Pope says Trump Ukraine plan would weaken U.S. alliance with Europe

Pope Leo XIV addresses the press at Castel Gandolfo Dec. 9, 2025. / Credit: Zofia Czubak/CNACastel 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...

Pew study: Religion holds steady in America

American adults who identify with Christianity, with another religion, or with no religion have all remained steady, a new Pew Research Center report finds.  / Credit: ChoeWatt/ShutterstockWashington, 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. Re...

FBI leader who oversaw Catholic investigation tapped to lead Virginia public safety department

The J. Edgar Hoover FBI headquarters building in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 11:45 am (CNA).The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent who oversaw the Virginia office responsible for a highly controversial investigation into local Catholics will lead the state's safety office under its new Democratic governor. Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger nominated Stanley Meador as the next Virginia secretary for public safety and homeland security, according to a December announcement.Meador has served in several roles in the FBI, including in field offices in Seattle and Las Vegas, as well as at the bureau headquarters in Washington. In 2021 he became special agent in charge at the bureau's Richmond, Virginia field office, where he served until June 2025. In 2023 that office issued a memo to agents launching an investigation into "radical traditionalist" Catholics and their possible ties to "the far...

Vatican reverses several parish closures in Diocese of Buffalo, advocates say

The exterior of St. Casimir church in Buffalo, New York / Michael Shriver/buffalophotoblog.comCNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).The Vatican's Dicastery for Clergy has declared that several parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York can remain open after Bishop Michael Fisher ordered their closure amid a diocesan-wide renewal plan. Save Our Buffalo Churches, which has advocated against church closure proposals in the diocese's "Road to Renewal" plan, said in a Dec. 8 Facebook post that the Vatican has revoked the closures of three parishes since November, with a fourth parish receiving a temporary reprieve from the diocese itself. The closures and mergers of Our Lady of Peace Parish and Holy Apostles Parish have been revoked by the dicastery, the group said. As well, the Vatican said it will also examine the "asset appropriation" levied by the diocese against those parishes. The group confirmed to CNA on Dec. 9 that those appropriations, if collected, are ...

The pope urges 'continued dialogue' after receiving Zelenskyy in Castel Gandolfo

The Pope greets Zelenskyy in Castel Gandolfo. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican 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 audi...

Knock Shrine event highlights urgent call to revive First Saturdays practice

Bishop John Keenan speaks at the First Saturdays Conference in Knock, Ireland, on Dec. 6, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of First Saturdays ConferenceDublin, Ireland, Dec 9, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).At Knock Shrine on Saturday, Dec. 6, hundreds came from across Ireland to mark the centenary of the First Saturdays devotion and the promises given by Our Lady to Sister Lucia at Fátima in an apparition on Dec. 10, 1925.Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, Scotland, told participants: "We need to respond to Our Lady not with half-measures."Urging a wider devotion in parishes worldwide to the First Saturdays, Keenan said: "A mother's gut reaction is very visceral, the desire to save and to protect. We need to respond to Our Lady not with 'half-measures'; we need to respond to her wounded Immaculate Heart and practice the First Saturdays."The five First Saturdays devotion is an act of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which requires devotees on five consecutive first Saturdays to go ...

Polish leaders decry EU court ruling as overreach into national family law

null / Credit: Guillaume Paumier via Flickr, filter added (CC BY 2.0)EWTN News, Dec 9, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).Conservative factions across Europe have responded with concern to a recent ruling by the European Union's Court of Justice requiring Poland to recognize "same-sex marriages" performed in other EU member states, despite such unions having no legal status under Polish law.The situation arose when two Polish citizens who had "married" in Germany in 2018 returned to Poland and requested that officials register their union in the country's civil records. Polish authorities declined, explaining that national law did not provide legal recognition for "same-sex couples."Following this legal challenge, a Polish court referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg for clarification on how EU law should be interpreted. It is a standard procedure available to national courts before issuing their own rulings.In its November ruling, the CJEU de...

New York archdiocese announces $300 million settlement for victims of clergy abuse

A view of St. Patrick's Cathedral near Rockefeller Center in Manhattan on Feb. 2, 2023, in New York City. The cathedral was completed in 1878 the Gothic Revival style by architect James Renwick Jr. / Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).The Archdiocese of New York will pay out nearly a third of a billion dollars to victims of clergy sex abuse, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said this week, offering one of the biggest Church payouts in U.S. history in order to compensate for the "horror of abuse" by clergy there.  Cardinal Dolan said the archdiocese will pay out "a total of more than $300 million" to abuse survivors as part of a "global settlement" with victims. The archdiocese has made "a series of very difficult financial decisions" to help fund the settlement, Cardinal Dolan said in the Dec. 8 statement, including staff layoffs and a 10% reduction in the archdiocese's operating budget. "We are also working to finalize the sale of...

Trump honors Mary's 'freedom from original sin' in Immaculate Conception message

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Aaron Schwartz/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 8, 2025 / 18:09 pm (CNA).President Donald Trump honored the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, which appears to be the first time an American president formally recognized the Catholic holy day.The presidential statement recognized the role Mary played in the salvation of humanity and the importance she has in American history. The statement does, however, contain one theological error about the Incarnation. It says God became man when Christ was born, although Catholic doctrine recognizes God becoming man at the Incarnation: when Mary conceived him."Today, I recognize every American celebrating Dec. 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 statement said. Trump, who is not Catholic and describes himself as a "non-denominational Ch...

On solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, pope encourages renewing our 'yes' to God

Pope Leo XIV prays the Angelus prayer on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Dec 8, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV led the Angelus prayer Dec. 8 from the window of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican on the occasion of the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.Addressing the faithful and pilgrims in attendance in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff commented that on Dec. 8 we express our joy because the Father of heaven wanted her to be "preserved immune from all stain of original sin.""The Lord has granted to Mary the extraordinary grace of a completely pure heart, in view of an even greater miracle: the coming of Christ the Savior," he added.The pope also noted that the gift of the fullness of grace in the young woman of Nazareth "was able to bear fruit because she in her freedom welcomed it, embracing the plan of God."He emphasized that "the Lord always acts in this way: He gives us great gifts, but he leaves ...