O God, bountiful in forgiving,
and lovingly desirous of man’s salvation,
we humbly beseech Thy mercy in behalf of our friends,
relations and benefactors,
who have passed from this world, that,
through the intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin
and all the Saints,
Thou wouldst permit them to come
to the full participation of everlasting happiness.
Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Read MoreA reading from the Book of Samuel
1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
David spoke to Saul:
"Let your majesty not lose courage.
I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine."
But Saul answered David,
"You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him,
for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth."
David continued:
"The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear,
will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine."
Saul answered David, "Go! the LORD will be with you."
Then, staff in hand, David selected five smooth stones from the wadi
and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag.
With his sling also ready to hand, he approached the Philistine.
With his shield bearer marching before him,
the Philistine also advanced closer and closer to David.
When he had sized David up,
and seen that he was youthful, and ruddy, and handsome in appearance,
the Philistine held David in contempt.
The Philistine said to David,
"Am I a dog that you come against me with a staff?"
Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods
and said to him, "Come here to me,
and I will leave your flesh for the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field."
David answered him:
"You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar,
but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted.
Today the LORD shall deliver you into my hand;
I will strike you down and cut off your head.
This very day I will leave your corpse
and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field;
thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God.
All this multitude, too,
shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves.
For the battle is the LORD’s and he shall deliver you into our hands."
The Philistine then moved to meet David at close quarters,
while David ran quickly toward the battle line
in the direction of the Philistine.
David put his hand into the bag and took out a stone,
hurled it with the sling,
and struck the Philistine on the forehead.
The stone embedded itself in his brow,
and he fell prostrate on the ground.
Thus David overcame the Philistine with sling and stone;
he struck the Philistine mortally, and did it without a sword.
Then David ran and stood over him;
with the Philistine’s own sword which he drew from its sheath
he dispatched him and cut off his head.
From the Gospel according to Mark
3:1-6
Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
"Come up here before us."
Then he said to the Pharisees,
"Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?"
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
In the Gospels, many pages tell of Jesus’ encounters with the sick and of his commitment to healing them. He presents himself publicly as one who fights against illness and who has come to heal mankind of every evil: evils of the spirit and evils of the body. (…) When a father or mother, or even just friends brought a sick person for him to touch and heal, he never let time be an issue; healing came before the law, even one as sacred as resting on the Sabbath (cf. Mk 3:1-6). The doctors of the law reproached Jesus because he healed on the Sabbath, he did good on the Sabbath. But the love of Jesus was in giving health, doing good: this always takes priority! (…) In the face of illness, even in families, difficulties arise due to human weakness. But in general, times of illness enable family bonds to grow stronger. (…) The weakness and suffering of our dearest and most cherished loved ones can be, for our children and grandchildren, a school of life (…) and they become so when times of illness are accompanied by prayer and the affectionate and thoughtful closeness of relatives. (Francis – General audience, 10 June 2015)
Read More![Catholic Church provides pastoral care to victims of tragic train accident in Spain - #Catholic -
The Catholic Church in the Córdoba province of Spain is helping victims and their families after a high-speed train accident on Jan. 18, 2026, left at least 42 people dead and dozens injured. | Credit: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images
Jan 20, 2026 / 17:07 pm (CNA).
Following a tragic train accident that occurred on Sunday evening, Jan. 18, in the Spanish town of Adamuz in the Córdoba province, the Catholic Church is providing pastoral care for those affected.In addition to the help offered immediately after the accident by the local parish priest and the provision of diocesan resources by Bishop Jesús Fernández of Córdoba after he visited the scene of the accident on Monday morning, the diocese has assigned a team of three priests to the area.The priests, Leopoldo Rivero, Francisco J. Granados, and Manuel Sánchez, will remain at the Poniente Sur Civic Center in Córdoba, the support center for the families of the victims, for as long as needed.In a statement, the diocese emphasized the importance of a priestly presence in “a place where despair and uncertainty take their toll as people search for any indication as to the whereabouts of their loved ones.”Rivero stated that with its presence, the Church is providing “the spiritual care so necessary at this time,” as rescue operations continue, given that many passengers are still missing and may be trapped in the wrecked train cars.To date, authorities have confirmed the deaths of 41 people and the transfer of 152 injured people to hospitals, where they are receiving treatment, some of them still in very serious condition. At least 43 people remain missing.Psychologists are referring “families who need [pastoral care] to the priests so that they can be with them, accompany them, and pray with them so that they feel warmth, closeness, and comfort,” Rivero added.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/catholic-church-provides-pastoral-care-to-victims-of-tragic-train-accident-in-spain-catholic-the-catholic-church-in-the-cordoba-province-of-spain-is-helping-victims-and-their-families-after-a.jpg)
Jan 20, 2026 / 17:07 pm (CNA).
Following a tragic train accident that occurred on Sunday evening, Jan. 18, in the Spanish town of Adamuz in the Córdoba province, the Catholic Church is providing pastoral care for those affected.
In addition to the help offered immediately after the accident by the local parish priest and the provision of diocesan resources by Bishop Jesús Fernández of Córdoba after he visited the scene of the accident on Monday morning, the diocese has assigned a team of three priests to the area.
The priests, Leopoldo Rivero, Francisco J. Granados, and Manuel Sánchez, will remain at the Poniente Sur Civic Center in Córdoba, the support center for the families of the victims, for as long as needed.
In a statement, the diocese emphasized the importance of a priestly presence in “a place where despair and uncertainty take their toll as people search for any indication as to the whereabouts of their loved ones.”
Rivero stated that with its presence, the Church is providing “the spiritual care so necessary at this time,” as rescue operations continue, given that many passengers are still missing and may be trapped in the wrecked train cars.
To date, authorities have confirmed the deaths of 41 people and the transfer of 152 injured people to hospitals, where they are receiving treatment, some of them still in very serious condition. At least 43 people remain missing.
Psychologists are referring “families who need [pastoral care] to the priests so that they can be with them, accompany them, and pray with them so that they feel warmth, closeness, and comfort,” Rivero added.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More
Jan 20, 2026 / 16:37 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV and leaders of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), a community dedicated to the traditional Roman rite, held a “cordial half-hour meeting” on Monday, Jan. 19, at the apostolic palace.
The priestly fraternity said in a Jan. 20 statement that the Holy Father received in private audience its superior general, Minneapolis-born Father John Berg. Also present was Father Josef Bisig, a co-founder of the FSSP and its first superior general, who now serves as rector of the FSSP’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Texas.
The FSSP is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right founded in 1988 by priests who broke with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the Society of St. Pius X, precisely in order to remain fully under the Roman pontiff while preserving the older liturgy.
The FSSP’s leaders, who had requested the meeting, said in a cautiously worded statement that it was “an opportunity to present to the Holy Father in greater detail the foundation and history of the fraternity as well as the various forms of apostolate that it has been offering to the faithful for almost 38 years.”
They added that the papal audience also provided an “opportunity to evoke any misunderstandings and obstacles that the fraternity encounters in certain places and to answer questions from the supreme pontiff.”
The audience came at a sensitive time for the fraternity and for those who value the traditional form of the Latin rite as a whole following Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes that imposed sweeping restrictions on parishes and communities dedicated to the traditional Roman rite.
Due to Traditionis Custodes, the FSSP is currently undergoing an apostolic visitation initiated by the Holy See in late 2024. The visitation is part of a broader process of accompanying institutes formerly under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei but that now, due to Traditionis Custodes, fall under the auspices of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Both the FSSP and the dicastery have both stressed that the apostolic visitation is not punitive but a normal exercise of oversight so the dicastery can “know who we are, how we are doing, and how we live so as to provide us with any help we may need.” The fraternity also underwent an apostolic visitation in 2014.
Although Pope Francis gave the FSSP a kind of protected but precarious niche, explicitly exempting it from some of the restrictions in a Feb. 11, 2022, decree, the priestly fraternity was still subjected to tighter structural control and scrutiny than under Benedict XVI. That decree arose from a prior private audience between Pope Francis and FSSP leaders.
Monday’s meeting was therefore significant, representing Leo XIV’s first clear, personal outreach to a leading traditional community and showing his willingness to listen to their concerns.
It also follows on the heels of the Holy Father granting Cardinal Raymond Burke the celebration of a pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica last October, along with the pope’s willingness to grant case-by-case exemptions to some traditional communities. The pope appears to be pursuing a policy of “pragmatic leniency” with such communities, neither willing to undo Francis’ liturgical changes but also not enforcing them with the same rigor.
Observers have therefore welcomed Monday’s meeting and are taking solace in the fact that the Church now has an American pope willing to listen to a fellow American superior general of a traditional order at a time when, according to one insider, “the waters are rough.” Berg also brings much experience to his role, having already served as the fraternity’s superior general from 2006 to 2018.
Like many traditional Roman rite communities and parishes, the FSSP is a flourishing community with several hundred priests and seminarians worldwide, a steady flow of vocations, and well-attended liturgies.
In its communique, the FSSP said Pope Leo XIV gave his blessing, “which he extended to all members of the fraternity.”
“The Fraternity of St. Peter is grateful to the Holy Father for offering this opportunity to meet with him,” the statement concluded, adding that it “encourages the faithful to continue to pray fervently during the 30 days novena of preparation for the renewal of its consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Feb. 11.”
Read More![‘Our embodied, sexed nature has been ordered for our salvation,’ former atheist says - #Catholic -
Leah Sargeant delivers the final keynote at the conference titled “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman” at the University of St. Thomas in Houston on Jan. 10, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the University of St. Thomas
Jan 20, 2026 / 16:07 pm (CNA).
“We have the good news that our culture needs to hear: that men and women are ordered to the good and made for amity for each other. Our embodied, sexed nature has been ordered for our salvation.”So said Leah Sargeant, a former atheist and author who delivered the final keynote at a recent conference in Houston titled “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman.”At the conference, sponsored by the Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies program at the University of St. Thomas on Jan. 9–10, Sargeant suggested that our culture’s view of sexuality is premised on two lies. First, that “women’s equality is premised on being interchangeable with men,” and second, that “autonomy is foundational to a fully human life.”To the first point, she noted that “it’s been common for people who advocate for women to minimize differences [between the sexes].”Based on this lie, women, she said, are seen as “defective men.”However, she continued, “the fundamental asymmetry between men and women is how we engender and bear children.”It is based on this premise that the second lie, that individual autonomy is fundamental to being fully human, gets its strength, she said.‘Forming a society open to dependency’Sargeant said that when a woman is pregnant with another human being, the baby’s dependence and fragility does two things: It makes the baby’s life seem less valuable to those who believe autonomy is required to be fully human, and it makes the woman less-than when compared with a man, who never biologically has to enter into such a dependent relationship.“The idea of having our lives upended by someone else [the baby’s] is a blow to women’s equality. This is the original argument for women’s access to abortion,” she said. “The right to privacy wasn’t good enough because men always have the opportunity to abandon a child: that only required an act of cowardice. He could walk away, run, leave no forwarding address, and sever the connection. For a woman, she couldn’t divorce herself from her child by failing to step up: It would require outside, active, violent intervention in the form of poison or a scalpel.”Women had to have what Sargeant called “an equality of vice” with men: namely, abortion. They had to “access to this cowardice as well or they could not be interchangeable with men and would lose political equality.”Fundamentally, she concluded, both men and women must reject the lies of sameness and the “lie of autonomy” and be “radically dependent on God” and one another to live in the truth. She quoted St. John Henry Newman, who wrote that “we cannot be our own masters. We are God’s property, by creation, by redemption, by regeneration … Independence was not made for man. It is an unnatural state that may do for a while, but will not do till the end.”Sargeant reminded her listeners that we should not be afraid to “invite others into our lives or be ashamed to place demands on others.”“We were always made to need each other,” she said. “We are not betraying ourselves when we expose ourselves as deeply human.”Our task, she said, “is to give people reassurance that this truth is good,” reminding them that “hope doesn’t come from excesses of strength but in the midst of our frailty, and reminds us of how we are loved, and by whom.”Sargeant's talk at the conference was based on her latest book, "The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto," which was released in October 2025.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/our-embodied-sexed-nature-has-been-ordered-for-our-salvation-former-atheist-says-catholic-leah-sargeant-delivers-the-final-keynote-at-the-conference-titled-the-be.jpg)
Jan 20, 2026 / 16:07 pm (CNA).
“We have the good news that our culture needs to hear: that men and women are ordered to the good and made for amity for each other. Our embodied, sexed nature has been ordered for our salvation.”
So said Leah Sargeant, a former atheist and author who delivered the final keynote at a recent conference in Houston titled “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman.”
At the conference, sponsored by the Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies program at the University of St. Thomas on Jan. 9–10, Sargeant suggested that our culture’s view of sexuality is premised on two lies. First, that “women’s equality is premised on being interchangeable with men,” and second, that “autonomy is foundational to a fully human life.”
To the first point, she noted that “it’s been common for people who advocate for women to minimize differences [between the sexes].”
Based on this lie, women, she said, are seen as “defective men.”
However, she continued, “the fundamental asymmetry between men and women is how we engender and bear children.”
It is based on this premise that the second lie, that individual autonomy is fundamental to being fully human, gets its strength, she said.
Sargeant said that when a woman is pregnant with another human being, the baby’s dependence and fragility does two things: It makes the baby’s life seem less valuable to those who believe autonomy is required to be fully human, and it makes the woman less-than when compared with a man, who never biologically has to enter into such a dependent relationship.
“The idea of having our lives upended by someone else [the baby’s] is a blow to women’s equality. This is the original argument for women’s access to abortion,” she said.
“The right to privacy wasn’t good enough because men always have the opportunity to abandon a child: that only required an act of cowardice. He could walk away, run, leave no forwarding address, and sever the connection. For a woman, she couldn’t divorce herself from her child by failing to step up: It would require outside, active, violent intervention in the form of poison or a scalpel.”
Women had to have what Sargeant called “an equality of vice” with men: namely, abortion. They had to “access to this cowardice as well or they could not be interchangeable with men and would lose political equality.”
Fundamentally, she concluded, both men and women must reject the lies of sameness and the “lie of autonomy” and be “radically dependent on God” and one another to live in the truth.
She quoted St. John Henry Newman, who wrote that “we cannot be our own masters. We are God’s property, by creation, by redemption, by regeneration … Independence was not made for man. It is an unnatural state that may do for a while, but will not do till the end.”
Sargeant reminded her listeners that we should not be afraid to “invite others into our lives or be ashamed to place demands on others.”
“We were always made to need each other,” she said. “We are not betraying ourselves when we expose ourselves as deeply human.”
Our task, she said, “is to give people reassurance that this truth is good,” reminding them that “hope doesn’t come from excesses of strength but in the midst of our frailty, and reminds us of how we are loved, and by whom.”
Sargeant's talk at the conference was based on her latest book, "The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto," which was released in October 2025.
Read More
A dim-witted socialist running for LA Mayor had a meltdown during a wild interview on Monday before closing with one of the most embarrassing errors imaginable.
The post Socialist Running for LA Mayor Against Karen Bass Makes an Embarrassing Mistake After Lashing Out at Reporter Asking Basic Questions During Wild Radio Interview appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More
Listen to the episode: HERE This week on The Patriot Perspective, the conversation turned to one of the most ridiculed foreign-policy ideas of the Trump presidency: the proposal that the United States pursue control over Greenland. For months, Democrats have treated the idea as evidence of recklessness rather than strategy.
The post The Logic Behind Trump’s Push for U.S. Control of Greenland appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More![Pro-life movement has mixed reaction after Trump’s first year of second term #Catholic
Participants in a pro-life rally hold signs in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2023, at a rally marking the first anniversary of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. | Credit: Joseph Portolano/EWTN News
Jan 20, 2026 / 14:37 pm (CNA).
Members of the pro-life movement have mixed thoughts on the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, noting many wins early into his presidency but a number of shortfalls as time has gone by.Some wins include defunding Planned Parenthood, walking back some of President Joe Biden’s initiatives, and removing foreign aid funding for organizations that promote abortion. However, a lack of action on chemical abortions and weakened rhetoric surrounding taxpayer-funded abortions are causing concern.A notable pro-life win was included in the tax overhaul bill signed by Trump in July, which cut off all Medicaid reimbursements for organizations that provide a large number of abortions, such as Planned Parenthood.Amid funding cuts, nearly 70 Planned Parenthood affiliates shut down. The administration also initially cut off Title X family planning grants from the abortion giant, but those have resumed.The president pardoned pro-life protesters convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and blocked foreign aid from supporting organizations that promote abortion. He rescinded several policies from the Biden administration, including one that paid Pentagon workers to travel for abortions. He also established strong conscience protections for pro-life doctors.“Right out the gate, we saw some progress on the pro-life issue,” Kelsey Pritchard, a spokesperson for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA), told EWTN.Yet, she cautioned: “We have also not seen progress in the one area that matters the most — and that’s on abortion drugs.”Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched a study into the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone in September 2025, but so far no action has been taken to curtail the drug. Rather, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) went in the opposite direction, approving a generic version of mifepristone later that same month.Pritchard said that move was “the opposite of what they should have done,” and referred to the generic mifepristone as “a new kill pill to increase the number of abortions that are done in this country.”She said Kennedy’s promised study has “absolutely been moving too slow” and added that there is no confirmation it even began or is taking place. SBA called for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to be fired following allegations he was “slow-walking the report for political reasons,” she said.Trump has said abortion should be regulated by the states, but Pritchard warned “those [pro-life] laws can’t be in effect at all, really, when mail-order abortion happens with the abortion drugs.”“They’re allowing [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom and [New York Gov.] Kathy Hochul and their blue state friends to completely nullify the pro-life laws in states like Texas and Florida,” she said.Joseph Meaney, a senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, similarly said “the delay in the promised review of the rushed process in which mifepristone was approved as an abortion drug by the FDA has frustrated pro-lifers.”“When the FDA approved a second generic version of mifepristone, … it highlighted the lack of progress in fighting the leading means of doing abortions in the [United States],” he said.Trump also began to waver on taxpayer-funded abortions early in 2026, asking Republicans to be “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment amid negotiations on extending health care subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. Trump later unveiled “The Great Healthcare Plan” and said the White House intends to negotiate with Congress to ensure pro-life protections.Pritchard called taxpayer-funded abortion “a very basic red line” and said it’s “concerning to see Republicans back away from something so basic.”She warned Republicans to not take pro-life voters for granted in the upcoming midterms, saying “you’ll lose the elections and we won’t have the majority of Congress” without pro-life voters.“You must remain the pro-life party or you will lose the midterms if you decide to bow to the pro-death Democrat agenda,” Pritchard said.Meaney said there is “a widespread feeling that the second Trump administration has seemed to deprioritize issues important to the pro-life community,” adding he has “seen calls for pro-life groups to ‘flex their muscles’ and show that they cannot be taken for granted.”However, he said the shortfalls “should not obscure the fact that the Trump administration has rolled back the Biden-era pro-abortion measures internationally and domestically.”“It even achieved a temporary defunding of Planned Parenthood domestically in legislation,” he said. “The federal government no longer funds research on fetal tissues and defends the conscience rights of health care professionals and others robustly.”Trump also signed an executive order that directed departments and agencies to boost access to and reduce the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The Catholic Church opposes IVF, which results in the destruction of human embryos, ending human lives.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/pro-life-movement-has-mixed-reaction-after-trumps-first-year-of-second-term-catholic-participants-in-a-pro-life-rally-hold-signs-in-front-of-the-lincoln-memorial-in-washington-d-c-on-scaled.jpg)
Jan 20, 2026 / 14:37 pm (CNA).
Members of the pro-life movement have mixed thoughts on the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, noting many wins early into his presidency but a number of shortfalls as time has gone by.
Some wins include defunding Planned Parenthood, walking back some of President Joe Biden’s initiatives, and removing foreign aid funding for organizations that promote abortion. However, a lack of action on chemical abortions and weakened rhetoric surrounding taxpayer-funded abortions are causing concern.
A notable pro-life win was included in the tax overhaul bill signed by Trump in July, which cut off all Medicaid reimbursements for organizations that provide a large number of abortions, such as Planned Parenthood.
Amid funding cuts, nearly 70 Planned Parenthood affiliates shut down. The administration also initially cut off Title X family planning grants from the abortion giant, but those have resumed.
The president pardoned pro-life protesters convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and blocked foreign aid from supporting organizations that promote abortion. He rescinded several policies from the Biden administration, including one that paid Pentagon workers to travel for abortions. He also established strong conscience protections for pro-life doctors.
“Right out the gate, we saw some progress on the pro-life issue,” Kelsey Pritchard, a spokesperson for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA), told EWTN.
Yet, she cautioned: “We have also not seen progress in the one area that matters the most — and that’s on abortion drugs.”
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched a study into the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone in September 2025, but so far no action has been taken to curtail the drug. Rather, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) went in the opposite direction, approving a generic version of mifepristone later that same month.
Pritchard said that move was “the opposite of what they should have done,” and referred to the generic mifepristone as “a new kill pill to increase the number of abortions that are done in this country.”
She said Kennedy’s promised study has “absolutely been moving too slow” and added that there is no confirmation it even began or is taking place. SBA called for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to be fired following allegations he was “slow-walking the report for political reasons,” she said.
Trump has said abortion should be regulated by the states, but Pritchard warned “those [pro-life] laws can’t be in effect at all, really, when mail-order abortion happens with the abortion drugs.”
“They’re allowing [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom and [New York Gov.] Kathy Hochul and their blue state friends to completely nullify the pro-life laws in states like Texas and Florida,” she said.
Joseph Meaney, a senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, similarly said “the delay in the promised review of the rushed process in which mifepristone was approved as an abortion drug by the FDA has frustrated pro-lifers.”
“When the FDA approved a second generic version of mifepristone, … it highlighted the lack of progress in fighting the leading means of doing abortions in the [United States],” he said.
Trump also began to waver on taxpayer-funded abortions early in 2026, asking Republicans to be “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment amid negotiations on extending health care subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. Trump later unveiled “The Great Healthcare Plan” and said the White House intends to negotiate with Congress to ensure pro-life protections.
Pritchard called taxpayer-funded abortion “a very basic red line” and said it’s “concerning to see Republicans back away from something so basic.”
She warned Republicans to not take pro-life voters for granted in the upcoming midterms, saying “you’ll lose the elections and we won’t have the majority of Congress” without pro-life voters.
“You must remain the pro-life party or you will lose the midterms if you decide to bow to the pro-death Democrat agenda,” Pritchard said.
Meaney said there is “a widespread feeling that the second Trump administration has seemed to deprioritize issues important to the pro-life community,” adding he has “seen calls for pro-life groups to ‘flex their muscles’ and show that they cannot be taken for granted.”
However, he said the shortfalls “should not obscure the fact that the Trump administration has rolled back the Biden-era pro-abortion measures internationally and domestically.”
“It even achieved a temporary defunding of Planned Parenthood domestically in legislation,” he said. “The federal government no longer funds research on fetal tissues and defends the conscience rights of health care professionals and others robustly.”
Trump also signed an executive order that directed departments and agencies to boost access to and reduce the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The Catholic Church opposes IVF, which results in the destruction of human embryos, ending human lives.
Read More![Catholics express mixed views on first year of Trump’s second term #Catholic
With Speaker of the House Mike Johnson by his side, President Donald Trump speaks to the press following a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Jan 20, 2026 / 12:21 pm (CNA).
Catholics are offering mixed reactions to the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, which included domestic policy actions that align with U.S. bishops on gender-related issues, and also tensions over immigration, expansion of the death penalty, and reduced funding for organizations that provide food and basic support to people in need.Trump secured his electoral victory in 2024 with the help of Catholics, who supported him by a double-digit margin, according to exit polls. A Pew Research Center report found that nearly a quarter of Trump’s voters in 2024 were Catholic.Throughout his first year, Trump — who calls himself a nondenominational Christian — has invoked Christianity and created a White House Faith Office. He created a Religious Liberty Commission by executive order in May 2025 and became the first president to issue a proclamation honoring the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception in December.Last year, the president also launched the “America Prays” initiative, which encouraged people to dedicate one hour of prayer for the United States and its people in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.Immigration, poverty, and NGOsJohn White, professor of politics at The Catholic University of America, said the first year of Trump’s second term “challenged Catholics on many levels.”“The brutality of ICE has caused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to issue an extraordinary statement at the prompting of Pope Leo XIV,” White said, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a special message in November opposing indiscriminate mass deportations, calling for humane treatment, urging meaningful reform, and affirming the compatibility of national security with human dignity.The Trump administration, with JD Vance, the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history, cut billions of dollars in funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which financially damaged several Catholic nonprofits that had received funding. Trump also signed into law historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.“The cuts to NGO funding, SNAP, and Medicaid benefits, alongside the huge increases in health care costs, have hurt the poor and middle class at home and around the world,” he said. “Instead of being the good Samaritan, Trump has challenged our Catholic values and narrowed our vision of who we are and what we believe. JD Vance’s interpretation of ‘Ordo Amoris’ of a hierarchy to those whom we love rather than a universal love is a case in point and has been repudiated by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV,” he said.The cuts aligned federal policy with the administration’s agenda, which included strict immigration enforcement, mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally, and less foreign aid support.Catholic Charities USA was previously receiving more than $100 million annually for migrant services, and the Trump administration cut off those funds. In response, the organization scaled back its services.Since Trump took office, the administration said it has deported more than 600,000 people.Karen Sullivan, director of advocacy for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), which provides legal services to migrants, said she is “very concerned about the way that immigration enforcement has been carried out,” adding her organization is “very concerned that human dignity of all persons [needs to] be respected.”Sullivan said the administration is “enabling their officers to use excessive force as they are taking people into custody” and “denying access to oversight at their detention centers.” She also expressed concern about the administration increasing fees for asylum applications and giving agents more leeway to conduct immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, such as churches, schools, and hospitals.She said the large number of deportations and the increase in expedited removals has “been a strain” on organizations that seek to provide legal help to migrants.CLINIC receives inquiries from people who are facing deportation and also those who fear they may be deported. She said: “The worry and the fear among those people [who may face deportation] makes them seek out assistance and advice even more often.”“The pace of the changes that have been happening in the past year have been very difficult to manage,” she said. “We are having to respond very quickly to changes."Executive actions on genderSusan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), viewed the first year of Trump’s second term in mostly successful terms.“As Catholics we know that the law educates, and during Trump’s first year in office we witnessed an actual shift in public opinion on the LGBT/transgender ideology due to his asserting the scientific and natural common sense that there are only male and female,” Hanssen said.Trump took executive action to prohibit what he called the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children, such as hormone therapy and surgical transition. He signed a policy restricting participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. He legally recognized only two genders, determined by biology: male and female.“His strong executive action on this essential point — domestically in making the executive branch remove its trans-affirming language, the executive department of education stop subverting parental rights over their children, and women’s rights in sports, and (importantly) putting an end to USAID’s [U.S. Agency for International Development] pushing this gender agenda on the countries who need our economic assistance,” she said.“This has led to a genuine public shift, with fewer independent corporations choosing to enforce June as LGBT Pride month on their customer base, fewer DEI programs pushing the gender agenda on hiring, and a shift (especially among young men) towards disapproval of gender transitioning children and even towards disapproval of the legalization of so-called same sex ‘marriage,’” she added. “We will need to see how these executive branch victories will affect judicial and legislative action moving forward.”Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, had a similar view of some of the social changes.“The current administration has focused significant energy on the important task of ‘putting folks on notice,’ so it’s hard to deny, for example, that the misguided medico-pharmaceutical industry that has profited handsomely from exploiting vulnerable youth and other gender dysphoric individuals can no longer miss the loud indicators that these practices will not be able to continue unabated,” he said.Death penaltyTrump signaled a renewed and more aggressive federal capital-punishment policy in 2025, in opposition to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office directing the Justice Department to actively pursue the federal death penalty for serious crimes. He also directed federal prosecutors to seek death sentences in Washington, D.C., homicide cases. His administration lifted a moratorium on executions, reversing a pause in federal executions and following President Joe Biden’s commutations of federal death sentences.Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, then-president of the USCCB, in a Jan. 22, 2025, statement called Trump’s support for expanding the federal death penalty “deeply troubling.” Newly elected USCCB president Archbishop Paul Coakley likewise called for the abolition of the death penalty.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/catholics-express-mixed-views-on-first-year-of-trumps-second-term-catholic-with-speaker-of-the-house-mike-johnson-by-his-side-president-donald-trump-speaks-to-the-press-following-a-hous.jpg)
Jan 20, 2026 / 12:21 pm (CNA).
Catholics are offering mixed reactions to the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, which included domestic policy actions that align with U.S. bishops on gender-related issues, and also tensions over immigration, expansion of the death penalty, and reduced funding for organizations that provide food and basic support to people in need.
Trump secured his electoral victory in 2024 with the help of Catholics, who supported him by a double-digit margin, according to exit polls. A Pew Research Center report found that nearly a quarter of Trump’s voters in 2024 were Catholic.
Throughout his first year, Trump — who calls himself a nondenominational Christian — has invoked Christianity and created a White House Faith Office. He created a Religious Liberty Commission by executive order in May 2025 and became the first president to issue a proclamation honoring the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception in December.
Last year, the president also launched the “America Prays” initiative, which encouraged people to dedicate one hour of prayer for the United States and its people in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.
John White, professor of politics at The Catholic University of America, said the first year of Trump’s second term “challenged Catholics on many levels.”
“The brutality of ICE has caused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to issue an extraordinary statement at the prompting of Pope Leo XIV,” White said, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a special message in November opposing indiscriminate mass deportations, calling for humane treatment, urging meaningful reform, and affirming the compatibility of national security with human dignity.
The Trump administration, with JD Vance, the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history, cut billions of dollars in funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which financially damaged several Catholic nonprofits that had received funding. Trump also signed into law historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“The cuts to NGO funding, SNAP, and Medicaid benefits, alongside the huge increases in health care costs, have hurt the poor and middle class at home and around the world,” he said. “Instead of being the good Samaritan, Trump has challenged our Catholic values and narrowed our vision of who we are and what we believe. JD Vance’s interpretation of ‘Ordo Amoris’ of a hierarchy to those whom we love rather than a universal love is a case in point and has been repudiated by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV,” he said.
The cuts aligned federal policy with the administration’s agenda, which included strict immigration enforcement, mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally, and less foreign aid support.
Catholic Charities USA was previously receiving more than $100 million annually for migrant services, and the Trump administration cut off those funds. In response, the organization scaled back its services.
Since Trump took office, the administration said it has deported more than 600,000 people.
Karen Sullivan, director of advocacy for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), which provides legal services to migrants, said she is “very concerned about the way that immigration enforcement has been carried out,” adding her organization is “very concerned that human dignity of all persons [needs to] be respected.”
Sullivan said the administration is “enabling their officers to use excessive force as they are taking people into custody” and “denying access to oversight at their detention centers.” She also expressed concern about the administration increasing fees for asylum applications and giving agents more leeway to conduct immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, such as churches, schools, and hospitals.
She said the large number of deportations and the increase in expedited removals has “been a strain” on organizations that seek to provide legal help to migrants.
CLINIC receives inquiries from people who are facing deportation and also those who fear they may be deported. She said: “The worry and the fear among those people [who may face deportation] makes them seek out assistance and advice even more often.”
“The pace of the changes that have been happening in the past year have been very difficult to manage,” she said. “We are having to respond very quickly to changes."
Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), viewed the first year of Trump’s second term in mostly successful terms.
“As Catholics we know that the law educates, and during Trump’s first year in office we witnessed an actual shift in public opinion on the LGBT/transgender ideology due to his asserting the scientific and natural common sense that there are only male and female,” Hanssen said.
Trump took executive action to prohibit what he called the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children, such as hormone therapy and surgical transition. He signed a policy restricting participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. He legally recognized only two genders, determined by biology: male and female.
“His strong executive action on this essential point — domestically in making the executive branch remove its trans-affirming language, the executive department of education stop subverting parental rights over their children, and women’s rights in sports, and (importantly) putting an end to USAID’s [U.S. Agency for International Development] pushing this gender agenda on the countries who need our economic assistance,” she said.
“This has led to a genuine public shift, with fewer independent corporations choosing to enforce June as LGBT Pride month on their customer base, fewer DEI programs pushing the gender agenda on hiring, and a shift (especially among young men) towards disapproval of gender transitioning children and even towards disapproval of the legalization of so-called same sex ‘marriage,’” she added. “We will need to see how these executive branch victories will affect judicial and legislative action moving forward.”
Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, had a similar view of some of the social changes.
“The current administration has focused significant energy on the important task of ‘putting folks on notice,’ so it’s hard to deny, for example, that the misguided medico-pharmaceutical industry that has profited handsomely from exploiting vulnerable youth and other gender dysphoric individuals can no longer miss the loud indicators that these practices will not be able to continue unabated,” he said.
Trump signaled a renewed and more aggressive federal capital-punishment policy in 2025, in opposition to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office directing the Justice Department to actively pursue the federal death penalty for serious crimes. He also directed federal prosecutors to seek death sentences in Washington, D.C., homicide cases. His administration lifted a moratorium on executions, reversing a pause in federal executions and following President Joe Biden’s commutations of federal death sentences.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, then-president of the USCCB, in a Jan. 22, 2025, statement called Trump’s support for expanding the federal death penalty “deeply troubling.” Newly elected USCCB president Archbishop Paul Coakley likewise called for the abolition of the death penalty.
Read More
CUPERTINO, CA — The world’s most popular and trendsetting tech manufacturer set the consumer world on fire once again this week, as Apple introduced a new iPhone for your other hand.
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NUUK — With rhetoric from both European countries and the United States over control of the island escalating, Denmark commenced a plan to protect Greenland by securing it in a giant cookie tin.
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| Picture of the day |
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The ceiling mosaic in the Baptistry of Neon in Ravenna, Italy depicts the Baptism of Jesus. Built around 6th century A.D., the building is a UNESCO World heritage site. Today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in much of Western Christianity.
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![A request for prayers, from a community, suddenly, living in fear #Catholic - “ICE was here in Morristown today. Please pray for us.”
BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY
That was the text message I received midday on Sunday, Jan. 11, from Father Duberney Villamizar, the pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland parish in Morristown. I would presume that most readers, by now, would have heard that there was an “Immigration Enforcement Action” in Morristown on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 11, reportedly focused on a laundromat located a few blocks from St. Margaret’s Church, as well as in another area, also within a few blocks of the church. The enforcement activity apparently began while the 8:45 a.m. Mass was being celebrated. By the end of the Mass, word had spread, and some of the parishioners were afraid to leave the church to go home.
I called Father Duberney soon after receiving his text message and was speaking with him at 12:30 p.m. The last morning Mass on a Sunday at St. Margaret’s is the 12:15 p.m. Spanish Mass and on most Sundays, the Church is full for the 12:15 p.m. Mass. Often, there is standing room only in a church that seats 700 people. At 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11, as another priest was celebrating the Mass, Father Duberney told me that the church was almost empty. People had heard what had happened that morning and were afraid to leave their homes to go to church. The next day, Monday, Father Duberney received a phone call from the local public school, asking for his assistance, because so many students were absent. Parents were afraid to send their children to school, or they were afraid to leave their homes to drop their children off or pick them up from school.
One of the people who was apprehended and detained on Sunday morning, Jan. 11, was a 17-year-old high school senior who was injured in the course of being detained. Fortunately, with the help of the St. Margaret’s community and legal assistance, the young man was released from detention on Thursday afternoon. There were reports that the father of a 6-year-old girl was detained as he left his home to pick up food, and the little girl was left alone and uncared for until neighbors found her as she looked for her father.
In an interview with a local television reporter, Father Duberney made the point that a large majority of the parishioners at St. Margaret’s were immigrants who had come here legally, but they were now living in fear that they could be detained at any moment if they left their homes. In the same report, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, two women who lived in the community were interviewed, but were afraid to give their names or show their faces. They were out for a walk, for exercise, but now realized that they had to cut their walk short because one of them had forgotten to bring her passport with her and was afraid she would be detained if she encountered a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
I ask myself, as I believe many are asking themselves, could we have imagined that we would be living in these conditions in the United States of America in 2026? On Monday morning, I received an email from a concerned parishioner expressing his thoughts about what was happening. The following is part of what he wrote: “It’s especially disturbing that ICE would conduct these raids on a Sunday morning within sight of a church, at a time when people are coming to and going from Mass. It’s enough to make one’s blood boil.” Upon reading the message, my first reaction was that I might reply and let the person know that I shared his feelings, but, upon prayer and reflection, I realized I should send a different reply. I hope and pray that we are learning that we need to be attentive to our emotions in times and circumstances such as these. We need to bring all of this to prayer, asking the Lord to guide us in choosing our words and actions.
Some may not wish to hear from me (or others) that we need to remember that the law enforcement agents are doing their jobs. As leaders, in the Church and in the community, we need, at times such as this, to ask (or demand that) our elected leaders and those responsible for law enforcement ensure that agents treat each person with respect for their human rights and human dignity. We also must work with elected leaders at the local, state, and federal levels to ask whether there is not a better way to enforce the law without causing such fear in law-abiding communities.
Father Duberney, along with his parochial vicar, Father Sebastian Munoz Chavarria, the staff, leaders, and volunteers of St. Margaret’s parish are working closely with local leaders in Morristown and beyond to offer assistance, support, and accompaniment to those who are currently living in fear. There is a Catholic Charities sponsored ministry in St. Margaret’s, called “Mary’s Hands,” which, for many years, has been offering material, emotional, and spiritual support to families with small children and, especially to single mothers. The director of “Mary’s Hands” at St. Margaret’s, Theresa Prendergast told me on Sunday, Jan. 18 that, in the course of the week, volunteers had been in phone contact with more than 70 mothers, offering them assistance, as many of those mothers are currently afraid to leave their homes. We, as a diocese, are working together with leaders and elected officials at many levels to express our concerns about the present circumstances in Morristown and in other immigrant communities in our diocese and surrounding areas.
As Christians, especially in moments and circumstances such as these, we must remember the words of Jesus, “You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father.” (Mt. 5:13-16)
I had the opportunity to celebrate the 8:45 a.m. Spanish Mass at St. Margaret’s on Sunday, Jan. 18. The attendance was less than 50 percent of normal. The Mass was livestreamed, and many parishioners and families were watching and united in prayer, but they surely would have preferred to be at Mass in person and able to receive Communion. It seems that the presence and activity of ICE agents may be abating in Morristown at the moment, but it seems to be increasing in other local communities within our diocese.
I would ask you, dear reader, on behalf of Father Duberney and the people in Morristown and those in other places who are currently living in fear, to respond with me to their request. Yes, to keep them in our prayers and also to pray for our country, for our elected leaders, and for all those facing challenging and difficult circumstances at this time. Let us pray and work for justice and for Peace. For more information and resources to support those in our immigrant communities, you can go to the USCCB (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) “You are Not Alone: Justice for Immigrants” website.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
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A request for prayers, from a community, suddenly, living in fear #Catholic – 
“ICE was here in Morristown today. Please pray for us.”
That was the text message I received midday on Sunday, Jan. 11, from Father Duberney Villamizar, the pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland parish in Morristown. I would presume that most readers, by now, would have heard that there was an “Immigration Enforcement Action” in Morristown on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 11, reportedly focused on a laundromat located a few blocks from St. Margaret’s Church, as well as in another area, also within a few blocks of the church. The enforcement activity apparently began while the 8:45 a.m. Mass was being celebrated. By the end of the Mass, word had spread, and some of the parishioners were afraid to leave the church to go home.
I called Father Duberney soon after receiving his text message and was speaking with him at 12:30 p.m. The last morning Mass on a Sunday at St. Margaret’s is the 12:15 p.m. Spanish Mass and on most Sundays, the Church is full for the 12:15 p.m. Mass. Often, there is standing room only in a church that seats 700 people. At 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11, as another priest was celebrating the Mass, Father Duberney told me that the church was almost empty. People had heard what had happened that morning and were afraid to leave their homes to go to church. The next day, Monday, Father Duberney received a phone call from the local public school, asking for his assistance, because so many students were absent. Parents were afraid to send their children to school, or they were afraid to leave their homes to drop their children off or pick them up from school.
One of the people who was apprehended and detained on Sunday morning, Jan. 11, was a 17-year-old high school senior who was injured in the course of being detained. Fortunately, with the help of the St. Margaret’s community and legal assistance, the young man was released from detention on Thursday afternoon. There were reports that the father of a 6-year-old girl was detained as he left his home to pick up food, and the little girl was left alone and uncared for until neighbors found her as she looked for her father.
In an interview with a local television reporter, Father Duberney made the point that a large majority of the parishioners at St. Margaret’s were immigrants who had come here legally, but they were now living in fear that they could be detained at any moment if they left their homes. In the same report, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, two women who lived in the community were interviewed, but were afraid to give their names or show their faces. They were out for a walk, for exercise, but now realized that they had to cut their walk short because one of them had forgotten to bring her passport with her and was afraid she would be detained if she encountered a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
I ask myself, as I believe many are asking themselves, could we have imagined that we would be living in these conditions in the United States of America in 2026? On Monday morning, I received an email from a concerned parishioner expressing his thoughts about what was happening. The following is part of what he wrote: “It’s especially disturbing that ICE would conduct these raids on a Sunday morning within sight of a church, at a time when people are coming to and going from Mass. It’s enough to make one’s blood boil.” Upon reading the message, my first reaction was that I might reply and let the person know that I shared his feelings, but, upon prayer and reflection, I realized I should send a different reply. I hope and pray that we are learning that we need to be attentive to our emotions in times and circumstances such as these. We need to bring all of this to prayer, asking the Lord to guide us in choosing our words and actions.
Some may not wish to hear from me (or others) that we need to remember that the law enforcement agents are doing their jobs. As leaders, in the Church and in the community, we need, at times such as this, to ask (or demand that) our elected leaders and those responsible for law enforcement ensure that agents treat each person with respect for their human rights and human dignity. We also must work with elected leaders at the local, state, and federal levels to ask whether there is not a better way to enforce the law without causing such fear in law-abiding communities.
Father Duberney, along with his parochial vicar, Father Sebastian Munoz Chavarria, the staff, leaders, and volunteers of St. Margaret’s parish are working closely with local leaders in Morristown and beyond to offer assistance, support, and accompaniment to those who are currently living in fear. There is a Catholic Charities sponsored ministry in St. Margaret’s, called “Mary’s Hands,” which, for many years, has been offering material, emotional, and spiritual support to families with small children and, especially to single mothers. The director of “Mary’s Hands” at St. Margaret’s, Theresa Prendergast told me on Sunday, Jan. 18 that, in the course of the week, volunteers had been in phone contact with more than 70 mothers, offering them assistance, as many of those mothers are currently afraid to leave their homes. We, as a diocese, are working together with leaders and elected officials at many levels to express our concerns about the present circumstances in Morristown and in other immigrant communities in our diocese and surrounding areas.
As Christians, especially in moments and circumstances such as these, we must remember the words of Jesus, “You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father.” (Mt. 5:13-16)
I had the opportunity to celebrate the 8:45 a.m. Spanish Mass at St. Margaret’s on Sunday, Jan. 18. The attendance was less than 50 percent of normal. The Mass was livestreamed, and many parishioners and families were watching and united in prayer, but they surely would have preferred to be at Mass in person and able to receive Communion. It seems that the presence and activity of ICE agents may be abating in Morristown at the moment, but it seems to be increasing in other local communities within our diocese.
I would ask you, dear reader, on behalf of Father Duberney and the people in Morristown and those in other places who are currently living in fear, to respond with me to their request. Yes, to keep them in our prayers and also to pray for our country, for our elected leaders, and for all those facing challenging and difficult circumstances at this time. Let us pray and work for justice and for Peace. For more information and resources to support those in our immigrant communities, you can go to the USCCB (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) “You are Not Alone: Justice for Immigrants” website.
– “ICE was here in Morristown today. Please pray for us.” BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY That was the text message I received midday on Sunday, Jan. 11, from Father Duberney Villamizar, the pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland parish in Morristown. I would presume that most readers, by now, would have heard that there was an “Immigration Enforcement Action” in Morristown on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 11, reportedly focused on a laundromat located a few blocks from St. Margaret’s Church, as well as in another area, also within a few blocks of the church. The enforcement activity apparently began while
Jan 20, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles will present its 12th annual OneLife LA event on Saturday, Jan. 24, beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the plaza of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. The day will highlight a variety of life and family issues, including advocating for the protection of the unborn.
The event includes a roster of speakers and performers beginning at 2 p.m. followed by a Walk for Life at 3 p.m. and a Requiem Mass for the unborn celebrated by Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez at 5 p.m.
In addition to Gómez, each of the auxiliary bishops in the archdiocese’s five pastoral regions typically attend, as well as bishops in neighboring dioceses.
In a statement, Gómez said: “Every life is precious and must be loved and protected, from conception until natural death — as children of God made in his image, every person has a sanctity and dignity that cannot be diminished.”
Speakers for the event include Gómez; El Paso,Texas, Bishop Mark Seitz; pro-life and prenatal health advocate Nora Yesenia; Sofía Alatorre González, who will discuss a life-changing accident she had at age 8; archdiocesan priest Father Matt Wheeler; Daniela Verástegui, a mother who speaks on family life issues and sister of actor Eduardo Verástegui; and Ken Rose of the Knights of Columbus.
As part of the event, Rose will receive a $10,000 Dr. Tirso del Junco grant on behalf of the Knights, which will be distributed to 20 local pregnancy centers along with matching funding from the Supreme Knight.
Rose has been a regular attendee at OneLife LA as well as other pro-life walks throughout the state of California and said he was “honored” to receive the grant on behalf of the Knights, an annual grant that has been made since 2020. He said: “It’s an awesome event, and I’ve been surprised at the turnout, especially considering the challenges they’ve had in recent years.”
The challenges he referenced include heavy rain in frequently sunny Southern California in 2024, and in 2025, due to heavy smoke caused by L.A.’s Eaton and Palisades wildfires, participants remained indoors at the cathedral. (The 2026 forecast so far is partly cloudy, no rain, with mild temperatures.) The 2025 event included testimonials from local residents who had lost their homes in the fires, as well as the display of the tabernacle of Corpus Christi Parish in Pacific Palisades, which was rescued from the ruins of the church after it had burned down.
In previous years, Rose has been impressed with a large number of young people who turned out for the walk, including teens as well as young adults. He also noted that it drew a large number of his fellow Knights (some in official regalia), as “we are Catholic gentlemen who are asked to step up on behalf of people who are less fortunate than us.”
Rose said in his remarks he plans to tell those in attendance “that life is special in all its stages. We must protect it, from birth to natural death. It’s what we believe as Catholics.”
Isaac Cuevas of the archdiocesan Office of Life, Justice, and Peace, said he believes the Knights to be a worthy grant recipient, as the Knights “exemplify service rooted in faith and respect for the dignity of every person. Their work strengthens families, supports those in need, and builds a culture that honors life at every stage.”
In addition to the Knights, other key participating organizations include 40 Days for Life, NET Ministries, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Sisters Poor of Jesus Christ, Catholic Charities Los Angeles, Sofesa, Depaul USA, Program for Tortured Victims, Order of Malta, Options United, and Care for Creation. The event also draws groups from Catholic parishes and schools as well as local religious.
Other repeat participants include Ann Sanders, who began participating 12 years ago as part of the Order of Malta and today is an event organizer with the archdiocesan Office of Life, Justice, and Peace.
“I’ve always enjoyed participating because it is an opportunity to be around like-minded individuals who desire to protect the beauty and dignity of human life,” she said. “People come together to support the life-affirming work that is being done throughout the archdiocese.”
Previous years have drawn 5,000 or more participants, she continued, and the archdiocese is hoping for strong attendance again in 2026.
Tim Shannon, who is also a member of the Order of Malta and is president of the Order of Malta Mobile Ministries, will also attend again in 2026. His group distributes food to Southern Californians in need; at OneLife LA members distribute supplies such as sunscreen and water, offer basic medical care, and provide seating where older or disabled walkers can rest. Donations for items come from the Order of Malta.
He, like Rose, noted the participation of large numbers of young people, “which is refreshing. They’re our future,” he said.
In addition to speakers, performers at the event include Francis Cabildo, worship leader and songwriter, and Miriam Solis, a Mexican singer from Guadalajara. Companion events to OneLife LA include a OneLife LA Holy Hour on Friday, Jan. 23, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Christ the King Parish in Los Angeles.
OneLife LA is one of a series of pro-life walks offered throughout the state of California hosted by Catholic dioceses or often organized by Catholics. The second-largest pro-life walk in the country, Walk for Live West Coast, will be held in San Francisco on the same day, with San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone playing a prominent role, as well as a San Diego Walk for Life sponsored by the Diocese of San Diego with San Diego Bishop Michael Pham participating.
On Jan. 23 at Oakland City Hall, there will be the Standing Up 4Life rally and walk featuring many speakers from the Black pro-life community. The National March for Life in Washington, D.C., also occurs on Jan. 23; March for Life will hold a rally and march at the California state capitol in Sacramento on March 16.
OneLife LA is free to attend, but participants are asked to register online at www.onelifela.org.
Read MoreLooking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. January 19: Where Messier started: M1 Comet 24P/Schaumasse is roughly 10th magnitude, visible using optics or in astrophotos of the sky. Rising shortly before local midnight, Schaumasse is best seen in the early-morning hours — and with no Moon in the sky,Continue reading “The Sky Today on Tuesday, January 20: Comet Schaumasse slides by some galaxies”
The post The Sky Today on Tuesday, January 20: Comet Schaumasse slides by some galaxies appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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