Catholic News
- Pope proclaims Year of Saint Francis, with special plenary indulgences (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a Year of Saint Francis to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of the beloved saint. - Cardinal Parolin, in major lecture, decries violations of international law, collapse of multilateralism (CWN)
In a lecture delivered on January 17, the Secretary of State of His Holiness emphasized that peace and justice should “once again become the pillars of order among nations, and not merely remain simple aspirations or empty claims.” - Learn from St. John the Baptist, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)
Reflecting on John 1:29-34, the Gospel reading at Mass today, Pope Leo XIV encouraged pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square to learn from St. John the Baptist. - Marking anniversary of Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, Pope offers vision for Vatican diplomacy (CWN)
In a letter marking the 325th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, Pope Leo XIV offered his vision of Vatican diplomacy, one in which priests of “deep spirituality” listen and build bridges. - Nuncio says current Russian attacks on Ukraine bear some resemblance to Stalin's Holodomor (Vatican News)
The apostolic nuncio to Ukraine said in an interview that current Russian attacks on Ukraine bear “some resemblance” to the Holodomor perpetrated against Ukraine by Joseph Stalin’s Soviet regime in 1932-1933. Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas said: Food shortages are being caused by this energy crisis, apart from the difficulties faced by civilians due to the cold. This seems to have some resemblance to the Holodomor that Ukraine went through in the 1930s. We have our own generator at the Nunciature, which means we can have more light, water, and heating than the others. If the situation remains unchanged, it is possible that the entire Ukrainian capital would need to be evacuated, as the mayor of Kyiv said a few days ago. The nuncio also spoke about the Latin-rite hierarchy’s decision to dedicate the year to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Seeking Christ’s “merciful reception, forgiveness of sins, and protection from all evil, we prayed that God’s goodness would overcome sin and war and grant us peace,” said the nuncio. “We know that war is caused by the devil’s actions, and the devil is afraid every time we worship God.” - Pope Leo is an 'extremely determined man,' ambassador says following papal audience with Prince Albert (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received Prince Albert II of Monaco on January 17. - IMF director meets with Pontiff (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV received Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on January 17. Founded in 1944, the IMF is the lender of last resort for its member nations. As is customary, the Vatican did not divulge the topics discussed in the private audience. Georgieva, who regularly tweets about her meetings with international leaders, did not discuss her audience with the Pontiff on her X account. - Vatican newspaper joins discussion of ordo amoris (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper has published a contribution to the discussion of the meaning of ordo amoris [order of love], nearly a year after US Vice President JD Vance spoke about the concept and Pope Francis wrote about it in a letter to the bishops of the United States. - Leading Slovenian bishops tell Pope of desire to build a more missionary, unified Church (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received the officers of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference, who invited the Pontiff to Slovenia and spoke with him about their commitment to unity and their desire to become a more missionary Church. - Holy door of St. Peter's Basilica sealed in solemn rite (CWN)
The holy door of St. Peter’s Basilica was sealed on January 16, ten days after Pope Leo XIV concluded the 2025 jubilee year. - Angelo Gugel, private attendant to three Popes, dies at 90 (Vatican News)
Angelo Gugel, a layman who served as papal chamber assistant to Blessed John Paul I, St. John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI, has died at the age of 90. “Always impeccably dressed, with a sober elegance that never sought attention, Angelo Gugel preserved the discretion required by his delicate role even after retirement,” Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported. Gugel assisted St. John Paul with Italian pronunciation prior to his October 1978 inaugural homily and was at the Pontiff’s side during the 1981 assassination attempt. - Cardinal Parolin concludes Kuwait trip with elevation of nation's first church to basilica status (CWN)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, concluded his trip to Kuwait with a Mass marking the elevation of the nation’s first church to the status of a minor basilica. - Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy forms men of God who build bridges, prelate says (Vatican News (Italian))
Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, the president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, described the institute’s mission as “building bridges of peace and justice, restoring authentic bonds and promoting a civilization founded on love and respect for the dignity of every person.” “For the diplomats of the Holy See, this commitment is rooted in the virtue of hope, in the conviction that peace is born above all as a gift from God,” said Archbishop Pennacchio, who was appointed the academy’s president in 2023. “It is the task of the pontifical representative to nourish this hope in the light of Christ, with a spiritual life founded on the daily listening to the Word of God and on prayer.” Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, interviewed the prelate as the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy begins its 325th anniversary year. The academy trains priests for the Holy See’s diplomatic service. - Vatican to present details of upcoming World Day of the Sick (CWN)
The Holy See Press Office announced that Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, will brief the media on January 20 about the 34th World Day of the Sick. - French bishops urge nation's senate to reject assisted suicide (Conférence des évêques de France)
The officers of the French episcopal conference called upon the nation’s senate to reject legislation that would permit assisted suicide. “Palliative care is the only right response to the trying situations of the end of life,” the bishops wrote on January 14. “Legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide would profoundly change the nature of our social pact.” Criticizing the misuse of the words dignity, freedom, and fraternity, the prelates said that “the dignity of a human person does not vary according to his or her state of health, autonomy or social utility; it is inherent in his humanity, to the end. It is inalienable.” The prelates added: To evoke a “law of fraternity” when it is a question of causing death, of giving the possibility of administering a lethal substance, or of inciting a caregiver to do so against his conscience, is a lie. Fraternity, the central value of our Republic, does not consist in hastening the death of those who suffer or in forcing caregivers to cause it, but on the contrary in never abandoning those who live through these difficult and painful moments. Fraternity invites us to definitively refuse the temptation to cause death, and, at the same time, to make a resolute commitment to effectively develop palliative care throughout the land, to strengthen the training of caregivers, to support caregivers, to breach solitude, and to recognize that vulnerability is part of the human condition. - Official takes stock of Vatican-Jewish relations (CWN)
A Vatican official took stock of the past year’s developments in Jewish-Catholic relations and focused on the commemorations of the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate. - Pope Leo calls for a free press marked by fairness, search for truth (CWN)
In a letter to the director of La Repubblica for the Italian newspaper’s 50th anniversary, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to freedom of the press and said that the press should be “animated by the search for truth.” - Vatican official explains the 'detachment from all sin' required for plenary indulgences (Vatican News)
Commenting on the newly declared Year of Saint Francis and the plenary indulgences associated with it, the second-ranking official of the Apostolic Penitentiary explained the detachment from all sin that is among the conditions necessary for a plenary indulgence. “The detachment from sin that is required is not an emotional sense of purity, but an act of the will that says, ‘Lord, I want no sin at all, not even the smallest,’” Bishop Krzysztof Nykiel said in an interview with Vatican News. He explained: It is not a state of sinlessness. A person may have weaknesses, recurring venial sins, and may even experience painful falls. What matters is the intention and the orientation of the heart: the sincere decision to break with sin here and now. If someone says to God: “I do not want sin, I hate it, even though I know I am weak,” then there is no attachment to sin in that person. Bishop Nykiel also discussed the relationship between the 2025 jubilee year and the 2026 Year of Saint Francis, as well as the saint’s importance for our time. - Vatican spokesman highlights Jordan's holy sites (Vatican News)
Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, has published an editorial, “Holy Land: A fifth Gospel that begins in Jordan.” “When we think or speak about the Holy Land, we naturally refer to the historical places of Jesus’ life in Palestine and Israel: Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, Jerusalem,” Tornielli wrote in the editorial, published yesterday. “But there is another country where Christian memories are scattered and which is worth making a destination for pilgrimages: Jordan.” Tornielli discussed Aqaba, Petra, Mount Nebo, Machaerus, and Al-Maghtas, the site of Jesus’ baptism. - Leading European prelate issues 'strong common appeal' to pray for peace (CCEE)
The Lithuanian prelate who leads the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) issued a “strong common appeal” to pray for peace during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Amid “serious ongoing threats against peace, shaped by persistent armed conflicts and geopolitical tensions in many regions of the world,” Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius made “a strong common appeal to pray for peace, in whatsoever liturgical form you see fit, especially during the upcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, so that this unity may be achieved not only among Christians but also among all the parties in conflict with each other.” Archbishop Grušas made his appeal in a January 12 letter to presidents of the various European bishops’ conferences. - More...