Greenland Catholics 'do not wish to become Americans' amid U.S. efforts at acquisition

The HDMS Niels Juel (F363) warship, an Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate of the Royal Danish Navy, is moored in Nuuk, Greenland, on June 15, 2025. | Credit: Ludovic MARIN/AFP via Getty ImagesJan 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 mot...

Pope Leo XIV urges making time 'to speak with God'

Pope Leo XIV gives the first general audience of 2026 in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: Vatican Media.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 an...

New York senator pushes for more church security after crimes, vandalism at Catholic parishes

Credit: ArtOlympic/ShutterstockJan 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. Senator Scarcella-Spanton's Statement on Incidents of Defacement at Catholic Churches pic.twitter.com/h3N4RLyg8K— Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (@NYSenator_JSS) January 11, 2026 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....

On his dying day, renowned cartoonist's faith in Christ made public

Scott Adams had previously announced his intention to convert to Christianity. | Credit: Art of Charm, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsJan 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. A Final Message From Scott Adams pic.twitter.com/QKX6b0MFZA— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) January 13, 2026 "I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and ...

First Catholic school in Finland: The dream of Helsinki's only Catholic bishop

Bishop Raimo Goyarrola with a family in Helsinki | Credit: Courtesy of Bishop Raimo GoyarrolaJan 13, 2026 / 17:16 pm (CNA).A "dream" that could soon become a reality is how the bishop of Helsinki, Raimo Goyarrola, described the founding of the first Catholic school in Finland, where the Catholic Church practically disappeared after the state adopted Lutheranism in the 16th century as a consequence of the Protestant Reformation.Placing his trust in God's hands and in providence, Goyarrola plans to open the school in August on the second floor of a Lutheran church dedicated to St. James the Apostle and located on the island of Lauttasaari, just three miles from the Finnish capital. His intention, "if the finances allow," is to acquire the building within three years.Image of Lauttasaari, the island located three miles from Helsinki. | Credit: Public domainStarting with 12 children, like the apostlesThe school will initially offer grades 1 through 3 and will begin as a home school...

Nicaraguan researcher urges religious freedom commission to refocus attention on abuses

Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer and Catholic researcher, urges the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to "return your eyes to Nicaragua" at a Jan. 13, 2026, hearing. | Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAJan 13, 2026 / 17:58 pm (CNA).Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer and Catholic researcher, urged the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to "return your eyes to Nicaragua.""In Nicaragua, praying in public is considered a crime," Molina said at a Jan. 13 hearing in Washington, D.C.USCIRF heard testimony about freedom of religion or belief violations against Christians following the release of the 2025 USCIRF Annual Report. Witnesses recounted their experiences with religious freedom violations in Nicaragua, China, Nigeria, Algeria, Vietnam, Egypt, Burma, Eritrea, and Pakistan.The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) hears testimony on Jan. 13, 2026. | Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAIn Nicaragua, M...

Supreme Court reviews transgender athlete bans

The Christendom College Women's Basketball team, with Mary Pennefather, third from left, voices opinions on women's sports at the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13, 2026. | Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNAJan 13, 2026 / 18:45 pm (CNA).The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether to uphold state laws banning transgender athletes from competing on women's sports teams, and Catholic athletes outside the court said they hope justices keep the laws on the books.Mary Pennefather, captain of the women's basketball team for Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, said: "If these court cases are allowed to happen, then say goodbye to all women's sports, because then all the transgender athletes will just come and play in the women's sports and get their national champion championships and NCAA titles from there."Standing among her teammates outside the Supreme Court, Pennefather said: "I can work as hard as I can to be good at my sport, and a man can come in and work half a...

Order of Malta seeks greater UN role as hospital in Bethlehem faces operational constraints

Grand Master Fra' John Dunlap addresses the diplomatic corps accredited to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta at the Magistral Villa on Rome's Aventine Hill on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. | Credit: Order of MaltaJan 13, 2026 / 11:11 am (CNA).The Order of Malta's Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem is facing severe operational constraints and its mobile clinics remain unable to reach Bedouin villages in the West Bank due to movement restrictions and violence, the order's grand master told diplomats Jan. 10.Fra' John Dunlap said in his annual address to the diplomatic corps that the 900-year-old Catholic order is committed to help reconstruction efforts in Gaza City led by Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and other partners.Middle East operations centralThe ties to the Middle East are central to the order's mission, particularly in Lebanon and the Holy Land, Dunlap told the diplomatic corps accredited to the order at the Magistral Villa on Rome's Aventine Hill.He expressed con...

Dozens of Charlotte priests query Vatican over bishop's move to abolish altar rails, kneelers

St. Patrick Cathedral in the Diocese of Charlotte. | Credit: Diocese of CharlotteJan 13, 2026 / 11:41 am (CNA).Reacting to Bishop Michael Martin's Dec. 17, 2025, pastoral letter announcing the impending abolishment of altar rails and kneelers in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, 31 of the diocese's priests have signed a letter to the Vatican's Dicastery for Legislative Texts containing a set of questions, or "dubia," related to the matter. According to The Pillar, which obtained a leaked copy of the diocesan priests' letter last week, the priests directly question "whether a diocesan bishop may prohibit the use of kneelers to assist members of the faithful who, of their own accord, wish to receive holy Communion kneeling." In December, Martin issued a pastoral letter saying that by Jan. 16, the use of altar rails, kneelers, and "prie-dieus" (movable kneelers) will no longer be permitted in the diocese, and any "temporary or movable fixtures used for kneeling for the ...

Czech bishop declares Year of Reconciliation 80 years after World War II expulsions

Bishop Stanislav Pribyl of Litomerice celebrates Mass with Bishop Wolfgang Ipolt of Görlitz, Germany, and other clergy at the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians in Filipov, Czech Republic, on Jan. 13, 2025, during the annual pilgrimage commemorating the 1866 healing of Magdalena Kade. | Credit: Lubomír Holý/Clovek a víraJan 13, 2026 / 12:11 pm (CNA).Eighty years after the expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia, a Czech bishop has declared a local Year of Reconciliation to address wounds that remain from World War II and its aftermath.Bishop Stanislav Pribyl of Litomerice announced the initiative in a pastoral letter dated Dec. 31, 2025, following the end of the Jubilee of Hope on Jan. 6. The year marks two anniversaries on Jan. 13: the 1866 healing of Magdalena Kade and the 1946 founding of Ackermann-Gemeinde, a Catholic reconciliation group established by expelled Germans."The end of World War II brought not just joy and relief but also reckoning with people...