'Scourge of antisemitism:' Australian bishops call for prayer after 12 killed in Bondi Beach terrorist attack

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, Australia. / Credit: EWTN NewsEWTN News, Dec 14, 2025 / 07:02 am (CNA).Catholic leaders in Australia have responded with prayer and condemnation of antisemitism following what police described as a terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday that left 12 people dead and 29 others injured.Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney called for prayer and the intercession of the Virgin Mary in the immediate aftermath of the Dec. 14 shooting, which authorities said included one of the alleged gunmen among the dead."As we follow the horrific news coming from this evening's shooting at Bondi Beach, let us pray for those who have been killed or injured," Fisher said in a statement released shortly after the attack. "May Our Lady, Queen of Peace, intercede for all affected, and for our beloved city at this time."The archbishop also offered prayers for the "many who were forced to run for their lives" and for emergency servic...

Representation of the Way of the Cross in Mexico recognized as UNESCO heritage site

Holy Week in Mexico City's Iztapalapa sector. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Holy Week Organizing Committee in IztapalapaPuebla, Mexico, Dec 14, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).The perennially popular representation of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, held every Holy Week in the Iztapalapa sector of Mexico City, has been declared a Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).The decision was made during a UNESCO meeting in New Delhi, India, where the nomination of the Iztapalapa Way of the Cross was reviewed and approved.Speaking at the event, Edaly Quiroz, deputy director of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, said that Holy Week in Iztapalapa is not merely a theatrical performance but a manifestation "of unity, faith, and resilience that brings together thousands of people in a collective exercise of memory, identity, and participation."On its website, UNESCO states that this list ...

Pope Leo XIV voices concern over renewed fighting in eastern Congo, urges dialogue

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus on December 14, 2025. / Vatican MediaVatican City, Dec 14, 2025 / 08:05 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Sunday voiced deep concern over renewed fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, urging an immediate end to violence and a return to dialogue in line with ongoing peace efforts.After leading pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square in praying the Angelus on the Third Sunday of Advent, the pope said he was "following with deep concern the resumption of fighting in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.""While expressing my closeness to the people, I urge the parties in the conflict to cease all forms of violence and to seek constructive dialogue, respecting the ongoing peace process," he said.The pope's appeal came amid reports of intensified clashes involving the M23 rebel group in the mineral-rich eastern region, despite a recently signed peace agreement betwee...

Pope Leo XIV urges mercy, reform as Jubilee of Prisoners closes Holy Year

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the Jubilee of Hope for prisoners in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on December 14, 2025. / Mirjana Gabric / EWTNVatican City, Dec 14, 2025 / 05:25 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Sunday presided over the final major celebration of the Holy Year, calling for renewed commitment to justice, rehabilitation, and hope as he celebrated a Jubilee Mass dedicated to prisoners in St. Peter's Basilica.About 6,000 pilgrims from some 90 countries took part in the Jubilee of Prisoners, including detainees and their families, prison chaplains, correctional officers, police, and prison administrators. Participants came from across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, the United States, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Australia.In his homily, the pope said that as the Jubilee Year drew to a close, significant challenges remained within prison s...

Curtis Martin steps down as CEO of FOCUS after nearly 3 decades leading ministry group

FOCUS Founder Curtis Martin announces his retirement from the role of FOCUS CEO, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 / Credit: FOCUSCNA Staff, Dec 13, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA).Curtis Martin, who founded the Catholic student ministry group FOCUS nearly 30 years ago, announced this week that he will step down from his management role there while continuing to serve in the long-running campus ministry organization.In a Dec. 12 letter announcing his retirement from the role of CEO, Martin said that after nearly three decades, the organization now numbers "more than 1,000 FOCUS missionaries … in over 250 locations," reaching "nearly 60,000 students and parishioners" in 2025 alone. Since 2008, meanwhile, missionaries with the group have led "over 1,200 mission trips" that have sent more than 20,000 people to more than 50 countries. Martin said the "ever-increasing time demands" of his multiple roles at the company, coupled with several years of prayer with the organization's board of direct...

Doug Keck honored with 2025 Mother Angelica Award

Former EWTN president Doug Keck was presented with the Mother Angelica Award on Dec. 12, 2025. / Credit: EWTN NewsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 12, 2025 / 20:02 pm (CNA).The EWTN Global Catholic Network presented the 2025 Mother Angelica Award to its longtime former president, Doug Keck, in recognition of his decades of service, faithful leadership, and tireless commitment to the mission of evangelization.Following a 29-year career at EWTN, Keck retired from his duties as EWTN president and chief operating officer in June. He subsequently assumed the honorary title of president emeritus and continues to host his signature series "EWTN Bookmark" as well as serve as co-host of "Father Spitzer's Universe."The Mother Angelica Award, which was presented to Keck during a special ceremony broadcast globally, is the highest honor bestowed by the network to recognize individuals whose lives reflect the spirit of faith, courage, and evangelistic zeal embodied by EWTN's foundress, Mother...

Priests, laypeople, Poor Clare nun among 124 20th-century martyrs beatified in Spain

Detail of the commemorative painting of the 124 martyrs of Jaén, Spain, beatified in 2025. / Credit: Diocese of JaénACI Prensa Staff, Dec 12, 2025 / 16:03 pm (CNA).The Diocese of Jaén in Spain will celebrate on Dec. 13 the beatification of 109 priests, 14 laypeople, and one Poor Clare nun martyred during the Spanish Civil War.With the addition of these 124 new blesseds, the number of 20th-century martyrs in Spain recognized by the Catholic Church rises to 2,254, 11 of whom have been canonized.The beatification ceremony will be presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, and will take place in Assumption Cathedral in Jaén, where some of the new blesseds spent their last days before being murdered out of hatred for the faith. Bishop Sebastián Chico of Jaén in the pastoral letter published on the occasion of the beatification stated that "their blood, far from being sterile, has become a fertile seed that today nourishes the...

Bishops call Illinois assisted suicide law signed by Gov. Pritzker 'heartbreaking'

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at Chi Hack Night on July 12, 2017. / Credit: Chi Hack Night, CC-BY-3.0CNA Staff, Dec 12, 2025 / 16:52 pm (CNA).Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law an assisted suicide bill that Catholic leaders have ardently opposed.Pritzker, who met with Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 19, cited "freedom," "choice," and "autonomy" as his reasons for signing the bill, which allows doctors to give terminally ill patients life-ending drugs if they request them. According to the law, patients must be mentally capable and have a prognosis of six months or less to live. Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and other Illinois bishops had urged Pritzker to veto the bill. The Catholic Conference of Illinois, which speaks for the Catholic bishops in the state, condemned the law, calling it a "dangerous and heartbreaking path." Other jurisdictions with assisted suicide laws include: California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washing...

Pope Leo XIV entrusts pontificate to the Virgin of Guadalupe

Pope Leo XIV honors Our Lady of Guadalupe during the Mass on her feast day, Dec. 12, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Dec 12, 2025 / 17:46 pm (CNA).On Dec. 12, Pope Leo XIV presided over his first Mass on the solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom he asked to come to his aid "so that she may confirm in the one true path that leads to the blessed Fruit of your womb all those who have been entrusted to me."A large number of the faithful, mostly from the Mexican community residing in Rome as well as clergy and members of the Roman Curia, attended the ceremony held in St. Peter's Basilica at 4 p.m. local time.The Holy Father delivered a homily in Spanish in the form of a prayer addressed to the patroness of Mexico and empress of the Americas.The pontiff recalled that Mary allows the Word of God "to enter her life and transform it," bringing "that joy wherever human joy is insufficient, wherever the wine has run out." For the ...

Prayer rally protests Vienna exhibition depicting 'crucified frog and transgender Mary'

Official appearance of the exhibition in Vienna from Vienna Künstlerhaus website. / Credit: Vienna Künstlerhaus websiteCNA Deutsch, Dec 12, 2025 / 10:11 am (CNA).On Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a prayer rally against an exhibition called "Du sollst dir ein Bild machen" ("You shall make yourself an image") took place in front of the Vienna Künstlerhaus Vereinigung, a cultural center for artists. The prayer rally's organizers said the show, which includes a crucified frog and a depiction of the Virgin Mary as a transgender woman, is an attack on the Catholic faith.Organized by the Austrian Society for the Protection of Tradition, Family, and Private Property (TFP), the rosary rally featured participants carrying placards calling for an immediate stop to blasphemy. Protesters said the exhibition strikes "at the heart of the Catholic faith with abominable depictions, including a crucified green frog mocking Our Lord, a bearded man dressed as the Mother of God...