CatholicPhilly presents a weekly roundup of international news from Vatican News, the official news portal of the Holy See. The following report on the week of Jan. 12, 2026 links to stories on VaticanNews.va.
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With the end of the Jubilee Year of Hope last week, this week saw the Catholic Church begin a new jubilee with the Year of St. Francis of Assisi. It marks the 800th anniversary of the death of 13th century friar and founder of the Franciscan religious order.
The year, featuring plenary indulgences, extends through Jan. 10, 2027.
Prayer for Christian Unity
The head of the European bishops’ conferences called for a focus on world peace during next week’s observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18-25. Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania hoped that in the midst of “persistent armed conflicts and geopolitical tensions,” unity “may be achieved not only among Christians but also among all parties in conflict with one another, and that peace may be rebuilt.”
Calls for Peace, ‘Pursuit of the Common Good’ in Middle East
In the face of violence and “persistent tensions” in Syria and Iran, Pope Leo XIV prayed after the Angelus prayer Jan. 11 “that dialogue and peace will be cultivated with patience, in pursuit of the common good of the whole society.”
Despite a ceasefire deal last October in Gaza, ongoing violence has resulted in at least 100 children killed since that time, according to UNICEF. The United Nations agency has distributed blankets and winter clothing kits, yet children continue to live in fear, and their psychological trauma remains largely untreated, a spokesman said.
One UN official assessed the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and the moral responsibility of a world tempted to look away.
“Nationalistic crimes” of assault of Palestinians in Israel’s West Bank region by Israeli settlers numbered 845 incidents in 2025, a 25% increase over the previous year, the Israel Defense Forces reported.
Millions of Christians Facing Persecution
A record 388 million Christians around the world face persecution and risk suffering violence, especially in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, according to one human rights group.
In Kuwait, Our Lady of Arabia Church Elevated to Basilica
Catholics in Kuwait celebrated the occasion of Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s visit in which he raised Our Lady of Arabia Church for the first time to the status of a minor basilica.
Pope Leo Teaches on Vatican II, ‘Problem With Numbers’ in Church
Pope Leo continued his new series of talks on the Second Vatican Council during his general audience Jan. 14. Reflecting on the council’s Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, on Divine Revelation, the pope emphasized the “relationship of friendship” with Jesus Christ and the important of prayer.
In answer to a Catholic catechist frustrated with getting families involved with her parish, Pope Leo offered pastoral encouragement and perspective. “The problem is not the numbers,” he wrote, “but the increasingly evident lack of awareness in feeling part of the Church, that is, of being living members of the Body of Christ, all with unique gifts and roles, and not merely users of the sacred, of the sacraments, perhaps out of mere habit.”
What Christians can do in response, he suggested, “is bear witness to the joy of Christ’s Gospel, the joy of rebirth and resurrection.”
Pope Leo: Press Searches for Truth, Builds Unity of Human Family
Pope Leo touched on the topic of freedom of the press in a message Jan. 15 to an Italian newspaper. He said the press must offer “that opportunity for dialogue which, when it is not hostile, contributes to the common good and to the unity of the human family. In this way, dialogue overcomes conflict and builds peace.”
He hoped the press “would always build a communication that is free and dialogical, animated by the search for truth and without prejudice.”
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