Abortions hit record high in England and Wales

London, England with the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf in the background. | Credit: © User:Colin / Wikimedia CommonsJan 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 HealthThe 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 2025Heartbeat International's pregnancy support helpline broke records with 1.3 ...

U.S. bishops say multimillion-dollar Eucharistic revival bore spiritual fruit

Scene from the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. | Credit: "EWTN News in Depth"/ScreenshotJan 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 Co...

NYPD increasing presence at churches after incidents at Staten Island Catholic parishes

Staten Island, New York | Credit: John McAdorey/ShutterstockJan 16, 2026 / 17:40 pm (CNA).The New York Police Department (NYPD) says it will increase officer presence at local churches after several crimes committed at Catholic parishes on Staten Island.Several Catholic churches on Staten Island have been vandalized or attacked in recent weeks, including a robbery and a violent incident during a morning Mass in which two police officers were injured. State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton called for increased police presence at churches in the area after the incidents. At a Jan. 15 press conference, local leaders including NYPD Staten Island Borough Commander Melissa Eger said police presence would be heightened at churches across the borough. Eger said at the press conference that none of the incidents indicated that the Catholic churches had been targeted due to religion, describing the crimes as "acts ... of opportunism and theft" as well as one incident involving a m...

Trump to negotiate with Congress over pro-life protections in health plan

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Credit: Win McNamee/Getty ImagesJan 16, 2026 / 18:29 pm (CNA).U.S. bishops and Catholic pro-life organizations will be watching to see if President Donald Trump's health care plan includes pro-life language.Trump has faced criticism over the past week from pro-life activists after he urged Republican lawmakers to be "flexible" on the Hyde Amendment when negotiating extensions for health care subsidies related to the Affordable Care Act.Trump's health plan, outlined in a four-point memo, will be negotiated with Congress over whether to include the strongest possible pro-life protections and prevent federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. The Hyde Amendment, long included in federal spending bills, prevents tax dollars from being used on elective abortions.The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (U...

Christian symbols in public buildings on trial before European Court of Human Rights

A case that seeks to remove Christian symbols, including icons and religious artwork, from public buildings in Greece began when two atheists asked for the removal of Christian icons displayed in Greek courtrooms. | Credit: Courtesy of ADF InternationalJan 16, 2026 / 14:05 pm (CNA).The European Court of Human Rights is examining a case that seeks to remove Christian symbols, including icons and religious artwork, from public buildings in Greece.The case began when two atheists asked for the removal of Christian icons displayed in Greek courtrooms during hearings involving religious matters, claiming the icons were discriminatory, compromised judicial objectivity, and violated their rights to a fair trial and to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.Greek courts rejected the requests. ADF International has intervened in the case, known as Union of Atheists v. Greece, arguing that removing religious symbols in public spaces is a misinterpretation of religious freedom.Th...

Bishop Fernandes praises religious worker visa rule change, says work still to be done

Bishop Earl K. Fernandes of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.Jan 16, 2026 / 14:35 pm (CNA).Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, expressed gratitude that the Department of Homeland Security is easing visa restrictions for religious workers and called for passage of a bill to address visa backlogs."This rule change provides some much-needed relief!" Fernandes said in a statement released Jan. 15. "We take comfort in knowing that sacramental and pastoral care will not be disrupted in our parishes, schools, hospitals, and prison ministries." Under the rule, religious workers in the country on R-1 visas would no longer be required to reside outside of the U.S. for a full year if they reach their statutory five-year maximum period of stay before completing their green card applications.Fernandes said 21 priests and 13 sisters who hold R-1 visas and work within the diocese would have been affected in the absence of...

Vice President Vance, House Speaker Johnson to speak at 2026 March for Life

U.S. Vice President JD Vance. | Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsJan 16, 2026 / 16:40 pm (CNA).Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to speak at the 2026 March for Life Rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23.Vance, who is the nation's second Catholic vice president, will join Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, among other speakers at the 53rd annual pro-life event, organizers said."Vice President Vance is grateful to the tens of thousands of Americans who travel to the National Mall each year to speak out in support of life and looks forward to joining them for the second consecutive year," a spokesperson for the vice president told EWTN News.Vance will be attending and speaking at the event for the second time as vice president. He spoke at the March for Life in 2025 where he delivered his first public remarks in the leadership position.Addressing the crowd at the 2025 march, Vance said becoming a father hel...

Dutch conservative activist and Catholic convert barred from entering the UK

Dutch conservative political commentator and activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek delivers a speech during the first "Remigration Summit" at Teatro Condominio on May 17, 2025, in Gallarate, Italy. She was recently barred by the U.K. government from entering the U.K., deemed "not conducive to the public good." | Credit: Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images)Jan 16, 2026 / 17:10 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:Dutch conservative activist and Catholic convert barred from entering UKEva Vlaardingerbroek, a 28-year-old Dutch lawyer, activist, and Catholic convert, announced on X that her Electronic Travel Authorization was revoked as of Jan. 13 and she may not enter the U.K. The U.K. government said her "presence in the U.K. is not conducive to the public good" and that she may not appeal it. The notice came just days after she accused Britian's Prime Minister Keir Starmer of allowing "the ongoing rape and killing of British girls b...

Italian diocese to award $58K to international 'economy of fraternity' prize winners

Monsignor Anthony J. Figueiredo and Bishop Mylo Vergara of Pasig, Philippines, bless the facility of the 2022 "Economy of Fraternity" prize recipient, the Ecocharcoal Briquettes Project in the Diocese of Pasig, on Dec. 3, 2025. | Courtesy of Monsignor Anthony J. FigueiredoJan 16, 2026 / 09:26 am (CNA).The Diocese of Assisi in Italy will award 50,000 euros ($58,000) to the winner of the 2026 edition of the "Francis of Assisi and Carlo Acutis for an Economy of Fraternity" award.Inspired by Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Si', the former archbishop of Assisi, Domenico Sorrentino, instituted the award in 2020 on the day of St. Carlo Acutis' Oct. 10 beatification.In addition to the 50,000-euro ($58,000) prize money, award winners also receive an icon with the images of Sts. Francis and Carlo Acutis and are symbolically vested with the "cloak of Francis" by the bishop of Assisi during a ceremony to be held in May at the Sanctuary of the Renunciation.Monsignor Anthony J. ...

Nigeria accounts for 72% of Christian killings worldwide, new report finds

Member of Parliament David Smith, the U.K. special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, speaks at the parliamentary launch of the World Watch List on Jan. 14, 2026. | Credit: Open DoorsJan 16, 2026 / 10:11 am (CNA).More Christians were killed in Nigeria last year than anywhere else in the world combined, a new report has found, placing the country at the center of a growing global persecution crisis.Of the 4,849 Christians killed for their faith worldwide, 3,490 were in Nigeria, according to Open Doors' World Watch List 2026.Open Doors is a Netherlands-based international Christian mission that tracks global persecution and supports persecuted Christians worldwide. The organization's annual World Watch List ranks 50 countries by the severity of persecution faced by active Christians.The new report also shows a global increase of 8 million Christians facing high levels of persecution and discrimination between October 2024 and September 2025, bringing the total to 388 mi...