Catholic News

• President Trump's speech highlights March for Life (CWN)
  "Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House," boasted President Donald Trump, as he addressed hundreds of thousands of pro-life demonstrators participating in the March for Life on January 24.
• 'Listen to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth,' Cardinal Turkson says at Davos (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)
  “And if, with the analogy of Pope Francis, the earth and its poor are crying to us, then there is an urgency on the part of humanity: to go to these elements which are crying to us and to try to save them, to help them stop crying,” the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said during a press conference at the the 2020 World Economic Forum.
• US bishops applaud administration measures to strengthen religious liberty (USCCB)
  Days after a statement expressing appreciation for the Trump administration’s “‘concrete actions” on religious liberty, two USCCB committee chairmen expressed their gratitude for new steps taken by the administration on school prayer and federal grants for faith-based organizations.
• Vice President Pence meets Pope Francis (CNA)
  US Vice President Mike Pence met on January 24 with Pope Francis, and told reporters after the meeting that they had discussed the March for Life, which took place in Washington the same day. Pence said that he had also spoken with the Pontiff about the persecution of Christians, particularly in the Middle East; and about the suffering of the people in Venezuela.
• Vatican diplomat urges international community to 'keep the flame of dialogue alive' in the Middle East (Holy See Mission)
  Msgr. Fredrik Hansen, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, addressed a UN Security Council meeting devoted to the Middle East.
• Argentine bishop fires professor who posted Viganò text on Facebook (LifeSite News)
  A spokesman for Bishop Gabriel Mestre of Mar del Plata declined to comment on the dismissal of Dr. Maximiliano Loria.
• Bolivia's bishops call for democratic, transparent elections (Fides)
  Evo Morales, Bolivia’s Socialist president since 2005, resigned in November following weeks of violent protests.The nation of 11.5 million (map) is 79% Catholic and 14% Protestant; Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2015.
• 'No to new wars,' bishops of 3 African nations plead (Fides)
  “We appeal to the conscience of rulers to keep in their hearts and minds the duty to protect the populations and to work for the prosperity of people who must fully enjoy their rights as creatures created in the image of God,” said the bishops of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda.
• Abusive behavior a factor in decline of women's religious orders: Vatican magazine (Washington Post)
  Women Church World, the magazine for women published by the Vatican, has suggested that abuse and exploitation—by priests and religious superiors—has been an important factor in the declining number of women in religious life. The magazine reported that Pope Francis has committed to opening a house in Rome to shelter women who have been expelled from their religious congregations.
• Indian archbishop declares day of reparation after profanation of Blessed Sacrament (Vatican News)
  “I am deeply disturbed and terribly shocked and also greatly grieved that desecration was done to Lord Jesus Christ who is present in the Holy Eucharist,” Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore said after vandals broke into the tabernacle of a parish church and desecrated the Blessed Sacrament.
• NFL football team helped cover up abuse in Catholic Church? (AP)
  Executives with the New Orleans Saints helped archdiocesan officials plan public-relations strategy to cope with the fallout from sex-abuse complaints. In a lawsuit against the New Orleans archdiocese, plaintiffs are seeking documents from the football team related to a “damage-control” operation.
• Missionary reports that Islamist violence is spreading fear among Niger's Christians (Fides)
  The West African nation of 20.5 million (map) is over 96% Muslim, with 3% adhering to indigenous religions.
• Utah bans conversion therapy for minors (Religion Clause)
  With rare exceptions, mental health professionals are now forbidden to provide “any practice or treatment that seeks to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a patient or client, including mental health therapy that seeks to change, eliminate, or reduce behaviors, expressions, attractions, or feelings related to a patient or client’s sexual orientation or gender identity.”
• In Iran, Christian convert receives 3-year prison sentence (Middle East Concern)
  Ismaeil Maghrebinejad, 65, was convicted on the charge of “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs.”
• 'Opening the way to the Scriptures': Irish bishop issues pastoral letter for 'Sunday of the Word of God' (Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference)
  In 2019, Pope Francis issued Aperuit illis, an apostolic letter instituting the annual Sunday of the Word of God, which takes place on the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
• Buffalo priest files defamation suit against accuser (Buffalo News)
  Father Roy Herberger, 77, resumed active ministry after an attorney hired by the diocese found that a 2018 allegation against him was “completely false.”
• Church in Poland marks 'Islam Day' (SIR)
  “Islam is one of the main fears Polish Catholics have”, said Karol Wilczyński, member of the Council for Dialogue of the Archdiocese of Krakow, who hopes that the day will help “overcome prejudice and show the true face of Muslims.”
• Vatican conference focuses on pastoral care of the elderly (Vatican News)
  The theme of the first international conference on the pastoral care of the elderly (program, description), organized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, is “The richness of many years of life.”
• Taiwan president tells Pope of China's religious persecution (UCANews)
  In her letter to Pope Francis, President Tsai Ing-wen spoke of “authorities dispatching armed police to fire tear gas and suppress and arrest people expressing the wish to pursue democracy and human rights … religious practitioners facing detention and persecution by public security officers when they, following their conscience, refuse to be coerced into signing documents to join an organization that violates their religious doctrines.”
• New research offers details on Catholic inmates at Auschwitz (CNS)
  The Nazi extermination camp was liberated 75 years ago.
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