Pope Leo XIV appoints Bishop Ramón Bejarano to lead Monterey Diocese

San Diego Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano celebrates Mass at St. Augustine's School on Dec. 5, 2021, to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe. / Credit: John Gastaldo/Catholic Diocese of San DiegoVatican City, Dec 17, 2025 / 10:18 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Ramón Bejarano, currently auxiliary bishop of San Diego, as the next bishop of Monterey in California. The appointment was publicized on Dec. 17 by the Holy See Press Office at the Vatican and by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.Bejarano succeeds Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, who led Monterey before being appointed bishop of Austin, Texas, on July 2 and installed there on Sept. 18.Bejarano was born July 17, 1969, in Laredo, Texas, and completed ecclesiastical studies at the diocesan seminary in Tijuana, Mexico, and at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon, the Vatican said. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Stockton on Aug. 15, 1998.Named titular bishop of Carpi and auxiliary bishop of Sa...

Miracle of the liquefaction of blood of St. Januarius is repeated in Naples, Italy

St. Januarius (left) and the relic of the blood of St. Januarius. / Credit: Chapel of St. JanuariusACI Prensa Staff, Dec 16, 2025 / 12:58 pm (CNA).The miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius, patron saint of the Italian city of Naples, occurred again on Tuesday, Dec. 16.According to the Archdiocese of Naples, the miracle took place after Mass in the Royal Chapel of the Treasure of St. Januarius on the feast of the patronage of St. Januarius."At 9:13 a.m. local time, the blood already appeared semi-liquid. At 10:05 a.m., the complete liquefaction was announced," the archdiocese reported."Dec. 16 is the third of three annual celebrations in honor of the martyred saint. This date commemorates the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1631, when the Neapolitans requested and obtained the miraculous intervention of St. Januarius to prevent the lava from engulfing the city," he explained.The announcement of the miracle was made by Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio, abbot of th...

Wisconsin loses second bid to block tax exemption in spat with Catholic charity

The Wisconsin Supreme Court building in Madison, Wisconsin. / Credit: Richard Hurd/Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, Dec 16, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).The Wisconsin state government lost decisively a second time in what has become a convoluted effort to block a Catholic charity from receiving a long-running state tax exemption.The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Dec. 15 blocked state Attorney General Josh Kaul's attempt to fully eliminate an unemployment tax exemption after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Diocese of Superior's Catholic Charities Bureau was entitled to the tax break.The U.S. Supreme Court in June had ruled that Wisconsin violated the First Amendment when it denied the tax exemption to the Catholic group on the grounds that the group's charitable undertakings were not "primarily" religious.The state responded in October by moving to eliminate the exemption entirely, arguing that the tax break is "discriminatory" and that ending the policy would "avoid collateral damage to...

With special permission, prisoners travel to Rome for the jubilee

Pope Leo XIV presides at the jubilee Mass for prisoners on Dec. 14, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Dec 16, 2025 / 15:11 pm (CNA).The last major event of the Jubilee of Hope was dedicated to prisoners around the world, some of whom during the past weekend were able to experience freedom and fulfill a dream: to go see Pope Leo XIV.Víctor Aguado, director of prison ministry in Valencia, Spain, accompanied a group of prisoners to the Eternal City, many of whom had spent more than 12 years behind bars. Thanks to special permission, they were able to travel and become living witnesses that "hope breaks down walls and that dignity cannot be taken away."In a conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, Aguado recounted the details of the "intense, emotional, and spiritual" trip that will forever mark the lives of the men and women who have been incarcerated. The group was composed of a total of 13 people from Valencia, including prisoners, vol...

Jimmy Lai's godfather weighs in on 'phony' guilty verdict

Bill McGurn, Wall Street Journal columnist and godfather of Jimmy Lai, speaks with "EWTN News Nightly" anchor Veronica Dudo on Dec. 15, 2025. / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/ScreenshotWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Catholic human rights and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai was found guilty following his lengthy national security trial. Lai, 78, will be sentenced at a later date but faces up to life in prison.The Dec. 15 verdict "is important, and it's not important," Bill McGurn, Wall Street Journal columnist and godfather of Lai, told "EWTN News Nightly.""It's important because it's part of the Hong Kong process, and everyone knew he would always be convicted. So it's important because we have to get it out of the way," McGurn said. "Jimmy cannot be released until he was convicted, and that's why we had to wait all these years for the trial and then his conviction.""On the other hand, it was always this charade … the world sees it for what it is. And so...

Tourism operators celebrate religious dimension of work at jubilee pilgrimage in Rome

Italian Bishop Antonio Staglianò celebrates a Mass for the Jubilee of Tourism at Rome's Church of San Salvatore in Lauro on Dec. 15, 2025. / Credit: Kristina Millare/EWTNRome, Italy, Dec 16, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).About 400 people participated in a Jubilee of Tourism pilgrimage in Rome on Monday evening, celebrating the unique role the industry plays in supporting the faith and religious experience of millions of pilgrims and tourists.Isabella Ruggiero, president of the Associazioni Guide Turistiche Abilitate (Associations of Qualified Tourist Guides), who helped organize the jubilee dedicated to tourism workers, said the Dec. 15 pilgrimage was a way to bring together the professional community that daily supports visitors to Italy and the Vatican."This special jubilee is dedicated not only to tourist guides but to all those who work in the world of tourism: guides, tour leaders, travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, accommodation providers," Ruggiero told CNA."Every pilgrima...

50 young French martyrs murdered by Nazis beatified in Notre Dame Cathedral

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, archbishop of Luxembourg, presided over the beatification Mass of the 50 martyrs of the Catholic apostolate, held Dec. 13, 2025, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsACI Prensa Staff, Dec 16, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, archbishop of Luxembourg, celebrated in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Dec. 13 the Mass of beatification for 50 young martyrs who were murdered by the Nazis out of hatred for the Catholic faith during World War II.In an apostolic letter he sent to the French capital, Pope Leo XIV established that the feast day of the 50 new blessed martyrs, belonging to about 30 French dioceses, will be May 5, 2026."Raymond Cayré, priest; Gérard-Martin Cendrier, of the Order of Friars Minor; Roger Vallé, seminarian; Jean Mestre, layman; and 46 companions were beatified in Paris. They were killed in hatred of the faith in 1944-45 during the Nazi occupation," Pope Leo XIV said after the Angel...

'Seeking Beauty' travel show with David Henrie premieres at Vatican

Catholic actor and director David Henrie speaks with EWTN News after the first episode of his new travel show, "Seeking Beauty," premiered at the Vatican's movie theater on Dec. 15, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNAVatican City, Dec 16, 2025 / 10:45 am (CNA).The first episode of a new travel show, hosted by Catholic actor and director David Henrie, premiered at the Vatican's movie theater on Monday evening."Seeking Beauty," which will debut on EWTN's free streaming platform EWTN+ on Jan. 19, 2026, is a series documenting Henrie's exploration of the beauty of art and culture in six Italian cities.Henrie and executive producer Edmundo Reyes, with other crew members, were present for the airing of Episode 1 inside Vatican City on Dec. 15. The premiere was followed by a Q-and-A with Henrie, Reyes, and Peter Gagnon, president of EWTN Studios, moderated by Andreas Thonhauser, chief global officer of EWTN."It's a blessing to be able to play the show at the Vatican, which is where we [...

EU funding freeze causes financial problems for Catholic family association

The Berlaymont building in Brussels, seat of the European Commission. / Credit: EmDee/Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)EWTN News, Dec 16, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).A drastic cut in EU funding has plunged the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE) into financial crisis, according to the association, sparking accusations of "ideological discrimination" against the Brussels-based group.FAFCE announced that the European Commission excluded all six of its recent project applications from funding, reportedly penalizing the Catholic group's proposals for lacking sufficient "gender diversity" and "safeguards against discrimination," according to documents reviewed by CNA.Responding on social media, Hungarian Member of the European Parliament Kinga Gál, vice president of the Patriots for Europe group, condemned the European Commission's decision as "the highest form of discrimination."She argued that the move targets the Catholic association "simply for defending family as the ...

Michigan's fifth diocesan abuse report details dozens of allegations against priests

The Michigan government released another report on diocesan abuse in December 2025, detailing dozens of allegations against more than 50 priests in the Diocese of Grand Rapids. / Credit: Snehit Photo/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Dec 16, 2025 / 12:15 pm (CNA).The Michigan government this week released its fifth report on diocesan abuse in the state, detailing dozens of allegations against more than 50 priests in the Diocese of Grand Rapids. The report from the attorney general's office, released on Dec. 15, comes after four other reports detailing abuse allegations in the dioceses of Lansing, Kalamazoo, Gaylord, and Marquette.  As with the other reports, the allegations detailed in the Grand Rapids investigation go back decades. The Dec. 15 report encompasses abuse allegations against "priests or deacons who are current or former clergy for the Diocese of Grand Rapids, that occurred in the diocese from Jan. 1, 1950, to the present," the review says. The alleged abu...