Pew study: Religion holds steady in America
American adults who identify with Christianity, with another religion, or with no religion have all remained steady, a new Pew Research Center report finds. / Credit: ChoeWatt/Shutterstock
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.
Young women’s religiosity shifts
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.
Young adults remain less religious than older Americans
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.
Pope says Trump Ukraine plan would weaken U.S. alliance with Europe
Pope Leo XIV addresses the press at Castel Gandolfo Dec. 9, 2025. / Credit: Zofia Czubak/CNA
Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV said President Donald Trump’s plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine threatens to break apart the alliance between Europe and the United States.
Asked by reporters Dec. 9 to comment on the initiative's fairness, the pope said, “I would rather not comment on that. I haven’t read the whole thing. Unfortunately, some parts I have seen make a huge change in what was for many years a true alliance between the EU and U.S.”
The pope commented to reporters after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Leo said, “The remarks [by Trump] that were made about Europe recently are, I think, trying to break apart what I think is an important alliance today and in the future. It’s a program that President Trump and his advisers put together, and he’s the president of the U.S. And he has a right to do that.”
The Holy Father called for continued dialogue to seek a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine during the meeting with Zelensky on Tuesday, according to the Vatican.
The pair also discussed the question of prisoners of war and the urgent need to assure the return of Ukrainian children to their families. According to the Vatican, the Holy See will continue its efforts to do that — including "through the efforts of the Special envoy of the Holy Father for humanitarian issues in Ukraine," Cardinal Matteo Zuppi said, and to ensure the release of prisoners of war.
Responding to a question from EWTN News, the pope said that progress on the repatriation of abducted Ukrainian children was “very slow, unfortunately,” but he declined to comment further on the matter.
The Vatican has mediated between Kyiv and Moscow on the issue of the children’s return. Zelensky wrote on X, "I informed the Pope about diplomatic efforts with the United States to achieve peace. We discussed further actions and the Vatican’s mediation aimed at returning our children abducted by Russia," Zelensky wrote on X.
In a statement published by the Vatican after the meeting at Castel Gandolfo, the pope “reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace.”
Following the private audience, Zelensky expressed his “profound gratitude” to Pope Leo XIV for the Holy See's constant support for the Ukrainian people.
Valentina Di Donato contributed to this story.
Archbishop performs rite of reparation at Annunciation Catholic Church after shooting
Flowers are seen on Sept. 3, 2025, outside the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, where a shooter killed two children and injured 21 other people on Aug. 27, 2025. / Credit: Alex Wroblewski/Getty
CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:10 pm (CNA).
Three months after a deadly shooting in Minneapolis that left two students dead and injured 18 others as well as three adults, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, along with Auxiliary Bishops Kevin Kenney and Michael Izen, said a special Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church on Dec. 6 that included a rite of reparation to restore the church for worship.
On Aug. 27, Robin Westman — who was born “Robert” and identified as a woman – shot through the stained glass windows of the church during a morning Mass filled with Annunciation school students in first through eighth grade, killing Fletcher Merkel, eight, and Harper Moyski, 10.
Westman, who had posted anti-Christian and explicit messages on social media before the attack, then killed himself at the scene.
"Our Blessed Mother lived this faith and cooperated with God's plan for her life, despite the difficulties it would occasion,” Hebda prayed outside the building just before the Dec. 6 Mass. “We profess that our souls now will rejoin hers in proclaiming the greatness of the Lord in this church, dedicated in her honor, and now reclaimed for the glory of God."
"My brothers and sisters, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead proclaims that evil and death do not have the final word; God does.”
Hebda, followed by Kenney, Izen, and the rest of the congregation, entered the church chanting the Litany of the Saints.
The altar was bare when the Mass began. Part of the rite of reparation included the prayers: "restore the sanctity of this church, dedicated to your glory and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary."
Other prayers included petitions to “bring healing to those who were injured” and "bring healing and comfort to those suffering the harm done to their children."
Annunciation pastor Father Dennis Zehren, along with the archbishop, sprinkled holy water throughout the church, on the altar, and on those gathered. The media was not allowed into the church during the Mass.
During his homily Hebda recalled the anointing of Annunciation Church at its establishment 40 years earlier, pointing out that inscribed outside the church are the words: “‘This is the house of God and the gate of heaven.’”
In notes of his homily provided to the media, Hebda recalled what occurred at the church on Aug. 27: “This safe haven, this place of refuge, this foretaste of the order of the heavenly kingdom, was disturbed by a chaos that no one could have imagined. It's for that chaos that we've come together to engage in this act of penance and reparation this day.”
"This community will never forget what happened that day,” he wrote, “and will forever remember with great love Harper and Fletcher, whose beautiful and inspiring lives were cut short as they and fellow students gathered for the Eucharist.”
He continued: "I've never seen such an outpouring of love and mutual support as I have witnessed here these last three months. The sorrow understandably lingers, but there's a Christ-centered resilience here that is remarkable — and praise God — it's been contagious.
"Today we gather penitentially for this rite of reparation in the hope of restoring the order that Christ desires for his Church, his family. We cannot undo the tragic loss of Fletcher and Harper, but we can communicate to the world that we recognize that the power of God is far in excess of any evil; that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.”
"We cannot let Satan win, and we, by God's grace, reclaim this space today for Christ and his Church,” the prelate said.
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.