Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church

In Venezuela’s central-western Lara state, faith and culture have long moved to the same rhythm. The state’s capital, Barquisimeto, is celebrated nationwide for its musical heritage, its literary tradition, and its reputation as the country’s cultural heartland. But each January 14, those artistic gifts give way to something even more defining: the Procession of the Read More…

4 Million join Venezuela’s massive Marian procession

On Monday, three Palestinians were killed by Israeli drones in Khan Younis, while two children reportedly died from exposure to cold, Vatican News reports. These deaths come amid a fragile truce in Gaza and renewed diplomatic efforts, yet they are matched by troubling developments beyond Gaza’s borders. According to data released by the Israel Defence Read More…

West Bank sees sharp rise in settler attacks

Years ago, I heard advice that changed my life. I was at a Montessori school’s parent education night.  A seasoned educator was telling the parents all about the Montessori method — why it works and how to bring it into our homes. As she went on and on — about developmental stages and learning towers, Read More…

The only parenting advice you actually need

The year 2025 stands out as setting a record for the persecution of Christians around the world. For the first time since the creation in 1993 of the World Watch List, published annually by the Protestant non-profit Open Doors, 15 countries have reached the threshold of “extreme” persecution. Of the 50 countries featured in the Read More…

Report: Christians have never been as persecuted as in 2025

Credit: Digital Storm/Shutterstock Jan 15, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA). The attorney general of Ohio is moving to shut down a Catholic-run nursing home amid reports that the facility is placing elderly residents in “clear and present danger.”House of... [...]

The Netflix series, "Stranger Things," gives us a layered account of evil that resists reducing all harm to a single explanatory framework.

Americans are bad at history. As the late Christopher Lasch and many other scholars have noted, we’re ambivalent about the past. We claim to be a “new order of the ages,” words stamped in Latin [...]

The feminization of higher‑education leadership has accelerated the drift toward process‑heavy, conflict‑averse administrative cultures that impede institutional clarity.

Jan 14, 2026 / 20:49 pm (CNA).

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, called for finding peaceful solutions to the events unfolding in Iran, where he sees the population's yearning to live in "peace, justice, and dignity."

On Dec. 28, 2025, protests erupted in the capital, Tehran, as Iranians demonstrated against rising prices of basic goods such as chicken and cooking oil, due to inflation. In the following days, the demonstrations spread to more than 180 cities.

These protests are considered the most severer the Islamic Republic has faced since it came to power in 1979. However, authorities have responded with a crackdown that has resulted in more than 2,500 deaths, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Speaking to Vatican News, Cardinal Pizzaballa said that he sees in Iran “the yearning of the entire Iranian population, but also of us, for peace, justice, and dignity; and however much the authorities, politics, may want to draw a line, there is always a red line that cannot be crossed,” which is the people's demand for a decent life.

“Where this is lacking, sooner or later this need explodes; that is what we are seeing there. I hope that peaceful solutions will be found, that things will not degenerate into violence, but surely no one can ignore the yearning for life and justice that is an integral part of every person's conscience,” he said in a Jan. 13 statement.

During the interview, the Italian cardinal also addressed the situation in Gaza. noting that it “hasn't changed much” because, although there is no longer a war, “there are still targeted bombings.”

“There is more food than before, but there is a shortage of medicine. People are dying not only from the cold, but also from lack of medical care," he said. "Everything is still very uncertain. There is much to be done, but it is clear that the situation remains one of total devastation,” he added.

Pizzaballa explained that the conflict in the Middle East is affecting the faithful of the patriarchate in various ways, including those in Jordan, where the war is having both an emotional and economic impact.

Finally, the cardinal shared his experience at the recent extraordinary consistory. He said there was a “very positive atmosphere” and that it was important “because it was the first consistory in a long time.”

“The topics discussed didn't produce anything sensational, but that wasn't the goal. The goal was to initiate dialogue, get to know each other, and better define some methods for working together,” he said.

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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Jan 14, 2026 / 20:46 pm (CNA).

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied knowledge of reports that his administration has restored millions of taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood.

According to Jan. 13 report in Politico, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last month restored Title X funding to Planned Parenthood. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Monday dropped a lawsuit against the administration related to this funding.

Planned Parenthood and some other clinics will be able to submit reimbursement receipts to the government for low-income patients who received birth control and other non-abortion services, according to the Politico report.

While the funding won’t directly cover abortion —the Hyde Amendment prevents the federal government from doing so — the funding will subsidize an organization that performs hundreds of thousands of abortions yearly. 

When asked about the report on Wednesday, Trump told reporters: “I don’t know anything about that.”

“I have not heard that,” added HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

The issue immediately stirred controversy in the pro-life movement. Many pro-lifers have spoken out against the move, calling on the administration to fully defund Planned Parenthood. Others have defended the Trump administration, saying it was their best legal option.

Live Action and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA), two organizations that advocate for legal protections for unborn children, have been urging the Trump administration to completely defund Planned Parenthood.

“The Trump administration has quietly restored millions of dollars in Title X grants to Planned Parenthood that it had withheld since March of 2025,” said Lila Rose, founder of Live Action, in a statement shared with EWTN News. “PP kills 1,102 babies daily with your taxpaying dollars. We must fully defund abortion corporation Planned Parenthood!”

While the first Trump administration enacted a “Protect Life Rule” which stopped abortions from using Title X funding, the second administration has not yet done so.

SBA urged the administration to “immediately reinstate” this rule.

“The Protect Life Rule from the 1st Trump admin stopped Big Abortion businesses from using Title X taxpayer $$ as a slush fund. Biden canceled it,” read a statement shared with EWTN News. “The Trump admin must immediately reinstate it.”

Members of the country's pro-life movement are set to rally at the annual March for Life on Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C. Leading voices in the movement have been calling for the complete defunding of Planned Parenthood and renewed safety restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone. Though the administration ordered a review of the pill months ago, the review has not been completed. In fact, the administration recently approved a generic form of the abortion drug mifepristone.

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