At consistory, Cardinal Zen slams synodality as ‘ironclad manipulation’ and ‘insult’ to bishops
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun speaks at the Asianews Conference at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, Nov. 18, 2014. - Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Jan 10, 2026 / 11:30 am (CNA).
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun delivered a forceful critique of synodality at the extraordinary consistory of cardinals this week, decrying the process as an “ironclad manipulation” that was an “insult to the dignity of the bishops.”
The bishop emeritus of Hong Kong also described the “continual reference to the Holy Spirit” during the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality as “ridiculous and almost blasphemous.”
The cardinal, 93, made his remarks during one of two free discussion periods during the Jan. 7-8 consistory that drew together 170 of the 245 members of the College of Cardinals in Pope Leo XIV’s first major meeting with the sacred college since his election.
In impassioned comments, first reported Jan. 9 by the College of Cardinals Report, the bishop emeritus criticized Pope Francis for bypassing the college of bishops while at the same time Francis was insisting it was an appropriate means for “understanding the hierarchical ministry.”
The cardinal questioned the ability of any pope to listen to the entire People of God and whether the laity represent the People of God. He asked if the bishops elected to take part in the synodal process had been able to carry out a work of discernment.
“The ironclad manipulation of the process is an insult to the dignity of the bishops, and the continual reference to the Holy Spirit is ridiculous and almost blasphemous,” Zen said. “They expect surprises from the Holy Spirit. What surprises? That he should repudiate what he inspired in the Church’s two-thousand-year tradition?”
The cardinal also observed apparent inconsistencies in the synod’s final document: That it was declared to be part of the magisterium and yet it said it did not establish any norms; that although it stressed unity of teaching and practice, it said these could be applied according to “different contexts;” and that each country or region “can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its tradition and needs.”
The cardinal also pointed to what he called “many ambiguous and tendentious expressions in the document,” and asked if the Holy Spirit guarantees that “contradictory interpretations will not arise.”
Zen openly wondered whether the results of what the document calls “experimenting and testing” of these “new forms of ministeriality” will be submitted to the Synod Secretariat and, if so, whether the secretariat will be “more competent than the bishops to judge different contexts” of the Church in various countries or regions.
“If the bishops believe themselves to be more competent, do the differing interpretations and choices not lead our Church to the same division (fracture) found in the Anglican Communion?” the cardinal asked.
Regarding the Orthodox Church, Zen said he believes their bishops “will never accept” what he called “Bergoglian synodality” as, for them, synodality is “the importance of the Synod of Bishops.”
Pope Francis, he said, “exploited the word synod, but has made the Synod of Bishops — an institution established by Paul VI — disappear.” Zen’s remark was an apparent reference to how the late pope had reshaped the institution by giving non-bishops a formal role, making the institution no longer simply an episcopal advisory body.
The Vatican press office and cardinals chosen to speak to the press made no mention of Zen’s remarks during the consistory.
In press statements, it was claimed there was no criticism of Pope Francis during the two-day meeting, although Cardinal Stephen Brislin did speak of a “divergence” of opinion, saying some cardinals wanted the concept of synodality to be further clarified.
The consistory was a closed-door meeting to which no media were admitted, and cardinals were asked to keep the proceedings confidential.
At annual meeting, Catholic historians assess impact of first American pope
University of Notre Dame professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA
Jan 10, 2026 / 10:12 am (CNA).
Assessing the impact of the Catholic Church's first American pope was front and center at the 106th annual meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA), which met in Pope Leo XIV's hometown of Chicago from Jan. 8-11.
During a panel on the subject, Catholic scholars noted some of the historic caricatures of what an American papacy would be like and compared that to the first eight months of Leo's actual papacy.
At the outset of the panel, University of Notre Dame history professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings referenced the 1894 Puck magazine cartoon titled “ The American Pope,” which depicts the first apostolic delegate to the United States, Cardinal Francesco Satolli, sitting atop a church labeled the “American headquarters” and casting a shadow of then Pope Leo XIII over the entire country.
Sprows Cummings noted the cartoon illustrates “fears about papal intervention in the United States” at a time when the country was receiving waves of Catholic immigrants from countries such as Ireland and Italy.
As Catholics became more settled in American society in the subsequent decades, she said some of those prejudices began to lessen and pointed to the 1918 election of Catholic Democrat Al Smith as New York’s governor. By this point, Catholics had become “much more confident about their place in American culture.”
During the same early 20th century period, the United States also began to rise as a superpower. Sprows Cummings noted that predominant concerns about an American pope shifted to Vatican concerns over the “Americanization of the Catholic Church.”
America magazine's Vatican correspondent, Colleen Dulle, said some of those concerns were evidently mitigated in the person of then Cardinal Robert Prevost, whose service to the Church included many years as a missionary and bishop in Peru as well as in Rome as the head of a global religious order, the Augustinians.
Sprows Cummings said the College of Cardinals clearly saw in Cardinal Prevost the "pastoral presence, administrative savvy and global vision" that the Church needed at this time and that he was “not elected in some flex of American power.”
Miguel Diaz, the John Courtney Murray, S.J. Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago, noted that some of Leo’s actions have actually amounted to the opposite of flexing American power, such as his focus on the dignity of migrants, which he contrasted to the policies of the Trump administration.
Diaz, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See under former President Barack Obama, said Leo is “a different symbol, from America first to America cares.”
He emphasized that having an American pope is significant amid the country’s political debates because “he can say things and he will be listened to.”
The panelists also discussed what Leo’s papacy may look like moving forward, with Dulle noting that only this year are there clear signs of him charting his own programmatic course, as the events and itinerary of the 2025 Jubilee were primarily developed for Pope Francis.
Up until now, she said, he has been mostly “continuing the Francis initiatives in a different style.”
She noted Pope Leo's management of this week's consistory — a meeting between the pope and the College of Cardinals — where the pontiff gave them four topics to choose from, which were all in line with Francis’s priorities: synodality, evangelization, reform of the curia, and the liturgy. The cardinals chose synodality and evangelization.
Dulle said Leo is seen as "a consensus builder” who aims to build consensus around the Church's priorities. She noted Pope Leo's announcement this week of a regular schedule of consistories, with the next one set for this June. This approach is emerging as a "hallmark of how he governs the Church" Dulle said.
Brian Flanagan, the John Cardinal Cody Chair of Catholic Theology at Loyola University Chicago, also emphasized Leo’s strong appeal to the cardinals and bishops in efforts to reach consensus, in keeping with the Pope's role as a preserver of unity.
Flanagan said he sees Leo exercising the papacy as not so much "at the top of the pyramid, but as at the center of conversation.” He said this is likely influenced by Leo's past as leader of a religious order — the Order of Saint Augustine — rather than a diocese because the orders are “global, diverse, and somewhat fractious.”
“You can’t govern a global religious community without getting people on board,” he said.
Pro-life leader says movement 'not safe' in Republican party: 'We can't hold back'
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser told EWTN News on Apr. 12, 2024 that the pro-life movement is grounded in the dignity of the individual "and has never stopped at a state line." | Credit: Screenshot/EWTN News in Depth
Jan 10, 2026 / 10:00 am (CNA).
A major pro-life leader is urging the movement to continue to press for protection for the unborn, calling on advocates to demand more pro-life policy even as the Republican party shows signs of wavering.
"We have to do everything we can to make sure that we're communicating the moral position and also the political position," Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said on Jan. 9.
Dannenfelser spoke to "EWTN News in Depth" anchor Catherine Hadro on President Donald Trump's recent remarks in which the president urged the Republican party to be more "flexible" regarding the taxpayer funding of abortion.
“Now you have to be a little flexible on Hyde,” the president said on Jan. 6, referring to the long-standing federal Hyde Amendment, which has broadly prohibited taxpayer funding of abortion for nearly half a century.
Speaking to Hadro, Dannenfelser said bluntly: "There's no flexibility on that."
"Flexibility should be reserved for what you wear tomorrow, what you're going to eat tonight, where you go on vacation," she said. "This is a matter of life and death."
Hadro noted that during his first run for presidency, Trump had outlined a slate of pro-life promises to voters, including the intent to make the Hyde Amendment "permanent law" rather than a legislative provision. Dannenfelser admitted that she engaged with Trump on pro-life issues during his first term alone.
"Once he got into the second term, he thought he was dealing with the life issue by basically saying, 'States only, we're not doing anything else on the federal level'," she said.
"Now we see the consequence of such a position. It means you can't even stand firm on the Hyde Amendment," she argued.
Asked by Hadro whether or not the pro-life movement needs to "face reality" and accept changing political priorities with respect to the Hyde Amendment, Dannenfelser said: "I 100% reject it."
"There is no chance that the power has left the pro-life position," she argued.
"We've been here before. We've been here at moments where there was a weakening in the GOP spine, where we have to do everything that we can to make sure that we're communicating the moral position and also the political position," she said.
Dannenfelser argued that the pro-life movement is "at the best place we could possibly be to move forward" and continue advancing pro-life goals.
She admitted, however, that the movement is "not safe" in the current Republican party.
"I think communication is key," she said. "We can't hold back in demanding what has been promised and following through."
St. Elena House launches in UK to help Catholics ‘catch the fire’ of God’s love
Northampton Episcopal Vicar for Mission Canon Simon Penhalagan alongside members of the new community at the St. Elena House of Mission and Prayer. | Credit: Maria Heath
Jan 10, 2026 / 09:00 am (CNA).
A new and unique house of mission and prayer inspired by the call to a new evangelization has opened in the U.K., hoping to enable Catholics to “catch the fire” of God’s love.
The St. Elena House of Mission and Prayer, which opened in December in Northampton, England, has been established to help the Church become more mission-oriented.
Speaking to CNA, Maria Heath, director of mission in the Diocese of Northampton, called the new House of Mission and Prayer “a prophetic sign in our times.”
“The Church needs to embrace its call to mission, and I believe this house and others like it will enable and inspire the Church to explore new ways to reach out to people with the Gospel,” she said.
The new St. Elena House is comprised of a small community of young women — Beth, Kacey, and Marielle — who are between 20 and 40 years old. As members committed to a life of prayer and mission, they either work or study full or part time while seeking out ways to evangelize.
“The people living there are working or studying but want to serve the Church in a radical way,” Heath explained. “The witness value of community in our times is so important. People are yearning for connection and purpose, and a community centered on prayer and mission is like a light on the hilltop.”
Speaking of the impact of the new evangelization on the formation of the new house, Heath quoted one of its main proponents, St. John Paul II.
“Evangelization needs to be new in its method, ardor, and expression. I believe that raising up communities like this is one of the new expressions that speaks to the world at this time,” she said.
The St. Elena House came about after Heath and her team were exploring how new communities and religious orders could move into the Diocese of Northampton. There was also an idea that a homegrown community could be established.
“Sometimes you push doors and they close, other times the doors keep opening, and this is what happened as we began looking into this possibility,” Heath said. “The idea became a reality and, 18 months on from that initial conversation, the St. Elena House of Mission and Prayer was born.”
Heath explained that she was inspired by the book “Heart Fire,“ by German Catholic evangelist Johannes Hartl, in which a strong connection was presented between 24/7 prayer and mission.
Establishing 24/7 prayer will be one of the priorities in the new house, including perpetual adoration. “While this is a new expression, there is nothing new about the fundamentals: It is communion and mission, which we see down the ages of the Church,” she said.
Explaining the vision for the house, Heath underlined the importance of providing a place to encounter Christ.
“The vision for the St. Elena House of Mission and Prayer is simple: to be a place of encounter, an encounter with Jesus as we pray for the world through 24/7 prayer, and a place where others can come and encounter Jesus.”
Heath also spoke of the impact of the Second Vatican Council.
“The Church needs both the hierarchical and charismatic dimensions of the Church (Lumen Gentium, 4) and if dioceses are to respond to the Church’s call to become mission-oriented, such communities and movements, which are expressions of this charismatic dimension, offer an energy and focus on mission that can support this important work,” she said.
A member of the new community, Beth, also underlined the importance of encounter in the new house, sharing her hopes that people will have “a real deep encounter with (Christ).”
“The hope is that this will be a place where community can be formed, where people can feel welcomed and really catch the fire of God’s love for them,” she told CNA.
Beth said living in the house as a community will enable single people to grow together in faith, highlighting the importance of “being together, inviting other people, and welcoming people.” She added: “As single people, we can feel that sense of isolation in our faith. So it’s about letting people know you’re not on your own.”
The community is intentionally named after St. Elena Guerra, the “apostle of the Holy Spirit” who was canonized in October 2024. Writing at the end of the 19th century, St. Elena urged Pope Leo XIII to encourage Catholics to be open to the power of the Holy Spirit. This prompted Pope Leo to write an encyclical on the Holy Spirit, to create a novena to the Holy Spirit, and to consecrate the 20th century to the Holy Spirit.
“Prayer and mission go hand in hand, and this is what St. Elena longed to see for the Church,” Heath said.
The new initiative has been welcomed in the Diocese of Northampton, with diocesan trustees, friends, and supporters joining members of Mission Northampton for a Mass on Dec. 13 to mark the opening of the new house. The Mass was celebrated by Episcopal Vicar for Mission Canon Simon Penhalagan, with Vicar General Canon Michael Harrison and Father Jithu James concelebrating.
Looking forward, Heath shared her hopes for the new house to “be the first of many houses across our diocese — and beyond.”
“We need to cooperate with the grace of the Holy Spirit and find new ways to reach out to all people,” she said. “This, in its simplest form, is the mission of the Church: to let each person know the joy of being known and loved by God, and the joy of a relationship with him that satisfies our deepest needs and desires.”
‘Come back to the Holy Land’: Custos calls pilgrims to visit land of Jesus
The interior of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In the center, the Stone of Anointing, with Calvary in the background. | Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jan 10, 2026 / 08:00 am (CNA).
Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:
‘Come back to the Holy Land’: Custos calls pilgrims to visit land of Jesus
Speaking to a group of pilgrims from Rome at the Franciscan headquarters in the Old City of Jerusalem on Jan. 7, Franciscan Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, called pilgrims back to the Holy Land, saying that the best way to help the Holy Land and the people there is to visit.
“Fear is not overcome with words; it is overcome with witness. Seeing Christians from all over the world come to the Holy Land to visit the holy places generates hope and strengthens the reason for coming here — not to see a museum but to encounter a living Church,” Ielpo said.
Religious pilgrimages and tourism are some of the main sources of economic support for the local Christian community in the Holy Land. Around 50,000 remain there — 6,000 of whom live in Jerusalem, according to Vatican News.
Tasmania priest appointed bishop of Ballarat, Australia
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Tasmania priest Father Mark William Freeman as the new bishop of Ballarat, Australia. He will succeed Bishop Paul Bird, CSsR, who has led the Ballarat Diocese since 2012.
Freeman, 66, is currently a parish priest in Bellerive-Lindisfarne in the Archdiocese of Hobart, Tasmania.
The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference president, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, SDB, said the announcement will be met with great joy in Ballarat. “His wide experience and many gifts, his deep faith and his pastoral sensitivity will also be greatly valued by his brother bishops as he joins them in their pastoral oversight of the Catholic Church in Australia,” he said.
UN secretary calls on Israel to reverse ban on aid organizations helping in Gaza
As the new year began, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to end a ban on humanitarian agencies that provide aid in Gaza. The government recently announced it was suspending 37 foreign humanitarian organizations from accessing the Gaza Strip after they refused to share lists of their Palestinian employees with government officials, Agence France-Presse reported. The list includes Catholic aid agencies Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Jerusalem and goes into effect March 1.
Caritas Internationalis is the Church’s confederation of relief and development agencies.
Guterres, through spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, called the work of international nongovernmental organizations “indispensable to lifesaving humanitarian work” and said that the suspension “risks undermining the fragile progress made during the ceasefire.”
Swiss bishop offers Mass for victims of tragic New Year’s Eve fire
Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey of Sion, Switzerland, presided at a Requiem Mass on the evening of Jan. 1 for the victims of the fire that broke out in a ski resort bar on New Year’s Eve, according to Vatican News. The Mass was prayed in the Saint-Christophe chapel in Crans and broadcast on television, after which mourners processed to the site of the disaster with flowers.
The following day, Jan. 2, church bells were rung throughout the Diocese of Sion “as a sign of solidarity and prayer,” according to the Tablet, which also reported that churches in Switzerland and other countries have offered condolences to victims’ families.
Aleppo under fire as Christians face displacement once again
Aleppo has been gripped by fear and uncertainty following the return of heavy fighting to residential neighborhoods, with gunfire and shelling prompting sudden curfews and large-scale civilian displacement, ACI MENA, CNA’ s Arabic-language news partner, has reported. Syrian government forces imposed restrictions on the districts of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh after violent clashes with Kurdish-led Asayish forces.
The escalation coincided with Epiphany and Christmas celebrations for some Eastern Christian communities, leading to canceled services and subdued worship, as clergy once again appealed for dialogue and an end to violence.
Thousands of families have fled the affected areas, while others remain despite the risks. Nearby government-controlled neighborhoods, some with a strong Christian presence, have also experienced waves of displacement as the violence spread, marking one of the most intense escalations in the city in several years. Churches across Aleppo have responded by opening their doors as temporary shelters.
Catholics in India appeal to government to address violence against Christians
As attacks against Christians increase across India, the All India Catholic Union (AICU), has appealed to India’s government to “urgently address the issue of targeted violence against Christians, which peaked during the Christmas season,” according to a report by persecution.org.
The AICU, which represents about 16 million Catholics in 120 dioceses across India, said in a press release that “token gestures by national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, such as attending Christian worship services etc., are inadequate without firm action, accountability, and legal reform.”
“The violence and hate experienced by Christians in India throughout 2025, especially during the Christmas season, represent not only attacks on individuals but also on the pluralistic fabric of Indian society,” the statement said.
Cardinal Souraphiel appeals for solidarity as Ethiopia begins Christmas season
As the Christmas season began on Jan. 7 in Ethiopia, Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel expressed his spiritual closeness with Ethiopians, appealing for solidarity “with those displaced and exiled by war amid conflicts in some regions of the country, according to ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa.
In his Christmas message, which ACI Africa obtained, the cardinal also called for spiritual closeness with those suffering in various ways, including those on the streets, the sick, and the lonely.
Reflecting on what various Church fathers have written on the mystery of the Incarnation, the cardinal said that the “mystery of Christianity is truly astonishing, not only that God became human, but that he became bread fit to be eaten by humanity.”
History erased? Bangladesh Catholics struggle to recover first church land
A garden now occupies the site of Bangladesh’s first Catholic church at Iswaripur in Satkhira district. Portuguese Jesuits dedicated the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus here on Jan. 1, 1600. | Credit: Milon Munda
Jan 10, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).
A financial crisis has halted the Catholic Church’s efforts to reclaim the site of Bangladesh’s first church, leaving the 426-year-old foundation in Satkhira occupied and unpreserved.
Two Portuguese Jesuit priests — Father Francesco Fernandes and Father Domingo de Sousa — built the country’s first church at Iswaripur in the Sundarbans Forest area in the present-day southern Satkhira district. They dedicated it on Jan. 1, 1600, as the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus.
The priests built the church with the permission and funding of the then-Raja (King) Pratapaditya. At the time, many Portuguese soldiers worked under Pratapaditya and worshipped at the church.
The church no longer exists, and a Muslim family has since settled on the land. However, the district’s official website still preserves its history online.
According to the Bangladesh government’s website, many Portuguese soldiers serving in Pratapaditya’s army contributed funds for the church’s construction. Additionally, Pratapaditya assisted in building the place of worship for Christians in his capital, with construction completed in December 1599.
“The bishop took the initiative to take over the site on behalf of the Catholic Church and offered to pay for it, but those living there did not agree. The then-bishop did not pursue it further for some reason,” said Father Philip Mondal, who oversees the Khulna Diocese’s land in the area.
The late Bishop Michael D’Rozario, who led the Khulna Diocese from 1970 to 2005, was the first to attempt to save the church site. Mondal noted he is unsure if the bishop sought administrative assistance at that time.
“But now, to take over this place, we need the support of the administration and a lot of money, which the Khulna Diocese cannot provide,” Mondal told CNA.
However, the priest believes that with government backing and external financial support, the Church in Bangladesh could reclaim this historically unique site.
Christians make up less than 1% of Bangladesh’s 170 million people, a tiny minority in the predominantly Muslim country. The Catholic community, with approximately 400,000 members, is the single-largest Christian group.
Members of the Muslim and Hindu majority often regard Christians highly for their significant contributions to education, health, and social development. Christian missionaries also contributed historically to the Bengali language, promoting its colloquial and simplified form.
Lay Catholics are urging the Church to establish at least a small chapel on the site to preserve its history.
“We have only read in books that the first church in Bangladesh was in Iswaripur, but now when we go there, we do not find any trace of it. It cannot be that the history of a religion has been erased,” Praveen Mondal, 34, a Catholic, told CNA.
He believes that Christianity and its first church are inextricably linked, making the preservation of this memory a major responsibility for the Church.
CNA spoke to Rashed Hossain, a top government land officer in the area, about the site.
“It is true that the first church was established here, but now that church does not exist. However, we need to see how the people who live there now came to own the land,” Hossain told CNA.
He added that if the Church makes a formal request to the government, officials will “look into the matter seriously.”
CNA explains: How does the Catholic Church create dioceses and archdioceses?
St. Joseph Cathedral, Buffalo. | Credit: CiEll/Shutterstock
Jan 10, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Catholics in the U.S. were witness to a rare Church decision in 2023 when Pope Francis elevated the Diocese of Las Vegas to a metropolitan archdiocese. Las Vegas had previously been a suffragan diocese of San Francisco, having been created by Pope John Paul II in 1995.
A suffragan diocese operates within an ecclesiastical province subordinate to a larger archdiocese and is led by a suffragan bishop who has the authority to lead his own diocese but works under the metropolitan archbishop.
In September 2025, Pope Leo XIV created a new Catholic diocese in northern China; though it goes by the same name as one established decades ago by Beijing without Vatican approval — a product of ongoing tensions between China and the Holy See — the move demonstrated the Holy See’s authority in creating local Church jurisdictions.
Outside of one’s own parish, a diocese or archdiocese is arguably the average Catholic’s most common point of interaction with the Church. These jurisdictions manage local Church life and administration, with bishops and archbishops offering both spiritual and temporal guidance and authority to Catholics under their care.
But how does the Catholic Church decide what becomes a diocese or an archdiocese? What are the roots of this ancient practice, and how does it function today?
Exclusively a papal right
Monsignor William King, JCD, KCHS, an assistant professor at the school of canon law at The Catholic University of America, told CNA that the right to erect (or suppress) a diocese “belongs exclusively to the successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome,” that is, the pope.
“Historically, secular rulers have intruded into the process and the autonomy of the Church in this action has been hard-won,” he said, pointing out that “even today in certain parts of the world, secular or civil rulers wish to have input into matters such as this.”
The pope never makes decisions regarding dioceses and archdioceses “without considerable study and consultation,” King said.
The history of diocesan administration stretches back to the earliest years of the Church, he said. In those days a diocese consisted of “a city larger than the surrounding cities and towns,” often a place of commerce or a center of government.
Throughout the centuries, including after the imperial legalization of the Church by Constantine, Church leaders refined the diocesan structure of “pastoral ministry and governance” in order to facilitate “communication and decision-making” throughout Christendom.
“This became increasingly important as the Church grew and encountered different systems of law, philosophy, and religious practice,” King said. Roman models of government structure proved useful and sufficient for Church governance; King noted that the Church structure even today more closely resembles a government than a corporation.
The process by determining which jurisdictions counted as archdioceses likely arose in earlier centuries organically, King said, with Church leaders identifying major centers of “culture, education, commerce, government, and transportation” as particularly significant jurisdictions.
The procedure for elevating a diocese to an archdiocese, meanwhile — as Pope Francis did to Las Vegas in 2023 — requires “significant study, discussion, and decision-making,” King said.
The Holy See conducts such reviews in part through a diocese’s “quinquennial report,” a detailed rundown of the diocese’s activities and administration. Such a report may indicate to the Holy See that a particular region is growing and could benefit from elevation to an archdiocese.
Local suffragan bishops will participate in discussions to that effect, King said, and the Roman Curia will work with bishops’ conferences as well as the local apostolic nuncio.
“The ultimate decision is that of the Roman pontiff, the bishop of Rome,” King said, “but is always done with his awareness of the conversations and consultations already conducted at every level.”
The priest pointed out that not every local jurisdiction of the Church is a diocese or archdiocese. At times, he said, the pope may establish a less common ecclesiastical administration “for a variety of reasons that relate to culture, legal acceptance or opposition, small numbers, and the like.”
Such jurisdictions include apostolic prefectures, apostolic vicariates, ordinariates, and other designations. Such areas may be governed by a bishop or a priest named by the pope, King said.
Colorado to pay out $5.4 million after court strikes down abortion pill reversal ban
Health care professionals at the Colorado-based pro-life Bella Health and Wellness healthcare clinic. | Credit: Bella Health and Wellness
Jan 9, 2026 / 17:38 pm (CNA).
Here’s a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:
Colorado will pay out $5.4 million after attempting to ban abortion pill reversal
The state of Colorado will have to pay out a massive $5.4 million sum after it lost in its attempt to ban abortion pill reversal.
The state suffered a decisive loss in federal court in August 2025 when U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico said that Colorado’s abortion pill reversal ban interfered with the religious rights of nurses Dede Chism and Abby Sinnett.
The Catholic mother-daughter team runs the Denver-area Bella Health and Wellness clinic. Part of their services include administering the hormone progesterone that can counteract the effects of chemical abortions.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented the two nurses in their suit, said on Jan. 6 that federal law now requires the state to pay attorneys’ fees and court costs, totaling about $5.4 million.
Attorney Rebekah Ricketts said at least 18 mothers have given birth during the course of the lawsuit after receiving abortion pill reversal care at Bella Health.
Abortion pill advocate countersues South Dakota over false advertising threat
A pro-abortion pill company is suing the South Dakota attorney general after the prosecutor threatened to sue the organization over abortion advertising.
State Attorney General Marty Jackley sent a cease and desist letter in December 2025 to Mayday Health alleging the company was instructing women to not seek medical care after taking abortion pills while also implying that the pills were legal in South Dakota. Abortion pills are illegal in that state with limited exceptions.
In an Instagram post on Jan. 8, the pro-abortion company announced that it had sued Jackley in turn, alleging that Jackley was engaging in “government censorship, plain and simple.”
The group claimed its pro-abortion pill speech is protected by the First Amendment. Mayday vowed to “continue [its] mission” in advocating for abortion pills.
Wyoming Supreme Court strikes down state abortion ban
Abortions will continue in the state of Wyoming after the state Supreme Court struck down a ban on the practice there.
In a Jan. 6 decision, the court ruled 4-1 that the state’s ban on abortion did not constitute “reasonable and necessary restrictions on a pregnant woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.”
“A woman has a fundamental right to make her own health care decisions, including the decision to have an abortion,” the court said.
In a dissent, Justice Kari Jo Gray said the state government’s ban on abortion “falls well within the discretion the people expressly granted it.”
The ban allowed the procedure in cases necessary to save the mother’s life, among other extreme circumstances, Gray noted.
“These exceptions respect a pregnant woman’s health care choices while allowing the regulation of nonessential procedures,” she argued.
Madrid, Barcelona, Canary Islands possible destinations for Pope Leo XIV in 2026
Pope Leo XIV with the Spanish flag in the foreground on Dec. 8, 2025. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
Jan 9, 2026 / 17:06 pm (CNA).
Spanish Cardinal José Cobo confirmed Jan. 9 in Rome that Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands are likely destinations in 2026 for an apostolic journey to Spain by Pope Leo XIV.
After concluding a meeting with the substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Cobo confirmed the pontiff’s interest in visiting Spain: “Yes, I believe the pope is interested [in making the trip]. Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands are the first locations that have been considered.”
The meeting was also attended by the archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan José Omella; the archbishop of Valladolid and president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) Archbishop Luis Argüello; the auxiliary bishop of Toledo and secretary general of the CEE, Bishop Francisco César García Magán; and the bishop of the Canary Islands, Bishop José Mazuelos.
The cardinal emphasized that this trip is an initiative of Leo XIV: “He asked us for a first draft, like the initial outline of this,” which he will “fine tune or make corrections in the future.”
In addition to visiting the capital and largest city of the country, Pope Leo XIV’s presence in Barcelona could be related to the beatification process for the architect of Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) Basilica, Antoni Gaudí. Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church in November 2010.
Furthermore, his visit to the Canary Islands would fulfill a desire expressed by his predecessor, Pope Francis, to visit the archipelago, which receives thousands of migrants from Africa every year.
In this regard, Cobo noted that “the phenomenon of migration is an issue that Pope Leo has already addressed at the beginning of his pontificate.” He added that we are living through a “very important moment to make the voice of migrants heard” in Spain.
At the meeting with Peña, an extensive list of specific invitations from dioceses and religious organizations was also presented. “There are a thousand invitations,” the cardinal said, joking: “We shouldn’t wear the Holy Father out, because if we take him to Spain and tire him out too much, he might not want to come back.”
Cobo expressed his hope that Leo XIV would “experience the work of the Church in Spain” and receive a warm reception before adding: “I believe this shouldn’t be his last trip.”
Cobo also confirmed that “there have been negotiations” with the Spanish government, although official invitations have not yet been extended.
“Spain has long been in need of and has continuously requested the pope to come. The fact that this possibility is now open is a source of hope and joy for everyone, both for the civil authorities and, of course, for the Church in Spain.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Spain, Catholic Church sign agreement to compensate victims of sexual abuse
Archbishop Luis Argüello, president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference; Félix Bolaños, minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Parliament; and Father Jesús Díaz Sariego, OP, president of CONFER. | Credit: Ministry of the Presidency
Jan 9, 2026 / 16:28 pm (CNA).
The Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym), the Spanish Conference of Religious Orders (CONFER, by its Spanish acronym), and the government have agreed on a channel for compensating victims of abuse within the Catholic Church, in which the Ombudsman’s Office will collaborate.
The agreement was signed Jan. 8 by the president of the CEE, Archbishop Luis Argüello; the president of CONFER, Father Jesús Díaz Sariego, OP; and Minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with Parliament Félix Bolaños.
The agreement reached by the three parties will be valid for one year, renewable for another year.
The agreement reached for this new comprehensive reparations system will be complementary to the one being developed by the Catholic Church through the PRIVA Plan Advisory Commission since September 2024 and must be formalized through an agreement that will be ratified within one month.
PRIVA, a condensed Spanish acronym, stands for “comprehensive reparation plan for minors and persons with equivalent rights who are victims of sexual abuse.”
This system will be available to victims of cases that have passed the statute of limitations due to the passage of time or the death of the perpetrators and who do not wish to use the channel offered by the Catholic Church in Spain, which will remain in effect.
Argüello emphasized to the media that the agreement stipulates that the government will develop the Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Protection Law approved in 2021, “creating a proposal analogous to the one the Church is already implementing” so that victims of abuse in other areas (non-Church) can access comprehensive reparations.
Furthermore, the president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference highlighted that the agreement includes a retroactive tax exemption for compensation payments, given that the tax authorities sometimes claimed up to 30% of the amount received.
“Another aspect that we also find valuable and are pleased with in the signed agreement is that it recognizes the legal purview of the PRIVA Advisory Commission,” the prelate said.
For his part, Díaz Sariego pointed out that “the [Church’s] system is working very well” and highlighted the “moral commitment of the Church” in this area by asking: “What other institution in our country takes responsibility for crimes that are already beyond the statute of limitations?”
How the new system will work
Following this agreement, a mixed Church-state system will be established. Cases will be received through an administrative processing window, which will forward them to the Ombudsman’s Victims Unit that will prepare a compensation proposal to be evaluated by the PRIVA Plan Advisory Commission.
If the victim or the affected Church institution does not agree with the resolution, the case will be referred to a second decision-making body composed of representatives from the government, the CEE, CONFER, and associations of abuse victims. This body must reach a unanimous agreement.
If this is not possible, a “final attempt at reaching a consensus“ will be made. If that also proves unsuccessful, the Ombudsman’s Victims Unit will make a decision.
When asked about the possible disparity in criteria, the president of CONFER explained that the PRIVA Advisory Commission established its criteria for evaluating cases independently and that the agreement with the government “stipulates that the criteria must be the same."
Vatican intervention
Argüello stated that he has been in contact with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to discuss this matter, receiving from Rome “confirmation of their confidence that whatever we did together would be endorsed by them and, at the same time, encouragement to reach an agreement.“
Bolaños expressed his gratitude for the role played by the Holy See, which, throughout two years of “complex and arduous“ negotiations on this issue, during which there were “moments of extreme difficulty,“ provided “indispensable impetus to reach this agreement.“
More than $2 million in compensation
Through the PRIVA Plan, the Catholic Church in Spain has received 114 requests for compensation from victims, for which the dioceses have submitted 30 reports and religious congregations, 80.
According to data provided to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, by the PRIVA Plan Advisory Commission, there are another eight reports under review, and 61 cases have already been resolved, resulting in financial compensation totaling more than 1.8 million euros ($2.1 million), distributed fairly evenly between diocesan and religious cases.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.