Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

Cardinal Robert McElroy at the Church of San Frumenzio ai Prati Fiscali in Rome on April 23, 2023, when he took possession of his titular church as a cardinal. / Credit: Pablo Esparza/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 5, 2025 / 11:11 am (CNA).

Cardinal Robert McElroy, the 71-year-old archbishop of Washington, D.C., has been diagnosed with cancer but has a good prognosis for recovery, according to an archdiocesan announcement on Wednesday morning, Nov. 5. 

According to the statement, McElroy’s cancer will be surgically removed on Nov. 13, and his doctors “are in consensus that his prognosis is very good.”

“The precise diagnosis is that Cardinal McElroy has well-differentiated liposarcoma, which is a nonaggressive cancer that tends not to metastasize,” the statement read.

“Last night Cardinal McElroy spoke with the priests of the archdiocese about this diagnosis during their annual convocation and said to them that ‘I am at peace with this challenge and hope and believe that in God’s grace I will be archbishop of Washington for many years to come. I ask your prayers and support in these days and plan to resume full duties two weeks after the surgery,’” the statement added.

McElroy was installed as archbishop of the nation’s capital on March 11 following an appointment by Pope Francis. He was made a cardinal in 2022 while serving as bishop of the Diocese of San Diego.

The cardinal, who holds a doctorate in sacred theology and a doctorate in political science, assumed his role less than two months after President Donald Trump took office as president for the second time.

Although he wished the president well, McElroy strongly criticized Trump’s plan for mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally, saying on Jan. 6 that “we are called always to have a sense of the dignity of every human person.”

“And thus, plans which have been talked about at some levels of having a wider indiscriminate massive deportation across the country would be something that would be incompatible with Catholic doctrine,” McElroy said at the time. “So we’ll have to see what emerges in the administration.”

In a Sept. 28 homily, McElroy urged Catholics to embrace migrants “in a sustained, unwavering, prophetic, and compassionate way” and to “stand in solidarity with the undocumented men and women whose lives are being upended by the government’s campaign of fear and terror.”

The cardinal referred to the ongoing deportations as “an unprecedented assault upon millions of immigrant men and women and families in our midst.”

“We are witnessing a comprehensive governmental assault designed to produce fear and terror among millions of men and women who have through their presence in our nation been nurturing precisely the religious, cultural, communitarian, and familial bonds that are most frayed and most valuable at this moment in our country’s history,” McElroy said.

McElroy’s comments came as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops continued to feud with the Trump administration over its immigration policy. Specifically, the bishops have expressed concern about the scale of deportations and the administration’s decision to rescind a rule that restricted immigration enforcement at houses of worship.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told CNA in July that enforcement at a house of worship would be “extremely rare,” adding: “Our officers use discretion. Officers would need secondary supervisor approval before any action can be taken in locations such as a church or a school.”

The Ten Commandments outside the Texas capitol. / Credit: BLundin via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Houston, Texas, Nov 5, 2025 / 10:47 am (CNA).

Texas voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Proposition 15, the Parental Rights Amendment, with more than 72% in favor.

The measure, which passed alongside all 16 other constitutional amendments on the ballot, enshrines parents’ fundamental authority over their children’s upbringing directly into the Texas Constitution, marking the first such explicit protection in any U.S. state charter.

The amendment adds language affirming that parents have the right “to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing,” alongside their responsibility “to nurture and protect the parent’s child.” It takes effect immediately upon certification by the Texas secretary of state, expected within weeks.

Texas already ranked among the 26 states with a Parents’ Bill of Rights in state law, enacted in 2023, which granted access to “full information” on a child’s school activities, student records, state assessments, and teaching materials.

Proponents argued the constitutional upgrade provides an ironclad shield against potential future encroachments, building on U.S. Supreme Court precedents like Troxel v. Granville (2000) that recognize parental rights but lack explicit federal legislative backing.

A majority of voters in almost every county in the state voted for the amendment’s passage. Only Travis County voters, where the state capital of Austin is located, voted against it by 57%.

The Texas secretary of state’s office estimated that 2.9 million people voted in this election. This represents about 15.8% turnout among the state’s 18.4 million registered voters — a slight uptick from the 2023 amendment election’s 2.5 million (14.4%) but still historically low for a non-presidential year.

More than half of the 17 state constitutional amendments voters approved concerned taxes, and six lowered property taxes for specific groups, such as senior citizens and those with disabilities.

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops told CNA in October that it supported the passage of the amendment, which recognizes “the natural right of parents to direct their children’s upbringing.”

Opposition, though limited, came from both Democrats and some conservative factions. 

In the Texas House, two dozen Democrats — many from the Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus — opposed the measure, warning it could sideline children’s needs and government protections against parental abuse. Despite the debate, the amendment passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan rural support.

Houston attorney Marcella Burke told CNA that “while these rights to nurture and protect children are currently safeguarded thanks to existing Supreme Court case law, there is no federal constitutional amendment protecting these rights.”

The amendment’s addition to the state constitution “will make governments think twice and carefully consider any actions affecting child-rearing. Keep in mind that no rights are absolute, so in this context, parents don’t have the right to abuse their kids — and that’s the sort of exception the amendment reads in.”

The True Texas Project, a group of former Tea Party activists, decried the language as too vague and unnecessary, arguing it implies the state confers a right that “God has already ordained. ... And we know that what the state can give, the state can take away.”

Bishop Juan Antonio Martínez Camino is the auxiliary bishop of Madrid. / Credit: Nicolás de Cárdenas/ACI Prensa

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 5, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Following the publication of his Spanish-language book on the 1934 revolution that took place in Asturias province in northwestern Spain, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Antonio Martínez Camino of Madrid noted that “if we know the history of the martyrs, we will recover evangelical strength.”

In “The 39 Martyrs of 1934 in Spain,” Martínez recounts the stories of those who were murdered out of hatred for the faith within a very specific context in the country’s history.

In October 1934, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE by its Spanish acronym) along with anarchist and communist groups launched an uprising against the legality of the Second Spanish Republic, hoping to emulate the revolution that triumphed in Russia in 1917.

Among those martyred in the conflict — 37 religious and two laypeople — were nine De La Salle Brothers, seven diocesan seminarians and three of their formators, three Vincentian missionaries, two Jesuits, one Carmelite, and one Passionist.

Most were killed in Asturias, but not all. A Marist brother and a diocesan priest were killed in Palencia; another priest in Barcelona; and a lay member of the National Catholic Association of Propagandists (Advocates) in Gipuzkoa.

The martyrs: A ‘living Gospel’

Just days before the liturgical memorial of the 20th-century martyrs in Spain on Nov. 6, the prelate told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that the book’s main motivation is to make the lives and final sacrifices of these martyrs known to new generations. He said he hopes that “a call to awaken our faith, perhaps dormant,” goes forth, as Archbishop Sanz Montes of Oviedo points out in the book’s prologue.

There is a second motivation for the book, he said, which is to denounce “a neo-pagan culture that frustrates the desires of human beings and of new generations; a culture that has been developing in Europe for two or three centuries and is now at its peak.”

This culture is characterized by being “closed to true life from God and is centered on the myth of self-salvation, on the myth of progress,” he explained.

Martínez emphasized that telling the stories of the martyrs is not “primarily to illustrate an already well-established Christian doctrine but rather to highlight the essence of Christianity, which is the history of Christ and his witnesses.”

The author said “the martyrs and saints are the living presence of Christ in the history of each era. They are, therefore, the first evangelizers.” 

“To read the lives of the saints and martyrs is to read the living Gospel,” he noted.

‘Martyrs of the revolution, not of the war’

The prelate explained that throughout all of Spain within a 15-year period (which extended beyond the time of the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War), 4,235 clerics were martyred, including 12 bishops. 

In addition, 3,500 male religious and friars and almost 300 nuns were killed. Added to these, some estimate that up to 10,000 laypeople may have been killed for their faith.

Of all the martyrs, some 3,000 are at different stages of the beatification process.

Martínez, who owes part of his vocation to the memory of his uncle, Lázaro San Martín Camino, who was martyred in 1936, states in the book that “they are martyrs of the revolution, not of the war.”

“Neither the republic nor the war, as such, were directly the cause of their martyrdom,” but rather “the cause of martyrdom in Spain is the anarcho-Marxist revolution,” which, like other totalitarian ideologies in the 20th century, “included in its program the annihilation of faith, religion, and the Christian Church.”

In the Jubilee Year 2000, St. John Paul II convened an ecumenical event held in the Colosseum of Rome in memory of the 20th century martyrs, which covered everything from the martyrdom of the Armenians in Turkey in 1915 to the waning years of communism at the century’s end.

Although crimes against religious freedom in Spain, and especially against Catholics, are increasing year after year and have even resulted in bloodshed, as in the case of sacristan Diego Valencia, according to reports prepared by specialists, Martínez warned against hasty interpretations.

“We must understand this lesson well to understand the present,” he said, alluding to the martyrdoms of the 20th century. “If we mix everything up, we understand nothing. We must proceed step by step. And we cannot conflate the martyrdom of the 20th century with the martyrdom of the 21st century.”

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

Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly (right) speaks at the Symposium on Young American Men, a national conversation on restoring purpose, flourishing, and belonging, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3, 2025. Looking on is Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma. / Credit: Matthew H. Barrick

CNA Staff, Nov 5, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

At the Symposium on Young American Men in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly of the Knights of Columbus said that young men are “lost” and need “purpose and mission.” 

The symposium highlighted the mental health crisis, social isolation, digital addiction, and other struggles young men face today.

Panelists — including Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma; Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; and other experts — discussed ways to address these challenges by helping young men build community. 

“Many young men are lost and disconnected,” Kelly said in an opening statement at the beginning of the symposium. “Many come from broken families with fathers who are not a real part of their life. Many are drowning in the depths of the internet and social media.”

Kelly, who heads the Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus, pointed to loneliness and isolation as a challenge for young men. 

“It’s increasingly clear that millions of men no longer have friends who they can count on and who can spur them on to excellence,” Kelly continued. “More than a quarter of millennials say they have no close friends, and the rise of artificial intelligence has millions of young men looking for friendship in chatbots.”

Ellen Carmichael, founder of The Lafayette Company, the communications group hosting the symposium, said there is an “urgent need” for action.

“Recent incidents of political violence and growing national concern about young men’s social isolation have underscored what we already knew: This conversation cannot wait,” Carmichael stated. 

“We are hardwired as men for purpose and mission,” Kelly said, noting that the Knights of Columbus is centered on Christ and service to local communities.  

“We are trying to tackle what the surgeon general recently called the epidemic of loneliness and isolation,” Kelly noted. “We’re giving men the kind of community they truly need, and we will continue to help America’s young men find meaning and mission in life.” 

“We’ve always known that men need meaning in life and that a man’s ultimate meaning comes from his personal relationship with others and with God,” Kelly said. 

“Friendship is the key,” he said. “Christ did his ministry through friendships … he assembled 12 friends, imperfect people.” 

In a panel on the role of faith in rebuilding community for men, Kelly said young men “have had enough” of what the culture offers them and “are really yearning for more of an institution and yearning for moorings.” 

He noted that the Knights of Columbus have been bringing in a growing number of men over the past few years and that after an era of relativism, there has been a “swing back” among young men toward tradition. 

In a change from previous generations, he said, young men are drawn to ritual. 

“The areas they’re searching leave them empty,” Kelly said, so “they turn to God.”

Cardinal Dominik Duka. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Prague, Czech Republic, Nov 5, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Dominik Duka, one of the last cardinals from former Czechoslovakia, passed away at the age of 82 on Nov. 4. He was known for his orthodoxy in the Catholic faith and his resistance against the communist regime that jailed him for religious activity.

With the death of Duka, the only living cardinal from Czechoslovakia is Michael Czerny, who emigrated to Canada.

Duka, born in 1943, was baptized Jaroslav but took the religious name Dominik when he secretly entered the Order of Preachers and was ordained a priest in 1970.

He taught other Dominicans, spread samizdat (the secret copying and distributing of literature banned by the state), and cooperated with people abroad, which was illegal during communist rule in Czechoslovakia. The regime jailed him for more than a year. 

According to a memorial letter by the master of the Order of Preachers, Father Gerard Francisco Timoner III, Duka “spent 15 months in the Plzeň-Bory prison, where he prayed with fellow inmates and strengthened them in their faith.”

In prison, Duka also became friends with Václav Havel, the future president of free Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic after 1989.

After the fall of communism, Duka helped negotiate an agreement on Church property restitutions. The communist regime had seized many Church holdings, and the settlement provided financial compensation from the state to Catholic institutions.

The Dominican was a bishop since 1998, served as a chairman of the Czech Bishops‘ Conference, and was archbishop of Prague from 2010 to 2022. Pope Benedict XVI made him a cardinal in 2012. Duka was also the author of various books.

The prelate was a well-known public figure who often went against the mainstream as he promoted Church teaching in a predominantly atheist and agnostic Czech Republic. Thus, he was necessarily considered both inspiring and provocative.

For example, the family was for him more important than elections or geopolitics. He warned that the breakdown of the family would lead to a mass of individuals who are easier to control by the state.

In one of many interviews for the media, he said that women were not aware they were manipulated by TV, radio, and in advertisements: “When was the last time I saw a movie in which there is a truly normal, harmonious family?” he said. Duka admitted there are problems in families, but “we all remember our family and childhood not because our parents sometimes argued, but because it was our environment. And a woman really plays a fundamental role.“

The Czech prelate opposed gender ideology and political efforts to replace the terms mother and father with designations such as “Parent A” and “Parent B.” 

“No one from Ukraine welcomes Parent B; people welcome mothers with children. Thus, the words ‘mom,’ ‘dad’ are completely natural for those children fleeing from Ukraine,“ he said in an interview in 2022.

Duka appreciated Pope Francis’ call for disarmament but added that “if we accept the vision that humans are intelligent apes,” any respect or tolerance may cease to exist, as “there are slightly different laws in the animal world.”

Some criticized the cardinal for being too close and benevolent to a few politicians — mainly to the ex-president of Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, who had been a communist. Others said Duka may have been too critical of mass immigration from countries other than Ukraine.

The last time he created a stir was in September, when he celebrated a Mass in Prague for the family of murdered U.S. political activist Charlie Kirk.

Duka once spoke about a controversy he was causing. He faced a dilemma about whether to partake in a March for Life, “because I am attracting the counter-demonstrators who use a vocabulary that children [present at the march] should not hear,” the cardinal said.

After his death, a few commentators said they appreciated Duka’s fighting spirit, his courage against communism, and his frankness. One Jewish community acknowledged Duka’s openness to interreligious dialogue and his fight against antisemitism.

His funeral Mass will be celebrated Nov. 15.

Kristina Zamarytė-Sakavičienė attends the March for Life in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Oct. 4, 2025. / Credit: Erlendas Bartulis

Vilnius, Lithuania, Nov 5, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The appointment of Kristina Zamarytė-Sakavičienė, a mother of six and longtime advocate for life, family, and human dignity, as Lithuania’s new vice minister of justice has drawn warm attention from the country’s Catholic community. For many, her rise from civic activism to national leadership embodies what it means to live one’s faith in public life.

Zamarytė-Sakavičienė joins fellow vice minister Barbara Aliaševičienė under Minister of Justice Rūta Tamašunienė, who assumed office in August following a coalition reshuffle that brought the Lithuanian Farmers, Greens, and Christian Families Union into the ruling government.

Recalling the moment she received the offer to serve, Zamarytė-Sakavičienė said she accepted it with “calm joy,” recognizing it as at once “a professional milestone, a personal calling, and a significant responsibility.” While she never sought high office, she said her guiding motivation has always been “to contribute effectively to the common good and the protection of fundamental human rights.”

As vice minister, she will oversee civil, procedural, and administrative law as well as mediation, forensic policy, and the development of Lithuania’s national legal system.

Faith in public life

For Zamarytė-Sakavičienė, public service and faith are not competing loyalties but parallel vocations. A lawyer and ethicist by training, she began her career in 2006 as adviser to the Health Affairs Committee of the Seimas (Parliament), later serving as an inspector of good clinical practice at the State Medicines Control Service. She went on to head the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and Law and for five years was director of the Free Society Institute, an advocacy organization that seeks to foster values in line with Catholic social teaching.

Her approach to law, she said, is rooted in human nature rather than ideology. “Justice is not tied to any one faith; its content and the obligations arising from it do not depend on religious belief,” she explained. “Human rights in their essence are nothing other than demands of justice, that a person be given what is owed to them according to their human nature.”

This conviction, that justice flows from truth and the dignity of the human person, has defined her career. It also places her among a small but visible group of lay Lithuanian Catholics active in influencing national policy after decades of Soviet-era secularism.

Praise from Church and civic leaders

Cardinal Sigitas Tamkevičius, a former political prisoner under Soviet rule, welcomed her appointment, praising her “clear Christian stance on life, family, and sexuality.” He called her “an inspiring example for secular Catholics and all people of goodwill that we need not be passive observers of what is happening in today’s Lithuania but clearly defend eternal values.”

Archbishop Kęstutis Kėvalas of Kaunas also defended her nomination against critics who claim her moral convictions could bias her work. “In a democratic state, no one should be humiliated or declared unfit for public service simply because of their moral or religious position,” he said.

Respect for freedom of conscience, he added, “is the foundation of democracy,” and discrimination against believers “not only violates their rights but also weakens the entire state.”

Audrius Globys, chairman of the Lithuanian Christian Workers’ Trade Union, echoed this sentiment, saying: “Christians must uphold their beliefs not only in private life but also in their professional and social activities.” He warned that retreating from public life weakens believers, citing John 15:5: “Apart from me you can do nothing.”

A ‘child-centric’ vision of society

A consistent voice in Lithuania’s pro-life movement, Zamarytė-Sakavičienė described her ethical outlook as “child-centric.”

“I evaluate decisions made by the state according to the principle that the child’s interest comes first,” she said, particularly in debates surrounding family policy, assisted reproduction, and abortion.

She stressed that life begins at conception and that “children should never be treated as objects of adult desire or convenience.” Reflecting on contemporary bioethical issues, she warned that “people now imagine that the essence of family is not the nurturing of new life but the feelings of adults, their pleasant emotions, their interests.”

Regarding in vitro fertilization (IVF), she expressed concern that “children are expected to adapt to the decisions of adults,” stressing that “manipulation of the human embryo is driven by cultural changes that elevate the convenience, desires, and interests of adults above a conceived child’s right to be born and to live.”

For her, the defense of life and family is not primarily a matter of religious dogma but of justice: “Human embryos should not be treated as an object,” she stated, while urging that governments cherish the natural family, not out of religious mandates but rather out of respect for natural law.

Serving truth in a secular age

Zamarytė-Sakavičienė acknowledged that expressing Christian convictions in politics can be challenging. Yet she said she believes moral truth need not be imposed to be effective. “The truth will defend itself,” she said. “You only need to be its bearers.”

Addressing young Catholics who aspire to serve in public life, she urged them to embrace courage and authenticity. “Do not be afraid to hold to your moral convictions even at the cost of your career,” she said. “Even if it does, new and unexpected paths will open.” Life, she added, “becomes simpler when one does not hide one’s beliefs.”

Asked what European societies most need from their leaders today, she replied that it is not merely competence but approachability and the ability to communicate timeless moral truths in a way that resonates with modern generations. “We must find new language and fresh approaches,” she said, “to speak about fundamental things in ways that people can truly hear.”

Toward a culture of dignity

As she begins her tenure, Zamarytė-Sakavičienė insisted that Lithuania’s moral and legal renewal depends on recognizing that human dignity is not merely granted by the state but discovered through truth. “Building a just society requires constant effort,” she said, “from both the state and its citizens, to ensure everyone receives what is due.”

In a political climate where religious conviction is often seen as a liability, Zamarytė-Sakavičienė offers a quiet reminder that faith, reason, and service to the common good need not be at odds.

“The truth sets us free,” she said simply, referencing John 8:31. “Our task is only to recognize it and to serve it faithfully.”

Democratic Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to members of the media during a press conference after voting on Nov. 4, 2025. / Credit: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 4, 2025 / 22:25 pm (CNA).

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who promotes gender ideology and abortion access, won his bid for mayor of New York City on Nov. 4, decisively defeating his two main opponents: former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and talk show host Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old member of the New York State Assembly and the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor, took 50.4% of the vote on Tuesday. As of 9:42 p.m. ET, 75% of the vote had been tallied.

Cuomo, who served as governor as a Democrat and ran as an independent for mayor, received 41.3% of the vote. Sliwa, the Republican nominee, finished third with 7.5% of the vote.

Mamdani, set to be sworn in on Jan. 1, 2026, will be the city’s first Muslim mayor. He will succeed Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who suspended his reelection bid in late September.

New York City’s mayoral race gained significant national attention after Mamdani secured an upset victory in the Democratic primary against Cuomo. Mamdani ran an anti-establishment campaign and called himself “the sole candidate running with a vision for the future of this city” during the final debate.

Mamdani embraced gender ideology during his campaign, vowing to provide $65 million in tax funding for hormone therapy drugs and surgeries as a response to President Donald Trump’s executive order to strip federal funding from health care providers that provide such drugs and surgeries to children.

He also intends to create “an office of LGBTQIA+ affairs” and declare New York City a sanctuary for “LGBTQIA+” people. As a member of the Legislature, he also supported a bill to prohibit law enforcement from aiding out-of-state investigations into health care professionals who provide hormone therapy drugs and surgeries to minors.

The mayor-elect’s campaign supported abortion access as well. He has promised to double city tax funding for the New York Abortion Access Fund and the city’s Abortion Access Hub. He has also vowed to “protect New Yorkers from” pro-life pregnancy centers, which he accused of spreading “false or deceptive information.”

Pro-life pregnancy centers have fought numerous lawsuits against states they accuse of censoring their speech in recent years.

Mamdani has also pledged to create a “baby basket” for parents with newborns, which will provide resources, such as diapers, baby wipes, nursing pads, postpartum pads, swaddles, and books. He expects this to cost less than $20 million annually.

The mayor-elect has further vowed to end all city cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and will not use any city resources to help enforce immigration laws. His platform calls for $165 million in funding to support legal defenses for people who are at risk of being deported.

Mamdani has promised to freeze rent for New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments and eliminate fares for city buses. He plans to establish city-owned grocery stores that he says will provide lower prices and intends to provide no-cost child care for families. He supports raising the minimum wage to $30 by 2030.

To pay for the costs, in part, the mayor-elect has said he will raise the top state corporate tax from 7.5% to 11.5% and add an additional 2% income tax on anyone making more than $1 million annually. He estimates this will generate $9 billion in additional revenue, though critics have questioned those estimations.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. / Credit: Thomas Bresson from Belfort, France, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

On Oct. 21, Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former French president to walk through a prison gate to begin serving a sentence behind bars.

The former president arrived at La Santé prison in Paris to serve a five-year sentence for illegally financing his 2007 presidential campaign through the regime of Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Sarkozy notably took with him two books: “The Count of Monte Cristo” and “The Jesus of History.”

The choice of these two titles has not gone unnoticed. In a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, the author of the second book, historian and theologian Jean-Christian Petitfils, explained that Sarkozy confessed to him that he had been “deeply affected by reading” the book about Jesus, which was published in 2011.

Petitfils said when he met Sarkozy in person about four years ago, the former president revealed he was particularly interested in the section detailing the miracles of Jesus.

“Sarkozy only had some vague notions from catechism, but he didn’t truly know the story of Jesus,” the author recounted.

A clear symbolic and political dimension

“He received me at his home, and we talked about the content of my book. He told me he was very interested in miracles, exorcisms, and, of course, the resurrection of Jesus. And I think he believes in the resurrection of Jesus,” he commented.

Petitfils met with Sarkozy again after publishing his French-language book in 2022 on the Shroud of Turin titled “The Holy Shroud of Turin: Witness to the Passion of Jesus Christ,” in which he defends the relic’s authenticity and presents the new research that he says refutes the carbon-14 dating that indicated the cloth is of medieval origin.

Asked about the significance of Sarkozy’s decision to take his book about Jesus Christ to prison, Petitfils acknowledged that the gesture has a clear symbolic and political dimension. 

“There is a political message involved,” he said, which shows that Sarkozy wanted to draw a parallel with the idea of ​​being an unjustly condemned victim. The hero of “The Count of Monte Cristo” is unjustly condemned, and so is Jesus, Petitfils pointed out.

The author also noted that the Christian experience is very meaningful for a prisoner: “The experience of God invites us to understand that we are not alone and that we are always with Christ, even in solitude. All of this naturally pushes us to go beyond our circumstances and to understand transcendence.”

Petitfils, a historian and theologian renowned for his studies on the Ancien Régime (the political, economic and social system in France before the 1789 revolution) and the history of Christianity, reconstructs the true figure of Jesus using historical, archaeological, and theological sources.

The book, published in Spanish by Gaia, is based on the latest archaeological discoveries and contemporary biblical exegesis, combining scholarly research with an openness to the dimension of faith that Petitfils considers inseparable from the Christian mystery.

History from a faith perspective

“My book is first and foremost the work of a historian. I tried to outline the personality of Jesus and show that he was not just a prophet or a Jewish reformer. This work delves into the mystery of Jesus’ very person. And, as a historian, I am obliged to stop and consider that mystery. The historian cannot ‘prove’ miracles, much less the Resurrection. But it is clear that faith and history are not incompatible,” Petitfils explained.

The book begins in Galilee, in the political and religious context of a Palestine oppressed by Rome and divided by internal tensions. From there, Petitfils traces the biography of a man who preaches love for God and mercy, who tells parables and performs signs that tradition has called miracles, who welcomes the marginalized and proclaims that the kingdom of God is near.

‘The Gospels are not myths, but a real history’

Petitfils states that these texts are “not symbolic or mythical narratives, but a real history, albeit with some contradictions between them.” 

“They are biographies in the ancient style, as they were written then, and they profoundly testify to the faith of the first Christian communities,” he explained.

Since its publication, “The Jesus of History” has enjoyed considerable success in France and numerous other countries, with translations into Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

“I’ve received countless testimonials from people who read it and felt transformed by it. Some told me, ‘This book restored my faith’ or ‘It allowed me to better understand the personality of Jesus.’ And that is, in a way, what I wanted to do, respecting the rules of historical research, which is a scientific endeavor,” the French writer explained.

The author said he hopes Sarkozy, who began serving his sentence in mid-October, will be among that group. 

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

The outside of the reconstructed Basilica of St. Benedict in Norcia, Italy, is lit up with lights in celebration of its reopening on Oct. 30, 2025. / Credit: Archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia

Rome Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Basilica of St. Benedict in Norcia, Italy, reopened for worship this weekend after a four-year project to rebuild the 13th-century edifice leveled by an earthquake in 2016.

Archbishop Renato Boccardo of Spoleto-Norcia dedicated the newly rebuilt church on Oct. 31, the eve of All Saints’ Day. The basilica marks the birthplace of St. Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine order and the father of Western monasticism. He is also a co-patron saint of Europe.

Nine years ago on Oct. 30, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake — the last in a series of deadly earthquakes to hit central Italy between August and October 2016 — almost completely destroyed the basilica, leaving only the facade standing.

An adjoining monastery of Benedictine monks, who were the caretakers of the basilica at the time, was also destroyed in the October 2016 earthquake.

The reconstruction of the basilica and crypt began in December 2021 and used as many of the original materials as possible while incorporating earthquake-resistant design and handicap accessibility. The project cost 15 million euros (about $17 million).

“The restoration of this important monument, of great historical and artistic value as well as a vibrant center of Benedictine spirituality, represents the visible sign of the demanding journey of religious rebirth undertaken in recent years by the entire diocesan community,” Pope Leo XIV said in a message sent for the basilica’s dedication.

In his homily at the Oct. 31 dedication Mass, Boccardo said: “The doors of the basilica open today to welcome all who come here to draw light and strength for the journey of Christian life.”

“As believers, we are well aware that a splendid building is not enough to make it God’s house among the homes of men,” he said. “Only a community that, as each day passes, passionately lives a sincere search for what is true, good, and just in his eyes will be able to have the Lord close to it.”

“Woe to us,” he continued, “if we limit ourselves to offering him the beauty of this church if it does not correspond to the beauty of a people who are built around the Word and the Eucharist, who build fraternal relationships, who are committed to a more welcoming and merciful society toward all, who tirelessly seek the wisdom that distinguishes good from evil, who separates what builds from what destroys, what remains from what passes away, and who engage in a daily exercise of Christian love.”

A Benedictine monastery was built in Norcia in the 10th century but was shuttered by the Napoleonic Army in the 1800s. A group of American monks refounded the community in Norcia in 1999.

Following the 2016 earthquake, the monastic community moved to a former Capuchin monastery approximately 1.5 miles east of the town. They completed the rebuilding of the earthquake-damaged property outside of Norcia in mid-2024, and the community was elevated to the status of an abbey.

The Abbey of San Benedetto in Monte is known for its beer brewing and for being a vibrant center of Benedictine spirituality in the central Italian region of Umbria.

An Irish soldier holds the a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic outside the General Post Office, the scene of the 1916 Easter Rising, in Dublin on March 27, 2016 as part of a program of commemorative events to mark the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. / Credit: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Dublin, Ireland, Nov 1, 2025 / 06:08 am (CNA).

The election of left-wing Catherine Connolly last week as Ireland’s 10th president was marked by low voter turnout, a narrow field of candidates, and an unprecedented number of 213,738 spoiled ballots, representing 12.9% of votes cast.

Many of the spoiled ballots, which are ballots that cannot be counted due to errors in marking or deliberate defacement, were from Catholic voters protesting the government parties’ interference in candidate selection, which resulted in the prominent Catholic figure, Maria Steen, not appearing on the ballot.

The election outcome reflects the current secular makeup of the Republic of Ireland, a sharp contrast to the devout sacramental Catholicism practiced by the founding fathers of modern Ireland, which include the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising who faced execution by British forces.

Capuchin accompaniment

The Capuchin friars played a central role in the 1916 Easter Rising, first in helping communicate a ceasefire to the British forces and among groups of Irish rebels; and subsequently, in ministering to the rebels facing execution.

Capuchin friars’ eyewitness accounts of the condemned men’s final hours and the immediate aftermath of that rising detail the devout Catholic faith of its leaders.

The friars recollected the men praying the rosary, confessing their sins, receiving holy Communion, and attending Mass in the hours and days before their deaths.

Moving descriptions include those of leader Pádraig Pearse praying in his cell before a crucifix; of Thomas MacDonagh shot at dawn wearing a rosary given to him by his sister, who was a nun; and an already fatally wounded James Connolly making a final act of contrition before being executed tied to a chair.

Of Connolly’s death, Capuchin friar Father Aloysius recalled that he strongly insisted that the soldiers leave him alone with Connolly so that he could hear his confession. 

He recounted at the time: “He was brought down and laid on a stretcher in an ambulance. Father Sebastian and myself drove with him to Kilmainham. Stood behind the firing party during the execution. Father Eugene McCarthy, who had attended Seán Mac Dermott before we arrived, remained and anointed Connolly immediately after the shooting.” 

Though sacramental devotion in the face of certain death may seem remarkable to the contemporary reader, Jesuit historian Father Fergus O'Donoghue told CNA it was simply characteristic of the time.

Leader Joseph Mary Plunkett’s mother recalls her son’s last few minutes with a Capuchin named Father Albert: “Father, I want you to know that I am dying for the glory of God and the honor of Ireland,” Plunkett told the priest.

“That’s all right, my son,” Father Albert answered. In a few minutes, the firing squad carried out its orders. 

The ‘skirl of the pipes’ heard in the Vatican

Among the leaders executed was Éamonn Ceannt from County Galway.

Ceannt was an Irish-language activist, athlete, keen musician — and a devout Catholic.

One of the highlights of his life that he contemplated in his final hours was a visit to Rome in 1908 as official piper for a visiting group of Irish athletes, where he performed for Pope Pius X.

In a book titled “The Glorious Seven,” Seamus G. O’Kelly wrote: “His Holiness the Pope heard of the sensation which the Irishman had created at the Roman Stadium, and summoned the young piper to appear before him, and to play for him.”

“Two days later as His Holiness waited at the Vatican … the skirl of the pipes was heard again, this time in the Vatican chambers, and very soon Éamonn Ceannt marched up to the feet of the Holy Father playing ‘The Wearing of the Green,’ knelt, and kissed the pope’s ring.”

After the performance, the pope bestowed his apostolic blessing on the piper and the Irish athletic team.

O’Donoghue reminded CNA that seeing a pope, let alone meeting him, would have been remarkable during the “Prisoner in the Vatican” era, when pontiffs did not even venture out onto the balcony.

Ceannt was not the only person associated with the Easter Rising to meet a pope. Count Plunkett was the father of Joseph Mary Plunkett, another of the executed leaders.

The elder Plunkett was dispatched to Rome to notify the pope of the forthcoming insurrection. Pope Benedict XV listened and gave his blessing to the participants.

O’Donoghue told CNA that he was the first pope to support Irish nationalism: “He wasn’t open to pleasing English aristocrats the way the previous popes had been.”

The Irish Republic envisaged in 1916 would guarantee religious and civil liberty, equal rights, and equal opportunities to all its citizens, cherishing all the children of the nation equally. For the executed leaders and their Capuchin confessors, Irish Republicanism and Catholicism were interwoven. 

The question remains: How would they view the recent election and a secularized Ireland?