St. Callistus Roman Catholic Church

The flag of the European Union. / Credit: U. J. Alexander/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has expressed concern about a recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which obliges all member states to recognize so-called "homosexual marriages" legally performed in another country.

In a Dec. 9 statement, the president of COMECE, Bishop Mariano Crociata, warned that the ruling could have an impact on the legal sovereignty of each nation, since the recognition of these unions is mandatory even if they are not valid under a country’s own legal system.

The ruling concerns a same-sex Polish couple who “married” in Germany in 2018. Upon returning to Poland, the authorities refused to record their union in the civil registry. The European court has deemed this refusal contrary to EU law, meaning that all member states are now obligated to recognize the rights stemming from this bond.

Union between a man and a woman

On behalf of the Church in Europe, Crociata referred to the Church's anthropological vision, "founded on natural law," and reiterated that marriage is a "union between a man and a woman."

In this context, the Italian prelate pointed out that the ruling restricts the rights of each nation, especially those in which "the definition of marriage is part of their national identity." In his opinion, the ruling could generate "pressure to amend national family law" and also increase "legal uncertainty."

Currently, almost half of the European Union countries have not legalized same-sex unions: Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Romania.

In this regard, the bishops emphasized the need for "a prudent and cautious approach" to family law with cross-border implications and urges avoiding "undue influence" on national legal systems in Europe.

Surrogacy could be a consequence of the ruling

Crociata also cited Article 9 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which states that "The right to marry and the right to found a family shall be guaranteed in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights."

Consequently, the European bishops warned that the approach adopted in this ruling could lead to “negative developments in other sensitive areas,” such as surrogacy.

They therefore expressed their concern about “the current challenging situation in the EU and the polarization present in our societies,” warning that such rulings “can give rise to anti-European [Union] sentiments in member states and can be easily instrumentalized in this sense.”

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

Notre Dame College in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh / Credit: Stephan Uttom Rozario

Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec 10, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

The president of the Bangladesh Catholic Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Bejoy D'Cruze of Dhaka, has expressed concern after threats against two prominent Catholic colleges posed "a grave concern for the Catholic Church," particularly ahead of Christmas and elections scheduled for February in a Dec. 3 statement.

On Dec. 2, a letter written in Bengali under the name Tawhidee Muslim Janata ("faithful Muslim people") was sent to two of Bangladesh's most prestigious colleges: Notre Dame College, run by the Holy Cross Fathers, and Holy Cross College, run by the Holy Cross Sisters.

The letter thanked the Catholic Church for its role in education but said that the Church is now trying to convert not only indigenous groups and Muslims to Christianity by offering various incentives.

"In a country where 90% of Muslims live, you are trying to convert people by using educational institutions as a tool," the group stated in the letter.

The letter urged the colleges to ensure that educational and social institutions are not used directly or indirectly for religious conversion. "We are not giving you any advice —rather we order you to be careful. If you do not pay heed to our warning, the Tawhidee Muslims' will not spare your places of prayer, churches, cathedrals, chapels and missionary institutions," the letter stated.

After receiving the letter, the Notre Dame College authorities filed a general diary with local police.

In his statement, D'Cruze noted that the majority of students and teachers at both institutions are Muslims. Notre Dame College is for boys and Holy Cross College for girls. The priests and nuns who run these institutions are now living in fear and anxiety, he said.

Although Catholics make up less than 1% of Bangladesh's 180 million people, this small religious community has made a significant contribution to the country's education sector, D'Cruze said.

The Church operates at least one university, 18 colleges, 76 high schools, and over 1,000 primary schools across the nation, all of which are open to people of all faiths.

D'Cruze, who also heads the Bangladesh Catholic Education Board Trust, said in his statement: "It is a grave concern for the Catholic Church to give security to our students and faithful who come to church and institutions."

"I draw your kind attention to stand by us, students, faithful, and institutions," D'Cruze said. "The Catholic Church is not involved in proselytization; on the contrary, this is what takes place."

Pattern of attacks

The threats come amid a series of attacks targeting Catholic institutions in Dhaka in recent weeks.

On Nov. 7, two homemade bombs were thrown at the gate of St. Mary's Cathedral just hours before a national jubilee celebration.

The following day, explosive devices were hurled at St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School and College, also a major Church-run educational institution in Dhaka. On Oct. 8, Holy Rosary Church in the capital, one of the country's oldest churches, was also attacked.

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square during a Jubilee audience on Nov. 22, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.

Vatican City, Dec 10, 2025 / 11:21 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday rejected technological promises to indefinitely prolong human existence — such as those proposed by “transhumanism”— and said the resurrection of Christ “reveals to us that death is not opposed to life.”

Speaking on a cold morning in St. Peter’s Square Dec. 10, the pontiff warned that numerous current anthropological visions “promise immanent immortality [and] theorize the prolongation of earthly life through technology.”

That outlook, he said, is characteristic of “the transhumance scenario,” a phenomenon that “is making its way into the horizon of the challenges of our time.”

In response, Leo urged people to consider two central questions: “Could death really be defeated by science? But then, could science itself guarantee us that a life without death is also a happy life?”

The Holy Father explained that death and life are not opposed, and that in the Christian meaning, death is “a constitutive part of [life], as the passage to eternal life.”

“The Pasch of Jesus gives us a foretaste, in this time still full of suffering and trials, of the fullness of what will happen after death,” he added.

Thailand-Cambodia border clashes

At the end of his audience, Pope Leo spoke out against violent clashes at the border of Thailand and Cambodia, saying he was “deeply saddened by the news of the escalation of the conflict.”

The hostilities have injured more than 100 people and displaced thousands of people in both countries. An estimated 13 people, including civilians, have been killed as the fighting entered the third day on Wednesday.

“I express my closeness in prayer to these beloved populations and I ask the parties to immediately cease fire and resume dialogue,” the pope said.

Death, ‘a great teacher of life’

In his catechesis for the general audience, Leo XIV noted that throughout history, “many ancient peoples developed rites and customs linked to the cult of the dead, to accompany and to recall those who journeyed towards the supreme mystery.” But today, death “seems to be a sort of taboo” and “something to be spoken of in hushed tones, to avoid disturbing our sensibilities and our tranquility.”

The pope lamented that this attitude often leads people to avoid visiting cemeteries.

He also evoked the teachings of St. Alphonsus Liguori, recalling the enduring relevance of the saint’s work, “Preparation for Death.” The pontiff emphasized that, for the saint, death is “a great teacher of life,” capable of guiding the believer toward what is essential.

As the pope explained, St. Alphonsus invited people to “to know that [death] exists, and above all to reflect on it” as a way to discern what is truly important in life.

Leo also recalled that, in Alphonsian spirituality, prayer holds a central place “to understand what is beneficial in view of the kingdom of heaven, and letting go of the superfluous that instead binds us to ephemeral things.”

From this perspective, he asserted that only the resurrection of Christ “is capable of illuminating the mystery of death to its full extent.”

“In this light, and only in this, what our heart desires and hopes  becomes true: that death is not the end, but the passage towards full light, towards a happy eternity,” he said.

The pope explained that the risen Christ “has gone before us in the great trial of death, emerging victorious thanks to the power of divine Love.”

“He has prepared for us the place of eternal rest, the home where we are awaited; he has given us the fullness of life in which there are no longer any shadows and contradictions,” Leo said.

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

Pope Leo XIV uses a tablet to navigate the website of the new digital version of the Vatican's Pontifical Yearbook, known as the "Annuario Pontificio" in Italian. / Credit: Vatican Media.

Vatican City, Dec 10, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican this week launched the first-ever digital version of its annual directory, creating an easier way to find reliable and up-to-date information about the Church’s structures and members all around the world.

The red-covered Pontifical Yearbook — known in Italian as the “Annuario Pontificio” — is an important reference updated every year with Church statistics, the names and contacts of bishops, information about the departments of the Holy See, and more.

The Pontifical Yearbook, in its current form, started in the early 20th century, though other versions of a book with information about the Catholic hierarchy and the Roman Curia can be traced to the 18th century or earlier.

The biggest benefits to users are the ability to easily search for information and the possibility for updates to be reflected in real time.

Before now, to keep the directory current, one would have to cut out and glue periodic updates from the Vatican into the hardback book.

The directory includes global data that is frequently changing, including statistics about Catholic dioceses and missions, and information about bishops, the members of the Church, the number of priests and religious, and the Holy See’s diplomatic representation.

It also contains information about the pope and cardinals, and lists the people who lead the many different entities that make up the Roman Curia and the Vatican.

On Dec. 8, the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, which is responsible for publishing the Pontifical Yearbook, unveiled the digital version, available in both web and app versions for an annual subscription of 68,10 euros ($79.20), around the same price as a printed version, which is still being published.

The Vatican said in time it intends to offer the directory in languages other than Italian, “making it more accessible to a growing number of users around the world.”

At a presentation of the project, Pope Leo XIV had a chance to receive a first lesson in how the digital yearbook works. He thanked those involved, calling it “a wonderful service which will be of great help.”

Entrance to the building of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal / Credit: Adrian Grycuk / Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0 pl)

EWTN News, Dec 10, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal unanimously ruled Dec. 3 that the Communist Party of Poland (KPP), founded in 2002, is incompatible with the nation's 1997 constitution, citing papal encyclicals condemning communism as it effectively banned the organization and ordered its removal from the national register of political parties.

The court said the party's program embraces ideological principles and methods associated with totalitarian communist regimes, which the Polish Constitution explicitly prohibits.

"There is no place in the Polish legal system for a party that glorifies criminals and communist regimes responsible for the deaths of millions of human beings, including our compatriots," said Judge Krystyna Pawłowicz as she presented the tribunal's reasoning. "There is also no place for the use of symbols that clearly refer to the criminal ideology of communism."

Article 13 and the constitutional ban on totalitarian ideologies

In its ruling, the tribunal pointed to Article 13 of the Polish Constitution, which forbids political parties or organizations whose programs reference totalitarian methods and practices, including those associated with Nazism, fascism, or communism. The constitution also prohibits groups that promote racial or national hatred, encourage violence to seize political power, or operate with secret structures or undisclosed membership.

After reviewing the party's documents, ideology, and activities, the court concluded that the KPP's stated goals aligned with communist totalitarianism and therefore violated Article 13.

The decision comes almost five years after Poland's former justice minister and prosecutor general, Zbigniew Ziobro, submitted a request to the tribunal to have the KPP outlawed. Last month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki also filed his own application.

Historical claims and the Church's teachings on communism

The KPP identifies itself as the ideological heir to several earlier communist movements in Polish history, including the original Communist Party of Poland (1918–1938) and its precursor, the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (1893–1918). It also claims continuity with the postwar Polish Workers' Party (1942–1948) and the Polish United Workers' Party, which governed the country during the communist era from 1948 until 1990.

In its written justification, the tribunal took the unusual step of referencing Catholic social teaching, citing passages from two papal encyclicals condemning communism.

The judges referenced Pope Pius XI's 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, which condemned communism's reliance on class struggle, abolition of private property, and its record of "cruelty and inhumanity" across Eastern Europe and Asia. They also cited Pope Pius XI's later encyclical Divini Redemptoris (1937), which warned that communist movements sought to inflame class antagonisms and justify violence against perceived opponents in the name of "progress."

The tribunal used these texts to illustrate what it described as the inherently totalitarian nature of the ideology underlying the party's program. It also served as historical evidence of communism's documented practices and global impact, well understood by the framers of Poland's post-communist constitution.

Party to be removed from register

The judges concluded that the KPP's activities violated constitutional prohibitions on organizations referencing totalitarian methods, ordering the party's removal from the national register and effectively dissolving it.

During the hearing, the chairwoman of the KPP's national executive committee, Beata Karoń, argued that, while her party has "a certain vision of what it wants," if the proposals are unattractive, the party simply won't gain support in elections.

The ruling reflects the broader challenge faced by countries once under Soviet domination, which continue to reckon with the political and cultural wounds of communist rule while working to rebuild their institutions and identity in a post-totalitarian era.

Dany Elachi, a Sydney father who advocated for Australia's social media ban, and his family. / Credit: Courtesy of Dany Elachi

CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

With the rollout of a novel online safety law that prevents children under 16 from accessing social media, Catholics in Australia are hoping for freer childhoods for children there.

Social media companies are responsible for enforcing the age restrictions and may receive fines of tens of millions of dollars if they fail to adequately verify these age limits, according to the law.

The parents behind the social media law 

“There are a thousand and one reasons to delay social media for children,” said Dany Elachi, a Catholic father of five who helped get the law passed. 

Elachi’s passion for phone-free childhoods comes from his experience with his family. 

When Elachi and his wife gave their then 10-year-old daughter a phone, they instantly “saw very quickly how that device transformed her childhood,” Elachi said. 

“It left her with little time to play, to connect with siblings and us, her parents, to read and to rest. It even intruded on her sleep time,” Elachi recalled.

But when he and his wife took the phone away, their daughter struggled “greatly,” Elachi said. 

“She cried herself to sleep for many nights,” he said. “That was hard for us, but we knew we had to hold firm. We preferred a few nights of tears now, than potentially a lifetime of tears later.”

Elachi and his wife decided to reach out to other parents in their Catholic school community “to form an alliance of families delaying smartphones and social media.” 

Elachi went on to co-founded the Heads Up Alliance, a grassroots movement of parents advocating for social media-free childhoods.   

“The idea was to create a community, so that our daughter didn't feel totally isolated, and we, the parents, had support too,” Elachi said. 

A childhood free of digital rule 

“We want to give our children the space and freedom to ponder the bigger questions of life,” Elachi said. 

“As Catholics in particular, we wish to raise our children in the values of our family and the faith — not the values of TikTok,” Elachi continued. “Social media is so consuming, that scrolling now replaces bedtime prayer.”

“Instagram and similar apps are designed to overwhelm our children's lives, leaving little opportunity for connection with others — and God!” he said. 

Michael Hanby, a Catholic University of America professor, said that children deserve “to grow up in freedom.”

“The brave new digital world is not ultimately liberating but enslaving,” Hanby told CNA. “But children, who deserve to grow up in freedom, need someone to fight for them.”  

Hanby, who is an associate professor of religion and philosophy of science at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Studies, said that social media and digital technologies “have transformed every aspect of how we live.” 

“They profoundly shape how we think, what we think about, and how we relate to one another,” he continued. 

“They are slowly sapping away at the foundations of our humanity: our embodied relationships with one another in common places, our capacity to remember or to sustain an act of attention, which are basic ingredients in our ability to love and to pray and to live and act coherently,” Hanby said. 

A new line in the sand 

Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne said he hopes the new law will help parents protect their children from isolation and disconnection

“Social media has brought many great benefits to the world. When used well, it can connect people and help us to share things that bring life to the world,” the archbishop told CNA. “Unfortunately, it can also be used in ways that create disconnection and isolation.”

“Young minds need time to develop and mature to ensure they can use social media safely and well,” Comensoli continued. 

“I hope the new laws will be a help for parents who are trying hard to protect their children from the potential harms of social media and that as children grow and mature they will be able to engage with social media in positive ways that contribute to the common good,” he said. 

Elachi described the law as “pro-parent,” saying it “gives parents the strength” to hold off on letting their children sign up for social media. 

“This new law draws a line in the sand regarding the safety of social media for children,” Elachi said. “It sets a new standard, and we hope it is the first step in effecting a cultural change.”

Withdrawal symptoms? 

The transition will come with its own challenges, Elachi admits.  

He noted that “a lot of psychologists are also warning that some children will suffer withdrawal symptoms” after the law goes into effect.

These symptoms may mirror his own daughter’s struggles after her parents took away her phone — but Elachi hopes that parents will support their kids in this challenge. 

“We hope that children have the support of their families through that initial period and find a fuller childhood on the other side,” Elachi said. 

“It will also help children, because when everybody misses out, nobody misses out,” Elachi said of the law.

The law requires extensive age verification, meaning that many users will potentially be required to hand over identification to social media companies to prove they are of age. 

Elachi said this dilemma “is a concern to us.” 

“This information is supposed to be deleted immediately, and we hope that tech companies comply with their obligations,” he continued.

Hanby, however, expressed uncertainty about the effectiveness of the new law, though he commended its intentions. 

“I don’t know how effective the new Australian law will be,” Hanby said, “but as the expression of the aspiration for children to experience a human upbringing, it seems like a good idea.”

Elachi said he is “proud” that the law is going into effect.

“Everybody has seen the damage that it's done to childhood, and I'm proud that Australia is the first country in the world taking serious steps to roll it back,” Elachi said. 

Father Maurice Emelu, now a U.S. citizen and founder of Gratia Vobis Ministries, told EWTN Germany recently that faith in Nigeria has the extraordinary ability to blossom “in harsh soil.” / Credit: Christian Peschken/EWTN Germany

ACI Africa, Dec 10, 2025 / 08:20 am (CNA).

Christians in Nigeria continue to demonstrate resilience and vitality amid violent assaults by extremist groups such as Boko Haram, a priest from the West African country has said.

In a recent interview with Christian Peschken of EWTN Germany, CNA’s news partner, Father Maurice Emelu, now a U.S. citizen and founder of Gratia Vobis Ministries, describes the extraordinary ability of faith in Nigeria to blossom “in harsh soil.” 

“In Nigeria, faith grows in the very places where life tries to break it. Our people are not romanticizing pain; they are discovering Christ in it,” Emelu said. “The Church thrives not because our challenges are small but because grace is stubborn. Grace has a way of blooming in harsh soil.”

In an attempt to describe the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, he said, “Suffering here has a face… Violence and killings happen with such astonishing frequency that one feels it isn’t real. People tell me many killings never even reach the media. The pain is simply unbearable.” 

Despite the suffering, hope burns even brighter. “These believers literally walk courageously to church … daring fiery bullets in the face,” the Nigerian theologian and professor said, explaining, “They are real heroes and witnesses of the crucified Lord.” 

Emelu stressed that priests and religious serving in Nigeria, live under extreme pressure: sleepless nights, constant threats, and enormous parish populations. 

He identified four essential virtues for ministry in such an environment: interior resilience, humility of presence, uncompromising integrity, and what he calls “infectious love.” 

'stand in the storm and still speak peace'

“A Nigerian priest must learn to stand in the storm and still speak peace,” says Emelu who serves as director of the graduate programs in digital marketing and communication strategy and as an assistant  professor of communication at John Carroll University. 

Needs among Nigerian Christians are many, Emelu said in the interview, adding that organizations like his, as well as groups such as Catholic Charities, are already engaged. However, he has observed that the scale of the crisis demands far more. 

He said the clergy of the Catholic Diocese of Orlu in Nigeria believes the global Church can help by offering spiritual accompaniment, formation, mental-health support, and the gift of simple recognition. 

“Sometimes the greatest support is to be seen, truly seen, for the sacrifices we make,” he said, adding that on the ground, financial help is urgently needed to rebuild homes, churches, and schools.

Young Nigerians, he observes, are among the most vibrant in the Church, yet they are “stretched thin by the demands of survival.” 

The Church, he believes, must speak to their souls and their social reality. That means first rooting them in Christ. “A young person anchored in Christ can stand even when the world around them shakes,” he said.

The Catholic priest who consults for Pax Press Agency Geneva on the Holy See’s engagement at the UN in Geneva says that spiritual formation alone is not enough.

The Church, he says, must also invest in conscience formation, imagination, critical digital literacy, and ethical guidance, including on emerging technologies like AI, a topic the Holy Father has elevated globally. 

“When people are properly formed,” he says, “they can act more ethically.” 

Despite the violence in northern Nigeria, Emelu insists that many Muslims do not support extremism, and that meaningful interreligious collaboration already exists and must continue. 

Within this fragile environment, he says, Catholic spirituality carries tremendous power. 

“The Eucharist, Marian devotion, and forgiveness are not soft virtues; they are transformative forces,” he said, adding, “The Eucharist teaches us that communion is stronger than conflict. Mary shows us how to stand at the foot of the Cross without letting hatred take root.” 

He says that forgiveness, too, is radical realism, and explained, “It is spiritual courage. It protects the heart while truth guides the voice. Peace does not come from avoiding truth, but from speaking truth with a heart purified by love.” 

Father Emelu said that Nigeria’s Church is a missionary engine of the Catholic world and highlighted three gifts the country offers to the universal Church: how to suffer, joy amid suffering, and missionary zeal. “You see this in thousands of Nigerian priests revitalizing parishes around the world.” 

For Emelu, Nigeria’s witness is simple and sacramental: “Hope is not an idea. It is something you can touch — in a meal, a gesture, a word.” 

“Nigeria has taught me that holiness hides in the ordinary — if you have the eyes to see,” he said. “The resilience of our people is a living catechism.” 

This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner, and has been adapted for CNA.

“For patients with serious disabilities, this law will put us at risk of deadly discrimination," says Daniese McMullin-Powell, a polio survivor who has used a wheelchair for most of her life. / Credit: Institute for Patients' Rights

CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 06:10 am (CNA).

Several disability and patient advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware on Dec. 8 alleging that Delaware’s new physician-assisted suicide law discriminates against people with disabilities. 

In May 2025, Delaware passed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live. The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026, allows patients to self-administer lethal medication. 

The 74-page complaint alleges that the new law is unconstitutional under both Delaware and federal law and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, among other challenges.  

Plaintiffs include the Institute for Patients’ Rights; The Freedom Center for Independent Living, Inc., in Middletown; the Delaware chapter of ADAPT; Not Dead Yet; United Spinal Association, the National Council on Independent Living; and disability advocate Sean Curran.

The lawsuit, which names Gov. Matthew Meyer and the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services as two of several defendants, said that “people with life-threatening disabilities” are at “imminent risk” because of Delaware's new law.   

“Throughout the country, a state-endorsed narrative is rapidly spreading that threatens people with disabilities: namely, that people with life-threatening disabilities should be directed to suicide help and not suicide prevention,” the lawsuit read.

“At its core, this is discrimination plain and simple,” the lawsuit continued. “With cuts in healthcare spending at the federal level, persons with life-threatening disabilities are now more vulnerable than ever.”

The lawsuit alleges that, under the new law, people with life-threatening disabilities who express suicidal thoughts will be treated differently than other people who express suicidal thoughts. The new law lacks requirements for mental health screening for depression or other mental illness, “all of which are necessary for informed consent and a truly autonomous choice,” according to the lawsuit. 

Curran, a Delaware resident who has lived with a severe spinal cord injury for 36 years, called the law “repugnant.”

“The act tells people like me that they should qualify for suicide help, not suicide prevention,” said Curran, who is a quadriplegic, meaning he is paralyzed in all four limbs.

"The act devalues people like me," Curran continued in a press release shared with CNA. “I have led a full life despite my disability.” 

Daniese McMullin-Powell, who is representing Delaware ADAPT in the lawsuit, said that the medical system already neglects people with disabilities.  

“We do not need exacerbate its brokenness by adding an element where some patients are steered toward suicide,” said McMullin-Powell, who is a polio survivor and has used a wheelchair for most of her life. 

“For patients with serious disabilities, this law will put us at risk of deadly discrimination from doctors and insurance companies in Delaware to make subjective and speculative judgments based on their perception of our quality of life,” McMullin-Powell said, according to the press release. 

The legal group Ted Kittila of Halloran Farkas + Kittila LLP, who are representing the plaintiffs, called the law “ill-considered” and said it will “cause real harm to people who need real help.”

“For too long, assisted suicide has been pitched as an act of mercy,” the group said in the press release. “For those in the disability community, it represents a real threat of continued discrimination.”  

The office of Gov. Meyer did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

The Holy House of Our Lady in the Shrine of Loreto. / Credit: Tatiana Dyuvbanova/Shutterstock

Loreto, Italy, Dec 10, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

What do Galileo, Mozart, Descartes, Cervantes, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux have in common? They all traveled hundreds of miles to step inside the Virgin Mary’s house, which is preserved inside a basilica in the small Italian town of Loreto.

Catholic pilgrims have flocked to the Holy House of Loreto since the 14th century to stand inside the walls where tradition holds the Virgin Mary was born, raised, and greeted by the angel Gabriel.

In other words, if it is actually the house of Nazareth, it is where the “Word became flesh” at the Annunciation, a point on which the history of humanity turned.

There is an often-repeated story that angels carried the Holy House from Palestine to Italy and while modern listeners may doubt the legend’s veracity, historic documents have vindicated the beliefs of pious pilgrims over the centuries — with an ironic twist.

Tradition holds that the Holy House arrived in Loreto on Dec. 10, 1294, after a miraculous rescue from the Holy Land as the Crusaders were driven out of Palestine at the end of the 13th century.

In 1900, the pope’s physician, Dr. Joseph Lapponi, discovered documents in the Vatican archive stating that in the 13th century a noble Byzantine family, the Angeli family, rescued “materials” from “Our Lady’s House” from Muslim invaders and had them transported to Italy for the building of a shrine.

The name Angeli means “angels” in both Greek and Latin.

Further historic diplomatic correspondences — not published until 1985 — discuss the “holy stones taken away from the House of Our Lady, Mother of God.” In the fall of 1294, “holy stones” were included in the dowry of Ithamar Angeli for her marriage to Philip II of Anjou, son of King Charles II of Naples.

A coin minted by a member of the Angeli family was also found in the foundation of the house in Loreto. In Italy, coins were often inserted into a building’s foundation to indicate who was responsible for its construction.

Excavations in both Nazareth and Loreto found similar materials at both sites. The stones that make up the lower part of the walls of the Holy House in Loreto appear to have been finished with a technique particular to the Nabataeans, which was also widespread in Palestine. There are inscriptions in syncopated Greek characters with contiguous Hebrew letters that read “O Jesus Christ, Son of God,” written in the same style inscribed in the Grotto in Nazareth.

Archaeologists also confirmed a tradition of Loreto that third-century Christians had transformed Mary’s house in Nazareth into a place of worship by building a synagogue-style church around the house. A seventh-century bishop who traveled to Nazareth noted a church built at the house where the Annunciation took place.

From St. Francis de Sales to St. Louis de Montfort, many saints visited the Holy House of Loreto over the centuries. St. Charles Borromeo made four pilgrimages in 1566, 1572, 1579, and 1583.

St. John Paul II called the Holy House of Loreto the “foremost shrine of international import dedicated to the Blessed Virgin” in 1993.

The victory over the Turks at Lepanto was attributed to the Virgin of Loreto by St. Pius V, leading both Gen. Marcantonio Colonna and John of Austria to make pilgrimages to the shrine in 1571 and 1576, respectively.

Christopher Columbus made a vow to the Madonna of Loreto in 1493 when he and his crew were caught in a storm during their return journey from the Americas. He later sent a sailor to Loreto on a pilgrimage of thanksgiving on behalf of the entire crew.

Queen Christina of Sweden offered her royal crown and scepter to the Virgin Mary in Loreto in 1655 after her conversion from the Lutheran faith to Catholicism.

Napoleon plundered the shrine and its treasury on Feb. 13, 1797, taking with him precious jewels and other gifts offered to the Virgin Mary by European aristocracy, including several French monarchs, over the centuries. Yet, the object of real value in the eyes of pilgrims, the Holy House of Mary, was left unharmed.

In a homily in 1995, Pope John Paul II called the Holy House of Loreto “the house of all God’s adopted children.”

He continued: “The threads of the history of the whole of humankind are tied anew in that house. It is the Shrine of the House of Nazareth, to which the Church that is in Italy is tied by providence, that the latter rediscovers a quickening reminder of the mystery of the Incarnation, thanks to which each man is called to the dignity of the Son of God.”

This story was first published on Dec. 10, 2018, and has been updated.

American adults who identify with Christianity, with another religion, or with no religion have all remained steady, a new Pew Research Center report finds.  / Credit: ChoeWatt/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

The number of American adults who identify with Christianity, with another religion, or with no religion have all remained steady, a new Pew Research Center report finds. 

Surveys conducted since 2020 have generally found that about 70% of U.S. adults identify with a religion. The numbers have slightly fluctuated, but there has been no clear rise or fall in religious affiliation over the five-year period.

A Pew Research Center study, Religion Holds Steady in America, summarizes the latest trends in American religion and examines religion among young adults. The report is based on Pew’s National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS), which has annually surveyed a random sample of U.S. adults since 2020. It also draws from the U.S. Religious Landscape Study (RLS), which surveyed 36,908 adults from July 17, 2023 to March 4, 2024.

The report also uses data from the General Social Survey and the American Time Use Survey.

The research revealed that after Pew found a decline in Christianity in the country from 2007 to 2020, the decline has halted and there is a stable presence of Christianty and religion in the nation. 

Young women’s religiosity shifts

While the polling shows no clear evidence of a religious increase among young adults, it did find that young men are now almost as religious as women in the same age group. The finding differs from past studies which found that young women tended to be more religious than young men. 

This shift was found to be due to a decline in religiousness among American women, rather than an increase in the religiousness of men. In contrast to the young adults, the data revealed older women are more religious than older men. 

Overall, young men and young women surveyed in 2023 and 2024 are less religious than those questioned in 2007 and 2014 studies.

In 2007, 54% of women and 40% of men ages 18 to 24 reported they prayed daily. Data from 2023-2024 revealed only 30% of women and 26% of men in the same age group said they pray daily, indicating the gender gap among religious men and women is closing. 

Young adults remain less religious than older Americans

The data found no evidence that any age group has become substantially more or less religious since 2020. In the 2025 NPORS, 83% of adults 71 or older identified with a religion, similarly to the 84% in 2020. 

Among the youngest group of adults ages 18 to 30, 55% identify with a religion in 2025. This data is similar to the 57% who reported the same in 2020.

While there was not a large change in the number of adults who practice religion, older generations continue to be more religious than younger ones. Adults aged 71 or older tend to pray more than those ages 18 to 30, with 59% of older adults reporting they pray daily compared to 32% of young adults. 

There were also discrepancies among age groups based on how often individuals attend religious services. Adults 71 and older attend the most with 43% reporting they attend at least monthly. Adults 31 to 40 were found to attend the least with 29% reporting they go monthly. 

The data shows that today’s adults between the ages of roughly 18 and 22 are at least as religious as the age group slightly older than them who are in their mid to late 20s. Some aspects revealed that the younger U.S. adults may be more religious than the age group slightly older than them. 

The 2023–24 RLS found 30% of adults born between 2003 and 2006 said they attended religious services at least once a month, which is higher than the 24% of people born between 1995 and 2002.