Reactions mount in Canada to undercover video exposing late-term abortions

A screenshot from the Vancouver video in which Alissa Golob recorded her conversation with a health care worker at BC Women's Hospital. / Credit: RightNow YouTube/B.C. CatholicVancouver, Canada, Dec 1, 2025 / 15:51 pm (CNA).A week after The Catholic Register in Canada revealed that pro-life advocate Alissa Golob went undercover while 22 weeks pregnant to test whether late-term abortions were accessible in Canada without medical justification, the national response continues to intensify, with a new twist: a fourth hidden-camera video that Golob says she is legally barred from releasing.Golob, co-founder of RightNow, posed as an undecided pregnant woman in abortion facilities in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary in 2023. The Nov. 19 Register story detailed her conversations with clinic counselors and physicians who told her late-term abortions could be arranged at nearby hospitals, sometimes "up to 32 weeks," without needing to provide medical reasons.Staff described pro...

Aid to the Church in Need welcomes appointment of Cardinal Koch as its new president

Cardinal Kurt Koch during an interview with EWTN News. / Credit: EWTN NewsACI Prensa Staff, Dec 1, 2025 / 16:21 pm (CNA).The executive director of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Regina Lynch, thanked Pope Leo XIV for appointing Cardinal Kurt Koch as the new president of the pontifical foundation."We very much look forward to having Cardinal Koch as our president and for the guidance he can bring to our mission to persecuted and suffering Christians all over the world. We are grateful to Pope Leo XIV for this appointment and for his interest in our work," Lynch said.Koch is 75 years old and replaces Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who is 81 years old and has led the institution since 2011.Piacenza was the first president of ACN since the organization received the title of pontifical foundation.In a Nov. 27 statement published on the ACN website, Lynch highlighted the work carried out by Piacenza, in whom the international institution "has always had a steady and trusted mentor and pr...

LIVE UPDATES: Pope Leo XIV visits tomb of St. Charbel in Lebanon

Pope Leo XIV reflects on the enduring message of St. Charbel Makhlouf at the hermit's tomb at the Monastery of St. Maron, in Annaya, Lebanon, on Dec. 1, 2025. / Credit: Elias Turk/AIGAV pool.CNA Staff, Nov 30, 2025 / 20:30 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV has begun the second day of his apostolic journey to Lebanon.Watch LIVE the major events of Pope Leo's apostolic journey Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 at youtube.com/@ewtnnews and follow our live updates of his historic visit:

Pope Leo entrusts Lebanon to Saint Charbel's intercession, prays at his tomb

Pope Leo XIV speaks at the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, Lebanon, location of the tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf, on December 1, 2025. / Elias Tirk/AIGAV PoolAnnaya, Lebanon, Dec 1, 2025 / 03:37 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV began his second day in Lebanon on Monday with a deeply symbolic pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf, entrusting the country and the wider Middle East to the intercession of the saint whom many Lebanese, Christians and Muslims alike, invoke as the "heavenly physician."The pope traveled roughly 25 miles (40 kilometers) by car from the Apostolic Nunciature in Harissa to the hilltop monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, where thousands of pilgrims come each year seeking healing and consolation. The monastery's archives record nearly 30,000 miracles attributed to Saint Charbel's intercession, including many reported by Muslims, a sign, the pope noted, of Charbel's unique place in Lebanon's spiritual landscape.Pope Leo prayed in silence at the saint's tomb ...

LIVE UPDATES: Pope Leo XIV concludes first day of his apostolic visit to Lebanon

Pope Leo XIV visits the Monastery of the Carmelite Sisters of the Theotokos in Harissa, Lebanon, on Nov. 30, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaCNA Staff, Nov 30, 2025 / 20:30 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV concluded the first day of his apostolic visit to Lebanon with a vist to the Monastery of the Carmelite Sisters of the Theotokos in Harissa.Watch LIVE the major events of Pope Leo's apostolic journey Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 at youtube.com/@ewtnnews and follow our live updates of his historic visit:

UPDATED: Pope Leo XIV honors 'courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people' in Istanbul

Pope Leo XIV with Armenian Patriarch Sahak II Mashalian at the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 30, 2025. / Vatican MediaIstanbul, Turkey, Nov 30, 2025 / 04:50 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV dedicated the final morning of his visit to Turkey on Sunday to strengthening ties with the Armenian Apostolic Church, thanking God for "the courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people throughout history, often amid tragic circumstances."The pope addressed the faithful at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul, highlighting the deepening relationship between the Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church and recalling key milestones in their modern ecumenical journey.The visit to the cathedral, seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, formed part of a day marked by prayer, dialogue, and reflection as the pope concluded the Turkey leg of his first international apostolic journey, which continues next in Lebanon.Armenians are one...

LIVE UPDATES: Pope Leo XIV finishes third day of papal trip with Mass in Istanbul

Pope Leo XIV leads a Mass at the Volkswagen Arena as part of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon, in Istanbul on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025 / Credit: ANDREAS SOLARO / GettyCNA Staff, Nov 29, 2025 / 19:10 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV finished the third day of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon with a Mass at Volkswagen Arena, a venue in Istanbul's Maslak neighborhood. The Holy Father marked the day in part by joining Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I for a declaration pledging continued dialogue aimed at restoring full communion between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The two leaders also participated in a Doxology together. Watch LIVE the major events of Pope Leo's apostolic journey Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 at youtube.com/@ewtnnews and follow our live updates of his historic visit:

Airbus computer issue affects papal plane during trip to Turkey

The flights for Pope Leo XIV's first apostolic journey are taking place aboard an ITA Airways Airbus A320neo, one of thousands of Airbus planes affected by a computer issue, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News.CNA Staff, Nov 29, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).The papal plane set to fly Pope Leo XIV from Turkey to Lebanon on Sunday is one of thousands of Airbus A320 aircraft affected by a computer issue.Around 6,000 Airbus planes were grounded this weekend after it was discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard flight control computers, according to the BBC. For most of the affected aircraft, the issue could be resolved with a software update, but around 900 planes, including the papal plane, needed onboard computers physically replaced.According to Director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni, a plane arrived in Istanbul from Rome on Saturday with a technician and the replacement computer for Pope Leo's ITA Airways A320neo.&nbs...

Pope Leo XIV and Bartholomew I 'deeply alarmed' by global tensions

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople sign a joint declaration at the Palace of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 29, 2025. / Vatican MediaIstanbul, Turkey, Nov 29, 2025 / 10:07 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople said on Saturday they are "deeply alarmed by the current international situation," issuing a joint appeal for peace.The appeal took place during the pope's first international trip, a journey that has taken him to Turkey and will continue on to Lebanon.The two leaders signed a joint declaration at the Palace of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul. The text rejects the use of religion to justify violence, urges global efforts toward peace, supports cooperation among believers of different faiths, and entrusts a suffering world to God with renewed hope in the Holy Spirit.The pope and the patriarch, who is considered first among equals among Easter...

Pope Leo XIV, at Mass in Turkey, calls for Catholic, ecumenical and interreligious unity

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 29, 2025. / Screenshot: Vatican MediaIstanbul, Turkey, Nov 29, 2025 / 11:20 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV marked the start of Advent on Saturday with an appeal for unity and peace, telling thousands gathered for Mass in Istanbul that Christians "journey as if on a bridge that connects earth to Heaven," keeping their eyes "fixed on both shores" until they are united "in the house of the Father."The pope celebrated Mass on Nov. 29 at the Volkswagen Arena, a large multipurpose venue within Istanbul's Uniq cultural complex. The liturgy, held on the eve of the Feast of St. Andrew, patron of Turkey, took place during the third day of his first international apostolic trip, which has brought him to Turkey and will soon continue on to Lebanon.In his homily, the pope reflected on the beginning of Advent, saying it prepares believers "to experience anew at Christmas the mystery of Jesus, the Son of God, begotte...