"Come back to the Holy Land": Custos Calls Pilgrims to Visit Land of Jesus

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.

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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.”