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Catholic News Agency

ACI Prensa's latest initiative is the Catholic News Agency (CNA), aimed at serving the English-speaking Catholic audience. ACI Prensa (www.aciprensa.com) is currently the largest provider of Catholic news in Spanish and Portuguese.

Swedish choir honors St. Lucy with songs in St. Peter’s Basilica
Sat, 13 Dec 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Rome Newsroom, Dec 13, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

A Swedish youth choir marked the feast of St. Lucy by singing at a Mass at the Vatican on Thursday, Dec. 11.

Students from Nordiska Musikgymnasiet — The Nordic Music High School — in Stockholm performed traditional Swedish “Lucia songs” during an afternoon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of the Italian saint’s Dec. 13 feast day.

“It was just really amazing” singing in St. Peter’s Basilica, choir member Alfio Tota told EWTN News after the Dec. 11 Mass. “It’s so enormous … And the acoustics are very interesting.”

The student recalled that though Sweden is a very secular country, the tradition of St. Lucia, as they call her, is quite strong.

“I think everyone feels quite a lot of joy and nostalgia in singing” the St. Lucy hymns, he said.

Choir member Fabienne Glader told EWTN News that she always spends the feast of St. Lucy with her family.

St. Lucy “shows courage and patience and just to never [give up] on yourself,” Glader said. “Even if you’re not really religious in any way, you can look up to her as just a wonderful person.”

The choir’s conductor, Casimir Käfling, said as a Christian, the tradition of St. Lucy was always part of Christmas for his family.

He called it “an incredible honor to be able to sing and conduct” her songs in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Käfling also recalled the darkness Sweden experiences during the winter, especially in the month of December, and said St. Lucy brings light into that darkness.

“The story of St. Lucy really plays with these contrasts of light and dark, and most importantly, hope and despair,” Tota said.

Caritas Lithuania launches program to help those struggling with pornography addiction
Sat, 13 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0500

Vilnius, Lithuania, Dec 13, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Caritas Lithuania has launched a new support initiative for individuals struggling with pornography addiction, responding to what staff describe as a marked surge in people seeking help as explicit content becomes increasingly unavoidable online.

The program, offered in Lithuanian, English, and German — both in person and remotely — provides counseling not only for those battling compulsive sexual behaviors but also for spouses and family members affected by them.

Caritas workers report a noticeable rise in referrals, with many parish priests now directing individuals in their care to the program, touching upon the growing need for coordinated pastoral and professional support.

Growing demand for help

Simon Schwarz, head of the Caritas Vilnius Convicts Consultation Center and an addiction counselor, told CNA that the new program grew out of a steady rise in cases. “For the last seven years, people suffering from compulsive sexual behavior disorder [CSBD] have been coming to Caritas for help,” he explained.

The continued stream of cases in 2023 and 2024, he said, made it clear that “we needed to professionalize our work in this area.”

With the support of Caritas Vilnius leadership, Schwarz completed specialized training in treating compulsive sexual behaviors and sex addiction, certification the organization helped to fund. He said the need has grown rapidly in Lithuania, a “highly tech-oriented country” where even young children often have unsupervised internet access and where sexualized content is easily encountered across social media, advertisements, and video sites.

“You don’t even have to seek out pornography to be exposed to it,” he noted, explaining that early exposure significantly increases the risk of developing an unhealthy relationship with sexual content. Yet discussing these struggles remains difficult.

“The paradox is that we live in a highly sexualized society, but we shame anyone who cannot control their sexual behavior,” Schwarz added.

Program details and costs

As the initiative is still growing, Caritas Vilnius is continuing to develop its funding base, and for now, clients contribute to the cost of consultations. The support process begins with a free introductory consultation, during which individuals complete a brief screening for compulsive sexual behavior disorders.

Those unable to afford further sessions are directed to free or low-cost alternatives, including Sexaholics Anonymous groups or online self-help resources. A follow-up session then evaluates the person’s specific situation and sets a tailored plan, first to halt compulsive behaviors and later to address deeper issues such as stress, isolation, or anxiety.

Shifting demographics of clients

Before the initiative was formally launched, for several years those suffering with compulsive sexual behavior disorders had approached Caritas Vilnius for help and they were directed to Schwarz. Most of those early clients were well-educated married men between the ages of 35 and 55, employed in respected professions. But once the initiative became more widespread and local parishes began referring individuals, the profile shifted dramatically.

Today, nearly half of the clients are between 18 and 20 years old, with some already facing severe psychological consequences after years of pornography use beginning in early puberty.

Addressing stigma in Christian communities

A key aim of the initiative is to reduce the stigma surrounding these struggles within Christian communities.

“Research shows that Christians often feel more ashamed of their sexual acting out than nonbelievers, because their struggle carries a significant spiritual weight,” Schwarz explained.

He also challenged the common misconception that pornography use doesn’t affect one’s partner, explaining that many dismiss it as not “real” infidelity since it’s just on a screen. However, the discovery of a spouse’s addiction proves equally devastating.

Kristina Rakutienė, a well-known Lithuanian social activist involved in raising awareness about the harms of pornography, echoed those concerns. She said many people hesitate to publicly engage with educational posts on social media out of fear that others will assume they personally struggle with addiction. She also pointed to a lack of easily accessible information, leaving many unsure where to turn or unaware that support groups exist.

Women also affected

Rakutienė discussed that the issue affects women as well. “When talking face to face, many women tell me they face this struggle too, or that they feel betrayed when their spouses enjoy porn,” she said. She tries to reassure both addicts and spouses who feel wounded that “there is hope,” adding that healing is possible by relying on God’s mercy, which offers not only compassion but also true freedom.

CNA also spoke with Father Kęstutis Dvareckas, a priest at a Caritas rehabilitation center with more than 15 years of experience treating both substance-related and behavioral addictions. He confirmed that, even before the new program was formally established, the center had already seen a growing number of people seeking help for pornography addiction.

In explaining the psychological and spiritual consequences of the problem, he likened it to substance addiction in that victims often require increasingly extreme content to achieve the same stimulation, which can ultimately undermine their ability to form and sustain healthy relationships. This was due to people becoming desensitized and finding real relationships dull and unfulfilling.

Addressing such struggles pastorally, he noted, requires sensitivity rather than moral assessments or outright condemnation. “Only understanding and acceptance allow a person to recognize the extent of their illness and to seek help from God and from others,” he said.

“Effective support,” he added, “depends on close cooperation between priests and clinical professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, and addiction counselors.” He also highlighted the Church’s unique role in moving people from the isolation, denial, and self-blame of their addictions to the experience and closeness of God’s love as they overcome their vices.

Remarking on the critical distinction regarding responsibility, he said: “A person is not guilty of becoming ill, but they are guilty and responsible if they do not seek treatment for their illness.”

Cupid goes Catholic: New faith-based dating show brings faith and matchmaking together
Sat, 13 Dec 2025 07:00:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 13, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Secular dating shows like “The Bachelor,” “Farmer Wants a Wife,” and “Love Is Blind” are among a plethora of programs that aim to bring singles together. But what would it look like to add faith to matchmaking in a dating show? CatholicMatch, one of the first Catholic dating sites, seeks to do just that with the launch of “The Catholic Dating Show.”

Earlier this year, CatholicMatch released a new platform called “Relate.” This platform is meant to bring users together for weekly live, virtual events such as trivia nights, discussions with prominent Catholic speakers, and “The Catholic Dating Show.”

The show has quickly become a fan favorite, bringing in over 600 live viewers through the dating site and even more when it is uploaded to CatholicMatch’s YouTube channel the next day for nonmembers to watch.

Taking place two Saturdays a month, “The Catholic Dating Show” is an hourlong event that features one single woman and three single men. During the first half of the show, the woman asks her suitors questions to get to know them better. The three men also have their cameras off for this part so the woman cannot see them.

Once she is done asking questions, the live audience lets her know, via a live poll, whom they think she should continue with into the second half of the show. She can either take their advice or not. Once she picks one of the three suitors, the two go on to play compatibility games to get to know each other further. The show finishes with another live poll from the audience asking if the two should meet in person for a date.

“It’s just been so much fun,” Tony Tibbetts, live events manager at CatholicMatch and the host of the dating show, told CNA in an interview. “We’re having a blast and people love it.”

Tibbetts pointed out that through the Relate platform, CatholicMatch is not only trying to address a singleness epidemic but “also a loneliness epidemic.”

As someone who works with Catholic singles on a daily basis, Tibbetts shared that he is witnessing that “there’s a great sense of distrust in the world and the feeling of you’re going to get burned” and “that lack of vulnerability has become very rampant in the Catholic community when it comes to Catholic dating.”

Due to this, CatholicMatch is working to be more than just a dating app but also to “build something unique in the dating world, especially with this Relate platform — to not only be the name you think of when you think of Catholic online dating, but it will also be something that people desire to be part of.”

“So we’re helping people to be able to join in the Catholic community — because we all need community — of singles and who knows, maybe you just might find ‘the one’ while you’re there,” he explained.

He added: “Our stated mission is to help facilitate as many holy, Catholic marriages as possible, and so we want to do that for you as quickly as possible, as quickly as we can, but while you’re on it as well, we want you to get the most out of your dating experience. Dating should be fun. Dating shouldn’t be stressful … We want to help facilitate that joy in people and that excitement for community, for possibly finding other people like you, for possibly finding ‘the one.’”

Through the live events, Tibbetts said he believes CatholicMatch is enabling users to “go beyond the profile of somebody to be able to get to know them.”

One of their newest additions to the Relate platform is the dating hotline, which allows users to call in with questions about dating or ask for advice and have their questions answered live by the male and female hosts.

Tibbetts said the primary goal is “trying to facilitate joy among Catholic singles.”

“With that, we hope and pray that the Lord will move something within them where we can create marriages, we can create holy, Catholic relationships with it ... We’re trying to create joyful lives for Catholics and hopefully create some Catholic marriages along the way.”

‘Holiness of family life’: A look behind the icon depicting a mother of 8
Sat, 13 Dec 2025 06:00:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 13, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When an iconographer began his work on a unique icon, he looked to the bones of the saint’s husband for help.

FOCCUS Marriage Ministries, a Catholic marriage ministry, invited the priest-iconographer Father Richard Reiser to make an icon of St. Bridget of Sweden, a mystic and the mother of eight. The ministry is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and chose St. Bridget to be the patron saint of its work.

But there was one challenge. According to Reiser, historically there is no established iconographic prototype of an icon of St. Bridget of Sweden.

So using his imagination and every historical source available — including the bones of St. Bridget’s husband — the priest developed an entirely new icon of a saint who has gone without an icon for hundreds of years.

The domestic church

“For me, iconography is first and foremost a form of prayer,” Reiser said. “The entire creative process is an act of listening to God and allowing the sacred story of a saint or mystery to take shape through layers of contemplation, color, and symbolism.”

The end result was an icon ripe with symbolic meaning — at its heart, marriage and family.

FOCCUS Marriage Ministries chose St. Bridget of Sweden to be its patron because of her commitment to marriage and the Church.

St. Bridget’s life “beautifully reflects the heart of marriage ministry,” Sheila Simpson, who heads the archdiocese-owned nonprofit, told CNA.

Now displayed in the hallway of the FOCCUS office in the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, the icon contains a quote from Pope Benedict XVI about the family as the domestic church as well as several symbols of the married couple’s life together.

“The icon quietly teaches that marriage is both a covenant of grace and a living witness to the Gospel,” Reiser told CNA.

With St. Bridget as its guiding light, FOCCUS is launching resources for couples whose marriages have unusual challenges, such as those who need their marriage convalidated by the Church, as well as those marrying later in life.

FOCCUS is most well known for its inventories — questionnaires designed to help engaged couples prepare for marriage by initiating conversations about issues like finance and values. The additional, new questionnaires will have questions tailored for couples in unusual situations, including military couples, first responders, and deacons.

Simpson said many couples say FOCCUS “became a turning point — not because it told them what to do, but because it helped them truly hear each other.”

Windows into the divine

Reiser said that one of the most “fascinating” parts of the icon-making process was consulting the bones of Ulf Gudmarsson, the husband of St. Bridget.

“His bones indicated that he was significantly larger in stature than she was,” he said.

“To honor historical accuracy while still emphasizing Bridget’s spiritual prominence, I placed her on a small set of steps so she would remain the central figure of the composition,” he explained.

Icons are “created for contemplation and spiritual truth more than realism,” Reiser said.

“They are windows into the divine — visual theology meant to open the heart and mind to God’s presence,” he continued.

“They participate in the mystery of the Incarnation,” Reiser said. “The eternal Word of God takes visible form.”

The icon depicts an emblem of the Third Order Franciscans, which the couple joined after they got married.

In addition, Gudmarsson holds a staff with a shell, referencing the pilgrimage the couple took to northwestern Spain.

It would be the last pilgrimage the couple ever made together. On the return journey from the pilgrimage, Gudmarsson grew ill and died soon after they returned to Sweden.

As a widow, St. Bridget dedicated her life to Christ, founding the religious order now known as the Bridgettines, which still exists to this day.

An icon of family and unity

Iconographers don’t paint — they write.

“Every line, color, and gesture carries symbolic meaning,” Reiser said. “That is why we often say icons are ‘written’ rather than painted.”

For instance, the 15 florets below St. Bridget of Sweden reference her 15 meditations on Christ’s passion. The cloak she wears has a brooch styled to symbolize the five wounds of Christ. Within the brooch is a relic of St. Bridget.

“Writing the icon of St. Bridget of Sweden was a unique and grace-filled experience because, historically, there is no established iconographic prototype of her — especially not one depicting her with her family,” Reiser said. “Without a traditional image to follow, I drew from existing paintings of St. Bridget and shaped them within the contemplative, dignified structure of classical iconography.”

With “no established icon tradition for Bridget’s family,” Reiser said he “consulted other family-centered icons, especially images of Christ with children, to discern how to portray children in an authentically iconographic style.”

The paintings of the children visually form a circle, which Reiser said represents the unity of the family. One of the children, Ingeborg, holds bluebells, the national flower of St. Bridget’s homeland, Sweden.

“Each of these details helps the icon speak not just as artwork but as a theological meditation on the holiness of family life,” Reiser said.

Why Sweden honors St. Lucy, a beloved Italian saint
Sat, 13 Dec 2025 04:00:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 13, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Lucy’s Day, also known as Lucia Day, is a traditional Swedish celebration filled with children in costumes, elaborate processions, and Swedish treats — all honoring the beloved saint.

St. Lucy, whose feast day is celebrated by the Catholic Church on Dec. 13, was a virgin and martyr from Syracuse, Sicily, born in the year 283. The young woman, whose name means “light,” devoted herself to God and to serving the poor.

Legend has it that when Lucy was taking food and supplies to Christians hiding in the catacombs during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, in order to bring as much as possible in both hands, she wore a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way.

That story has inspired a long-standing annual tradition of Swedish candle-lit processions honoring St. Lucy on her feast day. Girls dress in long white robes with red sashes. A young girl selected to be “Lucia” — the Italian name for Lucy — wearing a wreath with lit candles in addition to the white robe, leads the “Luciatåg” procession. She is followed by her handmaidens, who also carry a candle; star boys, who carry stars on sticks and have tall paper cones on their heads; and gingerbread men, who carry lit lanterns.

In previous years, the country held a competition on national television to select a woman to be Lucia in the procession. These days, schools and local churches simply choose a girl to be Lucia by random draw. These processions take place across the country in churches, schools, offices, town halls, care homes, and even restaurants.

Swedish treats called “Lussekatt,” which are S-shaped saffron buns similar to cinnamon rolls, also make an appearance in this popular custom. Lucia carries a tray filled with these buns and gingerbread cookies.

The main song people sing is “Sankta Lucia,” which is a Swedish translation of the Neapolitan song “Santa Lucia.” The lyrics highlight the cold, dark winter nights and the light being brought into homes by the saint.

Historically, before reforms to the calendar, the feast of St. Lucy landed on the shortest day of the year on the Julian calendar. This made it the longest night of the year. According to Swedish folklore, “Lucia Night” was a dangerous night when dark spirits would come out in full force. By morning, livestock would need extra feed and people were encouraged to eat seven to nine breakfasts.

In agrarian Sweden, individuals would dress up as Lucia figures and wander from house to house singing songs and scrounging for food. This custom disappeared with urban migration, and the white-dressed Lucia became a more acceptable form of celebration.

The first recorded appearance of the white-dressed Lucia was in a country house in 1764. The custom became a universal Swedish tradition in the 1900s.

This story was first published on Dec. 13, 2023, and has been updated.

Doug Keck honored with 2025 Mother Angelica Award
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 20:02:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 12, 2025 / 20:02 pm (CNA).

The EWTN Global Catholic Network presented the 2025 Mother Angelica Award to its longtime former president, Doug Keck, in recognition of his decades of service, faithful leadership, and tireless commitment to the mission of evangelization.

Following a 29-year career at EWTN, Keck retired from his duties as EWTN president and chief operating officer in June. He subsequently assumed the honorary title of president emeritus and continues to host his signature series “EWTN Bookmark” as well as serve as co-host of “Father Spitzer’s Universe.”

The Mother Angelica Award, which was presented to Keck during a special ceremony broadcast globally, is the highest honor bestowed by the network to recognize individuals whose lives reflect the spirit of faith, courage, and evangelistic zeal embodied by EWTN’s foundress, Mother Angelica.

“On behalf of the entire EWTN family around the globe, I want to thank Doug for keeping the mission of EWTN our No. 1 priority over the years and never compromising on sharing the truth of the Gospel for views or clicks,” said EWTN Chairman of the Board and CEO Michael Warsaw.

“He is more than deserving of this award,” Warsaw added.

Keck joined EWTN in 1996 after a highly successful career in cable television in New York City, where he contributed to the growth of networks such as Sports Channel, Bravo, AMC, and CNBC.

Over the years at EWTN, Keck helped develop and launch numerous flagship programs, including “Life on the Rock,” “The Journey Home,” “EWTN Bookmark,” and “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” playing a central role in the network’s expansion across television, radio, and digital platforms.

In 2009, Keck became the network’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, and in 2013 he was named president and chief operating officer. Under his leadership, EWTN grew to become the largest global Catholic media organization, reaching millions of households worldwide and offering content across multiple languages and media channels.

“Mother Angelica always said our job is to soak the earth with the truth of the Gospel and the Catholic Church. That’s been EWTN’s No. 1 priority, and I’ve been proud to be a part of it alongside so many other dedicated people,” Keck said.

Reflecting on how God called him out of his career in secular media, Keck’s message to any Catholic is to consider how God might be calling him or her to put their talents to the service of the Gospel.

“That’s what we’re called to do, really,” he said. “You don’t bury what you’ve been given. You give your talents over to him.”

The full award ceremony, including tributes from those whose lives have been touched by Keck, will be available for viewing on EWTN On Demand at www.ondemand.ewtn.com.

Keck now joins previous distinguished recipients of the Mother Angelica Award including Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap; former New Orleans Saints wide receiver and football coach Danny Abramowicz; and co-founders of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) Curtis and Michaelann Martin.

Inaugurated in 2021 on the 40th anniversary of EWTN’s founding, the Mother Angelica Award honors recipients for their extraordinary contribution to the Church and the new evangelization — serving as witnesses to God’s providence through their ministry and leadership.

The largest Catholic media organization in the world, EWTN’s 11 global television channels broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day. The network also operates radio services via SiriusXM, iHeartRadio, and hundreds of AM/FM affiliates as well as one of the most visited Catholic websites in the U.S., a publishing division, and a robust global news operation.

The network’s diverse range of programming includes catechetical series, devotions, news, talk shows, documentaries, and live coverage of major Church events — reaching hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.

Pope Leo XIV entrusts pontificate to the Virgin of Guadalupe
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 17:46:00 -0500

Vatican City, Dec 12, 2025 / 17:46 pm (CNA).

On Dec. 12, Pope Leo XIV presided over his first Mass on the solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom he asked to come to his aid “so that she may confirm in the one true path that leads to the blessed Fruit of your womb all those who have been entrusted to me.”

A large number of the faithful, mostly from the Mexican community residing in Rome as well as clergy and members of the Roman Curia, attended the ceremony held in St. Peter’s Basilica at 4 p.m. local time.

The Holy Father delivered a homily in Spanish in the form of a prayer addressed to the patroness of Mexico and empress of the Americas.

The pontiff recalled that Mary allows the Word of God “to enter her life and transform it,” bringing “that joy wherever human joy is insufficient, wherever the wine has run out.”

For the Holy Father, at Tepeyac, the Virgin Mary “awakens in the inhabitants of America the joy of knowing they are loved by God.” Thus, “amidst ceaseless conflicts, injustices, and sorrows that seek relief,” Mary of Guadalupe proclaims the core of her message: “Am I not here, I who am your mother?”

“It is the voice,” the pope continued, “that echoes the promise of divine fidelity, the presence that sustains us when life becomes unbearable.”

The pope then focused his message on the motherhood of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Before her image, he expressed his desire that the faithful might feel like “true children of yours,” and he asked for her guidance to maintain their faith “when strength fails and shadows grow.”

“Mother, teach the nations that wish to be your children not to divide the world into irreconcilable factions, not to allow hatred to mark their history nor lies to write their memory. Show them that authority must be exercised as service and not as domination. Instruct their leaders in their duty to safeguard the dignity of every person at every stage of life. Make these peoples, your children, places where every person can feel welcome,” he continued.

He also prayed to the Virgin for young people, “that they may obtain from Christ the strength to choose what is good and the courage to remain steadfast in the faith, even when the world pushes them in another direction.” He also prayed that nothing would trouble their hearts and that “they may embrace God’s plans without fear.”

“Protect them from the threats of crime, addiction, and the danger of a meaningless life,” he added.

The Holy Father turned to those who have distanced themselves from the Church and asked the Virgin Mary to bring them “back home” with the power of her love. He also prayed for those who sow discord, asking Mary to restore them to charity.

He also implored Our Lady of Guadalupe to strengthen families and, following her example, to help “parents educate with tenderness and firmness, so that every home may be a school of faith.”

He also asked her to sustain the clergy and consecrated life “in daily fidelity” and to renew their first love. “Guard their inner lives in prayer, protect them from temptation, encourage them in their weariness, and comfort those who are discouraged,” he added.

“Assist us so that we may not tarnish with our sin and misery the holiness of the Church, which, like you, is a mother,” he said.

In his conclusion, the Holy Father asked that the mother “of the true God for whom we live come to the aid of the successor of Peter, so that he may confirm in the one path that leads to the blessed Fruit of your womb all those entrusted to me.”

“Remember this son of yours, ‘to whom Christ entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven for the good of all,’ that these keys may serve ‘to bind and loose and to redeem all human misery,’” he said, quoting a 1994 homily by St. John Paul II.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Bishops call Illinois assisted suicide law signed by Gov. Pritzker ‘heartbreaking’
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:52:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 12, 2025 / 16:52 pm (CNA).

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law an assisted suicide bill that Catholic leaders have ardently opposed.

Pritzker, who met with Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 19, cited “freedom,” “choice,” and “autonomy” as his reasons for signing the bill, which allows doctors to give terminally ill patients life-ending drugs if they request them. According to the law, patients must be mentally capable and have a prognosis of six months or less to live.

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and other Illinois bishops had urged Pritzker to veto the bill. The Catholic Conference of Illinois, which speaks for the Catholic bishops in the state, condemned the law, calling it a “dangerous and heartbreaking path.”

Other jurisdictions with assisted suicide laws include: California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The Illinois law, Pritzker said in a Dec. 12 statement, “enables patients faced with debilitating terminal illnesses to make a decision, in consultation with a doctor, that helps them avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives.”

Pritzker said he was “deeply impacted” by stories of the suffering of terminally ill patients and their families who argued in favor of the bill.

“I have been moved by their dedication to standing up for freedom and choice at the end of life in the midst of personal heartbreak,” Pritzker said.

Pritzker signed the measure into law on the beloved feast day for Catholics in North America of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is known as the patroness of the pro-life movement.

Concerns for the vulnerable

Opponents of assisted suicide say that assisted suicide is not “true compassion” and constitutes “abandonment” of patients in need of care.

“This law ignores the very real failures in access to quality care that drive vulnerable people to despair,” according to the Catholic Conference of Illinois’ statement. “It does nothing to ensure patients are offered services, protected from coercion, or surrounded by loved ones when they kill themselves.”

“Rather than investing in real end-of-life support such as palliative and hospice care, pain management, and family-centered accompaniment, our state has chosen to normalize killing oneself,” the statement continued.

The conference called the passage “alarming,” saying that “by enacting this law, Illinois is endorsing the death option while claiming compassion.”

Matt Vallière, who heads the Patients Rights’ Action Fund, said that by signing the bill, Pritzker “has endangered the rights and lives of vulnerable patients.”

The Patients Rights’ Action Fund opposes assisted suicide, saying it is discriminatory against patients with terminally-ill diagnoses.

“By signing the bill to legalize assisted suicide, he has cracked the ice beneath patients whose care is already fragile,” Vallière said in a statement shared with CNA.

“Assisted suicide plunges Illinoisans with disabilities and other vulnerable people into conversations about death instead of the care and support they deserve from their medical teams,” Vallière said.

Thomas Olp — a spokesman for Thomas More Society, a Catholic law firm defending life and family — said the law “places vulnerable lives at risk.”

“When the state signals that some lives are no longer worth living, the most vulnerable pay the price,” Olp said in a statement shared with CNA.

“State law should never endorse the idea that suffering or sickness makes a life disposable,” he continued.

“Instead of offering true compassion, support, and care, this law offers a fatal prescription,” Olp concluded. “That is not mercy. It is abandonment.”

Cultural effect

The Catholic Conference of Illinois raised concerns about the cultural implications of legalizing a form of suicide.

“This message will be heard by vulnerable groups not as a balm for the dying but as a societally acceptable alternative to living,” the conference said.

“Indeed, studies show that where assisted suicide has been made legal, the number of all suicides has risen,” the conference statement continued. “How can we urge teens and young adults — knowing suicide is the second-leading cause of death in their age group — not to choose death, while our own laws say that suicide can be a ‘medical option’?”

“We may fund suicide prevention hotlines, expand suicide prevention programs, and train communities, but those efforts are hollow when we are simultaneously signaling that some lives are too burdensome or too expensive to save,” the statement continued. “Can we depend on distressed youth and others to understand the difference between their pain and that of the dying?”

Conscience rights concerns

Olp, whose law firm helps defend conscience rights, said the new law “erodes the foundational conscience rights of medical professionals and religious medical practices.”

The law requires doctors who are morally opposed to assisted suicide to refer patients to a practitioner who will provide patients with life-ending drugs.

“The state is forcing doctors to become active participants and cooperators in a patient’s suicide — no matter if their faith, ethics, or Hippocratic Oath forbid it,” Olp said.

“This is unconscionable coercion, plain and simple,” he continued. “No doctor should be ordered by the government to participate directly or indirectly in a process that deliberately ends a human life.”

“We will defend the right of every health care professional to practice medicine consistent with their conscience and oath, and we will fight any state effort to force religious health care institutions to violate their beliefs,” Olp said.

Vallière noted that the American Medical Association (AMA) continues to oppose assisted suicide, saying it is in opposition to the role of healer.

“The AMA Code of Medical Ethics continues to state that ‘Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks,’” he said.

Looking ahead

The law is set to go into effect in September 2026.

“This legislation will be thoughtfully implemented so that physicians can consult patients on making deeply personal decisions with authority, autonomy, and empathy,” Pritzker said.

Opponents said they are planning to continue defending human life.

“Gov. Pritzker and legislators who supported this legislation had a choice to build a future in which every person, especially the sick and vulnerable, is cared for with dignity, love, and support — or to open the door to a system where death becomes a permissible alternative,” the Catholic Conference of Illinois’ statement said.

“With SB 1950 now law, we must speak even more strongly that true compassion means helping people live, not helping them die,” the statement concluded.

“We urge Illinoisans, people of faith, dedicated medical professionals, and all who cherish human life to stand with us in fighting to defend the vulnerable and protect fundamental freedoms,” Olp said.

Priests, laypeople, Poor Clare nun among 124 20th-century martyrs beatified in Spain
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:03:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 12, 2025 / 16:03 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Jaén in Spain will celebrate on Dec. 13 the beatification of 109 priests, 14 laypeople, and one Poor Clare nun martyred during the Spanish Civil War.

With the addition of these 124 new blesseds, the number of 20th-century martyrs in Spain recognized by the Catholic Church rises to 2,254, 11 of whom have been canonized.

The beatification ceremony will be presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, and will take place in Assumption Cathedral in Jaén, where some of the new blesseds spent their last days before being murdered out of hatred for the faith.

Bishop Sebastián Chico of Jaén in the pastoral letter published on the occasion of the beatification stated that “their blood, far from being sterile, has become a fertile seed that today nourishes the faith of our parishes, communities, families, and confraternities, and impels us to live Christ more deeply so that we, too, may be witnesses of hope in the midst of the world.”

Chico also shared a reflection on the theological meaning of martyrdom, which he summarized as “the victory of love and the fullness of hope.”

The prelate observed that Scripture “teaches us that blood shed for the love of God is a seed of fidelity, eternal life, and hope.”

Regarding the Catholic Church’s teaching on this mystery of self-sacrifice, Chico noted that each martyr “has been a grace from God for the Church and a rich legacy of charity and hope that we must know and preserve.”

He also emphasized that “martyrdom is the supreme testimony of Christian hope,” because it reminds us that “with the eloquence of their own lives, violence, hatred, or death do not have the last word.”

The bishop of Jaén also pointed out that the martyrs “were not heroes, humanly speaking, nor ideological fighters, nor casualties in a war for earthly interests” but rather men and women “marked by weakness and sin, like any of us, but who conquered evil in the last moment of their lives with the sole strength of an unwavering faith in Christ. Their only weapon was love.”

Jaén, the ‘Holy Kingdom’

The Diocese of Jaén is traditionally known as the “Holy Kingdom,” and throughout its history it has been marked by not a few martyrs, from the Roman soldiers Sts. Bonosus and Maximian to St. Potenciana, virgin, the priest St. Amador, and, in the Middle Ages, the bishop St. Peter Pascual.

Along with them, the new blesseds are not the only sons and daughters of the diocese martyred in the 20th century. In addition to a group beatified in Tarragona in 2013, St. Pedro Poveda, founder of the Teresian Institution, stands out: He was murdered in Madrid in 1936.

With the new blesseds, “Jaén sees its name confirmed and enriched: Holy Kingdom. It is not an empty or merely historical title but a profound spiritual truth,” the prelate emphasized.

Of the 124 new blesseds, Chico highlighted three names “as examples of unwavering faith, generous love, and certain hope”: the priest Francisco de Paula Padilla Gutiérrez, who “voluntarily offered to die in place of a father of six children”; the lay doctor Pedro Sandoica y Granados, who “was murdered for publicly confessing his faith, without fear of the consequences, moved by hope in the kingdom of God”; and the widow Obdulia Puchol, a “woman of profound charity who opened her home to transients and the most disadvantaged, and who was shot for her fidelity to Christ, keeping hope alive until her last breath.”

The prelate said he believes the recognition of these martyrs should be considered “as yet another link in the chain of holiness that unites Jaén with the universal Church, from the first Christians to our own day.”

The martyrs, through their lives and their final sacrifice, “are not just a memory of a heroic past but teachers for the present … In this sense, the witness of the martyrs does not belong solely to history; it is a living word that God addresses to the Church and to the society of today.”

Chico emphasized that the martyrs invite us to renew our own hope because they “urge us to live our faith radically, without lukewarmness or compromise”; they teach people “to forgive, always, even in the midst of violence and injustice, following the example of Christ on the cross”; they call the faithful “to be builders of reconciliation and peace”; and they show that “holiness is possible in all vocations.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Syrian Christians face ‘insecurity’ 1 year after political change
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 15:18:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 12, 2025 / 15:18 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Syrian Christians face ‘insecurity’ 1 year after political change

On the one-year anniversary of the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s Christians find themselves outside the scope of systematic persecution but still living in profound fragility, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, ACI MENA, reported.

While freedom of worship remains protected and some positive signs have emerged — such as the end of mandatory military service, restoration of Christian properties, and limited political representation — the overall environment remains unstable.

Christians continue to face insecurity marked by killings, kidnappings, and vandalism along with several major incidents including attacks on churches in Sweida and the bombing of St. Elias Church in Damascus.

Economic hardship persists despite the easing of Western sanctions, driving ongoing emigration and rising fears of continued demographic decline.

VP of Haitian bishops’ conference calls for ‘new moral leadership’

Haitian Bishops’ Conference Vice President Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne is calling for “new moral leadership” in the country plagued by violence and instability.

Haitians are afflicted by “wounds of poverty, gang violence, insecurity, and the fragility of institutions that should be rebuilt,” the bishop said in an interview with Vatican News.

Dumas is currently living in the U.S. while recovering from wounds he incurred during an explosion in Port-au-Prince in February 2024.

Asian bishops gather in Hong Kong to discuss pastoral impact of AI

Asian bishops gathered in Hong Kong for the Bishops’ Meet 2025 to discuss the pastoral impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) and its use within the Church.

The Dec. 11–12 meeting kicked off with an opening Mass celebrated by Cardinal Stephen Chow, SJ, bishop of Hong Kong, who encouraged bishops and communications leaders to embrace AI, stating: “I think AI is not from the devil. AI comes from God, who helps us,” according to Vatican News.

Chow urged participants in the conference, organized by the Office of Social Communications of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, to discern AI with hope and moral clarity.

“Otherwise, how can we call ourselves Catholic media?” he said. “When we put our hope in the Lord, we must first honor him, not funding agents or ideologies. We need to discern God’s will for our mission in this shifting context.”

Philippines bishop speaks out against societal breakdown and human rights violations

Caritas Philippines President Bishop Gerardo Alminaza is sounding the alarm over increased societal breakdown and human rights violations in the Philippines.

“Human rights violations and shrinking civic space in the Philippines are converging into one moral emergency,” he said, according to a local report, noting that “defending life, dissent, environmental stewardship, and democratic participation is becoming increasingly dangerous.”

He continued: “As [the] Church, we affirm that human rights and civic space are sacred: We cannot preach peace and justice while ignoring the silencing of communities, the killings of organizers, the disappearances of activists, or the harassment of journalists.”

New Catholic church to be built in growing Australian diocese

The Diocese of Parramatta in Western Sydney has announced that it will build a new Catholic church and precinct in the heart of the rapidly-growing city of Blacktown, where a $2 million development called the Blacktown Quarter is also taking place.

In a Dec. 8 pastoral letter announcing the decision, Bishop Vincent Long, OFM Conv, revealed the diocese purchased land within the Blacktown Quarter, “with a view to creating a Catholic presence.”

It will include a new church called Mary Queen of the Family Parish situated in the heart of the Blacktown shopping precinct that will consolidate two preexisting parishes. “Being in the center of civic life is a providential opportunity for evangelization, mission, and service,” Long said.

Christian group in India joins protest against designation of major religions as tribal

The United Christian Forum of Dima Hasao in India has joined a tribal students’ group in protesting against the provincial government in the northeast state of Assam for designating six dominant religions as having ethnic tribal status.

Rev. D.C. Haia Darnei, president of the forum, said the decision would “certainly prove a setback for genuine tribal people, including those who are Christians,” according to a UCA News report.

“We are with the tribal students’ organization and other tribal groups as their demand is genuine, and we want betterment of the real tribal people in the state,” he said. According to the report, Christians make up about 3.74% of the state’s 31 million people, while tribal groups make up roughly 20%.

Pauline Sisters in Nairobi launch children’s literary event to foster love of reading

Members of the Pious Society of the Daughters of St. Paul (FSP/Pauline Sisters) in Africa are organizing their first-ever children’s literary event as they seek to nurture knowledge and foster a love for reading among children, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported.

In an interview with ACI Africa ahead of the event scheduled to take place on Dec. 13 at the Daughters of St. Paul premises in Westlands, Nairobi, the directress of Paulines Publications Africa, Sister Praxides Nafula, said: “We are including all children because we aim to nurture knowledge and a love for reading.”

“We want the pages of the book to come alive, as if the book is talking to the children,” she said.

The event will cater to children from underprivileged communities throughout the Archdiocese of Nairobi, with some refugee children from Tanzania expected to attend.

Proposed U.S. law would require fathers to financially support pregnant moms
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 14:33:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 12, 2025 / 14:33 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

Proposed U.S. law would require fathers to financially support pregnant moms

A Republican U.S. representative is sponsoring a bill that would require fathers to cover half of pregnancy-related costs for mothers carrying their children.

Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, is sponsoring the Supporting Healthy Pregnancy Act, Fox News Digital reported.

The bill would require the father of a child to pay for at least half of out-of-pocket medical expenses involved with pregnancy and delivery. This would become a legal requirement only after the mother puts in a request.

Hinson said she is working to “expand access to maternal care” and to “ensure women have resources throughout pregnancy and beyond.”

Hinson has introduced other maternity-related bills including a bill requiring colleges to inform pregnant students of their rights and the resources available to them in their schools.

“I’m a mom on a mission to make life easier for my fellow moms and families,” Hinson said in a post on X.

Lawmakers call on Congress to stop abortion funding for staff

Two dozen U.S. legislators recently called on Congress to stop abortion funding for federal staffers.

In a Dec. 5 letter addressed to Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, various Congress members and senators urged Kupor to stop using health insurance plans “that cover elective abortion.”

The letter argues that the insurance plans are a violation of the federal Smith Amendment, which prohibits funding for abortion in the U.S. Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

The lawmakers said the office is using an “accounting gimmick” to cover abortions in health care costs and that “only two health plans” offered to them do not cover abortion.

The letter requested “swift action” by Kupor and his office to ensure no health insurance plan offered to U.S. legislators is funded by taxpayer dollars.

Signees included Rep. Christopher Smith, R-New Jersey; Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and others.

South Dakota attorney general orders abortion pill company to stop alleged false advertising

The South Dakota attorney general is ordering an abortion pill company to cease “deceptive” advertising or else face the threat of a lawsuit.

Attorney General Marty Jackley sent a Dec. 10 cease and desist to abortion pill advocate Mayday Health after South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden ordered an investigation into the company.

In a Dec. 10 statement, Jackley said that Mayday Health was instructing women to not seek medical care after taking the abortion pills, while also implying that the pills were legal in South Dakota. Abortion pills are illegal in that state with limited exceptions.

“Your advertisement directs South Dakota consumers to resources that insinuate abortion-inducing pills are legal in South Dakota, while also urging women not to seek medical care after taking abortion pills and to keep their abortion a secret,” Jackley wrote in the letter.

If South Dakota files a lawsuit, Mayday Health could face felony criminal consequences or a fine of $5,000 per violation, according to the letter.

Pope Leo praises Christian archaeology, capable of ‘bringing to light anonymous holiness’
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:42:00 -0500

Vatican City, Dec 12, 2025 / 11:42 am (CNA).

On the centenary of the founding of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology, Pope Leo XIV published a new apostolic letter in which he praised Christian archaeology as a work capable of “giving a voice to the silence of history” and of “bringing to light the anonymous holiness of many faithful who have contributed to building up the Church.”

“In today’s fast-paced world, there is a tendency to forget and to consume images and words without reflecting on their meaning. The Church, on the other hand, is called to educate people in memory, and Christian archaeology is one of its most noble tools for doing so — not in order to take refuge in the past, but consciously to live in the present and work towards an enduring future,” the pope stated in the document, published on Dec. 11.

This is the third magisterial publication of this kind by Leo XIV in his eight months as pontiff, following “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” a document focused on education, and In Unitate Fidei on the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, in which he explored the unity of Christians.

For Leo XIV, Christian archaeology allows the Church to “remember its origins” and “recount the history of salvation not only through words but also through images, forms, and spaces.” In a time that “often loses sight of its roots,” it is “a valuable instrument of evangelization.”

Thus, he emphasized that archaeology speaks to believers and nonbelievers, young people, scholars, and pilgrims, because it illuminates the meaning of the journey and evokes an “echo of eternity.”

‘Christianity is not an abstract concept’

Each archaeological discovery, he explained, demonstrates that “Christianity is not an abstract concept but rather a body that has lived, celebrated, and inhabited space and time.”

For the Holy Father, archaeology shows that faith “has already survived difficult times and resisted persecution, crises, and changes. Faith has been renewed and regenerated,” and has “flourished in new forms.” Hence, he described it as “a ministry of hope.”

The pope said the discipline allows people to intuit the “power of an existence that transcends time,” to read in burials the “expectation of the Resurrection” and in apses “the orientation toward Christ.”

The pope emphasized that archaeology also plays a decisive role in the theology of revelation, since God “has in time spoken through events and people.” Therefore, understanding revelation requires knowing its historical contexts: Archaeology “illuminates the texts,” he affirmed, and also “completes written sources.”

In the document, the pope distanced himself from any idealization of the past and called for understanding the true history of the Church — made up of “greatness and limitation, holiness and fragility, continuity and rupture” — which will allow for a more authentic theology.

‘Living memory,’ not ‘a cult of the past’

Leo XIV warned against a merely conservationist vision of archaeology. “True Christian archaeology is not a matter of sterile conservation but of living memory,” he emphasized after pointing out that Christian archaeology must foster a “reconciled memory” and promote spaces for dialogue.

Likewise, the pope recalled the value of academic communion and cooperation among archaeological institutions, describing this field as “a resource for everyone.”

In affirming the fundamental role of Christian archaeology, the pope underscored that “theological studies that disregard archaeology run the risk of becoming disembodied, abstract, or even ideological.”

According to the pontiff, archaeology not only provides historical data but also allows theology to remain rooted in the concrete reality of the people of God. Thus, he affirmed that a theology that “embraces archaeology ... listens to the body of the Church, assesses its wounds, reads its signs, and is touched by its history.”

In his reflection, Leo XIV highlighted the human and pastoral dimension of archaeological work. He described it as an essentially “hands-on” profession in which researchers “are the first to handle buried material that conserves its vitality even after centuries.”

But the contribution of the Christian archaeologist, Leo XIV added, goes beyond material recovery: “They study not only the artifacts but also the hands that forged them, the minds that conceived them, and the hearts that loved them.”

God has truly entered history, and faith is not a philosophy

The pope recalled that from its origins, the Christian faith was transmitted through the memory of places and signs. “Christian communities safeguarded not only Jesus’ words but also the places, objects, and signs of his presence,” he stated.

Places such as the empty tomb, Peter’s house in Capernaum, and the Roman catacombs not only served as historical testimony but also “all testify that God has truly entered history and that faith is not a mere philosophy but a tangible path within the reality of the world,” the Holy Father wrote.

The pope affirmed that the Church needs to “search for a profound wisdom capable of preserving and passing on to future generations what is truly essential” and emphasized that archaeology has “an essential role in understanding Christianity and, consequently, its application within catechetical and theological formation.”

Citing Pope Francis’ apostolic constitution Veritatis Gaudium, Leo recalled that archaeology is part of the fundamental disciplines of theological formation, because “it does not merely tell us about artifacts but about people: their homes, tombs, churches, and prayers” and about “how faith shaped their spaces, cities, landscapes, and mentalities.”

The pope also emphasized that archaeology “is not just a specialized discipline reserved to a few experts” but rather a path accessible “to anyone who wishes to understand how faith is embodied in time, place, and culture.”

Archaeology as a ‘school of hope’

In his view, studying and narrating history helps to keep “the flame of collective conscience” alive. Otherwise, he warned, “all that remains is the personal memory of facts bound to our own interests or sensibilities, with no real connection to the human and ecclesial community in which we live.”

Leo XIV recalled that the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology was established by Pius XI’s motu proprio Primitivi Cemeteri (“Primitive Cemeteries”) of Dec. 11, 1925, with the task “of directing studies on the monuments of ancient Christianity with the utmost scientific rigor” in order to “reconstruct the lives of the early communities.”

The institute has participated in crucial excavations, such as that of the tomb of the apostle Peter beneath the Altar of the Confession in St. Peter’s Basilica, and in recent investigations at St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The pope asked: “How fruitful can the role of Christian archaeology still be for society and the Church in an age marked by artificial intelligence and by the exploration of the innumerable galaxies of the universe?”

He himself offered the answer: Contemporary methods “enable us to glean new information from findings once considered insignificant,” reminding us that “nothing is truly useless or lost.” Even the marginal, he affirmed, can “reveal profound meaning in the light of new questions and methods. In this respect, archaeology is also a school of hope.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Prayer rally protests Vienna exhibition depicting ‘crucified frog and transgender Mary’
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:11:00 -0500

CNA Deutsch, Dec 12, 2025 / 10:11 am (CNA).

On Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a prayer rally against an exhibition called “Du sollst dir ein Bild machen” (“You shall make yourself an image”) took place in front of the Vienna Künstlerhaus Vereinigung, a cultural center for artists.

The prayer rally’s organizers said the show, which includes a crucified frog and a depiction of the Virgin Mary as a transgender woman, is an attack on the Catholic faith.

Organized by the Austrian Society for the Protection of Tradition, Family, and Private Property (TFP), the rosary rally featured participants carrying placards calling for an immediate stop to blasphemy.

Protesters said the exhibition strikes “at the heart of the Catholic faith with abominable depictions, including a crucified green frog mocking Our Lord, a bearded man dressed as the Mother of God holding a child, a naked parody of the Pietà.”

The Austrian TFP also launched an online petition calling for the immediate closure of the exhibition, gathering signatures from Austria and internationally, with support from the American TFP.

Criticism rejected by curator

The management of the Künstlerhaus defended the exhibition against calls for its closure, rejecting criticism and invoking the legal protection of artistic freedom.

Günther Oberhollenzer, artistic director and curator of the exhibition, and Tanja Prušnik, president of the Künstlerhaus Vereinigung, said in the statement on Dec. 2: “We strongly oppose the calls for closure as well as all anti-art statements in this context. In Austria, freedom of art is a constitutionally protected fundamental principle that shapes democratic culture, enables critical social reflection, and is actively supported by the state.”

Oberhollenzer and Prušnik also said the exhibition was not intended to offend religious beliefs.

“We respect that people may feel irritated or even offended by works of art. Whether a work of art is provocative is often in the eye of the beholder. Many visitors, including Christians and high-ranking Catholic clergy, were very impressed by the exhibition, and there were repeated harmonious, profound discussions and conversations on an equal footing.”

Bishop Hermann Glettler of Innsbruck praised the controversial exhibition, calling it “evidence of the endless struggle to somehow do justice to the mystery of God, who has inscribed himself into a wounded world.”

The Austrian prelate explicitely mentioned the “crucified frog” and other pieces on display in Vienna in his statement on Instagram.

Pope Benedict XVI intervened in 2008

Back in 2008, the “crucified frog” caused international controversy when it was exhibited in Bolzano in northern Italy’s South Tyrol region. At that time, Pope Benedict XVI, among others, intervened in the debate.

In a letter to Franz Pahl, president of the South Tyrolean Regional Council, the Bavarian-born pontiff wrote at the time that the work offended the religious sensibilities of many people “who see the cross as a symbol of God’s love and our salvation, which demands recognition and religious veneration.”

Despite these words from the pope, the museum decided at the time to keep the exhibit, which is now on display again in Vienna.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.

New Carmelite monastery to open in Fort Worth Diocese following scandal
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:41:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 12, 2025 / 09:41 am (CNA).

Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, has announced the opening of a new order of Discalced Carmelite nuns after an older one in the diocese lost its canonical status last year.

Olson announced the news of the opening in a letter on Dec. 2 in which he said the Vatican’s Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life gave permission for the new monastery.

The prelate described it as “a moment of extraordinary grace for our local Church.”

In an interview with CNA, Olson said there has been “a need in our diocese for prayers, for reparation of sin … and through adoration and contemplation and meditation, to pray for all of those intentions — that is the vocation of the new Carmel.”

Olson said that about six months ago he requested that a new order of nuns come to reside in the diocese from the Christ the King Association of Discalced Carmelite Monasteries in the U.S.A.

After making a formal request for permission from the Holy See in October, he received word in November that the Holy See approved the establishment of the new monastery.

The nuns are coming from the Carmel in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.

The bishop emphasized that the Carmel “is an autonomous body even though I have supervisory rights.”

He said the land was “donated generously by the faithful in the diocese” after he acted as an intermediary between the sisters and parishioners.

Asked when he believes the monastery, located in a rural part of northern Cooke County about 80 miles north of Dallas, will be completed, he replied: “That’s in God’s time.”

He said the sisters will not have a website “because it’s a distraction from their religious life. Social media can have adverse effects on a religious vocation, as we have seen.”

Olson told CNA he is “very grateful to the Holy See for this permission, but also to the religious sisters, the nuns who have given of themselves to Christ. It’s a very unique vocation.”

The bishop is encouraging people to be generous with the sisters as they establish their new home in the Fort Worth Diocese: “They’re in full communion with the Church, are rightly ordered in their Carmelite vocation.”

A new page for the Carmelites after scandal

In 2023, a public scandal erupted after Olson began an investigation of an alleged relationship of a sexual nature between the former prioress of the Discalced Carmelite nuns of Arlington, Rev. Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, and a priest outside the diocese.

Gerlach denied the allegation and accused Olson of overstepping his authority while seeking to obtain the nuns’ property located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Olson has denied both claims.

The scandal played out in the press through actions taken by the Vatican, lawsuits in civil courts, and through public statements on both sides.

Last December, the Vatican issued a decree of suppression of the Arlington Carmelite monastery.

Olson announced the suppression just over a year ago, on Dec. 2, 2024, emphasizing at the time that the women at the monastery “are neither nuns nor Carmelites despite their continued and public self-identification to the contrary.”

He added that the Holy See “suppressed the monastery, so it exists no longer, despite any public self-identification made to the contrary by the former nuns who continue to occupy the premises.”

In August of that year, the nuns posted on their website that they had joined the Society of St. Pius X, a group that is in an “irregular” canonical situation within the Church.

‘May their vocation bring forth many graces’

In his most recent letter announcing the new monastery, Olson said it “will be a place where the beauty of contemplative life radiates outward into the world. Through prayer, silence, work, and sacrifice, the Discalced Carmelite nuns will accompany the faithful and intercede for the needs of our communities.”

“I ask all the faithful of the diocese to join me in prayer for these nuns as they begin this new chapter in their vocation,” the bishop said.

“May their vocation bring forth many graces including priestly and religious vocations, holy and happy marriages, and faithful discipleship,” he added.

Pope warns about risks to Church when intelligence agencies ‘act for nefarious purposes’
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:11:00 -0500

Vatican City, Dec 12, 2025 / 09:11 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV warned that intelligence agencies in some countries work against the Catholic Church, “oppressing its freedom” by using confidential information for “nefarious purposes.”

In an audience at the Vatican on Friday with people who work in Italy’s intelligence sector, the pope recalled the importance of conducting their jobs both ethically and morally.

“We must be vigilant to ensure that confidential information is not used to intimidate, manipulate, blackmail, or discredit politicians, journalists, or other actors in civil society. All of this also applies to the ecclesial sphere,” he said on Dec. 12.

Speaking in the Hall of Blessings, Leo urged those engaged in national security intelligence work to act with professionalism, to have respect for human dignity, and to engage in ethical communication.

“Security agencies often have to collect information on individuals and therefore have a strong impact on individual rights,” he noted. “It is therefore necessary that limits be established, according to the criterion of human dignity, and that we remain vigilant against the temptations to which a job like yours exposes you.”

The pope urged them to ensure that the protection of national security “always and in all cases guarantees people’s rights, their private and family life, freedom of conscience and information, and the right to a fair trial.”

Leo recalled the massive changes to digital communications in recent decades and warned that the arrival of new and increasingly advanced technologies “offers us greater possibilities but, at the same time, exposes us to constant dangers.”

“The massive and continuous exchange of information requires us to be critically vigilant about certain issues of vital importance: the distinction between truth and fake news, the undue exposure of private life, the manipulation of the most vulnerable, the logic of blackmail, and incitement to hatred and violence,” he said.

Border czar says Catholic leaders should ‘support’ safety
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 07:00:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 12, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

U.S. border czar Tom Homan said “the Catholic Church should support keeping the community safe” through a secure border and immigration enforcement.

In an interview on “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on Thursday, Homan discussed President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy and immigration enforcement.

“As President Trump promised on day one, we’re going to enforce immigration law,” Homan said. “That’s what he was voted into office to do, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re going to keep this promise to the American people.”

“We’re going to prioritize public safety threats and national security threats,” Homan said. “The majority of people we arrest … have a criminal history. But also, like I’ve said from day one, if you’re in the country illegally, you’re not off the table.”

Data on detainees’ criminal history is disputed. A Cato Institute report in November said 5% of people detained by ICE have violent convictions, and 73% had no convictions. Other analyses of deportation data also have shown a lower incidence of people arrested with prior criminal convictions.

“Many people who’ve lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what’s going on right now,” Pope Leo XIV said Nov. 4.

Since President Trump began his second term, there have been about 600,000 deportations, Homan said. He added: The “results have been outstanding.”

Family separation

During the Biden administration, “just about a half a million children were smuggled into the country, separated from their families, put in the hands of criminal cartels,” Homan said. Homan said the administration has located tens of thousands of children during deportation operations.

During the first two years of Trump’s first administration, U.S. authorities separated over 5,000 children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, before ending the practice. In 2021, the Biden administration created a family reunification task force, and a federal judge ruled that border officials cannot use family separation as a deterrence tactic through 2031.

Under the second Trump administration, enforcement actions have caused family separations through detentions.

Homan told Arroyo: “President Trump promised from day one that we’re going to find these children because the last administration, even though half a million came across, they lost track of 300,000. They couldn’t find them. They weren’t responding to inquiries and their check-ins.”

As of Dec. 5 there were 62,456 children “the Trump administration already found,” Homan reported.

“Some of these children were safe and with family. They’re just hiding out because they don’t want to be deported. But many of these children, and one is too many, we found were either in forced labor or forced sexual slavery. Some of these children are in really, really bad conditions,” Homan said.

“About half that, 300,000, according to records, have already aged out, which means they’re over 18 already. But … we’re still going to try to locate them … We’re going to do everything we can till the last day of this administration to find these kids. Personally, I’ll do everything I can until I take my last breath on this Earth to find these kids,” Homan said.

Carrying out deportations as a Catholic

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) expressed concern “about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.” They wrote: “Human dignity and national security are not in conflict.”

When asked how he reconciles bishops’ comments on immigration enforcement with his faith and duties, Homan said he is “willing to sit down with anybody in the Catholic Church and talk about it.”

When Catholic leaders “talk about why these laws shouldn’t be enforced … they need to understand, if we don’t enforce laws, what message does that send to the world?” Homan said. He says it sends the message: “Cross the border. It’s illegal, but don’t worry about it.”

People need to understand “a border wall saves lives,” Homan said. “I would ask the Catholic leadership, go talk to the hundreds of… moms and dads that have buried their children because their children were killed by someone that wasn’t supposed to be here.”

During Biden’s presidency, Homan said “a record number of Americans died from fentanyl because that border was wide open … Hundreds of thousands of Americans died from a drug that came across an open border.”

He said a “record number of people from terrorist-related countries” entered the country and said there was “historic increase in sex trafficking of women and children because enforcement was removed from the border.”

“Over 4,000 aliens died making that journey, because we sent a message that there’s no consequences here,” Homan said.

Response to Catholic leadership

The USCCB through remarks and messages has called for humane treatment of migrants. In response, Homan said: “We treat everybody with dignity.”

Bishops also stated their opposition to “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”

Homan said: “When you come across the border illegally, not only is it a crime, but you’re cheating the system.”

“There are millions of people, millions that are standing in line, taking their test, doing the background investigation, paying their fees to be part of the greatest nation on Earth,” Homan said.

“The most humane thing you can do is enforce the law, secure the border, because it saves lives. The Catholic Church should support keeping the community safe again. But I’m saying this, if you’re in the country legally, it’s not OK. Illegal migration is not a victimless crime. I wish Catholic leadership would go with me. Take a border trip with me,” Homan said.

“Look at some of the investigations I do. Wear my shoes … You may not agree with me 100% in the end, but you will certainly understand the importance of border security,” Homan said.

Pope Leo XIV, in meeting with award committee, calls for concrete acts of charity
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 06:52:00 -0500

Vatican City, Dec 12, 2025 / 06:52 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV urged concrete acts of charity and solidarity in a world marked by conflict as he met with the committee that chooses recipients of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.

“In a time marked by increased conflict and division, we need authentic testimonies of human kindness and charity to remind us that we are all brothers and sisters. Words are not enough,” the pope told the delegation at the Vatican on Dec. 11.

Leo praised the committee for continuing the legacy of Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb in promoting compassion and fraternity, calling their work a “noble service of human fraternity.”

The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, named after the late United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was established following the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity by Pope Francis and Al-Tayyeb during Francis’ 2019 apostolic journey to Abu Dhabi.

“This prize not only embodies the legacy of Sheikh Zayed and these other leaders, it also emphasizes that every human being and every religion is called to promote fraternity,” Leo said.

The pope stressed that ideals must be matched by action, telling the committee that building a society founded on love and respect requires “concrete actions.”

“Remaining in the realm of ideas and theories, while failing to give them expression through frequent and practical acts of charity, will eventually cause even our most cherished hopes and aspirations to weaken and fade away,” he said, quoting his apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te.

Leo encouraged the committee to persevere in its work, expressing confidence that its efforts would “continue to bear fruit for the good of the human family.”

The Zayed Award association has received nominations from individuals and institutions worldwide whose work aims to foster solidarity and human connection across national, ethnic, and religious lines. For its 2026 edition, the award received more than 350 nominations from over 75 countries, with winners to be announced in January.

Award recipients will be honored at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 4, coinciding with the anniversary of the Document on Human Fraternity and the U.N. International Day of Human Fraternity. A $1 million prize will be divided among the winners.

Earlier this week, the Zayed Award delegation met with Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb in Cairo.

Poll: Catholic support for IVF falls below 50% when Church teaching explained
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 06:00:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 12, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A new poll reveals that a majority of Catholic voters in the United States support access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) when initially asked about the topic but that some are willing to immediately change their minds when informed about the Church’s teaching on why it is immoral.

The survey, released by EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research on Dec. 11, polled 1,000 Catholic voters in the United States between Nov. 9 and Nov. 11.

The results demonstrate that just informing Catholic voters about the Church’s position on IVF and the immorality of the procedure is sufficient to cause an immediate 14-point shift against IVF in the public opinion of the Catholic faithful.

When first asked about IVF, 53.5% of Catholics said they supported access to the procedure and just 18.8% said they opposed it. The remaining 27.6% said they neither supported nor opposed access or did not know enough to offer an opinion.

The pollsters then informed the respondents that the Catholic Church opposes IVF because it separates the creation of life from the marital act between the husband and wife and results in the loss of unused embryos.

When asked a second time after receiving this information, support dropped by nine points, with 44.5% of respondents still saying they supported access. Opposition increased by more than five points, with 24.1% now saying they are against the procedure. The amount of people who said they neither supported nor opposed IVF or did not know enough to offer an opinion went up by nearly four points to 31.4%.

IVF is a fertility treatment in which doctors extract eggs from the woman and fertilize the eggs with sperm to create human embryos in a laboratory without a sexual act. Millions of fertilized human embryos that clinics do not implant are destroyed, which ends human lives.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a neuroscientist and senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) told CNA that broad support of IVF within the American public is “connected to broader misunderstandings about human sexuality, common among Catholics and non-Catholics alike.”

“IVF is ‘babies without sex’ while contraception is ‘sex without babies,’ and Catholics have largely adopted prevailing societal attitudes in regards to both of these issues,” he said. “Even a basic catechesis on these foundational issues has been lacking for an entire generation of Catholics.”

Pacholczyk said some in the clergy avoid the subject to prevent offending others, but this has left many Catholics “in an ideological vacuum.” He said many form their opinions on subjects like IVF “from social media sites, the ‘Today Show,’ or People magazine” rather than the Church.

“Our task remains one of generously sharing and witnessing to the fullness of Christ’s teachings, which liberate the human heart and transform souls in joy,” he said.

Joseph Meaney, a past president and senior fellow at NCBC, told CNA the Church understands IVF as “intrinsically evil” and added: “It is a tragedy that Catholic teaching on this procedure is not well known.”

“IVF is a moral, medical, and financial disaster,” Meaney said.

“It always makes mothers suffer through painful hormone injections, kills more human embryos than are born, and is frequently ineffective, despite its great cost, for many of the couples who turn to IVF hoping to give birth to a child,” he added.

Meaney said “there is a major need for preaching and other forms of communication about IVF” and more information about ethical alternatives, such as restorative reproductive medicine, “to help couples suffering from infertility.”

Restorative reproductive medicine, such as natural procreative technology, seeks to address the underlying causes of infertility so that a husband and wife can conceive a child naturally. It could include dietary changes, medicine, or surgeries, depending on what the root cause of the couple’s infertility is.

Fact or fiction? 9 popular myths about Our Lady of Guadalupe
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 04:00:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 12, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Almost 500 years after the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe — whose feast the Church celebrates Dec. 12 — the image of Our Lady has become the subject of several popular myths and legends, especially in Mexico, where she appeared.

Father Eduardo Chávez, a priest of the Archdiocese of Mexico, was the postulator for Juan Diego’s canonization and is a renowned expert on the apparitions. He is also director of the Institute for Guadalupan Studies.

Speaking to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, in 2019, Chávez separated fact from fiction.

Is it true the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has the same temperature as a human body?

“It’s logical that marble, stone, wood, and fabric have different temperatures,” he said. The image of the Virgin is formed on “a cloth made out of plant fibers, an agave called ‘ixotl.’ And it doesn’t have a temperature like a human being would have,” he said, dispelling a common rumor about the image.

Was the image painted or fabricated by human hands?

Chávez said the idea that the image was painted by human hands is “simply and plainly impossible,” because among other important details, St. Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak) “doesn’t even have any brushstrokes on it.”

“It’s imprinted on there, it’s a print as such,” he noted.

Chávez also pointed to the miraculous nature of the image, asking: “How is it possible for it to have lasted despite the fact that acid was accidentally spilled on it in 1784? How is it possible that after a bomb was set off underneath it on Nov. 14, 1921, that nothing happened to it?”

Do the Virgin’s eyes move?

The priest said that on social media “people are saying that if you shine a strong light, the eyes dilate and things like that. No such thing. They don’t move, they don’t dilate,” he said.

Chávez explained that “they’re misinterpreting something that an ophthalmologist, Enrique Graue, noted, namely that the eyes seem to be human, in the sense that they look like a photo of a human being, with the depth and reflection of a human eye.”

Does the Virgin of Guadalupe “float” on the mantilla?

Chávez was blunt: “The image doesn’t float”; rather, “it’s imprinted on the tilma.”

“Nor are there two or three images placed one on top of the other,” as some claim, he explained.

Is Our Lady of Guadalupe a Catholic adaptation of an Aztec goddess?

Some scholars have promoted the idea that the Virgin of Guadalupe is a Catholic adaptation of the Aztec goddess Coatlicue Tonantzin, who is a combination of a woman and serpents, and a symbol of fertility.

However, Chávez said that Our Lady of Guadalupe is not an adaptation of a goddess and has nothing to do with idolatry.

“She’s not called Coatlicue, which would be idolatry; she’s called Tonantzin, which isn’t any kind of idolatry but means ‘our venerable mother’ and, as the Indigenous affectionately say, ‘our dearest mother.’ It’s a title; it’s not idolatry.”

“The missionaries of the 16th century would never have made up a costume for a pagan goddess. That’s completely false,” he underscored.

Is there music hidden in the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe?

Based on mathematical analysis, Mexican accountant Fernando Ojeda discovered music embedded in the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Chávez explained.

Viewing the flowers and stars in the image of the Virgin as if they were musical notes, Ojeda outlined and found a melody.

Chávez said that analysts repeated the experiment with copies of paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, “where stars and flowers are placed at the painter’s discretion,” but the only thing they produced was “noise, not harmony.”

“Only with the original does a perfect harmony emerge, with a symphonic arrangement. It is true — music comes forth from the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe,” he affirmed.

Was there a light miraculously projected on the womb of the Virgin of Guadalupe?

For Chávez, “it’s hard to know if it was a miracle at that time because we don’t know if it was a ray of light that happened to hit upon one of the nearby metal objects, projecting a light on her womb.”

“What we do know is that she is the defender of life,” he said, pointing to “the simple fact that she has a dark ribbon over the womb, which means she’s pregnant and that therefore Jesus Christ Our Lord is in her immaculate womb.”

Can words be seen on the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe?

Responding to those who say they can see the word “peace” on the image, Chávez said: “I don’t see that anywhere.”

“She communicates with glyphs as the Indigenous did. And when it was by words she spoke in Náhuatl through Juan Diego who later translated,” he said.

Did Bishop Juan de Zumárraga mistreat Juan Diego?

“The key, everything, turns on the bishop,” Chávez said, since “although the Virgin of Guadalupe chose a layman, spoke to a layman, expressed her message to a layman,” the shrine she asked for “was not going to be done without the authority of the bishop.”

Chávez said it was instead the servants who treated St. Juan Diego badly when he went to see Bishop Juan de Zumárraga. “It was the servants who left him outside,” he said.

The Franciscan bishop “never treated him badly, on the contrary; he treated him with affection,” as well as with “a lot of respect and much dignity,” Chávez said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, and published on CNA on Dec. 12, 2019. It has been updated.

Pope Leo calls for promoting ‘cultural diplomacy’ to overcome borders and prejudices
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 18:30:00 -0500

Vatican City, Dec 11, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Dec. 11 emphasized the academic, cultural, and ecclesial value of archaeology and called for the promotion of “cultural diplomacy” to overcome borders and prejudices.

Receiving members of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology in an audience, the pope emphasized that its literary and monumental sources constitute an essential part of the “roots” of European society and nations.

“Take part through your studies in that cultural diplomacy that the world so desperately needs in our day,” the pope urged, addressing the faculty, students, and staff of the center.

To introduce his reflection, he referenced the motu proprio I Primitivi Cemeteri (“The Primitive Cemeteries”), published exactly a century ago by Pius XI, in which he emphasized the Church’s responsibility for protecting its sacred heritage.

Pius XI then decided to add a new body to the work of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology and the Pontifical Roman Academy of Archaeology: the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology, created to “guide willing young people from all countries and nations toward the study and scientific research of the monuments of Christian antiquity.”

A century later, Leo XIV affirmed, this mission remains fully relevant.

The scientific dignity of Christian archaeology

The pope took the opportunity to present to those present his new apostolic letter, in which he emphasizes the importance of Christian archaeology. He pointed out that this field, focused on the monuments of the first centuries of Christianity, possesses its own “epistemological status,” with specific “chronological, historical, and thematic coordinates.”

However, he lamented that in some circles it continues to be included without distinction within medieval archaeology.

“In this regard, I suggest that they become upholders of the specificity of their discipline, in which the adjective ‘Christian’ is not intended to be an expression of a confessional perspective but rather a qualifier of the discipline itself with scientific and professional dignity,” he urged.

A bridge to ecumenism

Leo XIV emphasized the ecumenical nature of Christian archaeology, alluding to its capacity to recall a time when the Church remained united. Its study, he affirmed, is “a valuable instrument for ecumenism,” as it allows the various Christian traditions to recognize a common heritage.

He also recounted that during his recent apostolic journey to İznik — ancient Nicaea — in Turkey, where he commemorated the 1,700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council with representatives of other churches, he was able to personally witness this reality: “The presence of the remains of ancient Christian buildings was moving and motivating for all of us.”

The pope also welcomed the fact that the institute had dedicated a day of study to the topic, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Evangelization.

The power of ‘cultural diplomacy’

For the pope, rigorous study and historical research constitute a privileged way of building bridges: “Through culture, the human spirit transcends the boundaries of nations and overcomes the barriers of prejudice to place itself at the service of the common good. You too can contribute to building bridges, fostering encounters, and nurturing harmony.”

He also noted that the institute is symbolically situated between two major jubilee themes: peace, the central theme of the holy year of 1925, and hope, the focus of the current jubilee. “And, in fact, you are bearers of peace and hope wherever you operate with your excavations and research, so that, recognizing your white and red banner with the image of the Good Shepherd, doors may be opened wide to you not only as bearers of knowledge and science but also as heralds of peace.”

Christianity, the root of Europe

Finally, Leo XIV recalled the words of St. John Paul II on the Christian roots of Europe, remembering his affirmation that the continent “needs Christ and the Gospel, because here lie the roots of all its peoples.”

“Among the roots of European society and nations is undoubtedly Christianity, with its literary and monumental sources; and the work of archaeologists is a response to the call I have just evoked,” he stated.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Vatican conference: Our Lady of Guadalupe in light of doctrinal note on titles of Mary
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:54:00 -0500

Vatican City, Dec 11, 2025 / 16:54 pm (CNA).

“Do not let your heart be troubled. Am I not here, I who am your mother?” With this consolation — with which Our Lady of Guadalupe of Mexico addressed St. Juan Diego in December 1531 — a devotion was kindled that, almost five centuries later, continues to shape the spiritual identity of Mexico and all of the Americas.

That same message, simple and profoundly consoling, still has a singular power today, especially “in the context of war and difficulties in the world we live in today,” said Father Stefano Cecchin, OFM, president of the Pontifical International Marian Academy, in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Cecchin will participate on Dec. 12 in an unprecedented gathering organized by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America at the Vatican, a day that will bring together Latin American priests, women religious, and seminarians and will place the figure of Mary — particularly under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe — at the center of evangelizing reflection.

Guadalupe, a message of closeness and liberation

Cecchin emphasized that Mary manifested herself with accessible, approachable, and protective language, capable of spreading the Christian message without obscuring the Indigenous identity of the visionary. In fact, he emphasized, “in Guadalupe we encounter the inculturation of God.”

For him, the spiritual core of the Guadalupe event is profoundly liberating: “Mary appears not to frighten, even though it occurs at the end of the Aztec calendar year, but she appears to bring peace and serenity. The message of Guadalupe is that whoever is with Mary should not be afraid.”

Understanding this historical and theological dimension, he added, allows us to perceive its universal impact. “We are trying to raise awareness throughout the world, beyond the countries of Latin America, the Philippines, and Spain. We want everyone to embrace it,” he stated. Cecchin summarized its importance with a powerful image: “For us, Guadalupe is the Sinai of the Americas.”

The comparison is not metaphorical: The people of Israel were born on the Sinai Peninsula, and in Guadalupe, Cecchin continued, “the Christian people of the Americas were born.”

Conference in light of new doctrinal document

The day at the Vatican is directed toward Latin American priests, women religious, and seminarians studying in Rome. After greetings from Archbishop Filippo Iannone, the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will speak, offering a keynote address titled “Mary: Star of Evangelization and the Mission for Latin America Today.”

“This expression has been used many times in Latin America, but we want to reconsider it in light of the teaching of the new doctrinal note on the Virgin Mary that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has given us,” Rodrigo Guerra, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, told ACI Prensa.

Fernández’s presence will be directly linked to the recent publication of the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis, a document that has sparked considerable debate in some quarters by proposing a rereading of popular Mariology and by nuancing traditional devotional titles.

Precisely for this reason, the event on Dec. 12 seeks to offer keys for a serene reception of the document from the perspective of evangelization.

In this regard, Guerra will present a reflection on the doctrinal reception of the figure of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rome: “I will explain the pleasant surprise we all felt upon discovering that in the recent doctrinal note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the topic of Our Lady of Guadalupe is addressed in two paragraphs in order to show in a very eloquent way how popular Marian devotion in Latin America today can offer us some lessons in the face of the challenges of evangelization in Latin America.”

Connection between Mary and synodality

Following the prefect’s lecture, a discussion with the participants will take place, followed by an academic panel with three brief presentations. The first will be given by Cecchin, who will address Our Lady of Guadalupe’s contribution to a balanced Mariology.

Afterward, Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, will speak to explore deeper the connection between Mary and synodality: a theme that the universal synodal process has highlighted in recent years. He explained to ACI Prensa that when we recognize Mary’s role in ecclesial life and in the devotion of the faithful, “the real need arises to delve deeper into the Marian mystery in order to better understand the synodal and missionary Church.”

He also pointed out that the figure of Mary is “fundamental” in the recovery of women’s identity and their value in the Church. “In her we find the perfect example of a Christian, a disciple. Always prophetically engaged with reality,” the Spanish prelate explained.

The day will conclude with a presentation by Guerra, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

The date — Dec. 12 — is not accidental: It coincides with the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the anniversary of the episcopal ordination of Pope Leo XIV. “That is why we thought this day was a good occasion for us to meet with all the students and friends from Latin America… to take a look at how Mary challenges us and offers us new reasons to rethink evangelization and mission in Latin America today,” Guerra said.

Following the conference, Mass in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe will take place at 4 p.m. local time in St. Peter’s Basilica, celebrated by Pope Leo XIV. It will be one of the first significant gestures of the new pope toward the Latin American community residing in Rome.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

U.S. bishops, Catholic groups denounce DHS rule change for migrant workers
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:03:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2025 / 16:03 pm (CNA).

U.S. Catholic bishops and prominent Catholic nonprofits are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to rescind a recent rule change they say will “disproportionately harm immigrants and their families.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), along with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) and Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), are calling for the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to rescind a policy change halting automatic extension of employment authorization documents for immigrants in the U.S.

The Dec. 1 statement comes after USCIS announced an interim final rule (IFR), titled “Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents,” on Oct. 30.

“Given our organizations’ ministries to immigrants and refugees around the country, we are deeply concerned that the changes in the IFR will disproportionately harm immigrants and their families,” read the statement, co-signed by CLINIC and CCUSA.

“The IFR will guarantee widespread employment-authorization gaps; destabilize fragile households; generate severe backlogs and administrative burdens for affiliates; impede the functioning of state agencies, such as Departments of Motor Vehicles; and impose substantial costs on U.S. employers and local economies,” the groups said. “Most importantly, the IFR will produce these harms without any demonstrated countervailing benefit.”

The U.S. bishops and Catholic nonprofits further described the IFR as “arbitrary and capricious,” stating that USCIS opted to depart from prior policy without explanation or with the establishment of good cause. “The IFR, as proposed, conflicts with fundamental humanitarian and economic principles embodied in U.S. immigration law,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the IFR “removes the only mechanism that has prevented widespread work-authorization lapses” amid ongoing adjudication delays at USCIS. Even with 180-day and 540-day automatic extensions used in the past, the statement said, “clients of CLINIC affiliates were at risk of suspension or termination because renewal adjudications had not kept pace,” leading to loss of wages and health care tied to employment.

The groups said the IFR increases demand for charitable services, including legal and social services such as those provided by Catholic Charities.

“Even temporary extensions were barely sufficient to stabilize families living on the economic margin,” the statement said. “By removing the only buffer against its own delays, the agency converts an administrative backlog into a nationwide work-authorization crisis that will destabilize workers, families, and employers across the country.”

The groups further emphasized the IFR increases the vulnerability of migrant workers, pointing out migrants facing an employment lapse “may find themselves in precarious situations where unscrupulous or predatory persons might exploit their desperate need to support themselves and their families.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Poll: Majority of U.S. Catholics support death penalty despite catechism
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 13:00:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

A majority of Catholic voters in the United States support the death penalty for convicted murderers in spite of the Catechism of the Catholic Church calling capital punishment “inadmissible,” according to a poll published by EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research.

The survey of 1,000 Catholic voters between Nov. 9 and Nov. 11 found that 55% support the death penalty “for a person convicted of murder.” Only 20% said they oppose the death penalty in such situations, and another 25% are unsure.

Based on the poll, Catholics who attend Mass regularly are much more likely to say they oppose the death penalty than Catholics whose attendance is less frequent.

Among Catholics who attend Mass at least once per week, 52% say they support the death penalty for convicted murderers, 26% say they oppose it, and 22% are unsure. For Catholics who attend less than once per week, 57% say they support the death penalty, just 16% oppose it, and 27% are unsure.

Although many Catholics still support the death penalty, a 2024 analysis of the Association of Religion Data Archives’ General Social Survey shows a decline in Catholic support for the death penalty in recent decades, especially among those who attend weekly Mass.

The catechism, per the 2018 revision, states: “The Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,’ and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.”

Prior to the Francis pontificate revising the language, the text stated that the Church “does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.”

Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, who serves on the advisory board for the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty, told CNA that many Catholics remain “pro-life for innocent life,” such as the lives taken through abortion, but when a person is guilty of a serious crime, “people readily say ‘yeah, they should die.’”

The revision to the catechism, she said, recognizes that taking life “is against human dignity” and “the Gospel of Jesus calls us to give that dignity — not just to innocent people — but even to the guilty.”

Prejean said when people are asked whether they support the death penalty for serious crimes, “most of the time, people say yes.” Yet, she said when polls give an alternative for life in prison, the support drops significantly. She noted that juries have been less likely to impose the death penalty recently because “most people really want to have a chance to give people life.”

With 1 in 4 Catholics saying that they are “unsure” whether they would support the death penalty in certain situations, Prejean said “that’s where the seed can grow.”

“There’s a part of their soul that hasn’t said ‘yes’ to this and they’re thinking about it,” she said.

Prejean, whose vocation was depicted in the 1995 movie “Dead Man Walking,” said she became active in opposition to the death penalty after communicating with a person who was on death row and attending his execution. Prior to that experience, she said she often did not think about the subject, but “we grow in moral issues by experiences of the faithful.”

“Once you have a personal connection with somebody, they’re not a category anymore,” she said. “They’re a person.”

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, told CNA that “defending the sacred dignity of life, while core to our beliefs, is not always easy.”

“But even when it’s hard to understand, our Church gives us good guidance and has definitively said that capital punishment has no place in our society,” said Murphy, whose organization works closely with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to oppose the death penalty.

“Given its firm commitment to human dignity and the sacred value of life, it is clear that the Catholic Church is not backing down from its pro-life position on the death penalty,” she added. “More formation and catechesis are needed to increase awareness and deepen understanding of the Church’s teaching on capital punishment so it can be applied in a meaningful way in the lives of Catholics.”

Murphy noted that St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and now Pope Leo XIV all hold a pro-life view on capital punishment. American Church leadership, including the newly elected USCCB president, Archbishop Paul Coakley, have called for the abolition of the death penalty.

“Any disconnect between Church doctrine and polling is a reminder that more education and formation on the life issue of ending the death penalty remains worthy,” she said. “After all, human lives hang in the balance.”

Poll: Most Catholic voters support Trump, deportations despite bishops’ concern
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 12:30:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

A majority of Catholic voters in the United States have a favorable opinion of President Donald Trump and support the broad-scale deportation of immigrants who are in the country illegally, according to a poll published by EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research on Dec. 11.

The poll surveyed 1,000 self-identified Catholics from Nov. 9 through Nov. 11, nearly 10 months after Trump assumed office. Trump won the Catholic vote in the 2024 election last year, and one of his campaign promises was mass deportations — a policy strongly opposed by the country’s Catholic bishops.

With Trump administration deportation efforts underway, the poll revealed some tension between the public stance of the country’s Catholic bishops and the views held by the faithful. Among Catholics, support for large-scale deportations is even higher than their overall support for Trump.

About 54% of Catholic voters said they support “the detention and deportation of unauthorized immigrants on a broad scale.” Only 30% said they oppose this policy, and 17% neither support nor oppose it.

Among white Catholics, 60% support broad-scale deportations and only 26% oppose it. Among Latino Catholics, 41% support it and 39% oppose it.

For Catholics who attend Mass at least weekly, 58% support broad-scale deportations and only 23% are against it. For those who attend Mass less frequently, 50% support the deportations and 36% oppose it.

Catholics who attend Mass regularly were more likely to have a favorable opinion of Trump and more likely to support deportations. White Catholics were also more likely than Latino Catholics to support Trump and the deportations.

According to the poll, about 52% of Catholic voters say they have a favorable opinion of Trump, compared with 37% who say they have an unfavorable opinion and 11% who say they are neutral.

Among white Catholics, 58% have a favorable opinion of Trump and 34.5% have an unfavorable view of him. Latino Catholics were nearly evenly split, with 41% holding a favorable opinion and 40% holding an unfavorable opinion.

More than 60% of Catholics who attend Mass at least once per week said they have a favorable opinion of the president, compared with 30% who had an unfavorable opinion.

Among Catholics who attend Mass less frequently, about 45% have a favorable view of Trump and 42% have an unfavorable view.

Reacting to the results, White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers told CNA that Trump “won in a landslide victory with historic support from patriotic Catholics across the country because he promised to fight for people of faith, and he has delivered in record time.”

“President Trump launched a task force to eliminate anti-Christian bias, pardoned Christian and pro-life activists, enforced the Hyde Amendment, defunded Planned Parenthood, stopped the chemical mutilation of our nation’s children, and stopped men from competing in women’s sports and invading their private spaces,” she said.

Other administration officials had positive favorability numbers. About 50% of Catholic voters have a favorable view of Vice President JD Vance, compared with 31% who have an unfavorable view. About 42% of Catholic voters have a favorable view of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, compared with 25% who have an unfavorable view.

Support for deportations at odds with bishops

Just last month, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a unified message to oppose “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” It received approval from more than 95% of the voting bishops. The following week, Pope Leo XIV encouraged “all people in the United States to listen to [the bishops]” on the matter.

The USCCB did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNA.

Chad Pecknold, a theology professor at The Catholic University of America who teaches theological politics and other subjects, told CNA the numbers “track with the general public support for deportation.”

“The bishops have operated on very well-worked-out presuppositions of liberalism, and Popperian ideas about an ‘Open Society,’ that are now badly outdated,” he said. “They would be wise to reexamine their priors on prudential matters as they are losing credibility through imprudent statements on prudential matters pertaining to national security and the common good.”

Julia Young, a historian and professor at The Catholic University of America, sees the issue differently, telling CNA that U.S. Catholic bishops have historically supported immigrants and that the Church has grown from European immigration in the mid-late 19th century and from Latin American immigration in the 20th century.

“The growth of the Catholic Church over the last several decades has been largely due to immigration,” she said. “So it does make sense that the Catholic bishops are concerned about immigrants and the immigrant population because that is their laity.”

Young said much of American Catholic history has been an “immigrant group coming in and being the target of nativism.” She noted that the historical “anti-Catholic nativism” faced by those immigrant groups was the notion that Catholics were “not going to be able to become proper loyal American citizens because their loyalty was going to be to the pope.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that prosperous nations have an obligation, “to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner.” The immigrant has an obligation “to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”

“Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions,” it adds.

Poll: 70% of American Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably, only 4% unfavorably
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

More than two-thirds of American Catholic voters have a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV during the first year of his pontificate, and only a tiny percentage view him in an unfavorable light, according to a poll conducted by RealClear Opinion Research and EWTN News.

A survey of 1,000 Catholic voters released by both organizations on Dec. 11 found that 70% of people said they have a somewhat or very favorable opinion of the pontiff. Just 4% reported an unfavorable view of Leo, and the remaining 26% said they were neutral.

The survey was conducted between Nov. 9 and Nov. 11, which is about six months after his papacy began. Leo, who was born in Chicago, is the 267th pope and the first born in the United States.

It found that 43.6% of respondents said their view of Leo is very favorable and 26.7% said it was somewhat favorable. Only 1.1% of American Catholic voters said their view is very unfavorable and just 3.1% said it was somewhat unfavorable.

Those who attend Mass regularly were more likely than infrequent Mass attenders to say they hold a favorable view of the pontiff. Those who attend infrequently were more likely than regular Mass attendees to hold a neutral view.

Among those who attend Mass at least once per week, about 75% hold a favorable view, less than 4% have an unfavorable view, and nearly 21% are neutral. For those who attend less than once per week, nearly 66% hold a favorable view, less than 5% have a negative view, and just over 29% said they were neutral.

Leo’s favorability was slightly higher among registered Democrats than it was among registered Republicans and independents, and all three groups overwhelmingly hold a favorable view of the Holy Father.

Among Democrats, over 74% view Leo favorably, less than 5% view him unfavorably, and just over 21% are neutral. For Republicans, over 70% view him favorably, less than 5% said they had an unfavorable view, and more than 25% were neutral. Among independents, just under 63% had a favorable opinion, less than 4% held an unfavorable view, and nearly 34% said they were neutral.

In the past month, Leo has weighed in on U.S. politics a few times, but many comments were made after the poll was taken. The pontiff encouraged Americans to listen to a message by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that opposes “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and more recently said President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine would weaken the U.S. alliance with Europe.

According to Gallup polls, Pope Francis’ favorability rating stayed above 75% for most of his pontificate among Catholics. His lowest favorability number was 71% in July 2015. The number of Catholics with an unfavorable view remained relatively low throughout the pontificate but inched up to 17% by December 2023.

Religious Liberty Commission hears testimony of religious freedom concerns in military
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 11:05:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 11, 2025 / 11:05 am (CNA).

The White House’s Religious Liberty Commission held its fourth hearing on Dec. 10, focusing on reports of the suppression of the right to religious freedom in the U.S. military.

The commission — on which sit the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham; Ryan Anderson, head of the Ethics and Public Policy Center; and Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, among others — heard testimony from expert witnesses who served in the various branches of the military, many as chaplains.

The commission, which met in Dallas, will present its findings from these hearings to President Donald Trump.

Retired Army chaplain and Maj. Gen. Doug Carver spoke to the commission about the importance of the chaplaincy in the U.S. military. He recalled that in 1775, George Washington asked Congress for a religious leader to serve the needs of the military because the president recognized the crucial role religious faith played in the founding of the new nation, and especially to men who were giving their lives to protect it.

Historian and activist David Barton gave a brief timeline of the history of religious freedom in the U.S. military, emphasizing that along with Washington, many presidents have considered it invaluable since the country’s founding.

He argued that hostility against religious freedom started in earnest in 2009 under the Obama administration and continued under the Biden administration. There was no widespread suppression of religion in the military until this time, he said.

In 2010, troops were directed to “scratch off and paint over” Bible verses that had been inscribed for decades on scopes and gun sights, he said. The Air Force in California stopped a decades-old practice of teaching just war theory to members in 2011, he said, because it was taught by chaplains and based on biblical principles and the teachings of St. Augustine.

In 2012, the Air Force required the removal of the word “God” from the patch of the Rapid Capabilities office.

Both Democratic administrations tried to outsource military chaplains so they would no longer be embedded with the service members, Barton said. In addition, military chaplains were pushed out of their teaching positions and troops began to be educated in “an ardently secular manner with no tolerance for any religious expression.”

“Fear and timidity” among the chaplains has become the norm as a result of the hostility against religion, according to Barton, who called for educational reform for service members that emphasizes the constitutionality of religious freedom and the important role religion has played since the nation’s founding.

Carver, who served as a chaplain for more than three decades, criticized the state of faith in the military and in the culture at large. When he entered the army in 1973, he said, chaplains taught character guidance classes and even gave soldiers “a duty day with God,” where one day a month they could spend a day in spiritual reflection.

Those practices have long since ended, he said. Now, chaplains are called spiritual readiness coaches, values facilitators, and morale officers, Carver said.

“There is nothing wrong with chaplains taking on other duties,” he said, noting they are trained in handling crisis and trauma situations and serve as support for those struggling in family life. “But their primary role is as religious leaders, first and foremost.”

“The role of chaplain has been diminished,” he said.

“We are losing ground in the area of religious liberty. There’s a degradation of the Supreme Being having any input into our lives,” he said. “I am not sure how we can change direction without serious repentance.”

Marine veteran Mike Berry, now the executive director of external affairs and senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, a religious freedom law firm, also testified at the hearing.

Berry, like thousands of others, refused a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine on religious freedom grounds. He was placed on inactive status without being informed by his superiors, he said, and only found out when his family was told they were no longer eligible for Tricare, the military’s health insurance program.

He said during the hearing that religious liberty “isn’t merely an esoteric concept or a punchline. It’s a matter of national security.”

Since the military made the vaccine mandatory, more than 19,000 troops have either resigned or were pushed out, Berry said.

“Religious conviction is the source of America’s moral strength,” he said. “Highly religious young Americans are way more likely to join the military than nonreligious people.”

He warned that if religious freedom is not respected, young Americans will not enlist and the military “will become soft and weak.”

Berry made three recommendations that he hopes the commission will present to the president.

First, echoing Barton, Berry said that education and training must improve. Berry told the commission he received only one hour of training on the constitutional foundations of religious liberty as a new Marine. He also called for the elimination of “misguided” educational materials.

“America is not evil, racist, imperialist, or fascist. Anything implying that, and any content hostile to religious liberty” should be removed, he said.

Finally, Berry said religious liberty should be reaffirmed in national security strategy. Such liberty is a “first freedom” and should be a strategic priority.

Kelly Shackelford, First Liberty Institute CEO and chief counsel, who also sits on the commission, said in a press release after the hearing: “The testimonies at today’s meeting highlight the importance of ensuring that the religious liberty of our service members, chaplains, and veterans are upheld both now and into the future.”

“These men and women are risking their very lives for our freedoms. To stand for theirs is the very least we can do.”

Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission, which is housed under the Department of Justice, through executive order on May 1 and appointed Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as chairman and Dr. Ben Carson, former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as vice chair.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone serves on the commission’s advisory board, along with Bishop Thomas Paprocki, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, and Father Thomas Ferguson.

St. Gianna Molla award to go to Catholic father, farmer, potential saint 
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:30:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 11, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

When Virginia father Tom Vander Woude’s 19-year-old son, a boy with Down syndrome, fell into a toxic sewage tank, Tom jumped into the tank with him, pushing him to the surface even as the toxic fumes filled his own lungs.

The father of seven, whose sainthood cause is now under investigation, will be posthumously awarded this year’s Walk for Life St. Gianna Molla Award for Pro-Life Heroism on Jan. 24, 2026, at the West Coast Walk for Life in San Francisco.

“When we heard Tom’s story years ago, we were touched by the love of a father for his child,” Dolores Meehan, co-chair of the West Coast Walk for Life, told CNA. “The fact that his son has Down syndrome made it all the more important to share his story of love and sacrifice and joy.”

Unborn children with Down syndrome often become victims of abortion.

The award named for St. Gianna Molla — an Italian doctor who chose to carry her child to term ultimately at the cost of her own life after doctors found a uterine tumor — honors those who show “heroic virtue in the defense of the unborn and their mothers and fathers, usually to the extent of profound sacrifice,” according to Meehan.

Chris Vander Woude, who is traveling the U.S. and promoting his father’s cause, told CNA that “Dad was deeply committed to honoring and safeguarding the sanctity of human life.”

“He lived by these values right up to his last breath when he saved my brother Joseph’s life,” Vander Woude said. “Following St. Gianna’s example, Dad selflessly gave his life out of love for his child.”

“In a world that often devalues people with Down syndrome, Dad’s final act of love for my brother serves as a powerful testament to the sanctity and dignity of every human life,” Vander Woude continued.

Openness to life

“I don’t think Dad ever missed a March for Life,” Vander Woude said. “It didn’t matter if it was snowing or super cold, Dad would take as many family members as possible because he understood the importance of standing up for innocent unborn babies and their right to life.”

Tom, who worked as a farmer and a commercial pilot, made time for his family, faith, and pro-life beliefs.

Held in late January, the March for Life is the pro-life movement’s annual march in Washington, D.C., to oppose abortion and defend human life.

Tom and his wife also frequently prayed the rosary outside of an abortion clinic that has since closed and is now a life-affirming medical clinic that serves women in need, according to Vander Woude.

Tom and his wife also taught natural family planning (NFP), a life-affirming fertility awareness method of family planning, to young couples.

“He and Mom were always open to life in their marriage,” Vander Woude said. “Dad believed in the age-old saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ and he was quick to do his part in ‘the village’ to help.”

“They had many reasons not to have a large family, but they chose the courageous path of faith, hope, and openness to God’s will,” Vander Woude said.

When a woman tracks her cycle using an NFP method, NFP works with her fertility rather than against it. Because various NFP methods don’t obstruct conception like contraception does, the Catholic Church accepts it as a form of family planning that is open to life.

Bob and Karen Fioramonti still remember going to NFP classes with the Vander Woudes in the early 1990s as a young married couple.

“We learned about NFP, but we learned even more about what it looked like to be a faithful couple who had been open to life,” Karen Fioramonti told CNA.

“At that point, neither of us knew any big families and the Vander Woudes were a joyful couple raising seven sons encouraging us to trust God’s plan for our family,” Karen Fioramonti said. “They shared what a blessing each child is and that a parent’s mission is to raise saints. In short, they shared their faith.”

“Years later, we have raised our own seven sons and two daughters, and we are so grateful for that message shared many years ago,” Bob Fioramonti said.

A pro-life hero

As Vander Woude has been sharing the story of his father’s self-sacrifice with parishes around the U.S., he has seen how his father’s story moves people of all ages.

“I’ve seen the story move people to tears and motivate them to follow Dad’s sacrificial example,” Vander Woude said.

Meehan said she hopes Tom Vander Woude’s story will inspire men to take up the pro-life mantle.

“Men are so in need of heroes,” Meehan said. “Our hope is that the men who hear his story will be encouraged, inspired, and motivated to emulate not just his final act of sacrifice, but his life of sacrifice and the joy he derived from his pro-life heart.”

“Men need to hear that they, too, can be the pro-life hero to their family — to step up and be present day in and day out,” Meehan said.

The place where image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on Juan Diego’s cloak
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 07:10:00 -0500

Puebla, Mexico, Dec 11, 2025 / 07:10 am (CNA).

Although millions of faithful recognize Tepeyac Hill in Mexico City as the site of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe, not many know that the miracle of the imprinting of her image did not occur there, but in a place that is now practically forgotten.

According to tradition, in December 1531, the Virgin appeared to an indigenous man named Juan Diego and asked him to request that the first bishop of Mexico, Friar Juan de Zumárraga, build a "sacred little house," a chapel at the foot of Tepeyac.

As a sign for the bishop, the Virgin Mary caused roses to bloom in the middle of winter on the arid hill and asked Juan Diego to carry them in his cloak. When he arrived at the bishop's residence to show the bishop the roses, he unfolded his cloak, and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted on it.

After the miracle, the cloak was placed under the care of Friar de Zumárraga in this house, while a small chapel was ordered to be built at Tepeyac, which would be the first shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The old archbishop's palace

Father José de Jesús Aguilar, a priest of the Archdiocese of Mexico and a researcher of the Guadalupe event, posted a video in which he pointed out that "many people know that the Virgin appeared at Tepeyac, but they don't know where the miracle of the imprinting of the image occurred."

He explained that in 1529, Friar de Zumárraga acquired the so-called Casa de Medel, located in what is now known as the Old Archbishop's Palace, next to the metropolitan cathedral of Mexico City, which was under construction at the time.

He established his residence at that site in 1530, and it was there that he received Juan Diego. However, he noted that "it is necessary to understand that, although the location is the same, we won’t see the building as it [appeared] in Juan Diego's time because it has undergone changes."

In 1629, the edifice was damaged by a flood that affected Mexico City. Almost a century later, in 1720, it was expanded by Archbishop José Pérez de Lanciego Eguiluz y Mirafuentes. Between 1730 and 1747, the building was completely rebuilt by Archbishop and Viceroy Juan Antonio Vizarrón y Eguiarreta.

Currently, the building where 33 archbishops once resided retains its red façade, and on either side of the main entrance, it features Latin inscriptions from the Book of Revelation. On the left, it reads, "He who sat on the throne said," and on the right, "I am making all things new."

Restoration efforts

According to Aguilar, this building served as the residence of the archbishops until the Reform Laws, in the mid-19th century, forced the Church to vacate it. In 1867, it housed the offices of the Chief Accounting Office, and later the Treasury Archives, the Pension Payment Office, and a printing press.

Currently, the building functions as the Museum of the Secretariat of Finance.

Aguilar recounted that an effort was made to recognize the religious value of the site, for which a sculpture of Juan Diego and Friar Juan de Zumárraga was commissioned. He said that it was blessed by St. John Paul II and "was made with the intention of placing it somewhere in the former archbishop's palace, or even on the street in front of it, to commemorate that it was the site of the miracle."

“Unfortunately, the civil authorities did not allow it,” said the priest, who was the deputy director of radio and television for the Archdiocese of Mexico at the time. The artwork was finally installed on the side of the metropolitan cathedral, a location that, in his opinion, “loses its meaning.”

“But with or without the sculpture, with or without a plaque, let's hope that little by little, the news that the image was imprinted on the tilma in this place will lead more and more people to learn about this fact,” he added.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Senate to vote on health care plans as subsidies near expiration
Thu, 11 Dec 2025 06:30:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Congress is set to vote on two plans regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits that are scheduled to expire Dec. 31, 2025.

The Senate is expected to vote Dec. 11 on a Democratic proposal to extend existing ACA tax credits for three years, as 24 million Americans use ACA marketplaces for health insurance.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, told reporters Tuesday after a Senate Republican meeting that lawmakers also will vote on a Republican alternative measure.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who leads the Finance panel, announced the legislation on Monday.

The measure (S. 3386) would set requirements for Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions and direct that the money cannot be used for abortion or “gender transitions.” It would require states to verify citizenship and immigration status before coverage.

Catholic bishops weigh in

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have said they favor extending the taxpayer subsidies that lower health insurance costs under the ACA, but said lawmakers must ensure that the tax credits are not used for abortions or other procedures that violate Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life.

The enhanced premium tax credits “should be extended but must not continue to fund plans that cover the destruction of human life, which is antithetical to authentic health care,” the bishops wrote in an Oct. 10 letter to members of Congress.

There needs to be a policy that serves “all vulnerable people – born and preborn” and applies full Hyde Amendment protections to them, ensuring not only that government funding does not directly pay for the procuring of an abortion, but also that plans offered by health insurance companies on ACA exchanges cannot cover elective abortion,” they wrote.

The Hyde Amendment, passed by Congress in 1977, prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.

Activists respond

A coalition of more than 300 faith leaders including NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Church Of God In Christ Social Justice Ministry, Faith in Action Network, and Franciscan Action Network, delivered a joint letter to Congress Dec. 8 urging legislators to pass a bipartisan bill that protects and expands the ACA premium tax credits.

“Each life is sacred, therefore, there is a moral imperative to provide care for the sick and alleviate suffering particularly for those who lack resources to pay,” the letter wrote. There must be action to ensure everyone has “the health care they need to live and thrive, as people are currently making choices about coverage for 2026.”

“The letter notes that renewing the tax credits will keep healthcare premiums under the ACA from spiking by an average of 114 percent in 2026,” NETWORK reported. “This would cause an estimated 4.8 million people to lose their health coverage because they cannot afford it. Subsequently, some 50,000 people could lose their lives without their health coverage.”

Other pro-life organizations have warned against expanding the subsidies.

“As Congress continues to face pressure to extend Obamacare’s abortion-funding premium subsidies, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA) is making the facts clear on how Obamacare does not include the Hyde amendment and forces Americans to pay for abortions,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement.

“The enactment of Obamacare ruptured the bipartisan legacy of the Hyde amendment and resulted in the largest expansion of abortion funding since the 1970s,” she said. “Obama and the Democratic leadership at the time intentionally drafted the program to avoid annual appropriations bills, bypassing the Hyde amendment.”

“Instead of stopping funding for health insurance plans that cover elective abortion, Section 1303 of Obamacare expressly permits subsidies for Obamacare plans that cover abortion using elaborate accounting requirements and an abortion surcharge to justify the funding,” she said.

SBA and more than 100 other pro-life organizations are demanding that any extensions to Obamacare include a complete application of the Hyde policy. The groups sent a September letter and an October letter to lawmakers calling on Congress to ensure pro-life provisions.

“Preventing taxpayer funding of abortion is a minimum requirement for any new Obamacare spending advanced by a Republican Congress and Administration,” Dannenfelser said.

Rights group hails release of 100 children abducted from Nigerian Catholic school
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 19:10:00 -0500

ACI Africa, Dec 10, 2025 / 19:10 pm (CNA).

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a UK-based human rights organization, has welcomed the release of 100 schoolchildren, who were among 303 children abducted on Nov. 21 from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri community in Nigeria’s Niger State served by the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora.

In a press release shared with ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner, on Dec. 9, officials with the Christian group called on the Nigerian government to ensure that the children receive help after their trauma.

Nigerian authorities reportedly secured the release of the children on Dec. 7, although details of how this was achieved remain unclear.

Confirming the release to Catholic pontifical and charity foundation Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of the Kontagora Diocese said: “It is true. So far, 100 children have been released. We thank God for everything.”

In the press release emailed to ACI Africa on Dec. 9, Christian Solidarity Worldwide CEO Scot Bower expressed solidarity with the freed children and those close to them, saying: “We wish these students and their families a swift and full recovery from this traumatic ordeal, and urge the Nigerian authorities to do all they can to assist with this.”

He added, “Nigerian citizens have been terrorized by multiple armed non-state actors for far too long and require urgent, effective protection.”

Bower challenged the Nigerian government to “spare no effort” in securing the release of every citizen who is currently in captivity, including the remaining students and staff members from the Catholic schools.

He also appealed to authorities in Nigeria to address the country’s unprecedented security crisis decisively, sourcing international assistance “wherever possible and whenever necessary.”

A total of 153 students and 12 staff members remained in captivity as of Dec. 7.

Armed gunmen attacked St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Niger State, abducting 239 nursery and primary school children, 14 secondary school children, and 12 staff members from the private boarding school.

The subsequent deaths of two parents — Anthony Musa, the father of three young abductees, and a mother of other children known only as Esther — have been attributed to trauma caused by the abductions.

In a post on X, U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, who has introduced a resolution addressing the persecution of Christians in Nigeria and recently visited the nation, commended the Dec. 7 rescue, which he described as "a positive demonstration of the government’s increasing response to the security situation."

Moore added that he had discussed “concrete steps and actions” which he said “if fully executed … will enhance security across the country for all Nigerians, disrupt and destroy terrorist organizations in the North-East and stop the killing of Christians … particularly in the Middle Belt of the country.”

Nigeria is in the midst of an unprecedented and multifaceted security crisis, Christian Solidarity Worldwide has reported, adding that while the violence occurring in central areas — including Benue, southern Kaduna, Kwara, Niger, Plateau and Taraba — bears a distinct religious nature, in northwestern areas such as Kano, Sokoto, Zamfara and the northern part of Kaduna State, the violence generally unfolds along ethnic lines.

This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA's African news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

Top health officials delayed abortion pill safety review, report claims 
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 18:30:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

Pro-life advocates are calling for action as top federal health officials deny reports that they are delaying a promised safety review of the abortion pill.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “has delayed a promised review of safety data” until after midterm elections at Commissioner Marty Makary’s request, a Tuesday report by Bloomberg Law claimed, citing unnamed sources.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has denied the claim, saying it is “baseless.”

“Assertions that the FDA is slow walking this review for political purposes are baseless,” an HHS spokesperson told CNA.

“FDA takes the time necessary to conduct comprehensive scientific reviews, and that is what Dr. Makary is ensuring as part of the Department's commitment to gold-standard science and evidence-based reviews,” the statement continued.

In response, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri — an outspoken advocate for reviewing abortion pill safety regulations — called the FDA’s actions "unacceptable."

In a letter addressed to Makary, Hawley urged the FDA to conduct a safety review and reinstate safety regulations that were removed during the pandemic under the Biden administration.

“It is unclear whether you are conducting an independent safety review at all,” Hawley said in the Dec. 10 letter. “I cannot emphasize enough the danger of playing politics with women's health.”

In June of this year, Makary told Hawley that he would conduct a review of the abortion drug. In May, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also said the FDA would do a review of the drug.

Since then, the FDA has not completed a safety review, but has approved a generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone.

“There are more abortions in America now than when Roe was still law,” Hawley said in the letter.

Pro-life advocates are demanding action from the FDA, saying the issue is urgent because of the lives that are at risk given the danger of mail-order prescriptions of the drug.

Two recent, peer-reviewed studies found that one in 10 women experience serious adverse reactions after having a chemical abortion.

FDA regulations allow abortion pills to be shipped to patients without a telehealth visit. Multiple cases have been reported where the father of the unborn child has allegedly coerced or poisoned the mother with the abortion drug.

“The FDA must act NOW to protect children and their mothers,” said Lila Rose, founder of Live Action.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser has called for Makary to be fired, saying he is “undermining President Trump and Vice President Vance’s pro-life credentials and their position that states should have the right to enact and enforce pro-life protections.”

“The FDA is doing nothing while every single day abortion drugs take the lives of children, put women and girls at serious risk, empower abusers and trample state pro-life laws,” Dannenfelser said in a Dec. 9 statement shared with CNA.

Dr. Christina Francis, head of the American Association of Pro Life OBGYNs (AAPLOG) called on the FDA to review the drug immediately and to reinstate safeguards around the drug.

“We are tired of empty promises,” Francis said in a statement. “Women’s health matters more than political elections.”

U.S. House passes defense bill stripped of IVF provision
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 18:00:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2025 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

The House passed a defense authorization bill Dec. 10 without a provision to allow health care coverage of in vitro fertilization for active-duty military.

Pro-life groups cheered the provision’s removal from the bill. The original bill would have required Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “ensure that fertility-related care for a member of the uniformed services on active duty (or a dependent of such a member) shall be covered under TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select.” Tricare does not cover IVF.

The House passed the bill (S. 1071) by a vote of 312-112, and Senate consideration is next.

Like last year, the IVF provision was eliminated from the defense authorization bill shortly before its consideration. President Donald Trump had made a campaign promise to make IVF free.

A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNA in a statement that “President Trump and Congressional Republicans have been working to lower costs and expand access to IVF.”

“The Speaker has clearly and repeatedly stated he is supportive of access to IVF when sufficient pro-life protections are in place, and he will continue to be supportive when it is done responsibly and ethically,” the spokesperson said.

Live Action President Lila Rose praised Johnson for “ensuring TRICARE was not used to subsidize this destruction of life.”

“Students for Life has opposed IVF as practiced, as it's a business model that by design, destroys far more lives than are allowed to live and thrive,” Students for Life Vice President Kristy Hamrick told CNA in a statement responding to Speaker Mike Johnson’s move to strip the bill of IVF provisions. “The move to pull the funding for IVF will free up resources to seek better answers,” she said.

“Unquestioning financial support props up an industry known to prey on people's hopes for a child while ending many lives. We need to seek better answers for the question of how to help people have families than to assume that IVF is the solution,” she said. “We can do better.”

The Advancing American Freedom Foundation, which is led by former Vice President Mike Pence, posted a memo on X stating “many pro-life Americans are opposed to IVF because the standard process destroys human embryos.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council reacted to news that IVF would be cut from the bill by praising Johnson, and said in a post on X: “The Speaker is right to put the pause on IVF funding in the Defense spending bill.”

“The IVF industry operates with little, if any, oversight, which has led to the creation and destruction of tens of thousands of so-called ‘excess’ embryos,” he said. “There are other pro-life options. Taxpayers' dollars should fund fertility methods that respect human dignity, treat the underlying causes of infertility, AND are successful—like Restorative Reproductive Medicine.”

Venezuelan authorities prevent Cardinal Porras from traveling, cancel passport 
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:45:00 -0500

Caracas, Venezuela, Dec 10, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

On Dec. 10 Venezuelan immigration police confiscated and invalidated the passport of Cardinal Baltazar Porras, the archbishop emeritus of Caracas, as he was preparing to travel to Bogotá, Colombia, from Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía.

According to the Grand Priory of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem in Venezuela, on Wednesday morning the cardinal "was subjected to humiliating treatment" by airport authorities under the government of Nicolas Maduro.

From Bogotá, Porras was scheduled to take a flight to Madrid and then travel to Toledo, where he was going to participate in the solemn ceremony that would invest him as Spiritual Protector of the Order of St. Lazarus in Venezuela. Accompanying the cardinal were Grand Prior José Antonio Rodríguez and his wife, who were allowed to board the plane.

“Immigration police officers unjustly detained His Eminence Cardinal Porras [along with] the Grand Prior with his wife. The cardinal's Venezuelan passport was confiscated and invalidated, preventing him from boarding his scheduled flight to Bogotá, with a connection to Madrid,” the order explained in a statement.

“Even though His Eminence presented his Vatican City State passport, issued by virtue of his dignity as a cardinal and with the diplomatic prerogatives that correspond to him as a prince of the Catholic Church, he was denied boarding. The cardinal was subjected to humiliating treatment, including a search of his personal belongings and clothing, with the use of drug-sniffing dogs, while his luggage was removed from the plane,” the statement added.

The Order of St. Lazarus in Venezuela emphasized that what happened constituted a “flagrant violation” of international law, especially the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Consequently, “with feelings of profound indignation and in defense of the dignity of our order, its authorities, and the Holy Church,” a complaint has been filed with the Vatican Secretariat of State, requesting that it convey a “formal protest to the Venezuelan authorities for the violation of the diplomatic prerogatives of His Eminence Cardinal Baltazar Porras.”

The Order of St. Lazarus in Venezuela also requested that the Holy See demand “the immediate return of the confiscated documents and a guarantee of unimpeded international travel for His Eminence, in accordance with current international norms.”

‘Strength lies in the weakness of the manger’

In a statement addressed to the bishops of Venezuela, Cardinal Porras recounted what happened at Simón Bolívar Airport, noting that “the most common experience in this last quarter of a century is to suffer almost constantly, with few exceptions.”

Upon reviewing his passport, immigration police told him that he appeared as deceased in the identification system. The cardinal also reported that he was followed even into the restroom by the soldiers who prevented him from traveling.

“We are in the Christmas season. Strength lies in the weakness of the manger, in the fragility of the truth that is built in peace, without violence and without abuse. Hope comes through continuous work for the good of all, especially the excluded,” the archbishop emeritus of Caracas stated.

In recent weeks, Porras has been the target of numerous attacks and abuses from prominent figures in the socialist government, mainly by President Nicolás Maduro and Minister of the Interior, Justice, and Peace Diosdado Cabello.

In the days leading up to and following the canonization of Venezuela's first saints on Oct. 19, the cardinal denounced the precarious situation in the country from Rome, specifically calling for an end to political persecution and the release of the thousands of people detained for ideological reasons.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

100 years ago today Our Lady appeared to Fatima visionary Sister Lucia in Pontevedra, Spain
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:22:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 16:22 pm (CNA).

Today, Dec. 10, marks the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Sister Lucia of Fatima in Pontevedra province in Spain, where the devotion of the Five First Saturdays of the month was revealed.

After the apparitions of the Angel of Portugal in 1916, the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children — Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia — occurred in Fatima the following year.

After the deaths of her two cousins in 1919 and 1920, Lucia was placed under the protection of the bishop of Leiria, who sent her incognito to study at a school run by the Dorothean Sisters in Porto, Portugal, under the pseudonym of Dolores.

When she turned 18, she expressed the desire to enter the Discalced Carmelite order, but the Dorothean Sisters persuaded her to go to their novitiate located in Tuy, a town in Spain's Galicia region north of Portugal.

Since her identity could not be revealed, the sisters were unable to certify the studies required for her to enter the novitiate, so they sent her to Pontevedra to perform manual labor at the Dorothean Sisters' house there.

The Virgin Mary asks her to reveal the devotion of the First Saturdays

Feeling discouraged by the situation, and thinking that becoming a Carmelite nun was increasingly a distant possibility, on Dec. 10, 1925, Lucia’s cell was illuminated with a supernatural light.

"Our Lady, as if wanting to instill courage in me, gently placed her motherly hand on my right shoulder, showing me at the same time Her Immaculate Heart, which she held in her other hand, surrounded by thorns," the visionary later wrote.

At that moment, the Child Jesus, who was also present, addressed her, saying, "Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them."

The Virgin Mary then asked Lucia to reveal the devotion of the Five First Saturdays, about which she had already spoken to her, along with Jacinta and Francisco, eight years earlier in Fatima:

“I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the rosary, and keep me company for 15 minutes while meditating on the 15 mysteries of the rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”

‘And have you revealed to the world what the Heavenly Mother has asked you?’

Five days later, on Dec. 15, 1925, according to the testimony of Lucia, who eventually became a Carmelite in 1949, while performing her assigned duties, she encountered a boy to whom she wanted to teach the Hail Mary and urged him to go to a chapel to recite a short prayer.

Several weeks passed and in February 1926, Sister Lucia said she met the boy again and asked him if he had prayed to the Virgin Mary as she had suggested. The boy turned to her and said, "And have you revealed to the world what the Heavenly Mother has asked you?”

At that moment, the boy transformed "into a resplendent child," with whom Sister Lucia continued to speak. The little boy insisted that she spread devotion to the First Saturdays because "many souls begin, but few persevere to the very end, and those who persevere do it to receive the graces promised.”

“The souls who make the five First Saturdays with fervor and to make reparation to the Heart of your Heavenly Mother, please me more than those who make fifteen, but are lukewarm and indifferent,” said the child, who confirmed that confession did not have to be immediate, provided that Communion was received in a state of grace and with the intention of making reparation.

All these events were recounted by Sister Lucia in 1927, after she went to the tabernacle on Dec. 17 to ask how to reveal this devotion if it was part of the secret communicated at Fatima.

Sister Lucia said that Jesus told her unequivocally: "My daughter, write what they ask of you; and everything that the Blessed Virgin revealed in the apparition in which she spoke of this devotion, write that down as well. As for the rest of the secret, continue to keep silent."

Sister Lucia’s time in Spain

Sister Lucia resided in Spain from 1925 to 1946. During her stay in the country, she wrote her memoirs. When the Second Republic was proclaimed in 1931, and given its anti-religious character, dressed in civilian clothes she took refuge in Rianxo, a port town also in Galicia, at the home of the sister of the superior of the Dorothean Sisters in Tuy.

She also spent a month on the island of La Toja, located off the coast, where she was advised to go because she was ill. In 1945, she traveled to Santiago de Compostela for the Holy Year.

Popular devotion

The Virgin Mary's apparitions to Sister Lucia in Pontevedra have not received official recognition from the Vatican. However, like other phenomena of the same nature, they sparked popular devotion from their very beginnings.

In the 1930s, but especially in the 1940s, after the Spanish Civil War, devotional acts and pilgrimages to the site of the apparitions multiplied, and in the following decades, associations and parish projects were established.

In the last third of the 20th century, the place became known as the Shrine of the Apparitions, yet at the beginning of the 21st century it was in danger of ruin, to the point that the Spanish Bishops’ Conference acquired the site in 2021 from the World Apostolate of Fatima association in Spain and began restoration work.

Holy Year in Pontevedra

To mark this centenary, the Holy See has granted the celebration of a jubilee year with the theme "Mary kept all these things in her heart," taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke.

The Apostolic Penitentiary has granted the apostolic blessing and a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, to pilgrims who visit the Shrine of the Apparitions in Pontevedra until Dec. 10, 2026.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Federal government cuts off aid to Texas Catholic Charities 
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has suspended Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley from receiving federal funding, according to the charity group.

The Catholic Charities group is the charitable branch of the Diocese of Brownsville and is part of Catholic Charities USA and Caritas Internationalis.

The charity is located in South Texas and operates the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen. The migrant shelter is run by Sister Norma Pimentel, known popularly as “the immigrants’ nun.” Pimentel and the center offer immigrants awaiting court hearings shelter and food before they travel to meet relatives in other cities and states.

The nonprofit reported in a statement that the organization learned that the government "temporarily suspended” its "eligibility for federal funding pending a further determination."

“Those on the front lines of our humanitarian outreach know the work we do truly helps to restore human dignity,” Pimentel said in the statement. “I take very seriously every single dollar entrusted to us.”

The organization did not specify exactly what led to the suspension, and reported it is “committed to compliance with federal grant requirements and will work expeditiously with DHS to resolve this matter.”

“All funding provided by DHS was used to care for individuals who were brought to CCRGV by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),” the organization said. “These are individuals who were released by CBP with a document that gave them permission to travel to their points of destination with instructions on where to follow up with their immigration proceedings.”

“CCRGV exists for one purpose – to help those in need,” the statement said. “Ours is a humanitarian response aimed at restoring human dignity to the thousands of immigrants who have been offered care, and we are proud of our work feeding the hungry and providing care for those here in our country.”

The suspension applies only to the Catholic charity, but not to Catholic Charities USA or any other branches nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from CNA.

Trump to create sanctions plan for Nigeria, congressman says
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:30:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

U.S. President Donald Trump is crafting a sanctions plan to increase pressure on the Nigerian government amid ongoing Christian persecution, according to a leading member of Congress.

President Trump “ “is in the process of crafting a comprehensive action plan including sanctions to pursue reform,” according to Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, who described Nigeria as “ground zero,” and the “focal point of the most brutal and murderous anti-Christian persecution in the world today.”

Smith, a Catholic who chairs the house Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, mentioned the plan during his Dec. 9 speech at “The Emergency Summit on Crimes Against Christians,” organized by For the Martyrs, a nonprofit that aids persecuted Christians. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and Rep. Marlin Stuzman, R-Indiana, also spoke at the event.

The veteran New Jersey congressman praised Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and affirmed that “Religious freedom will now be at the forefront of the U.S.-Nigeria bilateral relationship.”

The president can choose from a menu of sanctions for a CPC-designated country under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), ranging from diplomatic measures to economic sanctions. The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

During his remarks, Senator Josh Hawley said Nigeria “has recently drawn global attention and has drawn the attention of our own president.”

“I applaud President Trump for standing up for persecuted Christians. I applaud the president for putting Nigeria back on the watch list where it belongs,” Hawley said. The Missouri senator quoted the Book of Revelation while praising Christians persecuted around the world, saying: “They love not their lives, even unto death.”

“We see here in the Lord's own word, his testament to the power of the persecuted church,” Hawley said. “That he says it is those who are persecuted, who are willing to lay down their lives for the Gospel…it is those believers whose blood bears witness to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Stutzman, whose district includes Fort Wayne, Indiana, also condemned the persecution of Christians in Nigeria during his remarks, and praised Trump for being “the strongest president on [religious freedom] since probably Ronald Reagan.”

“We have a president who's willing to call out those bad guys around the world,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think this is why it's so important for us as Americans, especially for us as Christians. We are the party of life. We believe life is a gift from God. And so therefore, we should protect it. And we should be asking those folks, What is the threat? What is the threat of Christians in Nigeria to the government, to the leaders in that nation? What is the threat of Christians there?”

Trump has charged Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, with leading an investigation into persecution in Nigeria.

China

Congressman Smith went on to highlight religious persecution in China, saying “Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s accelerated and brutal crackdown on believers in China must be exposed and stopped as well.” He highlighted the October raids on home churches by Chinese security agents, saying, “in Xi Jinping’s China, devotion that isn’t Communist Party-approved is treated as a political problem to be solved by police brutality.”

“We must act with sanctions, especially those prescribed by the International Religious Freedom Act,” Smith said.

Hawley also drew attention to persecution in China, where he said “the totalitarian, secularist, anti-Christian government carried out raids on home church after home church.”

New Orleans Diocese issues Mass dispensation for migrants due to arrest fears
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond announced a Sunday Mass dispensation for migrants fearing deportation amid heightened presence of immigration enforcement officials in the state.

“​​As I write to you, our immigrant sisters and brothers are facing real fear and anxiety in the wake of an increase in immigration enforcement actions,” Aymond wrote in a Dec. 8 letter.

Aymond is the fifth U.S. bishop to announce dispensations for Catholic immigrants from Sunday Mass. Bishop Michael Duca of Baton Rouge granted the same dispensation in his diocese earlier this week. Bishops in the dioceses of San Bernardino, California; Nashville, Tennessee; and Charlotte, North Carolina, also granted a dispensation this year.

Aymond’s move comes amid the deployment of 250 Border Patrol agents to the region with plans to arrest 5,000 individuals across Louisiana and Mississippi as a part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Catahoula Crunch.”

“I have been made aware that many of our faithful families have chosen not to leave their homes out of fear of encountering immigration enforcement actions,” Aymond said. “In light of these circumstances, I am granting a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass for those Catholics rightfully afraid to participate in Mass because of their fear.”

The dispensation, he said, would remain valid until the Catholic individual feels safe to return, or until it is revoked or amended.

“I encourage those who choose to stay home to gather as a family to spend time in prayer and to perhaps participate virtually in the Celebration of the Eucharist either online or on television,” he continued. “Please continue to pray for our community and for peace as we look ahead with hope to you rejoining us in church and full participation in the Sacraments.”

Aymond emphasized his “prayerful support” of migrants “in the face of these challenging times,” calling on people of faith to join him in prayer for families in the immigrant community, “that we work for real justice and a system that protects and preserves the dignity of the human person and families regardless of where they live or from where they come. “

Catholic bishops in Europe express concern over EU ruling mandating recognition of same-sex unions
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 12:35:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has expressed concern about a recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which obliges all member states to recognize so-called "homosexual marriages" legally performed in another country.

In a Dec. 9 statement, the president of COMECE, Bishop Mariano Crociata, warned that the ruling could have an impact on the legal sovereignty of each nation, since the recognition of these unions is mandatory even if they are not valid under a country’s own legal system.

The ruling concerns a same-sex Polish couple who “married” in Germany in 2018. Upon returning to Poland, the authorities refused to record their union in the civil registry. The European court has deemed this refusal contrary to EU law, meaning that all member states are now obligated to recognize the rights stemming from this bond.

Union between a man and a woman

On behalf of the Church in Europe, Crociata referred to the Church's anthropological vision, "founded on natural law," and reiterated that marriage is a "union between a man and a woman."

In this context, the Italian prelate pointed out that the ruling restricts the rights of each nation, especially those in which "the definition of marriage is part of their national identity." In his opinion, the ruling could generate "pressure to amend national family law" and also increase "legal uncertainty."

Currently, almost half of the European Union countries have not legalized same-sex unions: Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Romania.

In this regard, the bishops emphasized the need for "a prudent and cautious approach" to family law with cross-border implications and urges avoiding "undue influence" on national legal systems in Europe.

Surrogacy could be a consequence of the ruling

Crociata also cited Article 9 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which states that "The right to marry and the right to found a family shall be guaranteed in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights."

Consequently, the European bishops warned that the approach adopted in this ruling could lead to “negative developments in other sensitive areas,” such as surrogacy.

They therefore expressed their concern about “the current challenging situation in the EU and the polarization present in our societies,” warning that such rulings “can give rise to anti-European [Union] sentiments in member states and can be easily instrumentalized in this sense.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Catholic colleges in Bangladesh threatened over conversion claims
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0500

Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec 10, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

The president of the Bangladesh Catholic Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Bejoy D'Cruze of Dhaka, has expressed concern after threats against two prominent Catholic colleges posed "a grave concern for the Catholic Church," particularly ahead of Christmas and elections scheduled for February in a Dec. 3 statement.

On Dec. 2, a letter written in Bengali under the name Tawhidee Muslim Janata ("faithful Muslim people") was sent to two of Bangladesh's most prestigious colleges: Notre Dame College, run by the Holy Cross Fathers, and Holy Cross College, run by the Holy Cross Sisters.

The letter thanked the Catholic Church for its role in education but said that the Church is now trying to convert not only indigenous groups and Muslims to Christianity by offering various incentives.

"In a country where 90% of Muslims live, you are trying to convert people by using educational institutions as a tool," the group stated in the letter.

The letter urged the colleges to ensure that educational and social institutions are not used directly or indirectly for religious conversion. "We are not giving you any advice —rather we order you to be careful. If you do not pay heed to our warning, the Tawhidee Muslims' will not spare your places of prayer, churches, cathedrals, chapels and missionary institutions," the letter stated.

After receiving the letter, the Notre Dame College authorities filed a general diary with local police.

In his statement, D'Cruze noted that the majority of students and teachers at both institutions are Muslims. Notre Dame College is for boys and Holy Cross College for girls. The priests and nuns who run these institutions are now living in fear and anxiety, he said.

Although Catholics make up less than 1% of Bangladesh's 180 million people, this small religious community has made a significant contribution to the country's education sector, D'Cruze said.

The Church operates at least one university, 18 colleges, 76 high schools, and over 1,000 primary schools across the nation, all of which are open to people of all faiths.

D'Cruze, who also heads the Bangladesh Catholic Education Board Trust, said in his statement: "It is a grave concern for the Catholic Church to give security to our students and faithful who come to church and institutions."

"I draw your kind attention to stand by us, students, faithful, and institutions," D'Cruze said. "The Catholic Church is not involved in proselytization; on the contrary, this is what takes place."

Pattern of attacks

The threats come amid a series of attacks targeting Catholic institutions in Dhaka in recent weeks.

On Nov. 7, two homemade bombs were thrown at the gate of St. Mary's Cathedral just hours before a national jubilee celebration.

The following day, explosive devices were hurled at St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School and College, also a major Church-run educational institution in Dhaka. On Oct. 8, Holy Rosary Church in the capital, one of the country's oldest churches, was also attacked.

Pope Leo XIV criticizes transhumanism: ‘Death is not opposed to life’
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:21:00 -0500

Vatican City, Dec 10, 2025 / 11:21 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday rejected technological promises to indefinitely prolong human existence — such as those proposed by “transhumanism”— and said the resurrection of Christ “reveals to us that death is not opposed to life.”

Speaking on a cold morning in St. Peter’s Square Dec. 10, the pontiff warned that numerous current anthropological visions “promise immanent immortality [and] theorize the prolongation of earthly life through technology.”

That outlook, he said, is characteristic of “the transhumance scenario,” a phenomenon that “is making its way into the horizon of the challenges of our time.”

In response, Leo urged people to consider two central questions: “Could death really be defeated by science? But then, could science itself guarantee us that a life without death is also a happy life?”

The Holy Father explained that death and life are not opposed, and that in the Christian meaning, death is “a constitutive part of [life], as the passage to eternal life.”

“The Pasch of Jesus gives us a foretaste, in this time still full of suffering and trials, of the fullness of what will happen after death,” he added.

Thailand-Cambodia border clashes

At the end of his audience, Pope Leo spoke out against violent clashes at the border of Thailand and Cambodia, saying he was “deeply saddened by the news of the escalation of the conflict.”

The hostilities have injured more than 100 people and displaced thousands of people in both countries. An estimated 13 people, including civilians, have been killed as the fighting entered the third day on Wednesday.

“I express my closeness in prayer to these beloved populations and I ask the parties to immediately cease fire and resume dialogue,” the pope said.

Death, ‘a great teacher of life’

In his catechesis for the general audience, Leo XIV noted that throughout history, “many ancient peoples developed rites and customs linked to the cult of the dead, to accompany and to recall those who journeyed towards the supreme mystery.” But today, death “seems to be a sort of taboo” and “something to be spoken of in hushed tones, to avoid disturbing our sensibilities and our tranquility.”

The pope lamented that this attitude often leads people to avoid visiting cemeteries.

He also evoked the teachings of St. Alphonsus Liguori, recalling the enduring relevance of the saint’s work, “Preparation for Death.” The pontiff emphasized that, for the saint, death is “a great teacher of life,” capable of guiding the believer toward what is essential.

As the pope explained, St. Alphonsus invited people to “to know that [death] exists, and above all to reflect on it” as a way to discern what is truly important in life.

Leo also recalled that, in Alphonsian spirituality, prayer holds a central place “to understand what is beneficial in view of the kingdom of heaven, and letting go of the superfluous that instead binds us to ephemeral things.”

From this perspective, he asserted that only the resurrection of Christ “is capable of illuminating the mystery of death to its full extent.”

“In this light, and only in this, what our heart desires and hopes becomes true: that death is not the end, but the passage towards full light, towards a happy eternity,” he said.

The pope explained that the risen Christ “has gone before us in the great trial of death, emerging victorious thanks to the power of divine Love.”

“He has prepared for us the place of eternal rest, the home where we are awaited; he has given us the fullness of life in which there are no longer any shadows and contradictions,” Leo said.

This story was originally published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pontifical Yearbook goes digital: What is it and what does it contain?
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0500

Vatican City, Dec 10, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican this week launched the first-ever digital version of its annual directory, creating an easier way to find reliable and up-to-date information about the Church’s structures and members all around the world.

The red-covered Pontifical Yearbook — known in Italian as the “Annuario Pontificio” — is an important reference updated every year with Church statistics, the names and contacts of bishops, information about the departments of the Holy See, and more.

The Pontifical Yearbook, in its current form, started in the early 20th century, though other versions of a book with information about the Catholic hierarchy and the Roman Curia can be traced to the 18th century or earlier.

The biggest benefits to users are the ability to easily search for information and the possibility for updates to be reflected in real time.

Before now, to keep the directory current, one would have to cut out and glue periodic updates from the Vatican into the hardback book.

The directory includes global data that is frequently changing, including statistics about Catholic dioceses and missions, and information about bishops, the members of the Church, the number of priests and religious, and the Holy See’s diplomatic representation.

It also contains information about the pope and cardinals, and lists the people who lead the many different entities that make up the Roman Curia and the Vatican.

On Dec. 8, the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, which is responsible for publishing the Pontifical Yearbook, unveiled the digital version, available in both web and app versions for an annual subscription of 68,10 euros ($79.20), around the same price as a printed version, which is still being published.

The Vatican said in time it intends to offer the directory in languages other than Italian, “making it more accessible to a growing number of users around the world.”

At a presentation of the project, Pope Leo XIV had a chance to receive a first lesson in how the digital yearbook works. He thanked those involved, calling it “a wonderful service which will be of great help.”

Citing papal teaching, Poland bans Communist Party over totalitarian ideology
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0500

EWTN News, Dec 10, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal unanimously ruled Dec. 3 that the Communist Party of Poland (KPP), founded in 2002, is incompatible with the nation's 1997 constitution, citing papal encyclicals condemning communism as it effectively banned the organization and ordered its removal from the national register of political parties.

The court said the party's program embraces ideological principles and methods associated with totalitarian communist regimes, which the Polish Constitution explicitly prohibits.

"There is no place in the Polish legal system for a party that glorifies criminals and communist regimes responsible for the deaths of millions of human beings, including our compatriots," said Judge Krystyna Pawłowicz as she presented the tribunal's reasoning. "There is also no place for the use of symbols that clearly refer to the criminal ideology of communism."

Article 13 and the constitutional ban on totalitarian ideologies

In its ruling, the tribunal pointed to Article 13 of the Polish Constitution, which forbids political parties or organizations whose programs reference totalitarian methods and practices, including those associated with Nazism, fascism, or communism. The constitution also prohibits groups that promote racial or national hatred, encourage violence to seize political power, or operate with secret structures or undisclosed membership.

After reviewing the party's documents, ideology, and activities, the court concluded that the KPP's stated goals aligned with communist totalitarianism and therefore violated Article 13.

The decision comes almost five years after Poland's former justice minister and prosecutor general, Zbigniew Ziobro, submitted a request to the tribunal to have the KPP outlawed. Last month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki also filed his own application.

Historical claims and the Church's teachings on communism

The KPP identifies itself as the ideological heir to several earlier communist movements in Polish history, including the original Communist Party of Poland (1918–1938) and its precursor, the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (1893–1918). It also claims continuity with the postwar Polish Workers' Party (1942–1948) and the Polish United Workers' Party, which governed the country during the communist era from 1948 until 1990.

In its written justification, the tribunal took the unusual step of referencing Catholic social teaching, citing passages from two papal encyclicals condemning communism.

The judges referenced Pope Pius XI's 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, which condemned communism's reliance on class struggle, abolition of private property, and its record of "cruelty and inhumanity" across Eastern Europe and Asia. They also cited Pope Pius XI's later encyclical Divini Redemptoris (1937), which warned that communist movements sought to inflame class antagonisms and justify violence against perceived opponents in the name of "progress."

The tribunal used these texts to illustrate what it described as the inherently totalitarian nature of the ideology underlying the party's program. It also served as historical evidence of communism's documented practices and global impact, well understood by the framers of Poland's post-communist constitution.

Party to be removed from register

The judges concluded that the KPP's activities violated constitutional prohibitions on organizations referencing totalitarian methods, ordering the party's removal from the national register and effectively dissolving it.

During the hearing, the chairwoman of the KPP's national executive committee, Beata Karoń, argued that, while her party has "a certain vision of what it wants," if the proposals are unattractive, the party simply won't gain support in elections.

The ruling reflects the broader challenge faced by countries once under Soviet domination, which continue to reckon with the political and cultural wounds of communist rule while working to rebuild their institutions and identity in a post-totalitarian era.

Catholic advocates hail Australian social media ban for children as ‘new standard’
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 09:30:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

With the rollout of a novel online safety law that prevents children under 16 from accessing social media, Catholics in Australia are hoping for freer childhoods for children there.

Social media companies are responsible for enforcing the age restrictions and may receive fines of tens of millions of dollars if they fail to adequately verify these age limits, according to the law.

The parents behind the social media law

“There are a thousand and one reasons to delay social media for children,” said Dany Elachi, a Catholic father of five who helped get the law passed.

Elachi’s passion for phone-free childhoods comes from his experience with his family.

When Elachi and his wife gave their then 10-year-old daughter a phone, they instantly “saw very quickly how that device transformed her childhood,” Elachi said.

“It left her with little time to play, to connect with siblings and us, her parents, to read and to rest. It even intruded on her sleep time,” Elachi recalled.

But when he and his wife took the phone away, their daughter struggled “greatly,” Elachi said.

“She cried herself to sleep for many nights,” he said. “That was hard for us, but we knew we had to hold firm. We preferred a few nights of tears now, than potentially a lifetime of tears later.”

Elachi and his wife decided to reach out to other parents in their Catholic school community “to form an alliance of families delaying smartphones and social media.”

Elachi went on to co-founded the Heads Up Alliance, a grassroots movement of parents advocating for social media-free childhoods.

“The idea was to create a community, so that our daughter didn't feel totally isolated, and we, the parents, had support too,” Elachi said.

A childhood free of digital rule

“We want to give our children the space and freedom to ponder the bigger questions of life,” Elachi said.

“As Catholics in particular, we wish to raise our children in the values of our family and the faith — not the values of TikTok,” Elachi continued. “Social media is so consuming, that scrolling now replaces bedtime prayer.”

“Instagram and similar apps are designed to overwhelm our children's lives, leaving little opportunity for connection with others — and God!” he said.

Michael Hanby, a Catholic University of America professor, said that children deserve “to grow up in freedom.”

“The brave new digital world is not ultimately liberating but enslaving,” Hanby told CNA. “But children, who deserve to grow up in freedom, need someone to fight for them.”

Hanby, who is an associate professor of religion and philosophy of science at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Studies, said that social media and digital technologies “have transformed every aspect of how we live.”

“They profoundly shape how we think, what we think about, and how we relate to one another,” he continued.

“They are slowly sapping away at the foundations of our humanity: our embodied relationships with one another in common places, our capacity to remember or to sustain an act of attention, which are basic ingredients in our ability to love and to pray and to live and act coherently,” Hanby said.

A new line in the sand

Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne said he hopes the new law will help parents protect their children from isolation and disconnection

“Social media has brought many great benefits to the world. When used well, it can connect people and help us to share things that bring life to the world,” the archbishop told CNA. “Unfortunately, it can also be used in ways that create disconnection and isolation.”

“Young minds need time to develop and mature to ensure they can use social media safely and well,” Comensoli continued.

“I hope the new laws will be a help for parents who are trying hard to protect their children from the potential harms of social media and that as children grow and mature they will be able to engage with social media in positive ways that contribute to the common good,” he said.

Elachi described the law as “pro-parent,” saying it “gives parents the strength” to hold off on letting their children sign up for social media.

“This new law draws a line in the sand regarding the safety of social media for children,” Elachi said. “It sets a new standard, and we hope it is the first step in effecting a cultural change.”

Withdrawal symptoms?

The transition will come with its own challenges, Elachi admits.

He noted that “a lot of psychologists are also warning that some children will suffer withdrawal symptoms” after the law goes into effect.

These symptoms may mirror his own daughter’s struggles after her parents took away her phone — but Elachi hopes that parents will support their kids in this challenge.

“We hope that children have the support of their families through that initial period and find a fuller childhood on the other side,” Elachi said.

“It will also help children, because when everybody misses out, nobody misses out,” Elachi said of the law.

The law requires extensive age verification, meaning that many users will potentially be required to hand over identification to social media companies to prove they are of age.

Elachi said this dilemma “is a concern to us.”

“This information is supposed to be deleted immediately, and we hope that tech companies comply with their obligations,” he continued.

Hanby, however, expressed uncertainty about the effectiveness of the new law, though he commended its intentions.

“I don’t know how effective the new Australian law will be,” Hanby said, “but as the expression of the aspiration for children to experience a human upbringing, it seems like a good idea.”

Elachi said he is “proud” that the law is going into effect.

“Everybody has seen the damage that it's done to childhood, and I'm proud that Australia is the first country in the world taking serious steps to roll it back,” Elachi said.

‘Persecuted and thriving’: Catholic priest on resilience of Christians in Nigeria
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 08:20:00 -0500

ACI Africa, Dec 10, 2025 / 08:20 am (CNA).

Christians in Nigeria continue to demonstrate resilience and vitality amid violent assaults by extremist groups such as Boko Haram, a priest from the West African country has said.

In a recent interview with Christian Peschken of EWTN Germany, CNA’s news partner, Father Maurice Emelu, now a U.S. citizen and founder of Gratia Vobis Ministries, describes the extraordinary ability of faith in Nigeria to blossom “in harsh soil.”

“In Nigeria, faith grows in the very places where life tries to break it. Our people are not romanticizing pain; they are discovering Christ in it,” Emelu said. “The Church thrives not because our challenges are small but because grace is stubborn. Grace has a way of blooming in harsh soil.”

In an attempt to describe the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, he said, “Suffering here has a face… Violence and killings happen with such astonishing frequency that one feels it isn’t real. People tell me many killings never even reach the media. The pain is simply unbearable.”

Despite the suffering, hope burns even brighter. “These believers literally walk courageously to church … daring fiery bullets in the face,” the Nigerian theologian and professor said, explaining, “They are real heroes and witnesses of the crucified Lord.”

Emelu stressed that priests and religious serving in Nigeria, live under extreme pressure: sleepless nights, constant threats, and enormous parish populations.

He identified four essential virtues for ministry in such an environment: interior resilience, humility of presence, uncompromising integrity, and what he calls “infectious love.”

'stand in the storm and still speak peace'

“A Nigerian priest must learn to stand in the storm and still speak peace,” says Emelu who serves as director of the graduate programs in digital marketing and communication strategy and as an assistant professor of communication at John Carroll University.

Needs among Nigerian Christians are many, Emelu said in the interview, adding that organizations like his, as well as groups such as Catholic Charities, are already engaged. However, he has observed that the scale of the crisis demands far more.

He said the clergy of the Catholic Diocese of Orlu in Nigeria believes the global Church can help by offering spiritual accompaniment, formation, mental-health support, and the gift of simple recognition.

“Sometimes the greatest support is to be seen, truly seen, for the sacrifices we make,” he said, adding that on the ground, financial help is urgently needed to rebuild homes, churches, and schools.

Young Nigerians, he observes, are among the most vibrant in the Church, yet they are “stretched thin by the demands of survival.”

The Church, he believes, must speak to their souls and their social reality. That means first rooting them in Christ. “A young person anchored in Christ can stand even when the world around them shakes,” he said.

The Catholic priest who consults for Pax Press Agency Geneva on the Holy See’s engagement at the UN in Geneva says that spiritual formation alone is not enough.

The Church, he says, must also invest in conscience formation, imagination, critical digital literacy, and ethical guidance, including on emerging technologies like AI, a topic the Holy Father has elevated globally.

“When people are properly formed,” he says, “they can act more ethically.”

Despite the violence in northern Nigeria, Emelu insists that many Muslims do not support extremism, and that meaningful interreligious collaboration already exists and must continue.

Within this fragile environment, he says, Catholic spirituality carries tremendous power.

“The Eucharist, Marian devotion, and forgiveness are not soft virtues; they are transformative forces,” he said, adding, “The Eucharist teaches us that communion is stronger than conflict. Mary shows us how to stand at the foot of the Cross without letting hatred take root.”

He says that forgiveness, too, is radical realism, and explained, “It is spiritual courage. It protects the heart while truth guides the voice. Peace does not come from avoiding truth, but from speaking truth with a heart purified by love.”

Father Emelu said that Nigeria’s Church is a missionary engine of the Catholic world and highlighted three gifts the country offers to the universal Church: how to suffer, joy amid suffering, and missionary zeal. “You see this in thousands of Nigerian priests revitalizing parishes around the world.”

For Emelu, Nigeria’s witness is simple and sacramental: “Hope is not an idea. It is something you can touch — in a meal, a gesture, a word.”

“Nigeria has taught me that holiness hides in the ordinary — if you have the eyes to see,” he said. “The resilience of our people is a living catechism.”

This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner, and has been adapted for CNA.

Disability advocates sue Delaware over allegedly ‘discriminatory’ assisted suicide law 
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 06:10:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 06:10 am (CNA).

Several disability and patient advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware on Dec. 8 alleging that Delaware’s new physician-assisted suicide law discriminates against people with disabilities.

In May 2025, Delaware passed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live. The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026, allows patients to self-administer lethal medication.

The 74-page complaint alleges that the new law is unconstitutional under both Delaware and federal law and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, among other challenges.

Plaintiffs include the Institute for Patients’ Rights; The Freedom Center for Independent Living, Inc., in Middletown; the Delaware chapter of ADAPT; Not Dead Yet; United Spinal Association, the National Council on Independent Living; and disability advocate Sean Curran.

The lawsuit, which names Gov. Matthew Meyer and the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services as two of several defendants, said that “people with life-threatening disabilities” are at “imminent risk” because of Delaware's new law.

“Throughout the country, a state-endorsed narrative is rapidly spreading that threatens people with disabilities: namely, that people with life-threatening disabilities should be directed to suicide help and not suicide prevention,” the lawsuit read.

“At its core, this is discrimination plain and simple,” the lawsuit continued. “With cuts in healthcare spending at the federal level, persons with life-threatening disabilities are now more vulnerable than ever.”

The lawsuit alleges that, under the new law, people with life-threatening disabilities who express suicidal thoughts will be treated differently than other people who express suicidal thoughts. The new law lacks requirements for mental health screening for depression or other mental illness, “all of which are necessary for informed consent and a truly autonomous choice,” according to the lawsuit.

Curran, a Delaware resident who has lived with a severe spinal cord injury for 36 years, called the law “repugnant.”

“The act tells people like me that they should qualify for suicide help, not suicide prevention,” said Curran, who is a quadriplegic, meaning he is paralyzed in all four limbs.

"The act devalues people like me," Curran continued in a press release shared with CNA. “I have led a full life despite my disability.”

Daniese McMullin-Powell, who is representing Delaware ADAPT in the lawsuit, said that the medical system already neglects people with disabilities.

“We do not need exacerbate its brokenness by adding an element where some patients are steered toward suicide,” said McMullin-Powell, who is a polio survivor and has used a wheelchair for most of her life.

“For patients with serious disabilities, this law will put us at risk of deadly discrimination from doctors and insurance companies in Delaware to make subjective and speculative judgments based on their perception of our quality of life,” McMullin-Powell said, according to the press release.

The legal group Ted Kittila of Halloran Farkas + Kittila LLP, who are representing the plaintiffs, called the law “ill-considered” and said it will “cause real harm to people who need real help.”

“For too long, assisted suicide has been pitched as an act of mercy,” the group said in the press release. “For those in the disability community, it represents a real threat of continued discrimination.”

The office of Gov. Meyer did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

Did angels really carry the Holy House of Mary to Loreto, Italy?
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 04:00:00 -0500

Loreto, Italy, Dec 10, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

What do Galileo, Mozart, Descartes, Cervantes, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux have in common? They all traveled hundreds of miles to step inside the Virgin Mary’s house, which is preserved inside a basilica in the small Italian town of Loreto.

Catholic pilgrims have flocked to the Holy House of Loreto since the 14th century to stand inside the walls where tradition holds the Virgin Mary was born, raised, and greeted by the angel Gabriel.

In other words, if it is actually the house of Nazareth, it is where the “Word became flesh” at the Annunciation, a point on which the history of humanity turned.

There is an often-repeated story that angels carried the Holy House from Palestine to Italy and while modern listeners may doubt the legend’s veracity, historic documents have vindicated the beliefs of pious pilgrims over the centuries — with an ironic twist.

Tradition holds that the Holy House arrived in Loreto on Dec. 10, 1294, after a miraculous rescue from the Holy Land as the Crusaders were driven out of Palestine at the end of the 13th century.

In 1900, the pope’s physician, Dr. Joseph Lapponi, discovered documents in the Vatican archive stating that in the 13th century a noble Byzantine family, the Angeli family, rescued “materials” from “Our Lady’s House” from Muslim invaders and had them transported to Italy for the building of a shrine.

The name Angeli means “angels” in both Greek and Latin.

Further historic diplomatic correspondences — not published until 1985 — discuss the “holy stones taken away from the House of Our Lady, Mother of God.” In the fall of 1294, “holy stones” were included in the dowry of Ithamar Angeli for her marriage to Philip II of Anjou, son of King Charles II of Naples.

A coin minted by a member of the Angeli family was also found in the foundation of the house in Loreto. In Italy, coins were often inserted into a building’s foundation to indicate who was responsible for its construction.

Excavations in both Nazareth and Loreto found similar materials at both sites. The stones that make up the lower part of the walls of the Holy House in Loreto appear to have been finished with a technique particular to the Nabataeans, which was also widespread in Palestine. There are inscriptions in syncopated Greek characters with contiguous Hebrew letters that read “O Jesus Christ, Son of God,” written in the same style inscribed in the Grotto in Nazareth.

Archaeologists also confirmed a tradition of Loreto that third-century Christians had transformed Mary’s house in Nazareth into a place of worship by building a synagogue-style church around the house. A seventh-century bishop who traveled to Nazareth noted a church built at the house where the Annunciation took place.

From St. Francis de Sales to St. Louis de Montfort, many saints visited the Holy House of Loreto over the centuries. St. Charles Borromeo made four pilgrimages in 1566, 1572, 1579, and 1583.

St. John Paul II called the Holy House of Loreto the “foremost shrine of international import dedicated to the Blessed Virgin” in 1993.

The victory over the Turks at Lepanto was attributed to the Virgin of Loreto by St. Pius V, leading both Gen. Marcantonio Colonna and John of Austria to make pilgrimages to the shrine in 1571 and 1576, respectively.

Christopher Columbus made a vow to the Madonna of Loreto in 1493 when he and his crew were caught in a storm during their return journey from the Americas. He later sent a sailor to Loreto on a pilgrimage of thanksgiving on behalf of the entire crew.

Queen Christina of Sweden offered her royal crown and scepter to the Virgin Mary in Loreto in 1655 after her conversion from the Lutheran faith to Catholicism.

Napoleon plundered the shrine and its treasury on Feb. 13, 1797, taking with him precious jewels and other gifts offered to the Virgin Mary by European aristocracy, including several French monarchs, over the centuries. Yet, the object of real value in the eyes of pilgrims, the Holy House of Mary, was left unharmed.

In a homily in 1995, Pope John Paul II called the Holy House of Loreto “the house of all God’s adopted children.”

He continued: “The threads of the history of the whole of humankind are tied anew in that house. It is the Shrine of the House of Nazareth, to which the Church that is in Italy is tied by providence, that the latter rediscovers a quickening reminder of the mystery of the Incarnation, thanks to which each man is called to the dignity of the Son of God.”

This story was first published on Dec. 10, 2018, and has been updated.

Pew study: Religion holds steady in America
Tue, 09 Dec 2025 15:30:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

The number of American adults who identify with Christianity, with another religion, or with no religion have all remained steady, a new Pew Research Center report finds.

Surveys conducted since 2020 have generally found that about 70% of U.S. adults identify with a religion. The numbers have slightly fluctuated, but there has been no clear rise or fall in religious affiliation over the five-year period.

A Pew Research Center study, Religion Holds Steady in America, summarizes the latest trends in American religion and examines religion among young adults. The report is based on Pew’s National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS), which has annually surveyed a random sample of U.S. adults since 2020. It also draws from the U.S. Religious Landscape Study (RLS), which surveyed 36,908 adults from July 17, 2023 to March 4, 2024.

The report also uses data from the General Social Survey and the American Time Use Survey.

The research revealed that after Pew found a decline in Christianity in the country from 2007 to 2020, the decline has halted and there is a stable presence of Christianty and religion in the nation.

Young women’s religiosity shifts

While the polling shows no clear evidence of a religious increase among young adults, it did find that young men are now almost as religious as women in the same age group. The finding differs from past studies which found that young women tended to be more religious than young men.

This shift was found to be due to a decline in religiousness among American women, rather than an increase in the religiousness of men. In contrast to the young adults, the data revealed older women are more religious than older men.

Overall, young men and young women surveyed in 2023 and 2024 are less religious than those questioned in 2007 and 2014 studies.

In 2007, 54% of women and 40% of men ages 18 to 24 reported they prayed daily. Data from 2023-2024 revealed only 30% of women and 26% of men in the same age group said they pray daily, indicating the gender gap among religious men and women is closing.

Young adults remain less religious than older Americans

The data found no evidence that any age group has become substantially more or less religious since 2020. In the 2025 NPORS, 83% of adults 71 or older identified with a religion, similarly to the 84% in 2020.

Among the youngest group of adults ages 18 to 30, 55% identify with a religion in 2025. This data is similar to the 57% who reported the same in 2020.

While there was not a large change in the number of adults who practice religion, older generations continue to be more religious than younger ones. Adults aged 71 or older tend to pray more than those ages 18 to 30, with 59% of older adults reporting they pray daily compared to 32% of young adults.

There were also discrepancies among age groups based on how often individuals attend religious services. Adults 71 and older attend the most with 43% reporting they attend at least monthly. Adults 31 to 40 were found to attend the least with 29% reporting they go monthly.

The data shows that today’s adults between the ages of roughly 18 and 22 are at least as religious as the age group slightly older than them who are in their mid to late 20s. Some aspects revealed that the younger U.S. adults may be more religious than the age group slightly older than them.

The 2023–24 RLS found 30% of adults born between 2003 and 2006 said they attended religious services at least once a month, which is higher than the 24% of people born between 1995 and 2002.

Pope says Trump Ukraine plan would weaken U.S. alliance with Europe
Tue, 09 Dec 2025 15:15:00 -0500

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV said President Donald Trump’s plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine threatens to break apart the alliance between Europe and the United States.

Asked by reporters Dec. 9 to comment on the initiative's fairness, the pope said, “I would rather not comment on that. I haven’t read the whole thing. Unfortunately, some parts I have seen make a huge change in what was for many years a true alliance between the EU and U.S.”

The pope commented to reporters after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Castel Gandolfo.

Pope Leo said, “The remarks [by Trump] that were made about Europe recently are, I think, trying to break apart what I think is an important alliance today and in the future. It’s a program that President Trump and his advisers put together, and he’s the president of the U.S. And he has a right to do that.”

The Holy Father called for continued dialogue to seek a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine during the meeting with Zelensky on Tuesday, according to the Vatican.

The pair also discussed the question of prisoners of war and the urgent need to assure the return of Ukrainian children to their families. According to the Vatican, the Holy See will continue its efforts to do that — including "through the efforts of the Special envoy of the Holy Father for humanitarian issues in Ukraine," Cardinal Matteo Zuppi said, and to ensure the release of prisoners of war.

Responding to a question from EWTN News, the pope said that progress on the repatriation of abducted Ukrainian children was “very slow, unfortunately,” but he declined to comment further on the matter.

The Vatican has mediated between Kyiv and Moscow on the issue of the children’s return. Zelensky wrote on X, "I informed the Pope about diplomatic efforts with the United States to achieve peace. We discussed further actions and the Vatican’s mediation aimed at returning our children abducted by Russia," Zelensky wrote on X.

In a statement published by the Vatican after the meeting at Castel Gandolfo, the pope “reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace.”

Following the private audience, Zelensky expressed his “profound gratitude” to Pope Leo XIV for the Holy See's constant support for the Ukrainian people.

Valentina Di Donato contributed to this story.

Archbishop performs rite of reparation at Annunciation Catholic Church after shooting
Tue, 09 Dec 2025 15:10:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:10 pm (CNA).

Three months after a deadly shooting in Minneapolis that left two students dead and injured 18 others as well as three adults, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, along with Auxiliary Bishops Kevin Kenney and Michael Izen, said a special Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church on Dec. 6 that included a rite of reparation to restore the church for worship.

On Aug. 27, Robin Westman — who was born “Robert” and identified as a woman – shot through the stained glass windows of the church during a morning Mass filled with Annunciation school students in first through eighth grade, killing Fletcher Merkel, eight, and Harper Moyski, 10.

Westman, who had posted anti-Christian and explicit messages on social media before the attack, then killed himself at the scene.

"Our Blessed Mother lived this faith and cooperated with God's plan for her life, despite the difficulties it would occasion,” Hebda prayed outside the building just before the Dec. 6 Mass. “We profess that our souls now will rejoin hers in proclaiming the greatness of the Lord in this church, dedicated in her honor, and now reclaimed for the glory of God."

"My brothers and sisters, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead proclaims that evil and death do not have the final word; God does.”

Hebda, followed by Kenney, Izen, and the rest of the congregation, entered the church chanting the Litany of the Saints.

The altar was bare when the Mass began. Part of the rite of reparation included the prayers: "restore the sanctity of this church, dedicated to your glory and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary."

Other prayers included petitions to “bring healing to those who were injured” and "bring healing and comfort to those suffering the harm done to their children."

Annunciation pastor Father Dennis Zehren, along with the archbishop, sprinkled holy water throughout the church, on the altar, and on those gathered. The media was not allowed into the church during the Mass.

During his homily Hebda recalled the anointing of Annunciation Church at its establishment 40 years earlier, pointing out that inscribed outside the church are the words: “‘This is the house of God and the gate of heaven.’”

In notes of his homily provided to the media, Hebda recalled what occurred at the church on Aug. 27: “This safe haven, this place of refuge, this foretaste of the order of the heavenly kingdom, was disturbed by a chaos that no one could have imagined. It's for that chaos that we've come together to engage in this act of penance and reparation this day.”

"This community will never forget what happened that day,” he wrote, “and will forever remember with great love Harper and Fletcher, whose beautiful and inspiring lives were cut short as they and fellow students gathered for the Eucharist.”

He continued: "I've never seen such an outpouring of love and mutual support as I have witnessed here these last three months. The sorrow understandably lingers, but there's a Christ-centered resilience here that is remarkable — and praise God — it's been contagious.

"Today we gather penitentially for this rite of reparation in the hope of restoring the order that Christ desires for his Church, his family. We cannot undo the tragic loss of Fletcher and Harper, but we can communicate to the world that we recognize that the power of God is far in excess of any evil; that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.”

"We cannot let Satan win, and we, by God's grace, reclaim this space today for Christ and his Church,” the prelate said.

The pope urges ‘continued dialogue’ after receiving Zelenskyy in Castel Gandolfo
Tue, 09 Dec 2025 14:32:00 -0500

Vatican City, Dec 9, 2025 / 14:32 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in audience today at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Holy See announced in a statement.

The meeting, described as "cordial," focused on the situation of the war in Ukraine and the prospects for the diplomatic initiatives currently underway.

During the conversation, the Holy Father reiterated “the need to continue the dialogue” and renewed his “pressing desire” that diplomatic efforts might lead to “a just and lasting peace,” according to the statement released by the Vatican.

The meeting also addressed particularly sensitive humanitarian issues. During the discussions, reference was made to the “prisoners of war” situation and the urgency of “guaranteeing the return” of Ukrainian children separated from their families and illegally deported to Russia was emphasized.

Following the private audience, Zelenskyy expressed his “profound gratitude” to Pope Leo XIV for the Holy See's constant support for the Ukrainian people.

In a message posted on his social media after the meeting, Zelenskyy expressed particular gratitude for the humanitarian aid. During the audience, he said he thanked the pope for "his constant prayers for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, as well as his calls for a just peace."

The Ukrainian president also informed the pope about the diplomatic contacts and negotiations that Kyiv is conducting with the United States to pave the way for peace. "I informed the pope about the diplomatic efforts with the United States to achieve peace," he said.

One of the central points of the conversation was the fate of the Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russian territory. Zelenskyy emphasized that they discussed “future actions and the Vatican's mediation aimed at securing the return of our children kidnapped by Russia,” an issue that the Holy See has kept on its humanitarian agenda since the first months of the conflict.

The Ukrainian president emphasized that the meeting was “an important and cordial dialogue,” focused on the protection of the civilian population and the spiritual support that the pontiff has repeatedly shown.

Zelenskyy took the opportunity to renew a formal invitation to the pope to travel to Ukraine. “I invited the pope to visit Ukraine. It would be a powerful sign of support for our people,” he said.

The audience took place a day after Zelenskyy traveled to the United Kingdom, where he held a meeting at Downing Street with the country's prime minister, Keir Starmer, which was also attended by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz.

That meeting focused on negotiations surrounding the peace plan and next steps for Ukraine presented by Washington. The first 28-point draft presented by the Trump administration in November proposed a resolution to the conflict that was largely favorable to Moscow.

That proposal was followed by another put together in Geneva by delegations from the United States, Ukraine, and Europe.

Zelenskyy arrived in Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday, Dec. 9, after three days of talks in Miami between Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Ukrainian negotiator, Rustem Umerov.

Exactly one week ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Witkoff in Moscow without any significant progress.

This is the third official meeting between the two, after Leo XIV received Zelenskyy in an audience following the Mass marking the beginning of his pontificate on May 18, and in a second meeting on July 9, also in Castel Gandolfo. Pope Leo usually takes Tuesday every week as a day off at Castel Gandolfo.

Following today’s meeting with the pope, Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as part of a new round of contacts with key European leaders regarding the peace process in Ukraine.

Ukraine first requested the Vatican's intervention shortly after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Since then, the Holy See has continued its diplomatic efforts for peace, while maintaining open channels of dialogue with all parties involved.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.