In keeping with tradition, the Vatican Mosaic Studio completes the mosaic portrait of Pope Leo XIV destined for the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and reveals the work to the Pope before his Wednesday General Audience in the Vatican.

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Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin is set to travel to Kuwait for a two-day visit, where he will meet with civil authorities and elevate the Church of Our Lady of Arabia to the status of Minor Basilica.

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Many of us remember Phil Wagner who along with his wife Carol were pillars of St. Anthony Parish for many years.  Phil passed away on Monday, January 12.  Further details regarding his life and arrangements for the visitation...

During his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV continues his catechesis series on the Second Vatican Council, looking more closely at "one of the most beautiful and important of the Council," namely the Dogmatic Constitution 'Dei Verbum,' on Divine Revelation.

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Jan 13, 2026 / 18:45 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether to uphold state laws banning transgender athletes from competing on women’s sports teams, and Catholic athletes outside the court said they hope justices keep the laws on the books.

Mary Pennefather, captain of the women’s basketball team for Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, said: “If these court cases are allowed to happen, then say goodbye to all women’s sports, because then all the transgender athletes will just come and play in the women’s sports and get their national champion championships and NCAA titles from there.”

Standing among her teammates outside the Supreme Court, Pennefather said: “I can work as hard as I can to be good at my sport, and a man can come in and work half as hard, and he will always be bigger, faster, and stronger than me. It totally goes against God’s natural law. He made humans male and female. And now you have these people coming in here and saying, ‘That’s not right,’ that men could be women and vice versa … it’s totally disrupted and disordered, and it’s a breakdown of the family.”

The court heard more than three hours of arguments regarding two cases originating from Idaho and West Virginia in which lower courts upheld challenges by transgender athletes to statewide bans under the U.S. Constitution and federal anti-discrimination law. Supreme Court justices including Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch appeared to back the bans at several points during the oral arguments.

The challenges were brought by two transgender athletes: 15-year-old West Virginia high school student Becky Pepper-Jackson, and Boise State University student Lindsey Hecox of Idaho, who had attempted to withdraw the case but was ultimately denied.

Bishops weigh in

U.S. bishops submitted an amicus brief in support for the petitioners in Idaho v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., stating that if Catholic schools were forced to allow transgender athletes in women’s sports, they would need to halt all athletic programs or stop accepting funding “because allowing such competition would undermine fundamental Catholic teachings regarding the immutable, God-given differences between the sexes.”

Idaho and West Virginia both have laws that ban transgender athletes from competing on sports teams at public schools and universities that do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. There are 25 other states that have such laws.

“There are an awful lot of female athletes who are strongly opposed to participation by trans athletes in competitions with them,” Alito said at one point during the oral arguments. He then asked whether girls who express these opinions should be regarded as “bigots.” He added: “Are they deluded in thinking that they are subjected to unfair competition?” He also questioned whether transgender athletes hold an unfair advantage over biological women in sports at other points during the hearing.

Alito further insisted that a definition of sex is necessary in order to prove that transgender athletes are being discriminated against, stating: “How can a court determine whether there’s discrimination on the basis of sex without knowing what sex means for equal protection purposes?” Alito posed this question in response to ACLU lawyers’ position that a definition of sex is not legally necessary.

Kavanaugh emphasized the importance of Title IX and sex-based distinctions, stating: “One of the great successes in America over the last 50 years has been the growth of women and girls’ sports. And it’s inspiring.”

He said allowing transgender people to compete in women’s sports would “undermine or reverse that amazing success and create unfairness.”

“For the individual girl who does not make the team or doesn’t get on the stand for the medal or doesn’t make all-league,” he said, “there’s a harm there, and I think we can’t sweep that aside.”

Gorsuch said “bottom line, sports are assigned by sex because sex is what matters in sports,” adding that separation based on sex “is the fairest and the safest and the most administrable way to assign sports teams.”

“It’s been widely accepted for many decades because it’s necessary for fair competition because, where sports are concerned, men and women are obviously not the same,” he said during the hearing. “If Idaho can’t enforce a sex-based line here in sports, where nobody disputes that biological differences matter, then no line based on biological sex can survive constitutional scrutiny.”

“The court should uphold the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and reverse,” he concluded.

Outside the court, Matt Sharp, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, highlighted the importance of the court “protecting fairness in women’s sports.”

“If young women are made spectators in their own sports,” Sharp said, “we know they’re going to lose medals, they’re going to lose scholarships, they’re going to have their privacy violated.”

Steve Ward, a board-certified internal medicine physician with Do No Harm, said: “I think this issue is representative of a much deeper concern that I have about the medical profession,” he said. “We’re here to support women’s sports, and that’s certainly important, but to my mind, we really have to think more carefully about what this means for the future of science and scientific research.”

Ward emphasized the importance of scientific research based on “objective and fixed” reality. “All of these great great scientists of the past understood that, that the world could be studied because they had a Judeo-Christian worldview understanding that we live in a world that you can approach and you can make objective observations, perform the scientific method and so forth and reach some type of a conclusion that you can repeat and move forward with, develop technologies and all sorts of things,” he said, adding: “If we discard all of that history in favor of psychological categories, then you really can no longer do science at all, and you have to throw that away.”

Jan 13, 2026 / 18:03 pm (CNA).

Catholic human rights advocate Jimmy Lai is still dealing with deteriorating health as pre-sentencing mitigation hearings began on Jan. 12 in Hong Kong.

Lai was found guilty on Dec. 15 of multiple violations of China’s national security laws. The verdict brought an end to several years of what advocates have described as a politically motivated show trial.

Pre-sentencing mitigation hearings began for the 78-year-old who is facing up to life in prison. His health was at the forefront of the conversation between the prosecution and defense attorneys.

“Even the prosecution admits he has health issues and very substantial ones,” Jimmy Lai’s daughter Claire told CNA in a Jan. 12 interview. “They don’t deny it. They say: ‘He has health issues, but it's OK. It will be managed by the CSD’” (Correctional Service Department).

“There is significant data showing how the CSD fails to manage people who are especially diabetic and of his age," Claire said. "The life expectancy of Hong Kong males is 83. He is not far from that, and we are obviously extremely, extremely worried.”

Jimmy’s health has declined as “the conditions in which he's kept have progressively gotten worse,” Claire said.

“My father has been kept in solitary confinement since December 2020, with the exception of the one week when he was on bail because he was at home. He has been kept continuously in solitary confinement the entire time. There's no sign that any of this will change."

“When he's moved around, whether it's to go to court or to go to the showers, he is covered from head to toe in a thick black cloth, so no one sees him and he doesn't get to see anyone,” she said.

“He does not have any access to sunlight. There should be a window in his cell, which is smaller than most, which should lead outside and give him some access. In his case, it is deliberately sealed,” she said.

Claire said Jimmy “has one hour of exercise a day.” She added: “At the start of his incarceration, it was outdoors. And since then, they have covered the sky so he doesn't get fresh air and he doesn't get sunlight. The only light he gets is a reflection from a distant mirror in the corridor, if you can even call it [light].”

“The only social interaction he really gets is when family visits. Our family visits only add up to about 24 hours a year, if even that,” Claire said. “We are very worried that it will continue to be the case. Especially with the new prison rules.”

Claire detailed the prison rules which changed last summer to make family visits “more discretionary on the part of the CSD” and made aspects including pastoral visits “a lot more stringent.”

Faith continues to ‘protect’ Jimmy

In a subsequent interview with “EWTN News Nightly,” Claire highlighted her father’s Catholic faith and said it is what “protects his mind and his soul.”

While Jimmy’s “physical body is breaking down,” he continues to “read the Gospel every morning,” Claire said. He spends his time “praying and drawing the crucifixion and the Blessed Mother.”

“On the issue of the Eucharist, I know the government has said that he receives it regularly,” Claire said. But, “he receives it extremely intermittently. To be precise, he received it in the last two and a half years, a total of 11 times. As a Catholic, that is not acceptable. We should at least receive it 52 times a year."

Hope for a release

The only hope for a release is resolution on “a political level,” Claire said.

“It was very clear from the start that this was something that would be resolved leader to leader,” she said. "It isn't something that can be resolved in the once-extremely promising but now-highly compromised Hong Kong legal system.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom has planned a visit to China, and President Donald Trump is expected to go in the coming months.

Claire said: “We hope that our father continues to be brought up and that this is something that can be resolved on a political level because that is the only way to save my father's life.”

Jan 13, 2026 / 17:58 pm (CNA).

Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer and Catholic researcher, urged the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to “return your eyes to Nicaragua.”

“In Nicaragua, praying in public is considered a crime,” Molina said at a Jan. 13 hearing in Washington, D.C.

USCIRF heard testimony about freedom of religion or belief violations against Christians following the release of the 2025 USCIRF Annual Report. Witnesses recounted their experiences with religious freedom violations in Nicaragua, China, Nigeria, Algeria, Vietnam, Egypt, Burma, Eritrea, and Pakistan.

In Nicaragua, Molina said, “the measures that must be taken need to be more aggressive. Sanction the army. Impose direct economic sanctions. Bring [President] Daniel Ortega and [his wife, Vice President] Rosario Murillo and their collaborators before international justice and prosecute them for crimes against humanity. This year has proven that it is possible.”

Molina has conducted a study, “ Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” to show “the horrors done” at the hands of the dictators. Molina said since April 2018 she has documented 19,836 attacks “perpetrated by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in Nicaragua against priests, nuns, and laypeople.”

“In Nicaragua, altar boys … are harassed and monitored by the national Nicaraguan police and forced to sign documents whose contents they do not understand. Their parents are harassed and threatened with imprisonment if they speak to the media,” she said.

The Nicaraguan dictatorship “prohibits the entry of Bibles into Nicaragua and also controls the workshops where the images that Catholics use for veneration are made,” she said.

Nicaraguan Catholics are as “afraid as when the disciples of Jesus were afraid after his killing,” Molina said.

In Nicaragua, “the lack of religious freedom has profoundly limited the pastoral work of priests,” she said. “They are literally forced to be careful about how to proceed when they preach for fear of being in prison or exiled.”

Ortega and Murillo have “arbitrarily closed 13 universities and institutes,” she said. “With hatred, they have shut down centers for young people who were studying to become priests, and 304 priests and nuns have been exiled from Nicaragua. They are being expelled or prevented from entering the country.”

Due to the lack of priests now, “there are dioceses in Nicaragua that are surviving only with 30-40% of their priests,” Molina said. “As a consequence, communities in the interior of Nicaragua see their religious practices limited. They can no longer go to confession regularly.”

She added: “It is with urgency that we need to stop the criminals or they will continue to advance, which will eventually reach us in the United States.”

U.S. leadership

“At a time when Christians abroad face attacks simply for their faith, U.S. leadership is critical now more than ever,” Commission Chair Vicky Hartzler said during the Jan. 13 hearing.

Hartzler said in an interview after the hearing: “We want to have more countries designated as countries of particular concern, as special watch lists, that entity is of particular concern. We work tirelessly, constantly visiting with people on the ground, the countries hearing their stories.”

“We are very thankful the president designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern and is starting to take action to help people there,” she said. “But there are many other countries who are repressing their people, and we need to act on those countries as well. The United States has a tremendous amount of influence and opportunity to make a difference, and we should use our voice and our spot in the world to be able to help others.”

The commission also heard from U.S. representatives and senators who shared their support for the mission of USCIRF and legislation to protect religious freedom in the U.S. and abroad.

“The United States is a Christian nation,” said Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia. “We have a unique duty to defend Christians wherever they are being persecuted, and I will never stop fighting for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Missouri, said China under Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party “does not hide its actions.” He added: “Officials openly tell religious leaders that loyalty to the party is more important than loyalty to God Almighty.” He touted legislation to reinforce China’s designation as a country of particular concern.

Hartzler said: “Religious leaders and laypersons, including Jimmy Lai, faced furious charges of fraud and subversion. In recent years, the government has demolished churches and removed crosses from public view.”

Grace Drexel testified about her father, Pastor Ezra Jin, who is imprisoned in China.

Jin “was arrested by the Chinese authorities, along with 27 other pastors and church leaders from Zion Church; 18 total remained imprisoned,” she said. The October “crackdown represents the largest takedown of an independent Christian population in China since the Cultural Revolution.”

“I urge this commission to recognize that what is happening in China is not merely a domestic matter but a global threat to religious freedom and human dignity,” Drexel said. “If the international community remains silent, we signal acceptance and impunity for such traveling of universal human rights. And unfortunately, what happens in China does not stay in China.”

Jan 13, 2026 / 17:16 pm (CNA).

A “dream” that could soon become a reality is how the bishop of Helsinki, Raimo Goyarrola, described the founding of the first Catholic school in Finland, where the Catholic Church practically disappeared after the state adopted Lutheranism in the 16th century as a consequence of the Protestant Reformation.

Placing his trust in God’s hands and in providence, Goyarrola plans to open the school in August on the second floor of a Lutheran church dedicated to St. James the Apostle and located on the island of Lauttasaari, just three miles from the Finnish capital. His intention, “if the finances allow,” is to acquire the building within three years.

Starting with 12 children, like the apostles

The school will initially offer grades 1 through 3 and will begin as a home schooling model, a form of education recognized by the state. The Catholic character of the school will be reflected in its educational approach, in holistic formation based on Christian values, and in the celebrations of the main feasts of the liturgical calendar.

Although it will be open to children of any faith, the main challenge — as the bishop explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner — is to gather a sufficient number of students from Catholic families. “I am praying to start out with 12 children, like the apostles,” he explained.

“I’m excited, even though it’s a bit of a marathon, because in Finland you have to obtain many permits; it’s a country that operates on a lot of bureaucracy,” said Goyarrola, a Spaniard who is the pastor of a small Catholic community in a nation deeply marked by Lutheranism.

‘I trust in God, and this will move forward’

When Pope Francis entrusted him with leading the Diocese of Helsinki in 2023, the Basque bishop who, before arriving in cold Finland, served for four years in Seville in southern Spain, began compiling a “long list” of the needs of God’s people in Finland.

Among the first projects, he told ACI Prensa, was the construction of a Catholic school. “It’s something I’ve had in my heart for a long time. I transformed the needs into dreams, and little by little we are moving forward with faith. I trust in God, and this will go forward,” he said with a smile.

The prelate affirmed that “in life, you have to be courageous and pioneering” and that he will not stop despite the difficulties. “You have to be all in,” Goyarrola, who is a member of Opus Dei and holds a degree in medicine and surgery, emphasized.

“We already have two excellent teachers with extensive experience. We also have the classroom, the tables, the chairs — we have everything ready, so now we just need to find the children, and I hope it will start in August,” he said.

There are approximately 20,000 Catholics in Finland, which has a population of about 5.5 million. However, the Catholic Church in the country is growing year after year, not only due to the arrival of immigrants and refugees but also because of the increase in baptisms of children and the growing number of adults converting from other Christian denominations.

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

Jan 13, 2026 / 15:36 pm (CNA).

Scott Adams, the creator of the long-running “Dilbert” comic strip whose art satirized the typical American workplace, died on Jan. 13 at 68 years old after a battle with cancer.

Adams, who became known later in his career for espousing conservative and at times controversial political views, revealed in May 2025 that he was suffering from prostate cancer. The disease spread in the coming months, with Adams passing away after a short stay in hospice.

On Jan. 13, shortly after his death, Adams’ X account posted a “final message” from the renowned cartoonist in which he recalled that many of his Christian friends had urged him to convert to Christianity.

“I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him,” Adams declared in the message, adding that he hoped he was “still qualified for entry” into heaven upon his death.

“I had an amazing life. I gave it everything I had,” he wrote in the statement. “If you got any benefits from my work, I’m asking you to pay it forward as best you can. That is the legacy I want.”

Adams had previously announced his intent to convert on Jan. 1, admitting that “any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be instantly answered if I wake up in heaven.”

Born June 8, 1957, in Windham, New York, Adams began drawing from a young age. His work at the Pacific Bell Telephone Company in the 1980s and 1990s inspired many of the humorous office stereotypes portrayed in “Dilbert.”

A send-up of many of the tropes that continue to define U.S. office work, “Dilbert” became wildly popular into the 2000s and eventually included a brief television series.

Later in his career he launched the video talk series “Real Coffee With Scott Adams,” which he continued until just several days before his death.

In his final message released after his death, Adams told his fans: “Be useful.”

“And please know,” he added, “I loved you all to the end.”

Jan 13, 2026 / 14:55 pm (CNA).

A state senator in New York is pushing for increased security after multiple crimes at Catholic parishes.

Several Catholic churches on Staten Island have been vandalized or attacked in recent weeks in what State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton described as “vile” acts of defacement and theft.

St. Sylvester’s Church was defaced with human feces on Christmas Day, according to local news reports, with camera footage capturing the vandal committing the act during the morning Christmas Mass.

Father Jacob Thumma told local media that the perpetrator “[looked] like he may be a homeless or disturbed person.”

“I feel sorry for him and wonder why he did that on the joyful day of Christmas,” the priest said at the time.

At. St. Roch’s Roman Catholic Church on Dec. 28, meanwhile, a criminal broke into the church rectory and reportedly stole a towel.

At St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church in the Dongan Hills neighborhood, an assailant reportedly interrupted a 7 a.m. Mass by breaking an angel statue, snatching the missal and a cross from the altar, tearing down flowers, and damaging the sanctuary’s marble floor.

Two responding police officers were reportedly injured during the incident.

‘Nobody should feel unsafe where they pray’

Scarcella-Spanton said in an interview Jan. 13 she has reached out to the churches and the local police precinct regarding the attacks, which have occurred within her district.

The senator said it does not appear as if the incidents were coordinated. “It does seem as if they were unique incidents and not an organized effort,” she said.

Still, “we want a meeting with the police precinct and with clergy,” she said, “just to see if there’s anything we can do to help them.”

Scarcella-Spanton pointed to the New York government’s Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, which distributes government grants to protect vulnerable institutions. Houses of worship are able to access those funds, she said.

“This is for security, whether it’s people or cameras — just in any way, shape, or form,” she said.

The senator said the attack on St. Ann’s particularly affected her.

“I grew up in Dongan Hills where St. Ann’s is,” she said. “My kids went to preschool there. I went there for CCD.”

“I can’t imagine how scary that must have been for people” during the attack, she said.

In her statement, Scarcella-Spanton said she was “extremely troubled” by the incidents.

“Church is a place of peace and reflection; nobody should feel unsafe where they pray,” she said.