Venezuelan authorities prevent Cardinal Porras from traveling, cancel passport 

Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras. / Daniel Ibanez/CNACaracas, Venezuela, Dec 10, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).On Dec. 10 Venezuelan immigration police confiscated and invalidated the passport of Cardinal Baltazar Porras, the archbishop emeritus of Caracas, as he was preparing to travel to Bogotá, Colombia, from Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía.According to the Grand Priory of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem in Venezuela, on Wednesday morning the cardinal "was subjected to humiliating treatment" by airport authorities under the government of Nicolas Maduro.From Bogotá, Porras was scheduled to take a flight to Madrid and then travel to Toledo, where he was going to participate in the solemn ceremony that would invest him as Spiritual Protector of the Order of St. Lazarus in Venezuela. Accompanying the cardinal were Grand Prior José Antonio Rodríguez and his wife, who were allowed to board the plane."Immigration police officers unjustly deta...

U.S. House passes defense bill stripped of IVF provision

null / Credit: Rohane Hamilton/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2025 / 18:00 pm (CNA).The House passed a defense authorization bill Dec. 10 without a provision to allow health care coverage of in vitro fertilization for active-duty military. Pro-life groups cheered the provision's removal from the bill. The original bill would have required Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "ensure that fertility-related care for a member of the uniformed services on active duty (or a dependent of such a member) shall be covered under TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select." Tricare does not cover IVF.The House passed the bill (S. 1071) by a vote of 312-112, and Senate consideration is next.Like last year, the IVF provision was eliminated from the defense authorization bill shortly before its consideration. President Donald Trump had made a campaign promise to make IVF free.A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNA in a statement that "President Trump and Congressional...

Catholic colleges in Bangladesh threatened over conversion claims

Notre Dame College in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh / Credit: Stephan Uttom RozarioDhaka, Bangladesh, Dec 10, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).The president of the Bangladesh Catholic Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Bejoy D'Cruze of Dhaka, has expressed concern after threats against two prominent Catholic colleges posed "a grave concern for the Catholic Church," particularly ahead of Christmas and elections scheduled for February in a Dec. 3 statement.On Dec. 2, a letter written in Bengali under the name Tawhidee Muslim Janata ("faithful Muslim people") was sent to two of Bangladesh's most prestigious colleges: Notre Dame College, run by the Holy Cross Fathers, and Holy Cross College, run by the Holy Cross Sisters.The letter thanked the Catholic Church for its role in education but said that the Church is now trying to convert not only indigenous groups and Muslims to Christianity by offering various incentives."In a country where 90% of Muslims live, you are trying to convert people by...

Catholic bishops in Europe express concern over EU ruling mandating recognition of same-sex unions

The flag of the European Union. / Credit: U. J. Alexander/ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has expressed concern about a recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which obliges all member states to recognize so-called "homosexual marriages" legally performed in another country.In a Dec. 9 statement, the president of COMECE, Bishop Mariano Crociata, warned that the ruling could have an impact on the legal sovereignty of each nation, since the recognition of these unions is mandatory even if they are not valid under a country's own legal system.The ruling concerns a same-sex Polish couple who "married" in Germany in 2018. Upon returning to Poland, the authorities refused to record their union in the civil registry. The European court has deemed this refusal contrary to EU law, meaning that all member states are now obligated to recognize the rights stemming from...

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 ...