Sudanese bishop delivers Christmas message in midst of war

Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku of Sudan's El Obeid Diocese. Credit: CRNACI Africa, Dec 26, 2025 / 15:37 pm (CNA).In a country battered by violence, displacement, and fear, the 2025 Christmas message of Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali of Sudan's Catholic Diocese of El-Obeid addressed the people of God in the midst of their suffering and the fragile hope still carried by the celebration of Christmas.For Trille, the Christmas proclamation is rooted in God's fidelity, since "the birth of Christ is the manifestation of the glory of our God," revealing his promise of salvation and peace for the whole of creation.Through Christ's birth, he explained, "the gate of heaven is opened for us" and reconciliation becomes possible because "the birth of Christ opens the way for our reconciliation with our Creator."He drew a parallel between the manger and Sudan's humanitarian crisis, saying: "Seeing the baby Jesus in the manger describes the situation of all those of us in our c...

First Holy Door closed: 'Special time for the Church is closed, but not God's grace'

Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas closes the Holy Door at St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome on Dec. 25, 2025. | Credit: Vatican MediaDec 26, 2025 / 16:20 pm (CNA).With the closing of the Holy Door of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, the Vatican began on Dec. 25 the gradual conclusion of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope convened by the Church.The rite was presided over by Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, archpriest of the Marian basilica, who emphasized that "it is not divine grace that is being closed but a special time for the Church, and what remains open forever is the merciful heart of God."St. Mary Major is the first of the four papal basilicas in Rome to close its Holy Door. This Saturday, Dec. 27, the Holy Door of St. John Lateran will be closed by Cardinal Baldassare Reina; on Sunday, Dec. 28, that of St. Paul Outside the Walls by Cardinal James Michael Harvey; and finally, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, the solemnity of the Epiphany, Pope Leo XIV will close the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica...

In interview with Bishop Barron, Justice Barrett opens up about her faith 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. / Credit: Rachel Malehorn/wikimedia CC BY SA 3.0Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 26, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett says her Catholic faith "grounds her" and gives her "perspective."During an interview with Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Barrett tackled a number of topics including free speech, the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and her law career. The U.S. Supreme Court justice also opened up about her Catholic faith, including how she prays and her relationship with the saints.A 'love for the saints'When asked which spiritual figures have influenced her, Barrett shared about her relationships with the saints, specifically her love for St. Catherine of Siena and St. Thérèse of Lisieux."My favorite was Thérèse of Lisieux. We have a daughter named Thérèse," Barrett said. "I was captivated when I was young by how young she was when she just completely gave her life over to the Lord.""...

CNA explains: How does 'Mass dispensation' work, and when is it used?

null / Credit: FotoDax/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Dec 26, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Amid heavy immigration enforcement by the Trump administration, several bishops in the U.S. have recently issued broad dispensations to Catholics in their dioceses, allowing them to refrain from attending Mass on Sundays if they fear arrest or deportation from federal officials.Bishops in North Carolina, California, and elsewhere have issued such dispensations, stating that those with legitimate concerns of being detained by immigration agents are free from the usual Sunday obligation.The Church's canon law dictates that Sunday is considered the "primordial holy day of obligation," one on which all Catholics are "obliged to participate in the Mass." Several other holy days of obligation exist throughout the liturgical year, though Sunday (or the Saturday evening prior) is always considered obligatory for Mass attendance.The numerous dispensations issued recently in dioceses around the country have under...

Pope Leo XIV: Christians have no enemies, only brothers and sisters

Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the recitation of the Angelus on December 26, 2025. / Vatican MediaVatican City, Dec 26, 2025 / 07:17 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Friday urged Christians to resist the temptation to treat others as enemies, saying the mystery of Christmas calls believers to recognize the God-given dignity of every person, even in their adversaries."Christians, however, have no enemies, but brothers and sisters, who remain so even when they do not understand each other," the pope said Dec. 26 during his Angelus address from the Apostolic Palace on the feast of St. Stephen, the Church's first martyr.Leo acknowledged that "those who believe in peace and have chosen the unarmed path of Jesus and the martyrs are often ridiculed, excluded from public discourse," and sometimes even "accused of favoring adversaries and enemies." Yet, he said Christian joy is sustained by "the tenacity of those who already live in frater...

BREAKING: In effort to stem violence against Christians, U.S. conducts airstrikes on ISIS in Nigeria 

Breaking News / CNACNA Staff, Dec 25, 2025 / 22:08 pm (CNA).With the support of the Nigerian government, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military has carried out strikes against elements of ISIS in Nigeria that "have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.""I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was," said President Trump of the Dec. 25 action. Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that "precision hits on terrorist targets" in the country's northwestern Sokoto state were carried out in cooperation with the United States.   U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said he was "grateful for Nigerian government support and cooperation" in the counter-terrorism effort. Upon announcing the action, President Trump emphasized that "under my leadership, our country will not allow radical Islamic terror...

The 8 days of Christmas? A look at the Christmas octave

Fresco of the Holy Family in Dobling Carmelite Monastery in Vienna, Austria. The Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family this year on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. / Credit: Renata Sedmakova/ShutterstockDenver, Colorado, Dec 25, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).The Catholic calendar has several ways to divide the Christmas season. The Church's Western liturgical tradition sees Christmas as an octave, an eight-day celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.The octave of Christmas begins on Christmas itself, the feast of the Nativity of the Lord. It ends on the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, on Jan. 1, which this season falls on a Thursday in the new year of 2026.The drama of this time of the Catholic liturgical calendar even includes changes to the liturgical vestments of the clergy.During these eight days of Christmas, clergy wear white during the Mass.But there are exceptions when clergy wear red, the symbol of martyrdom: the feast of St. Stephen, Dec. 26, and the feast of the Holy Inno...

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem: 'God does not wait for history to improve before entering into it'

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem / Credit: Courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of JerusalemACI Prensa Staff, Dec 25, 2025 / 16:07 pm (CNA).At the Christmas Eve Mass celebrated in Bethlehem, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, affirmed that "one of the great messages of Christmas" is that God "does not wait for history to improve before entering into it," but rather embraces human reality.During his homily, the Cardinal explained that the birth of Jesus does not occur outside of time or apart from political events, but within concrete history. "God does not create a parallel history. He does not enter the world when everything is finally ordered and peaceful," but rather "enters into real, concrete, sometimes harsh history."Commenting on the beginning of the Gospel of Saint Luke, which places the birth of Christ in the context of a decree by Emperor Augustus, the Patriarch indicated that this detail has profound...

Full text: Pope Leo XIV's Christmas night homily

Pope Leo XIV venerates a statue of the Child Jesus during the celebration of Christmas Mass during the Night in St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 24, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA.Vatican City, Dec 24, 2025 / 17:31 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV celebrated Christmas Mass during the Night in St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday. The Mass was attended by an estimated 6,000 people inside the basilica, while around 5,000 people gathered outside in St. Peter's Square, according to the Vatican.Below is the full text of the pope's Christmas night homily:Dear brothers and sisters,For millennia, across the earth, peoples have gazed up at the sky, giving names to the silent stars, and seeing images therein. In their imaginative yearning, they tried to read the future in the heavens, seeking on high for a truth that was absent below amidst their homes. Yet, as if grasping in the dark, they remained lost, confounded by their own oracles. On this night, however, "the people who walked in darkness h...

Religious sisters offer abortion clinic workers Christmas cards with resources and prayers

null / Credit: Rawpixel.com/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 24, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).Abortion clinic workers across the country are once again receiving Christmas cards from religious sisters offering prayers, compassion, and an invitation to seek a career outside the abortion industry.And Then There Were None (ATTWN), a pro-life organization dedicated to assisting abortion clinic workers leave their jobs and find life-affirming careers, carries out this ministry each Christmas season with help from convents around the country. The Christmas card project is a part of a larger mission of handwritten cards sent throughout the year.This year, Dominican, Maronite, Benedictine, Carmelite, Capuchin, and Franciscan sisters, as well as Apostolic Sisters of St. John and Trinitarians of Mary, sent at least 1,030 handwritten Christmas cards to abortion clinic workers with loving messages and an image of the Holy Family. Reaching 'quitters'ATTWN has sent nearly 23,000 hand...