Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

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CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In an era when artificial contraception often dominates public discussions on family planning, the Catholic Church continues to champion natural family planning (NFP). 

Far from merely another birth control technique, NFP invites couples to cooperate with God’s plan for married love, which “is a ‘great mystery,’ a sign of the love between Christ and his Church (Eph 5:32),” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).  

NFP — also known as a fertility awareness-based method (FABM) — relies on observing and measuring a woman’s natural signs of fertility, such as basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and hormone levels, in order to identify fertile and infertile phases of her menstrual cycle. 

Unlike chemical or mechanical contraceptives, which suppress or block fertility, NFP respects the woman’s body and its natural rhythms and allows spouses to achieve or postpone pregnancy, after mutual discernment, through informed abstinence during fertile windows. 

Most importantly, NFP honors the sacredness of the unitive and procreative aspects of the conjugal act, which the Church teaches must always be a total gift of self between the spouses and open to the gift of new human life. 

“Suppressing fertility by using contraception denies part of the inherent meaning of married sexuality and does harm to the couple’s unity,” according to the USCCB. “The total giving of oneself, body and soul, to one’s beloved is no time to say: ‘I give you everything I am — except…’ The Church’s teaching is not only about observing a rule but about preserving that total, mutual gift of two persons in its integrity.”

In his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, St. Paul VI affirmed that couples may space births for serious reasons, using natural methods that honor the “inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings” of the marital act. 

The USCCB explains that “NFP is not a contraceptive, it does nothing to suppress or block conception.”

“On the surface, there may seem to be little difference (between NFP and contraception),” according to the bishops. “But the end result is not the only thing that matters, and the way we get to that result may make an enormous moral difference. Some ways respect God’s gifts to us while others do not.”

The bishops continue: “When couples use contraception, either physical or chemical, they suppress their fertility, asserting that they alone have ultimate control over this power to create a new human life. With NFP, spouses respect God’s design for life and love. They may choose to refrain from sexual union during the woman’s fertile time, doing nothing to destroy the love-giving or life-giving meaning that is present. This is the difference between choosing to falsify the full marital language of the body and choosing at certain times not to speak that language.”

The practice of NFP traces its modern roots to the mid-20th century, evolving from early, relatively unreliable calendar-based methods in the 1930s to the smartphone app-based approaches of today. 

Common methods include the Billings Ovulation Method, which tracks cervical mucus changes, and sympto-thermal methods, which combine the charting of mucus observations, temperature shifts, and cervical changes. The Marquette Model uses “several different biomarker devices to detect urinary biomarkers (estrogen, LH, and progesterone),” according to its website.

Per USCCB data, NFP, with perfect use, yields 88% to 100% effectiveness in avoiding pregnancy, with imperfect use at 70% to 98%. For couples trying to achieve pregnancy, it typically occurs in about one year for approximately 85% of couples not using NFP, and within three to six months for those who are. 

Pope Francis praised the Billings method in 2023 as “a valuable tool” for “responsible management of procreative choices,” urging a “new revolution in our way of thinking” to value the body’s “great book of nature.” He noted its simplicity amid a “contraceptive culture,” promoting tenderness between the spouses and an authentic freedom.

Beyond efficacy at planning, preventing, or postponing pregnancy in a morally licit way, couples who use NFP acknowledge that it can be difficult but say it improves communication as well as self-mastery, transforming what can be otherwise difficult times of periodic abstinence into opportunities for deeper intimacy.

Jessica Vanderhyde, a nurse and mother of seven who is using the Marquette method because she and her husband do not feel ready to welcome another child, told CNA that while NFP can be frustrating because of the periods of abstinence it requires, it also “leads to a lot more closeness in the marriage.”

“If it’s been a long period of abstinence, we try to come up with other ways to be close. I need to make sure I’m more affectionate with him because sexual intimacy is one of the primary ways he feels I love him. If that can’t happen, I have to be conscious of that,” she said.

“We have become good at taking each other’s feelings and needs into consideration. I work at providing what he needs as much as I can.”

Vanderhyde also noted how charting symptoms can bring the couple closer as it allows the husband to really appreciate his wife’s body as well as her needs.

“The husband should be involved in the tracking of it,” she continued, “so that he fully participates in the process and doesn’t feel like he’s at the whims of his wife’s moods.”

She said it can also reveal underlying health issues like infertility or hormonal imbalances, which artificial forms of birth control can mask.

Iskali, a ministry that serves young Hispanic Catholics in the United States, seeks to form active missionary disciples. / Credit: Iskali

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Fifteen years ago, Vicente Del Real felt called to create a way to reach out to young Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. and provide them with a space to encounter God and use their gifts and talents for the Church. He went on to found Iskali, a nonprofit based in Chicago that promotes the leadership and holistic development of Latino youth, helping them flourish spiritually, personally, academically, and socially. 

Inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe’s role in the Americas as “the star of the new evangelization,” Iskali works to form, empower, and equip young Latinos to become transformative leaders and to invigorate the Catholic Church.

The name “Iskali” comes from the Nahuatl, or Aztec, language symbolizing growth, resurgence, and new beginnings. This was also the language Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke when she appeared to Juan Diego. Despite Juan Diego being from the Chichimeca people, and not an Aztec, the two groups of people shared the same language. 

Del Real told CNA in an interview that he felt the need to “respond to the urgent need to walk with young Hispanics as they navigate the questions of life, the struggles of life, and to be able to provide to them what the Church has to say and has to offer.”

He added that “at the heart of Iskali is the work of evangelization.” This is done through providing young Latinos with an “adequate formation so they can understand the faith,” which will hopefully lead them to have a “personal encounter with God.”

Iskali is founded on four pillars: faith and community, mentorship and scholarship, sports and wellness, and service to the poor. 

The pillar of faith and community involves members coming together each week for fellowship. Anywhere from five to 600 young adults gather to spend time getting to know one another and learning more about God and the Catholic faith. 

Through Iskali’s mentorship program, individuals are matched with a Latino professional who serves as a mentor and helps them with professional development. Iskali also provides scholarships for young people to attend colleges and trade schools, and works with parishes to set up a variety of sports leagues to help young people build relationships, provide another form of faith formation, and stay active. 

Additionally, once a month, Iskali communities serve those most in need — the homeless, people in hospitals, nursing homes, and immigrant families who have been affected by detentions or deportations.

Several recent studies show that the Latino population is the fastest-growing demographic in the Catholic Church. Del Real said he believes this is because “Latino young people are very attentive to the faith.”

“They have seen their faith lived in their families, our home, with their grandmas, with their mothers. Faith is kind of embedded in our culture,” he added.

In response to this growth being seen among Latinos in parishes, Iskali is launching a missionary program where a full-time missionary will be assigned to a parish that has a Hispanic population of over 50% to work in Hispanic ministry.

“We are very, very excited … this is the first missionary program that helps to serve the Latino Church in the U.S., and we hope that this missionary program will bear the fruits of vocations to marriage, vocation to priesthood in the Hispanic community,” Del Real shared.

Del Real said he also hopes that those who are a part of Iskali leave the formation knowing that they “are beloved, know that God is seeking intimacy with you, and know that he wants you to flourish as a person.”

“We always say that we hope the people flourish,” he said. “God is a God of love and he wants to see us flourish. If we are a flower in his garden, he wants us to bloom.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during an end-of-year press conference in the State Department Press Briefing Room in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 19, 2025. / Credit: Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 19, 2025 / 15:52 pm (CNA).

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there will be a plan “early next month” for religious worker visas that would avoid giving preference to one denomination over another.

Rubio said at a Dec. 19 press conference in Washington, D.C., that the administration has “worked closely with a lot of the religious authorities” to reach a plan. 

In July, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a report alleging widespread fraud in its permanent residence program for unaccompanied minors and said it caused a backlog in issuance of visas to migrant priests and religious.

Visas for religious workers allow foreign nationals to work for a U.S. religious organization, through the temporary R-1 visa or a Green Card EB-4 visa, which requires at least two years of membership in the same denomination and a job offer from a qualifying nonprofit religious  group. 

Rubio previously said the administration was working to create a “standalone process” for religious workers, separate from other competing applicants — such as from the juvenile program — to the employment-based fourth preference (EB-4) category of visas. 

Rubio said Friday the plan has factored in multiple aspects, including where the religious workers are coming from and their specific denominations. 

“We’re not discriminating in favor of one versus another,” he said. “Some denominations are more professionalized in terms of what they’re able to provide us with and information versus others.”

“We have country-specific requirements depending on the country they’re coming from. But I think we have a good plan in place to put that into effect,” Rubio said.

“I think we’re going to get to a good place,” Rubio said. “We don’t have it ready yet. All this takes time to put together, but we’re moving quickly. I think we’ll have something positive about that at some point next month, hopefully in the early part of next month.”

The department has worked “with a number of denominations in that process,” Rubio said. “One of the big users of that system is the Catholic Church. We worked with the conference of bishops.”

Priests and other Church leaders have expressed fear of having to leave their ministries and return to their home countries, then endure lengthy wait times before coming back. Church officials have warned that a continuing backlog could lead to significant priest shortages in the United States.

“We are grateful for the administration’s attention to this important issue for the Church and value the opportunity for ongoing dialogue to address these challenges so the faithful can have access to the sacraments and other essential ministries,” a spokesperson for the USCCB told CNA. 

Since the issue of the backlogged visas started, multiple U.S. dioceses have called for a solution. Priests in the Archdiocese of Boston who are in the U.S. on visas were urged to avoid international travel amid the Trump administration’s immigration policies and deportations. 

Last month, a Catholic diocese in New Jersey dropped its lawsuit against the U.S. government, in anticipation of an administrative fix to the religious worker visa issue.

Immigration vetting process 

Rubio was asked if the administration would expand the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in the coming year, particularly for religious minorities facing persecution in places like Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran.

“In the last four years, we had a flood of people,” Rubio said. “So that’s what we confronted. We have to stop that. And we did. We’ve been successful.”

Rubio further spoke on the topic of immigration and the importance of the “vetting” process, in which he answered questions both in Spanish and English.

The nation can see the border is secure and “the number of illegal entries has completely collapsed,” Rubio said. “Now we’re facing the second challenge, and that is we’ve admitted a lot of people into the United States, and perhaps the overwhelming majority of them are not bad people and so forth. This is all true.”

“There are people in this country who got in through some form of vetting that was wholly insufficient,” Rubio said.

“We’ve seen tragic evidence of that very recently, including people that we claim to have vetted. Why does that happen? Because there are some places where you can’t vet people,” he said.

“You can only vet people on the basis of information you have about them,” Rubio said. But that information is based on if the department or “some local authority that actually has any information about them.”

“That is the challenge we’re facing, which is why the president put a stop to all of these things until these systems for admitting people into our country can be improved,” he said.

Rubio criticized the immigration policies of the Biden administration, calling the policies reckless and incompetent, and said there’s a desire to fix immigration processes and know who’s in the country.

In terms of legal immigration, the United States “remains the most generous country in the world,” Rubio said. 

“This year alone, close to a million people will enter this country legally,” he said. “But we do have a right, like every sovereign country does, to know who you are, why you’re coming, what you’ve done in the past, and what we think you might or might not do in the future.”

“Most of the countries in the world have far more restrictive immigration policies than the United States has ever had,” Rubio said. 

The Trump administration expanded use of deportations without a court hearing this year and ramped up federal law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest immigrants lacking legal status. The administration set a goal of 1 million deportations this year, and the Department of Homeland Security said 1.6 million people self-deported since Jan. 20.

U.S. bishops issued a special message in November opposing the indiscriminate mass deportation of immigrants who lack legal status and urged the government to uphold the dignity of migrants.

Bishop of San Diego Michael Pham dedicates “Angels Unawares,” a new sculpture on the campus of the University of San Diego (USD), on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of University of San Diego

San Diego, California, Dec 19, 2025 / 15:22 pm (CNA).

Bishop of San Diego Michael Pham dedicated “Angels Unawares,” a new sculpture on the campus of the University of San Diego (USD), on Thursday. The 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture by artist Timothy Schmalz is a scaled version of one in St. Peter’s Square in Rome commissioned by Pope Francis in 2019 and depicts 140 migrants of varying backgrounds on board a boat with a pair of angel wings in their midst.

According to USD President Jim Harris, the sculpture is intended to remind the viewer “of how biblical teachings encourage us to care for our most poor and vulnerable communities, including those who flee their countries in search of a better life.”

Located in front of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies on the western edge of campus, the new sculpture is situated in the perfect position, said Michael Lovette-Colyer, USD vice president of mission integration.

“It will be the first thing visitors see when they enter our campus,” he explained. “It overlooks the Pacific Ocean, with the boat pointing towards the heart of our campus. It calls to mind that our campus is a welcoming place.”

Lovette-Colyer also noted that the campus was located near a United States international border with Mexico, “so our geographic location calls for all people to respect human dignity.”

Victor Carmona, USD associate professor of theology and religious studies for the past eight years, also said he believes the installation reflects “a desire for USD to continue being a welcoming place.” He said he is “excited” about the sculpture’s installation, believing “it connects USD to the global Church in terms of priorities and mission.”

The work of artist Timothy Schmalz

The sculpture is the creation of Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, who attended the event and has created images in bronze for historical churches in Rome as well as worldwide.

Schmalz is also known for his “Homeless Jesus” sculpture depicting Jesus as a homeless man sleeping on a park bench and his “When I Was in Prison,” depicting Jesus behind bars.

The original “Homeless Jesus” sculpture was installed at Regis College in Toronto; the statue has been copied and installed at more than 90 other locations worldwide since. “When I Was in Prison” can be found at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

The “Angels Unawares” piece, Schmalz said, was inspired by the Scripture passage “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels [or “angels unawares” in other translations]” (Heb 13:2). Schmalz got the idea for the piece after a conversation with Jesuit Father (now Cardinal) Michael Czerny, former undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugees section of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.  

In 2017, Schmalz recalled, Czerny “suggested that I start thinking about creating a sculpture on migrants and refugees, not just because it is a crisis today but as always important throughout human history.”

He explained that the work “depicts a group of migrants and refugees from different cultural and racial backgrounds and from diverse historic periods of time. They stand together, shoulder to shoulder, huddled on a raft.”

The angel wings emerge from their midst, “suggesting the presence of the sacred among them.”

Replicas of the work have since gone on tour for viewing by the faithful throughout the U.S.; replicas have been installed at both The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and St. Joseph’s Oratory in Canada. USD president Harris wanted a replica installed on his campus after viewing “Angels Unawares” in Rome, as “it aligned with USD’s Catholic mission and values,” he said. The sculpture was funded by an anonymous donor.

“I hope this sculpture can provide our Torero community with feelings of compassion that transcend all borders and politics,” Harris said.

Schmalz said the purpose of “Angels Unawares” as well as all his art “is to evangelize and preach the Gospel.” Nearly all of the 140 migrants featured on the boat are of actual people he researched; some are based on the faces of live models who came to his Toronto-area studio. Many of his ideas came from photographs of migrants who passed through New York Harbor’s Ellis Island. And two of the figures are based on the parents of Czerny, who were once migrants from Hungary fleeing communism.

The artist said he believes “Angels Unawares” is in the same category as the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, “but with faces and a spiritual centering.” He added that art was an effective tool that the Catholic Church can use to convey the “Christian message” and described himself as “an artist soldier for the Vatican.”

International Migrants Day

The blessing of the sculpture by Pham coincided with the United Nations’ International Migrants Day. Pham was invited not only because he is the bishop of San Diego and a member of the college’s board of trustees but also because he, too, was a migrant, having fled Vietnam in 1980.

Thursday’s blessing began with 12:15 p.m. Mass, with Pham as presider, followed by the unveiling of the sculpture. Harris offered remarks; participants included members of the USD faculty, staff, and student body.

Lovette-Colyer acknowledged that the sculpture installation coincided with a time of contentious debate over immigration in the United States and other countries, with Catholics passionately advocating on both sides of the issue.

Referencing recent statements and a video by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops promoting a more generous immigration policy, he said: “We’re on the side of Pope Francis and Pope Leo, our local Bishop Pham and his predecessor [Cardinal Robert] McElroy on the issue. We acknowledge there are political dimensions, but we don’t want to be partisan. As Pope Francis emphasized, we want to be humane and respect the dignity of all human persons.”

He continued: “Immigration is a topic that evokes strong feelings. It is an important issue for our students to learn about and consider. The sculpture can be a conversation starter in the classroom, where our students can discuss it critically and carefully.”

null / Credit: New Africa/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2025 / 12:54 pm (CNA).

Massachusetts will no longer require prospective foster parents to affirm gender ideology in order to qualify for fostering children, with the move coming after a federal lawsuit from a religious liberty group. 

Alliance Defending Freedom said Dec. 17 that the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families “will no longer exclude Christian and other religious families from foster care” because of their “commonly held beliefs that boys are boys and girls are girls.”

The legal group announced in September that it had filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court over the state policy, which required prospective parents to agree to affirm a child’s “sexual orientation and gender identity” before being permitted to foster. 

Attorney Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said at the time that the state’s foster system was “in crisis” with more than 1,400 children awaiting placement in foster homes. 

Yet the state was “putting its ideological agenda ahead of the needs of these suffering kids,” Widmalm-Delphonse said.

The suit had been filed on behalf of two Massachusetts families who had been licensed to serve as foster parents in the state. They had provided homes for nearly three dozen foster children between them and were “in good standing” at the time of the policy change. 

Yet the state policy required them to “promise to use a child’s chosen pronouns, verbally affirm a child’s gender identity contrary to biological sex, and even encourage a child to medically transition, forcing these families to speak against their core religious beliefs,” the lawsuit said. 

With its policy change, Massachusetts will instead require foster parents to affirm a child’s “individual identity and needs,” with the LGBT-related language having been removed from the state code. 

The amended language comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month that aims to improve the nation’s foster care system by modernizing the current child welfare system, developing partnerships with private sector organizations, and prioritizing the participation of those with sincerely held religious beliefs. 

Families previously excluded by the state rule are “eager to reapply for their licenses,” Widmalm-Delphonse said on Dec. 17.

The lawyer commended Massachusetts for taking a “step in the right direction,” though he said the legal group will continue its efforts until it is “positive that Massachusetts is committed to respecting religious persons and ideological diversity among foster parents.”

Other authorities have made efforts in recent years to exclude parents from state child care programs on the basis of gender ideology.

In July a federal appeals court ruled in a 2-1 decision that Oregon likely violated a Christian mother’s First Amendment rights by demanding that she embrace gender ideology and homosexuality in order to adopt children.

In April, meanwhile, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation that would have prohibited the government from requiring parents to affirm support for gender ideology and homosexuality if they want to qualify to adopt or foster children.

In contrast, Arkansas in April enacted a law to prevent adoptive agencies and foster care providers from discriminating against potential parents on account of their religious beliefs. 

The Arkansas law specifically prohibits the government from discriminating against parents over their refusal to accept “any government policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the person’s sincerely held religious beliefs.”

Servant of God Enrique Shaw. / Credit: Acdeano, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 19, 2025 / 10:35 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Enrique Shaw, an Argentine layman, husband, father, and businessman who died in 1962 at the age of 41.

The prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, made the announcement Dec. 18 when he promulgated the decree, which came two days after the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints gave its “favorable opinion” on the canonization process.

The miracle 

The miracle attributed to Shaw’s intercession is the inexplicable healing of a 5-year-old boy who, in June 2015, suffered a very serious head injury from being kicked by a horse. His family, who had ties to the Christian Association of Business Leaders — co-founded by Shaw — began to ask for prayers, trusting in his intercession. As the days went by, the prayer chain united thousands of people in different countries, according to the news outlet Infobae’s account of the testimony of Fernán de Elizalde, administrator of the cause.

Following five surgeries and 45 days in critical condition, doctors decided to implant a permanent drainage valve in the boy’s brain. However, just before the surgery, the surgeon discovered something unexpected: The fluid was draining spontaneously, and the intracranial pressure had normalized, making the valve implantation unnecessary.

The boy’s recovery was rapid: Within a few days he was extubated and showed neurological improvement. Fifteen days later, he was already in rehabilitation. “He recovered completely, without neurological sequelae, without cognitive damage, and without visible deformities. Today, as a teenager, he leads a normal life. No one would imagine what he went through, except for those who know his story,” De Elizalde told Infobae.

‘Great joy for the Argentine Church’

Upon learning of the decree approving the miracle, Bishop Santiago Olivera, military ordinary of Argentina and vice postulator of the cause, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that “today is a day of great joy for the Argentine Church.”

Regarding the news, the bishop said: “We expected it, but we were surprised by how quickly it happened, and we are certainly grateful to God, and to all those who have worked for so many years and made this possible.”

“We must always be very grateful to those who prayed, to those who started [the process], to the first postulator, to Cardinal [Jorge María] Mejía, and to all those who continue to work on the cause today,” he added.

Mejía was one of the initiators of the cause and the one who created the Enrique Shaw Commission.

Fruits of causes are God’s answers to prayer

Olivera especially thanked those who pray, “because the fruits of these causes, which serve as models and examples, are also God’s answers to the praying people who confidently ask for this grace.”

Finally, he thanked the family of the healed child, “because we also owe this grace to their faith, and we not only have to thank God for the life of the child (now an adolescent) but also because the family’s faith made it possible for the entire Church, and Argentina in particular, to rejoice in this news today.”

Upon learning of the approval of the miracle through Shaw’s intercession, the Christian Association of Business Leaders, petitioner for the case, and Catholic Action of Argentina, a co-petitioner in the beatification and canonization process, issued a joint statement expressing “immense joy” and celebrating this “decisive step” on the path to sainthood.

They recalled that Shaw was “a businessman who understood that industry was not only a productive mechanism or a means of accumulating capital but also a true community of people called to grow together.”

In the same statement, the president of the Christian Association of Business Leaders, Silvia Bulla, said that “the beatification of Enrique Shaw will give the world the first businessman recognized as an example of holiness” while also serving as “an urgent invitation to humanize the economy, work for the common good and the dignity of labor.”

Who was Enrique Shaw?

Shaw was born on Feb. 26, 1921, and at the age of 4, his mother died. Fulfilling his wife’s request, his father entrusted his son’s education to a priest.

In 1943, he married Cecilia Bunge, and they had nine children. After retiring from the Navy in 1945, he chose to pursue a career in business, a path that would yield great fruits.

He was the managing director of Rigolleau Glassware and one of the founders and the first president of the Christian Association of Business Leaders, which promotes a humane approach to work.

A businessman with the heart of a worker

When he fell ill with cancer and needed blood transfusions, his own workers volunteered to donate blood for him. He died on Aug. 27, 1962, at the age of 41.

In April 2021, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the businessman, faithful layman, and father.

After the miracle attributed to his intercession passed the medical review in January of this year, the Commission of Theologians also unanimously approved it on June 17.

The next step is his beatification, the date of which has not yet been announced.

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

Bishop Richard Moth, a former bishop of Britain’s military ordinariate, was appointed as the 12th archbishop of Westminster on Dec. 19, 2025. / Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

London, England, Dec 19, 2025 / 09:26 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Richard Moth, a former bishop of Britain’s military ordinariate, as the 12th archbishop of Westminster, succeeding Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who is retiring at the age of 80. 

A canon lawyer, Moth, 67, has served as bishop of Arundel and Brighton in southern England for the past decade. He is best known for his work on prisons, criminal justice, and life issues, and is regarded by those who know him as sound on doctrine.   

As archbishop of Westminster, the leading Catholic see of England and Wales, he is expected to be elected president of the bishops’ conference and be elevated to cardinal as were all his predecessors since the see was established in 1850.    

Until Moth’s installation at Westminster Cathedral on Feb. 14, Nichols will serve as apostolic administrator of the metropolitan archdiocese, a Dec. 19 diocesan statement said.

On hearing of his appointment, Moth said he was “moved greatly by the trust that Pope Leo has placed in me.”

He expressed his gratitude to Nichols for his support and service to the diocese, and said the cardinal “will be missed greatly.” He also thanked the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, which he said had given him the “wonderful opportunity” to share the Church’s mission with lay faithful and clergy.

Moth said his first task would be “to get to know the priests and people of Westminster, and I look forward, now, to serving them.”  

He added: “With them, and building on the firm foundations that have been laid by so many down the years, I look forward to continuing the great adventure that is the life of the Church and witness to the Gospel.” 

Nichols said he was “delighted at this news,” adding that the archbishop-designate “will bring to our diocese many gifts and considerable episcopal experience” to the position.  

Born in 1958 in Chingola, Zambia, and raised as an only child in Edenbridge, southeast England, Moth felt called to the priesthood at age 11 or 12 and entered St. John’s Seminary, Wonersh, at age 18. Moth was ordained for the Archdiocese of Southwark in 1982.  

As a priest he served at St. Bede’s Parish in Clapham Park, London, before pursuing studies in canon law at St. Paul’s University, Ottawa. He returned to London in 1987 to serve as assistant priest at St. Saviour’s in Lewisham, during which time he was also a Territorial Army chaplain.  

After serving nine years as judicial vicar in the Archdiocese of Southwark and as private secretary to then-Archbishop Michael Bown, in 2001 he was appointed vicar general and chancellor of the diocese. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop of the armed forces before Pope Francis nominated him bishop of Arundel and Brighton in 2015.

Within the bishops’ conference, he has served as lead bishop for prisons, overseeing and promoting chaplaincy and pastoral care in the criminal justice system. In that role he has consistently stressed that prisons must be places of reform and growth, rather than simply punishment, and has stressed the importance of prisoners having access to worship. 

He has also been involved in pro-life work, contributing to episcopal statements on assisted suicide, abortion, and the protection of the vulnerable. In 2023 he was one of three bishops to speak at the annual March for Life in London.

Moth chairs The Plater Trust, an organization dedicated to the support of projects across England and Wales that put into practice the principles of Catholic social teaching.  

Friends and associates describe Moth as a “good fellow,” genial, friendly, a hard worker and a “safe pair of hands.” He is not regarded as an academic but a loyal and faithful priest, and faithful to the Holy See. Those who knew him from seminary days regarded him as a “model student” and a popular young priest who liked the outdoors, making him a good fit to be bishop of the armed forces. He is a keen horse-rider and likes hiking.

Moth has been a frequent retreatant over the years to the Carthusian monastery at Parkminster in Sussex and for several decades has been a Benedictine oblate of Pluscarden Abbey — considered to be a traditional abbey without being “traditionalist.”

The archbishop-designate is not regarded as a proponent of the traditional Roman rite, but he allowed Masses in the “vetus ordo” to continue in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in the years since Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes that restricted the Traditional Latin Mass. He also allowed and took part in a traditional requiem Mass celebrated earlier this year for Father Raymond Blake, a popular priest in his diocese.  

“He is sound on doctrine and has been sympathetic to those who want to have the traditional Mass, and not an enemy of it at all,” a parishioner of the diocese told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner. 

In his statement, Nichols said he was “very much looking forward” to Moth’s installation, noting it will take place on St. Valentine’s Day as well as the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, co-patrons of Europe. 

He also recalled being present — also in Westminster Cathedral — at Moth’s episcopal ordination as bishop of the armed forces in 2009: “So today I can say: ‘Welcome back, dear Bishop Richard,” Nichols said. “You are most welcome indeed.’”

Pope Leo XIV holds up a tennis racket given to him by children of the Pope Paul VI Pontifical School in Castel Gandolfo on Dec. 16, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 18, 2025 / 18:08 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV enjoyed a special Christmas concert this week dedicated to him by students of the Paul VI Pontifical School in Castel Gandolfo.

During his surprise visit to the school, which has about 300 students, the Holy Father listened attentively to the children and applauded enthusiastically at the end of their concert.

The pontiff delivered an impromptu greeting to the children, who sang Christmas carols in several languages for him. “It was wonderful to hear the Christmas carols in Italian, Latin, English, and Spanish,” he said at the end of the concert, as reported by Vatican News.

“Hearing these children sing like this in all these languages ​​helps us understand how Christmas awakens in the hearts of all of us a joy, a peace, a truly important message,” he said.

The performance took place in the school gymnasium and was also attended by parents and teachers, as well as the bishop of Albano, Vincenzo Viva, and the president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti.

The pope thanked the school for the invitation and said the children “have brought love to everyone tonight with this beautiful music.” 

As is his custom, he referred to St. Augustine, noting that the saint from Hippo said that “‘he who loves, sings,’ because his heart truly knows what is important.”

“And God has wanted to communicate to all of us the gift of love: This is Christmas, God who wanted to draw near to us, especially to the little ones. May this spirit that we are already celebrating tonight, and in the coming days and at Christmas, and perhaps throughout the entire year, allow us to feel and live this love of Christmas,” said the Holy Father, who concluded his brief address on Dec. 16 with an invitation to “proclaim peace, love, and unity in the world.”

Pope Leo XIV, who wore an enormous smile on his face, took a few moments to greet the children and their families. They gave him a tennis racket because he plays tennis, a sport he loves and has been playing for years.

Before returning to the Vatican after his weekly visit to the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, the pope toured the grounds of the Catholic elementary school, which was founded in 1968 by St. Paul VI and houses a relic of the saint.

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

The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. / Credit: fotogoocom via Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0)

Vilnius, Lithuania, Dec 18, 2025 / 14:04 pm (CNA).

The European Parliament voted Dec. 17 in favor of a resolution supporting the creation of a new European Union fund intended to expand access to abortion services across member states, a move that exposed deep divisions among lawmakers and renewed debate over national sovereignty and abortion legislation in EU policymaking.

Members of the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg voted 358 in favor, 202 against, with 79 abstentions. The proposal would establish a voluntary, opt-in financial mechanism to assist women who are unable to procure abortions in their home countries and who choose to travel to states with more permissive laws.

The initiative was brought forward under the EU’s European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) framework by the campaign group My Voice, My Choice, which claims to represent a broad grassroots mobilization of European citizens.

Because the Dec. 17 vote concerned a nonbinding resolution rather than a legislative act, it carries no immediate legal effect. Nevertheless, supporters described the outcome as symbolically significant.

A nonbinding vote with an uncertain path forward

Despite parliamentary backing, the resolution does not compel the European Commission to act. Under ECI procedures, the commission is required to formally respond to the initiative within six months of its submission, by March 2026, outlining whether it intends to propose legislative or policy measures.

Even if the commission signals support, past experience suggests that endorsement does not always translate into concrete policy outcomes. Several previous citizen initiatives that met procedural thresholds ultimately stalled or were declined by the commission.

Opposition to the proposal was particularly strong among members from Hungary, where a majority of European Parliament members voted against the resolution. Polish representatives were nearly evenly split, with 23 voting in favor, 24 opposed, and one abstention. Delegations from Austria, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and Lithuania also showed closely divided voting patterns, reflecting the ongoing cultural and political disagreement across Europe on abortion policy.

Critics of the pro-abortion proposal, including family advocacy groups, religious organizations, and lawmakers, argued that health care and medical practice remains a matter of national competence under EU treaties. They warned that creating a centralized funding mechanism for abortion risks circumventing national laws and democratic processes.

The vote came after the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union urged voters in the Parliament to pursue “prudent policies that genuinely protect and support women, while also safeguarding unborn human life.”

“A medical intervention [abortion] of such gravity and with such important ethical implications cannot and must not be normalized,” the bishops said. 

Beyond the vote itself, My Voice, My Choice has drawn criticism for its public advocacy methods. Following a Nov. 13 European Parliament vote to include the campaign within the Gender Equality Strategy 2025, the group used social media to publish images of European Parliament members who voted against the inclusion.

The posts grouped lawmakers by country, displayed their social media handles, and encouraged members of the public to tag and convince them to support the initiative. 

Some observers described the tactic as coercive or distasteful, while others, including some pro-life advocates, argued it inadvertently clarified to the public which politicians value the dignity of human life as they oppose abortion expansionism. 

On Nov. 26, the European Centre for Law and Justice convened a conference in Brussels attended by pro-life members of the European Parliament, civil society leaders, and representatives of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe. Women shared personal testimonies related to abortion, and speakers addressed what they described as increasingly top-down advocacy strategies behind My Voice, My Choice.

During the conference, organizers presented a funding analysis examining the organizations supporting the campaign. According to the report, among the more than 250 organizations listed as supporters, a significant number receive funding from EU institutions and large American philanthropic foundations.

The report identified funding streams from organizations such as the Open Society Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, as well as direct EU funding. Several prominent pro-abortion organizations across Europe were shown to have long-standing financial ties to these donors.

My Voice, My Choice’s principal organizer, Nika Kovač, a Slovenian anthropologist who heads the 8th of March Institute, is linked in the report as having her organization receive funding from the Open Society Foundation and support from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). 

Additionally, according to the report, IPPF’s European branch has received millions of euros in funding over the past two decades from the European Union and major U.S.-based foundations.

The report does not allege illegality but rather examines the democratic character of the initiative, specifically, whether the ECI mechanism in this case reflects organic citizen mobilization or functions primarily as a vehicle through which well-funded advocacy networks advance preexisting policy goals under the banner of popular participation.

Catholic faithful gather on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin to celebrate two milestones: a decree from Pope Leo XIV formally designating St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Dublin and the cathedral’s bicentenary. / Credit: John McElroy/Dublin Archdiocese

Dublin, Ireland, Dec 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Dublin has dispelled concerns about its financial position, pointing to its healthy reserves, strong financial position, and the strict regulatory framework within which it operates as a charity.

Following a report in one of Ireland’s most prominent mainstream media publications, the Irish Times, the Archdiocese of Dublin has moved to clarify questions raised about its financial security over the next 15 years.

The archdiocese explained to CNA the context of its 2024 financial statements, which were the subject of a recent Irish Times report that has raised concern among the faithful in Ireland’s largest diocese. 

In the story titled “Dublin’s Catholic Archdiocese Faces Financial Woes as Priests Age and Mass Numbers Decline,” the Dublin-based newspaper stated that the archdiocese’s cash reserves will be exhausted by 2041. It also pointed to a worrying decline in vocations, with actuarial predictions of 70% fewer priests within 20 years. The archdiocese had no ordination in 2024 and just two since 2020.

Both statements reflect what is stated in the report but neglect to include the archdiocese’s contextual notes in its financial statements on the subject of its reserves, including the funds generated by the sale of Clonliffe College in north Dublin. 

Ide Finnegan, the archdiocese finance administrator and head of operations, explained in response to CNA’s questions that its finances are governed by strict legislation relating to its charitable status. 

“In the financial statements, context and measures planned to address these factors are also outlined. For example, every effort is being made to sustain and indeed increase income and manage costs. The diocese is investing in new staff rather than planning staff reductions,” Finnegan said.

The Irish Times article reported the total income from the archdiocese’s 188 parishes, which in 2024 came to 31 million euros ($36.5 million), compared with 31.1 million euros ($36.4 million) the previous year. Total expenditure in 2024 was 34.2 million euros ($40.2 million), the same as in 2023.

The first collections held at weekend Masses, which support priests, totaled 14.1 million euros ($16.6 million) in 2024, a decrease of 200,000 euros ($235,000) from 14.3 million euros ($16.8 million) in 2023. Share collections in support of parishes raised 5.7 million euros ($6.7 million) in 2024, 100,000 euros ($117,500) less than the 5.6 million euros ($6.6 million) in 2023. 

The Irish Times report did not mention the fact noted in the financial statements that international fundraising firm CCS Consulting has been retained to advise and support fundraising strategies for the archdiocese.

Finnegan, referring to CCS, told CNA: “There is hope that the initiative will help with parish reserves. The diocesan balance sheet is very healthy, but it is important that this is protected by generating enough income to meet expenditure. The financial statements reflect all the steps being taken around financial sustainability, and we are currently implementing a strategic plan around this.”

Since COVID-19, there has been a shift in the number of Mass attendees and the amount donated in Sunday collections. It is also clear that the archdiocese is taking proactive steps to manage its financial position. 

Parishes in the Dublin Archdiocese are responsible for their own financial management. Parish employees are directly employed by parishes, and any decisions on staffing levels are made locally.  

Finnegan told CNA: “Parishes are encouraged to generate income, but as the accounts state, there are parishes that are running a financial deficit, and this will need to be monitored into the future. The Share fund provides financial support to disadvantaged parishes where local contributions can be lower.”

The archdiocese has begun implementing a new strategy, titled Building Hope, which includes priorities such as management, ministry, the role of laypersons, and finance. 

The archdiocese is structured into five pastoral areas, within which are 15 deaneries nurturing 53 partnerships of parishes. 

Altogether, the Catholic population recorded in the 2022 census was 996,000 out of a total population of approximately 1.6 million.

In offering reassurance and confidence in the archdiocese’s position, Finnegan highlighted one key section of the financial statements that provides essential context for any concerns about the potential depletion of reserves by 2041.

“While it is unlikely that all the identified risks will materialize simultaneously, the trustees must ensure adequate reserves are available to address potential challenges. The primary risk lies in the charity’s ability to successfully navigate these issues, which vary in severity and impact. The trustees are committed to maintaining a present level of unrestricted and designated preserves, enabling the charity to remain resilient in the face of both anticipated and unforeseen challenges.”