Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, invites Christians to return to the Holy Land on pilgrimage, saying their presence makes residents feel part of the universal Church. “This ceasefire is a turning point that has been marked in the life of the Holy Land.” Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa offered that assessment in a video message recorded from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was joined by the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Patton, in inviting Christians to make plans to visit the Holy Land on pilgrimage in the near future. “Last year was a difficult year,” said Patriarch Pizzaballa. “For this year, I want to express the appreciation we have for all the universal Church, for the support, for the prayer, or the unity and solidarity they expressed for the Holy Land.” He urged Christians worldwide to express their solidarity with the Holy Land, saying Jerusalem is safe, especially with the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that went into effect on Jan. 19.
“The source and origin of hope is here at the Holy Sepulchre with Jesus, the Risen Lord,” he added. “So, it’s about time to take courage to come here. We are waiting for you.”
In the video, Fr. Patton agreed with Patriarch Pizzaballa, highlighting the importance of pilgrimage to the land where Jesus was born, died, and rose again.
Standing in front of the Holy Sepulchre, he said Christians are “waiting for you, because when you come as pilgrims to the Holy Land, our small Christian community feels that we are part of a great family, the great family of the Catholic Church and Christians living all around the world.” “Please, don’t fear,” concluded Fr. Patton. “Don’t be afraid. Come!”
Indonesian archbishop rejects government energy plans in majority Catholic island of Flores
Indonesian Archbishop Paulus Budi Kleden, SVD, has spoken out against government-backed geothermal projects in Flores, the country’s most Catholic island located in East Nusa Tenggara.
According to UCA News, Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry designated Flores a “geothermal spot” in 2017, identifying 16 project sites on the island in spite of strong opposition from local villagers.
“After hearing testimonies from several people, from Sokoria and Mataloko, and discussions with several priests, I have decided to reject geothermal projects in three vicariates,” Kleden said in a Jan. 10 video message.
Kleden, who became archbishop of Ende in August 2024, said residents have complained of the depletion of water springs in Sokoria and hot mud eruptions in Mataloko, UCA News reported.
Kleden is the first Indonesian archbishop to speak out publicly against the government’s energy plans in Flores, insisting that the projects have triggered a life-threatening “ecological disaster” on the island.
In addition to encouraging priests in the Ende Archdiocese to take a stand against the social and environmental harm caused by mining activities, Kleden said local residents should be encouraged to seek appropriate legal advice to protect their land.
Father Simon Suban Tukan, JPIC coordinator for the Society of the Divine Word in West Flores, told that the new law is important to protect the rights of environmental activists who feel threatened by a “government agenda that emphasizes investment.”
Pakistani youth who gave his life to prevent terrorist attack is symbol of Christian unity
During this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a group of believers from different Christian denominations made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Akash Bashir, the young Pakistani Salesian who sacrificed his life in 2015 to prevent a terrorist attack at his church.
In Pakistan, a traditionally Islamic nation, everyone considers Servant of God Akash Bashir a martyr, according to the Vatican news agency Fides. His figure has become one “that unites Christians of all confessions.” Muslims also venerate him. “His sacrifice, giving his life to protect the innocent people praying in St. John Church in Lahore, transcends the boundaries of the Church and stands as a bridge for interreligious dialogue with the Muslim community,” Fides noted. As part of this year’s Week of Pra-yer for Christian Unity activities, an ecumenical prayer service took place at his burial place in which the participants “entrusted the lives of Christians in Pakistan to the intercession of this young man.”
Among them were a Catholic priest, Father Lazar Aslam, and two Protestant pastors, I.B. Rocky and Samuel Ashan Khokhar. The latter recalled that fateful day of March 15, 2015, when Bashir saved many lives by bravely confronting a terrorist who intended to blow himself up inside the church.
“I was in charge of receiving the bodies, placing them in the morgue and making a list of those who had tragically lost their lives. I remember in particular writing the name of Akash Bashir on one of the body bags,” Khokhar said.
Pope critiques ‘rigid’ dress sense and mentality of conservative prelates
The Pope has taken conser-vative bishops and cardinals to task for the way they dress, suggesting their adherence to ostentatious styles reveals a “rigidity” of mind that in some cases may even reach a level of “mental instability” and “emotional deviation.”
The Pope made his criticism of the sartorial preferences of traditional-leaning prelates in his autobiography titled Hope, which was published on 14 January. Their “rigidity”, he writes, “is often accompanied by elegant and costly tailoring, lace, fancy trimmings, rochets”, which he described as amounting to “clerical ostentation.” The Pope then adds: “These ways of dressing up sometimes conceal mental imbalance, emotional deviation, behavioural difficulties, a personal problem that may be exploited.”
In his autobiography, Francis stresses how he avoided the tri-mmings and finery of papal tra-dition once he was elected in 2013. “They offered me a beautiful golden cross and I said: ‘I have this nickel silver one from my episcopal ordination, I’ve been carrying it for 20 years,’” he writes. He also notably turned down the papal red shoes favoured by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. “The red shoes? No, I have orthopaedic shoes. I’m rather flat footed,” he said at the time, he recalls in his book. “Likewise, I didn’t want the velvet mozzetta, nor the linen rochet…They were not for me. Two days later they told me I would have to change my trousers, wear white ones. They made me laugh. ‘I don’t want to be an ice-cream seller,’ I said. And I kept my own,” he writes.
At Vatican jubilee, Pope Francis skips prepared text for heart-to-heart with journalists
“Communication means stepping outside ourselves a bit to give something of myself to another,” Pope Francis told hundreds of communications professionals on Jan. 25, speaking spontaneously after setting aside his prepared remarks at the Vatican’s Jubilee of the World of Communications.
“In my hands, I have a nine-page speech,” the pope said with a smile to participants gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. He announced to an applauding audience that he would have this document distributed but only speak briefly, given the hour and the fact that everyone was hungry.
“To know how to communicate is a great wisdom, and I am happy that this jubilee of communicators is taking place. Your work is one that builds. It builds society and it builds the Church,” the pope said, provided journa-lists are truthful and “real” in their interior life.
The Jan. 25 encounter with communicators was one of several Saturday jubilee audiences of 2025, following a first meeting with pilgrims. The event began with a dialogue featuring Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa and author Colum McCann, moderated by veteran Italian journalist Mario Calabresi.
The pope’s prepared message, later shared with participants, addressed several pressing concerns facing modern communications. The text called attention to journalists who died covering conflicts in the past year, noting that more than 120 media professionals lost their lives in 2024. The written remarks also warned against what the pope termed “brain rot” caused by constant social media scrolling, calling for greater media literacy and critical thinking, especially among young people. “We need courageous entrepreneurs, courageous information engineers, so that the beauty of communication is not corrupted,” the prepared text stated.
Bishops condemn Trump’s immigration orders for stoking fear, anxiety
Catholic advocacy groups, southern border dioceses and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bi-shops are expressing deep concern after President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders targeting immigration on his first week in the Oval Office.
Particularly troubling to these groups are his actions tied to the declaration of a national emer-gency at the southern border and his attempt to end birth right citizenship, a right long upheld under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to anyone born on American soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Federal immigration autho-rities also will now be allowed to conduct enforcement actions in traditionally protected areas, including churches and schools, marking a sharp departure from previous policies, according to a Jan. 21 statement by the Depart-ment of Homeland Security, which said the move empowers agents to make arrests without restrictions tied to “so-called ‘sensitive’ areas.”
“Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us,” said Abp Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference.
Church in Mexico responds to Trump’s new immigration policies
The Catholic Church in Mexi-co reiterated its commitment to supporting migrants in the country after U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders declaring a national emergency at the U.S. southern border and tightening immigration policies.
Among the measures announced are the reactivation of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, mass deportations, and an order seeking to eliminate U.S. citizen-ship by birth right. In this context, the bishops of Mexico, through a statement signed by Bishop Eugenio Lira Rugarcía, head of migration ministry, and Bishop Héctor Mario Pérez Villarreal, secretary-general of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM), expressed “solidarity, our pra-yers, and our determination to continue serving migrants.”
“In the midst of a harsh winter, many people and families on the move are experiencing moments of anguish, pain, fear, and uncertainty in the face of the provisions of the United States federal government related to migration,” the bishops lamented.
However, they assured that they will continue to strive “so that in our homes, shelters, and reception centers [migrants] find shelter and food; support in caring for their physical, emotional, and spiritual health; assistance in contacting their families and obtaining the documentation they need; [and] legal advice and support for the procedures they need to carry out.”
“We are convinced that, united, we can offer hope to every-one,” the bishops said, empha-sizing their willingness to colla-borate with authorities and civil organizations in the effort to “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate our migrant and deported brothers and sisters.” The bishops also called on society to support the works of the Catholic Church and migrants and deportees.
New study reveals decades of abuse cases in northern Italian diocese
A pioneering probe into clerical abuse in northern Italy’s Bolzano-Bressanone Diocese has uncovered 67 cases involving 59 victims over a nearly 60-year period, according to a study released on Jan. 20.
The 635-page report examined cases from 1964 to 2023 in the northern Italian region of Alto Adige-Südtirol and identified 41 clergy members as alleged per-petrators. However, researchers could definitively confirm alle-gations against only 29 of the accused, while claims against the remaining 12 clergy could not be verified with sufficient certainty.
In what researchers called a “surprising” finding, more than 51% of the victims were female, while only 18% were definitively identified as male. This pattern marks a significant departure from similar studies in Germany, where male victims predomina-ted, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
The study, conducted by Munich-based law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl, noted that the diocese’s handling of abuse cases has improved since 2010. Resear-chers particularly praised former Bishop Karl Golser (2008–2011) for establishing the diocese’s list-ening centre – described as “an absolute novelty in Italy” – though they noted that before 2010, diocesan leadership had “mostly reacted inadequately or inappro-priately.”
The report acknowledged sincere efforts by current leader-ship – Bishop Ivo Muser since 2011 and Vicar General Eugen Runggaldier since 2018 – to improve the diocese’s approach to abuse cases and support for victims.
Nigeria tops report for number of Christians killed, kidnapped in 2024
Nigeria was the country with the most Christians killed and kidnapped in 2024, according to the latest report from advocacy group Open Doors.
The World Watch List, re-leased Jan. 15, found that 3,100 Christians were killed and 2,830 Christians were kidnapped in Nigeria in 2024, far more than other countries in the same year. The report also said the country with the most Christians arrested in 2024 was India, at 2,176, and Rwanda experienced the most attacks on Christian churches or buildings with 4,000.
The Open Doors watch list confirmed that Christian persecution continued to grow “in absolute terms” among the about 100 countries the group monitored in 2024, with 13 countries classified at “extreme levels” of Christian persecution. The group estimates over 380 million Christians worldwide experienced at least a “high level” of persecution and discrimination because of their faith.
North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan are the report’s top five countries for Christian persecution in 2024. Nigeria ranks No. 7 on the watch list. Eritrea, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Saudi Arabia, and Myanmar round out the top 13 countries, all classified as having “extreme” levels of anti-Christian persecution.
Cuban government announces release of 553 prisoners through mediation of Pope Francis
The Cuban government announced the release of 553 prisoners through the mediation of Pope Francis “in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025. “President [Miguel] Díaz-Canel sent a letter to the supreme pontiff in which, in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025 declared by His Holiness and which has just begun, he communicated the decision to benefit by granting freedom to 553 people sanctioned in due process for various crimes established by law … [These people] will receive their respective benefits gradually,” the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement dated Jan. 14.
Cuba’s statement refers to Pope Francis’ call to release prisoners during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, which began on Dec. 24, 2024, at the Vatican. In the bull Spes Non Confundit, with which he convoked the jubilee year, the pope proposed that “governments undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope, forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help individuals regain confidence in themselves and in society.”