Catholic News

  • Renew Mary's 'yes,' Pope tells pilgrims (Dicastery for Communication)
    On December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Leo XIV asked pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square to renew Mary’s “yes” to God. “Dear friends, how great is the gift of the Immaculate Conception, but so also is the gift of Baptism that we have received,” Pope Leo said during his Angelus address. “The ‘yes’ of the Mother of the Lord is wonderful, but so also can ours be, renewed faithfully each day, with gratitude, humility and perseverance, in prayer and in concrete acts of love, from the most extraordinary gestures to the most mundane and ordinary efforts and acts of service.” “In this way, Christ can be known, welcomed and loved everywhere and salvation can come to everyone,” the Pope added.
  • Pope Leo: Let us arise and walk in Christ's light (Dicastery for Communication)
    Reflecting on the Scripture readings for the Second Sunday of Advent, Pope Leo XIV said, “Let us prepare ourselves for his Kingdom, let us welcome it. The little child, Jesus of Nazareth, will lead us!” “He who placed himself in our hands, from the night of his birth to the dark hour of his death on the cross, shines upon our history as the rising Sun,” he continued, as he addressed pilgrims during his December 7 Angelus address. “A new day has begun: let us arise and walk in his light!” At the conclusion of his address, the Pope recalled his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon and prayed for the people of South Asia and Southeast Asia, “who have been severely tried by recent natural disasters.”
  • The Church 'consistently affirms the vocation of scientific inquiry,' Pontiff tells cardiologists (Dicastery for Communication)
    Pope Leo XIV received cardiologists associated with the Paris Course on Revascularization and told them that “the Church consistently affirms the vocation of scientific inquiry, which opens the human person to truth and to a deeper service of the common good.” “You embody this spirit whenever you seek to heal the heart, both physically and metaphorically, bringing relief to those who suffer and bringing hope to their families,” Pope Leo continued. “Indeed, the ‘service of life’ is foundational to every authentic medical act, for it reflects the tenderness with which Christ himself drew near to the sick and the vulnerable.”
  • Israeli settlers again attack Palestinian Christian village (Vatican News)
    Setting cars on fire and vandalizing property, Israeli settlers have again attacked the predominantly Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank. The attack on the night of December 4-5 followed similar attacks in July and November. “Taybeh is the last Christian village in the area, and we need global cooperation to help it survive,” said Father Bashar Fawadleh, pastor of the town’s Latin-rite parish.
  • Croatian prime minister, Leo XIV discuss Ukraine war (@AndrejPlenkovic)
    Pope Leo XIV received Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of Croatia on December 5. “We discussed global challenges that require our firm commitment to peace, democratic values, solidarity, and respect for international law,” Prime Minister Plenković said. “We emphasized the urgency of bringing the war in Ukraine to an end and achieving a just peace, and we expressed our support for stabilizing the situation in the Middle East.” After the papal audience, the prime minister met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Msgr. Mihăiță Blaj, the recently appointed Undersecretary for Relations with States. The parties discussed Church-state relations, regional cooperation in the Balkans, and the war in Ukraine, according to a Vatican statement. Croatia, a Southeast European nation of 4.2 million (map), is 94% Christian (87% Catholic) and 2% Muslim.
  • 100 abducted Nigerian children freed (Aid to the Church in Need)
    One hundred of the 315 students and teachers abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria last month have been freed, Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of Kontagora told Aid to the Church in Need. Earlier, 50 of the kidnapped victims had escaped.
  • Italian bishops publish 34-page document on peace (Conferenza Episcopale Italiana)
    The Italian Episcopal Conference has published “Educare a una pace disarmata e disarmante” [Educating for a disarmed and disarming peace], a 34-page pastoral note on peace. The conference’s president, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, said that the document invites us to rediscover the centrality of Christ “our peace” in every proclamation and commitment to promote reconciliation and harmony, and is part of the Social Doctrine of the Church, with a careful analysis of the current situation marked by numerous conflicts; by the “useless slaughter” of people, mostly civilians and children; by a mentality that pursues the strategy of arms deterrence, which can change the economy and culture of our countries; from widespread violence that risks becoming a culture that fascinates especially the youngest.
  • USCCB committee chairman reacts to President Trump's comments on Somalis (USCCB)
    Reacting to “recent statements regarding the Somali community in the United States,” the chairman of the US bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation said that “each child of God has value and dignity,” and that “language that denigrates a person or community based on his or her ethnicity or country of origin is incompatible with this truth.” “I call on all—public officials, community leaders and individuals—to refrain from denigrating and dehumanizing language,” said Bishop Daniel Garcia of Austin, whose statement followed comments on Somalis by President Donald Trump.
  • Papal preacher reflects on the Parousia of the Lord (Vatican News (full text))
    The Preacher of the Papal Household preached his first weekly Advent sermon in Paul VI Audience Hall on December 5, in the presence of Pope Leo, the Roman Curia, and staff of the Vatican City State and the Vicariate of Rome. The title of Father Roberto Pasolini’s sermon was entitled “The Parousia of the Lord: An expectation without hesitation.” The sermon had three sections, devoted to recognizing grace, eliminating evil, and dedicating oneself to salvation. The overall theme of the Capuchin Franciscan’s series of sermons is “Awaiting and hastening the coming of the day of God: Jubilee hope between waiting for the Lord and the universality of salvation.”
  • President Trump issues message for feast of Immaculate Conception (White House)
    President Donald Trump issued a message yesterday for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. “Today, I recognize every American celebrating December 8 as a Holy Day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible,” the message began. “On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Catholics celebrate what they believe to be Mary’s freedom from original sin as the mother of God.” “Today, we look to Mary once again for inspiration and encouragement as we pray for an end to war and for a new and lasting era of peace, prosperity, and harmony in Europe and throughout the world,” the president added.
  • CWN closed for feast of the Immaculate Conception (CWN)
    The offices of CWN are closed on Monday, December 8, so that our staff can celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
  • Pope Leo asks Slovakia to uphold the traditional family and build bridges, not walls (@PellegriniP_)
    Pope Leo XIV asked Slovakia to “cherish and uphold the traditional family” and to “build bridges instead of walls,” President Peter Pellegrini said following a papal audience yesterday. “To our young people, his message shines with clarity and hope: Seek faith with courage, take an active role in shaping our society, and prepare yourselves to shoulder the future of our beloved homeland,” Pellegrini continued. “Pope Leo XIV also expressed his sincere desire to visit Slovakia soon. As President, I welcome this hope with open arms.” President Pellegrini subsequently met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Msgr. Mihăiță Blaj, the recently appointed Undersecretary for Relations with States. The parties discussed Church-state relations, the international situation, and “strengthening social cohesion, promoting justice and protecting the family,” according to a Vatican statement. Slovakia, a Central European nation of 5.6 million (map), is 84% Christian (73% Catholic). Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2021.
  • Consider impact of AI on young people, Pope urges (Vatican Press Office)
    In a December 5 address to participants in a Vatican conference on artificial intelligence (AI), Pope Leo XIV asked the key question: “How can we ensure that the development of artificial intelligence truly serves the common good, and is not just used to accumulate wealth and power in the hands of a few?” The Pontiff called for special attention to “the freedom and inner life of our children and young people, and the possible impact of technology on their intellectual and neurological development.” He added: “The ability to access vast amounts of data and information should not be confused with the ability to derive meaning and value from it.”
  • Vatican commission says No to female deacons (Vatican News)
    A top-level Vatican commission ordered by Pope Francis to study the possibility of ordaining female deacons has issued a report that “excludes the possibility” of diaconal ordination for women. But the commission cautions that its conclusion “is not a definitive judgment” on the idea of a female diaconate. The commission, chaired by Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, concluded that Catholic doctrine bars women from priestly ministry, and “if the admission of women to the first degree of Holy Orders were approved, exclusion from the others would become inexplicable.” The group called for the development of new ministries which “could contribute to synergy between men and women.” The commission—one of three studies of the female diaconate formed by Pope Francis—acknowledged that at times in Church history women have been identified as deacons. But in those cases, the commission concluded after study of the history that these female “deacons” served in charitable work rather than priestly ministry: a distinction that is crucial to the theology of Holy Orders. The commission’s report—which was presented to Pope Leo in September, but made public on December 4—quotes an earlier study’s conclude: “The status quaestionis of historical research and theological investigation, as well as their mutual implications, rules out the possibility of moving in the direction of admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders.”
  • Ukrainian bishops, in pastoral letter, call for prayer, fasting, almsgiving for nation's sake (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
    The bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church issued a pastoral letter, “In Unity Lies the Strength of the People,” in which they called for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during the Nativity Fast for the nation’s sake. “The only certain path to victory is to pursue the way of Christ,” they wrote. “True victory for Ukraine will not come from the intervention of allies or diplomatic efforts. It will come when each of us makes a sacrifice—of time, energy, abilities, conveniences, and, if necessary, life.”
  • Archbishop Broglio rips Trump campaign against Venezuelan drug trade (America)
    Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who heads the Archdiocese of the Military Services, has criticized the Trump administration’s attacks on Venezuelan drug traffickers at sea. “In the fight against drugs, the end never justifies the means, which must be moral, in accord with the principles of just-war theory, and always respectful of the dignity of each human person,” said the archbishop, who is a past president of the US bishops’ conference. Reacting to reports that US forces had killed survivors after an assault on a boat engaged in the drug trade, the archbishop said that a moral prohibition “forbidding the intentional killing of noncombatants is inviolable.” He urged US military leaders to respect the consciences of their subordinates “by not asking them to engage in immoral actions.”
  • Vatican foreign minister prods European security organization on peace, religious freedom (Vatican News)
    Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, called on the leaders of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to work to foster peace in Ukraine. In his remarks, made yesterday in Vienna, Archbishop Gallagher “welcomed OSCE guidance on combating hate crimes against Christians and called for even-handed approaches to all forms of intolerance,” Vatican News reported. “He also noted that freedom of religion or belief is the only fundamental freedom explicitly affirmed in the Helsinki Final Act, adding that tolerance alone does not constitute genuine freedom.” Archbishop Gallagher also called for respect for the dignity of migrants and refugee, praised the OSCE for its efforts against human trafficking, and called for a ban on surrogate motherhood.
  • Pope welcomes performers for Concert for the Poor (Vatican Press Office)
    Pope Leo XIV met on December 5 with musicians who will perform in the Concert for the Poor, to be held at the Vatican’s Paul VI auditorium on Saturday, and with organizers of the event. The Pope remarked that the annual concert is “not merely a performance by talented artists or a simple musical review, as beautiful as it may be; nor is it a moment of solidarity to ease our conscience in the face of social injustices.” It is an expression of love, he said, and “it is when we love that we truly fulfil ourselves.”
  • Chinese bishop installed with papal approval (Vatican Press Office)
    Bishop Francis Li Jianlin was ordained on December 5 to head the prefecture of Xinxiang, in Henan province, with the approval of Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican has announced. The Vatican announcement said that the new bishop was appointed by Pope Leo in August, “in accordance with the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.” In fact the Chinese government announced the bishop’s appointment in April, after the death of Pope Francis and before Pope Leo’s election. The Vatican reported that the Pope had accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu, whose leadership of the Xinxiang prefecture had never been recognized by the Chinese regime. Bishop Zhang Weizhu—who at the age of 67 is still well short of retirement age—was arrested by authorities in 2021 and held for over a year; it is not clear whether he is now free.
  • Vatican bank publishes sustainability report (Institute for the Works of Religion)
    The Institute for the Works of Religion (Institutum pro Operibus Religionis, or IOR), colloquially known as the Vatican bank, published its first sustainability report yesterday. “In 2024, the Institute continued to focus its activities on optimizing returns in full compliance with Catholic ethical principles, excluding any investment in companies involved in activities harmful to human life, the environment, or society,” the Institute stated, adding: With net profit amounting to €31 million [$36.1M], the IOR generated a total economic value of €50 million [$58.3M], distributed among the Holy Father (27%), employees (30%), and suppliers (18%), retaining the remainder to ensure long-term sustainability. Through the management of its clients’ assets, the Institute also created €157 million [$183M] in value, thereby reinforcing its dual social and financial vocation: supporting the Universal Church and increasing the value of entrusted assets.
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