Catholic News
- Cardinal Koch: Pope Benedict XVI taught us to seek face of God (Vatican News)
Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, celebrated a memorial Mass for Pope Benedict XVI on December 31 at the late Pontiff’s tomb in the Vatican Grottoes. It was the second of two Vatican memorial Masses for Pope Benedict. On the evening of December 30, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 to 2017, was the principal celebrant at a memorial Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Benedict was elected to the papacy in 2005, resigned in 2013, and died on December 31, 2022, at the age of 95. - Amid US military buildup, Caribbean bishops announce day of prayer for peace (Jamaica Observer)
Amid rising tensions between the US and Venezuela and the attendant US military buildup in the Caribbean, the Antilles Episcopal Conference announced a day of prayer for peace. “I appeal to the faithful to pray fervently for peace in our waters and for all affected; families mourning loved ones lost at sea; migrants fleeing hardship; workers in aviation, shipping and tourism; and especially the poor, who will suffer most from instability and rising costs,” said the president of the episcopal conference, Archbishop Jason Gordon of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. “Tanker seizures, the expansion of naval assets and airspace restrictions ... affect the daily lives of our people,” he added. “As bishops of the Caribbean flock, we cannot remain silent when developments threaten human dignity, regional stability and the long-held vision of the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.” - Brazilian archbishop who resigned at 62 to lead new diocese (CWN)
In a highly unusual decision, Pope Leo XIV yesterday appointed a Brazilian archbishop who resigned in 2019 to lead a new diocese. - Leading Australian prelate calls for national probe into anti-Semitism (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference)
Stating that “a society that protects its Jewish community is a society that protects everyone,” the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference yesterday called for the creation of a “national inquiry with sufficient authority and resourcing” to “probe into the deeper issues which lie at the heart of antisemitism.” Since the Bondi Beach shooting, “we have heard many times that ‘there is no place for antisemitism here in Australia,’” said Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, SDB, of Perth. “Tragically, we are now confronted by the terrible truth that there are dark places in our society where this most ancient of hatreds festers.” “It is only by shining a light into the dark corners of our society—including its political, business, academic, media, religious, and cultural institutions—that we can hope to unmask the antisemitism which might otherwise go unseen, unacknowledged and unaddressed,” Archbishop Costelloe added. - Through Mary's 'yes,' we see God's love in Jesus' face, Pope preaches on New Year's Day (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica this morning and preached that the Blessed Virgin Mary’s offering of her freedom allowed mankind to see God’s benevolent gaze in Jesus’ face (booklet, video). - Amid emigration and falling baptisms, Hong Kong cardinal calls Catholics to renewed mission (Licas.news)
In a new year’s message, Cardinal Stephen Chow, SJ, of Hong Kong called upon the faithful to see themselves as missionary “messengers of hope.” “It is true that we have lost incoming lay leaders and their children through emigration, partly due to the enactment of the National Security Law,” he said, referring to the 2020 law signed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. “The number of catechumens and baptisms has dropped to almost half of what it used to be.” Cardinal Chow described feelings of discouragement over the situation as “temptations of the evil one to make us feel hopeless and dejected.” - Pope, at audience, wraps up Jubilee Year (Vatican News)
At his final public audience of 2025, on December 31, Pope Leo XIV looked across at the Jubilee Year and exhorted the faithful to be thankful to God for past blessings and ask the Lord “to renew, in us and around us, in the coming days, the wonders of his grace and mercy.” The past year, the Pope remarked, has seen memorable days: “Some of them joyful, such as the pilgrimage of so many of the faithful on the occasion of the Holy Year; others painful, such as the passing of the late Pope Francis, and the scenarios of war that continue to convulse the planet.” Reminding his audience of the traditional singing of the Te Deum on December 31 in thanks for the year’s blessings, the Pope said that the year’s end also is a time for examination of conscience, asking God’s forgiveness for “all the times we have failed to treasure his inspirations and invest the talents he has entrusted to us in the best possible way.” Reflecting on the pilgrimages that so many Catholics made during the Jubilee Year, the Pope said: “Our whole life is a journey whose final destination transcends space and time.” That journey finds its end “in the encounter with God and in full and eternal communion with Him.” With that hopeful attitude, the Holy Father encouraged the faithful to join in the thankful praise that marks the year’s end, saying: God is Love! God loves me! God awaited me, and I have found him! God is mercy! God is forgiveness! God is salvation! God, yes, God is life! - Philippine prelate speaks out against proposed nuclear power plant (Licas.news)
The president of Caritas Philippines spoke out against a proposed nuclear power plant in Pangasinan province (map). Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos said in a video released today that nuclear energy “remains a perilous energy source that poses long-term risks to our communities and our common home.” The local bishop, Bishop Napoleon Sipalay, OP, of Alaminos, also opposes the project. - Dublin archbishop calls on Ireland to recommit itself to building peace (Archdiocese of Dublin)
Recalling the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin called upon Ireland to recommit itself to building peace. “Ireland has a proud record in international work for peace,” Archbishop Farrell preached in his World Day of Peace homily, delivered at the Church of the Guardian Angels. “Now, in our days, there is a need and opportunity for the Irish State to articulate how this tradition, and the values which underpin it, will be continued in a rapidly changing international situation.” “It is not enough to invest in defense capacity or to point to how the circumstances of our traditional military neutrality have changed; Ireland’s commitment to promoting a sustainable peace needs a new articulation,” the archbishop continued, as he warned against “dragging the language of faith into political battles or justifying violence in the name of our beliefs.” - Take action against rising attacks on Christians, Goa Catholics urge governor (O Heraldo)
Representatives of the Catholic Association of Goa (map) met with the Indian state’s governor and urged him to take action against rising attacks on Christians. The governor “assured the delegation that their concerns would be carefully considered and communicated to the appropriate authorities” of the nation’s government, the Goa-based newspaper O Heraldo reported. - Kentucky bishops issue immigration statement (Archdiocese of Louisville)
In an immigration statement, the bishops of Kentucky said that they “stand with all of our immigrant brothers and sisters who have been victimized by unjust government action or by harmful rhetoric and vilification.” “Nations have a right and responsibility to control their borders and to enforce laws meant to protect the population, but all laws must be enforced in a just and predictable manner that respects the God-given dignity of each human person,” the state’s four bishops said in their statement, released yesterday and dated January 4. They added: We are increasingly concerned about the rapidly developing challenges facing immigrants, whether documented or undocumented. Regular reports of immigrants with legal status having that status arbitrarily revoked; increasing incidents of political leaders vilifying immigrants; the elimination of sanctuary protections for churches, hospitals, and schools; and proposals at the state level targeting the ability of immigrants to live and pursue their dreams in Kentucky, combine to create an understandable climate of hostility, anxiety, and fear. We oppose all efforts to stigmatize immigrants as a group or to spread fear based on national or ethnic origin. - Pope Leo, in year-end homily, reflects on the Virgin Mary's role in God's plan (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV presided at Vespers in St. Peter’s Basilica this evening and, in his last homily of the year, reflected on the Blessed Virgin Mary’s role in God’s plan (booklet, video). - Conversion to God brings about hope for a peaceful world, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)
In his midday Angelus address today (video), Pope Leo XIV said that the 2025 jubilee year, dedicated to hope, “has taught us how to cultivate hope for a new world.” - Background: World Day of Peace 2026 (CWN)
On January 1, the Church commemorates the 59th World Day of Peace. Pope Leo’s message for the day, dated December 8 and released on December 18, is entitled “Peace be with you all: Towards an ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace.“ - Vatican official calls on Muslims to denounce violence, decries Nigerian government's ineffectiveness (Fides)
The secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization strongly criticized the Nigerian government for its inability to protect Christians and called on Muslims to “denounce and reject the use of their religion to commit acts of violence.” In an interview with the Fides News Agency, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, a native of Nigeria, said that “numerous indications suggest that there are groups determined to systematically attack Christian communities”—a far different assessment from that of Nigerian Archbishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, who recently dismissed claims of persecution there. Archbishop Nwachukwu also suggested that the recent US strikes in Nigeria might be justified. Asked to comment on whether the strikes were “appropriate and viable,” he said: A country can find itself unable to cope with its own crises and divisions without external help. I see many Muslim friends who do not know how to react to what is happening, and the government’s inaction is evident. In this situation, external intervention, even indirect, to support the state and the government against extremist groups and help the country eliminate the causes of widespread violence, might not be entirely unjustified or out of place. - January papal prayer intention: for prayer with the Word of God (Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network)
The Pope’s January 2026 prayer intention, disseminated by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (formerly known as the Apostleship of Prayer), is “let us pray that praying with the Word of God be nourishment for our lives and a source of hope in our communities, helping us to build a more fraternal and missionary Church.” - Ukrainian bishop criticizes Trump administration's position on war (OSV News)
A Latin-rite bishop in Ukraine criticized the Trump administration’s position on the Russo-Ukrainian war. “I remember how we listened to the Voice of America radio station when I was a child under Soviet rule, and always knew it presented the truth, standing up for human rights and suffering people,” Bishop Stanislav Szyrokoradiuk, OFM, of Odesa-Simferopol said in an interview with OSV News. “To hear this same voice today defending the evildoer and demanding we reward him for his crimes is deeply shocking and hurtful. Yet we know this isn’t the true voice of Americans.” Bishop Szyrokoradiuk said that those “who’ve taken power” in the US aren’t “interested in truth and justice.” “Wickedness should be punished—to ensure its perpetrators no longer steal and kill,” the prelate added. “How can we trust people to defend us and uphold our rights when they’re clearly pursuing quite different interests of their own and are ready to do business with criminals? In the end, we can only pray for their conversion.” - 46 Catholic churches in Germany deconsecrated in 2025 (Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung)
At least 46 Catholic churches in Germany were deconsecrated in 2025, a German newspaper reported. Citing data from the bishops’ conference, the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung also reported that at least 66 Catholic churches in Germany were deconsecrated the previous year. Twenty-three churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the nation’s leading Protestant body, were relegated to profane use in 2022, the most recent year for which EKD data are available. - Nearly 3.2 million attended papal events at the Vatican in 2025, highest figure since 2016 (Vatican News)
The Prefecture of the Papal Household announced that 3,176,620 people attended papal Masses, audiences, and other events at the Vatican in 2025: 262,820 during the last months of Pope Francis’s papacy, and 2,913,800 during the beginning of Pope Leo’s. In 2024, 1,682,100 people attended papal events at the Vatican, according to ZENIT News’s compilation of data from the Prefecture. The last time the attendance figure surpassed 3 million was in 2016. - 2 priests attacked in Nigeria (Vanguard)
Armed bandits broke into a Nigerian parish residence at 2:30 AM yesterday and attacked two priests, the Lagos-based Vanguard reported. One of the priests, Father Chris Pever, underwent surgery after suffering an arm fracture. The attack took place in Mararaba, a town in Nasarawa State. - More...