Bishop Barron says ICE should focus on 'serious' criminals, urges protesters to 'cease interfering'

Members of law enforcement work the scene following a suspected shooting by an ICE agent during federal law enforcement operations on January 07, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Credit: Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesJan 19, 2026 / 09:34 am (CNA).Winona-Rochester Bishop Robert Barron has called on federal immigration officials to focus on deporting only serious criminals while also urging U.S. protesters to "cease interfering" with the work of immigration agents, with the plea coming amid heightened national tensions amid mass deportations and the killing of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis. Barron issued the statement on Jan. 18 via X. A native of Chicago, he was made bishop of the southern Minnesota diocese in 2022. The prelate made the remarks as officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continue enhanced deportations of immigrants in the country illegally. The mass deportation effort is a major part of U.S. President Donald Trump's domestic poli...

The nuns who witnessed the life and death of Martin Luther King Jr.

We March with Selma event. | Credit: Via Flickr CC BY NC 2.0Jan 19, 2026 / 04:00 am (CNA).Sister Mary Antona Ebo was the only Black Catholic nun who marched with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, in 1965."I'm here because I'm a Negro, a nun, a Catholic, and because I want to bear witness," Ebo said to fellow demonstrators at a March 10, 1965, protest attended by King.The protest took place three days after the "Bloody Sunday" clash, where police attacked several hundred voting rights demonstrators with clubs and tear gas, causing severe injuries among the nonviolent marchers.Sister Mary Antona Ebo died Nov. 11, 2017, in Bridgeton, Missouri, at the age of 93, the St. Louis Review reported at the time.After the "Bloody Sunday" attacks, King had called on church leaders from around the country to go to Selma. Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter of St. Louis asked his archdiocese's human rights commission to send representatives, Ebo recounted to the St. Louis P...

Catholic women discuss beauty, difficulty, redemptive nature of Church's teachings on sexuality

Keynote speakers at "The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman" conference, held Jan. 9-10, 2026, in Houston (left to right): Erika Bachiochi, Mary Eberstadt, Angela Franks, Pia de Solenni, and Leah Sargeant. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the University of St. ThomasJan 18, 2026 / 10:26 am (CNA).This past week, nearly a quarter of U.S. states sued the federal government for defining biological sex as binary, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for and against legally allowing males to compete against females in sports, and a Vatican official called surrogacy a "new form of colonialism" that commodifies women and their children.These are just the latest legal and cultural effects of a "mass cultural confusion" surrounding the meaning and purpose of the human body, and particularly women's bodies, according to Leah Jacobson, program coordinator of the Catholic Women's and Gender Studies Program at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.On Jan...

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...