On Dec. 21, Puerto Rico’s Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón approved Law 183-2025, which amends the Civil Code of Puerto Rico and recognizes the unborn child or “nasciturus” — a Latin legal term referring to “conceived but not born” — as a natural person from conception.

Bishop Earl K. Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, has granted a dispensation from Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation to Catholics without authorization to stay in the United States, as well as those who “reasonably fear” being pursued in the ongoing immigration crackdown across the country.

It’s significantly more likely for family members and relatives to be a match than someone unrelated to you. A match like Father Torres and Whisnant’s match is rare but still medically possible.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Christmas visit to a Protestant cathedral in New Delhi has drawn renewed criticism from Christian leaders, who say symbolic gestures are no substitute for action amid rising anti-Christian violence.

Seventeen Catholic priests, sisters, seminarians and lay workers were murdered in 2025, according to Fides, the Vatican’s missionary news agency.

Amid poinsettias and sparkling Christmas trees, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis told Catholics gathered Dec. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Paul that the promise of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope did not disappoint, as the church focused on mercy and conversion.

All power must be built on responsibility and service, Pope Leo XIV told local government leaders.

The Catholic bishop ministering in Ukraine’s only surviving Black Sea port has urged Americans to continue upholding truth and justice, following new talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.

More than 10,000 young Christians from across Europe joined thousands of young French people in Paris Dec. 28-Jan. 1 to take part in the European meeting of the Taizé community, which is held every year in a different European city around New Year.

Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski said the Catholic Church’s call to stand in solidarity with migrant communities and a moral urgency compelled the Diocese of Providence to host a regional gathering on immigration at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul.