Catholic bishops speak out as New York governor pledges to sign into law assisted suicide

Disabilities advocates in Buffalo, New York, during a candlelight vigil in opposition to assisted suicide. / Credit: New York Alliance Against Assisted SuicideCNA Staff, Dec 17, 2025 / 17:00 pm (CNA).New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign into law an assisted suicide bill that Catholic leaders have ardently opposed, making New York the 13th state to allow the practice. Hochul, who called it an "incredibly difficult decision," said she will sign the bill after lawmakers add some "guardrails." The bill allows doctors to give terminally ill patients drugs to end their lives. Hochul's additions to the law include requiring a waiting period, a recorded oral request for death, and a health evaluation. The law will go into effect six months after signing.    Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and other New York bishops have been outspoken against the legislation, issuing several statements opposing it. In a brief meeting with Hochul over the summer, Dolan urged ...

First painting in Rome of Our Lady of Guadalupe preserved in fourth-century church

This image is preserved in the Church of San Vital, built in 386, in Rome. / Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN NewsRome Newsroom, Dec 17, 2025 / 17:30 pm (CNA).The Church of St. Vitale, built in 386, is the oldest Christian church still standing in the center of Rome. It is the "only place of worship from the fourth century that has remained intact throughout the centuries," emphasized its parish priest, Father Elio Lops.This early Christian church, discreet and given little attention on typical tourist routes, safeguards an artistic and devotional treasure that is practically unknown: the first image of Our Lady of Guadalupe painted in the Italian capital."It has never been given the importance it deserves," Lops told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, referring to a representation of the Virgin Mary that immediately brings to mind the image imprinted on St. Juan Diego's tilma in 1531.The similarities are striking. "There is no doubt about its identity," the parish p...

Pentagon chief announces reforms to U.S. military's Chaplain Corps 

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (at right) is shown here during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (at left) and then National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (at center). / Credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, Dec 17, 2025 / 20:05 pm (CNA).U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that he has issued a directive aimed at reforming the military's Chaplain Corps, beginning with the elimination of the U.S. Army's current Spiritual Fitness Guide.In a video post, Hegseth described a "real problem" facing the nation's military forces: "the weakening of our Chaplain corps" that has "been going on for far too long.""In an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism, chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists. instead of ministers," he said. "Faith and virtue were traded for self help and self care."Hegseth said that "chaplains are intended to be the spiritual and moral backbone of our nation's forces," r...

Catholic bishops speak out as New York governor pledges to pass assisted suicide bill

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, (pictured on Nov. 25, 2025, with Cardinal Timothy Dolan at a Catholic Charities Thanksgiving event to hand out turkeys and other foods), said she will sign a bill legalizing assisted suicide in the Empire State. / Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Dec 17, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign an assisted suicide bill that Catholic leaders have ardently opposed, making New York the 13th state to allow the practice. Hochul, who called it an "incredibly difficult decision," said she will sign the bill after lawmakers add some "guardrails." The bill allows doctors to give terminally ill patients drugs to end their lives. Hochul's additions to the law include requiring a waiting period, a recorded oral request for death, and a health evaluation. The law will go into effect six months after signing.    Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and other New York bishops have been outspoken against the...

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...