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Jan 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 million.

Speaking at the report's launch, Henrietta Blyth, CEO at Open Doors UK & Ireland, said: "Nigeria is in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that represents a deathtrap for Christians," while expressing relief that people are finally talking about what's going on in the country.

In recent months the situation in Nigeria has been back in the spotlight after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to go "guns a-blazing" into the country and subsequently launched strikes on militants linked to the Islamic State group in the northwest of the country.

While both the U.S. and Nigerian governments cooperated on the strikes, Trump has accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from jihadist attacks, with some allies and campaign figures describing the situation as a " genocide."

The Nigerian government is reluctant to address the religious aspect for fear of being designated a "country of particular concern," which could "enable the Trump administration and other international governments to take measures including an embargo," according to John Samuel, an expert on sub-Saharan Africa for Open Doors.

Asked how the U.K. government should respond to the situation, the U.K.'s special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, David Smith, told EWTN News: "We need to be critical friends. We need to be able to speak to our Nigerian counterparts, encouraging and enable them to speak truth. It's a multilayered conflict in central Nigeria, with many causes, including religious persecution."

Speaking at Portcullis House, London, he told the room of 110 members of Parliament: "We have to be that voice that speaks on these horrendous stories. No one should live in fear because of their faith or belief. The minimum we can do is speak up, and I urge you to that."

Pope Leo XIV addressed the Nigeria crisis in November 2025, acknowledging that "Christians and Muslims have been slaughtered" in the country. He told journalists at Castel Gandolfo that "many Christians have died" and called on the government to "promote authentic religious freedom." The pope's comments came after Trump designated Nigeria a country of particular concern for religious freedom violations.

The reasons for persecution in Nigeria are multifaceted and vary between regions. Ethnic Fulani herders have moved from the north to Nigeria's middle belt, where they "are causing a massive problem," according to John Samuel.

"They are moving to the area where they can find more resources for their cattle, like grazing land, and that naturally could cause a conflict between the predominantly Christian farming community and the herders who are predominantly ethnic Fulanis and Muslims."

However, he warned "the least reported and the wrongly reported violence, but causing a massive problem, is the violence in the Middle Belt or north central of Nigeria by Fulani militants. That is the oversimplified one always," he said, adding that "now there is an emergence of an Islamic militant Fulani."

Christians are 2.7 times more likely to be targeted and killed in attacks from the Fulani than Muslims, according to the Netherlands-based Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa. Some have suggested this is because Christian faith leaders can fetch higher ransoms if they are kidnapped.

There are also groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), who "have openly stated their ideology" and "want to establish an Islamic caliphate based on a radical Islamic ideology… They have a YouTube channel these days and they brag about killing infidels."

Blyth told EWTN News: "The U.K. government still has a lot of influence. They're involved in security talks, trade talks, aid talks, diplomacy talks. All of these provide an opportunity to talk about freedom of religion or belief."

"People should keep talking about the Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, because every day we are attacked," shared Pastor Barnabas from Nigeria in a video that was shown. "We want people to spread this news to everybody, that they should keep talking about it, so that we will be saved."

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Jan 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 pontiff expressed his gratitude for the work of the religious communities, pastoral workers, and laypeople, and encouraged them to continue strengthening this path of listening, discernment, and pastoral co-responsibility.

During the meeting, the Holy Father expressed his joy at the pilgrimage that the archdiocese will make Saturday, Jan. 17, to the Guadalupe Basilica at the beginning of the pilgrimage season to the sacred shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac.

The cardinal was accompanied by Francisco Javier Acero Pérez, OAR, auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese. The communications office of the primatial archdiocese of Mexico invited all the faithful to join in prayer for the Holy Father and for the fruits of the synodal journey that the Mexican Church continues to undertake.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by the EWTN News English Service.

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Jan 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 home was no longer under Catholic control after the sale.

In a court order request filed on Jan. 12, Yost's office said that state inspectors have observed a "rapid deterioration of care" at the facility, with the filing claiming that "shockingly poor care" was putting residents in "real and present danger."

Among the problems alleged by inspectors include the lack of a director of nursing, leaving the facility "spinning out of control" with repeated resident falls, improper medicine administration, denial of pain medication, and other alleged mismanagement issues.

The facility is "so dysfunctional" that the government "lacks any confidence that the current leadership ... will be able to right the ship," the court filing says.

The attorney general's office said it is trying to get the facility shut down and "relocate residents to safer facilities."

In a statement to EWTN News, the Youngstown Diocese said it was "deeply saddened" at the imminent closure of the facility.

Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar in the statement said the sisters "poured their lives into creating a home where the elderly were cherished and protected."

"Their ministry at the House of Loreto was a profound witness to the Gospel," the prelate said. "It is painful to see their legacy overshadowed by the serious concerns that have emerged under the new ownership."

The facility said it takes its name from the Holy House of Loreto in Italy, said to be the home at which the Annunciation occurred and the Word was made flesh.

The nursing home said it seeks to foster "an environment where seniors can experience the same love and respect they would find in their own homes —truly standing on the threshold of heaven as they navigate life's later chapters."

Correction: This story originally identified the House of Loreto as a "Catholic-run" facility based on information from the facility's website. The home is actually no longer under Catholic ownership. This story was updated on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. ET.

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Jan 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 "rapid deterioration of care" at the facility, with the filing claiming that "shockingly poor care" was putting residents in "real and present danger."

Among the problems alleged by inspectors include the lack of a director of nursing, leaving the facility "spinning out of control" with repeated resident falls, improper medicine administration, denial of pain medication, and other alleged mismanagement issues.

The facility is "so dysfunctional" that the government "lacks any confidence that the current leadership ... will be able to right the ship," the court filing says.

The attorney general's office said it is trying to get the facility shut down and "relocate residents to safer facilities."

Neither the nursing home nor the Congregation of the Divine Spirit immediately responded to requests for comment on the allegations on Jan. 14.

In a statement to CNA, the Youngstown Diocese said it was "deeply saddened" at the imminent closure of the facility.

Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar in the statement said the sisters "poured their lives into creating a home where the elderly were cherished and protected."

"Their ministry at the House of Loreto was a profound witness to the Gospel," the prelate said. "It is painful to see their legacy overshadowed by the serious concerns that have emerged under the new ownership."

On its website, House of Loreto describes itself as a "Catholic Church ministry guided by principles of social justice."

The facility said it takes its name from the Holy House of Loreto in Italy, said to be the home at which the Annunciation occurred and the Word was made flesh.

The nursing home said it seeks to foster "an environment where seniors can experience the same love and respect they would find in their own homes —truly standing on the threshold of heaven as they navigate life's later chapters."

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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 also of us, for peace, justice, and dignity; and however much the authorities, politics, may want to draw a line, there is always a red line that cannot be crossed," which is the people's demand for a decent life.

"Where this is lacking, sooner or later this need explodes; that is what we are seeing there. I hope that peaceful solutions will be found, that things will not degenerate into violence, but surely no one can ignore the yearning for life and justice that is an integral part of every person's conscience," he said in a Jan. 13 statement.

During the interview, the Italian cardinal also addressed the situation in Gaza. noting that it "hasn't changed much" because, although there is no longer a war, "there are still targeted bombings."

"There is more food than before, but there is a shortage of medicine. People are dying not only from the cold, but also from lack of medical care," he said. "Everything is still very uncertain. There is much to be done, but it is clear that the situation remains one of total devastation," he added.

Pizzaballa explained that the conflict in the Middle East is affecting the faithful of the patriarchate in various ways, including those in Jordan, where the war is having both an emotional and economic impact.

Finally, the cardinal shared his experience at the recent extraordinary consistory. He said there was a "very positive atmosphere" and that it was important "because it was the first consistory in a long time."

"The topics discussed didn't produce anything sensational, but that wasn't the goal. The goal was to initiate dialogue, get to know each other, and better define some methods for working together," he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Jan 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 his leadership role at EWTN while also supporting the CBCP in this important responsibility, further strengthening the Church's communications at a critical time."

"We are proud that he has been asked to place his experience and expertise at the service of Church leaders in this new capacity," Warsaw continued, noting that Lopez is "a strong advocate for the Church in Asia and the Philippines who has served EWTN faithfully for more than 25 years, and his leadership continues to be an extraordinary gift to both the Catholic Church and our global mission."

For his part, Lopez told CNA: "I hope to contribute what over 25 years in social communications across the Asia Pacific region has taught me: Digital tools can broaden contact and strengthen connection, but they cannot replace relational communion."

"God did not merely send a message, he sent himself — in person. When we confuse means and end, we deepen the crisis of intimacy; when communion remains the end, even AI and digital media become faithful servants that lead people back to relationships, communities, and the Eucharist," Lopez emphasized.

Lopez succeeds Father Ildefonso "Ilde" Dimaano, who was tapped by CBCP president Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa to serve as his spokesperson.

Lopez is also a professor in the philosophy and theology department of San Carlos Seminary in Makati City. He holds graduate degrees in business administration, international management, and development communication.

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Jan 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 motivated by security concerns. "If we don't [acquire Greenland], Russia or China will, and that's not going to happen when I'm president," he told reporters on Air Force One.

'Too early to make any definitive statements'

A sparsely populated landmass home to about 55,000 permanent residents, Greenland is among the least Catholic territories in the West, with the vast majority of Greenlanders belonging to the Lutheran church.

Catholics in the area are served by the Diocese of Copenhagen, located approximately 2,000 miles east of Nuuk, the most populous city on the island. Though mostly self-administered, the region falls under the authority of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Sister Anna Mirijam Kaschner, CPS, the secretary-general of the Nordic Bishops' Conference, told CNA that the bishops — who serve Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland — will be holding a plenary meeting in March.

"By then we expect to have a clearer understanding of the situation," she said. "It is very likely that the matter will be discussed at that time."

It is "too early to make any definitive statements," Kaschner said, though she added that there is some consternation already among Greenland's small Catholic population, which is almost entirely concentrated in a single parish, Christ the King Church in Nuuk.

"Parishioners in Greenland have expressed concern about the situation involving the United States," she said. "According to the parish priest, many have said that Greenland is their land, their country, and their home, and that they do not wish to become Americans."

That sentiment has been echoed by political leaders in Greenland, a territory that has developed a distinct identity quite apart from its North American geography and its European administration.

A Jan. 9 joint statement from the country's major political parties said bluntly: "We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes — we want to be Greenlanders."

"The future of our country is for the Greenlandic people themselves to decide," the leaders said, vowing to "independently decide what our country's future should look like — without pressure, without delays, and without interference from others."

The territory's leaders have considerable latitude for self-governance, particularly after a self-rule law in 2009 established local control of the legal system and law enforcement, among other jurisdictions. Greenland is also permitted to seek full independence from Denmark if its people desire to do so.

With Catholic representation on the island sparse, the Church's role in any future deliberation may be limited. Still, Kaschner said, Church leaders in Europe may develop a stance on the issue in the near future.

"Generally, Catholic leaders in the Nordic countries handle issues like this with caution, stressing respect for local people, existing sovereignty, and the dignity of affected communities," she said.

Ahead of a clearer picture of the international dispute, she said, "there's no single official stance beyond a focus on the well-being and wishes of Greenland's people."

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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 and our hearts; at the same time, we are required to speak with God, not to communicate to him what he already knows, but to reveal ourselves to ourselves," Leo said.

The Holy Father also drew on the human experience of friendship to warn about the dangers of neglecting one's spiritual life: "Our experience tells us that friendships can come to an end through a dramatic gesture of rupture, or because of a series of daily acts of neglect that erode the relationship until it is lost."

"If Jesus calls us to be friends, let us not leave this call unheeded. Let us welcome it, let us take care of this relationship, and we will discover that friendship with God is our salvation," he said.

The pope insisted that this living relationship with God is cultivated above all through prayer, understood as an authentic friendship with the Lord.

This experience, he explained, is achieved first of all in liturgical and community prayer, "in which we do not decide what to hear from the Word of God, but it is he himself who speaks to us through the Church." It is also achieved in personal prayer, which takes place "in the interiority of the heart and mind," and which should form part of every believer's day and week.

'Only when we speak with God can we also speak about him'

The pontiff stressed that only from a personal relationship with God is it possible to bear authentic witness to the faith: "Only when we speak with God can we also speak about him."

Referring to the dogmatic constitution Dei Verbum, promulgated by St. Pope Paul VI in 1965, Leo emphasized that Christian revelation is grounded in a living and personal dialogue between God and humanity. Through this dialogue, God reveals himself as an ally who invites each person into a true relationship of friendship.

The pope noted that divine revelation has a profoundly dialogical character, proper to the experience of friendship: it does not tolerate silence, but is nourished by the exchange of true words capable of creating communion.

Leo XIV also distinguished between "words" and "chatter," explaining that the latter remains on the surface and does not create authentic relationships. In genuine relationships, he said, words do not serve merely to exchange information, but to reveal who we are and to establish a deep bond with the other.

This article was originally published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Jan 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.

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. St. Roch's Roman Catholic Church on Dec. 28, meanwhile, a criminal broke into the church rectory and reportedly stole a towel.

At St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church in the Dongan Hills neighborhood, an assailant reportedly interrupted a 7 a.m. Mass by breaking an angel statue, snatching the missal and a cross from the altar, tearing down flowers, and damaging the sanctuary's marble floor.

Two responding police officers were reportedly injured during the incident.

'Nobody should feel unsafe where they pray'

Scarcella-Spanton said in an interview Jan. 13 she has reached out to the churches and the local police precinct regarding the attacks, which have occurred within her district.

The senator said it does not appear as if the incidents were coordinated. "It does seem as if they were unique incidents and not an organized effort," she said.

Still, "we want a meeting with the police precinct and with clergy," she said, "just to see if there's anything we can do to help them."

Scarcella-Spanton pointed to the New York government's Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, which distributes government grants to protect vulnerable institutions. Houses of worship are able to access those funds, she said.

"This is for security, whether it's people or cameras — just in any way, shape, or form," she said.

The senator said the attack on St. Ann's particularly affected her.

"I grew up in Dongan Hills where St. Ann's is," she said. "My kids went to preschool there. I went there for CCD."

"I can't imagine how scary that must have been for people" during the attack, she said.

In her statement, Scarcella-Spanton said she was "extremely troubled" by the incidents.

"Church is a place of peace and reflection; nobody should feel unsafe where they pray," she said.

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Jan 13, 2026 / 15:36 pm (CNA).

Scott Adams, the creator of the long-running "Dilbert" comic strip whose art satirized the typical American workplace, died on Jan. 13 at 68 years old after a battle with cancer.

Adams, who became known later in his career for espousing conservative and at times controversial political views, revealed in May 2025 that he was suffering from prostate cancer. The disease spread in the coming months, with Adams passing away after a short stay in hospice.

On Jan. 13, shortly after his death, Adams' X account posted a "final message" from the renowned cartoonist in which he recalled that many of his Christian friends had urged him to convert to Christianity.

"I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him," Adams declared in the message, adding that he hoped he was "still qualified for entry" into heaven upon his death.

"I had an amazing life. I gave it everything I had," he wrote in the statement. "If you got any benefits from my work, I'm asking you to pay it forward as best you can. That is the legacy I want."

Adams had previously announced his intent to convert on Jan. 1, admitting that "any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be instantly answered if I wake up in heaven."

Born June 8, 1957, in Windham, New York, Adams began drawing from a young age. His work at the Pacific Bell Telephone Company in the 1980s and 1990s inspired many of the humorous office stereotypes portrayed in "Dilbert."

A send-up of many of the tropes that continue to define U.S. office work, "Dilbert" became wildly popular into the 2000s and eventually included a brief television series.

Later in his career he launched the video talk series "Real Coffee With Scott Adams," which he continued until just several days before his death.

In his final message released after his death, Adams told his fans: "Be useful."

"And please know," he added, "I loved you all to the end."

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