Catholic News

• At March for Life, Trump vows to veto any pro-abortion legislation (Washington Post)
  President Donald Trump pledged to veto any legislation that would promote legal abortion, in a video message to participants int he March for Life. Vice President Mike Pence appeared at the March in person to encourage the massive crowd.
• Vatican releases document on human trafficking (CNA)
  The 37-page document, “Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking,” was published by the Vatican’s Migrants and Refugee Section.
• Pope, Council of Europe's leader discuss sexual abuse of minors (Council of Europe)
  The human rights organization has 47 member states; the organization’s leader, Thorbjorn Jagland said he and the Pope discussed efforts to combat the sexual abuse of minors.
• Archbishop Naumann: abuse weakens pro-life witness (Crux)
  Speaking at a prayer vigil on the eve of the March for Life, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas said that the sex-abuse scandal “undermines every other ministry within the Church.” Archbishop Naumann, who chairs the pro-life committee of the US bishops’ conference, said that abuse “upends the pro-life ethic” because it is a violation of human dignity.
• The Word of God is not an ideology, Pope preaches at weekday Mass (Vatican News)
  At a Mass celebrated in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae on January 17, Pope Francis warned against stubbornness of heart.
• Archbishop Lori announces system to report allegations against Baltimore bishops (National Catholic Register)
  “I pray this step and our continued commitment to child protection will send a clear message to the faithful of this local Church that abuse of any kind will not be tolerated and that those in positions of authority, namely bishops, will be held accountable for keeping the Church safe, especially for children and others who may be vulnerable,” Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore said.
• Poll: 75% of Americans support 'substantial' restrictions on abortion (Our Sunday Visitor)
  The majority of Americans, however, describe themselves as “pro-choice” rather than “pro-life,” and only 42% say that life begins at conception, according to an annual Marist Poll.
• English bishop says Britain in 'amazing political mess' over Brexit (CNS)
  “This is a time of uncertainty, and I do think we should pray for our politicians and our leaders, that the Lord will guide them in order to find some kind of active plan and also that people will really get behind them in it,” Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth said after the House of Commons, in a 432-202 vote, rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit agreement with the EU.
• Italian bishops refine anti-abuse guidelines without victim input (Crux)
  Francesco Zanardi, head of an Italian organization of clerical abuse victims, said, “You would think that pedophile priests don’t exist in Italy! ... 18 years after the scandals broke, the problem is still unresolved.”
• With Zimbabwe in turmoil over fuel hikes, archbishop calls for restraint (CNS)
  The southern African nation of 14 million (map) is 75% Protestant and 7% Catholic.
• Canadian humanitarian activist meets with Pope, discusses child soldiers (Dalhousie University)
  Roméo Dallaire, a former Canadian general and senator who was in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, met with Pope Francis to discuss their mutual opposition to child soldiers. “The Dallaire Initiative stands proudly with Pope Francis on his call for a more peaceful world and the elimination of the use of children in conflict worldwide,” his organization tweeted after their January 17 meeting.
• CDF, Asian bishops conclude meeting on doctrinal issues (Vatican News)
  A delegation from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) have concluded a 4-day meeting with Asian Church leaders that took place in Bangkok this week. The meeting was devoted to doctrinal issues, with Luis Ladaria, the prefect of the CDF, reminding the representatives from Asian episcopal conferences of their “responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the doctrine of the faith.”
• Vatican newspaper pays tribute to Luigi Sturzo, Italian Popular Party (CWN)
  In a front-page editorial, the Vatican newspaper’s new editor described the centenary of the founding of the Partito Popolare Italiano (Italian Popular Party) on January 18, 1919, as the first of the important historical anniversaries of 2019.
• Papal sends message to youth in Panama before World Youth Day trip (Vatican News)
  Pope Francis sent a video message to the World Indigenous Youth Gathering, meeting in Panama this week, encouraging the fight against poverty and exclusion. The Holy Father will visit Panama next week for the 37th World Youth Day.
• Gunman kills estranged wife, wounds daughter at Houston parish (Houston Chronicle)
  The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the parish priest issued statements following the shooting at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church.
• Chilean bishop: meeting with Pope France on abuse was 'frank and fruitful' (Vatican News)
  A delegation of Chilean bishops has met with Pope Francis, a year after the Pontiff visited the nation.
• Vatican archbishop writes book on life after death (Il Fatto Quotidiano (Italian))
  A lengthy review in L’Osservatore Romano’s Italian edition (p. 4) expressed hope that Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia’s new book would help reawaken the desire for heaven in the Catholic imagination. Archbishop Paglia, 73, is president of the Pontifical Academy for Life and grand chancellor of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences.
• Background: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (CWN)
  In 1908, Rev. Paul Wattson, then an Anglican religious in Graymoor, New York, began a Church Unity Octave with the support of Anglican and Catholic prelates, including Cardinal William O’Connell of Boston.
• EU court upholds Germany's removal of home-schooled children from home (Religion Clause)
  The European Court of Human Rights ruled that “the enforcement of compulsory school attendance, to prevent social isolation of the applicants’ children and ensure their integration into society, was a relevant reason for justifying the partial withdrawal of parental authority.”
• Pope mourns Colombian terror victims (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis condemned a terrorist attack that killed 21 people and injured dozens more at the national police academy in Bogota. The bloodshed “has sown pain and death” and is “a very grave offense to the Creator,” he said.
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