Catholic doctors and ethicists react to CDC's revised childhood vaccine schedule

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 María Corina Machado

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...

'I am not ordaining you for an ideal country,' South Sudanese bishop tells new priests

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 condemns violence in Iran, Syria, and Ukraine

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...

Pope Leo XIV baptizes 20 infants in Sistine Chapel, tells parents faith is 'more than necessary'

Pope Leo XIV baptizes a child in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, January 11, 2026. / Vatican MediaVatican City, Jan 11, 2026 / 09:00 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV baptized 20 infants, the children of Vatican employees, during Mass in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.In his homily, the pope urged parents to see faith as essential for their children's lives, comparing it to the basic care no newborn can do without."When we know that something good is essential, we immediately seek it for those we love," he said. "Who among us, in fact, would leave newborns without clothes or without nourishment, waiting for them to choose when they are grown how to dress and what to eat?""Dear friends, if food and clothing are necessary to live, faith is more than necessary, because with God life finds salvation," the pope said.Baptism as God's closenessReflecting on the Gospel account of Jesus' baptism, Leo said the Lord cho...

Gänswein says he prays to Benedict XVI, confirms hope for beatification cause

Archbishop Georg Gänswein speaks at an event hosted by the Catholic magazine Kelione at the Lithuanian National Library in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Jan. 7, 2026. | Credit: L. Macevicienes/Zurnalaskelione.ltJan 11, 2026 / 10:32 am (CNA).Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the apostolic nuncio to the Baltic states and longtime personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI, said he now prays not for but to the late pontiff, asking for his intercession, and expressed hope the beatification cause will open soon.Speaking at an event hosted by the Catholic magazine Kelione at the Lithuanian National Library on Jan. 7, Gänswein offered personal reflections on his new diplomatic mission, the celebration of Christmas in Lithuania, and his decades-long collaboration with Joseph Ratzinger."I come from the most beautiful part of Germany, but I have lived in Rome for most of my life," Gänswein said. "As a bonus and thanks for all my work, I received an assignment to work in the Baltic states," he said jovial...

'Adopt a Bishop' initiative invites faithful to pray for Church leaders

Pope Leo XIV speaks to bishops gathered for the Jubilee of Bishops on June 25, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican MediaJan 11, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).Soon after the election of Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shared in a press conference that moments before then-Cardinal Robert Prevost was chosen to be pontiff, Tagle noticed the emotion by the soon-to-be-pope as it was becoming more clear he would be elected, so he reached into his pocket and offered Prevost a piece of candy.It was this simple moment that inspired Lauren Winter, founder of the Catholic company Brick House in the City, to start the Adopt a Bishop initiative."It really reminded me that these are all human beings who made the choice one day to accept a very serious 'yes,'" Winter told CNA in an interview.The Adopt a Bishop initiative, which has been launched in collaboration with The Dorothea Project, invites the faithful to adopt a bishop for the year and pray for tha...

Pro-life leader says movement 'not safe' in Republican party: 'We can't hold back'

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser told EWTN News on Apr. 12, 2024 that the pro-life movement is grounded in the dignity of the individual "and has never stopped at a state line." | Credit: Screenshot/EWTN News in DepthJan 10, 2026 / 10:00 am (CNA).A major pro-life leader is urging the movement to continue to press for protection for the unborn, calling on advocates to demand more pro-life policy even as the Republican party shows signs of wavering."We have to do everything we can to make sure that we're communicating the moral position and also the political position," Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said on Jan. 9. Dannenfelser spoke to "EWTN News in Depth" anchor Catherine Hadro on President Donald Trump's recent remarks in which the president urged the Republican party to be more "flexible" regarding the taxpayer funding of abortion. "Now you have ...

At annual meeting, Catholic historians assess impact of first American pope

University of Notre Dame professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNAJan 10, 2026 / 10:12 am (CNA).Assessing the impact of the Catholic Church's first American pope was front and center at the 106th annual meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA), which met in Pope Leo XIV's hometown of Chicago from Jan. 8-11.During a panel on the subject, Catholic scholars noted some of the historic caricatures of what an American papacy would be like and compared that to the first eight months of Leo's actual papacy.American Catholic History Association panelists (from left to right) Brian Flanagan, Colleen Dulle, Miguel Diaz and Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNAAt the outset of the panel, University of Notre Dame history professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings referenced the 1894 Puck magazine cartoon titled " The American Pope," which depicts the first apostolic delegate to the United States, Cardinal Francesc...

At consistory, Cardinal Zen slams synodality as 'ironclad manipulation' and 'insult' to bishops

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun speaks at the Asianews Conference at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, Nov. 18, 2014. - Bohumil Petrik/CNA.Jan 10, 2026 / 11:30 am (CNA).Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun delivered a forceful critique of synodality at the extraordinary consistory of cardinals this week, decrying the process as an "ironclad manipulation" that was an "insult to the dignity of the bishops." The bishop emeritus of Hong Kong also described the "continual reference to the Holy Spirit" during the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality as "ridiculous and almost blasphemous." The cardinal, 93, made his remarks during one of two free discussion periods during the Jan. 7-8 consistory that drew together 170 of the 245 members of the College of Cardinals in Pope Leo XIV's first major meeting with the sacred college since his election.In impassioned comments, first reported Jan. 9 by the College of Cardinals Report, the bishop emeritus criticized Pope Francis for bypassing the c...