Ss. Joseph and Cabrini Parish

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/CNA

Jan 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 as hard, and he will always be bigger, faster, and stronger than me. It totally goes against God’s natural law. He made humans male and female. And now you have these people coming in here and saying, ‘That’s not right,’ that men could be women and vice versa … it’s totally disrupted and disordered, and it’s a breakdown of the family.”

The court heard more than three hours of arguments regarding two cases originating from Idaho and West Virginia in which lower courts upheld challenges by transgender athletes to statewide bans under the U.S. Constitution and federal anti-discrimination law. Supreme Court justices including Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch appeared to back the bans at several points during the oral arguments.

The challenges were brought by two transgender athletes: 15-year-old West Virginia high school student Becky Pepper-Jackson, and Boise State University student Lindsey Hecox of Idaho, who had attempted to withdraw the case but was ultimately denied.

Bishops weigh in

U.S. bishops submitted an amicus brief in support for the petitioners in Idaho v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., stating that if Catholic schools were forced to allow transgender athletes in women’s sports, they would need to halt all athletic programs or stop accepting funding “because allowing such competition would undermine fundamental Catholic teachings regarding the immutable, God-given differences between the sexes.”

Idaho and West Virginia both have laws that ban transgender athletes from competing on sports teams at public schools and universities that do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. There are 25 other states that have such laws.

“There are an awful lot of female athletes who are strongly opposed to participation by trans athletes in competitions with them,” Alito said at one point during the oral arguments. He then asked whether girls who express these opinions should be regarded as “bigots.” He added: “Are they deluded in thinking that they are subjected to unfair competition?” He also questioned whether transgender athletes hold an unfair advantage over biological women in sports at other points during the hearing.

Alito further insisted that a definition of sex is necessary in order to prove that transgender athletes are being discriminated against, stating: “How can a court determine whether there’s discrimination on the basis of sex without knowing what sex means for equal protection purposes?” Alito posed this question in response to ACLU lawyers’ position that a definition of sex is not legally necessary.

Kavanaugh emphasized the importance of Title IX and sex-based distinctions, stating: “One of the great successes in America over the last 50 years has been the growth of women and girls’ sports. And it’s inspiring.”

He said allowing transgender people to compete in women’s sports would “undermine or reverse that amazing success and create unfairness.”

“For the individual girl who does not make the team or doesn’t get on the stand for the medal or doesn’t make all-league,” he said, “there’s a harm there, and I think we can’t sweep that aside.”

Gorsuch said “bottom line, sports are assigned by sex because sex is what matters in sports,” adding that separation based on sex “is the fairest and the safest and the most administrable way to assign sports teams.”

“It’s been widely accepted for many decades because it’s necessary for fair competition because, where sports are concerned, men and women are obviously not the same,” he said during the hearing. “If Idaho can’t enforce a sex-based line here in sports, where nobody disputes that biological differences matter, then no line based on biological sex can survive constitutional scrutiny.”

“The court should uphold the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and reverse,” he concluded.

Outside the court, Matt Sharp, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, highlighted the importance of the court “protecting fairness in women’s sports.”

“If young women are made spectators in their own sports,” Sharp said, “we know they’re going to lose medals, they’re going to lose scholarships, they’re going to have their privacy violated.”

Steve Ward, a board-certified internal medicine physician with Do No Harm, said: “I think this issue is representative of a much deeper concern that I have about the medical profession,” he said. “We’re here to support women’s sports, and that’s certainly important, but to my mind, we really have to think more carefully about what this means for the future of science and scientific research.”

Ward emphasized the importance of scientific research based on “objective and fixed” reality. “All of these great great scientists of the past understood that, that the world could be studied because they had a Judeo-Christian worldview understanding that we live in a world that you can approach and you can make objective observations, perform the scientific method and so forth and reach some type of a conclusion that you can repeat and move forward with, develop technologies and all sorts of things,” he said, adding: “If we discard all of that history in favor of psychological categories, then you really can no longer do science at all, and you have to throw that away.”

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/CNA

Jan 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.

In Nicaragua, Molina said, “the measures that must be taken need to be more aggressive. Sanction the army. Impose direct economic sanctions. Bring [President] Daniel Ortega and [his wife, Vice President] Rosario Murillo and their collaborators before international justice and prosecute them for crimes against humanity. This year has proven that it is possible.”

Molina has conducted a study, “ Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” to show “the horrors done” at the hands of the dictators. Molina said since April 2018 she has documented 19,836 attacks “perpetrated by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in Nicaragua against priests, nuns, and laypeople.”

“In Nicaragua, altar boys … are harassed and monitored by the national Nicaraguan police and forced to sign documents whose contents they do not understand. Their parents are harassed and threatened with imprisonment if they speak to the media,” she said.

The Nicaraguan dictatorship “prohibits the entry of Bibles into Nicaragua and also controls the workshops where the images that Catholics use for veneration are made,” she said.

Nicaraguan Catholics are as “afraid as when the disciples of Jesus were afraid after his killing,” Molina said.

In Nicaragua, “the lack of religious freedom has profoundly limited the pastoral work of priests,” she said. “They are literally forced to be careful about how to proceed when they preach for fear of being in prison or exiled.”

Ortega and Murillo have “arbitrarily closed 13 universities and institutes,” she said. “With hatred, they have shut down centers for young people who were studying to become priests, and 304 priests and nuns have been exiled from Nicaragua. They are being expelled or prevented from entering the country.”

Due to the lack of priests now, “there are dioceses in Nicaragua that are surviving only with 30-40% of their priests,” Molina said. “As a consequence, communities in the interior of Nicaragua see their religious practices limited. They can no longer go to confession regularly.”

She added: “It is with urgency that we need to stop the criminals or they will continue to advance, which will eventually reach us in the United States.”

U.S. leadership

“At a time when Christians abroad face attacks simply for their faith, U.S. leadership is critical now more than ever,” Commission Chair Vicky Hartzler said during the Jan. 13 hearing.

Hartzler said in an interview after the hearing: “We want to have more countries designated as countries of particular concern, as special watch lists, that entity is of particular concern. We work tirelessly, constantly visiting with people on the ground, the countries hearing their stories.”

“We are very thankful the president designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern and is starting to take action to help people there,” she said. “But there are many other countries who are repressing their people, and we need to act on those countries as well. The United States has a tremendous amount of influence and opportunity to make a difference, and we should use our voice and our spot in the world to be able to help others.”

The commission also heard from U.S. representatives and senators who shared their support for the mission of USCIRF and legislation to protect religious freedom in the U.S. and abroad.

“The United States is a Christian nation,” said Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia. “We have a unique duty to defend Christians wherever they are being persecuted, and I will never stop fighting for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Missouri, said China under Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party “does not hide its actions.” He added: “Officials openly tell religious leaders that loyalty to the party is more important than loyalty to God Almighty.” He touted legislation to reinforce China’s designation as a country of particular concern.

Hartzler said: “Religious leaders and laypersons, including Jimmy Lai, faced furious charges of fraud and subversion. In recent years, the government has demolished churches and removed crosses from public view.”

Grace Drexel testified about her father, Pastor Ezra Jin, who is imprisoned in China.

Jin “was arrested by the Chinese authorities, along with 27 other pastors and church leaders from Zion Church; 18 total remained imprisoned,” she said. The October “crackdown represents the largest takedown of an independent Christian population in China since the Cultural Revolution.”

“I urge this commission to recognize that what is happening in China is not merely a domestic matter but a global threat to religious freedom and human dignity,” Drexel said. “If the international community remains silent, we signal acceptance and impunity for such traveling of universal human rights. And unfortunately, what happens in China does not stay in China.”

Bishop Raimo Goyarrola with a family in Helsinki | Credit: Courtesy of Bishop Raimo Goyarrola

Jan 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.

Starting with 12 children, like the apostles

The school will initially offer grades 1 through 3 and will begin as a home schooling model, a form of education recognized by the state. The Catholic character of the school will be reflected in its educational approach, in holistic formation based on Christian values, and in the celebrations of the main feasts of the liturgical calendar.

Although it will be open to children of any faith, the main challenge — as the bishop explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner — is to gather a sufficient number of students from Catholic families. “I am praying to start out with 12 children, like the apostles,” he explained.

“I’m excited, even though it’s a bit of a marathon, because in Finland you have to obtain many permits; it’s a country that operates on a lot of bureaucracy,” said Goyarrola, a Spaniard who is the pastor of a small Catholic community in a nation deeply marked by Lutheranism.

‘I trust in God, and this will move forward’

When Pope Francis entrusted him with leading the Diocese of Helsinki in 2023, the Basque bishop who, before arriving in cold Finland, served for four years in Seville in southern Spain, began compiling a “long list” of the needs of God’s people in Finland.

Among the first projects, he told ACI Prensa, was the construction of a Catholic school. “It’s something I’ve had in my heart for a long time. I transformed the needs into dreams, and little by little we are moving forward with faith. I trust in God, and this will go forward,” he said with a smile.

The prelate affirmed that “in life, you have to be courageous and pioneering” and that he will not stop despite the difficulties. “You have to be all in,” Goyarrola, who is a member of Opus Dei and holds a degree in medicine and surgery, emphasized.

“We already have two excellent teachers with extensive experience. We also have the classroom, the tables, the chairs — we have everything ready, so now we just need to find the children, and I hope it will start in August,” he said.

There are approximately 20,000 Catholics in Finland, which has a population of about 5.5 million. However, the Catholic Church in the country is growing year after year, not only due to the arrival of immigrants and refugees but also because of the increase in baptisms of children and the growing number of adults converting from other Christian denominations.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Scott Adams had previously announced his intention to convert to Christianity. | Credit: Art of Charm, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jan 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.

“I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him,” Adams declared in the message, adding that he hoped he was “still qualified for entry” into heaven upon his death.

“I had an amazing life. I gave it everything I had,” he wrote in the statement. “If you got any benefits from my work, I’m asking you to pay it forward as best you can. That is the legacy I want.”

Adams had previously announced his intent to convert on Jan. 1, admitting that “any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be instantly answered if I wake up in heaven.”

Born June 8, 1957, in Windham, New York, Adams began drawing from a young age. His work at the Pacific Bell Telephone Company in the 1980s and 1990s inspired many of the humorous office stereotypes portrayed in “Dilbert.”

A send-up of many of the tropes that continue to define U.S. office work, “Dilbert” became wildly popular into the 2000s and eventually included a brief television series.

Later in his career he launched the video talk series “Real Coffee With Scott Adams,” which he continued until just several days before his death.

In his final message released after his death, Adams told his fans: “Be useful.”

“And please know,” he added, “I loved you all to the end.”

Credit: ArtOlympic/Shutterstock

Jan 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.

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. St. Roch’s Roman Catholic Church on Dec. 28, meanwhile, a criminal broke into the church rectory and reportedly stole a towel.

At St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church in the Dongan Hills neighborhood, an assailant reportedly interrupted a 7 a.m. Mass by breaking an angel statue, snatching the missal and a cross from the altar, tearing down flowers, and damaging the sanctuary’s marble floor.

Two responding police officers were reportedly injured during the incident.

‘Nobody should feel unsafe where they pray’

Scarcella-Spanton said in an interview Jan. 13 she has reached out to the churches and the local police precinct regarding the attacks, which have occurred within her district.

The senator said it does not appear as if the incidents were coordinated. “It does seem as if they were unique incidents and not an organized effort,” she said.

Still, “we want a meeting with the police precinct and with clergy,” she said, “just to see if there’s anything we can do to help them.”

Scarcella-Spanton pointed to the New York government’s Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, which distributes government grants to protect vulnerable institutions. Houses of worship are able to access those funds, she said.

“This is for security, whether it’s people or cameras — just in any way, shape, or form,” she said.

The senator said the attack on St. Ann’s particularly affected her.

“I grew up in Dongan Hills where St. Ann’s is,” she said. “My kids went to preschool there. I went there for CCD.”

“I can’t imagine how scary that must have been for people” during the attack, she said.

In her statement, Scarcella-Spanton said she was “extremely troubled” by the incidents.

“Church is a place of peace and reflection; nobody should feel unsafe where they pray,” she said.

Archbishop Hebda speaks to EWTN News in August 2025. | Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot

Jan 13, 2026 / 13:11 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis described a pervasive “heaviness” in the community over federal agents’ deadly shooting of a U.S. citizen.

In his pastoral reflection on Jan. 12, the archbishop said he was on retreat with regional bishops last week when the shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official occurred.

“I find myself Googling ‘Minneapolis’ every few hours to learn of the latest developments in a situation that truly tears at the heart,” he wrote, noting that some parishes with large Latino populations are seeing fewer than 50% of usual congregants at recent Masses.

“I hope that you might think about contacting any of our parishes serving immigrant communities to see how you might support them in their ministry,” Hebda wrote.

During the retreat, he said he prayed for consolation for the Good family, wisdom for political leaders, prudence and safety for law enforcement, temperance among protesters, healing for those wounded by political divisions (especially young people), and courage for immigrants living in fear of deportation.

Hebda said he also prayed for parish priests, deacons, educators, and others who are navigating these tensions while striving to “bring the light of the Gospel and the balm of Jesus’ love into these difficult situations.”

After the shooting last week, Hebda in a statement pleaded for “all people of goodwill to join me in prayer for the person who was killed, for their loved ones, and for our community.”

“We continue to be at a time in this country when we need to lower the temperature of rhetoric, stop fear-filled speculation, and start seeing all people as created in the image and likeness of God,” he said.

Good was behind the wheel of her SUV when she was killed. Dueling narratives emerged, with the president and Homeland Security secretary saying the ICE officer’s actions were justified against an “act of domestic terrorism,” while Democratic officials said the administration is lying and urged the public to review videos of the shooting themselves.

In his Jan. 12 letter, the prelate noted the “providential” timing of the Church’s psalm response at this past Sunday’s Mass: “The Lord will bless his people with peace” (Psalm 29), adding: “I am confident that the Lord keeps his promises, but I am hoping that he won’t keep us waiting too long. Maybe I should be praying for patience.”

To address the ongoing wounds, the archdiocese hosted Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston on Monday evening for a public presentation titled “A Wounded Church: Finding Peace and Healing,” originally intended to address the shooting that occurred during the all-school Mass at Annunciation Church in August 2025. The event began with a Mass and concluded with Eucharistic adoration.

“How providential that the evening event, planned months ago, would have been scheduled to coincide with this challenging time,” Hebda remarked in his letter. Cozzens also led a morning of recollection for archdiocesan staff on Jan. 13 on the same theme.

The archbishop urged the faithful to support immigrant parishes facing sharp declines in attendance since early December.

“A number of parishioners expressed to me their concerns about how the parishes will be able to continue their excellent ministry and outreach to the needy if Mass attendance (and offertory) remains low,” he wrote. “I am confident that it would be a shot in the arm for them if you could join them some weekend.”

Hebda also requested continued prayers for Father Greg Schaffer, an archdiocesan priest serving at a mission parish in Venezuela. Amid heightened dangers following the Trump administration’s military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, the U.S. State Department has warned of risks for Americans, prompting the archbishop to ask for prayers for Schaffer.

Daniel Payne contributed to this story.

Angola is one of the African countries Pope Leo XIV plans to visit in what will be his first pastoral trip to the continent as Pontiff. | Credit: Vatican Media/Catholic Archdiocese of Luanda

Jan 13, 2026 / 12:41 pm (CNA).

Angola is one of the countries Pope Leo XIV plans to visit in what will be his first pastoral trip to the continent of Africa as pontiff, the apostolic nuncio in the southern African nation has announced.

Addressing journalists during a press conference on Tuesday, Archbishop Kryspin Witold Dubiel confirmed that the Holy Father had accepted invitations from both the Catholic bishops of Angola and the country’s President João Lourenço, adding that the timelines and itinerary of the visit and program are still being finalized.

“At this moment, we are preparing the plan and program for Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Africa. We do not yet have details on the exact date or program, but these will be communicated as soon as they are defined,” Dubiel said.

The native of Poland’s Diocese of Przemyśl invited all Angolan citizens to prepare for this significant event.

“I hope that the Holy Father’s visit will be an opportunity to rediscover the values that have shaped the Angolan people and to share these values with the diverse communities that live and work around the world,” said the Vatican diplomat in Angola, who also represents the Holy Father in São Tomé and Príncipe.

Also speaking at the press conference was the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, who called upon Angolans to participate in the committees that will be established to prepare for the papal visit.

“Each of these committees should give their best in the preparation, promotion, and realization of all tasks assigned,” Archbishop José Manuel Imbamba of Angola’s Saurimo Archdiocese said.

Imbamba thanked Pope Leo XIV for accepting the invitation to visit Angola.

Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias of Angola’s Archdiocese of Luanda described the planned papal trip as a “moment of great human and spiritual comfort,” occurring during a special period in the history of Christianity and in the year marking the “grand jubilee of Luanda — 450 years as a city, 450 years celebrating the faith.”

Dias emphasized that the visit places Angola on the path of evangelization and universality.

He went on to thank the Angolan government for “opening the doors” and for accepting to collaborate with faith-based leaders to facilitate the papal visit.

In December 2025, Pope Leo XIV reportedly indicated that he would visit Africa in 2026, naming Algeria as a possible initial destination. Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon were also mentioned as potential stops.

Pope Leo is the first pontiff in modern history with firsthand knowledge of Africa. Unlike his predecessors, he has already been to eastern, western, southern, northern, and central Africa in person.

As he began his papacy following his May 2025 election, the American-born member of the Order of St. Augustine had already visited Kenya at least half a dozen times, the regional vicar of the order in the east African nation told ACI Africa — the last visit to the country having taken place in December 2024.

In a May 12, 2025, interview, Father Robert Karanja Ireri, superior of the Order of St. Augustine in Kenya, recalled that Pope Leo XIV had visited the neighboring Tanzania, confirming the country’s Daily News report that he had visited the East African nation multiple times.

Karanja also confirmed that Pope Leo XIV visited Algeria in North Africa.

Some members of the Augustinian Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus in South Africa recalled their interaction with Pope Leo XIV, then Father Robert Francis Prevost, when he visited the southern African nation.

According to the Nigeria Catholic Network’s May 10 report, Pope Leo would not be “a stranger to Nigeria, as records show that he has visited the country on at least nine occasions between 2001 and 2016.”

In his capacity as Augustinian prior general, Prevost presided over the inauguration of the Augustinian University in the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, in 2009.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Bishop Stanislav Přibyl of Litoměřice 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/Člověk a víra

Jan 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 Přibyl of Litoměřice 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 and the past,” Přibyl wrote in his letter. The war’s aftermath caused displacement and resettlement of populations across Central Europe, leaving lasting scars on the region.

After Nazi Germany annexed the Sudetenland in 1938 and established the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the majority-German region became part of the Reich. Following Germany’s defeat, Czechoslovakia expelled approximately 3 million ethnic Germans between 1945 and 1946, primarily from the Sudetenland region that now forms part of the Diocese of Litoměřice.

The bishop acknowledged that the question of whether the expulsions were justified remains a matter for historical debate. However, the displacement remains visible in demolished houses without owners and in churches that are abandoned or slowly being rebuilt.

Confronting collective guilt

The bishop emphasized that collective guilt, anger, and desire for revenge accompanied the displacement, along with “the sudden acquisition of property without work and closer ties to the place.” Some departing Germans were robbed, raped, or humiliated, a few committed suicide, and there were several massacres, Přibyl wrote.

Following a meeting of the diocese’s priests’ council in November, Přibyl declared the local jubilee of forgiveness and reconciliation. Monthly gatherings will take place in locations where the deportation was particularly cruel, including Terezín (Theresienstadt), which hosted a Nazi transit camp during World War II.

The events will include Christian-Jewish prayer services and Masses of reconciliation. The bishop hopes for “an ecumenical and interfaith spirit” at these gatherings, welcoming Christians, Jews, and Heimatsleute — Germans with deep historical ties to the region.

The press office of the Diocese of Litoměřice told CNA that the jubilee is local and invitations were not sent out broadly. “This is not politics or a revision of history, although historians partake in the preparation,” the press office said.

Heinrich Rüdiger, military attaché from the German embassy to the Czech Republic, joined the first event at Filipov on Jan. 13 marking the anniversary of the healing miracle.

Ackermann-Gemeinde’s reconciliation work

The Ackermann-Gemeinde was founded in Munich on Jan. 13, 1946 — the feast day of the Marian apparition at Filipov — by expelled Sudeten German Catholics who sought reconciliation with the Czech people despite their own suffering. The organization took its name from “Der Ackermann aus Böhmen” (“The Plowman from Bohemia”), a medieval German literary work from Bohemia symbolizing the deep cultural roots of Germans in the region.

The organization has worked for decades on cross-border partnerships, supporting the restoration of damaged churches and cemeteries in the Czech Republic and advocating for human rights. Since 1991, Ackermann-Gemeinde has maintained an office in Prague.

Filipov shrine

Filipov, a Marian sanctuary in northern Bohemia near the German border, is sometimes called “the Czech Lourdes.” On Jan. 13, 1866, Magdalena Kade, bedridden with severe illnesses, received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who told her: “My daughter, now you are healed.”

Kade immediately recovered, and Bishop Augustin Pavel Wahala of Litoměřice initiated a commission that recognized the healing and its supernatural character. Between 1870 and 1885, a neo-Romanesque church was built at the site, which Pope Leo XIII elevated to a minor basilica and dedicated to Mary, Help of Christians.

The Redemptorist order took custody of the shrine in 1884 and continues to care for pilgrims. Přibyl is himself a Redemptorist.

Opening old wounds to heal

“You might think that we should stop this reconciliation, as it has been 80 years, it is like taking corpses out of graves,” the bishop wrote in his letter. However, he argued that old wounds must be opened to be healed.

The reconciliation effort “may not be definitive, but an important step towards the healing process that our region still needs so much,” the bishop said. He noted that in some places, reconciliation is only beginning.

“Although we did not do wrong to our neighbors 80 years ago, we still live from the life-giving movement of forgiveness, as we pray in the prayer that Our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us: ‘Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,’” Přibyl wrote.

The bishop concluded: “Prejudices survive and the reluctance to talk about them or to admit that we have all sinned is still here.”

The reconciliation initiative follows recent Czech-Polish-German efforts to address the war’s legacy. In November 2025, Polish and German bishops signed a new declaration in Wrocław marking the 60th anniversary of historic 1965 reconciliation letters.

St. Patrick Cathedral in the Diocese of Charlotte. | Credit: Diocese of Charlotte

Jan 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 reception of Communion” must be removed.

In his pastoral letter, Martin said while an “individual member of the faithful” is free to kneel to receive and should not be denied Communion, the “normative posture for all the faithful in the United States is standing,” per guidelines from the U.S. bishops.

“The faithful who feel compelled to kneel to receive the Eucharist as is their individual right should also prayerfully consider the blessing of communal witness that is realized when we share a common posture,” he wrote.

In their letter to the Vatican, the diocesan priests specifically question the bishop’s actions to impede the faithful from kneeling at built-in altar rails when that is the norm for a parish, a practice the bishop has insisted upon when he celebrates Mass at such churches in the diocese, according to Brian Williams, an advocate for Charlotte’s Traditional Latin Mass community.

When Martin concelebrated a Mass with several other bishops last summer at a parish whose commmunicants usually receive at temporary kneelers, per the bishop’s direction, according to Williams, Communion was distributed in front of the kneelers to discourage parishioners from kneeling.

“Since an altar rail is a common and traditional ‘structure and ornamentation’ that marks off the sanctuary from the body of the church within the Roman rite, it is asked whether a diocesan bishop has the legitimate authority to prohibit the erection of altar rails within churches or other sacred places in his diocese,” the diocese’s priests query in their letter, as reported by The Pillar.

A priest in the Charlotte Diocese who wished to remain anonymous due to an alleged “atmosphere of fear, retaliation, and mistrust” told CNA that the actual number of the dubia’s supporters is “well north” of the 31, or a quarter of all priests in the diocese, who actually signed it.

“Certain priests have prudentially decided to withhold their signature,” he told CNA.

According to a social media post by the Traditional Latin Mass community in Charlotte: “Several diocesan sources in Charlotte have confirmed that the actual support for the dubia is closer to 50% of priests, nearly double the number of signers.”

In his December pastoral letter, Martin also specified norms for extraordinary ministers, prohibited the practice of intinction (when the consecrated bread is dipped into the wine before being placed on the tongue), and encouraged the reception of Communion under both kinds — the bread and the wine — which he says fell out of practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May 2025, a draft of a letter detailing several other of Martin’s intended reforms of traditional practices in the diocese was leaked. In that letter, the bishop said that because “there is no mention in the conciliar documents, the reform of the liturgy, or current liturgical documents concerning the use of altar rails or kneelers for the distribution of holy Communion, they are not to be employed in the Diocese of Charlotte.”

The diocesan priests’ Jan. 5 letter to the Vatican manifests that “both the leaked letter from this past summer and the pastoral letter of Dec. 17 have caused a great deal of concern amongst the priests and faithful of the Diocese of Charlotte, especially in those parishes that have allowed the faithful to use an altar rail or prie-dieu for the reception of holy Communion.”

The diocesan priests’ letter also addresses issues from Martin’s leaked May letter in which the prelate suggested that certain liturgical practices and elements such as the use of Latin, ornately decorated vestments, certain prayers, and altar ornaments will be prohibited because they are not in accord with changes made after the Second Vatican Council.

Asked about the Jan. 5 letter containing the dubia, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Charlotte told CNA that the bishop “has not ‘restricted kneeling.’”

In a Jan. 8 statement to CNA, Martin stated: “My brother priests are always welcome to ask questions and seek clarification about the application of liturgical norms. To be clear, the only modifications that have been made since the Diocese of Charlotte last updated its liturgical norms in 2011 involve the distribution of holy Communion, as spelled out in my letter to the faithful in December.”

Apparently referring to the leaked May letter, Martin continued: “Questions arising from the internal and confidential conversations of the Presbyteral Council are premature and lack substance, since no definitive action has taken place outside of the December 2025 letter. The norms highlighted in the letter keep our diocese aligned with the broader norms of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the universal Church.”

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 Malta

Jan 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 central

The 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 concern about restrictions on movement, violence, and persistent shortages of essential services in the West Bank, citing the operational challenges facing Holy Family Hospital and the inability of mobile clinics to reach Bedouin communities.

Latin America remains a region of paramount importance, Dunlap said, announcing a regional conference of the Order of Malta for the Americas in Buenos Aires in autumn 2026 to streamline regional humanitarian initiatives.

Africa continues to receive substantial investment through specialized programs of Ordre de Malte France and Malteser International, with newly established relations with Gambia and Burundi yielding rapid progress, he said.

Ukraine constituted a major focus, with Dunlap calling for hostilities to cease and full protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. The order expressed readiness to support dialogue initiatives “in full respect of its principles of neutrality and impartiality.”

UN status sought

The order aspires to attain “enhanced status” within the United Nations that more accurately reflects the nature and breadth of its worldwide activities, Dunlap concluded.

The order currently holds permanent observer status at the U.N. and maintains diplomatic relations with 115 countries.

Ambassador Antoine Zanga of Cameroon, dean of the diplomatic corps, praised the order’s “humanitarian diplomacy” in his response speech and invited Dunlap to continue promoting “charity, solidarity, peace, and defense of international humanitarian law in a world where the rules are fading.”

Dunlap described 2025 as a year of exceptional intensity, marked by the jubilee, the death of Pope Francis, and the election of Pope Leo XIV, which “profoundly resonated across both the life of the universal Church and the broader international community.”

“The order is truly the institution of the Gospel, which it follows as Jesus taught it through his apostles,” Bolivian Ambassador Teresa Susana Subieta Serrano shared with CNA after the speech of the grand master. She noted that the grand master mentioned Latin America as a region of paramount importance for the order.

“We recognize many good things that the order is doing. I am also the special envoy of my country to Africa, so I appreciate the particular mention of this continent. My intention is to do projects in Africa together with the order,” Slovenian Ambassador Franc But told CNA.