Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

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).

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the apostolic nuncio to the Baltic states and longtime personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI, said he now prays not for but to the late pontiff, asking for his intercession, and expressed hope the beatification cause will open soon.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Catholic magazine Kelionė at the Lithuanian National Library on Jan. 7, Gänswein offered personal reflections on his new diplomatic mission, the celebration of Christmas in Lithuania, and his decades-long collaboration with Joseph Ratzinger.

“I come from the most beautiful part of Germany, but I have lived in Rome for most of my life,” Gänswein said. “As a bonus and thanks for all my work, I received an assignment to work in the Baltic states,” he said jovially.

Asked about differences between Christmas in Rome and in the Baltic region, the archbishop answered with characteristic humor: “I celebrated Christmas in Rome for 28 years, and in Vilnius for two. The first difference is the cold.” He added that Lithuania’s seasonal displays left a strong impression, drawing attention to “very beautiful Christmas decorations,” and saying the Christmas trees “are very beautiful, maybe even more beautiful than in St. Peter’s Square, in the Vatican.”

Gänswein also expressed gratitude that the celebration of Christ’s birth in Lithuania is not merely cultural or superficial. He said he has sensed a reverence in which “its depth is felt here,” pointing to a faith that remains attentive to the mystery at the heart of the season.

During the conversation, the nuncio returned to the influence of Benedict XVI, describing his years beside Ratzinger as a gift of divine providence.

“All the years of cooperation together have left an indelible experience,” he said. “It was not only intellectual and theological formation, but also formation of the heart, soul, and everything that we can call life.”

Gänswein recalled to the audience that his first encounter with Ratzinger came when he was still a young seminarian, reading the future pope’s articles and books while Ratzinger was a professor in Germany. “I tried to read and study all of his writings,” he said, explaining that he came to see Ratzinger not only as a theologian and academic, but as “a man full of faith and intelligence."

After his priestly ordination in 1984, Gänswein served as an assistant parish priest before continuing his studies. He later completed doctoral work and eventually arrived in Rome, where he first met Ratzinger while the cardinal was serving as prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Gänswein said Ratzinger invited him into collaboration, an invitation he regards as mysterious and grace filled.

“What did he call me for? I don’t know,” he said, “but I see it as a great gift of Providence.” In 2003, he added, he became Ratzinger’s personal secretary.

Speaking of Benedict XVI after the late pope’s death, Gänswein made a striking remark about prayer and spiritual closeness: “And now, when Pope Benedict XVI has departed to be with the Lord, I notice that I do not pray so much for him, but to him, asking for his help.” He said there were moments, including during his service in the Baltics, when he found himself asking for Benedict’s intercession.

At the same time, he stressed the Church’s caution regarding sainthood causes. “The Church is a very wise and very prudent mother,” he said, noting that in beatification causes she is “twice wise and twice prudent,” and that time must pass to discern whether public esteem reflects genuine holiness rather than passing fame.

In a December 2025 interview with German Catholic television network K-TV, Gänswein said, “Personally, I have great hopes that this process will be opened.” The interview aired shortly before a private audience he held with Pope Leo XIV during a discreet mid-December visit to Rome.

The Kelionė gathering also featured talks from other invited speakers. Educator Vytautas Toleikis, who works as a moral education teacher at Vilnius St. Christopher Gymnasium, is the founder of the informal education group “Walkers.” He described taking students on weekly walks around Vilnius to encounter people he personally admires. He said the goal is to broaden students’ horizons through lived encounters with kindness and human warmth, adding that these meetings often surprise him as much as they do the young people.

Singer Sasha Song, who represented Lithuania at the 2009 Eurovision, shared a brief personal testimony about his struggle with addiction and the transformation he experienced after rehabilitation. He said the experience taught him to value life differently, describing his current state as one marked by gratitude and a renewed sense of happiness.

Prof. Robertas Badaras, a toxicologist with four decades of experience, reflected on how substance abuse has changed since the Soviet period. He noted that while alcohol once dominated, society now confronts an expanding array of substances, including a vast number of hallucinogens and stimulants.

Actress Justė Liaugaudė, representing the “Red Noses Clown Doctors,” spoke about offering emotional support to patients of all ages, especially those who struggle to find joy amid illness. She described how the organization’s presence has expanded in clinical settings, including, she said, being the only non-medical personnel permitted to accompany children into operating rooms — a reminder that compassion can reach where words and medicine sometimes cannot.

For Gänswein, however, the evening’s most enduring note returned to what he called the quiet, lifelong schooling he received at Benedict’s side, a formation not only of the mind, but of the whole person and the conviction that gratitude, faith, and truth are never merely ideas, but realities meant to be lived.

Pope Leo XIV speaks to bishops gathered for the Jubilee of Bishops on June 25, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 11, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Soon after the election of Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shared in a press conference that moments before then-Cardinal Robert Prevost was chosen to be pontiff, Tagle noticed the emotion by the soon-to-be-pope as it was becoming more clear he would be elected, so he reached into his pocket and offered Prevost a piece of candy.

It was this simple moment that inspired Lauren Winter, founder of the Catholic company Brick House in the City, to start the Adopt a Bishop initiative.

“It really reminded me that these are all human beings who made the choice one day to accept a very serious ‘yes,’” Winter told CNA in an interview.

The Adopt a Bishop initiative, which has been launched in collaboration with The Dorothea Project, invites the faithful to adopt a bishop for the year and pray for that bishop throughout the year.

“I think our bishops carry an enormous and often invisible spiritual weight,” she said. “They carry a responsibility that most of us never see — it’s pastoral and spiritual and it’s deeply personal and they’re holding entire dioceses in their prayer. And I think that kind of weight requires spiritual support.”

This is the first year of the initiative and over 1,000 people have already signed up to adopt a bishop in prayer. When an individual signs up on the website that person is randomly assigned a bishop from anywhere in the world.

Winter explained that she decided to use a random generator in order to “remove preference.”

“I didn’t want anyone to choose a bishop that they already knew and admired and I wanted to leave that room for the Holy Spirit,” she said. “And it may be a bishop you are already familiar with. It may be a bishop that is someone that you have disagreed with. But the call to prayer is still there and I think receiving a bishop instead of choosing one, that felt more like a posture of reception, which I feel like it’s more aligned with how grace works in the Church — just leaving the room there for the Spirit to work.”

The Catholic business owner highlighted the importance spiritual adoption plays in the Church in that it reminds us that “we are also being prayed for, it strengthens the bonds within the Church, and then I feel like it helps us to live more intentionally as one body of Christ.”

Winter said she hopes that through this initiative “people feel more connected to their bishop, to the Church, to the quiet work of prayer, and how a small faithful commitment can really shape our faith.”

“I imagine many people when they meet a bishop, they ask the good bishop to pray for them and I think it’s really beautiful that we can return that — the reciprocity of prayer. I think they need our prayers too.”

University of Notre Dame professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA

Jan 10, 2026 / 10:12 am (CNA).

Assessing the impact of the Catholic Church's first American pope was front and center at the 106th annual meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA), which met in Pope Leo XIV's hometown of Chicago from Jan. 8-11.

During a panel on the subject, Catholic scholars noted some of the historic caricatures of what an American papacy would be like and compared that to the first eight months of Leo's actual papacy.

At the outset of the panel, University of Notre Dame history professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings referenced the 1894 Puck magazine cartoon titled “ The American Pope,” which depicts the first apostolic delegate to the United States, Cardinal Francesco Satolli, sitting atop a church labeled the “American headquarters” and casting a shadow of then Pope Leo XIII over the entire country.

Sprows Cummings noted the cartoon illustrates “fears about papal intervention in the United States” at a time when the country was receiving waves of Catholic immigrants from countries such as Ireland and Italy.

As Catholics became more settled in American society in the subsequent decades, she said some of those prejudices began to lessen and pointed to the 1918 election of Catholic Democrat Al Smith as New York’s governor. By this point, Catholics had become “much more confident about their place in American culture.”

During the same early 20th century period, the United States also began to rise as a superpower. Sprows Cummings noted that predominant concerns about an American pope shifted to Vatican concerns over the “Americanization of the Catholic Church.”

America magazine's Vatican correspondent, Colleen Dulle, said some of those concerns were evidently mitigated in the person of then Cardinal Robert Prevost, whose service to the Church included many years as a missionary and bishop in Peru as well as in Rome as the head of a global religious order, the Augustinians.

Sprows Cummings said the College of Cardinals clearly saw in Cardinal Prevost the "pastoral presence, administrative savvy and global vision" that the Church needed at this time and that he was “not elected in some flex of American power.”

Miguel Diaz, the John Courtney Murray, S.J. Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago, noted that some of Leo’s actions have actually amounted to the opposite of flexing American power, such as his focus on the dignity of migrants, which he contrasted to the policies of the Trump administration.

Diaz, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See under former President Barack Obama, said Leo is “a different symbol, from America first to America cares.”

He emphasized that having an American pope is significant amid the country’s political debates because “he can say things and he will be listened to.”

The panelists also discussed what Leo’s papacy may look like moving forward, with Dulle noting that only this year are there clear signs of him charting his own programmatic course, as the events and itinerary of the 2025 Jubilee were primarily developed for Pope Francis.

Up until now, she said, he has been mostly “continuing the Francis initiatives in a different style.”

She noted Pope Leo's management of this week's consistory — a meeting between the pope and the College of Cardinals — where the pontiff gave them four topics to choose from, which were all in line with Francis’s priorities: synodality, evangelization, reform of the curia, and the liturgy. The cardinals chose synodality and evangelization.

Dulle said Leo is seen as "a consensus builder” who aims to build consensus around the Church's priorities. She noted Pope Leo's announcement this week of a regular schedule of consistories, with the next one set for this June. This approach is emerging as a "hallmark of how he governs the Church" Dulle said.

Brian Flanagan, the John Cardinal Cody Chair of Catholic Theology at Loyola University Chicago, also emphasized Leo’s strong appeal to the cardinals and bishops in efforts to reach consensus, in keeping with the Pope's role as a preserver of unity.

Flanagan said he sees Leo exercising the papacy as not so much "at the top of the pyramid, but as at the center of conversation.” He said this is likely influenced by Leo's past as leader of a religious order — the Order of Saint Augustine — rather than a diocese because the orders are “global, diverse, and somewhat fractious.”

“You can’t govern a global religious community without getting people on board,” he said.

Northampton Episcopal Vicar for Mission Canon Simon Penhalagan alongside members of the new community at the St. Elena House of Mission and Prayer. | Credit: Maria Heath

Jan 10, 2026 / 09:00 am (CNA).

A new and unique house of mission and prayer inspired by the call to a new evangelization has opened in the U.K., hoping to enable Catholics to “catch the fire” of God’s love.

The St. Elena House of Mission and Prayer, which opened in December in Northampton, England, has been established to help the Church become more mission-oriented.

Speaking to CNA, Maria Heath, director of mission in the Diocese of Northampton, called the new House of Mission and Prayer “a prophetic sign in our times.”

“The Church needs to embrace its call to mission, and I believe this house and others like it will enable and inspire the Church to explore new ways to reach out to people with the Gospel,” she said. 

The new St. Elena House is comprised of a small community of young women — Beth, Kacey, and Marielle — who are between 20 and 40 years old. As members committed to a life of prayer and mission, they either work or study full or part time while seeking out ways to evangelize.

“The people living there are working or studying but want to serve the Church in a radical way,” Heath explained. “The witness value of community in our times is so important. People are yearning for connection and purpose, and a community centered on prayer and mission is like a light on the hilltop.”

Speaking of the impact of the new evangelization on the formation of the new house, Heath quoted one of its main proponents, St. John Paul II.

“Evangelization needs to be new in its method, ardor, and expression. I believe that raising up communities like this is one of the new expressions that speaks to the world at this time,” she said.

The St. Elena House came about after Heath and her team were exploring how new communities and religious orders could move into the Diocese of Northampton. There was also an idea that a homegrown community could be established.

“Sometimes you push doors and they close, other times the doors keep opening, and this is what happened as we began looking into this possibility,” Heath said. “The idea became a reality and, 18 months on from that initial conversation, the St. Elena House of Mission and Prayer was born.”

Heath explained that she was inspired by the book “Heart Fire,“ by German Catholic evangelist Johannes Hartl, in which a strong connection was presented between 24/7 prayer and mission.

Establishing 24/7 prayer will be one of the priorities in the new house, including perpetual adoration. “While this is a new expression, there is nothing new about the fundamentals: It is communion and mission, which we see down the ages of the Church,” she said.

Explaining the vision for the house, Heath underlined the importance of providing a place to encounter Christ.

“The vision for the St. Elena House of Mission and Prayer is simple: to be a place of encounter, an encounter with Jesus as we pray for the world through 24/7 prayer, and a place where others can come and encounter Jesus.”

Heath also spoke of the impact of the Second Vatican Council.

“The Church needs both the hierarchical and charismatic dimensions of the Church (Lumen Gentium, 4) and if dioceses are to respond to the Church’s call to become mission-oriented, such communities and movements, which are expressions of this charismatic dimension, offer an energy and focus on mission that can support this important work,” she said.

A member of the new community, Beth, also underlined the importance of encounter in the new house, sharing her hopes that people will have “a real deep encounter with (Christ).”

“The hope is that this will be a place where community can be formed, where people can feel welcomed and really catch the fire of God’s love for them,” she told CNA.

Beth said living in the house as a community will enable single people to grow together in faith, highlighting the importance of “being together, inviting other people, and welcoming people.” She added: “As single people, we can feel that sense of isolation in our faith. So it’s about letting people know you’re not on your own.”

The community is intentionally named after St. Elena Guerra, the “apostle of the Holy Spirit” who was canonized in October 2024. Writing at the end of the 19th century, St. Elena urged Pope Leo XIII to encourage Catholics to be open to the power of the Holy Spirit. This prompted Pope Leo to write an encyclical on the Holy Spirit, to create a novena to the Holy Spirit, and to consecrate the 20th century to the Holy Spirit.

“Prayer and mission go hand in hand, and this is what St. Elena longed to see for the Church,” Heath said.

The new initiative has been welcomed in the Diocese of Northampton, with diocesan trustees, friends, and supporters joining members of Mission Northampton for a Mass on Dec. 13 to mark the opening of the new house. The Mass was celebrated by Episcopal Vicar for Mission Canon Simon Penhalagan, with Vicar General Canon Michael Harrison and Father Jithu James concelebrating. 

Looking forward, Heath shared her hopes for the new house to “be the first of many houses across our diocese — and beyond.”

“We need to cooperate with the grace of the Holy Spirit and find new ways to reach out to all people,” she said. “This, in its simplest form, is the mission of the Church: to let each person know the joy of being known and loved by God, and the joy of a relationship with him that satisfies our deepest needs and desires.”

St. Joseph Cathedral, Buffalo. | Credit: CiEll/Shutterstock

Jan 10, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Catholics in the U.S. were witness to a rare Church decision in 2023 when Pope Francis elevated the Diocese of Las Vegas to a metropolitan archdiocese. Las Vegas had previously been a suffragan diocese of San Francisco, having been created by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

A suffragan diocese operates within an ecclesiastical province subordinate to a larger archdiocese and is led by a suffragan bishop who has the authority to lead his own diocese but works under the metropolitan archbishop.

In September 2025, Pope Leo XIV created a new Catholic diocese in northern China; though it goes by the same name as one established decades ago by Beijing without Vatican approval — a product of ongoing tensions between China and the Holy See — the move demonstrated the Holy See’s authority in creating local Church jurisdictions.

Outside of one’s own parish, a diocese or archdiocese is arguably the average Catholic’s most common point of interaction with the Church. These jurisdictions manage local Church life and administration, with bishops and archbishops offering both spiritual and temporal guidance and authority to Catholics under their care.

But how does the Catholic Church decide what becomes a diocese or an archdiocese? What are the roots of this ancient practice, and how does it function today?

Exclusively a papal right

Monsignor William King, JCD, KCHS, an assistant professor at the school of canon law at The Catholic University of America, told CNA that the right to erect (or suppress) a diocese “belongs exclusively to the successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome,” that is, the pope.

“Historically, secular rulers have intruded into the process and the autonomy of the Church in this action has been hard-won,” he said, pointing out that “even today in certain parts of the world, secular or civil rulers wish to have input into matters such as this.”

The pope never makes decisions regarding dioceses and archdioceses “without considerable study and consultation,” King said.

The history of diocesan administration stretches back to the earliest years of the Church, he said. In those days a diocese consisted of “a city larger than the surrounding cities and towns,” often a place of commerce or a center of government.

Throughout the centuries, including after the imperial legalization of the Church by Constantine, Church leaders refined the diocesan structure of “pastoral ministry and governance” in order to facilitate “communication and decision-making” throughout Christendom.

“This became increasingly important as the Church grew and encountered different systems of law, philosophy, and religious practice,” King said. Roman models of government structure proved useful and sufficient for Church governance; King noted that the Church structure even today more closely resembles a government than a corporation.

The process by determining which jurisdictions counted as archdioceses likely arose in earlier centuries organically, King said, with Church leaders identifying major centers of “culture, education, commerce, government, and transportation” as particularly significant jurisdictions.

The procedure for elevating a diocese to an archdiocese, meanwhile — as Pope Francis did to Las Vegas in 2023 — requires “significant study, discussion, and decision-making,” King said.

The Holy See conducts such reviews in part through a diocese’s “quinquennial report,” a detailed rundown of the diocese’s activities and administration. Such a report may indicate to the Holy See that a particular region is growing and could benefit from elevation to an archdiocese.

Local suffragan bishops will participate in discussions to that effect, King said, and the Roman Curia will work with bishops’ conferences as well as the local apostolic nuncio.

“The ultimate decision is that of the Roman pontiff, the bishop of Rome,” King said, “but is always done with his awareness of the conversations and consultations already conducted at every level.”

The priest pointed out that not every local jurisdiction of the Church is a diocese or archdiocese. At times, he said, the pope may establish a less common ecclesiastical administration “for a variety of reasons that relate to culture, legal acceptance or opposition, small numbers, and the like.”

Such jurisdictions include apostolic prefectures, apostolic vicariates, ordinariates, and other designations. Such areas may be governed by a bishop or a priest named by the pope, King said.

Pope Leo XIV with the Spanish flag in the foreground on Dec. 8, 2025. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Jan 9, 2026 / 17:06 pm (CNA).

Spanish Cardinal José Cobo confirmed Jan. 9 in Rome that Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and the Canary Islands are likely destinations in 2026 for an apostolic journey to Spain by Pope Leo XIV.

After concluding a meeting with the substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Cobo confirmed the pontiff’s interest in visiting Spain: “Yes, I believe the pope is interested [in making the trip]. Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and the Canary Islands are the first locations that have been considered.”

The meeting was also attended by the archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Cardinal Juan José Omella; the archbishop of Valladolid and president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) Archbishop Luis Argüello; the auxiliary bishop of Toledo and secretary general of the CEE, Bishop Francisco César García Magán; and the bishop of the Canary Islands, Bishop José Mazuelos.

The cardinal emphasized that this trip is an initiative of Leo XIV: “He asked us for a first draft, like the initial outline of this,” which he will “fine tune or make corrections in the future.”

In addition to visiting the capital and largest city of the country, Pope Leo XIV’s presence in Barcelona could be related to the beatification process for the architect of Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) Basilica, Antoni Gaudí. Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church in November 2010.

Furthermore, his visit to the Canary Islands would fulfill a desire expressed by his predecessor, Pope Francis, to visit the archipelago, which receives thousands of migrants from Africa every year.

In this regard, Cobo noted that “the phenomenon of migration is an issue that Pope Leo has already addressed at the beginning of his pontificate.” He added that we are living through a “very important moment to make the voice of migrants heard” in Spain.

At the meeting with Peña, an extensive list of specific invitations from dioceses and religious organizations was also presented. “There are a thousand invitations,” the cardinal said, joking: “We shouldn’t wear the Holy Father out, because if we take him to Spain and tire him out too much, he might not want to come back.”

Cobo expressed his hope that Leo XIV would “experience the work of the Church in Spain” and receive a warm reception before adding: “I believe this shouldn’t be his last trip.”

Cobo also confirmed that “there have been negotiations” with the Spanish government, although official invitations have not yet been extended.

“Spain has long been in need of and has continuously requested the pope to come. The fact that this possibility is now open is a source of hope and joy for everyone, both for the civil authorities and, of course, for the Church in Spain.”

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

Archbishop Luis Argüello, president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference; Félix Bolaños, minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Parliament; and Father Jesús Díaz Sariego, OP, president of CONFER. | Credit: Ministry of the Presidency

Jan 9, 2026 / 16:28 pm (CNA).

The Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym), the Spanish Conference of Religious Orders (CONFER, by its Spanish acronym), and the government have agreed on a channel for compensating victims of abuse within the Catholic Church, in which the Ombudsman’s Office will collaborate.

The agreement was signed Jan. 8 by the president of the CEE, Archbishop Luis Argüello; the president of CONFER, Father Jesús Díaz Sariego, OP; and Minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with Parliament Félix Bolaños.

The agreement reached by the three parties will be valid for one year, renewable for another year.

The agreement reached for this new comprehensive reparations system will be complementary to the one being developed by the Catholic Church through the PRIVA Plan Advisory Commission since September 2024 and must be formalized through an agreement that will be ratified within one month.

PRIVA, a condensed Spanish acronym, stands for “comprehensive reparation plan for minors and persons with equivalent rights who are victims of sexual abuse.”

This system will be available to victims of cases that have passed the statute of limitations due to the passage of time or the death of the perpetrators and who do not wish to use the channel offered by the Catholic Church in Spain, which will remain in effect.

Argüello emphasized to the media that the agreement stipulates that the government will develop the Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Protection Law approved in 2021, “creating a proposal analogous to the one the Church is already implementing” so that victims of abuse in other areas (non-Church) can access comprehensive reparations.

Furthermore, the president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference highlighted that the agreement includes a retroactive tax exemption for compensation payments, given that the tax authorities sometimes claimed up to 30% of the amount received.

“Another aspect that we also find valuable and are pleased with in the signed agreement is that it recognizes the legal purview of the PRIVA Advisory Commission,” the prelate said.

For his part, Díaz Sariego pointed out that “the [Church’s] system is working very well” and highlighted the “moral commitment of the Church” in this area by asking: “What other institution in our country takes responsibility for crimes that are already beyond the statute of limitations?”

How the new system will work

Following this agreement, a mixed Church-state system will be established. Cases will be received through an administrative processing window, which will forward them to the Ombudsman’s Victims Unit that will prepare a compensation proposal to be evaluated by the PRIVA Plan Advisory Commission.

If the victim or the affected Church institution does not agree with the resolution, the case will be referred to a second decision-making body composed of representatives from the government, the CEE, CONFER, and associations of abuse victims. This body must reach a unanimous agreement.

If this is not possible, a “final attempt at reaching a consensus“ will be made. If that also proves unsuccessful, the Ombudsman’s Victims Unit will make a decision.

When asked about the possible disparity in criteria, the president of CONFER explained that the PRIVA Advisory Commission established its criteria for evaluating cases independently and that the agreement with the government “stipulates that the criteria must be the same."

Vatican intervention

Argüello stated that he has been in contact with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to discuss this matter, receiving from Rome “confirmation of their confidence that whatever we did together would be endorsed by them and, at the same time, encouragement to reach an agreement.“

Bolaños expressed his gratitude for the role played by the Holy See, which, throughout two years of “complex and arduous“ negotiations on this issue, during which there were “moments of extreme difficulty,“ provided “indispensable impetus to reach this agreement.“

More than $2 million in compensation

Through the PRIVA Plan, the Catholic Church in Spain has received 114 requests for compensation from victims, for which the dioceses have submitted 30 reports and religious congregations, 80.

According to data provided to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, by the PRIVA Plan Advisory Commission, there are another eight reports under review, and 61 cases have already been resolved, resulting in financial compensation totaling more than 1.8 million euros ($2.1 million), distributed fairly evenly between diocesan and religious cases.

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

Church employee Francisco Paredes, 46, was handcuffed by ICE Dec. 4, 2025. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Francisco Paredes

Jan 9, 2026 / 15:01 pm (CNA).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents surveilled St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in Hopkins, Minnesota, on Epiphany after deporting the parish’s beloved maintenance worker to Mexico five weeks earlier.

The Trump administration last year eliminated a federal policy that generally prohibited immigration enforcement in “sensitive locations” such as schools, churches, and hospitals. Attendance at St. Gabriel’s Spanish Mass has dropped by half since the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and parishioners have expressed fear of churchgoing about eight miles from where an ICE agent shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Good on Jan. 7.

Father Paul Haverstock, pastor of St. Gabriel’s, said he had vested for the 1 p.m. Spanish Mass Jan. 4 when a parishioner told him about men wearing ski masks in a car outside the church. He said he was disturbed to receive the report, went to the sacristy to get his cellphone, and placed it next to his chair in the sanctuary.

“If there is an incident of agents coming in, I want to make sure that it’s recorded, and I want a clear recording of me letting the agents know that we’re in the middle of a religious service,” Haverstock said. 

It didn’t come to that, but ICE’s presence outside has impeded parishioners’ free exercise of religion, Haverstock said. ICE agents camped outside the church felt like “a violation,” he said.

“Who wouldn’t feel intimidated by that?” he said.

“It felt like a violation of our constitutional rights, felt like a violation of civilization and good manners. It felt like we were not living in the United States of America but in some third world, violent place, somewhere else,” Haverstock said. “Yeah, it feels like we’re in a war zone here.”

In a statement to CNA, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE "does not raid churches," calling such allegations "smears."

"The facts are criminals are no longer able to hide in places of worship to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense," the statement said.

"If a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a church, or a child sex offender was working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect public safety.”

Arrest of church employee

Church employee Francisco Paredes, 46, who had lived in the U.S. for 25 years with one conviction for driving under the influence, was handcuffed by ICE Dec. 4, 2025. Eight federal vehicles pulled into a large parking lot adjacent to St. Gabriel’s on 13th Avenue South after Paredes picked up coffee on his way to work, Paredes said, and he was driven to a processing facility.

About 2,000 immigration enforcement agents have come to Minnesota, according to government officials. On Jan. 4, “they were definitely out in front of the church, waiting in front of the church,” Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon said in an interview.

Hanlon said he wants ICE to obey the laws of Hopkins, a community of about 19,000 people known for its lively "Mainstreet" and arts scene, and summertime Raspberry Festival.

Hanlon made an Instagram reel following the  shooting of Good urging ICE to obey Hopkins’ traffic rules and other laws.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda  in his statement after Good’s death 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.”

‘Surveilling us’

After observing ICE monitoring the church during Sunday Mass, Haverstock called Hebda and the mayor.

Haverstock told them: “They had out-of-state license plates, and they were just sitting outside our doors for a while.” He added: “They came to our church, and even though they didn’t enter, they were apparently surveilling us.”

Until Paredes’ arrest and before ICE parked outside St. Gabriel’s, more than 400 people had usually attended the Spanish Mass, Haverstock said. Haverstock said he is considering offering a temporary Sunday Mass dispensation in his parish for those who are afraid.

“I think if I don’t give them a dispensation, hardly any of them will be here anyway because of the fear factor. So out of consideration for their circumstances and their souls, I think it’s likely I will give a dispensation for this coming Sunday, but I feel torn because we need God in this situation,” Haverstock said.

‘We’ve united to help our immigrant brothers and sisters’

ICE’s presence has been “a real interference with our parishioners’ right to worship and come to Mass,” Haverstock said.

“They’re also terrorizing anybody of goodwill just by their presence, masks, and idling outside of a church. It’s frightening. I was frightened when I heard that they were there. I was frightened for the safety of the people in the church, including myself, and I was especially frightened for my immigrants,” he said. 

Haverstock said he was “really blessed to see that our parish has not split on political lines in this situation, but we’ve united to help our immigrant brothers and sisters.”

Fear is palpable, Haverstock said, with “people being detained, even after showing IDs, and people being harassed, even if they’re here legally.”

When maintenance employee Paredes was deported, “it really got my attention,” Haverstock said.

Paredes, who sang in the church choir, said he spent about a month incarcerated in the ICE detention system before being sent to Mexico. He said he had asked to make a phone call when he was arrested and was denied for several days so his U.S.-citizen daughter didn’t know his whereabouts. Paredes spent Christmas imprisoned and said he had no access to any religious services.

In the Bloomington, Minnesota, immigration office, Paredes, who lacked legal permission to live in the U.S., said he was in a cell with 40 people. There was only one bathroom for the men to share, and “anyone can see when you go to the bathroom,” Paredes said.

After about seven hours later, Paredes said he was transferred to the Crow Wing County Jail in Brainerd, Minnesota. Paredes said a government-financed plane later took him to Laredo, Texas, where he was imprisoned in the Webb County Detention Center. 

“They treat people like an animal,” Paredes said. “I was there!”

Paredes said no hot meals were provided, only a sandwich, an orange, crackers, and water. In a large warehouse-like building, “we sleep on the floor. No blanket. They treat you like an animal,” Paredes said.

The Homeland Security spokesperson, meanwhile, told CNA that "any claim there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers" is "false."

"All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, showers, blankets, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and attorneys," the statement said. "The truth is most ICE facilities have higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority.”

When President Donald Trump talks about deporting “the worst of the worst,” Paredes said, “he doesn’t have any idea. All the people I met in the prison, they are hardworking people.”

Haverstock said he misses Paredes, who was a “wonderful worker and one of those rare, fully bilingual people, so that was a huge help to have him around.”

“We should be firmly resolved to do our part to obtain justice, not just for ourselves but for our brothers and sisters, and not even just those in the Church, but anyone’s who’s being persecuted, who happens to be our neighbor,” Haverstock said. “Families should not be separated except for extremely grave reasons. And I can say from my personal experience, from what I’ve seen, and from what I’ve heard, that these deportations and this massive push by ICE is not just targeting drug cartels and violent criminals and repeat offenders of major crimes, but it’s targeting moms and dads and families who have committed, in some cases, no crime except entering our country illegally, and separating a family because of that is unjust.” 

At the end of Mass, Haverstock invites parishioners to learn how to “help immigrants in the parish who have been negatively impacted by recent events” and join an ad hoc team “to serve our brothers and sisters through works of mercy.” 

Haverstock said the parish has used the same petition in the Prayer of the Faithful for several weeks: “For immigrants living in fear, for families that have been separated, and for wise immigration reform in our land, let us pray to the Lord.”

Update: This report was updated on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, at 11 a.m. to correct grammar in the statement provided by the Department of Homeland Security at the department's request.

Participants gather for worship at the MEHR conference in Augsburg, Germany, Jan. 3–6, 2026. | Credit: Andreas Thonhauser/EWTN

Jan 8, 2026 / 15:06 pm (CNA).

More than 11,000 Christians gathered in the Bavarian city of Augsburg this week for one of Europe’s largest ecumenical faith events — the MEHR conference — which its founder says aims to “make room for God” in an increasingly secular region.

The four-day MEHR conference (German for “more”), held Jan. 3–6 at the Augsburg Trade Fair grounds, drew participants from across the continent to hear from international speakers — including American author John Eldredge — and to engage in prayer and worship.

Led by Catholic theologian Johannes Hartl and the Augsburg Gebetshaus (“House of Prayer”), the 14th annual gathering brought together Catholics, Lutherans, and evangelicals under the theme “The Sound of Joy,” defying trends of declining church attendance in German-speaking Europe.

While most attendees came from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, organizers on opening night welcomed visitors from as far away as Costa Rica, Italy, and Norway.

Ecumenical celebration

The conference opened with prayer and praise. Designed as an interdenominational gathering, MEHR unites diverse Christian traditions and incorporates varied styles of worship.

Auxiliary Bishop Florian Wörner celebrated a Catholic Mass on Sunday, while Augsburg Bishop Bertram Meier presided at Mass for the solemnity of the Epiphany on Jan. 6. Most worship bands came from evangelical communities, while Lutheran Bishop Tobias Pilz led a Protestant service on Monday.

Prayer is the centerpiece of the conference, transcending denominational lines, Hartl explained in an interview with CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, and EWTN News.

“When we pray, sing, and speak about him — when we direct the attention of 10,000 people toward him — something comes back: his presence, his joy, his peace,” he said.

Finding spiritual resonance

This year’s theme, “The Sound of Joy,” focused on helping participants tune in to that spiritual resonance.

“Participants often tell us that when they enter our main hall, their eyes are opened; they receive new hope, new perspectives, and life’s questions find answers,” Hartl said. “We aren’t doing that — we can’t. Only God can. But we can make room for God.”

Katharina Achammer, who traveled from Salzburg, experienced this joy firsthand. Having attended three times before, she said she remains impressed by how people from different Christian traditions can focus together on Jesus. “When young people pray together, that simply radiates joy for me,” Achammer said.

Hartl defended the scale of the event by emphasizing the unique dynamic of mass gatherings.

“Some things you can only see on a large scale,” he said, comparing the conference to the World Cup: While it doesn’t replace the weekly practice of local church life, “sometimes you need these special experiences.”

The Bible, Hartl noted, is full of large festivals — and the Church marks major events such as World Youth Day and holy years. “We celebrate a big festival because God is worth celebrating in a generous, beautiful way,” he said.

While shared experiences are vital, Hartl emphasized that MEHR is not only about emotional experiences. Each year, he includes a theological track to engage scholars on contemporary questions.

“Ideas have long-term consequences,” he said. “What a society holds to be true changes everything in the long run.” His goal, he explained, is to shape ideas, not just spread feelings.

Dealing with secular media

The House of Prayer’s influence has drawn negative attention in Germany’s secular media, as CNA Deutsch reported.

A recent documentary by public service Bavarian Broadcasting scrutinized Catholic renewal movements, portraying Hartl and his team as “ hip missionaries” who, it claimed, stand “with Jesus against freedom.”

Asked about the critical reporting, Hartl said: “Over the years, we’ve received plenty of positive coverage. Recently, there was a somewhat critical report — but if you come here, talk to the people, and soak up the atmosphere, you can decide for yourself whether this is a dogmatic, fear-obsessed, hostile culture — or a life-affirming, joyful one.”

Speakers and future generations

Chris from Cologne attended the conference specifically to hear author John Eldredge, who spoke on resilience and living in God’s presence. He also enjoyed the Sunday evening concert by the Christian band O’Bros.

“Those two sessions alone made the trip worthwhile,” he said.

A separate “MEHRkids” program offered games and age-appropriate catechesis for younger visitors. Eight-year-old Tobias, visiting from Italy with his parents, said his favorite part was the trampolines.

“We also talked about how we can encounter God,” Tobias said. While the workshops didn’t interest him as much, he still had fun — and hopes to return next time.

Creating space for 11,000 people to encounter God is no small task. But true to its theme, the “sound of joy” echoed through the packed halls of the Augsburg fairgrounds as thousands made room for God at the start of the new year.

This article was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Vienna Skyline with St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria. | Credit: mrgb/shutterstock

Jan 8, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church in Austria has launched a new formation program to promote late vocations, aimed at men between 45 and 60 years old who are currently employed and can complete the process without having to leave their jobs.

The initiative, promoted by the Conference of Rectors of Austrian Seminaries, breaks with the traditional model of formation and preparation for priestly ordination and opts for a more flexible model as a response to the shortage of vocations.

Under the name “ Zweiten Weg für Spätberufene” (“Second Path for Late Vocations”), the program is specifically aimed at men with professional experience and offers the possibility of pursuing theological studies remotely, without requiring community life in the seminary or exclusively in-person formation, adapting to the professional demands of each candidate.

This new program also allows them to continue practicing their profession after being ordained priests — with the exception of political positions — albeit in a limited capacity, with the express authorization of their diocese and provided that their profession is compatible with the priestly ethos.

With this new proposal, the Church in Austria is committed to integrating the path to the priesthood with the daily lives of the candidates, who must be single or widowed and commit to a life of celibacy.

The fundamental pillar of the initiative is the document Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis, from the Dicastery for the Clergy, on the gift of the priestly vocation and the importance of formation.

According to the latest data provided by the Austrian Bishops’ Conference for the year 2024, there are currently 3,269 priests in the country, a number that has experienced a slight but steady decline in recent years.

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