Dubiel confirmed that the Holy Father had accepted invitations from both the Catholic bishops of Angola and the country's President João Lourenço, adding that the timelines and itinerary of the visit and program are still being finalized."At this moment, we are preparing the plan and program for Pope Leo XIV's visit to Africa. We do not yet have details on the exact date or program, but these will be communicated as soon as they are defined," Dubiel said.The native of ...
Archbishop Hebda speaks to EWTN News in August 2025. | Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/ScreenshotJan 13, 2026 / 13:11 pm (CNA).Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis described a pervasive "heaviness" in the community over federal agents' deadly shooting of a U.S. citizen.In his pastoral reflection on Jan. 12, the archbishop said he was on retreat with regional bishops last week when the shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official occurred."I find myself Googling 'Minneapolis' every few hours to learn of the latest developments in a situation that truly tears at the heart," he wrote, noting that some parishes with large Latino populations are seeing fewer than 50% of usual congregants at recent Masses."I hope that you might think about contacting any of our parishes serving immigrant communities to see how you might support them in their ministry," Hebda wrote.During the retreat, he said he prayed for consolation for the Good f...
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the United States Conference of Catholic bishops, meets with President Donald Trump on Jan. 12, 2026. | Credit: Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityJan 12, 2026 / 18:07 pm (CNA).Archbishop Paul Coakley and President Donald Trump met on Jan. 12 to discuss areas of "mutual concern," which likely included topics related to immigration enforcement and Venezuela's sovereignty. The archbishop of Oklahoma City, Coakley, who was elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in November 2025, visited with Trump at the White House on Monday.Chieko Noguchi, USCCB spokesperson, said in a statement after the meeting: "Archbishop Coakley had the opportunity for introductory meetings with President Trump, Vice President [JD] Vance, and other administration officials, in which they discussed areas of mutual concern, as well as areas for further dialogue. Archbishop Coakley is grateful for the engagement and look...
St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. | Credit: CCN Photo/Terry O'NeillJan 12, 2026 / 13:29 pm (CNA).In a case with implications for religious freedom, institutional autonomy, and health care access across Canada, a British Columbia Supreme Court trial starting Jan. 12 will consider whether faith-based hospitals can be forced to provide euthanasia on site.The case, Gaye O'Neill et al. v. His Majesty the King in Right of the Province of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, and Providence Health Care Society, arises from the death of a terminally ill woman who sought medical assistance in dying (MAID) while receiving care at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. Because St. Paul's is a Catholic facility that does not provide assisted suicide, the patient was transferred to another health care facility that offered MAID. Her family and co-plaintiffs allege the transfer caused "unnecessary pain and distress" and argue that the policy allowing fait...
Credit: CDC/Debora CartagenaJan 12, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).Catholic medical professionals and ethicists had mixed reactions to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) announcement last week that it has revised the recommended childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule.In a press release on Jan. 5, the CDC announced a revised recommended childhood immunization schedule, which reduces the number of universally recommended vaccines from 18 to 11. It retains routine recommendations for all children against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella (chickenpox).Vaccines for rotavirus, influenza, COVID-19, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, and RSV now shift to recommendations for high-risk groups or after "shared clinical decision-making" between providers and families.According to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) memo, the CD...
Pope Leo XIV meets Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican on Jan. 12, 2026. / Credit: Vatican Media.Vatican City, Jan 12, 2026 / 06:50 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV met with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the Vatican on Monday, in an audience that was not initially included in the official schedule for the day.The meeting was added to the pontiff's agenda in the Holy See's 12:00 p.m. news bulletin. The Vatican has not released any details about the audience.Machado, one of the leading figures of the Venezuelan opposition, has been a prominent voice in denouncing the institutional, economic, and humanitarian crisis facing the country.The Venezuelan politician, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in December, is also expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump this week.Nicolás Maduro is being held in a New York prison after appearing before a federal judge on various charges related to drug trafficking and terrorism following his capt...
Four new priests and six new deacons were ordained for South Sudan's Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio on Jan. 4, 2026. | Credit: Ruru Gene News/Sister Laurencila, FSSAJan 11, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).The four newly ordained priests and six newly ordained deacons for South Sudan's Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio have been reminded of the urgency of their mission in the contemporary world, especially in communities wounded by conflict, poverty, and division.In his Jan. 4 homily during the ordination Mass that coincided with the solemnity of the Epiphany at St. Augustine Parish in the diocese, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala reflected on the role of priests in reconciling broken communities, forming consciences through education, restoring dignity among the poor, and remaining steadfast where fear and suffering persist."I am not ordaining you for an ideal country," Hiiboro said and described South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, as a nation deeply loved by God and...
Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the recitation of the Angelus on Jan. 11, 2026. / Vatican MediaVatican City, Jan 11, 2026 / 08:25 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Sunday lamented escalating violence in Iran and Syria and renewed his appeal for peace in Ukraine, while also offering a special blessing for children receiving baptism and praying for those born into "difficult circumstances."Speaking after the Angelus on Jan. 11, the pope said: "My thoughts turn to the situation currently unfolding in the Middle East, especially in Iran and Syria, where ongoing tensions continue to claim many lives." He added: "I hope and pray that dialogue and peace may be patiently nurtured in pursuit of the common good of the whole of society."The pope's remarks came amid unrest in Tehran, where anti-government protests that began about two weeks ago have left more than 70 people dead, according to human rights organizations.He also pointed to renewed f...
