When Jesus comes to Mary and Martha in Bethany after the death of Lazarus, he says to Martha “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” And then he asks her, “Do you believe this?” Martha responds, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world” (John 11:25-27). This exchange prepares us for the miracle of the raising of Lazarus: one who believed, yet even though he died, he lived. Like Lazarus, we who believe, even though we will die, will be raised by Jesus into eternal life.

“Do you believe this?” Jesus’ question puts us on the spot. Our belief, or profession of faith, determines whether we will inherit eternal life. At the same time, in other passages in the Gospels, Jesus reminds us that love of God is the greatest commandment, “and the second is like it,” to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:30-31). “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to the least of these [the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, or imprisoned], you did not do it to me” (Matthew 25:45).

In every time, every place, and every way, Christians are called to profess their faith in Christ. Faith in God cannot be limited to simple dogmatic formulas but must embrace our whole heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:36; Mark 12:30). Faith compels us to order our lives in conformity with Christ’s command to care for the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, and imprisoned. What we have done or left undone exposes the imperfections of our profession of faith. So, Jesus’ question “Do you believe this?” is weighted with enormous significance for our lives in this world and the next.
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An Indian diocese has opened its facilities to welcome Hindu pilgrims during a six-week festival in a northern city, hailing it as a “wonderful experience of faith.” Organizers of the millennia-old Maha Kumbh Mela, a mammoth expression of religious piety and ritual bathing that opened on Jan. 13, expect 400 million people in the city of Prayagraj, earlier called Allahabad.

“You have to see it to believe it,” Bishop Louis Mascarenhas of Allahabad in the northern Uttar Pradesh state told UCA News on Jan. 15. “We have thrown open three of our educational institutions — St Joseph College, St Mary’s Convent Inter College, and Bethany Convent School — for the convenience of Hindu pilgrims during the entire duration of the festival,” Mascarenhas said. He said the pilgrims were driven by their faith to take the holy dip in the cold waters despite the temperatures hovering around 4 to 5 degrees Celsius.

Hindus believe that during the auspicious period, a ritual bath in the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswathi can wash away sins, free them from the cycle of rebirth, and help them attain moksha (salvation).

The Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj attracts Hindus worldwide as it occurs only once every 12 years. Many pilgrims begin bathing in the waters before sunrise during the festival scheduled to culminate on Feb. 26.
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Taking up the spirit of the recently inaugurated Holy Year 2025, the Cuban government has announced the release of 553 people currently serving prison sentences.

Cuba said it would gradually release the prisoners “in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of the year 2025 declared by His Holiness” following a “thorough analysis” of the legal and humanitarian avenues to enact their release, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement Jan. 14.

The statement did not specify who would be among the 553 prisoners designated to be released.

That same day, the White House announced that it will no longer designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism and that it would eliminate some restrictions on Cuba.

The White House said the actions were steps “to support the Cuban people as part of an understanding with the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis and improve the livelihoods of Cubans.”
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While calling himself an “old man” and saying he never expected to be pope this long, Pope Francis said he still has dreams for the future.

“We must not stumble upon tomorrow, we must build it, and we all have the responsibility to do so in a way that responds to the project of God, which is none other than the happiness of mankind, the centrality of mankind, without excluding anyone,” the 88-year-old pope wrote in his autobiography.

“Hope: The Autobiography” was written with the Italian editor Carlo Musso beginning in 2019. The book was released Jan. 14 in its original Italian and in 17 other languages in about 100 countries. Random House published the book in the United States, and Penguin Random House Canada released it in Canada.

The original plan, Musso said, was for the book to be released after Pope Francis’ death. But Mondadori, the Italian publisher coordinating the release, said the pope decided in August that it should be published at the beginning of the Holy Year 2025, which has hope as its central theme.
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VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A provisional document published by the Italian Bishops’ Conference on Friday (Jan. 10) and approved by the Vatican cautiously opens the door for the ordination of openly gay men to the priesthood, while maintaining the normal requirement of chastity.

“In the formative process, when referring to homosexual tendencies, it’s also appropriate not to reduce discernment only to this aspect, but, as for every candidate, to grasp its meaning in the global framework of the young person’s personality,” the document reads, adding that the goal is for the candidate to know himself and find harmony between his human and priestly vocation.

The Vatican department for clergy approved the document, which will be valid for three years. The document was signed by the head of the Italian bishops, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who is considered a close collaborator to Pope Francis.
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Travelling to Winnipeg following time in Toronto, Pillay participated in a tour of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, met with Indigenous church leaders, had an ecumenical dinner with young adults, visited the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, spoke at a panel discussion co-hosted by the Manitoba Multifaith Council and shared a breakfast at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Office with church leaders and representatives. 

“It has been so great to be with you,” Pillay said. “We are pilgrims and continue to co-pilgrim together. If there is one message, one takeaway from the past few days, it is this: You are not alone; we are with you. Worldwide, globally, we stand together. Whatever you experience in this part of the world, we would love to journey with you and be as helpful as we can and seek your guidance as we speak into the situation from the outside.
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The years following the closure of the Second Vatican Council in 1965 witnessed an explosion of bilateral ecumenical dialogues between various churches. Among these is the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), which traces its origins to a consultation of Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops in May 2000. It holds a unique place which may offer hope for renewed ecumenical progress.

Pope St. John Paul II and Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. George Carey signed a Common Declaration when Carey visited Rome in December, 1996. In response to that declaration, Carey and Cardinal Edward Cassidy, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), invited pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops from around the world to gather at a retreat house in Mississauga, ON. Chosen by their fellow bishops to represent their respective Anglican Province or Episcopal Conference, they met to evaluate the state of Anglican-Roman Catholic relations and to chart a course for the future.

Grounded in prayer, the consultation began with a time of retreat, a shared meditation on conversion, communion, and a renewal of baptismal promises. On alternate days, the Eucharist, Morning Prayer, and Evening Prayer were celebrated according to the tradition of each communion. Making use of a theological reflection model based on experience, the gathering was designed with a minimum of input from other presenters at the consultation. Among the goals identified by the planning committee, it was hoped that the bishops would have an experience of exercising their episcopal ministry together during the consultation and continuing after, which might encourage commitment to a more regular exercise of shared ministry locally. With this in mind, a questionnaire was forwarded to the countries of the participating bishops prior to the conference. Responses to the questionnaire provided a kind of “map” of the state of current relationships, examples of ongoing joint witness, and issues which should be addressed together.
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Following a long-standing tradition, on the occasion of today’s Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, patron saint of Constantinople, Pope Francis has sent a delegation to Istanbul to convey his greetings and the assurance of his “fraternal affection” to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I.

The visit is part of the annual exchange of Delegations between the Holy See and the Patriarchate for their respective patronal feasts, on 29 June in Rome, the Feast of St. Peter and Paul, and on 30 November in Istanbul, Türkiye.

In his message, Pope Francis highlights listening without condemning as the primary path toward unity between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, expressing his hope that the upcoming celebrations 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea may offer an opportunity to strengthen the fraternal relations they have developed over the past six decades.
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Doubling down on the centrality of synodality in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis said that it is now up to local churches to accept and implement proposals from the final document approved by the Synod of Bishops on synodality.

Approved by the pope, the synod’s final document “participates in the ordinary magisterium of the successor of Peter, and as such, I ask that it be accepted,” the pope wrote in a note published by the Vatican Nov. 25.

“Local churches and groupings of churches are now called upon to implement, in different contexts, the authoritative indications contained in the document, through the processes of discernment and decision-making provided by law and by the document itself,” he wrote nearly a month after the synod’s close.

The final document outlined key priorities for the church, including increased participation of laity through new ministries and adjusted governing structures, greater transparency and accountability among church leadership and creating space for previously marginalized groups.

After synod members voted to approve the final document, Pope Francis announced that he would not write the customary apostolic exhortation after the synod but would instead offer the document to the entire church for implementation.
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