NATION
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee, used the U.S. bishops’ 2025 Lenten message to reach out to those affected by abortion. In his Feb. 19 message, Bishop Thomas assured individuals carrying the sadness and guilt of abortion that Jesus’ love is unconditional. He highlighted the meaning of Ash Wednesday, noting that the ashes remind people of their need for repentance and God’s love. Ash Wednesday this year is March 5 and marks the start of Lent in the Latin Church, the largest church in the global Catholic Church. Bishop Thomas invited those suffering from abortion to return to Jesus and the church, emphasizing the healing available through the sacrament of reconciliation. He also referenced Pope Francis’ message of hope and the importance of nonjudgmental support for those grieving. Bishop Thomas pointed to the church’s Project Rachel Ministry, offering compassionate help and resources in English and Spanish for healing. “This Lent, the Lord’s mercy awaits you,” he said. “Allow Him to heal you and lift your sadness into joy.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Feb. 19 it has started to send out guidance on “clear sex-based definitions” to government agencies, organizations and the public. The department said it is now implementing recent Trump administration executive orders on sex and gender. HHS stated in its announcement that its new guidance “recognizes there are only two sexes: male and female.” It also said the department would use these guiding definitions to “promote policies acknowledging that women are biologically female and men are biologically male.” HHS also stated it was taking steps to implement policies aimed at protecting minors from undergoing certain transgender medical and surgical interventions. Additionally it stated it would implement Trump’s executive order effectively barring biological males who identify as transgender from taking part in women’s and girl’s sports. Trump’s executive orders on sex and gender have been praised in statements issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for “recognizing the truth about each human person as male or female.”

PENSACOLA, Fla. (OSV News) – The work of Catholic prison ministry has been mostly carried out quietly and long thought of as something only priests and religious do. This has meant that lay involvement “is almost nonexistent,” according to Karen Clifton, executive coordinator of the online-based Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition, or CMPC. A recent survey revealed many dioceses have prison ministries, but few know who’s involved. The survey came after Pope Francis asked his U.S. nuncio about the state of prison ministry in this country – following the pontiff’s 2015 visit to a Philadelphia-based correctional center. Clifton said the pope’s inquiry came as several Catholic prison ministry and advocacy groups banded together in search of national guidance, prompting the creation of CMPC in 2018, now made up of more than three dozen ministries across the country. The idea, said Clifton, is to have an active prison ministry in every diocese. Bishop William A. Wack of Pensacola-Tallahassee, CMPC’s episcopal adviser, emphasized the coalition’s role in providing training, support and advocacy for prison ministers, who often work in isolation.

VATICAN
ROME (CNS) – In 2021, a new species of screech owl was discovered deep in the Amazon rainforest, named “Megascops stangiae” in honor of Sister Dorothy Stang, a U.S.-born Catholic nun who was killed in 2005 for her work protecting the Amazon and its people. Sister Dorothy, known as a “Martyr of the Amazon,” advocated for peasant farmers and Indigenous people against illegal ranchers and loggers. On the 20th anniversary of the death of the 73-year-old nun, a relic containing blood-soaked soil from the site of her murder was enshrined at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew in Rome, marking her as the first American woman honored among the modern martyrs. Despite her death, Sister Dorothy’s legacy lives on, with her work inspiring continued resistance to land theft in the region. Sister Judith Clemens, a close friend and fellow Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, said Sister Dorothy’s faith and dedication to justice continue to inspire the fight for environmental and social justice.

WORLD
PYIN OO LWIN, Myanmar (OSV News) – Thousands gathered in Myanmar’s Pyin Oo Lwin to mourn Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, a priest found stabbed to death in what is believed to be a targeted attack. The funeral, presided over by Archbishop Marco Tin Win of Mandalay, called for an end to the ongoing civil war, urging all parties to seek peace and reconciliation. Myanmar has been embroiled in conflict since a 2021 military coup, with ongoing violence between the military junta and rebel groups. Father Win’s brutal murder occurred on Feb. 14 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Kan Gyi Taw. Rebel group People’s Defense Force is investigating the killing. Burmese Cardinal Charles Maung Bo expressed sorrow, urging justice and an end to the violence. Aid to the Church in Need’s Regina Lynch highlighted the immense risks faced by priests like Father Win, who continue to serve communities despite the dangers of the ongoing conflict. Burmese Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, president of the bishops’ conference of Myanmar, also lamented Father Win’s death and prayed that through learning from the heartbreaking experiences the fraternal spirit be awakened. He lamented “the blood and sacrifices of countless innocent people,” – a heavy toll he hopes will serve as an offering to ending the violence tormenting Myanmar.

GUATEMALA CITY (OSV News) – A devastating bus crash in Guatemala City Feb. 10 claimed at least 54 lives, including children, sparking nationwide outrage and calls for reform in the country’s poorly regulated bus system. The bus, carrying around 70 passengers, crashed through a guardrail and plunged off a bridge, falling 115 feet into a stream below and killing most passengers. Investigations revealed the driver lacked a professional license, and the bus was operating off its authorized route. Pope Francis sent a message of condolence, offering prayers and an apostolic blessing to the victims’ families in a Feb. 14 telegram, sent the day he entered Rome’s Gemelli hospital for tests and bronchitis recovery. A telegram sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican’s secretary of state to Archbishop Gonzalo de Villa y Vásquez of Santiago de Guatemala, said that the Holy Father was “deeply saddened” by the “painful news” and prayed for those lost in the accident. Local bishops have been actively supporting the grieving families, celebrating memorial Masses and prayer services. The church is demanding stronger safety measures and accountability from the government, with some blaming systemic corruption for the lack of proper infrastructure and regulation. See full story here.

NATION
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Coinciding with the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, the Lunar New Year “can be a time of change and renewal” of faith, two U.S. bishops’ committee chairmen said in a special message to Catholics from Asian cultures who celebrate the Chinese New Year. “May the blessings of Almighty God come upon you, so that your Radiant Faith, which enriches the Church, may bring hope and renewal to our world, our country, the Church, and our families,” said Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn, New York, and Bishop Earl K. Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, in a Jan. 28 message issued with their blessings on behalf of all the bishops. They are the chairmen, respectively, of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church and its Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islanders. The Lunar New Year usually starts sometime between late January and mid-February. This year the festivities begin Jan. 29, ushering in the Year of the Snake, symbolizing good luck, rebirth and regeneration. Celebrations can last for 15 days in countries where the Lunar New Year is typically celebrated – China, South Korea, Vietnam and countries with a significant number of people from China.

PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) – Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia is calling for prayer, saying his “heart sank” after learning of a fatal air crash in that city Jan. 31, just two days after a collision between a commercial jet and an Army helicopter in the nation’s capital killed 67. The archbishop issued a statement a few hours after a medical flight carrying a pediatric patient, her mother and crew crashed minutes after takeoff, killing all six aboard and one person on the ground, while injuring 22 others. The jet plunged into a densely populated, heavily traveled area of northeast Philadelphia. Archbishop Pérez called for all people to “unite in prayer and do what we can in the days ahead to share the compassionate love of Christ with those suffering.” As he surveyed the crash site Feb. 1, retired Philadelphia Police Sergeant Mark Palma, a Catholic who dealt with the aftermath of a fatal 2015 Amtrak crash, echoed the archbishop’s call to pray for first responders given the trauma involved. Father Patrick Welsh, pastor of St. Matthew Parish, a couple blocks from the impact site, said he set up Eucharistic adoration for first responders. While no one in the parish lost their life, he said one school family “completely lost their home to the fire” and another was also badly affected.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When a holy day of obligation falls on a Sunday and so is transferred to another day, the Catholic faithful are encouraged to attend Mass, but they are not obliged to do so, the Vatican said. The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary Dec. 8 fell on the Second Sunday of Advent in 2024 and so, in most dioceses around the world, the feast was transferred to Monday, Dec. 9. Some bishops in the United States insisted the faithful still had a moral obligation to attend Mass on the feast day while others issued a formal dispensation from the obligation. The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, in a September letter to Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, had said, “the feast must be observed as a day of obligation on the day to which it is transferred.” But in a formal note dated Jan. 23, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said it had consulted with the legislative texts office and determined that “in the event of the occasional transfer of a holy day of obligation, the obligation to attend Mass is not transferred.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A nerdy love of science fiction, a yearning for adventure, a passion for science and a foundation of Jesuit education all helped in some way to lead a man from Detroit, Michigan, to become a master of meteorites and the head of the Vatican Observatory. Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, who has led the observatory since 2015, shares his journey of becoming a Jesuit astronomer, explains the compatibility of science and faith and guides readers on how to look at the heavens in a new book released Feb. 4 by Loyola Press. Titled, “A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars: Exploring Wonder, Beauty and Science,” the book also features full-page color astrophotographs taken by astronomers of the Vatican Observatory and NASA.

WORLD
SÃO PAULO (OSV News) – Violence in Colombia between the National Liberation Army and a dissident group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, known as FARC in Catatumbo region has led to over 80 deaths and displaced 48,000 people since mid-January. The Catholic Church has been actively working to provide relief, calling for respect for humanitarian principles and access to food and water in the region. Father Hector Henao, who has mediated between the government and guerrillas, emphasized that control over Catatumbo’s illicit coca trade and precious metals is fueling the conflict. Many displaced people were small-scale coca farmers, and while some are returning as the violence subsides, tensions remain high. In response, local parishes are distributing food, aiding in the release of captives, and organizing peaceful protests. Father Jairo Gélvez Tarazona highlighted the efforts of the community of Pacelli, which is moving away from coca production in favor of sustainable crops like cocoa and fish farming, though economic support from the government and international groups is still needed. On Jan. 26, he celebrated Mass for the community, who almost entirely turned up to march that day for peace in the region.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (OSV News) – A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has paused air raids and bombings on Gaza, but the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen. Joseph Hazboun, regional director of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, describes the situation as bleak, with over 17,000 children orphaned and at least 150,000 pregnant women in urgent need of health care. Mental health issues are widespread, with 1 million children requiring psychological support. CNEWA is providing essential relief, including food, medical care and psychosocial programs. However, the region’s challenges persist, including limited access due to road closures and ongoing reconstruction needs. Hazboun also highlights the diminishing Christian population, now down to about 600, with only 300 expected to remain after the Rafah crossing reopened Feb. 1 – so far for medical assistance border crossing for those wounded. While the ceasefire offers temporary relief, Hazboun and other experts warn that lasting peace remains uncertain, with deep-rooted issues between Israelis and Palestinians unresolved.

NATION
ATLANTA (OSV News) – Notre Dame’s quest for a 12th national title ended in heartbreak with a 34-23 loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Head coach Marcus Freeman and captains Riley Leonard and Jack Kiser faced the media with heavy hearts but praised their team’s perseverance and faith. “It’s a tough moment,” Freeman said. But of the team he said, “I’m just proud of them and proud of what they’ve done.” Leonard, who transferred from Duke for his senior year, thanked Jesus Christ and highlighted Scripture that inspired him, including Matthew 23:12 and Proverbs 27:17. He acknowledged his disappointment but credited Notre Dame’s coaches and players for shaping his journey. Kiser, reflecting on six seasons with the Irish, emphasized the program’s culture. “It’s the people that make this place different,” he said.

KEY WEST, Fla. (OSV News) – A lot has changed in the lower Florida Keys since the 1980s, when declining enrollment led to the closure of the Catholic high school in the oldest and southernmost parish of the Archdiocese of Miami. But a surge in local economic development, tourism jobs and a renewed demand for private and Catholic education in Monroe County culminated Dec. 13 in the dedication Mass and grand opening of a refurbished Basilica High School building and facility at the Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish and School in Key West. Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski presided at the dedication Mass and grand opening. The new facility will allow for full enrollment in 2025 of all four grades under the leadership of principal and president Robert Wright and will serve as an answered prayer for local parents who had few options for private education in Monroe County. The nearest Catholic high school was located in Miami-Dade County, meaning some families left the Key West area in search of a Catholic education for their children, while others settled for public education.

VATICAN
ROME (CNS) – Before the millions of pilgrims expected to come to Rome during the Holy Year 2025 cross through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, they will be met by smiling faces and lime green jackets. Jubilee volunteers of all ages and nationalities have become a mainstay along the boulevard leading up to St. Peter’s Square since the start of the Holy Year. Wearing uniforms emblazoned with “volontario” across their backs and the Jubilee and Vatican logos on their chests, the volunteers line the pilgrims’ path, offering guidance and companionship on their spiritual journey. They escort pilgrims along the final leg of their pilgrimage to the Holy Door, checking passes, providing directions and accompanying groups in prayer. For Craig and Laura Shlattmann – a married couple of Jubilee volunteers from Tacoma, Washington – participating in the current Holy Year has been 25 years in the making. Craig was stationed in Italy for military service, and the couple lived in Rome during the Holy Year 2000. Back then they “vowed, God willing, to come back for the next ordinary Jubilee year in 2025,” Laura told Catholic News Service. After Craig’s recent retirement, the couple decided to fulfill that promise. “We returned not just for ourselves … but also to help our family, friends and everyone who comes to Rome,” Craig said Jan. 23. “It’s been a real blessing.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Taking up the spirit of the recently inaugurated Holy Year 2025, the Cuban government has announced the release of 553 people currently serving prison sentences. Cuba said it would gradually release the prisoners “in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of the year 2025 declared by His Holiness” following a “thorough analysis” of the legal and humanitarian avenues to enact their release, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement Jan. 14. The statement did not specify who would be among the 553 prisoners designated to be released. That same day, the White House announced that it will no longer designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism and that it would eliminate some restrictions on Cuba. The White House said the actions were steps “to support the Cuban people as part of an understanding with the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis and improve the livelihoods of Cubans.” Following the announcement, Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, retired archbishop of Boston, said that for the last several years he had carried messages from Pope Francis to the presidents of the United States and Cuba “seeking the release of prisoners in Cuba and improved relationships between the two countries for the good of the Cuban people.”

WORLD
JERUSALEM (OSV News) – Catholic leaders in the Holy Land are urging Christians to return on pilgrimage to the region now that a ceasefire has been established between Israel and Hamas. In a video, the Latin patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the custos of the Holy Land, Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, walk through Jerusalem, talking to pilgrims and shopkeepers who have endured streets emptied of tourists since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent 15-month war. The area is safe, the Holy Land church leaders stressed. Father Patton emphasized the spiritual importance of visiting holy sites. Cardinal Pizzaballa called the ceasefire a “turning point” for the Holy Land, thanking churches worldwide for their support during the challenging year. Father Gabriel Romanelli from Gaza City’s Holy Family Parish expressed hope for lasting peace, despite the ongoing challenges.

PARIS (OSV News) – After Notre Dame Cathedral’s splendid reopening, the attention of Paris Catholics turned to the nearby Church of Notre Dame de Boulogne Jan. 12 as it was solemnly elevated to the rank of minor basilica, following a decree from Pope Francis, signed June 29. The Jan. 12 elevation ceremony was presided over by Bishop Matthieu Rougé of Nanterre, along with the apostolic nuncio to France, Archbishop Celestino Migliore. Located in the town of Boulogne-Billancourt, Notre Dame de Boulogne has deep historical roots, dating back to 1319 when French King Philip IV founded it to replicate a pilgrimage site in northern France. Over 700 years later, the church is still a center of faith in the region. Bishop Rougé said reviving its spiritual mission is important, especially because it is located in a major economic hub of the Paris metro area. The church’s rich architecture blends Gothic and 19th-century styles, and the church itself is a popular place of devotion for locals and visitors alike. Bishop Rougé hopes its new basilica title will invigorate evangelization efforts and provide spiritual hope in an increasingly secular society. Notre Dame de Boulogne is now the 176th basilica in France.

NATION
MALVERN, Pa. (OSV News) – More than a million people descended upon Logan Circle on a beautiful autumn day in Center City Philadelphia Oct. 3, 1979, for a Mass celebrated by St. John Paul II, the Polish cardinal who had been elected pope less than a year earlier. At the center of it all, above a covered fountain on the city’s Eakins Oval, the pope celebrated Mass on an expansive altar in the shadow of an enormous 34-foot-tall white cross. In the days after the papal visit, the cross, a symbol of one of the greatest Catholic gatherings in North America at that time, was taken to the outskirts of the city and erected on the grounds of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. It has been on display at the busy intersection of Lancaster and City avenues the last 45 years. Earlier this year, St. Charles Seminary moved to another part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and the seminary grounds were sold. On Nov. 11, the refurbished cross was unveiled at its new place of honor at Malvern Retreat House, where Father Douglas McKay, the rector, offered prayers for a gathering of about 100 people. The priest was a seminarian in 1979 and was a cross bearer at the Mass with the pontiff. Founded more than 100 years ago, Malvern Retreat House is billed as the oldest and largest Catholic retreat community in the nation.

SANTA FE, N. M. (OSV News) – The incoming Trump administration should “rethink” its plans to carry out mass deportations, the bishops of New Mexico wrote in an open letter. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on hardline immigration policies, including his call for mass deportations, arguing in a September presidential debate that those without legal status “destroyed the fabric of our country, and has since indicated willingness to use military force for a mass deportation program. While Trump has not offered specifics on how he would carry out such a program, in principle, mass deportations run contrary to the Second Vatican Council’s teaching in “Gaudium et Spes” condemning “deportation” among other actions, such as abortion, that “poison human society,” a teaching St. John Paul II affirmed in two encyclicals on moral truth and life issues. In their letter, the border state’s bishops – Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces and Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup – said immigration “remains a complicated and challenging issue for the country.” “While removing those who cause harm to us is necessary, deporting immigrants who have built equities in our communities and pose no threat is contrary to humanitarian principles and to our national interest,” they said. “We urge the new administration to rethink this proposed deportation policy and instead return to bipartisan negotiations to repair the US immigration system.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The world is in great need of hope, Pope Francis said. “Day by day, let us fill our lives with the gift of hope that God gives us, and through us, let us allow it to reach everyone who is looking for it,” the pope said in a video explaining the intention he would like Catholics to pray for during the month of December. The pope’s message encouraging prayers “for pilgrims of hope” was released by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network Dec. 3. The network posts a short video of the pope offering his specific prayer intention each month, and members of the network pray for that intention each day. In the video, the pope said, “Christian hope is a gift from God that fills our lives with joy. And today, we need it a lot. The world really needs it a lot!” “Hope is an anchor that you cast over with a rope to be moored on the shore,” the pope said, and people of faith must hold on to that rope tightly. “Let’s help each other discover this encounter with Christ who gives us life, and let’s set out on a journey as pilgrims of hope to celebrate that life,” he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Anyone interested in Catholic Church can now see a detailed, interactive breakdown of the body that will elect the next pope. The Vatican launched a “dashboard” for the College of Cardinals Dec. 5, allowing users of the web page to see a comprehensive list of the church’s cardinals and sort them by age, rank, country of origin, electoral status and religious order. Initially it was available only in Italian. The dashboard, created with Microsoft Power BI – an AI tool designed to visually organize data – was published on the Vatican press office’s public website just two days before Pope Francis was scheduled to create 21 new cardinals Dec. 7. The page –https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/documentation/cardinali–-statistiche/dashboard-collegio-cardinalizio.html – allows users to see a map of where current cardinals are from, as well as the percentage of cardinals from each region who are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in conclave. As of Dec. 5, for example, 47.8% of cardinals from Europe are eligible to vote in a conclave while 100% of cardinals from Oceania are eligible electors. Cardinals lose their right to vote in a conclave on their 80th birthday or when they lose the rights and privileges of a cardinal. Previously, the Vatican website only offered separate lists of cardinals, organized alphabetically by name, by country, by age or grouped according to the pope who appointed them.

WORLD
KHARTOUM, Sudan (OSV News) – Sudanese Catholic Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali of El Obeid Dec. 2 described having survived execution in his country, where he has remained with the faithful amid a deadly war between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The bishop was returning to his diocese after attending a Eucharistic congress in Juba, the South Sudanese capital. The congress on Nov. 24 was organized to mark 50 years – or golden jubilee – of the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic bishops’ conference. In a message to fellow bishops and obtained by OSV News, Bishop Andali said that after arriving in El Obeid from the gathering, he encountered – in separate incidents – the army and, immediately afterward, the paramilitary. “Guns (were) given to the lads and (they were) instructed to carry out their usual business,” which clearly was execution, the bishop said in his message. “Thanks to the prayers of the church,” he was saved, he emphasized: A leader of the paramilitary had emerged from his office and ordered the gunmen to free the church people. But the bishop suffered “heavy blows on the neck, the face and the sides of the head.” On Nov. 21, the bishops in Sudan and South Sudan expressed deep concern over the deteriorating conflict in Sudan. The bishop said war was continuous and there was no chance for dialogue between the two fighting sides.

JERUSALEM (OSV News) – Christmas this season in the Holy Land will be celebratory despite ongoing bloodshed and war, the Holy Land’s patriarchs said. And while visiting Germany, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, encouraged pilgrims to return to the birthplace of Jesus. On Dec. 3, he said he is counting on a rapid normalization of pilgrimage tourism, especially during the Christmas season, following the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Pilgrimages and religious tourism are an important economic factor for many Christians in the region, but tourists disappeared and stores across pilgrimage sites have remained closed since Oct. 7, 2023. This year, the patriarchs and heads of the churches in Jerusalem, said the war this year won’t stop the joyful celebration of Christmas in the land of Jesus. Last year, to stand in solidarity with “the multitudes suffering” amid “the newly erupted war,” the patriarchs made “a mutual decision” to call on their congregations “to forego the public display of Christmas lights and decorations” and related festivities. But they said their intentions were misinterpreted, leading “many around the world” to say they had called for a “’Cancellation of Christmas’ in the … very place of our Lord’s Holy Nativity.” Christmas “was diminished not only around the world, but also among our own people,” they wrote Nov. 22. This year, the patriarchs encouraged all “to fully commemorate the approach and arrival of Christ’s birth by giving public signs of Christian hope.”