St. Andrew Catholic Church

Religious sisters show their support for the Little Sisters of the Poor outside the Supreme Court, where oral arguments were heard on March 23, 2016, in the Zubik v. Burwell case against the HHS mandate. / Credit: CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 15, 2025 / 18:06 pm (CNA).

The 14-year legal battle against federal contraceptive mandates will continue, with Little Sisters of the Poor and the federal government seeking to reinstate moral and religious exemptions that were established in 2017.

Little Sisters of the Poor have already won religious freedom cases on this subject twice at the Supreme Court level. The high court ruled in 2016 that the federal government must protect religious freedoms for those who oppose the contraceptives and in 2020 ruled that the federal government had the legal authority to adopt the broad exemptions established in 2017.

Those exemptions fully covered employers that had religious or moral objections to providing the contraceptives, some of which can be abortifacient. Under the rules, those employers were not required to include any contraceptive coverage in their insurance plans for employees.

In spite of the prior Supreme Court wins, a federal court in August 2025 struck down the 2017 exemptions on grounds that the Supreme Court had not yet ruled on.

Because the Supreme Court left some questions open, the attorneys general in two states that disapprove of the exemptions — Pennsylvania and New Jersey — continued their legal battle on different grounds. Those legal arguments allege that the adoption of the rules did not comply with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which the Supreme Court had not ruled on. 

In the August ruling, Judge Wendy Beetlestone found that the rules did not comply with the APA, ruling instead that the rules are arbitrary and capricious. 

“The agencies’ actions in promulgating the rule were arbitrary and capricious — in that they failed to ‘articulate a satisfactory explanation for [their] action[s] including a ‘rational connection between the facts found and the choices made,’” Beetlestone wrote in her opinion.

Little Sisters of the Poor are represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, whose lawyers say the appellate court should overturn that decision and bring the legal dispute to an end.

“The 14-year legal crusade against the Little Sisters has been needless, grotesque, and un-American,” Mark Rienzi, president of Becket and lead attorney for the sisters, said in a statement. 

“The states have no business trying to take away the Little Sisters’ federal civil rights. The 3rd Circuit should toss the states’ lawsuit into the dustbin of history and uphold the protection the Little Sisters already won at the Supreme Court … twice,” he said.

In the appeal, the lawyers cite the legal precedent from the 2016 and 2020 cases that required religious exemptions and upheld the rules. They warn that the August 2025 ruling could create a “constitutional conflict” because the original mandate cannot legally be reimposed. 

“The appellee states maintain that state governments somehow have an interest in forcing the federal government to force religious objectors to comply with the federal contraceptive mandate — even though the federal government need not have any contraceptive mandate at all, and even though the states themselves have chosen not to have such mandates of their own,” the lawsuit notes. 

null / Credit: Shai Barzilay via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 15, 2025 / 17:36 pm (CNA).

United Airlines reached a settlement with a flight attendant who alleged that the airline fired him for endorsing Catholic teachings on marriage and gender identity.

The former employee, Ruben Sanchez, of Anchorage, Alaska, alleged that United Airlines investigated his social media history after someone reported a private in-flight conversation he had with another Catholic flight attendant.

“Sanchez and his colleague discussed their working conditions and everyday life. As they were both Catholic, their discussion turned to Catholic theology and then, with United’s ‘Pride Month’ activities set to start on June 1, Catholic teachings on marriage and sexuality,” Sanchez’s complaint states.

The Catholic Church makes a distinction between homosexual orientation and homosexual activity. Same-sex attraction itself is not considered morally wrong, and homosexuals “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2358), with unjust discrimination avoided. The Church teaches that God’s design for sexuality is entwined with marriage and family life and is characterized by the exclusive, indissoluble covenant of marriage.

The complaint said a passenger report led United Airlines to look into posts on Sanchez’s X account, some of which were more than a decade old. He said the airline took issue with 35 of the more than 140,000 posts on the social media platform before firing him.

Sanchez filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against United Airlines and the union he belonged to — the Association of Flight Attendants — for refusing to represent him.

He received legal assistance from X, which helped broker the settlement.

“We are pleased that X was able to help Ruben Sanchez amicably resolve his dispute with United Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants,” X’s Global Government Affairs Team posted on X.

“X stands firm in its commitment to defend free speech on its platform,” the post added.

Most of the details about the settlement have not been publicly released, except that both parties will pay their own costs and attorneys’ fees and the complaint cannot be refiled.

CNA reached out to both X and United Airlines for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The Association of Flight Attendants is facing another lawsuit that alleges discrimination against Christians related to two employees fired at Alaska Airlines. That airline is also named in the lawsuit.

The company is battling a separate lawsuit from two other former employees — Lacey Smith and Marli Brown — who accuse the airline of firing them for criticizing the company’s support for the Equality Act, based on religious concerns.

The Equality Act, which has not been passed into law, would add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under federal civil rights laws. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is against the proposed law, which they warn would jeopardize religious liberty and force Catholic hospitals to “perform and promote life-altering gender ‘transitions.’”

Smith and Brown are represented by First Liberty Institute. A federal district court sided with the airline, and the case is being considered in an appellate court, which heard oral arguments in August.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated United Airlines is facing another lawsuit; it is in fact the Association of Flight Attendants facing the lawsuit. The 12th paragraph has been corrected to reflect this information. (Published Dec. 17, 2025) 

Pope Leo admires the Nativity scene that was made in Costa Rica. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 15, 2025 / 17:06 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday thanked Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto for donating a pro-life Nativity scene to the Vatican, named “Gaudium” (“Joy”), which features a pregnant Virgin Mary.

“I thank the Costa Rican artist who, along with the message of peace of Christmas, also wanted to make an appeal for protecting life from conception,” the pope said during the audience he granted Dec. 15 to the delegations that prepared this year’s Christmas tree and Nativity scenes that will adorn the Vatican during the Christmas season.

The artwork from the Central American country has been on display since Dec. 15 in the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican, the large hall where the pope is now holding his Wednesday general audiences so pilgrims don’t have to endure the cold temperatures of the Roman winter in St. Peter’s Square.

In his address, the Holy Father alluded to its composition, mentioning the 28,000 colorful ribbons that symbolize lives saved thanks to the support provided by Catholic organizations to pregnant women in vulnerable situations.

“The scene depicts a life saved from abortion thanks to prayer and the support provided by Catholic organizations to many mothers in difficult circumstances,” Pope Leo XIV noted.

The decorations in St. Peter’s Square — which were unveiled Monday afternoon — have an Italian touch. The chosen tree comes from Val d’Ultimo, one of the most picturesque and lesser-known valleys of South Tyrol in Italy. 

Meanwhile, the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square comes from the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno, one of the oldest in Italy: Its origins date back to the third century, when Nuceria Alfaterna — the ancient Roman city in the Sarno Valley — already had an organized Christian community.

“I thank you for this artistic work that incorporates characteristic elements of your territory,” the pope said, noting that this traditional Nativity scene includes a reproduction of the sixth-century baptistery of St. Mary Major Basilica, one of the best-preserved in the country.

The pope emphasized that this work will be a reminder for pilgrims from all over the world that “God draws near to humanity, entering into our history in the vulnerability of a child.”

“In the poverty of the cave in Bethlehem, we contemplate a mystery of humility and love,” the pope reflected. He also highlighted the figure of the Virgin Mary “as a model of adoring silence,” who treasures in her heart all that she has experienced, while the shepherds glorify God and share what they have seen and heard. In this regard, he emphasized the “need to seek moments of silence and prayer in our lives.”

Regarding the Christmas tree, the pontiff said the large fir tree “is a sign of life and a reminder of the hope that does not fade even in the cold of winter.”

The lights that adorn it, he added, symbolize “Christ, the light of the world,” who comes to “dispel the darkness and guide our path.” In addition to the large fir tree, the forests of South Tyrol have also donated other smaller trees to the Vatican, intended for offices, public spaces, and various areas of Vatican City.

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

Bishop Evelio Menjivar speaks with “EWTN News in Depth” on Friday, March 14, 2025. / Credit: “EWTN News in Depth”

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 15, 2025 / 16:36 pm (CNA).

The Virgin Mary’s role as comforter to all was specially highlighted during a pilgrimage through the streets of Washington, D.C., Saturday morning. 

“Our Lady of Guadalupe is the mother of all. She envelops each one of us with the same tenderness and the same love, no matter our country of origin or language,” Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjívar said during his homily at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. 

The words from the bishop, who was born in El Salvador, came after the Archdiocese of Washington’s annual “Walk with Mary” procession that began at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, a Hispanic Catholic parish. Participants also prayed a rosary upon arriving at the basilica, which holds 2,500 people and was filled to capacity, according to the archdiocese. 

The archdiocese billed this year’s celebration of the pilgrimage honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe on her feast day as “highlight[ing] a call to accompany and pray for migrants and refugees, reflecting the Church’s mission of compassion, solidarity, hope, and peace.” 

“For more than a decade, thousands of pilgrims from diverse cultures and backgrounds have walked side by side, lifting their voices in prayer and songs of praise,” the archdiocese said. “Along the way, participants celebrate the archdiocese’s rich cultural diversity and unity in Jesus Christ, while reflecting on the appearance of the young mestiza Virgin of Guadalupe to the peasant St. Juan Diego on a hilltop near Mexico City in 1531.”

The Mass, which included a reenactment of the story of Mary’s apparition to St. Juan Diego, was celebrated by Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington; Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States; and Auxiliary Bishops Menjívar, Juan Esposito, and Roy Campbell.

Menjívar interspersed his homily, which was mostly in Spanish, with reflections in English on the Virgin Mary and the Church’s role in accompanying poor and marginalized communities, particularly migrants.

“Let me say this in English because I believe it is very important for us to understand Mary reflects what the Church is called to be,” Menjívar said. “In the apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te [“I Have Loved You”] Pope Leo affirms the Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children. Where walls are built, she builds bridges.”

The Virgin Mary, he said, regards “every rejected migrant” as “Christ himself, who knocks at the door of the community.” 

Reflecting on the significance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Menjívar noted that Mary “did not manifest herself to a powerful or well-educated person.” 

“She appeared to Juan Diego, a simple, poor, Indigenous man, marginalized by the systems of his time,” the bishop said. “With this, God proclaims another truth. He takes the side of the little ones, the despised, the ones who do not count.” 

“So the good news,” he concluded, “is this: For God, we do count, and a lot, because we are his sons and daughters.”

The Eucharist is displayed in a monstrance in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City before a Eucharistic procession on Oct. 15, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 15, 2025 / 16:06 pm (CNA).

About half of American adults who were raised Catholic and stayed in the Church said the faith continues to “fulfill their spiritual needs,” according to a Pew Research Center report.

The Dec. 15 report, “Why Do Some Americans Leave Their Religion While Others Stay?”, examines the religious switching of U.S. adults. It looks into the reasons why people stay or leave their childhood faith, addressing the social and demographic factors associated with the changes.

The report includes findings from a survey of 8,937 U.S. adults who are part of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP). The survey was conducted May 5–11 and its overall margin of error is 1.4 percentage points. It also uses information from the center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS), a survey of 36,908 U.S. adults conducted from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024, with an overall margin of error of 0.8 percentage points. 

While the report revealed many U.S. adults (35%) have left the religion they grew up in, the majority of Americans (56%) still identify with their childhood religion. Another 9% weren’t raised in a religion and still don’t have one today. 

Of the U.S. adults who still identify with their childhood religion, 64% credited their belief in the religion’s teachings as an “extremely important” or “very important” reason as to why they stayed. Another 61% said their religion fulfills their spiritual needs, and 56% said their religion gives life meaning.

Other attributions included a sense of community (44%), familiarity (39%), traditions (39%), and the religion’s teachings on social and political issues (32%).

The research found 46% of Americans who have left their childhood religion said the extremely or very important reason behind their decision was that they stopped believing in the religion’s teachings; 38% said it wasn’t important in their life; and 38% said they gradually drifted away. 

Why Americans choose to remain Catholic or leave the faith 

Among the Catholics who have kept their religious identities, 54% said a key reason they are Catholic today is because it fulfills their spiritual needs. About 53% credited belief in the religion’s teachings, and 47% said it’s because Catholicism gives their life meaning.

The survey found that adults who were raised in “highly religious” households are more likely to have remained in their childhood religion (82%) than those who grew up in households with “medium-high” (77%), “medium-low” (62%), or “low levels” of religiousness (47%).

The majority of lifelong Catholics reported they had a “mostly positive experience” with religion when growing up (73%).

According to Pew’s RLS, an estimated 19% of U.S. adults are Catholic including 17% who were raised Catholic and are Catholic today, and 2% who are Catholic today after they were raised another way.

Of the adults surveyed in the RLS who left the Catholic faith, 14% are now Protestant, compared with 1% of Americans raised Protestant who are now Catholic.

The RLS found that 13% of U.S. adults are former Catholics, including 6% who were raised Catholic but now identify in another way and 7% who are religiously unaffiliated. Of the religious “nones,” 81% said an extremely or very important reason they left is because they believe they can be moral without religion.

Americans cited other reasons including they question a lot of religion’s teachings (67%), they don’t need a religion to be spiritual (57%), they don’t like religious organizations (53%), and they distrust religious leaders (52%).

Social and demographic reasons for switching 

The RLS found that 73% of Republicans and independents who lean Republican still identify with the religion in which they were raised, compared with the 56% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults.

Democrats who were raised in a religion are also more likely to be religious “nones” today than Republicans who were raised in a religion.

The RLS also found that age affected patterns. Among adults ages 65 and older who were raised in a religion, 74% still identify with that religion. Of the adults under 30, 55% still identify with their childhood religion.

Americans who switch religions tend to do so while they are still young. It found that 85% who have switched did so by the age of 30, including 46% who switched as children or teenagers.

A residence hall at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. / Credit: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Dec 15, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

After a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island over the weekend, Providence Bishop Bruce Lewandowski issued a statement asking for God’s guidance and expressing his grief in the wake of the tragedy.

On the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 13, while approximately 60 Brown students participated in a study session for final exams in the Barus and Holley building, which houses the school of engineering and the physics department, an unidentified shooter opened fire, leaving two dead and nine injured. 

“As are many, I am deeply saddened and troubled by the senseless shooting today at Brown University in Providence,” Lewandoski wrote. “Let us unite in prayer for those who lost their lives, for the injured, for the Brown University community and all affected by this tragedy.”

As of Monday morning, Providence police continue the search for the shooter. According to Boston’s WCBV-5, a person of interest was released Sunday and the search for the killer continues.

“After a review of the evidence gathered, it was determined the person of interest needed to be released,” said Providence Mayor Brett Smiley. “But until such time as we have an individual in custody who we are confident is responsible … we’re going to continue to leave all doors open until such time that we’re in a place where we feel confident we’ve got the right person,” Smiley said.

Other than a short video that did not show the suspect’s face that was released to the public on Saturday, authorities said they have no additional images to release.

“There just weren’t a lot of cameras in that Brown building,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said at a press conference. “We have a murderer out there, frankly.”

The local station also reported Monday that one of the injured persons has been discharged from the hospital, one remains in critical but stable condition, and the remaining seven are in stable condition in the hospital.

Brown University canceled classes and final exams for all undergraduate and graduate school students in the wake of the tragedy.

In a statement Dec. 13, Brown President Christina H. Paxson said: “We have reached out to the families of all the hospitalized shooting victims and are offering any support we can. Our hearts go out to all of them, and we stand ready to give them anything they need. No parent or family member should ever have to endure this pain, suffering, or the continuing fear that we know is very real for so many Brown families right now.”

In his statement, Lewandowski offered prayers for law enforcement officials and first responders, and offered the use of the diocese’s “resources, clergy and personnel, and charitable assistance wherever needed.” 

“May God bless us all and may Our Lady of Providence keep us in her care,” the bishop’s statement concluded.

Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan celebrates Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Dagupan City, on Dec. 13, 2025. / Credit: Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan

Manila, Philippines, Dec 15, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

A group of Filipino bishops has opposed a proposal to construct a nuclear power plant in Western Pangasinan, about 125 miles north of Manila, citing safety, environmental, and moral concerns. 

On Dec. 4, Church leaders from six dioceses in the Ecclesiastical Province of Lingayen-Dagupan issued a pastoral letter regarding the government’s plan to build a nuclear power plant, expressing their deep concerns about the project. 

“We, your pastors, write to you today with profound concern regarding the recent proposal to construct a nuclear power plant in western Pangasinan,” the bishops said. 

Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan signed the letter along with Bishop Napoleon B. Sipalay of Alaminos; Auxiliary Bishop Fidelis B. Layog of Lingayen-Dagupan; Bishop Jacinto A. Jose of Urdaneta; Bishop Daniel O. Presto of San Fernando, La Union; Bishop Prudencio P. Andaya of Cabanatuan; and Father Getty A. Ferrer, JCD, of the Diocese of San Jose, Nueva Ecija. 

Lessons from Fukushima and the Japanese bishops’ call 

The Filipino bishops drew their insights from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan. 

The Japanese bishops, in their message for the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, renewed their commitment to “protect life.” They reminded all that when faced with such an “unprecedented catastrophe,” one must recognize the limits of human wisdom and knowledge. 

Church leaders from Japan also noted that “nuclear power generation is fundamentally incompatible with the vision of a ‘symbiotic society’ that respects all life without exception.” 

Moreover, Japanese and Korean bishops united in opposing the dumping of “treated” radioactive water into the oceans. 

The Filipino bishops acknowledged the stance of the late Pope Francis, who “stressed the paramount importance of safety, prudence, and stewardship for future generations.” 

Citing the principle of prudence, the bishops noted that “the potential for a ‘huge disaster’ demands that we prioritize human safety and environmental protection above immediate economic needs.” 

“We are blessed with an abundance of renewable energy potential, and the solution to our energy woes exists in strict and urgent implementation of the Renewable Energy Law, which has been in effect since 2008,” the bishops said. 

“We must invest heavily in renewable energy infrastructure that ensures safety, resilience, and true long-term development of our people,” the bishops noted. 

“Pangasinan is not ours. We owe it to future generations to keep Pangasinan safe from a nuclear catastrophe. The risks are greater than the benefits,” they said. 

The coffin of Cardinal Josef Beran is carried by a horse-drawn carriage toward St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague on April 21, 2018. The cardinal’s remains were repatriated to his homeland 49 years after his death in exile in Rome. / Credit: PetrS./Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

EWTN News, Dec 15, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The District Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prague 1 has filed a proposal to judicially rehabilitate Cardinal Josef Beran, the former archbishop of Prague who was persecuted during the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.

The move, confirmed in an official notification dated Dec. 8, follows a monthslong review of archival materials by the police’s Office for the Documentation and the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism. The proposal has now been submitted to the District Court for Prague 1 under the country’s 1990 law on judicial rehabilitation.

Beran’s beatification process is currently underway.

As a priest, Josef Beran (1888–1969) suffered in the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau before becoming archbishop of Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, after World War II. When the communists took over, he refused to pledge loyalty to the atheist regime. He was not jailed but was interned in several locations, a confinement that included complete isolation from the outside world and a loss of privacy.

When he was created a cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1965, he was allowed to travel to Rome. Yet he was unable to return. The prelate spent the rest of his life in exile, visiting compatriots in Europe and the U.S.

“We are very happy for the news but do not have further information,” the press office of the Czech Bishops’ Conference told CNA. Beran’s family also did not have any more information.

“Anyone can submit a motion to the public prosecutor’s office to correct an injustice,” lawyer Lubomír Müller explained to a press agency.

Müller, who has successfully handled similar cases for persecuted clergy, filed the initial motion in May. He acted upon a formal request from Jan Kratochvil, the director of the Museum of Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian Exile of the 20th Century in Brno. The request specifically cited Beran’s illegal internment from 1951 to 1965.

Last year, the regional court in Hradec Králové rehabilitated priest Josef Toufar for his illegal arrest and prosecution at the beginning of the communist regime. Toufar was tortured to death, and his beatification process is now underway as well. The museum’s request also noted Müller’s work in rehabilitating Jesuit priest Father František Lízna.

Therefore, “the official ruling that the internment of Josef Beran was illegal may also come,” Jaroslav Šebek, a historian at the Czech Academy of Sciences, told CNA.

Beran also spoke at the Second Vatican Council about religious freedom and proposed a new view of Jan Hus, the rector of Charles University in Prague who was burned at the stake in 1415. The communists in Czechoslovakia tried to portray Hus as a rebel and the “first communist.” However, Beran opted for “a more conciliatory view of this personality of ... European spiritual history so that the views of Archbishop Beran and [the late] Pope John Paul II aligned,” Šebek noted at a recent conference in Rome.

He quoted part of the cardinal’s speech in which he lamented that authorities in the past had at times imposed faith: “Secular power, even if it wants to serve the Catholic Church, or at least pretends to do so, in reality, by such acts, causes a permanent, hidden wound in the nation’s heart. This trauma hindered the progress of spiritual life and it provided cheap material for objections to the enemies of the Church.”

Beran is believed to have been the only Czech prelate buried in St. Peter’s Basilica before his body was moved to the Czech Republic in 2018.

Daughters of Charity Congregation in Cuba. / Credit: Archdiocese of Havana

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 15, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Cuba is facing a shortage of religious vocations to the point that the country is losing almost one women’s religious congregation each year. Even so, the presence of consecrated men and women remains an indispensable pillar for sustaining the Church’s evangelizing mission on the island.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Father Ricardo Alberto Sola, president of the Cuban Conference of Religious, explained that consecrated life on the island “is very rich,” although it has suffered a significant decline in recent years.

“We are losing almost one women’s religious congregation per year, as they leave Cuba due to the vocational crisis and their inability to maintain their presence because of a shortage of people,” the priest warned.

The priest noted that there are currently about 118 religious congregations in Cuba, mostly female, with around 700 sisters and just over 140 priests from 65 different countries. According to figures from the pontifical institution Aid to the Church in Need, there are a total of 370 priests (religious and diocesan) in the country, for a ratio of one priest per 20,872 faithful.

Despite this situation, Sola said that “consecrated life in Cuba is fundamental to fulfilling the mission of faith and the Gospel in Cuba” and warned that, without them, “more than half of the services would collapse today; they wouldn’t be sustainable.”

He insisted on the urgent need to “nurture and strengthen” this presence, which is essential for pastoral work on the island.

To learn firsthand about the situation of vocations in Cuba, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, pro-prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and Daniela Leggio, head of the promotion and formation section, visited the country from Nov. 22 to Dec. 2.

According to Sola, the cardinal traveled for 15 hours by road from Havana to La Caridad de Cobre, where he held several meetings in which he “spoke with everyone, gave them his blessing, listened to their problems and the urgent needs of the country.”

Sola said this visit reaffirmed the commitment of those in consecrated life to “be at the service of the people, and especially the most needy and the communities having the hardest time.”

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

Pope Leo XIV gives his apostolic blessing at the end of the general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Nov. 12, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Dec 15, 2025 / 07:48 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday condemned a deadly attack on the Jewish community in Sydney and entrusted the victims to God in prayer.

“Today I wish to entrust to the Lord the victims of the terrorist attack carried out yesterday in Sydney against the Jewish community,” the pope said Dec. 15, referring to a shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that left at least 15 people dead and some 40 others injured.

The Holy Father expressed his spiritual closeness to those affected by the violence, which occurred as more than 1,000 people had gathered to mark the start of Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Lights — one of the most important celebrations in the Jewish calendar.

According to local media reports, two armed assailants opened fire on the crowd, sparking panic and a mass flight toward the beach and nearby businesses. One attacker was killed during the police response, while the second remains in critical condition. Authorities are investigating possible links between the attackers and a jihadist terrorist organization. Among the victims were a child and a Holocaust survivor.

The pope made his remarks during a Vatican audience with delegations that donated this year’s Christmas tree and Nativity scenes for St. Peter’s Square and the Paul VI Audience Hall. During the same encounter, Leo also reflected on the meaning of Christmas, urging the faithful to “let the tenderness of the Child Jesus illuminate our lives.”

Catholic leaders in Australia also responded with prayer and a strong condemnation of antisemitism. Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney called for prayer and invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary in the immediate aftermath of the Dec. 14 shooting.

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