Catholic News
- Pope, in phone call with Israeli president, reiterates Church's condemnation of anti-Semitism (CWN)
President Isaac Herzog of Israel called Pope Leo XIV on the afternoon of December 17 to extend his Christmas greetings. During the call, which took place three days after the Bondi Beach shooting, Pope Leo “reiterated the Catholic Church’s firm condemnation of all forms of antisemitism,” according to a statement from the Holy See Press Office. - Pope Leo: The human person, not capital, should be at the center of work (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV received representatives of an organization of Italian labor consultants and reflected on “three aspects that I consider particularly important: the protection of human dignity, mediation, and the promotion of safety.” “At the center of any work dynamic there should be neither capital, nor market laws, nor profit, but the person, the family, and their well-being, to which everything else is functional,” Pope Leo said during the audience, which took place yesterday in the Apostolic Palace. “This centrality, constantly affirmed by the social doctrine of the Church, must be kept in mind in all business planning and design, so that workers are recognized in their dignity and receive concrete responses to their real needs.” - Pope Leo's vision of 'disarming peace' [News Analysis] (CWN)
“Peace exists; it wants to dwell within us,” Pope Leo XIV writes in his message for the 59th annual World Day of Peace. - 'Maximum security' planned for Pakistan's churches at Christmas (Fides)
Regional governments in Pakistan have “implemented special measures to ensure maximum security near Christian churches” at Christmas, the Fides news agency reported. “There is widespread fear of terrorist attacks in Pakistani society,” said Father Qaisar Feroz, OFM Cap, communications officer for the bishops’ conference. “The government’s plan for alerting and protecting sensitive locations also includes churches, especially during the Christmas season.” Islam is the official religion of the South Asian nation of 252 million (map), the fifth most populous in the world. 95% of Pakistan’s people are Muslim; 2% are Christian, and 1% are Hindu. - Pontiff appoints new archbishop of Westminster (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV today named Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton as the new archbishop of Westminster, England. The 67-year-old prelate was ordained to the priesthood in 1982 and ordained a bishop in 2009, serving as military ordinary from 2009-16 until his transfer to Arundel and Brighton. Bishop Moth succeeds Cardinal Vincent Nichols, 80, who has led the Archdiocese of Westminster since 2009. - War victim, assassinated leader's daughter help present papal peace message (CWN)
A Bosnian war victim and the daughter of an assassinated Italian prime minister helped present Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the World Day of Peace (CWN analysis) at a Vatican press conference yesterday (video). - Vatican diplomat calls for safe return of refugees to home countries (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN meeting on refugees, a Vatican diplomat said on December 17 that “the safe and dignified return of refugees to their home countries must be guaranteed. Indeed, it is vital to highlight that those who wish to return home should be able to do so safely.” Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, said that “too many lives are still being shattered by violence, conflict, and persecution. Therefore, while enhancing protection efforts remains essential, finding ways to address the root causes of forced displacement has become an even greater priority.” - War refugees are dying of hunger, Congolese bishop says (Vatican News (Spanish))
The bishop on the front line of the military conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo spoke of bleak conditions in refugee camps and the death of displaced persons from hunger. Some who have fled the advance of the M23 paramilitary group are “crammed into refugee camps, others in stadiums and open spaces, exposed to the harsh conditions of this rainy season, without blankets, food, or medicine,” Bishop Sébastien Joseph Muyengo Mulombe of Uvira told Vatican News. - Burkina Faso bishop discusses Islamist insurgency's toll (Aid to the Church in Need)
A bishop who administers two dioceses in Burkina Faso spoke of the toll wrought by Islamist insurgents there. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” said Bishop Théophile Naré, quoting Tertullian. “The key word is resilience: persevering in prayer, hope, and doing good.” “If the enemy was thinking of snuffing out Christianity, it’s wasting its time: Christianity in Africa is spreading,” he added. The prelate recounted an incident in August when the women of a parish formed a human shield around their parish priest to protect him from an attack during Mass. Burkina Faso, a West African nation of 23.0 million (map), is 56% Muslim, 26% Christian (16% Catholic), and 17% ethnic religionist. - NY archdiocese to sell hotel land for $490M (New York Post)
The Archdiocese of New York will sell the land beneath a luxury hotel to the hotel’s owner for $490 million. Cardinal Timothy Dolan recently announced that the archdiocese is entering into mediation in lieu of court proceedings and is raising funds for abuse settlements with 1,300 plaintiffs. - USCCB gave $2.6M in grants to Africa in 2024 (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa released its 2024 annual report yesterday. The fund reported $3,924,488 in revenue and $3,335,534 in expenses in 2024. Most of the revenue ($3,702,026) came from national collections; the rest, from investment income. 78% of the expenses ($2,611,460) was allocated to grants and donations. Other expenses included program costs (14%), fundraising expenses (5%), and administrative costs (3%). (According to Charity Navigator’s guidelines, a charity should spend no more than 30% on fundraising and administrative expenses.) Because revenues exceeded expenses, the fund’s net assets rose from $3,739,661 to $4,486,473 over the course of the year. - New York Governor Hochul will sign assisted-suicide legislation (CNA)
New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that she will sign into law a bill making assisted suicide legal. The Catholic bishops of New York quickly responded with a statement saying that assisted suicide is a “grave moral evil,” and “in direct conflict with Catholic teaching on the sacredness and dignity of all human life.” Governor Hochul, a graduate of Catholic University, said that her choice to sign the legislation—making New York the 13th state to allow assisted suicide—was “an incredibly difficult decision.” - Prepare for Christmas by going to Confession, Pope Leo advises (CWN)
At the conclusion of his December 17 general audience, Pope Leo XIV recommended Confession in preparation for Christmas and praised the custom of the Christmas novena. - Confirmed: Bishop Hicks to head New York archdiocese (Vatican News)
Confirming widespread reports, Pope Leo XIV has named Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, to succeed Cardinal Timothy Dolan as Archbishop of New York. In a Vatican News interview, Bishop Hicks said: “All I want to do is God’s will, and however God moves me to be a leader in New York, I want to follow that and just give all of my mind, heart, and soul.” - Prominent African prelate transferred to far smaller diocese (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV yesterday transferred one of Africa’s most prominent prelates to a far smaller diocese. - Cardinal Parolin asks lawmakers to put Christ at the center of their lives, remember God's judgment (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, asked Italian lawmakers to put Christ at the center of their lives. “Christmas must serve to reaffirm the centrality of Christ in our lives,” Cardinal Parolin said to 400 legislators in the Sistine Chapel on the evening of December 16. “Advent is the time when the sense of the Lord’s return is alive, for we all die and we all must present ourselves to the judgment of the tribunal of God.” “We must make room for him, prepare the manger within ourselves, not only the external one—a beautiful tradition that must be preserved—but above all within ourselves,” he added. “Christmas is an event that must transform us inwardly; otherwise, its meaning remains empty despite the external celebrations.” - Pope expresses gratitude to superiors of women's religious orders (UISG)
Pope Leo XIV offered encouragement and expressed gratitude to the International Union of Superiors General as the organization of women religious marked its 60th anniversary. “In a time marked by rapid change and many urgent needs, your commitment to cooperation and your willingness to stand at the frontiers of mission remain a powerful testimony to the Gospel,” Pope Leo wrote in his letter, dated November 26 and released on December 16. - Bethlehem's deputy mayor grateful for papal peace appeals (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Lucy Talgieh, the deputy mayor of Bethlehem, attended Pope Leo’s December 17 general audience and expressed gratitude for the Pontiff’s peace appeals. “In all of us there is the desire for an end to the armed conflicts that only cause pain and death,” Talgieh, a Catholic, told the Vatican newspaper. “We can only be grateful to the Pope for always showing closeness with his constant appeals for peace for this and other suffering lands, in the never-fading hope that Christians will increasingly open their hearts to the love of God and their neighbor, as Leo XIV reiterated in his greetings in Arabic.” - Bishop who apologized to LGBTQ community to lead California diocese (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV yesterday named Auxiliary Bishop Ramon Bejarano of San Diego as the new bishop of Monterey, California. - North Carolina bishop calls for routine use of extraordinary ministers; bans altar rails, intinction (CWN)
In a pastoral letter released yesterday, the bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina, called for the routine distribution of Holy Communion by extraordinary ministers and banned the use of “altar rails, kneelers, and prie-dieus” during the distribution of Holy Communion. - More...