Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church

The Bible had its best-selling year in 2025 in more than two decades in both the United States and United Kingdom, said figures compiled by Circana BookScan, as the number of Bibles sold continues the upward trend that began in 2021. In the United States, there were 19 million Bibles sold in 2025, a figure Read More…

2025’s hottest book? The Bible

Editor’s note: You can read Part 1 of this column here. In 2014, the newly elected Pope Francis decided to improve the state of the Vatican’s finances. He appointed the Australian cardinal George Pell (1941-2023) [...]

Jan 10, 2026 / 10:00 am (CNA).

A major pro-life leader is urging the movement to continue to press for protection for the unborn, calling on advocates to demand more pro-life policy even as the Republican party shows signs of wavering.

"We have to do everything we can to make sure that we're communicating the moral position and also the political position," Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said on Jan. 9.

Dannenfelser spoke to "EWTN News in Depth" anchor Catherine Hadro on President Donald Trump's recent remarks in which the president urged the Republican party to be more "flexible" regarding the taxpayer funding of abortion.

“Now you have to be a little flexible on Hyde,” the president said on Jan. 6, referring to the long-standing federal Hyde Amendment, which has broadly prohibited taxpayer funding of abortion for nearly half a century.

Speaking to Hadro, Dannenfelser said bluntly: "There's no flexibility on that."

"Flexibility should be reserved for what you wear tomorrow, what you're going to eat tonight, where you go on vacation," she said. "This is a matter of life and death."

Hadro noted that during his first run for presidency, Trump had outlined a slate of pro-life promises to voters, including the intent to make the Hyde Amendment "permanent law" rather than a legislative provision. Dannenfelser admitted that she engaged with Trump on pro-life issues during his first term alone.

"Once he got into the second term, he thought he was dealing with the life issue by basically saying, 'States only, we're not doing anything else on the federal level'," she said.

"Now we see the consequence of such a position. It means you can't even stand firm on the Hyde Amendment," she argued.

Asked by Hadro whether or not the pro-life movement needs to "face reality" and accept changing political priorities with respect to the Hyde Amendment, Dannenfelser said: "I 100% reject it."

"There is no chance that the power has left the pro-life position," she argued.

"We've been here before. We've been here at moments where there was a weakening in the GOP spine, where we have to do everything that we can to make sure that we're communicating the moral position and also the political position," she said.

Dannenfelser argued that the pro-life movement is "at the best place we could possibly be to move forward" and continue advancing pro-life goals.

She admitted, however, that the movement is "not safe" in the current Republican party.

"I think communication is key," she said. "We can't hold back in demanding what has been promised and following through."

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Western culture is fading because its western roots are eroding. This failing culture has reached its lowest point in the emerging culture of death, which is antithetical to what John Paul II calls the culture of [...]

Archbishop Georg Gänswein speaks at an event hosted by the Catholic magazine Kelionė at the Lithuanian National Library in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Jan. 7, 2026. | Credit: L. Macevicienes/Zurnalaskelione.lt Jan 11, 2026 / 10:32 am (CNA). Archbish... [...]

Pope Leo XIV baptizes a child in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, January 11, 2026. / Vatican Media Vatican City, Jan 11, 2026 / 09:00 am (CNA). Pope Leo XIV baptized 20 infants, the children of Vatican... [...]

“A life made up of unrelated links or likes without affection disappoints us, because we are made for truth,” Pope Leo XIV assured thousands of young people from the Diocese of Rome, gathered at the Vatican on January 10, 2026. He encouraged them to engage with a “burning heart” in politics and in the Church, and asked them to Read More…

Leo shares his niece’s question with youth of Rome

Vatican City, Jan 11, 2026 / 08:25 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday lamented escalating violence in Iran and Syria and renewed his appeal for peace in Ukraine, while also offering a special blessing for children receiving baptism and praying for those born into “difficult circumstances.”

Speaking after the Angelus on Jan. 11, the pope said: “My thoughts turn to the situation currently unfolding in the Middle East, especially in Iran and Syria, where ongoing tensions continue to claim many lives.” He added: “I hope and pray that dialogue and peace may be patiently nurtured in pursuit of the common good of the whole of society.”

The pope’s remarks came amid unrest in Tehran, where anti-government protests that began about two weeks ago have left more than 70 people dead, according to human rights organizations.

He also pointed to renewed fighting in Syria, where international media reports say clashes have erupted in Aleppo between the interim government’s army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces over control of neighborhoods in the city center. At least 14 civilians have been killed, with dozens injured and tens of thousands displaced, according to those reports.

Turning to the war in Ukraine, Leo warned of the mounting toll of Russian strikes as winter intensifies.

“In Ukraine, new attacks – particularly severe ones aimed at energy infrastructure as the cold weather grows harsher – are taking a heavy toll on the civilian population,” he said. “I pray for those who suffer and renew my appeal for an end to the violence and for renewed efforts to achieve peace.”

Recent attacks have left more than one million homes without water or heat in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region.

Earlier in the day, the pope celebrated Mass for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and baptized 20 newborns, the children of Vatican employees, in the Sistine Chapel. After the Angelus, he said he wanted to extend his blessing “to all children who have received or will receive Baptism during these days – in Rome and throughout the world – entrusting them to the maternal care of the Virgin Mary.”

He added: “In a particular way, I pray for children born into difficult circumstances, whether due to health conditions or external dangers. May the grace of Baptism, which unites them to the Paschal Mystery of Christ, bear fruit in their lives and in the lives of their families.”

During his Angelus reflection, Leo spoke about the meaning of Christ’s baptism and how the sacrament of baptism makes believers “children of God through the power of his Spirit of life,” encouraging the faithful to remember “the great gift we have received” and to bear witness to it “with joy and authenticity.”

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

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How does it seem as though two people are talking past each other? Or that two people are firmly convinced that, individually, they’re in the right but the other is in the wrong? I’m amazed at how frequently I misinterpret the actions of others or ascribe completely erroneous motivations to them. The result is broken Read More…

How to fix broken communication: an unlikely starting place

“When we know that something is essential, we immediately seek it out for those we love,” said Leo XIV during Mass celebrated on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, during which he baptized 20 children of Vatican employees in the Sistine Chapel. He assured that the faith that parents offer their children through Read More…

As you would not refuse them food, you don’t refuse them faith