US & Canada

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has appealed for a Holy Hour for peace as a step toward national healing, as the country faces tremendous tensions. Nearly 69,000 people have been arrested by masked immigration enforcement men. Three protesters have been killed. "Your faith matters. Your prayers matter. Your acts of love and works of ju... Read More

Tensions are running high in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse and US citizen, on Saturday. The federal government alleged that Mr Pretti was carrying a gun and intervened as ICE agents confronted a woman on the street. Local authorities said Mr Pretti had a permit to carry a handgun, addin... Read More

Calls for justice are on a crescendo-from more than 100 pastors who stood in solidarity with the community of Minneapolis, Minnesota; to more than 8,000 people who gathered online on 25 January for a prayer organized by the Faith in Action network; to peaceful protests in communities growing in cities and towns across the US. As violence escalated in areas to which US federal Immigration and Cu... Read More

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev Prof Dr Jerry Pillay has expressed deep alarm over the escalating violence in areas to which US federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents have been deployed, especially currently in Minneapolis. Dr Pillay said: 'The killings of Renee Good and - most recently - Alex Pretti have occurred in circumstances that a... Read More

Archbishop Timothy Paul Andrew Broglio, Archbishop for the US Military Services, USA, told the BBC on Sunday that it would be 'morally acceptable' for troops to disobey orders that go against their conscience." Speaking at a time when President Trump has repeatedly laid claims to Greenland, the Archbishop, who also served as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) fro... Read More

Cardinal Blase J Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Robert McElroy, archbishop of Washington and Cardinal Joseph W Tobin, CSsR, archbishop of Newark today issued a strongly worded statement measuring US foreign policy against the principles set forth by Pope Leo XIV in his January 9, 2026 address to members of the diplomatic corps accredited the Holy See. Commenting on the statement, Cardinal... Read More

Pax Christi USA has called for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay prison since it was established decades ago. Now on the 24th anniversary of the prison's opening, we are proud to be one of 115 organizations that have signed this statement led by the Center for Victims of Torture and the Center for Constitutional Rights which reaffirms that it must be closed, without repurposing it for any future ... Read More

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, has called for prayers and calm following the fatal shooting at point blank range by a masked ICE officer, of Rene Nicole Good, a 37 year old mother of three children in Minneapolis. She had just dropped her six year old child at school. Rene was a US citizen born in Colorado and appears to never have been charged with anything involving law... Read More

The first Muslim mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, was inaugurated as the 112th mayor on January 1, 2026. While some religious leaders joined multi-faith coalitions to support his vision, others expressed concern regarding his 'socialist ideology'. Mamdani did meet with Cardinal Timothy Dolan in late 2025 to discuss shared concerns regarding immigration policies but has not met his successor... Read More

The Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, Bishop Earl Fernandes, has granted a dispensation from Mass attendance to parishioners "who reasonably fear being detained" due to increased immigration enforcement activities in the area. Bishop Fernandes made the announcement in response to the recent increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities (ICE) in the Diocese of Columbus, causing... Read More

A new blog on Eminens Doctrina states today: For the first time in history, the coat of arms (or shield) of a major American prelate will contain an element allusive to St Oscar Romero when Bishop Ronald A Hicks is named Archbishop of New York, as exclusively reported earlier in the week by Religión Digital, the influential Spanish language religion portal. If Bishop Hicks follows protocol, when ... Read More

Several Catholic organisations held a prayer vigil outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in Washington DC on Friday, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Pax Christi USA wrote on social media: "We prayed outside ICE's DC headquarters in frigid weather this morning, calling on the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe on this her feast day, and repeating our plea to ICE... Read More

Last week a parish in Massachusetts, St Susanna Parish in Dedham, changed their outdoor Nativity scene - replacing the figures of Mary and Joseph with a sign saying 'ICE was here' in protest at the 'Immigration and Customs Enforcement' raids often targeting churchgoers. Many thousands of people have been arrested across the USA, separated from their families and often taken to unknown locations. B... Read More

The Most Reverend Timothy P Broglio, JCD, archbishop for the Military Services, USA, and former president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, has condemned the Trump administration's ongoing attacks on alleged drug traffickers on boats, that it claims come from Venezuela. Archbishop Brogio said on Wednesday: "I call on our Nation's leaders, legislators, and those specifically charged to dire... Read More