Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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A $9.89-million parish in the Czech town of Neratovice will be constructed using 3D-printing technology.

“While we really admire the baroque churches which are everywhere in our country, such architecture isn’t possible in today’s modern conditions,” the church’s designer, Michal Macuda, told OSV News.

Jirí Prinz, the Archdiocese of Prague’s press secretary, said that “it’s been common knowledge among laity and clergy that a church is needed here—so this project has had universal support from the beginning and the whole parish is happy about it.”

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale, described as India’s largest art exhibition and Asia’s largest contemporary art exhibition, closed temporarily following Catholic protests of a Last Supper depiction.

“The artwork depicts Mata Hari, a historically documented figure and a convicted spy, in the moments preceding her execution by the French Army,” the exhibition’s curators stated. “Mata Hari was also an exotic dancer, and the use of nudity in the work is directly linked to this historical and narrative context. The Kochi Biennale Foundation does not believe that the artwork in question warrants removal.”

Father Michael Pulickal, an official of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, said, “How can you draw comparison with a sacred event of a religion? We have sent representations to the minister for culture and the Biennale Foundation demanding to take down the artwork immediately.”

A Kenyan bishop advised the faithful to vote out incumbents “who have failed in delivering their promises to the people and make sure they do not get those positions again.”

“We are responsible for the kind of leadership we elect, and that is why it is important that we only pick those who will fight for our interests,” said Bishop James Maria Wainaina Kungu of Muranga. “The Church has a role to play both to the leaders and the people, to give direction to both parties.”

The prelate made his remarks at the end of 2025, well before the 2027 general election.

In a Latin-language letter dated December 10 and released today, Pope Leo XIV marked the upcoming 800th anniversary of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Belgium.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, will be the Pope’s legate at the January 11 solemn Mass marking the occasion. The cathedral is the co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels.

“We ourselves must become the house of God,” Pope Leo wrote in his letter to Cardinal Parolin. Citing a sermon of St. Augustine, he added, “We do not yet make the house of the Lord, except when we are joined together in charity.”

The Pontiff also prayed that the beauty of the cathedral may be reflected “spiritually in minds and souls.”

In an interview published on New Year’s Day, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations called for “verifiable, not symbolic” peace gestures.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said that “the Jubilee is ending, but it is always a time for reconciliation.”

“A concrete sign to start 2026 could be the choice of verifiable, not symbolic gestures: reopening interrupted channels of dialogue, supporting common humanitarian initiatives even between countries in tension, respecting agreements already signed, promoting policies that reduce inequalities and exclusion,” Archbishop Gallagher told Servizio Informazione Religiosa (SIR), the Italian bishops’ new agency.

The State of Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs announced it is banning 37 humanitarian organizations, including Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Jerusalem, from operating in Gaza, effective March 1. Caritas Internationalis is the Church’s confederation of relief and development agencies.

“The organizations’ licenses have been revoked as of Jan. 1 for failing to meet new and more strict security and transparency standards regarding their Palestinian and international employees,” OSV News reported.

Farid Jubran, spokesman for Caritas Jerusalem, said that “Caritas Jerusalem will continue its humanitarian and development operations in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, in accordance with its mandate.”

Jubran noted that “in Israel, Caritas Jerusalem is an Ecclesiastical Legal Person, whose status and mission have been recognized by the State of Israel through the 1993 Fundamental Agreement and the subsequent 1997 Legal Personality Agreement signed between the Holy See and the State of Israel.”

A newspaper based in Chivaso, Italy, reported that Pope Leo XIV embraced a 12-year-old Ukrainian refugee girl and listened attentively to her during his December 31 general audience.

“For Christmas, she didn’t ask for gifts to unwrap,” Giornale La Voce reported. “Her gift was the opportunity to meet the Pope. She wanted to feel heard and supported in her hope, and Leo XIV allowed her to experience all of this.”

The newspaper reported that the girl and her mother now live in Castellamonte, Italy, and that the girl is suffering from an aggressive tumor.

At his December 31 general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV met with Archbishop Gherardo Gambelli of Florence and a group of factory workers who were laid off via email in 2021.

The workers’ “dismissal after years of diligent and honest work,” said the prelate, “gave rise to a mobilization that lasted for years, intertwining the workers’ struggle with new forms of collective resistance, inspiring reflections on the relationship between industry, territory, and social justice.”

“For this reason, I wanted to be with them: early this morning we celebrated Mass in the Vatican Grottoes, and then there was the meeting with the Pope, which instilled courage,” he added.