Bishop of Dedza addresses the dangers of gambling among Malawi’s youth

Malawi’s Bishop of Dedza Diocese, Peter Adrian Chifukwa, has issued a warning to the nation’s youth, urging them to shun the harmful practice of gambling, which exposes them to personal, social, moral, and economic risks.

Bishop Chifukwa emphasised that gambling cannot be a sustainable strategy for survival, noting that “the practice poses serious personal, social, moral, and economic dangers.” 

He made these remarks during the closing Mass of the national annual meeting of the Young Christian Workers (YCW), held on 11 January at St. Joseph’s Teachers Training College in the Diocese of Dedza, where 300 youths were in attendance.

Economic Challenges

According to the Church’s news agency, Agenzia Fides, Bishop Chifukwa reflected on the current economic difficulties facing Malawi. He observed that “many young people are increasingly drawn to gambling due to unemployment and the high costs of living.” 

He added, “Many young people turn to betting in the hope of earning a living, especially at a time when unemployment is high and some have no reliable sources of income beyond support from their parents.”

The Bishop cautioned the youth: “Betting seems to be an easy solution but it has serious destructive consequences.” 

He explained that “betting exposes young people to multiple risks and encourages harmful behaviors that can negatively affect their lives and values.” 

Bishop Chifukwa further warned, “It can lead to behaviors such as stealing because one becomes obsessed with the need to always have money for betting, driven by the hope of winning more and more.”

Honest and dignified living

He urged young people to seek honest and dignified ways of supporting themselves and to resist practices that undermine their integrity and future. 

“Whenever young people encounter serious worries, it is important that they share their struggles with others. When problems are shared, one realises that every challenge can be addressed,” said the prelate of Dedza.

Bishop Chifukwa also reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s strong commitment to youth apostolate, describing the Young Christian Workers as a vital means of reaching out to young people.

National Youth Chaplain Fr. Patrick Kamba emphasised the importance of regular meetings, such as annual general assemblies. 

He noted that these gatherings play a crucial role in identifying and addressing the challenges facing young people today.

Assisted Suicide bill opposed by Catholic bishops in Wales

Catholic leaders in Wales are urging legislators not to accept a British parliamentary Bill that would legalize doctor-assisted suicide.

Westminster’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed by the House of Commons in June 2025 and is currently being debated in the House of Lords.

Members of the Senedd – the Welsh parliament – are set to debate and vote on on whether to allow the British parliament in Westminster to continue to legislate on its behalf on Jan. 20.

Even if the Senedd does agree to pass the proposal, Welsh people would be able to receive assisted suicide if the British law is confirmed, but it wouldn’t be provided by the Welsh National Health Service.

Archbishop Mark O’Toole of Cardiff-Menevia and Bishop Peter Brignall of Wrexham issued a statement saying they wished “to express [their] deep concern about the proposal to legalize assisted suicide and the serious implications this would have for Wales.”

The Catholic bishops said If enacted, the bill would introduce assisted suicide into law and represent a profound change in how society responds to those who are terminally ill.

“In our view, it would place many vulnerable people at greater risk,” they said, noting how international experience has shown eligibility criteria tending to expand over time in places where assisted suicide has been legalized. The number of deaths also increases, “and subtle but real pressure is placed on people who are elderly, disabled, or who fear becoming a burden on others.”

The statement said Wales has a long and proud tradition of compassion and of valuing the dignity of every human life.

“That tradition is reflected in the way our communities, health services, and voluntary organizations seek to care for those who are suffering or approaching the end of life. True compassion does not mean ending a life. It means accompanying those who suffer, easing their pain, supporting families, and ensuring that no one feels abandoned, burdensome, or without worth,” said O’Toole and Brignall.

They also said the Catholic community in Wales, through its parishes, schools, chaplaincies, and charitable work, is deeply committed to supporting people at every stage of life – particularly those who are ill or dying.

“We believe that the right response to suffering is not to hasten death, but to strengthen palliative and end-of-life care so that every person can live their final days with dignity, comfort, and peace,” the bishops said.

Meanwhile, more than 250 doctors and health professionals have signed an open letter urging Welsh politicians to reject the assisted dying bill.

“The bill’s definition of terminal illness fails to recognize the risks from mistaken diagnosis or misinformation. Accurate prognostica­tion is impossible,” the health officials write.

“Patients will be eligible to access lethal drugs if they feel a burden or because of a lack of services. Coercion is often covert and difficult to detect, particularly when undue influence comes from family or from a person with authority,” the letter adds.

Dr. Victoria Wheatley, a palliative care consultant who signed the letter, said the proposed legislation is “extremely unsafe for the population of Wales.”

“Vulnerable people would be at great risk of having an assisted suicide when they shouldn’t do, and the safeguards with that are completely inadequate,” she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

U.S. bishops say multimillion-dollar Eucharistic revival bore spiritual fruit

Catholic clergy and lay people reported a stronger devotion to the Eucharist after the National Eucharistic Revival.

This week, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released the report for the National Eucharistic Revival Impact Study. 

Done in collaboration with the National Eucharistic Congress corporation and Vinea Research, the study surveyed nearly 2,500 lay Catholics, clergy, and Church staff during the summer and fall of 2025.

The online survey asked questions about revival promotion, participation, and impact one year after the initial National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress. The price tag of the Eucharistic congress was more than $10 million, organizers said.

“Never in my tenure of working for the Church have I seen such deep impact,” said Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress, in a press release. “The fruits of the National Eucharistic Revival are real, lasting, and will continue to shape the life of the American Church for years to come.”

The revival, sponsored by the USCCB, launched in June 2022 with the mission to “renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the holy Eucharist.”

The three-year initiative, which concluded in 2025, included the 10th National Eucharistic Congress and the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in 2024 and 2025.

In a Jan. 16 interview on “EWTN News In Depth,” Bishop Andrew Cozzens, chair of the National Eucharistic Congress, said he was “extremely heartened” by the results of the study.

“I had a sense that the revival had a big impact on people and especially on our Church,” he said. “But it was great to see that confirmed by the data and to see some of the actual statistics.”

Impact on clergy members

Of 249 clergy members of priests and deacons surveyed, 49% reported feeling “more encouraged’ since the revival began. Specifically, 38% said they feel “somewhat more encouraged” and 11% said they feel “significantly more encouraged.”

Nearly half, 48%, said they feel “more comfortable encouraging others to share their faith.”

The research found the revival “refocused clergy on the Eucharist,” with the majority reporting changes to their pastoral approach since 2021. The report found that 70% of clergy reported a stronger “focus on the Eucharist in teaching [and] ministry,” and 69% said they have a stronger “emphasis on evangelization and outreach.”

Clergy also reported personal advancements with their relationship with the Eucharist. More than half (51%) said their “time spent in personal adoration” is stronger now than it was in 2021.

“I was so grateful when I saw that priests found it encouraging. They were encouraged by this opportunity to focus on the Eucharist,” Cozzens said. “I know so much more preaching and encouragement about Eucharistic devotion happened in our parishes during this time.”

“If our priests are encouraged and they’re drawing closer to Jesus in the Eucharist, that’s going to help our people so much, and it’s going to help our Church so much,” he said.

Impact on lay Catholics

Among 1,758 of the lay Catholics surveyed, 874 were labeled as “national participants” who attended the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, National Eucharistic Congress, or both.

“We wanted Catholics to come together and to experience more deeply a profound love for Jesus in the Eucharist, and then from that, to be sent out on mission,” Cozzens said. The study “showed that anyone who attended one of our National Eucharistic Pilgrimages or National Eucharistic Congress said they were 50% more likely to do outreach, to share their faith, to do some act of service.”

“I think the thing that most stood out to me is that we accomplished our goal,” he said. “Our goal was really to bring about a missionary conversion of Catholics.”

Another 425 of lay Catholics were “local participants” who took part in local processions, small groups, and revival-specific Holy Hours. Most (83%) of the laypeople surveyed who participated at the national or local level said their “overall level of faith” is stronger now than it was in 2021.

The other 459 laypeople surveyed were “nonparticipating contacts” who did not participate in any revival activities. Most came from the USCCB’s newsletter distribution list and they were aware of the revival but not involved. Even though they did not directly participate, 79% reported their “overall level of faith” was stronger following the revival.

When asked to compare their faith practices with those in 2021, lay Catholics overwhelmingly reported praying more, attending adoration more frequently, and going to confession more often.

The research took a deeper look at how lay Catholics’ faith evolved, examining the changes in the level of “importance” of faith-related activities over the last three years. The greatest growth in importance was observed in volunteering and spending time in Eucharistic adoration.

In 2021, 57% of lay national participants reported “spending quiet time in Eucharistic adoration” was “very important” or “extremely important” to them. Following the revival, the number had jumped to 76%. There was also an increase for local participants with a rise from 65% to 82%. Among those who did not directly participate, there was the largest increase from 49% to 69%.

Continuing to spread the ‘fire’

The bishops have confirmed that the country’s second National Eucharistic Congress of the 21st century will take place in 2029.

“As we continue to strengthen the core of our faith and those people who are committed, and they begin to draw closer to Jesus from Eucharist, what the study showed is that they get on fire, and then they start to spread that fire,” he said.

“It’s the way Jesus worked himself. Jesus certainly did preach to crowds, but most of the time he spent with his 12 apostles and with those people who were with him. Because if he could convert and strengthen them, then they could go out and convert the world,” he said.

“I think that’s really the goal of the whole Eucharistic movement that we have now is strengthening those people so that they can become the witnesses that we’re called to be,” he said.

Brazilian bishop ministering to LGBTQ people: Walking a path of “affection, joy and welcome”

The late and beloved Pope Francis left us a beautiful teaching on the evangelical dimension of true encounter to which Jesus invites us. 

On Sept. 13, 2016, during a morning meditation in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, he renewed this invitation, encouraging us to “work for this culture of encounter, in a simple way, as Jesus did”:

“…not just seeing, but looking; not just hearing, but listening; not just passing people by, but stopping with them; not just saying, ‘What a shame, poor people!,’ but allowing yourself to be moved with compassion; and then to draw near, to touch and to say: ‘Do not weep’ and to give at least a drop of life.”

In light of this calling, I joyfully received the invitation extended to me in Oct. 2025 by the presidency of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) to serve as the reference bishop who will accompany the activities of the National Network of LGBT+ Catholic Groups in our country. Faced with what I see as the need to increasingly be a church that goes forth and promotes encounter, I immediately accepted this mission. The process of pastoral accompaniment is much more a journey of pastoral formation that develops methods, adapted to the demands of a true culture of encounter, than properly a theological innovation from the standpoint of Christian Morality.

The process of pastoral accompaniment is much more a journey of pastoral formation

In this sense, it means offering, as a bishop, a form of dialogue marked by welcome, attentive listening and discernment, always in light of the teachings of Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium handed down through the centuries.

In Brazil, the network is made up of Catholic groups of LGBT+ persons and allies who seek to live out their baptism within the pastoral and communal life of the church, committed to the principles and values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a church that goes forth (see Evangelii Gaudium, No. 26), in the building up of the Kingdom of God.

The network is organized at both national and regional levels, with groups in the North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South. Together, these structures connect Catholic LGBT+ groups and collectives across the country. I have the joy of being the first bishop appointed to accompany this network, which has existed for more than 15 years. The network is linked to the National Commission of the Laity of Brazil (CNLB), a body of the bishops’ conference responsible for representing and coordinating lay Catholics in Brazil.

LGBT+ persons are a social group that suffers deep prejudice and discrimination, giving rise to many forms of violence. Brazil has tragically high rates of violence against these persons. Homophobia kills. Not few are the homicides perpetrated against LGBT+ people, motivated by hate speech and religious fundamentalism. Any religious discourse that incites violence against the human person, wounding their dignity as a child of God, is a contradiction of the Gospel.

The suicide rate among LGBT+ youth is five times higher than among heterosexual youth. Sadly, homophobia is also present within our Christian communities. I will never forget a young gay man who, after recounting his painful experience of discrimination within his faith community, concluded: “The best thing that ever happened in my life was leaving the church.” If, for some, the presence of our LGBT+ brothers and sisters in the church is a cause for scandal, an even greater scandal is to exclude and marginalize them.

Any religious discourse that incites violence against the human person, wounding their dignity as a child of God, is a contradiction of the Gospel

In this sense, the pastoral accompaniment to be exercised must be guided by practices of attentive looking, listening and closeness. This is precisely what Pope Francis wished to highlight when he referred to the account of the son of the Widow of Nain (Lk 7, 11-17), as cited above.

It is not a matter of being weighed down by legalistic arguments that can reduce the church’s evangelizing action to a set of norms or rules detached from their time. Legalism, when inflamed by the algorithmic dynamics of social media, can contribute to an increase in violence. Rather, it is a matter of stopping before the human person and their pain, of touching the wounds opened by indifference and hatred, of allowing oneself to be affected by compassion and mercy.

This work marks out a different pedagogical approach, characterized by listening, discernment and the proclamation of the Good News that reaches the ears of LGBT+ people as a sign of hope, never resorting to a language of condemnation.

This is what I consider a pedagogy of encounter: a pedagogy that allows reality to present its demands; a pedagogy that incarnates [embodies] the pain of the world and does not avert its gaze from it; a pedagogy that leads us, as pastors, to insist on the message of life in abundance against every form of exclusion and death.

Of great importance is the message left by Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia, reiterating that: 

…not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium.  Unity of teaching and practice is certainly necessary in the Church, but this does not preclude various ways of interpreting some aspects of that teaching or drawing certain consequences from it. (Amoris Laetitia, No. 3.)

The synodal path reaffirmed by Pope Francis and continued by his successor, Leo XIV, calls us to an attitude of attentive and disarmed listening. It is an interpretive stance that does not avert its gaze from reality but places itself alongside it—as a Samaritan church—at the side of those who suffer. This is a pedagogical path of encounter with the marginalized, wounded by the trials of history. Thus Francis exhorted us:

During the Synod, we discussed the situation of families whose members include persons who experience same-sex attraction, a situation not easy either for parents or for children.  We would like before all else to reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while ‘every sign of unjust discrimination’ is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence.  Such families should be given respectful pastoral guidance, so that those who manifest a homosexual orientation can receive the assistance they need to understand and fully carry out God’s will in their lives. (Amoris Laetitia, No. 250.)

In this way, the church, attentive to the signs and demands of its time, understands itself as called to secure this accompaniment. It must provide the means so that each family and each human person may discover the meaning of their humanity, re-signified in Christ, and come to see their own sexuality from the perspectives of gift and grace—that is, in light of what they can contribute to the world.

It is in this sense that pastoral accompaniment with the National Network of Catholic LGBT+ Groups will unfold: a path to be walked together with those who are willing to set out along the paths of the Kingdom. It is a demanding Kingdom, one that calls for renunciation and the courage of truth—a truth that is found only in an authentic and sincere encounter with the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

To guide each member of the faithful, regardless of sexual orientation, to choose this path is what I understand as a pedagogy of encounter. Together, we will walk the paths of affection, joy and listening. Together, we will be graced with the presence of the One who drew near to us, as he did to the widow of Nain, and said: “Do not weep.” The One who never abandons us.

Catholic bishop urges halt to puberty blocker trial

The lead Catholic Bishop for Healthcare in England and Wales has called for a clinical trial of puberty blockers involving children to be halted.

Rt Rev Paul Mason said “vulnerable children should not be part of an experiment of the kind that will soon be starting at King’s College.”

Puberty blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty. In December, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting banned their prescription to young patients unless they are on a clinical trial. The trial, which is due to start at King's College London this month, will involve children as young as 11, who are being seen at gender clinics in England.

The research team says their physical and mental health will be closely monitored and there will be a careful consent process involving children and their parents.

Streeting told MPs he was "uncomfortable" about puberty blockers being used on young people but said he had given the go-ahead for the trial because he felt it was the "right thing to do" after it was recommended by a review into children's gender care.

However, the CEO of Sex Matters Maya Forstater wrote to the Health Secretary in November saying the trial was "being pushed ahead despite methodological, legal and ethical concerns. The care of children continues to be led by ideology rather than by an approach focused on children’s best interests."

In his statement, Bishop Paul said: “I would like to add my concerns to those of many others who have spoken out about the proposed clinical trial at King’s College London...  

“I recognise the profound difficulties faced by young people and their families as a result of conditions such as gender dysphoria. However, we should offer support to these children rather than following a path where the natural process of puberty is blocked....It is important that medical science progresses in the hope of providing better care to people affected by serious conditions. However, strong ethical boundaries must govern all experimentation and medical treatment."

Calling on the government and the university’s research ethics committee to halt the trial, he added that there is a lack of "sufficient knowledge of long-term outcomes to justify exposing more children to these drugs."

Church of England in ageism row over proposed closure of historic church

The Church of England has been accused of ageism over the proposed closure of a historic church with an elderly congregation.

St Augustine's Church in Bournemouth, Dorset, is no longer considered viable' due to low congregation numbers and financial concerns.

The Grade II listed place of worship, which has served the community for more than 130 years, has a loyal band of 30 attendees predominantly aged in their 70s and above.

Army veteran David Agar, 83, the Deanery Synod representative, said it is the only church in the area with transport links including a nearby bus stop outside making it easier for elderly people to go to services.

He said they would find it hard to get to another church without such good transport links.

The congregation were left shocked when they were informed of the intention to close the church in a note with prayers at Sunday service.

It stated that the Parochial Church Council is to vote on the closure at the end of the month.

Mr Agar, a former Army Major who commanded Gurkha battalions and served three active tours during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s, has wowed to 'fight' any closure.

He first attended St Augustin’s aged 11 and says he has worshipped there all his life, apart from time spent away on military service.

Mr Agar has represented the church on the Deanery Synod for 15 years.

The church, part of the Bournemouth Town Centre Parish alongside St Peter’s and St Stephen’s, is under the Diocese of Winchester.

Mr Agar said: “We suddenly got a little note in with the prayers on a Sunday saying they didn’t think we were viable.

"Most of our congregation are well over 70 and we’ve got some in their 90s.

“This church is in a very good position. Cemetery Junction is served by practically every bus route in Bournemouth. For elderly people, access is absolutely vital.

"They think we have had our fights, our lives, you could say it is ageist.

"They think we are easy to bully.

“This was my church since I was a boy. I will keep fighting."

Mr Agar also criticised what he described as wider changes within the Church of England.

He added: “There’s a move nationally to get rid of the old structure and reduce the number of stipendiary clergy.

“It’s an absolute mess. I’d like to preserve our church, which has architectural value."

St Augustin’s foundation stone was laid in 1891 and the church was consecrated the following year.

It was designed by renowned architect William Butterfield, whose work includes churches and cathedrals in London, Oxford and Australia.

The church contains a World War One memorial font and other commemorative features.

Bournemouth Town centre parish and the Church of England have been approached for comment.

Bishops Bid Farewell to Living in Love and Faith

After 10 years of Living in Love and Faith, a book of nearly 500 pages, and untold hours of discussion, the Church of England’s House of Bishops has taken blessings for same-sex couples as far as possible without a stronger supporting majority in the church’s General Synod. 

Thus, the bishops have announced that Living in Love and Faith discussions will conclude in February.

Another element at work is the bishops’ effort to find a path of blessings for same-sex couples that are not similar to traditional wedding rites. 

Throughout the decade of Living in Love and Faith discussions, bishops who support blessings have sought to persuade conservatives, including Anglicans in other nations, that the church has not changed its doctrine of marriage by blessing couples in same-sex relationships.

This distinction was a frequent talking point for Archbishop Justin Welby, who presented it as brave resistance to gay activists such as Peter Tatchell. Archbishop Titus Chung of South East Asia has not been persuaded. He called Living in Love and Faith “a departure and total misalignment from what Scripture teaches regarding marriage and sexuality. It is also a departure from traditional Anglican orthodoxy.”

The bishops address these factors in a nine-page statement that they released online January 14. The statement, addressed to “friends in Christ across the Church of England,” reads as a formal letter with numbered paragraphs.

It begins on a note of humility. The bishops cite Paul’s letter to the Church at Phillippi (Phil. 2:3-4), and they seek to echo his language, especially the admonition to “regard others as better than yourselves”: “We write as the House of Bishops, conscious of our own shortcomings, seeking to regard others as better than ourselves, seeking to look to the interests of all those served by our imperfect Church, and to discern together the mind of Christ.”

The bishops offer a brief statement of the Christian gospel, but quickly turn that summary into a case for broad sexual inclusivity: “God’s invitation to know, love and follow him through Jesus Christ and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit extends to all people, in every place and time, without exception, and thus including all those who are LGBTQI+.”

Two paragraphs down, the bishops recognize that the Church of England is in relationship to dozens of Anglican provinces that have developed across the world and across nearly six centuries. They write of the Church of England “bearing a unique set of responsibilities to the Anglican Communion, a global fellowship of diverse, independent provinces bound together by a common story, ways of being Church together, and a shared sense of God’s mission; and in dialogue with ecumenical partners both in the United Kingdom and across the world.”

The bishops offer a concise summary of three major perspectives on same-sex blessings: vigorously in favor, undecided, and resolutely opposed: “Some of us, after careful engagement with scripture and the Christian tradition, are deeply convinced that such relationships can rightly be understood as akin to marriage between persons of the opposite sex. Others, even after long and thoughtful study, remain uncertain. Still others, with equal depth of conviction and reflection, believe that taking such a step runs counter to the message of scripture and the Christian tradition.”

They then turn to a recurring theme of the document: that those in same-sex and other relationships are in pain because of how the church has treated them in the past and how it treats them now.

The bishops say at paragraph 14 that that “the time has now come formally to conclude this Synodical process in February 2026 and to identify the next stages of work which will need to be considered by the House of Bishops and the General Synod in the coming years.”

They remind readers that congregations are free to use Prayers of Love and Faith as part of regular worship services, and they link to the permanent online archive of those prayers.

The bishops promise further study and possible actions in the future, but warn: “With a high degree of consensus, the House has concluded that the additional challenges posed by bespoke services will require maximum communal authorisation through the Canon B2 process of approval.”

“Maximum communal authorization” means reaching a two-thirds majority in each of the three houses of General Synod. Such majorities do not exist today.

At paragraph 24, the bishops write about current limits on gay partners entering marriage: “Under guidance agreed by the House of Bishops in 2014, clergy who have entered into same sex civil marriages have received an informal rebuke. Such clergy have been able to continue in their present beneficed or licensed roles but not permitted to undertake new roles.”

Nevertheless, the way some bishops have interpreted these restrictions has not prevented warm welcomes for the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral and the Dean of Southwark Cathedral, both of whom live in same-sex civil partnerships.

Then the bishops add: “However, in the context of the doctrine of the Church of England and in light of theological and legal advice, we acknowledge that a more general permission for clergy to be in a same sex civil marriage would require a formal legislative process. Following February 2026, we will continue to reflect, in dialogue with the wider church, on the advice received from FAOC and the Legal Office to explore what such a process would involve. Until any such process is complete, existing guidance from the House of Bishops will continue to apply.”

At paragraph 28, the bishops mention proposals for helping churches that do not favor same-sex blessings, such as alternative episcopal oversight, but they show a sudden concern for church order: “The wider disruption to Anglican ecclesiology and mission would be very significant and would, we believe, seriously jeopardise our calling as bishops to be a focus for unity in the church as set out in the ordinal.”

Far down in the document, at paragraph 39 (of 41), the bishops mention their interest in other topics that would broaden the church’s discussion radically: “The LLF process identified the need for ongoing reflection on a number of questions of identity and sexuality which go beyond consideration of permanent and stable same sex relationships. These include questions of singleness; transgender identity; technology and sexuality; and the wider sexualisation of society. These questions remain for the Church and will be addressed through an ongoing process of study, engagement and reflection, supported by the Working Group and the Church of England’s Faith and Public Life team.”

As journalist Tim Wyatt observes, nearly all the bishops approved this statement, but liberal church members are distressed by its caution:

We’ve known that this was coming since the bishops met in October and concluded that they’d run out of road. But the statement, released on Wednesday, is the official agreed position (it passed in a vote 35-1, with 4 abstentions) that the hierarchy has adopted. …

So Living in Love and Faith, which started way back in 2017, is finished. But only really as a brand-name. LLF and the PLF may be done, but the church and its leadership are going to move straight on to some “next stages of work” on the very same issues. …

The five year term which began in 2021 will elapse after the July meeting of the synod, and every diocese will elect new clergy and lay people to represent it. Right now, nobody, even the most enthusiastic liberal, thinks starting a Canon B2 procedure to try and introduce standalone gay blessings is worth it, as it needs a two-thirds majority in each house of the synod which just does not exist.

The depth of liberals’ dissatisfaction is clear in a statement issued by OneBody OneFaith:

We are particularly dismayed that the bishops have once again refused to move on the two issues that matter most to LGBT+ Christians: the celebration and blessing of same-sex marriage and equal access to ordained ministry. Clergy in same sex marriages remain barred from new appointments. Candidates for ordination in same sex marriages remain excluded. Same sex couples remain unable to marry in their parish churches.

Instead, the Church of England is offered another working group, another two-year timetable, and another cycle of uncertainty. For LGBT+ people, whose lives and relationships are not theoretical, this is not pastoral care. It is institutional cruelty dressed up as caution. …

We call on the House of Bishops to recognise that leadership is not about managing disagreement indefinitely. It is about naming injustice and ending it. The Church of England now stands at a crossroads. It can continue to defer equality in the name of unity, or it can choose the costly, liberating truth of the Gospel. The examples of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales as well as Quakers, United Reformed and Methodists among others powerfully demonstrate that a different way is possible where there is the courage to take it.

In short, this is the end of LLF discussions, but far from the end of bishops, other clergy, and laity in the Church of England pushing against the boundaries of traditional Christian teachings on sexual behavior and marriage.

Sri Lanka Church works to ‘keep hope alive’ after devastating floods

The death toll of Cyclone Ditwah exceeded 600, and a total of 2.3 million people were affected, with at least one million people in need of assistance.

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is making "a significant contribution to rekindling hope,” said Father Basil Rohan Fernando, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Colombo, in a report by Fides News Agency.

More than 20 percent of the country was affected by the tropical storm, which damaged homes, businesses, roads, bridges, and power grids. 

Government figures show that about 720,000 buildings were destroyed, along with 16,000 kilometers of roads, 278 kilometers of railway tracks, and 480 bridges.

“We were suddenly struck by a new, severe crisis. In addition to the short-term effects, this will also entail medium- to long-term costs, as reconstruction will take time,” the priest said. 

He said Catholic communities across Sri Lanka have taken on a sustained role in responding to both immediate needs and long-term recovery.

“In this situation, the Catholic community in Sri Lanka has become involved and is committed to a single goal: to instill new hope. We have assumed a special responsibility, namely to keep hope alive,” he said.

“This is being done by supporting many people with material and financial, but also spiritual, psychological, and social assistance, as was the case during the Christmas season and continues to be the case today,” the priest added. 

Father Fernando said the government has intensified reconstruction and social assistance efforts, including rebuilding roads, bridges, railway lines, and schools, while supporting affected individuals and families, whose communities are beginning to feel tangible state assistance.

He said social assistance has focused on the most vulnerable, with households that lost homes or livelihoods receiving 5 million rupees in government subsidies.

“Public subsidies have reached families with school-age children so they can purchase new school supplies and resume classes,” he said.

Father Fernando said the government led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake has shown strong commitment to recovery efforts and expressed gratitude for international financial support, including assistance from Caritas organizations, adding that affected communities do not feel abandoned.

Government estimates place the cost of reconstruction at about $7 billion, equivalent to roughly 7 percent of Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product and nearly half of government revenue in 2025. 

The disaster struck as the country was emerging from the 2022 economic collapse linked to a debt crisis, while debt restructuring was underway with support from the International Monetary Fund.

New church and apartments approved for former Church of Annunciation site in Finglas

Plans to build a new church and apartments on the site of the former Church of Annunciation have been approved.

The Finglas site, which once housed Ireland's largest church, was demolished to make way for the development of 36 one bedroom apartments along with a smaller church. 

Now, Dublin City Council have approved the planning applications submitted by Fr Richard Hyland.

A new church building and pastoral centre is included, which includes a courtyard garden. The second application is for a four and five-storey apartment building that includes the apartments, and they were also approved.

The building of the new church was approved along with the demolition of the landmark church building back in 2020, but that construction never went ahead. The planning report said: "The construction of the church building and parish centre did not proceed due to changed funding circumstances".

The two new development sites are located beside each other, and are separate to the planned Part 8 housing development where the church building once stood. The planning report outlines that the new church and 36 apartments would be located on lands that were in front of the former church building.

It said: "The site directly to the south which was occupied by the now demolished Church building is the subject of a Part 8 planning application for a development of 110 residential units for ‘Older Persons’ with community, arts and cultural facilities and 15 car parking spaces.

"The analysis of the site suggested that the Church building which is tasked with having a ‘presence’ in the community, should be positioned in a prominent location, where it can directly engage with the public realm. The most obvious position is at the western corner at the intersection of the two roads, and where it also presents a face to the green space. The building can provide an identity for the community and a landmark for passersby."

The Part 8 planning report was approved for construction in 2024. Demolition of the former Church of the Annunciation has left the site empty while the planning process takes place.

The aim of the new church is to honour the memory of the old church, which was demolished as it became unsustainable to maintain. A falling number of parishioners attending, along with the cost of heating and work it would take to repair ongoing issues with the building, made it unattainable to continue.

The planning report states: "Regardless of the justification for the demolition, there is an understandable and strong feeling of grief within the Parish Community at the loss of the building. The desire to contribute to a healing process is a major driver of the design of the church building, which incorporates references to, and motifs from the original building, in addition to reusing some of the salvaged artefacts."

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Kyiv's St. Nicholas Church returns to Catholic hands for 50 years

After decades of legal disputes, delays and competing claims, Ukraine's Roman Catholic community has received the right to use Kyiv's historic St. Nicholas Church for the next 50 years, under an agreement signed with the state.

The church, a national cultural landmark confiscated during the Soviet era, remains state-owned but will now function primarily as a parish church.

The agreement marks the most significant step so far toward restoring Catholic life in one of Kyiv's most recognizable churches, even as it falls short of full restitution -- the return of the church to Catholic ownership.

OSV News reached Father Pavlo Vyshkovsky, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate and pastor of St. Nicholas Parish, on Jan. 9, as Kyiv faced a hard night of Russian attacks.

"We had another very difficult night," the priest said. "There is no electricity, no water, no heating." Despite the emergency conditions in the capital, it was important for him to comment on what the 50-year agreement means for the parish and for Catholics in Ukraine.

"For years we could not even register our legal address at the church," Father Vyshkovsky told OSV News. "That meant we had no direct contracts for electricity or water and paid several times more than we should have. With this agreement, that finally changes," he said.

St. Nicholas Church, built between 1899 and 1909 in the neo-Gothic style by architect Vladyslav Horodetskyi, is one of two Roman Catholic churches in Kyiv built before 1917, when the city was part of the Russian Empire in its final decades, and before the October Revolution of 1917 that swallowed Ukraine as one of the Soviet republics.

Closed and confiscated by Soviet authorities in 1938, the church was later converted into a concert hall and placed under state administration. For decades, it remained one of the most visible symbols of unresolved church property disputes in Ukraine after regaining independence in 1991.

The church has faced disrepair since 2009, and a fire in 2021 further damaged it, with the Dec. 20, 2024, Russian rocket attack on the Ukrainian capital only adding to a pile of repair needs for the historical church.

Although the Ministry of Culture promised to transfer the church to the local faithful, it has not happened for years -- with the parish forced to function in a legal gray zone, dependent on the state cultural institution formally assigned to the building.

Church leaders told OSV News the agreement provides long-sought legal clarity, allowing the parish to protect the building amid war-related disruptions and plan repairs, such as installing the permanent heating system, as parishioners are now forced to celebrate many Sunday Masses in freezing temperatures.

Repairs to the roof and windows are among the most urgent needs, although church authorities acknowledge that the building ultimately requires a complete renovation from foundation to roof.

Bishop Vitalii Kryvytskyi of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, said the agreement should be seen both as a legal breakthrough and as evidence of the limits that still shape church-state relations in post-Soviet Ukraine.

"Signing the agreement is an important step because the church urgently needs renovation," Bishop Kryvytskyi told OSV News. "Ukrainian law does not provide for full restitution of church property when it is classified as a national cultural monument. That is why permanent ownership or even permanent use has not yet been possible in this case."

"We do not consider the issue resolved," he added. "The next 50 years are needed not only for essential repairs, but also to find a path toward a final solution that allows the church to serve God and the faithful, as it was built to do more than a hundred years ago," Bishop Kryvytskyi emphasized.

The bishop said the prolonged struggle over St. Nicholas Church cannot be separated from Ukraine's broader post-Soviet legacy and the unfinished process of returning religious property.

"After the dynamic return of churches to religious communities in the 1990s, there was a long period of stagnation," he said. "Unfortunately, today these matters are often handled by the grandchildren of those communists who once confiscated churches, and they have not freed themselves from Soviet ways of thinking. Situations like this show that the process of decommunization is still unfinished, even after 35 years of Ukraine's independence."

For Father Vyshkovsky, the agreement also means the parish can finally take formal responsibility for the church. "For years we were praying here, but legally we could not protect the building, choose contractors or even decide who could work inside the church," he said. "Now, for the first time, we can truly take care of it."

Bishop Kryvytskyi told OSV News the case of St. Nicholas Church must also be seen in the context of Ukraine's current struggle. "This is not only about a building," he said. "It is part of a mental war. Russia wants to push Ukraine back into a new version of the Soviet Union. Ukraine is resisting -- with God's help and with the help of people of goodwill."

The agreement takes effect as Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine continue to face regular Russian attacks and disruptions to daily life.

Russian forces destroyed a large energy facility in Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv, the mayor of the city, Ihor Terekhov, said Jan. 15, according to The Guardian. A relentless barrage of attacks by Moscow is targeting Ukrainians amid freezing winter temperatures, adding darkness and cold into the list of security concerns.

Church of England charities reprimanded for handling of sexual assault allegations against former bishop

Two Church of England charities have been criticised over safeguarding failures following the resignation of former bishop of Liverpool John Perumbalath.

The Charity Commission said the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance and the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance had failed to properly handle safeguarding allegations against John Perumbalath.

The commission said failings in handling allegations against Mr Perumbalath "amount to mismanagement in the administration of the two charities".

Mr Perumbalath, the former bishop of Liverpool, stood down a year ago after Channel 4 News reported that one woman had accused him of kissing her without consent and groping her, and another accused him of sexual harassment.

Last year, Mr Perumbalath vehemently denied the allegations and, in his retirement letter, published online, he reiterated his denial. He said he had complied with any investigation from the Church's safeguarding team.

The warning for the Chelmsford charity found there had been a "failure ongoing over a period of about two years" to report a serious incident to the commission relating to a complaint made in January 2023 about allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr Perumbalath when he was bishop of Bradwell.

Trustees of the Liverpool charity, it found, "failed to consider or investigate" a complaint against Mr Perumbalath and failed to "act in the charity's best interests and to take reasonable steps to protect from harm people who come into contact with the charity".

The Commission said on Friday that "in both instances, due to lack of appropriate procedures and processes, those trustees who knew of the allegations failed to take action that would have allowed the trustee boards to fully consider any risks and make a decision on the appropriate action to take".

Both charities had "insufficient processes and procedures in place to ensure adequate oversight of safeguarding and protection of those who come into contact with the charity", the Commission said.

Commission chief executive David Holdsworth said: "In the two diocesan charities, lack of appropriate policies and procedures led to a failure to ensure that serious allegations against a senior figure were properly considered by the relevant trustee bodies. We will further engage with both charities as they continue to take steps to address our concerns."

The Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance apologised for "the shortcomings identified" by the Charity Commission.

The trustees for the Liverpool charity added that it had "already made changes to strengthen reporting and governance processes".

In a joint statement, Bishop of Chelmsford Guli Francis-Dehqani and the town's diocesan safeguarding officer said they "respectfully disagree" with some of the commission's conclusions and were "disappointed" by the decision to issue an official warning, which they said was "disproportionate".

They said their response was "robust and survivor-led". 

‘Truly historic’: Kuwait’s first church elevated to Minor Basilica

In the year 1948, a small group of Catholics - foreigners who had recently arrived in Kuwait to work in the burgeoning oil industry - opened a small chapel in Al-Ahmadi, the country’s second city.

Just a few years later, a church took its place, and was decorated with an image of the Virgin Mary blessed by the Pope himself.

As the oil industry took off, and ever greater numbers of foreign workers began to arrive in Kuwait, the church - dedicated, as the original chapel had been, to Our Lady of Arabia - continued to grow in importance.

A ‘truly historic’ day

On Friday, January 16, the Holy See Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, presided at Mass to celebrate the elevation of the church to the status of Minor Basilica. The title is conferred on churches that hold special liturgical or pastoral importance, and that stand out for their historical, spiritual, or architectural value.

In his homily, delivered to a congregation including local Catholics, politicians, diplomats, and representatives of the Kuwaiti Oil Company, Cardinal Parolin described the occasion as “truly historic,” not only “for the Church in Kuwait, but for the Church throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula.”

“Built upon the sands of the desert,” the Cardinal said, “this Basilica reminds us that Mary herself once found refuge in those same desert lands, where she cared for, raised, and safeguarded the one Mediator between God and the human family, Jesus Christ.”

True God and true man

Cardinal Parolin then reflected on the day’s Gospel reading, in which Jesus asks His disciples the “decisive question”: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Reflecting back on the recently-concluded Christmas period, the Cardinal stressed that “we cannot welcome the Child Jesus into our homes… unless we recognize His true identity and all that it implies.”

Christians, he emphasized, “are called to recognize and bear witness that Jesus Christ is true God and true man.”

Mary of Arabia

Christians now make up some 20% of Kuwait’s population, although almost all are migrant workers without Kuwaiti citizenship.

The situation is similar in many other oil-rich Gulf countries, including Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar. Of these countries, Kuwait and Bahrain are unique in also having a small number of Christian citizens, almost all of them descendants of immigrants from Arab countries, such as Lebanon and Palestine, with sizeable Christian populations.

Bringing his homily to a close, Cardinal Parolin asked for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, “Our Lady of Arabia, Patroness of the entire Peninsula that bears her name.”

May she “guide us always to her Son,” the Cardinal prayed. “To her I entrust the protection of the State of Kuwait, its citizens, and all Christians.”

Trump admin drops one-year religious visa wait period

The Trump administration announced a new rule Wednesday to remove a one-year out-of-country waiting period for priests and religious seeking a new temporary R-1 visa after the expiration of their previous visa.

Catholic leaders praised the Department of Homeland Security’s new interim final rule, but argued that action is needed from Congress to prevent disruptions in ministry for priests and religious sisters in the process of applying for a green card.

R-1 visas allow foreign religious workers to spend up to five years in the United States.

For years, priests and religious could enter the U.S. with temporary R-1 visas, begin ministry, and then apply for permanent resident status, all with the reasonable expectation that they would obtain a green card usually within 18 months — before the five-year R-1 visa expired.

But in April 2023, changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act added special categories of juvenile migrants to the same immigration category as those with religious worker visas.

The result was that roughly 100,000 extra migrants were added to a category for which only 10,000 green cards could be issued annually.

That led to a huge backlog in permanent residency applications by clergy and religious serving in American dioceses who entered the country on R-1 religious worker visas.

While it once took months to convert an R-1 visa into a green card, priests and religious now find themselves waiting years or decades. And if a priest’s five-year R-1 visa expires while he is waiting, he was required — before this week’s rule change — to leave the country for a year before returning with a new one.

Dioceses across the country have spoken out about the detrimental effects of requiring foreign priests and religious to leave for a year before continuing their ministry in the United States. This policy, they said, creates gaps in ministry and uncertainty in planning.

Michael Scaperlanda, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, told The Pillar in 2024 that nearly 25% of priests in his archdiocese come from other countries.

In August 2024, five foreign-born priests and the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., filed suit against the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, arguing that the priests’ backlog, and likely need to depart from the United States, would “cause severe and substantial disruption to the lives and religious freedoms” of both the priests and the Catholics of the Paterson diocese.

The Trump administration’s new policy removes the requirement that religious workers wait one year before seeking to enter the U.S. on a new R-1 visa after their previous one has expired.

“While R-1 religious workers are still required to depart the U.S., the rule establishes that there is no longer a minimum period of time they must reside and be physically present outside the U.S. before they seek readmission in R-1 status,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

“We are tremendously grateful for the Administration’s work to address certain challenges facing foreign-born religious workers, their employers, and the American communities they serve,” said Archbishop Paul Coakley, USCCB president, and Migration Committee chairman Bishop Brendan Cahill.

“The value of the Religious Worker Visa Program and our appreciation for the efforts undertaken to support it cannot be overstated,” the bishops said in a statement, calling the new rule “a truly significant step that will help facilitate essential religious services for Catholics and other people of faith throughout the United States by minimizing disruptions to cherished ministries.”

Miguel A. Naranjo, director of religious immigration services for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), told The Pillar that the new regulation will help religious workers continue their ministry in the U.S. without year-long gaps.

But, he noted, if they hail from countries in which the U.S. has instituted travel bans, religious workers may find themselves unable to obtain a new R-1 visa, even under the new rules.

While the government’s newly announced suspension of immigrant visas from 75 countries does not apply to R-1 visas, travel bans placed on a number of countries could make it difficult or impossible for priests and religious from those countries to get R-1 visas.

Both CLINIC and the USCCB have advocated for the passage of the Religious Workforce Protection Act, a bill that would allow foreign religious workers who have applied for permanent residency to remain in the country while renewing their R-1 status, if a green card application is pending.

In their Jan. 14 statement, Archbishop Coakley and Bishop Cahill reiterated their call for that legislation as a long-term solution.

“In order to provide the full extent of the relief needed and truly promote the free exercise of religion in our country, we continue to urge Congress to enact the bipartisan Religious Workforce Protection Act,” they said.

The Trump administration’s new rule does not address the possible shutdown of the permanent residency program used by many religious workers in the United States.

Unlike the R-1 visa, which only grants a stay of up to five years in the U.S., the EB-4 program offers permanent residence — and a path to citizenship — for religious workers.

There are two kinds of EB-4 visas available under the current system: ministerial, which includes Catholic clergy members, and non-ministerial, which includes religious sisters, brothers and lay people working in a variety of religious ministries.

The non-ministerial portion of the EB-4 program is set to sunset on Jan. 30, unless Congress acts to extend it. Such extensions are routinely included in Congress’ appropriations bills to keep the government funded.

If Congress were to fail to extend the program, it would mean that many non-ordained Catholic religious workers, including religious sisters, would be unable to obtain permanent residency in the United States. Other paths to permanent residency and citizenship may not be available to them, making their future in the United States uncertain.

The USCCB has repeatedly called on Congress to make the program permanent rather than connecting it to annual appropriations bills.

In a letter to Congress last year, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, then-chairman of the bishops’ migration committee, said the program has, since its creation in 1990, allowed religious workers to carry out important ministries in the United States.

“Congress should permanently reauthorize this program to avoid the uncertainty and disruption that its looming expiration unnecessarily creates for religious organizations, their workers, the communities they serve, and the federal agencies administering the program,” he said.

Former Catholic priest sexually assaulted boy at Midlands (UK) church

A former Catholic priest has been found guilty of indecently assaulting a boy in the 1980s.

Alexander Bede Walsh preyed on his victim at a Church in Stoke-on-Trent, a court heard.

The 72-year-old had been convicted of two sexual offences and 19 counts of indecent assault in 2012.

He is currently serving a 22-year sentence at HMP Wakefield in Yorkshire.

And on Tuesday, January 13, Bede Walsh was convicted of the new offence following a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Det Con Joseph Allen worked on the case.

He said: "Officers have worked hard to support those affected by Bede Walsh’s crimes and to build evidence against him to secure today’s conviction.

"If you’re a survivor and feel ready to tell us what has happened to you, please know that you will be listened to and supported every step of the way as we seek to deliver justice.”

A spokesperson for the force added: "A former Catholic priest has been found guilty of a non-recent sexual offence against a boy.

"Yesterday (Tuesday 13 January), Alexander Bede Walsh, 72, of HMP Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was convicted of indecent assault against a child following a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Priest who was Padre Pio’s personal secretary dies at 85

Father John Aurilia, OFM Cap., died Jan. 13 in Wilmington, Delaware, at the age of 85. He was Saint Pio of Pietrelcina’s personal secretary in 1967, a year before the saint passed away, in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.

The Dialog, the official diocesan newspaper of Wilmington, Delaware, reports that the diocese interviewed Fr. Aurilia in September 2025 on its Catholic Forum radio show. With 300,000 views the episode is the most-watched video on the diocese’s YouTube channel.

“In the interview, Father Aurilia unveils a human aspect to Saint Padre Pio that one does not often experience,” said Bob Krebs, diocesean communications director and host of the Catholic Forum podcast/radio program. “I am sure that the warmth and charm of Father Aurilia also contributed to the immense popularity of the YouTube video.”

Fr. Aurilia also authored Dearest Soul: A Spiritual Journey with Padre Pio for which he compiled the saint’s letters to his spiritual directors and spiritual daughters.

The Dialog reported on some of Fr. Aurilia’s memories of St. Pio, such as the description of his stigmata wounds.

“They were ugly, bleeding,” the priest said. “And some days the stigmata were so visible that you could see through them. They were deep, round holes. They needed to be dressed three, four times a day.”

He also spoke about St. Pio’s ability to read minds. Once, Fr. Aurilia walked over to the saint’s room with a letter from a woman asking if her son would become a priest or a doctor. Before Fr. Aurilia entered the room, St. Pio called out that the boy would become a priest. 

Fr. Aurilia spoke about how incredible St. Pio’s workload was, despite suffering from various health conditions.

“He would sometimes hear confessions for twelve hours straight,” he said. “People don’t realize how exhausting it is to hear confessions. If I hear confessions for an hour, I need a break. After two hours, I need a vacation.”

Fr. Aurilia said that St. Pio helped him embrace his vow of obedience, encouraging him to continue teaching despite his desire to work in ministry instead. 

Fr. Aurilia’s wake and funeral will be held Jan. 20 at Sacred Heart Oratory in Wilmington with the wake from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and the funeral beginning at 10:30 a.m.