Stories for January 2025

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Thursday, Jan. 23

 Trump pardons 23 jailed pro-life activists
 First Bibles published in Malaysian language
 Trump administration drops special immigration treatment for churches
 Pope thanks Public Safety officials for dedication to service
 Pope endorses auto-safety education, environmental concern
 Diplomatic immunity shields Vatican investigator from complaint in Peru
 Chinese bishop transferred to new diocese
 Senate Democrats block advance of Born-Alive Protection bill
 Virginia bishop decries IVF in pastoral letter
 AI must serve the human person, Pope tells WEF
 Ortega regime seizes Nicaragua’s Matagalpa seminary
 In visit to France and Norway, Cardinal Parolin discusses defense of human life, peace
 Pope answers letter from a separated father
 Amid prospect of mass deportations, remember love of neighbor, Oklahoma archbishop says
 Some of President Trump’s executive orders are ‘deeply troubling,’ USCCB president says
 Vietnam arrests Protestant pastor for ‘anti-state propaganda’
 ‘We do not pray to win the war, but to obtain peace,’ DR Congo bishops’ spokesman says
 Catholic education system in Mali endangered by government funding cuts

Released Wednesday, Jan. 22

 Trump administration closes down Biden-era abortion referral site
 Bishop Schneider reports ‘cordial’ conversation with Pope
 Pope praises Hilton Foundation for support of women religious
 Pope says ‘heart is with Los Angeles’
 God honors Mary’s human freedom, Pope tells audience
 Italian bishop faces perjury charge in priest’s abuse case
 Episcopal bishop confronts Trump on immigrants, transgender children
 Thai bishops set ‘appropriate pastoral practices’ as nation accepts same-sex marriage
 Montana legislative proposal threatens confessional seal
 Cardinal Schönborn retires; administrator named
 Bolzano-Bressanone becomes 1st Italian diocese to release independent abuse report
 President Trump revokes Biden administration’s transgender policies
 Pope marks 400th anniversary of Vincentian order
 Papal tribute to Il Regno, ‘authoritative voice’ in Church in Italy
 Vatican cardinal sees Trump as sign of ‘secular messianism,’ Syrian political transition as ‘sign of hope’
 Details announced for National Prayer Vigil for Life
 Amid war, Sudanese bishop finds strength in Blessed Sacrament, and vocations grow

Released Tuesday, Jan. 21

 Spanish pastor threatened with criminal charges for denial of Eucharist
 Confirmed: Vatican dissolves Peru-based Sodality
 Jerusalem Patriarch urges Holy Land pilgrimages
 A sea of faith engulfs Philippine feast of the Christ Child
 French bishops seek Abbé Pierre cover-up probe
 Cardinal Dolan, other clergy offer prayers at Trump inauguration
 Vatican newspaper turns to US conservative think tank to analyze Trump’s victory
 Cardinal Cupich, at Guadalupe basilica, speaks out against prospective mass deportations in Chicago
 USCCB issues statement on President Trump’s expected executive orders
 Be close to God, the bishop, the people, and one another, Pope tells seminarians

Released Monday, Jan. 20

 Mexican cardinal acknowledges drug-cartel power
 Peru-based movement suppressed?
 Chinese bishop ordained to new diocese
 Papal welcome for Finnish ecumenical delegation
 Pope sees Trump deportation plan as ‘disgrace’
 Woman religious tapped to head Vatican City governorate
 USCCB issues report on religious liberty, sees 5 areas of ‘critical concern’
 Pope welcomes Gaza ceasefire, prays for dialogue and reconciliation
 God responds to our ‘lack’ with superabundance: papal Angelus address
 Papal gratitude to Pontifical Swiss Guard Foundation
 Cardinal O’Malley brokered deal for release of Cuban prisoners
 Pope Francis issues message for Trump inauguration
 Cardinal DiNardo retires; successor named
 Investing in weapons to kill is madness, Pope says

Released Friday, Jan. 17

 Pence, in Hong Kong, asks freedom for Jimmy Lai
 Retired bishop decries ‘vigilante approach’ to immigration
 Pope to Spanish seminarians: recognize signs of hope
 Jerusalem Patriarch sees ceasefire as necessary first step
 USCCB committee chairman issues statement for Religious Freedom Day
 Vatican City State puts AI guidelines in place
 Background: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025
 UN agency leader meets with Pope, praises him for support of people in rural areas
 Pope upholds Argentine saint as model for future priests
 Pope welcomes Albanian Muslim delegation, praises interreligious dialogue
 French basilica vandalized
 M23 terrorizing North Kivu, missionary says

Released Thursday, Jan. 16

 Pope injured in household fall
 Cuban prisoner release a hopeful sign: Cardinal Parolin
 Pope issues bonus to Vatican employees with large families
 Cost of US sex-abuse scandal tops $5 billion
 Survey finds greater American concern for religious freedom
 Kidnapping of Nigerian priests declined in 2024
 1 in 7 Christians worldwide face high levels of persecution, discrimination
 Cardinal Parolin hails strong Vatican-Jordan ties
 Holy Land bishops welcome ceasefire agreement
 Bomb damages church in southeastern Italy
 Quality of Catholic education, healthcare is winning respect of Muslims, Cameroon bishop says
 ‘The moral purpose of the economy is to support the flourishing of families,’ bishops tell congressional leaders
 God ‘has become a nomad with the Gitano people,’ Pope writes in message

Released Wednesday, Jan. 15

 Papal plea for landslide victims in Myanmar
 See Christ in those in need, Pope urges Caritas
 Pope, at audience, decries exploitation of children
 Vatican increases penalties for illegal entry
 Cuba to release prisoners in Jubilee gesture
 Ukrainian Catholic, Orthodox primates discuss ecumenical ties
 Papal praise for Spanish cooperative
 Vatican newspaper draws attention to the ‘world’s most serious humanitarian crisis’ in Sudan
 Italian bishops encourage enrollment in optional Catholic religion classes
 49-year-old prelate resigns
 2 arson attacks on Sardinian church
 A year after attacks on Christian villages, bishop praises faithful, calls for aid
 USCCB announces pro-life novena

Released Tuesday, Jan. 14

 US bishops’ pro-life chairman stresses forgiveness after abortion
 Top Texas court grills attorney general on case against Catholic migrant shelter
 Tabernacle recovered intact from devastated Los Angeles church
 Cardinal Parolin meets with papal nuncios in Middle East
 Pope’s autobiography, Hope, released

Released Monday, Jan. 13

 Cardinal Parolin says China accord ‘beginning to bear some fruit’
 Angolan archbishop reveals he was assassination target
 Biden honors Pope with Medal of Freedom
 Kidnapped nuns released in Nigeria
 ‘The face and the voice’: papal reflection for Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
 Pope baptizes 21 babies in Sistine Chapel
 In unusual move, Pope appoints 3rd secretary for Vatican dicastery
 Administrator of leading Syro-Malabar archeparchy resigns; replacement named
 St. John the Baptist was a ‘great prophet of hope,’ Pope says in special Jubilee audience
 Papal condolences for Los Angeles fires
 Cardinal Cantalamessa, Archbishop Gänswein deny involvement in Father Rupnik’s 2020 Lenten sermon to Roman Curia
 Rome’s mayor, Lazio’s president meet with Pontiff, discuss projects, Jubilee challenges

Released Saturday, Jan. 11

 Italian prelate, bishops’ newspaper deny media reports on admission of gay men to seminaries

Released Friday, Jan. 10

 Cardinal Parolin, in Jordan, calls for ceasefire in Holy Land
 Be shaken by the Holy Spirit, Pope exhorts missionaries
 Pope meets with pediatric cancer patients
 Philadelphia archbishop launches plan for ‘missionary hubs’
 Polish prelate decries proposal to outlaw confession for children
 Pope praises effort of Global Compact on Education
 Only 52% of funds spent by US bishops’ Catholic Relief Services collection went to CRS, report shows
 USCCB president, in MLK Day message, calls for creation of more just society
 ‘Jubilee of Hope in Italian Prisons’ begins
 Nicaraguan regime suppresses contemplative Dominican nuns
 Cardinal Bo, other Christian leaders host controversial dinner with Myanmar’s military leader
 As Venezuela’s presidential inauguration looms, prelate calls for respect for human rights
 Los Angeles deacon, parishioners save church from fire

Released Thursday, Jan. 9

 Biden cancels plan for final trip, papal audience
 Nigerian kidnappings continue: two nuns abducted
 Massive procession honors ‘Black Nazarene’ in Manila
 Vatican lists diplomatic ties with 184 countries
 Cardinal Tobin announces plan for ‘pastoral conversion’ in Newark
 Pope cuts short speech, citing ‘bit of a cold’
 Pope’s ‘State of the World’ address calls for ‘diplomacy of hope’
 Police say they have foiled planned jihadist attack on Spanish basilica
 Some young Haitians are converting to Islam for money, bishop says
 Renewed papal appeal for prayer for peace
 Papal tribute to circus entertainers
 Devotion to Blessed Carlo Acutis spreads among Asian youth
 Ecumenical Patriarch celebrates Christmas in Russian parish, prays for unity with Catholic Church
 Los Angeles fire destroys parish
 USCCB office publishes ‘Catholic Elements of Immigration Reform’

Released Wednesday, Jan. 8

 Ukrainian priest wounded in drone attack
 China’s oldest priest dies at 104
 Pope, at audience, speaks on exploitation of children
 Papal Christmas wishes to Eastern Christians, renewed appeal for prayer for peace
 In unusual move, Pope transfers Italian prelate from archdiocese to diocese
 Over 500,000 pilgrims have passed through holy door of St. Peter’s Basilica
 Temporary Anglican leader, in letter, discusses sexual abuse, same-sex couples
 Giving ourselves to others is the ‘best catechesis,’ Vatican cardinal preaches
 Cardinal Parolin to consecrate Church of the Baptism of the Lord in Jordan
 Moscow Patriarch, in Christmas message, condemns those who take up ‘arms against Orthodoxy’

Released Tuesday, Jan. 7

 French bishop forced to resign
 Abortion was leading cause of deaths worldwide in 2024
 Cameroon bishops oppose aged president’s bid for 8th term
 Sudan government leader reaches out to Catholic community
 Mass deportations ‘incompatible with Catholic doctrine,’ Cardinal McElroy says at DC press conference
 California requires foster parents to affirm transgenderism
 Cardinal Dolan to lead prayer at President Trump’s inauguration
 Stop making ‘incendiary comments,’ American Jewish leaders urge Pope Francis
 Vocations grow in Burkina Faso despite terrorism
 Papal encouragement to children to be missionaries in prayer and solidarity
 Pope contrasts Magi, ‘desk’ theologians
 The star is bright, is visible, and points the way, Pope preaches at Epiphany Mass

Released Monday, Jan. 6

 Catholic representation grows in US Congress
 First woman named prefect of Vatican dicastery
 Nigerian priest charged in fatal shooting
 Italian bishops’ newspaper rapped for questions about Holy Family
 Pope names Cardinal McElroy new Archbishop of Washington
 Renewed papal appeal for prayer for peace, condemnation of attacks on schools, hospitals
 Imitate the God of love, Pope tells pilgrims
 Pope attends episcopal ordination of Rome’s new auxiliary bishop
 Papal warning against bullying in schools
 Pointed papal warnings against nuns’ ‘vinegar faces,’ women’s gossip
 Adore, serve, walk: papal encouragement for confraternity members
 Be joyful pilgrims of hope, as the saints were, Pope tells blind persons

Released Friday, Jan. 3

 Beatification cause for Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi advances
 Pope appoints administrator for troubled Ivory Coast diocese
 Biden awards Citizens Medals to pro-abortion, pro-gay activists
 Vatican envoy in Syria cautiously optimistic
 Adoration and charitable work go together, Pope tells Knights of Malta
 Irish archbishop rips ‘disproportionate’ Israeli offensive
 Jerusalem Patriarch: Prospects for peace are bleak, apart from Christ
 Remain standing after the Agnus Dei, West Virginia bishop declares
 Mary is world’s hope, cardinal says at holy door opening
 Sant’Egidio founder, Pontiff discuss humanitarian corridors for migrants
 Pope laments lack of education for 250 million children
 San Antonio archbishop rips ‘tyrant’ Trump, links Trump’s words to violent ‘tragedies’

Released Thursday, Jan. 2

 Church leaders urge Indian government action on anti-Christian violence
 Holy Door opened at St. Mary Major
 Catholic priest murdered in Nigeria
 Orthodox Patriarch looks toward 2025 Nicea anniversary, ecumenical highlight
 Belarus: Catholic priest convicted of treason
 Papal sympathy after New Orleans terror attack
 Cardinal Amato dies at 86; Pope calls him ‘good and vigilant servant’
 Renewed papal appeal for prayer for peace
 Papal plea for forgiveness of debts incurred by poorest nations
 The shepherds saw the infant Jesus, but did not see Mary’s heart, Pope tells pilgrims
 Entrust the new year to Mary, Pope preaches at January 1 Mass
 Pope gives thanks for Rome’s Jubilee preparations, preaches that Christ is the hope of a fraternal world
 January papal prayer intention: for the right to an education

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Thu23 January
Ordinary Time

Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of St. Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon & Martyr (USA); Opt Mem of St. Marianne Cope, Virgin (USA)

Image for Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of St. Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon & Martyr (USA); Opt Mem of St. Marianne Cope, Virgin (USA)

Today is Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time. In the United States the Optional Memorial of St. Vincent of Saragossa (d. 304) is transferred from January 22 in the Universal Calendar to January 23. He was one of the greatest deacons of the Church. He was born in Huesca, Spain, suffered…

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