VATICAN CITY — In the spirit of the Christmas season and as part of his ongoing quest to bring about widespread harmony throughout the world, Pope Leo XIV issued a proclamation urging Jesus and Satan to put all their differences aside in the name of peace.
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NEW YORK, NY — In a shocking development in the case of a killer charged with murdering a health insurance executive, a New York judge found that Luigi Mangione was too stunningly handsome and gorgeous to stand trial.
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Narrow-banded dartwhite (Catasticta flisa postaurea) on Mimosa pudica, Villa Gerar, Silvania, Cundinamarca, Colombia
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O my God, I love You above all things with my whole heart and soul, because you are all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of You. I forgive all who have injured me and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen.
Read MoreA reading from the Book of Isaiah
40:25-31
To whom can you liken me as an equal?
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these things:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
not one of them is missing!
Why, O Jacob, do you say,
and declare, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?
Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint nor grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
11:28-30
Jesus said to the crowds:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
Jesus promises to give rest to everyone, but he also gives us an invitation, which is like a commandment: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Mt 11:29). The “yoke” of the Lord consists in taking on the burden of others with fraternal love. Once Christ’s comfort and rest is received, we are called in turn to become rest and comfort for our brothers and sisters, with a docile and humble attitude, in imitation of the Teacher. Docility and humility of heart help us not only to take on the burden of others, but also to keep our personal views, our judgments, our criticism or our indifference from weighing on them. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 6 July 2014)
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Embrace opportunities to see the beauty of our Catholic faith #Catholic – 
As we continue our Advent journey together in anticipation of the celebration of the birth of our Savior, we are blessed in the Diocese of Paterson with many rich traditions, special Masses, and events at this time of year. While you are welcome and encouraged to experience these uplifting and joyous occasions in person, I realize that may not always be possible. In that case, I encourage you to experience them virtually by visiting beaconnj.org or following our social media accounts. By visiting beaconnj.org, you can follow our local events and important moments in the life of the Church universal.
To learn about some of the many different Christmas concerts, services, missions, retreats, and more happening in our local parishes, go to The Beacon’s “What To Do!” calendar: https://beaconnj.org/events/. Parishes are encouraged to advertise their events there for free!
You can also find special anniversary, installation, and Feast Day Masses listed on my monthly calendar. For example, there are several opportunities to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe this week, as well as Simbang Gabi, and our much-anticipated Jubilee Closing Mass.
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Just at about the halfway point of Advent, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, the title of Our Lady that is designated for her as patroness of the United States. Conceived free from the stain of original sin to be the Mother of God; she is also the model disciple leading us toward her Son, Jesus Christ. On Dec. 8, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, led the veneration of the image of the Immaculate Virgin at the Spanish Steps in Rome. Since 1958, when Saint John XXIII was Pope, the Holy Father has gone to the Spanish Steps in person to lead the people of Rome in prayer seeking the intercession of the Blessed Mother. As the Jubilee Year of Hope begins to draw to a close, Pope Leo’s first prayer at this shrine was especially poignant: “After the holy doors, may other doors now open, doors of homes and oases of peace where dignity may flourish again, where people may learn nonviolence and the art of reconciliation.” We pray that the Queen of Peace will help to build bridges between peoples through our shared love for her and through her intercession.
This year, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I was grateful for the honor to bless the new Monsignor Herbert Tillyer Rehabilitation Center in Paterson, part of the Diocese of Paterson Catholic Charities Straight and Narrow program. Look for coverage of the grand opening and ribbon cutting in The Beacon soon.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
As I wrote in a previous column, if you would like to get a little closer to our Blessed Mother during this Advent Season, one thing you could do is find a parish with a Spanish-speaking community that is celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Even if you don’t speak or understand a word of Spanish, you will find people who have a deep love for the Blessed Mother and who want to show their love and gratitude to her by coming for Mass or visiting Church on her Feast Day.
As they come to Mass or for a visit, they often carry roses, symbolizing the roses that Mary instructed Juan Diego to bring to the bishop as a sign of the authenticity of her presence, message, and request for a Shrine/Church to be built in her honor. Almost 500 years later, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe remains on that same spot at Tepeyac and is visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims yearly. The words of the Blessed Mother at Tepeyac to Saint Juan Diego are our consolation and hope this Advent and always: “Am I not here, I, who am your mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection?” Immaculately conceived and pointing us toward the life found in her Son, our Blessed Mother is always our encouragement and support.
During the Season of Advent, there is so much for us to appreciate about the beauty and diversity of our Catholic Faith and our Church, the “mystical Body of Christ.” Whether it is our love for and devotion to Mary, our Blessed Mother, or the many other wonderful traditions and customs that are part of our spiritual preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. The Feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe are two “Advent gifts” given to us by the Church to help us remember, focus, and pray as we travel together with Mary and one another on our “Advent journey” to Bethlehem.
As I wrote in another column, it is important for all of us to know, learn about, and appreciate our Blessed Mother as Our Lady of Guadalupe because it reminds us of the beauty of our Catholic faith. We know that the word Catholic means universal, reminding us that Jesus came to save all people, from all lands, nations, and tongues. We are also aware that in missionary efforts throughout the history of the Church, from Jesus telling his apostles, “Go to the ends of the earth …” and the moment of Pentecost, the “clash of cultures” was, at times, traumatic and sad, and many mistakes were made. However, despite all the human weakness and sinfulness, something happened between Our Blessed Mother, the Mexican people, and the people of the Americas. That loving and maternal bond remains strong and grows stronger almost 500 years later, continuing to be a vibrant part of the Church and, in our times, the “new evangelization.”
Also, Our Lady of Guadalupe helps us see the beauty of our Catholic faith by highlighting how Mary continues to lead us to her Son. “Guadalupe” is one of the countless titles of our Blessed Mother, and as her children, we can each have our favorite title. Yet she is the same Mother, the Mother of God and our Mother, as she said to St. Juan Diego and all, “Am I not here who am your Mother?”
While the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 is more popular in parishes where there are Mexican or Spanish-speaking communities, there are many reasons why awareness of and devotion to our Blessed Mother, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, is important for all Catholics, especially all Catholics in the Americas.
Please consider reading the full version of these columns by clicking on the above links and visiting a new parish this week to honor our Blessed Mother.
Simbang Gabi
There are also many opportunities during this Advent season to celebrate Simbang Gabi with members of our Filipino Catholic communities. This is a Filipino celebration of nine days of novenas and votive Masses in preparation for the birth of Jesus. Simbang Gabi in Tagalog means “Masses of the night.” The nine-day novena is held Dec. 16–24, during Advent. The Diocesan Commission for Catholic Filipino Ministries organized the novena and Mass in different parishes throughout the diocese where there are Filipino parishioners.
Please be assured of my prayers for you and our entire diocesan family during this Advent season, in which there is so much for us to appreciate about the beauty and diversity of our Catholic Faith and our Church, the “mystical Body of Christ.” Whether it is our love for and devotion to Mary, our Blessed Mother, or the many other wonderful traditions and customs that are part of our spiritual preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. The Feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe are two “Advent gifts” given to us by the Church to help us remember, focus, and pray as we travel together with Mary and one another on our “Advent journey” to Bethlehem.
– As we continue our Advent journey together in anticipation of the celebration of the birth of our Savior, we are blessed in the Diocese of Paterson with many rich traditions, special Masses, and events at this time of year. While you are welcome and encouraged to experience these uplifting and joyous occasions in person, I realize that may not always be possible. In that case, I encourage you to experience them virtually by visiting beaconnj.org or following our social media accounts. By visiting beaconnj.org, you can follow our local events and important moments in the life of the Church universal.
![Prayers honor immigrants at Clifton’s Noche De Las Velitas #Catholic - On Dec. 7, almost 100 faithful of the Paterson Diocese prayed the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary in English and Spanish for the immigrant community facing difficult times during the diocese’s annual “Noche de las Velitas” (“Night of the Candles”), held on the grounds of Holy Face Monastery in Clifton, N.J. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney participated in the event, a Latin-American tradition that honors the Immaculate Conception.
Adults and families with children from parishes of the diocese joined the bishop and the Benedictine monks who run Holy Face for an outdoor evening candlelight procession on monastery grounds. The faithful prayed the rosary and sang traditional songs to the Blessed Virgin Mary while a few participants recited reflections. The diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry organized the event.
Maria Moncaleano, director of Hispanic Ministry, said, “On this second Sunday of Advent, we heard in the Gospel how John the Baptist cries out in the desert against unfairness and injustice. It may seem unusual, but part of preparing for the birth of Jesus means pointing out what is wrong and unfair in the places where we live. That is how we can begin to create the communities of kindness, love and justice that Jesus desires.”
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Moncaleano continued, “In these days of Advent, let us especially reach out to migrants and refugees who also are greeted with responses of ‘there is no room’ as Joseph and Mary encountered. May we demonstrate the love that we have for Jesus to create a better world where all people feel welcome.”
The Night of the Candles dates back to Dec. 7, 1854, when Pope Pius IX published his apostolic constitution “Ineffabilis Deus,” which defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. People in Colombia lit candles and paper lanterns in celebration of the announcement. It is an annual tradition that Colombians and other Latin-American countries have observed ever since.
Moncaleano thanked the Benedictine monks for their hospitality and the many volunteers who helped her decorate the pathway for the procession. She especially thanked Father Yohan Serrano, chaplain for Hispanic Ministry, for his presence and support.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](http://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/prayers-honor-immigrants-at-cliftons-noche-de-las-velitas-catholic-on-dec-7-almost-100-faithful-of-the-paterson-diocese-prayed-the-glorious-mysteries-of-the-rosary-in-english-and-spanish.jpg)
Prayers honor immigrants at Clifton’s Noche De Las Velitas #Catholic – 
On Dec. 7, almost 100 faithful of the Paterson Diocese prayed the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary in English and Spanish for the immigrant community facing difficult times during the diocese’s annual “Noche de las Velitas” (“Night of the Candles”), held on the grounds of Holy Face Monastery in Clifton, N.J. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney participated in the event, a Latin-American tradition that honors the Immaculate Conception.
Adults and families with children from parishes of the diocese joined the bishop and the Benedictine monks who run Holy Face for an outdoor evening candlelight procession on monastery grounds. The faithful prayed the rosary and sang traditional songs to the Blessed Virgin Mary while a few participants recited reflections. The diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry organized the event.
Maria Moncaleano, director of Hispanic Ministry, said, “On this second Sunday of Advent, we heard in the Gospel how John the Baptist cries out in the desert against unfairness and injustice. It may seem unusual, but part of preparing for the birth of Jesus means pointing out what is wrong and unfair in the places where we live. That is how we can begin to create the communities of kindness, love and justice that Jesus desires.”
Moncaleano continued, “In these days of Advent, let us especially reach out to migrants and refugees who also are greeted with responses of ‘there is no room’ as Joseph and Mary encountered. May we demonstrate the love that we have for Jesus to create a better world where all people feel welcome.”
The Night of the Candles dates back to Dec. 7, 1854, when Pope Pius IX published his apostolic constitution “Ineffabilis Deus,” which defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. People in Colombia lit candles and paper lanterns in celebration of the announcement. It is an annual tradition that Colombians and other Latin-American countries have observed ever since.
Moncaleano thanked the Benedictine monks for their hospitality and the many volunteers who helped her decorate the pathway for the procession. She especially thanked Father Yohan Serrano, chaplain for Hispanic Ministry, for his presence and support.
– On Dec. 7, almost 100 faithful of the Paterson Diocese prayed the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary in English and Spanish for the immigrant community facing difficult times during the diocese’s annual “Noche de las Velitas” (“Night of the Candles”), held on the grounds of Holy Face Monastery in Clifton, N.J. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney participated in the event, a Latin-American tradition that honors the Immaculate Conception. Adults and families with children from parishes of the diocese joined the bishop and the Benedictine monks who run Holy Face for an outdoor evening candlelight procession on monastery grounds. The faithful prayed
Europe’s embattled, deeply unpopular globalist leaders are feeling rattled this week after President Donald Trump delivered one of his sharpest assessments yet of the continent’s political decline.
The post Trump: Western Europe No Longer Viable Ally If Civilization-Erasing Mass Migration Continues appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).
The number of American adults who identify with Christianity, with another religion, or with no religion have all remained steady, a new Pew Research Center report finds.
Surveys conducted since 2020 have generally found that about 70% of U.S. adults identify with a religion. The numbers have slightly fluctuated, but there has been no clear rise or fall in religious affiliation over the five-year period.
A Pew Research Center study, Religion Holds Steady in America, summarizes the latest trends in American religion and examines religion among young adults. The report is based on Pew’s National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS), which has annually surveyed a random sample of U.S. adults since 2020. It also draws from the U.S. Religious Landscape Study (RLS), which surveyed 36,908 adults from July 17, 2023 to March 4, 2024.
The report also uses data from the General Social Survey and the American Time Use Survey.
The research revealed that after Pew found a decline in Christianity in the country from 2007 to 2020, the decline has halted and there is a stable presence of Christianty and religion in the nation.
While the polling shows no clear evidence of a religious increase among young adults, it did find that young men are now almost as religious as women in the same age group. The finding differs from past studies which found that young women tended to be more religious than young men.
This shift was found to be due to a decline in religiousness among American women, rather than an increase in the religiousness of men. In contrast to the young adults, the data revealed older women are more religious than older men.
Overall, young men and young women surveyed in 2023 and 2024 are less religious than those questioned in 2007 and 2014 studies.
In 2007, 54% of women and 40% of men ages 18 to 24 reported they prayed daily. Data from 2023-2024 revealed only 30% of women and 26% of men in the same age group said they pray daily, indicating the gender gap among religious men and women is closing.
The data found no evidence that any age group has become substantially more or less religious since 2020. In the 2025 NPORS, 83% of adults 71 or older identified with a religion, similarly to the 84% in 2020.
Among the youngest group of adults ages 18 to 30, 55% identify with a religion in 2025. This data is similar to the 57% who reported the same in 2020.
While there was not a large change in the number of adults who practice religion, older generations continue to be more religious than younger ones. Adults aged 71 or older tend to pray more than those ages 18 to 30, with 59% of older adults reporting they pray daily compared to 32% of young adults.
There were also discrepancies among age groups based on how often individuals attend religious services. Adults 71 and older attend the most with 43% reporting they attend at least monthly. Adults 31 to 40 were found to attend the least with 29% reporting they go monthly.
The data shows that today’s adults between the ages of roughly 18 and 22 are at least as religious as the age group slightly older than them who are in their mid to late 20s. Some aspects revealed that the younger U.S. adults may be more religious than the age group slightly older than them.
The 2023–24 RLS found 30% of adults born between 2003 and 2006 said they attended religious services at least once a month, which is higher than the 24% of people born between 1995 and 2002.
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Trump administration Border Czar Tom Homan said in an interview Monday night on Newsmax that he was had asked for the immigration records of Rep.
The post Tom Homan Looking at Ilhan Omar’s Immigration Files Over Alleged Fraudulent Marriage to Her Brother appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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A federal appeals court on Tuesday sided with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the transgender military ban.
The post Appeals Court Scolds Biden Judge, Sides with Hegseth on Transgender Military Ban appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Vatican City, Dec 9, 2025 / 14:32 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV received the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in audience today at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Holy See announced in a statement.
The meeting, described as “cordial,” focused on the situation of the war in Ukraine and the prospects for the diplomatic initiatives currently underway.
During the conversation, the Holy Father reiterated “the need to continue the dialogue” and renewed his “pressing desire” that diplomatic efforts might lead to “a just and lasting peace,” according to the statement released by the Vatican.
The meeting also addressed particularly sensitive humanitarian issues. During the discussions, reference was made to the “prisoners of war” situation and the urgency of “guaranteeing the return” of Ukrainian children separated from their families and illegally deported to Russia was emphasized.
Following the private audience, Zelenskyy expressed his “profound gratitude” to Pope Leo XIV for the Holy See’s constant support for the Ukrainian people.
In a message posted on his social media after the meeting, Zelenskyy expressed particular gratitude for the humanitarian aid. During the audience, he said he thanked the pope for “his constant prayers for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, as well as his calls for a just peace.”
The Ukrainian president also informed the pope about the diplomatic contacts and negotiations that Kyiv is conducting with the United States to pave the way for peace. “I informed the pope about the diplomatic efforts with the United States to achieve peace,” he said.
One of the central points of the conversation was the fate of the Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russian territory. Zelenskyy emphasized that they discussed “future actions and the Vatican’s mediation aimed at securing the return of our children kidnapped by Russia,” an issue that the Holy See has kept on its humanitarian agenda since the first months of the conflict.
The Ukrainian president emphasized that the meeting was “an important and cordial dialogue,” focused on the protection of the civilian population and the spiritual support that the pontiff has repeatedly shown.
Zelenskyy took the opportunity to renew a formal invitation to the pope to travel to Ukraine. “I invited the pope to visit Ukraine. It would be a powerful sign of support for our people,” he said.
The audience took place a day after Zelenskyy traveled to the United Kingdom, where he held a meeting at Downing Street with the country’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, which was also attended by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
That meeting focused on negotiations surrounding the peace plan and next steps for Ukraine presented by Washington. The first 28-point draft presented by the Trump administration in November proposed a resolution to the conflict that was largely favorable to Moscow.
That proposal was followed by another put together in Geneva by delegations from the United States, Ukraine, and Europe.
Zelenskyy arrived in Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday, Dec. 9, after three days of talks in Miami between Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Ukrainian negotiator, Rustem Umerov.
Exactly one week ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Witkoff in Moscow without any significant progress.
This is the third official meeting between the two, after Leo XIV received Zelenskyy in an audience following the Mass marking the beginning of his pontificate on May 18, and in a second meeting on July 9, also in Castel Gandolfo. Pope Leo usually takes Tuesday every week as a day off at Castel Gandolfo.
Following today’s meeting with the pope, Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as part of a new round of contacts with key European leaders regarding the peace process in Ukraine.
Ukraine first requested the Vatican’s intervention shortly after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Since then, the Holy See has continued its diplomatic efforts for peace, while maintaining open channels of dialogue with all parties involved.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Read More![Vatican reverses several parish closures in Diocese of Buffalo, advocates say - #Catholic -
The exterior of St. Casimir church in Buffalo, New York / Michael Shriver/buffalophotoblog.com
CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Clergy has declared that several parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York can remain open after Bishop Michael Fisher ordered their closure amid a diocesan-wide renewal plan. Save Our Buffalo Churches, which has advocated against church closure proposals in the diocese’s “Road to Renewal” plan, said in a Dec. 8 Facebook post that the Vatican has revoked the closures of three parishes since November, with a fourth parish receiving a temporary reprieve from the diocese itself. The closures and mergers of Our Lady of Peace Parish and Holy Apostles Parish have been revoked by the dicastery, the group said. As well, the Vatican said it will also examine the “asset appropriation” levied by the diocese against those parishes. The group confirmed to CNA on Dec. 9 that those appropriations, if collected, are meant to help fund the diocese’s ongoing bankruptcy settlement for clergy abuse victims. The bishop also revoked the merger of Our Lady of Bistrica Parish with other parishes. The diocese had discovered a “procedural error” in the merger decree that invalidated the directive, leading the bishop to revoke the merger directly. The diocese has reportedly “promised to issue a new merger decree” as a result, with the parish “ready for that challenge.” The favorable rulings come from the Vatican after more than a year of effort from parish advocates to halt the closures and mergers. The dispute reached the New York Supreme Court earlier this year, which in July issued a halt on the parish payments into the diocese’s abuse settlement fund amid parishioner objections. The high court in September ultimately allowed the payments to proceed, pointing to a long-standing prohibition against “court involvement in the governance and administration of a hierarchical church.”The Vatican’s orders follow a similar order from the Holy See in November which allowed Saint Bernadette Church in Orchard Park to remain open. The diocese had planned to merge that parish with Saints Peter & Paul Church in Hamburg. The announcement follows Fisher’s decision in November to revoke a 2024 decree forbidding parishioners from using parishes as planning spaces to work against the proposed mergers. Fisher said he was ending that policy after meetings with Vatican officials in October. “Based on our conversation, it is clear to me now that this policy is too restrictive of the rights of the faithful,” the bishop said of those talks at the Holy See. In November, Save Our Buffalo Parishes joined several other groups to petition the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to donate financial resources to their preservation efforts. Group leader Mary Pruski told CNA that the effort would “bring much peace and healing across [New York state].”Advocates in dioceses around the country have petitioned, sometimes successfully, against church closures in recent years, including in Maryland, Missouri and Wisconsin. Bishops have instituted such closures amid sharply declining parish attendance and skyrocketing maintenance costs at aging buildings.](http://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/vatican-reverses-several-parish-closures-in-diocese-of-buffalo-advocates-say-catholic-the-exterior-of-st-casimir-church-in-buffalo-new-york-michael-shriver-buffalophotoblog-comcna-staf.webp)
CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Clergy has declared that several parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York can remain open after Bishop Michael Fisher ordered their closure amid a diocesan-wide renewal plan.
Save Our Buffalo Churches, which has advocated against church closure proposals in the diocese’s “Road to Renewal” plan, said in a Dec. 8 Facebook post that the Vatican has revoked the closures of three parishes since November, with a fourth parish receiving a temporary reprieve from the diocese itself.
The closures and mergers of Our Lady of Peace Parish and Holy Apostles Parish have been revoked by the dicastery, the group said.
As well, the Vatican said it will also examine the “asset appropriation” levied by the diocese against those parishes. The group confirmed to CNA on Dec. 9 that those appropriations, if collected, are meant to help fund the diocese’s ongoing bankruptcy settlement for clergy abuse victims.
The bishop also revoked the merger of Our Lady of Bistrica Parish with other parishes. The diocese had discovered a “procedural error” in the merger decree that invalidated the directive, leading the bishop to revoke the merger directly. The diocese has reportedly “promised to issue a new merger decree” as a result, with the parish “ready for that challenge.”
The favorable rulings come from the Vatican after more than a year of effort from parish advocates to halt the closures and mergers. The dispute reached the New York Supreme Court earlier this year, which in July issued a halt on the parish payments into the diocese’s abuse settlement fund amid parishioner objections.
The high court in September ultimately allowed the payments to proceed, pointing to a long-standing prohibition against “court involvement in the governance and administration of a hierarchical church.”
The Vatican’s orders follow a similar order from the Holy See in November which allowed Saint Bernadette Church in Orchard Park to remain open. The diocese had planned to merge that parish with Saints Peter & Paul Church in Hamburg.
The announcement follows Fisher’s decision in November to revoke a 2024 decree forbidding parishioners from using parishes as planning spaces to work against the proposed mergers.
Fisher said he was ending that policy after meetings with Vatican officials in October. “Based on our conversation, it is clear to me now that this policy is too restrictive of the rights of the faithful,” the bishop said of those talks at the Holy See.
In November, Save Our Buffalo Parishes joined several other groups to petition the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to donate financial resources to their preservation efforts.
Group leader Mary Pruski told CNA that the effort would “bring much peace and healing across [New York state].”
Advocates in dioceses around the country have petitioned, sometimes successfully, against church closures in recent years, including in Maryland, Missouri and Wisconsin.
Bishops have instituted such closures amid sharply declining parish attendance and skyrocketing maintenance costs at aging buildings.
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CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 11:45 am (CNA).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent who oversaw the Virginia office responsible for a highly controversial investigation into local Catholics will lead the state’s safety office under its new Democratic governor.
Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger nominated Stanley Meador as the next Virginia secretary for public safety and homeland security, according to a December announcement.
Meador has served in several roles in the FBI, including in field offices in Seattle and Las Vegas, as well as at the bureau headquarters in Washington.
In 2021 he became special agent in charge at the bureau’s Richmond, Virginia field office, where he served until June 2025. In 2023 that office issued a memo to agents launching an investigation into “radical traditionalist” Catholics and their possible ties to “the far-right white nationalist movement.”
That memo touched off a years-long controversy over the FBI’s investigation into Catholics, including reports that at least one federal agent allegedly went undercover to investigate traditional Catholic communities.
Multiple state attorneys general called for an investigation into the FBI over the memo, while Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout described the investigation as a “threat to religious liberty.” White nationalism directly conflicts with Catholic principles of human dignity, solidarity, justice, and the common good.
Spanberger in announcing the nomination said Meador possesses the “expertise necessary to protect our citizens” and claimed he will “make sure Virginia is a place where every Virginian can safely thrive.”
CatholicVote National Political Director Logan Church, meanwhile, described Spanberger’s nomination of Meador as an “endorsement” of the FBI’s controversial investigation.
“It tells every Catholic in America that violating our civil liberties isn’t a problem, it’s a pathway to advancement,” Church said in a statement, describing the investigation itself as a “disgraceful operation.”
The FBI retracted the memo in 2023 after it became public knowledge, though years of investigations have followed the revelation.
In September 2025 FBI Director Kash Patel said in a U.S. Senate hearing that there had been “terminations” and “resignations” of employees related to the investigation.
The House Judiciary Committee in July, meanwhile, revealed that the Richmond FBI office spied on a priest because he refused to discuss private conversations he had with a parishioner who was converting to Catholicism.
In 2024 the Department of Justice concluded that the bureau “failed to adhere to FBI standards” when launching the investigation but allegedly showed no evidence of “malicious intent” in doing so.
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Luxurious hotels, epic waterslides, and plenty of activities on land or sea. Naples has something for everyone.
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For more than a century, astronomers debated the possibility of martian canali (channels) which Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli claimed to see on the Red Planet in 1877. Mistranslated into English as “canals,” the term suggested artificial waterways, perhaps built by an intelligent civilization engineering its survival. Sci-fi writers churned out thrilling stories inspired by the claims, butContinue reading “Astronomers map ancient waterways on Mars”
The post Astronomers map ancient waterways on Mars appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
Read More![St. Clare Parish in Clifton welcomes new pastor #Catholic - St. Clare Parish in Clifton, N.J., on Nov. 30 welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who installed Father Francis Conde as its pastor during a Mass the bishop celebrated. Bishop Sweeney appointed Father Conde pastor of St. Clare’s, effective Oct. 1
Father Conde was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Virac in his native Philippines in 1994. Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli incardinated him into the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in 2019.
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In the Paterson Diocese, Father Conde previously was parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta, N.J., and chaplain at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.
On social media, St. Clare’s called Father Conde’s installation “a beautiful and unforgettable moment for our parish. Friends and family joined us from all across the diocese, the country, and all the way from the Philippines. Our hearts are full.”
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St. Clare Parish in Clifton welcomes new pastor #Catholic – 
St. Clare Parish in Clifton, N.J., on Nov. 30 welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who installed Father Francis Conde as its pastor during a Mass the bishop celebrated. Bishop Sweeney appointed Father Conde pastor of St. Clare’s, effective Oct. 1
Father Conde was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Virac in his native Philippines in 1994. Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli incardinated him into the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in 2019.
In the Paterson Diocese, Father Conde previously was parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta, N.J., and chaplain at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.
On social media, St. Clare’s called Father Conde’s installation “a beautiful and unforgettable moment for our parish. Friends and family joined us from all across the diocese, the country, and all the way from the Philippines. Our hearts are full.”
– St. Clare Parish in Clifton, N.J., on Nov. 30 welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who installed Father Francis Conde as its pastor during a Mass the bishop celebrated. Bishop Sweeney appointed Father Conde pastor of St. Clare’s, effective Oct. 1 Father Conde was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Virac in his native Philippines in 1994. Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli incardinated him into the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey in 2019. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. In the Paterson Diocese, Father Conde previously was parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 9, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Daughter of imprisoned Catholic activist Jimmy Lai spoke out for the first time ahead of her father’s 78th birthday.
“As a daughter, every day I wake up and I hope that today is the day we get my dad home … the day we get to go to Mass together, or to eat dinner around the table, things that years ago I almost took for granted,” Claire Lai said in an interview with EWTN News.
Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy entrepreneur and human rights activist, was arrested in 2020 in Hong Kong. He underwent a trial that lasted nearly two years for allegations of colluding with foreign forces under a national security law put in effect by the communist-controlled Chinese government.
The trial ended in August, and Lai continues to wait for the verdict in prison where he faces inhumane living conditions, deteriorating health, and is denied the Eucharist, his daughter said.
In an interview with Montse Alvarado, president and COO of EWTN News, Lai’s daughter Claire said: “We’re still waiting for a verdict, five years after he was charged. He is turning 78. We have waited a very, very long time for his cases to be resolved. We do not believe that they will be through the domestic system. Our only hope is outside, and that’s why I’m here now.”
Dec. 8 was Jimmy Lai’s 78th birthday, which falls on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. His daughter highlighted Lai’s deep devotion to the Blessed Mother.
She said her family has tried to send him a rosary in prison, but “each attempt failed.” She said he fell down once in the shower, and “because of his waist pain he wasn’t able to get up.”
“Even some of the guards came over and tried to help him … but he couldn’t get up. So he pretended as though he had a rosary in his hand and prayed to the Blessed Mother. Then he was able to get up without pain,” Claire Lai said.
“When you’re a daughter … and you hear stories like that, you wish you could yourself physically pull him up when he is in pain like that. But you find such great comfort in the fact that Our Lady is protecting him,” she said.
Lai said her father’s conversion to Catholicism has been a stable presence during his time in prison.
“My father had quite an unconventional childhood. He came to Hong Kong when he was 12. He had nothing to his name, nothing in his pockets. But he was full of optimism and he had a yearning for freedom,” she said.
“It was only later on that he understood that there was something, a higher force, guiding him all along, which was why he was able to go from child laborer to a successful entrepreneur and do so almost without fear. It was later on that he understood that to be God,” she said.
Jimmy Lai converted the year of the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China when “people were filled with doubt and with a certain amount of fear,” his daughter said. “As Our Lady has taught us, there is nothing that conquers doubt and fear except for the love of God. And that was a time when he was ready to receive it.”
“My father converted one year after I was born. Really, the only memories I have are of growing up in a very loving Catholic family,” she said.
Claire Lai studied law and has been involved with her father’s case and lengthy trial. “There’s an equal amount of outrage, but also it’s a privilege to be able to be there and witness it as closely as I have,” she said.
“As someone who grew up admiring the Hong Kong legal system … it has been heartbreaking to see the rule of law break down, but even more so to see my father and his case is at the helm of it.”
The bench was “not neutral in any sense of the word,” she said. “They just grilled him repeatedly. There were gag orders that were imposed when the evidence just did not suit the narrative … it was just so deeply unfair.”
The trial had unexplained delays that were “clearly meant so that people would forget about my father and so that it would crush his spirit,” she said. But “with the good Lord as his guide, his spirit remained just as strong.”
Lai has been in prison for five years, but “his incarceration has just deepened his faith,” his daughter said.
“I think there isn’t anything quite as much as suffering that opens your heart to God’s love. We are so grateful that Our Lord has accompanied my father. He wakes up around midnight every night to pray,” she said.
“Before the crack of dawn, he would read the Gospel,” Lai said. “At first, he would ask the guards if they could turn on the light so that he could read … For about the first six months, they said ‘yes.’ Afterwards, they always said ‘no.’”
“The conditions he’s kept in have just gotten worse over time. They aren’t a natural byproduct of prison. In the prison cell, there is a window that leads outside that should give access to sunlight. His is deliberately blocked so that he doesn’t have access,” she said.
“He’s been denied holy Communion for over two years and got it only very, very intermittently this year,” she said. “It’s something that costs them nothing … for him to get. It costs them nothing for him to get the rosary, and it costs them nothing to turn on the light so that he can read the Gospel.”
Kept in solitary confinement, he faces extreme heat conditions in his small cell. “In summer, the heat can get up to … 111 degrees Fahrenheit,” she said. “To say that it’s sweltering is a massive understatement.”
“He gets heat rushes all over his body, and they last until the middle of autumn. It is outrageous, and it is torturous,” she said.
“We have typhoon seasons in Hong Kong … and the cells get wet. Almost everything in there gets wet. Once that happened, the first thing he checked was his Bible, and it was the one thing that remained dry. We’re very grateful that Our Lord and Our Lady continue to watch over him,” she said.
Lai’s health has declined rapidly while behind bars.
“In less than a year, he lost 10 kilos … after already having lost a significant amount of weight the last few years. His nails are rotting … He has infections that last for months in spite of antibiotics. And his limbs get swollen, very red, and they’re agonizingly painful,” she said.
“My dad is not someone who complains. He doesn’t even make faces. You know that when he does, it’s very painful,” she said. “There are times when even from a distance, you can tell that he’s pale and he’s shivering.”
“Then there’s the less visible signs,” she said. “He’s diabetic, and he’s had heart issues. He had a perfectly healthy heart before he went to prison.” He has said “that every few days he would have heart palpitations and they would be disabling,” his daughter said.
Jimmy Lai is a British citizen and his daughter said that any communication between Britain and the Chinese government should include discussion of her father.
“He is in prison for basically standing in defense for the freedoms he first came to know as a child in Hong Kong when it was still a British embassy and for hoping that they would keep the promise made during the sign of the British Joint Declaration,” she said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to do “everything” possible to “save” Lai. A White House official told EWTN News in October that Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about his imprisonment.
“We are so extremely grateful to President Trump and his administration,” Claire Lai said. “They have a long, proven record of freeing the unjustly detained, and we hope that my father will follow soon.”
“We are also very, very grateful for members of the public. My father is sustained by your prayers,” she said.
She shared that Pope Leo XIV is also praying for her father during this time. In October, Lai’s wife, Teresa Lai, and his daughter met Pope Leo after a general audience. “It was such a privilege and a blessing to have an audience with our Holy Father,” Claire Lai said.
“The government has no case,” she said. “All they’ve proven is that my father is a good man, a man who loves God, a man who loves freedom, who loves truth, and loves his family.”
If she could speak with the Chinese government, Lai said she would say to “do the only just and … only honorable thing, which is to release a 78-year-old man, my father, Jimmy Lai, against whom no case has been made.”
“Don’t let him die a martyr in these conditions, in this health. It is a stain on your history that you will never be able to wipe off,” she said.
She said she does “worry” that her father could die in prison, but she is “hopeful.”
When her father “reflected on his earlier years, he said that even before he converted and before he opened his heart to the love of God, he was always guided by him — even before he knew it,” she said. “I think that’s how he wants to be remembered, as a faithful servant of Our Lord.”
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This composite image of the Cassiopeia A (or Cas A) supernova remnant, released Jan. 8, 2024, contains X-rays from Chandra (blue), infrared data from Webb (red, green, blue), and optical data from Hubble (red and white). A study by the XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) spacecraft has made the first-ever X-ray detections of chlorine and potassium in the wreckage.
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