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Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus on December 14, 2025. / Vatican Media

Vatican 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 between Congolese and Rwandan leaders.

Pope Leo also recalled recent beatifications of martyrs in Spain and France, praising their fidelity to the faith amid persecution. “Let us praise the Lord for these martyrs, courageous witnesses to the Gospel, persecuted and killed for remaining close to their people and faithful to the Church,” he said.

Earlier, in his catechesis before leading the Angelus, Pope Leo reflected on the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday of Advent, which presents John the Baptist imprisoned for his preaching yet still seeking the truth about Jesus.

From prison, John hears “about the works of Christ” and sends his disciples to ask whether Jesus is truly the one who is to come, the pope noted. Jesus’ response, he said, points not to abstract claims but to concrete signs.

“Christ announces who he is by what he does. And what he does is a sign of salvation for all of us,” Pope Leo said. Encountering Jesus, he explained, restores meaning to lives marked by darkness and suffering: “The blind see, the mute speak, the deaf hear… Even the dead, who are completely lifeless, come back to life. This is the Gospel of Jesus, the good news proclaimed to the poor.”

“The words of Jesus free us from the prison of despair and suffering,” the pope said, adding that Christ “gives voice to the oppressed and to those whose voices have been silenced by violence and hatred” and “defeats ideologies that make us deaf to the truth.”

Concluding his reflection, Pope Leo said that Advent calls Christians to unite their expectation of the Savior with attentiveness to God’s action in the world. “Then we will be able to experience the joy of freedom in encountering our Savior,” he said, echoing the Church’s celebration of Gaudete Sunday.

This story was first published in two parts by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Holy Week in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa sector. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Holy Week Organizing Committee in Iztapalapa

Puebla, 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 includes “practices, knowledge, and expressions that communities recognize as part of their cultural identity” and emphasizes the need to protect them for future generations.

Juan Pablo Serrano, custodian of the image of the Lord of the Little Cave in the Iztapalapa Cathedral, explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that this tradition is closely linked to the origin of the image and a 19th-century promise made by the community.

He recounted that in 1687, an image of Christ was being transported from Oaxaca to Mexico City for restoration. During the journey, those carrying it rested in a cave in the Hill of the Star, and when they tried to resume their trip, “they could no longer move the image.”

“It was understood that the image representing Christ in the tomb wanted to remain there. [Being in a cave] a very particular devotion began to develop,” he noted.

Serrano explained that the direct connection with the depiction of the Stations of the Cross arose in 1833 during a cholera epidemic. Faced with the high death toll, the inhabitants carried the image in procession and asked for Christ’s intercession. After several days of prayer, the plague ceased, an event that was interpreted as a miracle.

Approximately 2 million attendees in 2025

Following that event, the community vowed to reenact the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ every year as a sign of gratitude, and each year the tradition has grown, both in the number of participants and the audience. In Holy Week 2025 alone, it drew approximately 2 million people.

Serrano expressed his joy at the recognition, which he said “is something we [the residents] always boast about with pride and honor.”

He noted that during the years he has been in charge of the image he has witnessed the arrival of thousands of visitors, including people who do not identify as Catholic, who “when drawn by the representation, visit the image, visit the church, and experience a true reflection in their hearts and a real conversion.”

Serrano emphasized that this new status represents a greater commitment for the community so the celebration can continue to be “an expression of gratitude to God. Everything done as an offering to God ultimately becomes [a form of] catechesis and evangelization.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, Australia. / Credit: EWTN News

EWTN 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 service workers responding at the scene.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said the violence had “shaken Australians to the core” and condemned what he described as “the scourge of antisemitism.”

‘Dark and destructive stain’

“The twisted motives behind those who perpetrated these terrible acts are now clearly linked with the scourge of antisemitism,” Costelloe said in a Dec. 14 statement. “This is a shocking and deeply distressing reality which calls into question our own understanding of ourselves as Australians.”

He warned that “blind prejudice and hatred points to a dark and destructive stain in our society which threatens not just our Jewish brothers and sisters but, in fact, all of us.”

“We must rediscover our conviction that nothing can ever justify this destructive violence,” he said, urging Australians to ensure that the “justifiable anger we feel does not breed even more violence and hatred.”

The attack occurred Sunday evening during the “Chanukah by the Sea” event on the first night of Hanukkah. Authorities said two gunmen opened fire on the Jewish community gathering shortly after sunset. One alleged shooter was killed at the scene, while a second was taken into custody. Police said they were investigating whether a third person may have been involved.

‘Genuine hero’ praised

Costelloe praised what he described as the “remarkable courage of the police and other first responders, and individual acts of bravery as people sought to protect each other.”

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns highlighted the actions of a bystander who wrestled one of the gunmen to the ground and removed his shotgun, calling him a “genuine hero” who helped save lives, according to local media reports.

Explosives found at scene

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said authorities had found improvised explosive devices in a vehicle linked to the deceased attacker. He declared the shooting a terrorist incident, citing the timing on the first night of Hanukkah, the nature of the weapons used, and the discovery of the explosives. A bomb disposal unit was deployed to the scene.

Among the 29 people hospitalized were two police officers who were injured while responding to the attack, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the shooting as a “dark moment for our nation,” calling it a “targeted attack on Jewish Australians” and an “act of evil.”

“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian,” Albanese said.

Costelloe concluded by urging unity and peace. “We join with all those who condemn such terrible violence and plead with all Australians to reject any impulse towards hatred and violence and instead to recommit ourselves to being peacemakers in our families, amongst our friends and in our wider society,” he said.

Last update on Dec. 14 at 7:48 a.m. ET with further details.

FOCUS Founder Curtis Martin announces his retirement from the role of FOCUS CEO, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 / Credit: FOCUS

CNA 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 directors, led him to step into an “expanded-public facing role” of “Founder,” one that will allow him to continue to work at the organization, including serving on its board.

“My desire is to do what is best for the institution I love so dearly,” he said. 

Longtime board member Tim Thoman will serve as interim chief executive as the organization launches a search for a permanent CEO, Martin said, adding that he felt “extraordinarily blessed that [Thoman] agreed to lead FOCUS … during this time of transition.”

Describing his work at FOCUS as “one of the deepest privileges of my life,” Martin urged the organization to “be who we are meant to be, so that through us, God can set the world on fire.” 

In a video announcing the transition, meanwhile, Thoman said FOCUS is marked by “tenacity and professionalism, but mostly the love of Jesus and the trust in God.” 

“The idea of working with people who wake up and come to work with a love for Jesus and a desire to do his will and live authentically their faith and also fulfill the Great Commission — I can’t imagine better people to work with, or a more worthy cause, than FOCUS,” he said.  

The Martins last year were awarded EWTN’s 2024 Mother Angelica Award for what EWTN Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Warsaw called their “passion for the new evangelization” and their work at transforming “countless lives” through evangelization. 

Curtis Martin had announced FOCUS’s founding in 1997 on an episode of “Mother Angelica Live.” Michaelann Martin last year described receiving the Mother Angelica Award as “a humbling honor for both of us.” 

“We are grateful to Mother Angelica for her example of faith and courage, and to EWTN for continuing her work of evangelization,” she said. 

“But this is not about us. It is about the countless missionaries who have given their lives to this work and the students whose lives are being transformed by the Gospel,” she added.

Students from Nordiska Musikgymnasiet — The Nordic Music High School — in Stockholm perform traditional Swedish “Lucia songs” during an afternoon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 11, 2025. / Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/EWTN News

Rome Newsroom, Dec 13, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

A Swedish youth choir marked the feast of St. Lucy by singing at a Mass at the Vatican on Thursday, Dec. 11.

Students from Nordiska Musikgymnasiet — The Nordic Music High School — in Stockholm performed traditional Swedish “Lucia songs” during an afternoon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of the Italian saint’s Dec. 13 feast day.

“It was just really amazing” singing in St. Peter’s Basilica, choir member Alfio Tota told EWTN News after the Dec. 11 Mass. “It’s so enormous … And the acoustics are very interesting.”

The student recalled that though Sweden is a very secular country, the tradition of St. Lucia, as they call her, is quite strong.

“I think everyone feels quite a lot of joy and nostalgia in singing” the St. Lucy hymns, he said.

Choir member Fabienne Glader told EWTN News that she always spends the feast of St. Lucy with her family.

St. Lucy “shows courage and patience and just to never [give up] on yourself,” Glader said. “Even if you’re not really religious in any way, you can look up to her as just a wonderful person.”

The choir’s conductor, Casimir Käfling, said as a Christian, the tradition of St. Lucy was always part of Christmas for his family.

He called it “an incredible honor to be able to sing and conduct” her songs in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Käfling also recalled the darkness Sweden experiences during the winter, especially in the month of December, and said St. Lucy brings light into that darkness.

“The story of St. Lucy really plays with these contrasts of light and dark, and most importantly, hope and despair,” Tota said.

Simon Schwarz, head of the Caritas Vilnius Convicts Consultation Center, talks to university students in Vilnius, Lithuania. / Credit: Caritas Lithuania

Vilnius, Lithuania, Dec 13, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Caritas Lithuania has launched a new support initiative for individuals struggling with pornography addiction, responding to what staff describe as a marked surge in people seeking help as explicit content becomes increasingly unavoidable online.

The program, offered in Lithuanian, English, and German — both in person and remotely — provides counseling not only for those battling compulsive sexual behaviors but also for spouses and family members affected by them.

Caritas workers report a noticeable rise in referrals, with many parish priests now directing individuals in their care to the program, touching upon the growing need for coordinated pastoral and professional support.

Growing demand for help

Simon Schwarz, head of the Caritas Vilnius Convicts Consultation Center and an addiction counselor, told CNA that the new program grew out of a steady rise in cases. “For the last seven years, people suffering from compulsive sexual behavior disorder [CSBD] have been coming to Caritas for help,” he explained.

The continued stream of cases in 2023 and 2024, he said, made it clear that “we needed to professionalize our work in this area.”

With the support of Caritas Vilnius leadership, Schwarz completed specialized training in treating compulsive sexual behaviors and sex addiction, certification the organization helped to fund. He said the need has grown rapidly in Lithuania, a “highly tech-oriented country” where even young children often have unsupervised internet access and where sexualized content is easily encountered across social media, advertisements, and video sites.

“You don’t even have to seek out pornography to be exposed to it,” he noted, explaining that early exposure significantly increases the risk of developing an unhealthy relationship with sexual content. Yet discussing these struggles remains difficult.

“The paradox is that we live in a highly sexualized society, but we shame anyone who cannot control their sexual behavior,” Schwarz added.

Program details and costs

As the initiative is still growing, Caritas Vilnius is continuing to develop its funding base, and for now, clients contribute to the cost of consultations. The support process begins with a free introductory consultation, during which individuals complete a brief screening for compulsive sexual behavior disorders.

Those unable to afford further sessions are directed to free or low-cost alternatives, including Sexaholics Anonymous groups or online self-help resources. A follow-up session then evaluates the person’s specific situation and sets a tailored plan, first to halt compulsive behaviors and later to address deeper issues such as stress, isolation, or anxiety.

Shifting demographics of clients

Before the initiative was formally launched, for several years those suffering with compulsive sexual behavior disorders had approached Caritas Vilnius for help and they were directed to Schwarz. Most of those early clients were well-educated married men between the ages of 35 and 55, employed in respected professions. But once the initiative became more widespread and local parishes began referring individuals, the profile shifted dramatically.

Today, nearly half of the clients are between 18 and 20 years old, with some already facing severe psychological consequences after years of pornography use beginning in early puberty.

Addressing stigma in Christian communities

A key aim of the initiative is to reduce the stigma surrounding these struggles within Christian communities.

“Research shows that Christians often feel more ashamed of their sexual acting out than nonbelievers, because their struggle carries a significant spiritual weight,” Schwarz explained.

He also challenged the common misconception that pornography use doesn’t affect one’s partner, explaining that many dismiss it as not “real” infidelity since it’s just on a screen. However, the discovery of a spouse’s addiction proves equally devastating.

Kristina Rakutienė, a well-known Lithuanian social activist involved in raising awareness about the harms of pornography, echoed those concerns. She said many people hesitate to publicly engage with educational posts on social media out of fear that others will assume they personally struggle with addiction. She also pointed to a lack of easily accessible information, leaving many unsure where to turn or unaware that support groups exist.

Women also affected

Rakutienė discussed that the issue affects women as well. “When talking face to face, many women tell me they face this struggle too, or that they feel betrayed when their spouses enjoy porn,” she said. She tries to reassure both addicts and spouses who feel wounded that “there is hope,” adding that healing is possible by relying on God’s mercy, which offers not only compassion but also true freedom.

CNA also spoke with Father Kęstutis Dvareckas, a priest at a Caritas rehabilitation center with more than 15 years of experience treating both substance-related and behavioral addictions. He confirmed that, even before the new program was formally established, the center had already seen a growing number of people seeking help for pornography addiction.

In explaining the psychological and spiritual consequences of the problem, he likened it to substance addiction in that victims often require increasingly extreme content to achieve the same stimulation, which can ultimately undermine their ability to form and sustain healthy relationships. This was due to people becoming desensitized and finding real relationships dull and unfulfilling.

Addressing such struggles pastorally, he noted, requires sensitivity rather than moral assessments or outright condemnation. “Only understanding and acceptance allow a person to recognize the extent of their illness and to seek help from God and from others,” he said.

“Effective support,” he added, “depends on close cooperation between priests and clinical professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, and addiction counselors.” He also highlighted the Church’s unique role in moving people from the isolation, denial, and self-blame of their addictions to the experience and closeness of God’s love as they overcome their vices.

Remarking on the critical distinction regarding responsibility, he said: “A person is not guilty of becoming ill, but they are guilty and responsible if they do not seek treatment for their illness.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at Chi Hack Night on July 12, 2017. / Credit: Chi Hack Night, CC-BY-3.0

CNA 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, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The Illinois law, Pritzker said in a Dec. 12 statement, “enables patients faced with debilitating terminal illnesses to make a decision, in consultation with a doctor, that helps them avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives.” 

Pritzker said he was “deeply impacted” by stories of the suffering of terminally ill patients and their families who argued in favor of the bill. 

“I have been moved by their dedication to standing up for freedom and choice at the end of life in the midst of personal heartbreak,” Pritzker said.  

Pritzker signed the measure into law on the beloved feast day for Catholics in North America of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is known as the patroness of the pro-life movement. 

Concerns for the vulnerable 

Opponents of assisted suicide say that assisted suicide is not “true compassion” and constitutes “abandonment” of patients in need of care. 

“This law ignores the very real failures in access to quality care that drive vulnerable people to despair,” according to the Catholic Conference of Illinois’ statement. “It does nothing to ensure patients are offered services, protected from coercion, or surrounded by loved ones when they kill themselves.” 

“Rather than investing in real end-of-life support such as palliative and hospice care, pain management, and family-centered accompaniment, our state has chosen to normalize killing oneself,” the statement continued. 

The conference called the passage “alarming,” saying that “by enacting this law, Illinois is endorsing the death option while claiming compassion.” 

Matt Vallière, who heads the Patients Rights’ Action Fund, said that by signing the bill, Pritzker “has endangered the rights and lives of vulnerable patients.”

The Patients Rights’ Action Fund opposes assisted suicide, saying it is discriminatory against patients with terminally-ill diagnoses. 

“By signing the bill to legalize assisted suicide, he has cracked the ice beneath patients whose care is already fragile,” Vallière said in a statement shared with CNA. 

“Assisted suicide plunges Illinoisans with disabilities and other vulnerable people into conversations about death instead of the care and support they deserve from their medical teams,” Vallière said.

Thomas Olp — a spokesman for Thomas More Society, a Catholic law firm defending life and family — said the law “places vulnerable lives at risk.”

“When the state signals that some lives are no longer worth living, the most vulnerable pay the price,” Olp said in a statement shared with CNA. 

“State law should never endorse the idea that suffering or sickness makes a life disposable,” he continued.

“Instead of offering true compassion, support, and care, this law offers a fatal prescription,” Olp concluded. “That is not mercy. It is abandonment.” 

Cultural effect 

The Catholic Conference of Illinois raised concerns about the cultural implications of legalizing a form of suicide. 

“This message will be heard by vulnerable groups not as a balm for the dying but as a societally acceptable alternative to living,” the conference said. 

“Indeed, studies show that where assisted suicide has been made legal, the number of all suicides has risen,” the conference statement continued. “How can we urge teens and young adults — knowing suicide is the second-leading cause of death in their age group — not to choose death, while our own laws say that suicide can be a ‘medical option’?”

“We may fund suicide prevention hotlines, expand suicide prevention programs, and train communities, but those efforts are hollow when we are simultaneously signaling that some lives are too burdensome or too expensive to save,” the statement continued. “Can we depend on distressed youth and others to understand the difference between their pain and that of the dying?”

Conscience rights concerns 

Olp, whose law firm helps defend conscience rights, said the new law “erodes the foundational conscience rights of medical professionals and religious medical practices.”

The law requires doctors who are morally opposed to assisted suicide to refer patients to a practitioner who will provide patients with life-ending drugs.

“The state is forcing doctors to become active participants and cooperators in a patient’s suicide — no matter if their faith, ethics, or Hippocratic Oath forbid it,” Olp said.

“This is unconscionable coercion, plain and simple,” he continued. “No doctor should be ordered by the government to participate directly or indirectly in a process that deliberately ends a human life.”

“We will defend the right of every health care professional to practice medicine consistent with their conscience and oath, and we will fight any state effort to force religious health care institutions to violate their beliefs,” Olp said.

Vallière noted that the American Medical Association (AMA) continues to oppose assisted suicide, saying it is in opposition to the role of healer.

“The AMA Code of Medical Ethics continues to state that ‘Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks,’” he said.

Looking ahead

The law is set to go into effect in September 2026.  

“This legislation will be thoughtfully implemented so that physicians can consult patients on making deeply personal decisions with authority, autonomy, and empathy,” Pritzker said.

Opponents said they are planning to continue defending human life.

“Gov. Pritzker and legislators who supported this legislation had a choice to build a future in which every person, especially the sick and vulnerable, is cared for with dignity, love, and support — or to open the door to a system where death becomes a permissible alternative,” the Catholic Conference of Illinois’ statement said.

“With SB 1950 now law, we must speak even more strongly that true compassion means helping people live, not helping them die,” the statement concluded.  

“We urge Illinoisans, people of faith, dedicated medical professionals, and all who cherish human life to stand with us in fighting to defend the vulnerable and protect fundamental freedoms,” Olp said.

Detail of the commemorative painting of the 124 martyrs of Jaén, Spain, beatified in 2025. / Credit: Diocese of Jaén

ACI 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 faith of our parishes, communities, families, and confraternities, and impels us to live Christ more deeply so that we, too, may be witnesses of hope in the midst of the world.”

Chico also shared a reflection on the theological meaning of martyrdom, which he summarized as “the victory of love and the fullness of hope.”

The prelate observed that Scripture “teaches us that blood shed for the love of God is a seed of fidelity, eternal life, and hope.”

Regarding the Catholic Church’s teaching on this mystery of self-sacrifice, Chico noted that each martyr “has been a grace from God for the Church and a rich legacy of charity and hope that we must know and preserve.”

He also emphasized that “martyrdom is the supreme testimony of Christian hope,” because it reminds us that “with the eloquence of their own lives, violence, hatred, or death do not have the last word.”

The bishop of Jaén also pointed out that the martyrs “were not heroes, humanly speaking, nor ideological fighters, nor casualties in a war for earthly interests” but rather men and women “marked by weakness and sin, like any of us, but who conquered evil in the last moment of their lives with the sole strength of an unwavering faith in Christ. Their only weapon was love.”

Jaén, the ‘Holy Kingdom’

The Diocese of Jaén is traditionally known as the “Holy Kingdom,” and throughout its history it has been marked by not a few martyrs, from the Roman soldiers Sts. Bonosus and Maximian to St. Potenciana, virgin, the priest St. Amador, and, in the Middle Ages, the bishop St. Peter Pascual.

Along with them, the new blesseds are not the only sons and daughters of the diocese martyred in the 20th century. In addition to a group beatified in Tarragona in 2013, St. Pedro Poveda, founder of the Teresian Institution, stands out: He was murdered in Madrid in 1936.

With the new blesseds, “Jaén sees its name confirmed and enriched: Holy Kingdom. It is not an empty or merely historical title but a profound spiritual truth,” the prelate emphasized.

Of the 124 new blesseds, Chico highlighted three names “as examples of unwavering faith, generous love, and certain hope”: the priest Francisco de Paula Padilla Gutiérrez, who “voluntarily offered to die in place of a father of six children”; the lay doctor Pedro Sandoica y Granados, who “was murdered for publicly confessing his faith, without fear of the consequences, moved by hope in the kingdom of God”; and the widow Obdulia Puchol, a “woman of profound charity who opened her home to transients and the most disadvantaged, and who was shot for her fidelity to Christ, keeping hope alive until her last breath.”

The prelate said he believes the recognition of these martyrs should be considered “as yet another link in the chain of holiness that unites Jaén with the universal Church, from the first Christians to our own day.”

The martyrs, through their lives and their final sacrifice, “are not just a memory of a heroic past but teachers for the present … In this sense, the witness of the martyrs does not belong solely to history; it is a living word that God addresses to the Church and to the society of today.”

Chico emphasized that the martyrs invite us to renew our own hope because they “urge us to live our faith radically, without lukewarmness or compromise”; they teach people “to forgive, always, even in the midst of violence and injustice, following the example of Christ on the cross”; they call the faithful “to be builders of reconciliation and peace”; and they show that “holiness is possible in all vocations.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Two men attacked Mar Elias Church in Al-Duwaileh, in Damascus, Syria, killing 22 people and injuring 59 on June 22, 2025. / Credit: Mohammed Al-Rifai/ACI MENA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 12, 2025 / 15:18 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Syrian Christians face ‘insecurity’ 1 year after political change

On the one-year anniversary of the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s Christians find themselves outside the scope of systematic persecution but still living in profound fragility, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, ACI MENA, reported.

While freedom of worship remains protected and some positive signs have emerged — such as the end of mandatory military service, restoration of Christian properties, and limited political representation — the overall environment remains unstable.

Christians continue to face insecurity marked by killings, kidnappings, and vandalism along with several major incidents including attacks on churches in Sweida and the bombing of St. Elias Church in Damascus.

Economic hardship persists despite the easing of Western sanctions, driving ongoing emigration and rising fears of continued demographic decline.

VP of Haitian bishops’ conference calls for ‘new moral leadership’

Haitian Bishops’ Conference Vice President Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne is calling for “new moral leadership” in the country plagued by violence and instability. 

Haitians are afflicted by “wounds of poverty, gang violence, insecurity, and the fragility of institutions that should be rebuilt,” the bishop said in an interview with Vatican News.

Dumas is currently living in the U.S. while recovering from wounds he incurred during an explosion in Port-au-Prince in February 2024. 

Asian bishops gather in Hong Kong to discuss pastoral impact of AI

Asian bishops gathered in Hong Kong for the Bishops’ Meet 2025 to discuss the pastoral impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) and its use within the Church. 

The Dec. 11–12 meeting kicked off with an opening Mass celebrated by Cardinal Stephen Chow, SJ, bishop of Hong Kong, who encouraged bishops and communications leaders to embrace AI, stating: “I think AI is not from the devil. AI comes from God, who helps us,” according to Vatican News. 

Chow urged participants in the conference, organized by the Office of Social Communications of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, to discern AI with hope and moral clarity. 

“Otherwise, how can we call ourselves Catholic media” he said. “When we put our hope in the Lord, we must first honor him, not funding agents or ideologies. We need to discern God’s will for our mission in this shifting context.”

Philippines bishop speaks out against societal breakdown and human rights violations

Caritas Philippines President Bishop Gerardo Alminaza is sounding the alarm over increased societal breakdown and human rights violations in the Philippines.

“Human rights violations and shrinking civic space in the Philippines are converging into one moral emergency,” he said, according to a local report, noting that “defending life, dissent, environmental stewardship, and democratic participation is becoming increasingly dangerous.” 

He continued: “As [the] Church, we affirm that human rights and civic space are sacred: We cannot preach peace and justice while ignoring the silencing of communities, the killings of organizers, the disappearances of activists, or the harassment of journalists.”

New Catholic church to be built in growing Australian diocese

The Diocese of Parramatta in Western Sydney has announced that it will build a new Catholic church and precinct in the heart of the rapidly-growing city of Blacktown, where a $2 million development called the Blacktown Quarter is also taking place. 

In a Dec. 8 pastoral letter announcing the decision, Bishop Vincent Long, OFM Conv, revealed the diocese purchased land within the Blacktown Quarter, “with a view to creating a Catholic presence.” 

It will include a new church called Mary Queen of the Family Parish situated in the heart of the Blacktown shopping precinct that will consolidate two preexisting parishes. “Being in the center of civic life is a providential opportunity for evangelization, mission, and service,” Long said. 

Christian group in India joins protest against designation of major religions as tribal 

The United Christian Forum of Dima Hasao in India has joined a tribal students’ group in protesting against the provincial government in the northeast state of Assam for designating six dominant religions as having ethnic tribal status. 

Rev. D.C. Haia Darnei, president of the forum, said the decision would “certainly prove a setback for genuine tribal people, including those who are Christians,” according to a UCA News report. 

“We are with the tribal students’ organization and other tribal groups as their demand is genuine, and we want betterment of the real tribal people in the state,” he said. According to the report, Christians make up about 3.74% of the state’s 31 million people, while tribal groups make up roughly 20%.

Pauline Sisters in Nairobi launch children’s literary event to foster love of reading

Members of the Pious Society of the Daughters of St. Paul (FSP/Pauline Sisters) in Africa are organizing their first-ever children’s literary event as they seek to nurture knowledge and foster a love for reading among children, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported. 

In an interview with ACI Africa ahead of the event scheduled to take place on Dec. 13 at the Daughters of St. Paul premises in Westlands, Nairobi, the directress of Paulines Publications Africa, Sister Praxides Nafula, said: “We are including all children because we aim to nurture knowledge and a love for reading.” 

“We want the pages of the book to come alive, as if the book is talking to the children,” she said.

The event will cater to children from underprivileged communities throughout the Archdiocese of Nairobi, with some refugee children from Tanzania expected to attend.