U.S. executions rise in 2025 amid shifting public opinion

The lethal injection chamber at the Oklahoma State Penintentiary, May 7, 2010. Credit: Josh Rushing via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)Dec 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).A rise in executions in the United States in 2025 occurred alongside "shifting public opinion" against the death penalty, offering anti-death-penalty advocates a hopeful sign going into 2026 even amid high levels of capital punishment.The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit group that tracks and catalogs executions in the United States, said in its year-end report that 48 prisoners were executed in the U.S. in 2025, up from 25 the year before.The near-100% increase in executions was driven in large part by Florida, which at 19 executions counted for about 40% of the year's total, the group noted.The year also saw the expanded use of a controversial method of execution, that of nitrogen gas. Louisiana and Alabama both killed two condemned prisoners using this method, which advocates have said poses the...

6 Catholic public figures who made major headlines in 2025

Pope Leo XIV, Pope Francis, Michael Iskander, Bishop Mark Seitz, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Andrea Bocelli. Credit: Vatican Media; ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images; Jason Davis/Getty Images; Hakim Shammo/EWTN News; Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem; Franco Origlia/Getty ImagesACI Prensa Staff, Dec 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).The year 2025 will be etched in the memory of the Catholic Church for various profoundly significant events, including the death of Pope Francis, the election of a new pontiff, and a series of testimonies of faith that resonated throughout the world.Below we take a look back at six Catholic public figures who made major headlines this past year.1. Pope FrancisPope Francis offers Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Easter Sunday April 4, 2021. - Credit: Vatican MediaPope Francis passed away on April 21, Easter Monday, after a pontificate marked by pastoral closeness, defense of the poorest, and a missionary approach of reaching out to the peripheries....

Northern Ireland's only Catholic college celebrates 125 years of training teachers

Graduates pose with their degrees at St. Mary's University College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. / Credit: St. Mary's University CollegeEWTN News, Dec 29, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).Four generations of teachers, a Nobel Prize winner, and a kicker with the New Orleans Saints are among those who have graduated from Northern Ireland's only Catholic higher education institution.St. Mary's University College in Belfast is marking the 125th year of a remarkable journey that began in 1900.Since its foundation, St. Mary's has been synonymous with training Catholic teachers. It is rooted in a profound commitment to Catholic education, with its alumni teaching in every Catholic school in Northern Ireland and in schools around the world.St. Mary's University College is pictured on its campus on the Lower Falls Road in West Belfast, Northern Ireland. Credit: St. Mary's University CollegePrincipal Peter Finn told CNA: "At Christmastime, St. Mary's University College in Belfast celebrates an inst...

Italian family preserves 300-year tradition of handmade Nativity scenes

Bottega Ferrigno is located in the iconic "Christmas Alley," part of the southern Italian city of Naples' historic San Gregorio Armeno neighborhood. / Credit: Gianpiero Passalia/EWTN NewsRome Newsroom, Dec 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).On a small street in the center of Naples, Italy, artisans like Giovanni Giudice work to preserve the custom of handcrafted Neapolitan Nativity scenes, a tradition dating back more than 300 years."The story of the Neapolitan Nativity scene begins with the Bourbon domination, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and between them … a competition of who made the most beautiful and unique Nativity scene," Giudice, a third-generation artisan, told Valentina Di Donato of EWTN News. "So from there, the whole story began here in Naples."Artisan Giovanni Giudice speaks to EWTN News' Valentina Di Donato about his hand-crafted Neapolitan Nativity scenes, a tradition dating back more than 300 years, at Bottega Ferrigno in Naples, Italy. Credit: Gianpiero Passalia/EW...

2025 saw expanded access to physician-assisted suicide 

Empty wheelchairs used during the Nov. 4, 2025, anti-assisted suicide event in Rome. / Credit: Courtesy of ProVita & FamigliaWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 28, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Despite opposition from advocacy groups and Catholic leaders, multiple states and countries advanced legislation in 2025 to expand access to physician-assisted suicide.Delaware Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed a bill in May legalizing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live. The law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, allowing patients to self-administer lethal medication. After the bill was signed, several disability and patient advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware on Dec. 8 alleging that the law discriminates against people with disabilities. Illinois The House passed a bill in May to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Illinois, and it stalled in the Senate during the regular s...

Vatican expert: Co-Redemptrix title of Mary not absolutely prohibited

Monsignor Maurizio Gronchi. Credit: EWTN NoticiasDec 28, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).Monsignor Maurizio Gronchi, an expert consultant for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, clarified that the measure established last month regarding the use of the titles "Co-Redemptrix" and "Mediatrix" for the Virgin Mary is "not an absolute prohibition" and that these titles can still be used in popular piety, provided their meaning is understood."It's not an absolute prohibition, but it will no longer be used in official documents or in the liturgy. But if used in popular devotion, understanding its meaning, no one will be reprimanded for it," the expert said in an interview with "EWTN Noticias," the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News.The interview took place after the Nov. 4 publication of the doctrinal note " Mother of the Faithful People" in which the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by Cardinal Víctor Fernández, stated that the use of the tit...

Pope Leo XIV urges families to keep the flame of love alive

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the recitation of the Angelus on Dec. 28, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Dec 28, 2025 / 09:49 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged Christian families to "cherish the values of the Gospel" and protect the "flame of love" in their homes against modern myths of success, power, and comfort that he said often leave people isolated and divided.Speaking to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square before the Angelus on Dec. 28, the feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, the pope reflected on the Gospel account of the family's flight into Egypt and contrasted the trust of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph with what he called the fear-driven cruelty of King Herod."It is a moment of trial for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Leo said, adding that "the bright image of Christmas is suddenly almost eclipsed by the disturbing shadow of a deadly threat."The pope described Herod as "a cruel and bloodthirsty man" who is "deeply lone...

Pope Leo XIV sends 3 truckloads of humanitarian aid to Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for recitation of the Angelus on Dec. 28, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Dec 28, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV has sent three trucks carrying humanitarian aid to parts of Ukraine hit hardest by bombardments, where residents are facing severe shortages of electricity, water, and heat.Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the pope's almoner, disclosed the delivery to Vatican media on Dec. 27, saying the convoy carried special food that can be dissolved in a small amount of water to produce energy-rich soups with chicken and vegetables.Krajewski described the shipment as a small gesture of closeness from the pope to Ukrainian families on the feast of the Holy Family, celebrated Dec. 28.The trucks, he said, arrived in the Vatican shortly before Christmas loaded with supplies donated by South Korean food company Samyang Foods. As had happened on previous occasions, including during the pontificate of...

Trump vows more strikes on Nigerian militants due to Christian persecution

Flag of Nigeria on soldiers arm. / Credit: Bumble Dee/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 26, 2025 / 18:22 pm (CNA).After launching an attack on ISIS militants in Nigeria, President Donald Trump vowed that the United States would wage more military strikes if the ongoing persecution of Christians persists in the country.The U.S. military coordinated with the Nigerian government in the joint operation, which targeted camps in the Sokoto state, where military officials said ISIS militants were based. The state is a predominantly Sunni Muslim region in the northwestern corner of Nigeria, bordering Niger.Gen. Dagvin Anderson of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement that U.S. forces are "working with Nigerian and regional partners to increase counterterrorism cooperation efforts related to ongoing violence and threats against innocent lives.""Our goal is to protect Americans and to disrupt violent extremist organizations wherever they are," he said.The Nigeria...

Sudanese bishop delivers Christmas message in midst of war

Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku of Sudan's El Obeid Diocese. Credit: CRNACI Africa, Dec 26, 2025 / 15:37 pm (CNA).In a country battered by violence, displacement, and fear, the 2025 Christmas message of Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali of Sudan's Catholic Diocese of El-Obeid addressed the people of God in the midst of their suffering and the fragile hope still carried by the celebration of Christmas.For Trille, the Christmas proclamation is rooted in God's fidelity, since "the birth of Christ is the manifestation of the glory of our God," revealing his promise of salvation and peace for the whole of creation.Through Christ's birth, he explained, "the gate of heaven is opened for us" and reconciliation becomes possible because "the birth of Christ opens the way for our reconciliation with our Creator."He drew a parallel between the manger and Sudan's humanitarian crisis, saying: "Seeing the baby Jesus in the manger describes the situation of all those of us in our c...