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...

Mexico's Cardinal Aguiar: Pope Leo XIV would like to visit Mexico 'soon'

Cardinal Aguiar and his auxiliary bishop, Francisco Javier Acero Pérez, OAR, met with Pope Leo on Jan. 14, 2026. | Credit: Vatican MediaJan 16, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).The primatial archbishop of Mexico, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, has invited Pope Leo XIV to visit the country. The cardinal extended the invitation during their Jan. 14 meeting at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, shortly before the Wednesday general audience.According to a statement released later by the Archdiocese of Mexico, during the audience Aguiar renewed the invitation he had first extended to the pope a few days after the conclave for him to travel to the country."In response, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude and his desire and interest in visiting our country soon to entrust his pontificate to Our Lady of Guadalupe," the press release indicated.In addition, Aguiar shared with Pope Leo XIV the progress and development of the synodal process underway in the Mexican diocese.In this context, the p...

UPDATE: Ohio moves to close nursing home amid 'widespread care failures' after purchase from Catholic nuns

Credit: Digital Storm/ShutterstockJan 15, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).The attorney general of Ohio is moving to shut down a nursing home after a congregation of Catholic nuns sold it, amid reports that the facility's "shockingly poor care" is placing elderly residents in "clear and present danger."House of Loreto, a nursing facility formerly run by the sisters of the Congregation of the Divine Spirit, has allegedly committed "widespread care failures," Attorney General Dave Yost's office said in a Jan. 13 press release. The sisters were involved with the home from 1957, when then-Youngstown Bishop Emmet Walsh asked for the religious to run the facility. The current facility opened in 1963. The Youngstown Diocese said in March 2025 that the home had been acquired by Hari Group LLC, a company based out of Ohio. In its press release announcing the sale the diocese did not note any troubles experienced by House of Loreto at the time. A diocesan spokesman said on Jan. 15 that the ...

Ohio government seeks to shut down Catholic-run nursing home amid 'widespread care failures'

Credit: Digital Storm/ShutterstockJan 15, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).The attorney general of Ohio is moving to shut down a Catholic-run nursing home amid reports that the facility is placing elderly residents in "clear and present danger."House of Loreto, a nursing facility run by the sisters of the Congregation of the Divine Spirit, has allegedly committed "widespread care failures," Attorney General Dave Yost's office said in a Jan. 13 press release. The sisters have been involved with the home since 1957, when then-Youngstown Bishop Emmet Walsh asked for the religious to run the facility. The current facility opened in 1963. The Youngstown Diocese said in March 2025 that the home had been acquired by Hari Group LLC, a company based out of Ohio. In its press release announcing the sale the diocese did not note any troubles experienced by House of Loreto at the time.In a court order request filed on Jan. 12, Yost's office said that state inspectors have observed a "rapi...

Cardinal Pizzaballa: there is a longing for justice and human dignity in Iran

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. | Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.Jan 14, 2026 / 20:49 pm (CNA).The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, called for finding peaceful solutions to the events unfolding in Iran, where he sees the population's yearning to live in "peace, justice, and dignity."On Dec. 28, 2025, protests erupted in the capital, Tehran, as Iranians demonstrated against rising prices of basic goods such as chicken and cooking oil, due to inflation. In the following days, the demonstrations spread to more than 180 cities.These protests are considered the most severer the Islamic Republic has faced since it came to power in 1979. However, authorities have responded with a crackdown that has resulted in more than 2,500 deaths, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).Speaking to Vatican News, Cardinal Pizzaballa said that he sees in Iran "the yearning of the entire Iranian population, but als...

Catholic bishops of the Philippines tap veteran EWTN executive for communications post

Veteran EWTN executive Edwin Lopez is the new executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines Commission on Social Communications. | Credit: EWTNJan 14, 2026 / 12:35 pm (CNA).Edwin Lopez, who for more than two decades has served as EWTN's regional manager for Asia-Pacific, has been appointed as the new executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Commission on Social Communications.Lopez's appointment was announced during a recollection of CBCP personnel and volunteers in Manila. He is the first married layman to serve in the role.In this capacity, Lopez, who will continue in his long-standing Asia-Pacific management role at EWTN, will serve as the CBCP commission's primary operational and coordinating leader, turning the bishops' pastoral goals into practical projects and activities.Commenting on the appointment, EWTN Chairman of the Board and CEO Michael Warsaw celebrated the fact that "Edwin will continue in hi...

Greenland Catholics 'do not wish to become Americans' amid U.S. efforts at acquisition

The HDMS Niels Juel (F363) warship, an Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate of the Royal Danish Navy, is moored in Nuuk, Greenland, on June 15, 2025. | Credit: Ludovic MARIN/AFP via Getty ImagesJan 14, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).Greenlandic Catholics are reportedly expressing opposition to United States plans to acquire the territory, while Nordic Catholic leaders are waiting to see how the situation develops amid potential U.S. military intervention. U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled repeatedly that he wants the U.S. to annex Greenland in some form, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt describing the matter as a "national security priority." Utilizing the military to that end "is always an option," Leavitt said on Jan. 6. The apparent threat of military action on Greenland touched off a global controversy, with U.S. advocates praising the White House's ambitions and critics decrying it as an aggressive power move. Trump on Jan. 11 indicated again that the effort was mot...

Pope Leo XIV urges making time 'to speak with God'

Pope Leo XIV gives the first general audience of 2026 in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: Vatican Media.Jan 14, 2026 / 06:20 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV urged Christians Wednesday to set aside time in their daily lives to speak with God in prayer and warned about the harm to one's relationship with him when this is ignored."Time dedicated to prayer, meditation and reflection cannot be lacking in the Christian's day and week," the pontiff said during the catechesis at his general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall Jan. 14.The pope devoted the second week of his series of teachings on the documents of the Second Vatican Council to a closer examination of the dogmatic constitution "Dei Verbum," dedicated to divine revelation.Pointing to the document, he highlighted listening and dialogue with God as foundations of a Christian life."From this perspective, the first attitude to cultivate is listening, so that the divine Word may penetrate our minds an...

New York senator pushes for more church security after crimes, vandalism at Catholic parishes

Credit: ArtOlympic/ShutterstockJan 13, 2026 / 14:55 pm (CNA).A state senator in New York is pushing for increased security after multiple crimes at Catholic parishes.Several Catholic churches on Staten Island have been vandalized or attacked in recent weeks in what State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton described as "vile" acts of defacement and theft. Senator Scarcella-Spanton's Statement on Incidents of Defacement at Catholic Churches pic.twitter.com/h3N4RLyg8K— Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (@NYSenator_JSS) January 11, 2026 St. Sylvester's Church was defaced with human feces on Christmas Day, according to local news reports, with camera footage capturing the vandal committing the act during the morning Christmas Mass. Father Jacob Thumma told local media that the perpetrator "[looked] like he may be a homeless or disturbed person." "I feel sorry for him and wonder why he did that on the joyful day of Christmas," the priest said at the time. At....