Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 1/12/26
Topics include: Colorado pays Catholic clinic $5.4 million; Pope condemns Russian attacks; Little-known and astonishing mosaic of Mary; & God Gap on college campuses
“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Today's sources are Crux, Graphs about Religion, Aleteia, Fides, UCA, Catholic Culture, & Catholic News Agency. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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CatholicVote
Colorado pays Catholic clinic $5.4 million for fees & court costs
By Hannah Hiester, January 9, 2026
Colorado recently agreed to pay a Catholic health care clinic $5.4 million to cover attorneys’ fees and court costs after the state targeted the clinic for providing women with abortion pill reversal services. According to a Jan. 6 news release from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the nonprofit legal organization that represented Bella Health and Wellness, the clinic sued in 2023 when Colorado passed a law that banned health care providers from offering assistance and medical care to mothers who regretted taking the abortion pill. The agreement follows an August 2025 permanent injunction that secured the clinic’s ability to offer abortion pill reversals using progesterone. Progesterone is often able to protect the baby from being aborted and allows the mother to continue her pregnancy. At that time, a federal court ruled that Colorado’s law violated the clinic’s First Amendment right to freedom of religion.
CRUX
Pope condemns Russian attacks on Ukranian infrastructure
By Elise Ann Allen, January 11, 2026
Pope Leo closed his Angelus address Sunday, after he resumed the tradition of baptizing infants in the Sistine Chapel on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, voicing hope that Christians would celebrate the feast of Jesus’s baptism by remembering their own, and “committing ourselves to bear witness to it with joy and authenticity.” “In moments of darkness, Baptism is light; in life’s conflicts, it is reconciliation; at the hour of death, it is the gateway to heaven,” he said. Leo also voiced concern for renewed violence in the Middle East, specifically mentioning fresh violence in Syria and Iran, where unprecedented protests have been unfolding nationwide since December, with around 190 people having been killed. He also pleaded for peace in Ukraine and prayed for people suffering in the wake of Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, which have left many without light or heat in frigid winter temperatures.
Aleteia
Near Athens, a little-known and astonishing mosaic of Mary
By Pierre Téqui, January 12, 2026
There is another, lesser-known Athens, more secret, which one discovers almost in spite of oneself: Byzantine Athens, with its brick domes, blond stones, and small apses huddled together like prayers. Some of these churches are approaching 1,000 years old. They bear witness to a decisive moment when Byzantium, emerging from iconoclasm, invented an art that no longer had anything of the classical triumph, but everything of the solemn gentleness of Eastern liturgy. It is in this landscape that the monastery of Daphni appears. A few kilometers from the city, on the sacred way — the ancient road to Eleusis — the monastery stands like a watchman. Today, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Daphni remains one of the most moving places in Christian Greece. The mosaic decoration is one of the most beautiful of the 11th century. The mosaic of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple shows Mary as a child climbing the steps of the Temple, called to be the dwelling place of God.
OSV News
Anti-trafficking advocates cite aid cuts worries in budgeting
By Gina Christian, January 9, 2026
Trafficking survivor Ann Marie Jones, who now works to aid fellow survivors, told OSV News she had been “arrested 51 times for prostitution” before a unique court diversionary program opened the door to a new life. “I would be arrested, put on probation and released,” she said. “I went back to what I knew.” In 2010, she managed to connect with a Philadelphia public defender who advised her to apply to a court diversionary program that provided counseling and substance abuse treatment. “They were there to help me,” said Jones. “I was able to start trusting.” That trust blossomed after Jones came to Dawn’s Place, a Philadelphia-area residential program for survivors of sex trafficking. Founded in 2013 as U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking, the alliance now includes more than 200 congregations of women religious, along with coalitions and individual members. The alliance is also part of Talitha Kum, the Rome-based International Network of Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in Persons.
Catholic News Agency
Catholic doctors react to CDC’s revised childhood vaccine schedule
By Amira Abuzeid, January 12, 2026
Catholic medical professionals and ethicists had mixed reactions to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) announcement last week that it had revised the recommended childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule. In a press release on Jan. 5, the CDC announced a revised recommended childhood immunization schedule, which reduces the number of universally recommended vaccines from 18 to 11. It retains routine recommendations for all children against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella (chickenpox). Vaccines for rotavirus, influenza, COVID-19, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, and RSV now shift to recommendations for high-risk groups or after “shared clinical decision-making” between providers and families.
PIME Asia News
Taiwan’s birthrate plummets below South Korea’s
By PIME Reporter, January 12, 2026
With 4.62 births per thousand people and a fertility rate set to fall below 0.8, Taiwan reported the worst demographic figures in the world in 2025. Births have dropped by half in 10 years, and today more than 20% of the population is over 65. In response, the government has proposed reforms in healthcare, welfare, and social assistance. The demographic situation appears to be rapidly deteriorating. The birthrate in 2024 was 5.76 births per thousand. The overall population is also dropping. At the end of 2025, Taiwan’s population numbered 23,299,132, more than 100,000 fewer than the previous year, marking the second consecutive year of demographic decline. This trend has led Taiwan to officially enter the category of “super-aged societies” according to the criteria set by the United Nations. Marriages are also declining. In 2025, 104,376 couples married, almost 19,000 fewer than the previous year.
Graphs about Religion
How big is the God Gap on college campuses?
By Ryan Burge, January 12, 2026
The God Gap, simply put, says religious people tend to gravitate toward a conservative political ideology and tend to favor the Republican Party on election day. Among the non-religious, it’s just the opposite — they are more apt to say that they are politically liberal and that they align with the Democratic Party. If you throw together the very, somewhat, and slightly liberal portions of college students, 66% of those who never attend church (never attenders) land on the liberal side of the spectrum. In contrast, conservatives make up only 10% of the never attenders. As attendance goes up, the liberal share goes down, and the conservative responses begin to rise. The liberal share drops below 50% of the sample when you get to attendance that’s once a month or more. As attendance rises, liberalism drops. Only the Latter-day Saints (LDS), at 53%, describe their political ideology as conservative.
Christian Science Monitor
The cloistered life isn’t cellphone-free
By Avedis Hadjian, January 7, 2026
Monasteries and nunneries have long been oases of quiet contemplation in a world overrun by distractions. But these days, many of those who have chosen the cloistered life are almost as tethered to their cellphones as the rest of us. Father Jamourlian, who had been initiated into astronomy with 19th-century Bardou telescopes as a seminarian, immediately downloaded the app I was using. “Thank you,” he said, smiling. “This made my day.” Monasteries worldwide have embraced mobile technology to advance their missions. In addition to using apps to learn new things and keep connected to the wider world, monks and nuns employ social media to get their messages out, attract new followers to their respective faiths, and stoke interest in religious vocations. During this digital era, however, the number of men and women signing up to be monks and nuns is declining, especially in Europe.
Omnes
‘God does not eliminate pain, he carries it with us’
By Editorial Staff Omnes, January 9, 2026
More than 250 people gathered in the Aula Magna of the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid to attend the Omnes Forum with Erik Varden. The Bishop of Trondheim and writer reflected this Friday on human suffering and its Christian meaning. The Norwegian bishop stressed that the reason for human suffering does not have a simple answer. “Many leave the Church because of the scandal of suffering,” he said, adding that Christianity does not offer explanations that cancel out pain, but rather a profound reverence for its mystery. The human condition," he recalled, "is a painful condition, but not a definitive one. In this context, Varden explained that the core of the Christian mystery is in the incarnation: God, being absolute transcendence, enters the human condition to heal it from within. “The incarnation takes place in view of redemption,” he pointed out, insisting that suffering is not the end of history.
CNA, UCA, and CW News for 1/12/26
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — January 12, 2026
The Catholic News Agency provides reliable, free, and up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and the happenings of the Holy See to anyone with internet access.
Pope Leo XIV meets Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado - Jan 12, 2026 - By Victoria Cardiel - The Nobel laureate María Corina Machado is also expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. this week.
Gänswein says he prays to Benedict XVI, confirms hope for beatification cause - Jan 11, 2026 - By Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves - The apostolic nuncio to the Baltic states offered personal reflections on his new diplomatic mission, Christmas in Lithuania, and his hope for the beatification of Pope Benedict XVI.
‘I am not ordaining you for an ideal country,’ South Sudanese bishop tells new priests - Jan 11, 2026 - By ACI Africa - Four newly ordained priests and six newly ordained deacons for South Sudan’s Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio have been reminded of the urgency of their mission in the contemporary world, especially in communities wounded by conflict, poverty, and division.
UCA News
The Union of Catholic Asian World News - 1/12/26
UCA News (UCAN) is the leading independent Catholic media service from Asia, with a convergent media approach that couples traditional journalistic practices with multimedia and social media
90-year-old Indian Catholic man denied burial in ancestral village - January 12, 2026 - Christian leaders in India’s eastern Odisha state have voiced concern over rising hostility toward Christians after villagers blocked the burial of an elderly tribal Catholic, forcing his family to bury him several kilometers away three days later.
Christian clergy, activists slam Sri Lankan labor deal with Israel - January 12, 2026 - Move makes govt complicit in Israeli actions in Gaza, undermines country’s non-aligned foreign policy, said Fr. Jeevantha Peiris, a Catholic priest and human rights activist, criticized the signing of a new memorandum of understanding in 2025 by Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra to expand labor cooperation with Israel.
Indian nun who accused bishop of rape deplores hierarchy’s silence - January 12, 2026 - Sister Ranit Pallassery, a former superior general of the Missionaries of Jesus, who accused a bishop of repeatedly raping her and saw him acquitted three years ago, has blamed the silence of the Church hierarchy, including the Vatican, for denying her justice.
Catholic World News
CatholicCulture.org from Trinity Communications
Catholic World News (CWN) is an independent Catholic news service staffed by lay Catholic journalists, dedicated to providing accurate global news from a distinctly Catholic perspective.
At consistory, Cardinal Zen slams synodality under Pope Francis as ‘ironclad manipulation’ - Cardinal Joseph Zen denounced synodality under Pope Francis as “ironclad manipulation” and an “insult to the dignity of the bishops.” “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. They expect surprises from the Holy Spirit. What surprises? That he should repudiate what he inspired in the Church’s two-thousand-year tradition?”
Bishop in Cambodia condemns Thai actions in border conflict - The apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, condemned Thai actions in the Cambodian–Thai border crisis. “Thai bulldozers are razing the homes of Cambodian civilians for miles, and barbed wire and shipping containers block access to the villages. Temples, sacred places … have been reduced to dust. And the world is silent.”
Former Irish president says infant baptism violates human rights - Mary McAleese, Ireland’s president from 1997 to 2011, described infant baptism as “a long-standing, systemic and overlooked severe restriction on children’s rights with regard to religion.” McAleese charged that infant baptism violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Registration may be required for access.
Nutshell reflections for 1/12/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - January 12, 2026
Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Word on Fire
The lie of AI relationships
By Fr. Mike Johns, January 12, 2026
Friendship, according to the Leadership & Happiness Laboratory of Harvard University, is in recession. There are warning signs. In 2023, the US Surgeon General declared that America (and, one supposes, Western society at large) is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, in which nearly all human interaction has become virtual. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said AI will soon step in to solve the loneliness and sexless epidemic. Should we accept such creepy optimism? Authentic social interaction and friendship were once seen as fundamental goods, indispensable to a full and healthy human life. There is, however, something sinister and unsettling in the notion that human connection is replaceable, superfluous, and ultimately unnecessary to the well-being of a human person. The gaze of a friend summons me in judgment and love. In this way, friends help each other to grow in virtue and holiness.
Dominicana
Where the eyes go, the soul follows
By Br. Simeon Jaeger, O.P., January 8, 2026
Like our physical sight, we may discover that our spiritual sight is far weaker than we had supposed. And weakened sight needs correction. G. K. Chesterton observed that in religious art “the Christian saint always has [his eyes] very wide open. . . . The Christian is staring with a frantic intentness outwards” (Orthodoxy, ch. 8). The saint’s gaze is not fixed narrowly on himself, but turned outward toward a world of startling goodness, which points him onward to God, the author of all goodness. With this in mind, I suggest that disciplining our physical vision can train our spiritual vision. I propose a pair of spiritual glasses: two “lenses” to treat our spiritual short-sightedness. The first lens is our neighbor. Christ identifies himself with those in need, saying, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40). The second lens is God himself. Scripture repeatedly demonstrates the human inclination to look for him, especially in prayer: “To you have I lifted up my eyes, you who dwell in the heavens” (Ps 123:1).
National Catholic Register
God is merciful — Assisted Suicide is not
By Patti Maguire Armstrong, January 11, 2026
A letter to NY Gov. Hochul: Last month, you announced that New York will soon become the 13th state to legalize doctor-assisted suicide when you sign the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law. You cited inspiration coming from a Catholic Mass, considering that God is merciful so we must also be merciful. But following God is not to be confused with playing God. You say there will be “guardrails” to protect against abuse. As a Catholic, you already know that the Ten Commandments are God’s guardrails to heaven. “Thou Shalt Not Kill” includes enabling people to kill themselves and implicates physicians who will prescribe life-ending drugs. Regardless of whether a doctor is right or wrong, God is always right. Whatever time a person has before death is God’s mercy. It can be a time of purification that allows one into heaven, a time of reconciliation with others, and an opportunity for holiness for patients and those who care for them.
Bishop Barron Reflections
When Jesus passes by, we have to respond
By Bishop Robert Barron, January 12, 2026
Friends, our Gospel today is Jesus’s inaugural address, setting the tone for his whole preaching. Mark tells us that he was proclaiming the good news of God, and that this was “the time of fulfillment.” Something was being brought to completion. What was it? It was everything that the Old Testament had spoken of. Jesus gathered up in his person everything that Israel was about—and this is why his presence was so compelling and why following him was of paramount importance. This is why he says, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” The good news is him. So now it’s time to make a decision. We are meant to see ourselves in Simon and Andrew, in James and John. When Jesus passes by, we have to respond. The time is now.
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