The pope urges ‘continued dialogue’ after receiving Zelenskyy in Castel Gandolfo
The Pope greets Zelenskyy in Castel Gandolfo. / Credit: Vatican Media
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.
Vatican reverses several parish closures in Diocese of Buffalo, advocates say
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.
FBI leader who oversaw Catholic investigation tapped to lead Virginia public safety department
The J. Edgar Hoover FBI headquarters building in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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.
Boston-area pastor refuses to remove anti-ICE Nativity scene, seeks meeting with archbishop
A Nativity display with anti-ICE messaging outside St. Susanna Church in Dedham, Massachusetts. / Credit: Matthew McDonald
Boston, Massachusetts, Dec 9, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).
The pastor of a Catholic parish near Boston says an anti-immigration-enforcement display in its Nativity scene will stay up at least for the time being, and he is asking for a meeting with the archbishop.
The announcement Monday night — more than three days after the Archdiocese of Boston said the display should be removed — leaves the parish and Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston at an impasse.
“We are waiting for an opportunity of dialogue and clarity with [Arch]bishop Henning before reaching any final decisions,” Father Stephen Josoma said, according to a video of a press conference published by MassLive.com.
The display, put up Nov. 29 outside St. Susanna Church in Dedham, Massachusetts, includes a large sign saying “ICE Was Here” and another sign explaining that the absent figures of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are safe inside the church building. The display also includes a telephone number to report the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs agents to an organization that monitors them.
A spokesman for Archbishop Henning on Friday described the display as inappropriate and said it should be removed.
“The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging. The Church’s norms prohibit the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people. This includes images of the Christ Child in the manger, which are to be used solely to foster faith and devotion,” said Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, by email.
“Regarding the recent incident, St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm or to place a politically divisive display outside the church. The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose,” Donilon said Friday.
Father Josoma’s stance
Father Josoma said Monday he disagrees with the archdiocese’s characterization of the anti-ICE Nativity display.
“That some do not agree with our message does not render our display sacrilegious, or is the cause of any scandal to the faithful,” Father Josoma said during a press conference Monday night outside St. Susanna’s. “Any divisiveness is a reflection of our polarized society, much of which originates with the changing, unjust policies and laws of the current United States administration, not emanating from a Nativity display outside of a church in Dedham.”
Dedham is a town of 25,000 about 10 miles southwest of Boston.
Father Josoma did not respond to a request for comment from the Register. But he told his congregation at the end of Mass on Sunday morning that the archbishop had asked him to remove the anti-ICE display.
“It’s been a very unusual week to say the least. We did get a letter from the archbishop asking us to take the Nativity set down, or at least the signs down. Our parish council and Pax Christi group will be meeting after Mass today to discuss that, to pray about that, to discern our response to that,” Father Josoma said.
Later on Sunday, WCVB Channel 5 reported that Father Josoma said the parish council would meet Monday afternoon instead.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the previous archbishop of Boston, ignored politically charged messages in the St. Susanna’s Nativity scenes in previous years, including those highlighting gun violence (2017), immigration detention centers (2018), and climate change (2019).
The negative reaction to the anti-ICE display from Archbishop Henning, who took over as head of the Archdiocese of Boston in October 2024, was not expected, Father Josoma said.
“It kind of came as a surprise to us,” Father Josoma said.
Father Josoma said he sees the anti-ICE Nativity display at St. Susanna’s as in line with a special message on immigration enforcement that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued Nov. 12, in which the bishops said they are “disturbed” by what they called “a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” that they “are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants,” and that they “lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status.”
“The bishops’ message[s] on their own are totally in line with what we have done over the past week, this past Advent season. We’re a bit surprised at that,” Father Josoma said, referring to the archdiocese’s reaction.
Canon law perspective
A canon law expert contacted Monday said that while a pastor has ordinary authority over his parish, in certain circumstances a bishop can step in and issue orders.
“[In] this situation, the Archbishop of Boston is well within his obligation to prevent scandal in his diocese (canon 1311 §2) by demanding that the Nativity scene be altered or removed. The scene, in the archbishop’s opinion, is divisive and overtly political and falls under the prohibition against ‘the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people’,” said David Long, an assistant professor of canon law and dean of the School of Professional Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
“In his private letter, the archbishop warned the pastor of a possible canonical offense (canon 1339 §1) in displaying the Nativity scene in this manner. The pastor publicly acknowledged the letter and the warning. Therefore, if the pastor persists in the behavior or refuses to comply with the bishop’s directive, the archbishop may proceed to apply a number of penal remedies,” Long said.
As to the role of parish entities such as the parish council, Long said they don’t have authority in this situation.
“The pastor’s deferral to a parish council or a parish peace and justice commission to decide whether to change the Nativity scene is not appropriate. The pastor has been given a directive by the archbishop, and deferring to the parish council would grant the council authority it does not have, since a parish council (canon 536 §2) only has a consultative voice,” Long said.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.
Former Hungarian ambassador reflects on 10-year term at the Vatican
Eduard Habsburg, Hungary's ambassador to the Holy See from 2015 to 2025, takes his leave during a farewell visit to Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Dec 9, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).
Archduke of Austria Eduard Habsburg, who served as Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See since 2015, described his post at the Vatican as “the greatest 10 years of my life.”
Shortly before his farewell meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 21, Habsburg told EWTN News reporter Colm Flynn that after a decade on the job, he has “seen it all” and now wants to dedicate more time to his family, particularly his parents.
“I felt that 10 years is a good term. It’s far longer than ambassadors usually have here,” he said in the exclusive interview.
“I think I’ve seen everything you can see here, including a conclave, visits by my prime minister, exciting moments,” he added. “In a way, I’m going to miss it but also family is important.”
The former ambassador, whose term at the Vatican ended on Nov. 30, said he will likely continue to represent Hungary at future international events organized by the Church and pro-family groups.
“I’ll keep a foot in that world, so to speak, so I’m not going to totally give it up,” he said.
Reflecting on his initial surprise at being asked to be Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See, Habsburg, who belongs to the prominent 850-year-old European Catholic dynasty, said he “hit the floor running” when he arrived in Rome for his first post.
On Pope Francis and his love for Hungary
Describing his relationship with Pope Francis as “incredibly positive,” the former ambassador said the Argentine pontiff had a warm affection for the Central European nation and its people.
“I saw it every time he met a Hungarian,” he said. “He would use Hungarian expressions. He would smile. He would be happy. He would take his time with them.”
Though Pope Francis had not visited Hungary until 2021 for the 52nd International Eucharistic Conference, he told Habsburg that he “learned everything” about Hungary through three religious sisters who fled their country in 1956, during the Soviet occupation, to a monastery in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“They have shaped Pope Francis’ outlook on Hungary and that made my work very easy,” he quipped. “He was incredibly generous.”
Pope Francis visited Hungary a second time in 2023 for his apostolic journey to the country’s capital of Budapest from April 28–30.
On Pope Benedict XVI and his humor
During the 1990s, Pope Benedict XVI, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, read Habsburg’s doctoral thesis on the topic of Thomas Aquinas and Vatican II and told him “he liked it” and that he wanted him to either make a documentary or a thriller about Thomism.
After first meeting with Pope Francis, the former ambassador said he later met with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the Vatican Gardens.
“He looked at me and said, ‘So you’re ambassador now?’” Habsburg recalled. “And then he said, ‘You know you still owe me a documentary or a thriller about Thomism.”
“That was the first thing he said. I was so blown away,” he said. “I still haven’t written it.”
“That’s the one thing many people don’t realize about Pope Benedict XVI was the sense of humor that he had that we never got to see publicly,” he said.
Habsburg earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in 1999.
On Pope Leo XIV
The archduke told EWTN News he had briefly met Pope Leo XIV four times prior to his farewell visit to the pontiff on Nov. 21.
“I’m very impressed by him. I feel [he is] a very balanced and just man who is trying to do good,” he said of the first U.S.-born pope.
Noting Pope Leo’s fluency in many languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, and Latin, Habsburg commented that he believes the universal Church’s new leader “has several cultures in his heart and in his mind.”
“And yes, we will see the things that he’ll do. We pray for him every day,” he said.
Watch the full interview with Eduard Habsburg on the EWTN News YouTube channel.
New York archdiocese announces $300 million settlement for victims of clergy abuse
A view of St. Patrick’s Cathedral near Rockefeller Center in Manhattan on Feb. 2, 2023, in New York City. The cathedral was completed in 1878 the Gothic Revival style by architect James Renwick Jr. / Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).
The Archdiocese of New York will pay out nearly a third of a billion dollars to victims of clergy sex abuse, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said this week, offering one of the biggest Church payouts in U.S. history in order to compensate for the “horror of abuse” by clergy there.
Cardinal Dolan said the archdiocese will pay out “a total of more than $300 million” to abuse survivors as part of a “global settlement” with victims.
The archdiocese has made “a series of very difficult financial decisions” to help fund the settlement, Cardinal Dolan said in the Dec. 8 statement, including staff layoffs and a 10% reduction in the archdiocese's operating budget.
“We are also working to finalize the sale of significant real estate assets,” the prelate said. He pointed to the recent sale of the former archdiocesan headquarters in Manhattan, which was bought by a development group for about $100 million.
The settlement comes a decade after the founding of the archdiocese’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, which seeks to “promote healing and bring closure” by offering compensation to clergy abuse victims.
Cardinal Dolan said the settlement came after talks with a third-party mediator who helped negotiate a “global settlement,” a process which allows for rapid resolution of cases while avoiding lengthy court proceedings.
The archdiocese and lawyers are working with retired California Judge Daniel Buckley to help mediate the process. Buckley last year helped mediate the Los Angeles archdiocese’s own abuse settlement, one that saw a record $880 million agreement for abuse survivors.
Cardinal Dolan said the archdiocese is seeking to ensure “the greatest possible compensation to victim-survivors” while still pursuing “vital ministries for the good of our parishes, families, and communities.”
The cardinal also said the archdiocese is still engaged in a legal conflict with its longtime insurer Chubb. In 2024 the archdiocese launched a lawsuit against Chubb, claiming the corporation was “attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation” to pay out financial claims to sex abuse victims.
"Despite accepting millions in premiums from the archdiocese, Chubb has steadfastly refused to honor the policies it issued,” Dolan said on Dec. 8.
Cardinal Dolan urged the faithful to pray “for the victim-survivors, their families, and all who have experienced the horror of abuse.”
The New York payout comes at the same time that a federal judge in Louisiana approved a $230 million settlement to be paid to abuse victims by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The archdiocese had agreed to the payout in October.
The Los Angeles archdiocese’s near-$1 billion payout still stands as the U.S. record for an abuse settlement by an archdiocese or diocese. The official record for a diocesan settlement is $323 million, by the New York Diocese of Rockville Centre, though it’s unclear if the New York archdiocese’s payment will ultimately top that.
Earlier this year the Diocese of Rochetser, New York agreed to a near-$250 million settlement for abuse victims. The Diocese of Syracuse this year also agreed to a $176 million settlement.
Polish leaders decry EU court ruling as overreach into national family law
null / Credit: Guillaume Paumier via Flickr, filter added (CC BY 2.0)
EWTN News, Dec 9, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).
Conservative factions across Europe have responded with concern to a recent ruling by the European Union’s Court of Justice requiring Poland to recognize “same-sex marriages” performed in other EU member states, despite such unions having no legal status under Polish law.
The situation arose when two Polish citizens who had “married” in Germany in 2018 returned to Poland and requested that officials register their union in the country’s civil records. Polish authorities declined, explaining that national law did not provide legal recognition for “same-sex couples.”
Following this legal challenge, a Polish court referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg for clarification on how EU law should be interpreted. It is a standard procedure available to national courts before issuing their own rulings.
In its November ruling, the CJEU determined that refusing to recognize a “marriage” between two EU citizens lawfully concluded in another member state violates EU law by infringing on freedom of movement and the right to respect for private and family life. The court stated that member states must recognize marital status lawfully acquired in another EU country for the purpose of exercising rights conferred by EU law.
Concerns over sovereignty
The ruling has sparked immediate and strong criticism from Polish leaders and advocacy organizations, who view it as a significant overreach into matters of national competence.
Olivier Bault, communications director for Ordo Iuris, an international institute focused on life, family, and national sovereignty issues, responded to the ruling as “yet another overreach by the Court of Justice of the European Union.”
Bault said that family matters are reserved for member states under EU treaties, stressing that all 27 nations had ratified through their democratic institutions the principle that “each of them has a right of veto over any decision regulating marriage or family matters at the EU level.” He contended the court invoked broadly interpreted rights like freedom of movement and private life to regulate areas meant to fall under national rather than EU law.
Addressing concerns about the precedent this decision may set, Bault noted that in theory the ruling should have no impact in Poland, where the constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. He pointed out that Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has previously affirmed the supremacy of the Polish Constitution over EU law and CJEU interpretations.
Going further, Bault added that similar constitutional supremacy positions have been taken by the highest courts in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and Romania, particularly regarding CJEU rulings that imply sovereignty transfers not previously approved through democratic procedures.
Political reactions
These sovereignty concerns have been forcefully echoed by senior Polish political figures across the spectrum. Former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki criticized the CJEU ruling as a deep interference in member state affairs with significant implications for Polish families.
He drew a pointed analogy to drug legalization, arguing that the court’s logic would be equivalent to requiring Poland to accept drug imports simply because countries like the Netherlands have legalized them. Morawiecki said that Poland cannot consent to such impositions and that national sovereignty remains fundamental to member state functioning.
The criticism has extended to Poland’s representatives in Brussels. Polish members of the European Parliament also voiced strong opposition to the decision. Among them, Tobiasz Bocheński characterized the decision as “an example of the attack on the rule of law,” arguing that it deprives Polish citizens and others of the right to determine their own future and therefore fails to respect democracy or freedom.
Adding to the chorus of opposition, former Polish presidential candidate Krzysztof Bosak publicly reaffirmed the importance of the natural family in Polish society, stating that only a man and a woman can marry and start a family. Bosak stressed that opposing the legalization of “same-sex marriage” does not mean people living with same-sex attraction should be treated with disrespect or any type of aggression.
Regional implications
The ruling has prompted wider regional discussions across Eastern and Central Europe, where “same-sex marriage” remains either unrecognized or unregulated in most countries.
In neighboring Lithuania, which shares both a border and significant cultural ties with Poland, Justice Minister Rita Tamašunienė addressed the decision by clarifying that “this obligation does not mean that national law must provide for same-sex marriage.” Tamašunienė belongs to the Lithuanian Polish Electoral Action-Union of Christian Families, a faction within the current ruling coalition that has explicitly carved out certain issues it will not support, including the legalization of partnerships and “same-sex marriage,” as part of the coalition agreement. The coalition receives strong support from Lithuania’s Polish minority.
The Catholic Church affirms that marriage is the exclusive union of one man and one woman, as the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, reiterated Nov. 25 during the presentation in Rome of the document titled “Una Caro (One Flesh): In Praise of Monogamy.”
The EU court’s decision highlights growing tensions between EU institutions and member states over issues touching on national identity and values. As similar cases may arise in other Central and Eastern European nations with traditional marriage laws, the ruling could become a flashpoint in ongoing debates about the limits of EU authority and the preservation of national sovereignty in matters of family law.
Knock Shrine event highlights urgent call to revive First Saturdays practice
Bishop John Keenan speaks at the First Saturdays Conference in Knock, Ireland, on Dec. 6, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of First Saturdays Conference
Dublin, Ireland, Dec 9, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).
At Knock Shrine on Saturday, Dec. 6, hundreds came from across Ireland to mark the centenary of the First Saturdays devotion and the promises given by Our Lady to Sister Lucia at Fátima in an apparition on Dec. 10, 1925.
Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, Scotland, told participants: “We need to respond to Our Lady not with half-measures.”
Urging a wider devotion in parishes worldwide to the First Saturdays, Keenan said: “A mother’s gut reaction is very visceral, the desire to save and to protect. We need to respond to Our Lady not with ‘half-measures’; we need to respond to her wounded Immaculate Heart and practice the First Saturdays.”
The five First Saturdays devotion is an act of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which requires devotees on five consecutive first Saturdays to go to confession, receive holy Communion, pray five decades of the rosary, and keep Mary company for 15 minutes of meditation.
Conference organizer Father Marius O’Reilly told CNA: “The First Saturdays seem to be the forgotten part of the Fátima message. Our Lady promises that there will be peace in the world and that many souls will be saved if we do what she asks. The consecration was, of course, fulfilled by St. John Paul II in 1984, but we have not responded to Our Lady’s call in relation to the First Saturdays. The effect of this is seen everywhere.”
Christine O’Hara, First Saturday Apostolate and conference chair, told CNA about the First Saturdays in her own parish. “One simple but powerful message that we hope will come out of our conference is that people will take Our Lady’s promise to heart and consider starting a group within their own parishes to observe the First Saturdays devotion,” she said. “I started a group in my own parish in 2022, and it has been a great success. Parishioners have received great graces from practicing the devotion.”
O’Hara’s parish group prays the rosary before Saturday vigil Mass, completing the 15-minute meditation afterward. “Meditation brings us into deeper communion with the Lord. I feel that I am honoring Our Lady by responding to her plea for the First Saturdays.”
The Five Saturdays devotion can be practiced privately or publicly. A priest does not need to be present for the rosary and meditation.
Robert Nugent, who runs a popular YouTube channel called “Decrevi Determined to be Catholic,” told CNA he was encouraging people to do the First Saturdays in their parish. “By starting in January you’ll finish in the month of May, which is the month of Mary. We encourage people to pray this devotion and also to come to the All Ireland Rosary Rally here in Knock.”
Keenan explained how St. John Paul II and St. Louis de Montfort emphasized “devotion to the heart of Mary is devotion to Jesus. When someone you love is hurt; that hurts you more than if you are hurt yourself.”
Damien Philpott of the First Saturday Apostolate told CNA: “I think it is a very important event simply because Our Lady told Sister Lucia 100 years ago at Pontevedra that peace in our world depends on the First Saturdays devotion. We want to establish it in parishes all around Ireland. Sometimes people feel alone and isolated in starting up the First Saturdays. At this event you can meet people who are involved in the First Saturdays.”
Antonia Moffat, formerly with the Walsingham Shrine, spoke about the urgency of this message to bring peace to the world and how the plight of the 300 children abducted from St. Mary’s School in Nigeria would greatly wound the tender and compassionate heart of Mary.
She said: “Heaven’s peace plan is the daily rosary and the First Saturdays each month.”
Representatives from many apostolates and First Saturday groups were at Knock to share their experiences and learn. Karen Clancy of Totus Tuus magazine told CNA: “I’m here to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the First Saturdays; it’s such a great movement and so important in the times we are living in with all the disruptions in our world these days with wars in various places. Our Lady has told Sister Lucia that it’s a matter of war or peace if the First Saturdays are completed or not. I would encourage more people to come to events like this, to learn more about the First Saturdays and promote it more in our parishes and get more people involved.”
Karen Brady of Human Life International explained to CNA that she was there to learn more about First Saturdays. “I already follow them but I would like to have a greater in-depth understanding. It is something that is so important for us to know about as Catholics.”
In his address, Father Philip Kemmy made a powerful connection between Jesus’ words to his friends the night before he died, “keep watch with me,” and Our Lady’s request to “keep me company for 15 minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the rosary.”
Kemmy said: “This is such a beautiful connection to make between son and mother. The 15-minute meditation can be a neglected aspect of Our Lady’s request but it is a very powerful part. Meditating on the mysteries of Jesus’ life brings us into deeper communion with him.”
At a French shrine for the dead, a quiet revival among the living
Pilgrims gather for Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Montligeon in Normandy, France, on Nov. 16, 2025, during the annual “Heaven’s Pilgrimage,” dedicated to prayer for the souls in purgatory. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Shrine of Our Lady of Montligeon
EWTN News, Dec 9, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
At the Shrine of Our Lady of Montligeon in rural Normandy, workers restore its century-old slate roof and windows. Inside the neo-Gothic basilica, pilgrims arrive and light candles, enroll loved ones in Masses, and pray for the souls of the dead — and, increasingly, to seek hope for themselves.
Known internationally for its mission of prayer for the deceased and its archconfraternity for the souls in purgatory, Montligeon welcomes pilgrims year-round and hosts “Heaven’s Pilgrimages” each November. Shrine staff say interest is steadily growing, especially among young people and those approaching or returning to the Catholic Church.
“Yes, indeed, the shrine seems to have gained notoriety in the past 20 years,” said Father Paul Denizot, rector of the shrine, in a statement shared by Marie Houdebert, who works in its international office.
“I believe it stems from a growing interest in topics like death, the afterlife, and praying for the dead. Among the increasing number of young people rediscovering the Catholic Church and asking to get baptized, many are wondering about hope in the face of death. They are deeply touched by the message of Montligeon.”
Denizot said those coming to Montligeon are diverse — practicing Catholics, the non-baptized, “lapsed” believers, tourists, and organized pilgrimages — many of whom carry grief.
“I think there are two main reasons for today’s youths’ return to the Catholic Church,” he said. “First, a need for identity, for roots in an ever-changing world where family isn’t always a safe space to grow. Second is a need for hope. A lot of people go back to Church following the death of a loved one.”
“Believing that there is a way for them to help their deceased through prayer brings them hope in a seemingly hopeless world.”
While pilgrims seek consolation within, the basilica’s exterior is undergoing major restoration. The project — expected to take another three years — includes replacing the roof and repairing the stained-glass windows in the choir at an estimated cost of 3.6 million euros (about $4.2 million), much of it funded by the shrine itself.
“I was pleasantly surprised that so many people, rich or poor, came together to support this project,” Denizot said.
“People feel responsible for the basilica because they feel at home there. We’ve had support from many different countries.”
Montligeon’s local experience echoes a broader development in France: a notable rise in adult baptisms.
At Easter 2025, more than 10,384 adults were baptized across the country — a 45% increase over the previous year and the highest figure in decades. Many catechumens are in their late teens or 20s, often discovering the faith through personal exploration and contact with vibrant Catholic communities.
Every November, the month the Church dedicates to prayer for the dead, Montligeon hosts its annual pilgrimages to commend the departed to God’s mercy. Denizot encourages the faithful to see this intercession as both a duty of charity and a source of hope.
For many burdened by loss, the shrine dedicated to the dead has become a place where the living encounter renewed faith.
Daughter of political prisoner Jimmy Lai speaks out for the first time
Claire Lai, daughter of imprisoned Hong Kong activist and Catholic Jimmy Lai, speaks with EWTN News President Montse Alvarado on “EWTN News Nightly” on Dec. 8, 2025. / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot
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.
Conversion to the faith
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.
Legal saga
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.”
Prison conditions
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.
Call for international involvement
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.
Hope for a release
“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.”