Canadian government set to remove religious exemptions from hate-speech laws

Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa. / Credit: Robert Linsdell via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 18:04 pm (CNA).Legislators in Canada are reportedly poised to strip religious protections from the country's hate-speech laws as part of an effort to crack down on hateful symbols throughout the country. Lawmakers with the Liberal Party of Canada have reportedly struck a deal with the Bloc Québécois party to remove the religious exemptions from the national code.Canadian law forbids people from "incit[ing] hatred against any identifiable group," though it provides exemptions for individuals whose opinions are grounded in religion or a religious text. The National Post reported on Dec. 1 that the exemptions are expected to be removed in an upcoming amendment to the country's hate-speech laws. The paper cited a "senior government source" who was granted anonymity to discuss the proceedings."The bill is in a place now … everyone is happy," the source told the Post.Re...

Colorado school to pay $10 million for ordering Catholic doctor, others to get COVID shot

null / Credit: Karina Lopatina/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 12:33 pm (CNA).The University of Colorado's medical school will pay out a massive eight-figure settlement after it required multiple staffers, including a Catholic doctor, to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination. The Thomas More Society said the university's Anschutz School of Medicine "agreed to pay more than $10.3 million in damages, tuition, and attorney's fees" to 18 plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The legal group said in a Dec. 1 release that the plaintiffs had been "denied religious accommodations to mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations." The suit has been active for nearly five years. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit had ruled in 2024 that the university had violated the plaintiffs' "clearly established" First Amendment rights in refusing to issue religious exemptions to the COVID vaccine. Religious objectors have cited numerous concerns with the vaccines, including that they were developed...

Ohio Catholic high school and diocese hit with 4 lawsuits over alleged student-led abuse

St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown, Ohio. / Credit: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 13:03 pm (CNA).The Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and one of its Catholic high schools are facing multiple lawsuits over the alleged mishandling of multiple reports of bullying and student-led abuse.Of the four lawsuits, three were filed in federal district court and the fourth was filed in a county court of common pleas. They allege that Ursuline High School in Youngstown failed to prevent the bullying and harassment of several students.In the federal lawsuits, attorneys allege that Ursuline ignored multiple instances of harassment and bullying from the school's football players. Ursuline was aware of the abuse, the suits claim, though administrators allegedly did nothing in order to protect "the glory of [the school's] football team."One suit alleges that a football player engaged in protracted sexual harassment and eventually physical abuse of a...

Police suspect Croatian nun stabbed herself, falsely reported attack

The cathedral in Zagreb, Croatia. / Credit: Fogcatcher/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 2, 2025 / 13:33 pm (CNA).Police in Croatia's capital city of Zagreb suspect that a nun stabbed herself and then falsely reported that she had been attacked, according to a report published by the Zagreb Police Department.The department is filing a criminal complaint against the 35-year-old nun, Sister Marija Tatjana Zrno, after a four-day investigation into the allegations. The initial incident made national headlines, with many people first speculating it was a religiously motivated attack.According to the report, Zrno told police that an unknown perpetrator approached her with a knife and stabbed her, after which she was treated at the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb for minor injuries.However, police allege their investigation confirmed that Zrno purchased the weapon herself at a store in the Zagreb area. The police allege that their investigation determined that she infli...

U.S. Catholic bishops award over $7.8 million for mission dioceses 

Bishop Chad W. Zielinski of New Ulm, Minnesota. / Credit: Diocese of FairbanksWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 2, 2025 / 15:38 pm (CNA).The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) allocated more than $7.8 million to strengthen American mission dioceses, which are dioceses that cannot sustain themselves without additional funds.The USCCB Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions announced the grants on Dec. 1, which will provide 69 dioceses and eparchies with funds for the 2025-2026 budget year, according to a news release. The subcommittee reviewed the grant requests in the fall.Per the news release, the funds were generated through collections from parishioners during the Catholic Home Missions appeal, which is taken up annually throughout the country. Many mission dioceses are in regions with small Catholic populations and in rural areas that are affected by economic hardship, the bishops said in the announcement."When parishioners contribute to the Catholic Home Miss...

Bishops in Puerto Rico warn of 'possible escalations' in a US-Venezuela war

Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral in Ponce, Puerto Rico. / Credit: Alex Lipov/ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 16:08 pm (CNA).The Puerto Rican Bishops' Conference has expressed its opposition to the militarization being carried out by the United States on the island, an unincorporated U.S. territory, and in the Caribbean Sea region and warned of the "possible escalations" of a war with Venezuela.The Puerto Rican bishops noted various calls for peace from popes Leo XIV, Francis, and St. John XXIII, and denounced the "adverse effects" of militarization, such as "the restriction of airspace and maritime routes and military maneuvers in different towns in Puerto Rico, with their collateral consequences on fishing activity."In recent weeks, the Trump administration has sent some 15,000 troops to the Caribbean Sea region, 5,000 of whom are in Puerto Rico. According to CNN, a dozen ships have also arrived in the area, and U.S. forces have sunk several vessels allegedly loaded...

Pope Leo XIV lands in Rome after historic first papal trip to Turkey and Lebanon

Pope Leo XIV interacts with a baby before celebrating Mass in Beirut, Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV has arrived in Rome after his first apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27 to Dec. 2.Note: CNA has concluded this live blog. Please visit our main website for ongoing coverage and other Catholic news.

Pope Leo reveals Mideast peace talks with Trump, Netanyahu, other regional players

Pope Leo XIV speaks with reporters on his flight from Beirut to Rome on Dec. 2, 2025. / Credit: Elias Turk/EWTNRome, Italy, Dec 2, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV has begun conversations with U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the need to halt violence and seek solutions in the Middle East, the pope told journalists on his Tuesday flight from Beirut to Rome.The wide-ranging news conference also touched on Ukraine, the Catholic Church in Germany, and Leo's own election as pope, among other topics.In response to a question referring to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed political party and militia that holds significant influence in Lebanon, the pope said that during the trip he also held personal meetings with representatives of unnamed political groups involved in regional conflicts. "Our work is not something we announce publicly," he said. "We try to convince the parties to put down the arms and violence and come together to the table o...

Bishop Patrick Neary of Saint Cloud to chair Catholic Relief Services board

Bishop Patrick Neary of the Diocese of Saint Cloud, Minnesota. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Saint CloudWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 2, 2025 / 12:03 pm (CNA).Bishop Patrick Neary of Saint Cloud, Minnesota, has been appointed as the chair of Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) board. Neary was appointed by Archbishop Paul Coakley, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) president. Neary succeeds Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia. Neary assumes responsibilities for the role immediately, and the term runs until November 2028. "It is a profound honor to serve as chairman of the Catholic Relief Services board," Neary said, according to a press release. "My years in Africa and in parish ministry have shown me the face of Christ in the poor and the vulnerable, and I carry those encounters with me into this role."Neary praised CRS for embodying the Church's mission of compassionate accompaniment of those in need and lauded his predecessor, Pérez...

LIVE UPDATES: Last day of Pope Leo XIV's historic papal trip to Lebanon

Pope Leo XIV greets religious sisters and patients at the De La Croix Hospital for the mentally disabled in Jal el Dib, north of Beirut, Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 01:11 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV concludes his visit to Lebanon on Dec. 2. Watch LIVE the major events of Pope Leo's first apostolic journey Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 at youtube.com/@ewtnnews and follow our live updates of his historic visit: