Days before Christmas, Chri-stians in Nigeria buried 40 people killed in terror attacks in the nor-thern Nigerian state of Kaduna, where several villages have been attacked this month by suspected terrorists from the Fulani tribe of northern Nigeria.
At a Dec. 22 inter-denomi-national memorial service, mour-ners were encouraged to take de-fensive measures against a years-long spate of terrorism and viole-nce in the largely Christian farm-ing communities of northern and central Nigeria – especially as government security officials have been criticized for failing to pre-vent terrorist attacks.
At the open-air prayer service ceremony, Fr. Benjamin Bala ex-horted Nigerians to “be ready in … ‘Holy anger,’ to respond to the natural sense for self-preservation which is also both divine and con-stitutional.”
“This requires us to do all within the law and our faith to and protect our lives. In Genesis 9:5, God says he will demand an account of every life; beast and man from us. Yes, God is our refuge and protector. But we must cooperate with him at all times to keep us safe and secure,” the priest said.
“These are indeed trying times for us. We cannot afford to be asleep. We must keep awake. We must not allow ourselves to give in to the antics of our atta-ckers. Let us not allow them to push us into doing things that are unlawful and acting against our Christian faith. Our faith teaches us to constantly pray and watch.”
The 40 victims include 33 men and boys, and 7 women and girls of several Christian traditions: 22 Catholics, 16 Evangelicals, and 2 Baptists.
The youngest victim of the terror attacks was two years old. The oldest was 65. Among the dead were 6 members of one family – father, mother and four children.
The victims were part of Malagum 1 and Sakong village communities in the southern part of the Kaduna state.

The COVID-19 pandemic touched nearly every aspect of American life. Schools, offices, grocery stores, and churches faced daunting challenges in the early days of the pandemic in their efforts to operate while keeping their employees, members, and the broader community safe. For churches and religious organizations, concerns over COVID-19 led many to pause traditional in-person worship services. A recent Pew Research Centre study found that nearly one in three churches or religious organizations were completely closed in summer 2020, while others moved outside or online. By March 2022, most were offering some type of regular service, but only 43% of religious Americans reported that services currently being offered by their place of worship were back to their pre-pandemic operations.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted religious participation for millions of Americans. In summer 2020, only 13% of Americans reported attending in-person worship services. This rebounded to 27% by March 2022, but rates of worship attendance were still lower than they were before the pandemic. However, the pandemic did not appear to affect one’s faith, with most adults reporting that their religious affiliation today was no different than it was pre-pandemic. In fact, one study showed that the experience of the pandemic may have even strengthened many Americans’ religious faith.

Three Kings parade Poland Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6, 2023, for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. | Justyna Galant/CNA
Three Kings parades Poland Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6, 2023, for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world.
Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6 for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. This year, carols were sung not only in Polish but also in Ukrainian.
Jan. 6 is the feast of the Epiphany, which is commonly referred to as Three Kings Day, or the day of the three Magi. In Poland, it is a day off. In many cities across the country, colourful processions are held to commemorate the event, with participants remembering the journey of the three Wise Men who arrived in Bethlehem to pay homage to the new-born Jesus.

Patriarch Sako began his message by noting that, over the Christmas period, he listened to the sermons of various Eastern clergy, and watched their television interviews.
“I found,” he wrote, “that the ideas put forward are outdated, and that what they said does not communicate with the current reality (…). Therefore, it does not move the recipients, nor does it give them hope, nor does it give them a feeling of reassurance and refreshment.” Such preaching, he warned, discourages young people from coming to church, and, “if the situation continues as it is now, future generations will be without faith.”
Part of this problem, he said, is that the Eastern Catholic Churches “did not benefit much” from the Second Vatican Council or 2010’s Special Assembly on the Middle East.
What is the solution? Priests, Patriarch Sako said, should bear in mind the close relationship – insisted upon by the late Pope Benedict XVI – between faith and reason, and speak “honestly, transparently, [and] rationally.” The Church, he stressed, should respond to “cultural and social changes”, just as Christ did.
“Truth and renewal are at the heart of the Church’s nature,” the Patriarch emphasised.
Given the precarious state of the Eastern Churches, Patriarch Sako went on to say, “priority must be given to the issue of unity”, which is “the only guarantee of our survival.”
Such unity, he stressed, does not mean erasing the “spiritual, cultural, and theological heritage” of each particular Church. Rather, “unity is about accepting differences and respecting them through mutual humility and fraternal encounter, working together based on the Gospel.”
“In division there is no future for us, in unity and marching together the guarantee of our survival,” he wrote, urging the Eastern Churches to adopt a synodal style of co-operation.
The Patriarch concluded his letter by drawing a parallel between the current situation of Middle Eastern Churches and the city of Constantinople before its conquest by the Ottomans. As enemy forces were gathering at the gates, he wrote, “Byzantine theologians were arguing about the gender of angels.”

Every two years, Pew Research Centre analyzes the religious affiliation of members of the incoming Congress. This report is the eighth in the series, which started with the 111th Congress that began in 2009.
Data on members of Congress comes from CQ Roll Call, which surveys members about their demographic characteristics, including religious affiliation. Centre researchers then code the data so that Congress can be compared with U.S. adults overall. For example, members of Congress who tell CQ Roll Call they are “Southern Baptists” are coded under the broader “Baptists” category.
Data in this report covers voting members of Congress sworn in on Jan. 3, 2023. This analysis includes 534 members of Congress rather than the full 535 because Congressman Donald McEachin of Virginia’s 4th District was reelected in November but died before the swearing-in; his seat will go unfilled until a February special election.
Data for all U.S. adults comes from multiple sources, including Pew Research Center’s 2021 National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS), conducted May 29-Aug. 25, 2021; a survey on the Center’s American Trends Panel conducted Sept. 20-26, 2021; and the Center’s survey of Jewish Americans conducted Nov. 19, 2019-June 3, 2020. Here is more information about how Pew Research Center measures the religious composition of the United States.

I am thrilled whenever a biblical archeological discovery is reported by the secular news. Here are four reasons why people with faith in Almighty God should celebrate such reports.
First, “affirming” physical evidence makes the Word of God less of a “fairy tale” — a phrase used by my deceased atheist sister, to describe the Bible. (God rest her soul.)
Second, excavations can spark biblical interest among academics or anyone who enjoys ancient history — even those without faith who would never pick up a Bible.
Third, a repeat from Vol. 126: ”What the Bible Says about Burnt Offerings” — relevant to today’s study passage:
“Decades ago, I heard a mega-church pastor say, ‘Archaeology has never disproved the Bible,’ and it resonated with me. Then, researching this study [Vol. 126], I found two confirming articles. First from Smithsonian Magazine: ‘An Archaeological Dig Reignites the Debate Over the Old Testament’s Historical Accuracy’ — and a quote grabbed my attention:
“ ‘This trend of archaeology corroborating Biblical accounts continued so consistently that in 1959 Rabbi Dr. Nelson Glueck declared ‘no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.’ Since then, the evidence has kept coming.
“The second article is from Newsweek (of all places), by celebrated writer Eric Metaxas titled, ‘Is Archaeology Proving the Bible?’ Metaxas wrote: ‘Archaeology has been pointing to the accuracy of the Hebrew scriptures for 170 years.’ “
Fourth, as technology advances, expect new techniques to yield more discoveries confirming the Bible. (Maybe even the “Ark of the Covenant,” but without Harrison Ford.)
And, on a personal note, this past summer in Jerusalem, my husband and I visited the Pool of Siloam, thus more excavations are welcome news.
Now, let’s take a quick dip into the Pool of Siloam and discuss the key takeaways from John: 9 — a miraculous two-part story. First, “Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind,” the subhead for verses 1-12. The second subhead for verses 13 – 41 is “The Pharisees Investigate the Healing.”

The Catholic bishops of Brazil condemned the violent seizure on Jan. 8 of Congress, the president’s office, and the Supreme Court in Brasilia, the country’s capital.
According to Globo TV, these three branches of the Brazilian government are already under the control of law enforcement. There are also dozens of detainees.
“The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), disconcerted by the serious and violent events in Brazil, calls for tranquility and peace, as well as the immediate cessation of criminal attacks on the democratic rule of law,” the prelates said on Twitter.
“These attacks must be immediately contained and their organizers and participants held accountable to the full extent of the law. Citizens and democracy must be protected,” the conference stressed.
A large crowd, presumably supporters of now former President Jair Bolsonaro, seized on Sunday various areas of the National Congress, the Federal Supreme Court, and Planalto Palace (the president’s workplace), which together comprise the seat of the Brazilian government.
Last October, Bolsonaro narrowly lost a bid for a second term as president to leftist Lula da Silva, who was sworn into office Jan. 1 and had previously served as Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2011.

Prominent Australians have paid tribute to Cardinal George Pell as local political leaders ruled out the possibility of a state funeral.
While former prime ministers of the country hailed Pell as a “great son” of Australia and an important figure in the nation’s intellectual and cultural life, the premiers of two Australian states — New South Wales and Victoria — said they would not be granting state funeral honours to Pell following the cardinal’s death in Rome on Jan. 10 at the age of 81.
In Victoria — which encompasses Melbourne, whose archdiocese Pell led from 1996 to 2001 — Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed that there would be no state memorial service and linked his announcement to the clerical abuse scandals of recent decades.
“I couldn’t think of anything that would be more distressing for victim-survivors than that,” he said Jan. 12, adding that he was unlikely to attend the cardinal’s memorial.
Some sections of Australian media and society have continued to link Pell’s legacy to his 2017 trial on charges of sexual abuse, despite the High Court acquitting him of all charges in 2020, after the cardinal had spent more than 400 days in solitary confinement.

In a final message before his death, a conservative cardinal excoriates Pope Francis’ upcoming Synod on Synodality as a “toxic nightmare.”
The Spectator published Cdl. George Pell’s posthumous article, which is entitled ”The Catholic Church must free itself from this ‘toxic nightmare.’” As a member of the pontiff’s council of cardinals and the former Vatican prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Pell was a close associate of the holy father.
Pell, who died unexpectedly on January 10 quips, “The Catholic Synod of Bishops is now busy constructing what they think of as ‘God’s dream’ of synodality. Unfortunately this divine dream has developed into a toxic nightmare despite the bishops’ professed good intentions.”
He blasted the Vatican’s 45-page working document for the continental stage of the synod process and pleaded with faithful bishops to take action before it’s too late.
“With no sense of irony, the document is entitled ‘Enlarge the Space of Your Tent’, and the aim of doing so is to accommodate, not the newly baptised — those who have answered the call to repent and believe — but anyone who might be interested enough to listen,” Pell declares.

The United States has expanded its list of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom.
Two new nations—Cuba and Nicaragua—were added  to the State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC). Two others—Vietnam and the Central African Republic (CAR)—were added to its Special Watch List (SWL). And one new organization was added to its list of Entities of Particular Concern (EPC): Russia’s mercenary Wagner group, due to its cited offenses in CAR.
“Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill individuals on account of their beliefs,” stated Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State. “The United States will not stand by in the face of these abuses.”
His own watchdog, however, is unconvinced.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) tweeted its “outrage” over the non-inclusion of Nigeria and India. It is “inexplicable,” the independent bipartisan organization continued, given the State Department’s own reporting.
The sections on Nigeria and India were particularly lengthy.
“They each clearly meet the legal standards for designation,” stated Nury Turkel, USCIRF chair. “USCIRF is tremendously disappointed that the Secretary of State did not … recognize the severity of the religious freedom violations.”
Afghanistan — No. 1 on WWL, North Korea — No. 2, Eritrea — No. 6, Pakistan — No. 8
Iran — No. 9, Saudi Arabia — No. 11, Myanmar — No. 12, China — No. 17, Turkmenistan — No. 25, Cuba — No. 37, Tajikistan — No. 45