Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa. / Credit: Robert Linsdell via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 18:04 pm (CNA).

Legislators in Canada are reportedly poised to strip religious protections from the country’s hate-speech laws as part of an effort to crack down on hateful symbols throughout the country. 

Lawmakers with the Liberal Party of Canada have reportedly struck a deal with the Bloc Québécois party to remove the religious exemptions from the national code.

Canadian law forbids people from “incit[ing] hatred against any identifiable group,” though it provides exemptions for individuals whose opinions are grounded in religion or a religious text. 

The National Post reported on Dec. 1 that the exemptions are expected to be removed in an upcoming amendment to the country’s hate-speech laws. The paper cited a “senior government source” who was granted anonymity to discuss the proceedings.

“The bill is in a place now … everyone is happy,” the source told the Post.

Reports of hate crimes in Canada have been on the rise in recent years, fueled particularly by antisemitic incidents. One report from the human rights group B’nai Brith Canada found a massive rise in antisemitic incidents in the country after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, with another notable increase throughout 2024.

The proposed bill in the Canadian Legislature would amend the country’s hate-speech laws to criminalize the display of the Nazi swastika as well as the symbol for the Nazi SS organization — both of which are regularly used to target Jewish people.

The legislation, if passed, will also repeal a requirement that the Canadian attorney general sign off on proceedings for “hate propaganda offenses.”

Lawmakers with the Conservative Party are opposing the proposed revisions, arguing that the symbols and crimes it moves to criminalize are “already illegal” and criticizing the removal of the attorney general’s involvement in hate crime proceedings, calling that rule an “important safeguard.” 

The Conservatives also argue that the proposed revision “lowers the legal standard for ‘hatred,’ threatening free speech and targeting legitimate expression.” The amendment would define “hatred” as “the emotion that involves detestation or vilification and that is stronger than disdain or dislike.”

Christian advocates, meanwhile, have also criticized the proposal. The Ontario-based Christian Legal Fellowship in October urged the government to keep the law’s religious protections in place, arguing that the provisions are “directly in line with principles of justice and equality that inform efforts to combat discrimination and hatred.”

“[T]o remove this defense would risk undermining the constitutional integrity” of the hate-speech laws, the group argued. 

Advocates in Canada have elsewhere recently raised concerns over religious freedom protections in the North American country. 

In September, Montreal Archbishop Christian Lépine noted the “serious concerns” around Quebec Premier François Legault’s proposal to end prayer in public places. The prelate argued that to “forbid public prayer would be somewhat like forbidding thought itself.”

In December 2024, meanwhile, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance suggested removing “advancement of religion” from the country’s list of recognized charitable purposes, a proposal one group warned posed a “direct threat to religious freedom and the vital role faith communities play in Canadian society.”

Census data from 2021 showed that the Catholic population in Canada declined by almost 2 million people in the prior 10 years.

Pope Leo XIV interacts with a baby before celebrating Mass in Beirut, Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 17:34 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s first official papal trip from Nov. 27–Dec. 2 to Turkey and Lebanon has just ended. The wide-ranging international visit included historic ecumenical encounters, deeply symbolic gestures of prayer, and pastoral visits to Christian communities under pressure. Pope Leo highlighted the importance of unity, peace, and fraternity, and brought encouragement to a region marked by ancient faith and present suffering.

Here are some of the most powerful moments from Pope Leo’s trip:

Turkey

Upon landing at the Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Pope Leo was greeted by Turkish authorities and members of the military. Outside of the Presidential Palace, the pontiff was welcomed by a cavalry escort, the playing of the national anthems, and 21 cannon shots.

The pope commemorated the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea on Nov. 28 alongside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and other Christian leaders in the Turkish city of Iznik, southeast of Istanbul, the site of the Council of Nicaea, historically known as the birthplace of the Nicene Creed.

The ecumenical prayer service took place at the archaeological excavations of the ancient Basilica of St. Neophytus, built in 380 at the site of the first Christian ecumenical council, which was convened by Emperor Constantine I in 325.

While in Istanbul, Pope Leo visited the Nursing Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, telling the community that Christian charity begins not with doing but with being — i.e., living a real communion with those one serves.

Later that day, Pope Leo met the “little flock” of Catholics at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul. Catholics in Turkey make up roughly just 0.05% of the country’s 85 million people. The pope encouraged them to rediscover what he called the Gospel’s “logic of littleness” and not to be discouraged by their tiny numbers but to recognize in them the strength of authentic Christian witness.

In another touching moment at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, a young child eagerly awaited and received the blessing of the Holy Father:

Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew I gave a joint ecumenical blessing from the balcony of the patriarchate following the Orthodox Divine Liturgy on Nov. 30. The joint blessing recalls the fraternity and communion between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople.

Lebanon

Ahead of his second day in Lebanon, a stunning rainbow appeared over the Port of Beirut, the site of the explosion that devastated the area in 2020.

Pope Leo XIV became the first pope in history to visit the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf when he arrived at the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya on the second day of his apostolic journey to Lebanon.

In another beautiful moment, Pope Leo gave a Golden Rose to the Virgin Mary during his visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, Lebanon.

A little girl proudly showed off a rosary given to her by Pope Leo during the pope’s meeting with bishops, clergy, and religious at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.

On the final morning of his trip to Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV paused before the ruins of the Beirut port explosion, praying in silence and placing a wreath in memory of the victims. In one of the most emotional moments of his trip, he also met family members of those killed and survivors still carrying the wounds of the Aug. 4, 2020, blast.

Five years after the explosion, one of the largest nonnuclear blasts in history, families of the 236 people killed and more than 7,000 wounded say they are still waiting for truth and accountability.

After visiting the site of the explosion, Pope Leo celebrated Mass for an estimated 150,000 people at the Beirut Waterfront.

While visiting the De La Croix Hospital in Jal el Dib, north of Beirut, Pope Leo also spent time in the Saint-Dominique wing, where children with severe physical and mental disabilities are cared for, and blessed the children.

From there, Pope Leo boarded the papal plane for Rome, telling the Lebanese people: “Leaving this land means carrying you in my heart.”

null / Credit: Wolfgang Schaller/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C., Dec 2, 2025 / 17:04 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on whether a New Jersey faith-based pregnancy center may immediately assert its First Amendment right to challenge a state subpoena demanding donor information — including names, addresses, and places of employment — in federal court, or whether it must first proceed through the state court system.

The case, First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin, has drawn support from a diverse array of groups, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members of Congress, the Trump administration, and the ACLU. All argue that First Choice should be able to challenge the subpoena in federal court without first litigating the issue in New Jersey state court.

At the center of the dispute is a 2023 subpoena issued by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin seeking extensive donor information from First Choice. In 2022, Platkin created what he called a “reproductive rights strike force” to “protect access to abortion care,” and his office issued a “consumer alert” describing crisis pregnancy centers like First Choice as organizations that may provide “false or misleading information about the safety and legality of abortion.”

In its Supreme Court brief, First Choice describes itself as a faith-based nonprofit serving women in New Jersey by providing material support and medical services such as ultrasounds and pregnancy tests under a licensed medical director. The organization does not provide or refer for abortions, a point it plainly and repeatedly states on its website.

Platkin’s subpoena commanded First Choice to produce documents and information responsive to 28 separate demands, including the full names, phone numbers, addresses, and current or last known employers of every donor who contributed money by any means other than one specific website. It warned that failure to comply could result in contempt of court and other legal penalties.

The attorney general’s office said it needed donor identities to determine whether contributors were “misled” into believing First Choice provided abortions. Platkin argued he needed donor contact information so he could “contact a representative sample and determine what they did or did not know about their donations.”

First Choice quickly sued in federal court, arguing the subpoena violated its First Amendment rights by chilling its speech and freedom of association. The federal district court dismissed the case as “unripe,” ruling that the pregnancy center must wait until a New Jersey court seeks to enforce the subpoena. The Supreme Court later agreed to hear the case to determine whether First Choice may pursue its challenge in federal court now.

At oral argument, First Choice’s attorney, Erin M. Hawley, told the justices that the court has “long safeguarded the freedom of association by protecting the membership and donor lists of nonprofit organizations.” Yet, she said, “the attorney general of New Jersey issued a sweeping subpoena commanding on pain of contempt that First Choice produce donor names, addresses, and phone numbers so his office could contact and question them. That violates the right of association.”

Hawley urged the court to recognize that the subpoena was issued by “a hostile attorney general who has issued a consumer alert, urged New Jerseyans to beware of pregnancy centers, and assembled a strike force against them.”

She also noted that the attorney general “has never identified a single complaint against First Choice” and that the threat of contempt and business dissolution is “a death knell for nonprofits like First Choice.”

Arguing for New Jersey, Sundeep Iyer, the attorney general’s chief counsel, said First Choice had not demonstrated that the subpoena “objectively chilled” its First Amendment rights. He argued that the subpoena is “non-self-executing,” meaning it imposes no immediate obligation and cannot require compliance unless a court orders enforcement.

Justice Neil Gorsuch appeared skeptical, noting that New Jersey law gives attorney general subpoenas the force of law and allows the attorney general to seek contempt orders against those who fail to comply. “I don’t know how to read that other than it’s pretty self-executing to me, counsel,” he said.

Justice Elena Kagan questioned whether an “ordinary person” receiving such a subpoena would feel reassured by the claim that it required court approval before being enforced. A donor, she said, is unlikely “to take that as very reassuring.”

In an amicus curiae brief, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged the court to side with First Choice. “Compelling disclosure of a religious organization’s financial support violates the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion,” the bishops wrote. Forced donor disclosure, they argued, interferes with a religious organization’s mission and burdens the free-exercise rights of donors who give anonymously in accordance with scriptural teachings.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in the coming months.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral in Ponce, Puerto Rico. / Credit: Alex Lipov/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 16:08 pm (CNA).

The Puerto Rican Bishops’ Conference has expressed its opposition to the militarization being carried out by the United States on the island, an unincorporated U.S. territory, and in the Caribbean Sea region and warned of the “possible escalations” of a war with Venezuela.

The Puerto Rican bishops noted various calls for peace from popes Leo XIV, Francis, and St. John XXIII, and denounced the “adverse effects” of militarization, such as “the restriction of airspace and maritime routes and military maneuvers in different towns in Puerto Rico, with their collateral consequences on fishing activity.”

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has sent some 15,000 troops to the Caribbean Sea region, 5,000 of whom are in Puerto Rico. According to CNN, a dozen ships have also arrived in the area, and U.S. forces have sunk several vessels allegedly loaded with drugs, causing the deaths of more than 80 people.

Trump’s objective is reportedly to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom he accuses of being the leader of the Cartel de los Soles, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. In this context, on Nov. 30, Trump told reporters that he had a phone call with Maduro, although he did not provide further details.

“We are aware of the structural injustices that plague some political systems in neighboring countries and we condemn the trafficking of drugs and weapons in our Caribbean region. But dialogue between societies and government diplomacy must always prevail over conflict to avoid war at all costs,” states the communiqué signed by all the bishops of Puerto Rico.

“War should never be the solution to conflicts; war does not bring peace, but death. It always brings death and causes grave harm to countries, sometimes to the most defenseless,” they emphasized.

After encouraging efforts for peace, the bishops expressed their concern about “the possible escalations that a war against Venezuela could entail, with a potential reaction from its allies in Latin America, such as Russia, China, and Iran.”

“We unite in prayer and express our solidarity with our brother bishops of Venezuela, and together with them, with their beloved Venezuelan people. We know that they have been living through difficult times for years, with division, tension, and political uncertainty, which this military mobilization has intensified,” they stated.

The bishops also encouraged everyone “to join in prayer for peace in our land, in Venezuela and neighboring countries, as well as throughout the world.”

In an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE, the governor of Puerto Rico, Jenniffer González, a Republican, said: “I support and back the actions of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump’s policy regarding dealing with Venezuela.” She also charged that “much if not most” criminal activity on the island comes from “Venezuela and Colombia.”

The governor expressed approval of the U.S. attacks on the crews and boats allegedly loaded with illegal drugs destined for the U.S. She labeled Maduro a “narco-dictator” not recognized by the U.S. as the legitimate president of the country because of massive election fraud by his government.

González said that according to various surveys, “82% of the citizenry” in Puerto Rico supports the arrival of American troops because their presence “provides security” and that she has no fear that Venezuela would attack the island if a war breaks out.

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

Bishop Chad W. Zielinski of New Ulm, Minnesota. / Credit: Diocese of Fairbanks

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 2, 2025 / 15:38 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) allocated more than $7.8 million to strengthen American mission dioceses, which are dioceses that cannot sustain themselves without additional funds.

The USCCB Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions announced the grants on Dec. 1, which will provide 69 dioceses and eparchies with funds for the 2025-2026 budget year, according to a news release. The subcommittee reviewed the grant requests in the fall.

Per the news release, the funds were generated through collections from parishioners during the Catholic Home Missions appeal, which is taken up annually throughout the country. Many mission dioceses are in regions with small Catholic populations and in rural areas that are affected by economic hardship, the bishops said in the announcement.

“When parishioners contribute to the Catholic Home Missions Appeal, they bring faith, hope, and love where it is most needed, regardless the amount of their gift,” Bishop Chad Zielinski of New Ulm, Minnesota, subcommittee chair, said in a statement.

“Their gifts have a profound, positive impact on Catholics who face poverty or the isolation of being a small, minority faith,” he said.

The recipients include the Diocese of Rapid City’s Standing Rock Reservation Ministry, which serves the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Three Franciscan sisters and one priest lead the team to provide home visitations and faith formation, which cares for 500 Catholics at four parishes and offers social support and accompaniment to 8,000 other residents, according to the bishops.

Recipients include the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, for its Office of Deliverance Ministry, which provides prayers of deliverance for those with spiritual struggles. 

Another recipient is the Syro-Malankara Eparchy of St. Mary Queen of Peace, which has 24 priests that serve 11,000 parishioners but has no paid lay staff. The grant supports a youth summer camp, retreats, family conventions, and vocational discernment.

“These stories reveal the wide range of spiritual and financial needs that the Catholic Home Missions Appeal addresses,” Zielinski said. 

“Parishioners in mission dioceses already give sacrificially from their limited means,” he added. “My prayer is that their example of faith will inspire the rest of us [to] dig deeper to help our neighbors carry out the mission that Jesus has entrusted to us,” Zielinski said. 

The cathedral in Zagreb, Croatia. / Credit: Fogcatcher/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 2, 2025 / 13:33 pm (CNA).

Police in Croatia’s capital city of Zagreb suspect that a nun stabbed herself and then falsely reported that she had been attacked, according to a report published by the Zagreb Police Department.

The department is filing a criminal complaint against the 35-year-old nun, Sister Marija Tatjana Zrno, after a four-day investigation into the allegations. The initial incident made national headlines, with many people first speculating it was a religiously motivated attack.

According to the report, Zrno told police that an unknown perpetrator approached her with a knife and stabbed her, after which she was treated at the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb for minor injuries.

However, police allege their investigation confirmed that Zrno purchased the weapon herself at a store in the Zagreb area. The police allege that their investigation determined that she inflicted the injury on herself.

The report alleges that Zrno falsely reported the criminal offense with the intent of misleading the police, despite being aware that filing a false report carries a penalty. The police are filing a criminal complaint with the Municipal State Attorney’s office.

The Archdiocese of Zagreb and the Episcopal Conference of Croatia, which represents the country’s Catholic bishops, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zrno, who belongs to the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul Croatia and teaches religion at an elementary school in Zagreb, was hospitalized with the injuries on Nov. 28 after she said she was stabbed in the city’s Malešnica neighborhood.

The Sisters of Charity Hospital said in a statement to Net.hr that Zrno entered the surgical ward around 3 p.m. with an injury inflicted by a sharp object in the abdominal wall area. The injuries were not life-threatening, and the hospital provided medical treatment and alerted the police, according to the statement.

According to the police report, she was discharged on Dec. 1.

The Croatian government’s official X account posted that police and health workers took all necessary measures and actions and launched an investigation. The Ministry of Science, Education, and Youth had contacted the school principal to provide a psychological crisis intervention team to assist colleagues and students.

Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević told local media at the time that his primary focus was on Zrno’s recovery but asked police to fully investigate the incident and publish their findings as soon as possible, noting that many people in the country were upset about the news.

Initial speculation on social media and in some media reports asserted that unnamed sources had claimed an attacker was a migrant who shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the stabbing. 

The police report said the department’s criminal investigation found those claims to be false and said the department fully refutes those claims.

Amid the media speculation and aggressive discourse surrounding the incident initially, a Croatian priest named Father Stjepan Ivan Horvat posted on Instagram that Catholics are called to grow in love for God and man and warned against calls for vengeance that he had seen.

He quoted the words of Jesus Christ in John 15:18-20: “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.” 

“If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”

St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown, Ohio. / Credit: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 13:03 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and one of its Catholic high schools are facing multiple lawsuits over the alleged mishandling of multiple reports of bullying and student-led abuse.

Of the four lawsuits, three were filed in federal district court and the fourth was filed in a county court of common pleas. They allege that Ursuline High School in Youngstown failed to prevent the bullying and harassment of several students.

In the federal lawsuits, attorneys allege that Ursuline ignored multiple instances of harassment and bullying from the school’s football players. Ursuline was aware of the abuse, the suits claim, though administrators allegedly did nothing in order to protect “the glory of [the school’s] football team.”

One suit alleges that a football player engaged in protracted sexual harassment and eventually physical abuse of a young female student, including “asking [her] for sex and nude photos” and eventually allegedly dragging her across the grass to give her “turf burn.”

In another suit, several football players are alleged to have “harassed, bullied, and ridiculed” a student identified in the filing as gay. The alleged victim is alleged to have reported the abuse to school officials, who reportedly “failed to stop or address the misconduct.”

Another suit claims football players participated in “hazing, physical and sexual abuse, kidnapping, production and dissemination of child pornography, and theft,” including an incident in which multiple players allegedly stripped a classmate nude, physically abused him, and recorded the attack to post on social media platform Snapchat.

A fourth lawsuit, filed by the mother of an Ursuline student in Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas, alleges that officials with the school knew ahead of time of a student’s intent to attack her daughter but did not take steps to prevent it, leading to the daughter allegedly being violently assaulted in the school cafeteria.

The three federal suits allege violations of Title IX education rules, while the suit in county court claims violations of Ohio law.

A spokeswoman for the Youngstown Diocese pointed to an earlier statement from Bishop David Bonnar on the suits. The prelate said the diocese was “deeply saddened” by the allegations. He added leaders in the diocese “will do their best and are doing their best to work through this.” 

Ursuline High School, meanwhile, pledged in a statement to “allow the legal process to proceed” regarding the four lawsuits.

“That said, the incidents in question were reviewed in detail at the time, and Ursuline High School is confident that all appropriate actions were taken by faculty and staff members,” the school said.

“In particular, there is no evidence that Ursuline failed or was derelict in any of its child protection duties,” the statement added, arguing that the allegations of dereliction appear to be “baseless and completely without merit.”

Subodh Chandra, whose law firm is representing the plaintiffs in the suits, said in a statement on his firm’s website that the suits indicate “a deep and pervasive culture of protecting Ursuline’s image, particularly its athletic program, above the sacred duty to protect children.”

“Our clients all continue to ask: How do these administrators still have jobs? Why has the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown done nothing to hold Ursuline’s administration accountable?” Chandra said.

The suits are seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages from the defendants.

null / Credit: Karina Lopatina/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 12:33 pm (CNA).

The University of Colorado’s medical school will pay out a massive eight-figure settlement after it required multiple staffers, including a Catholic doctor, to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination. 

The Thomas More Society said the university’s Anschutz School of Medicine “agreed to pay more than $10.3 million in damages, tuition, and attorney’s fees” to 18 plaintiffs in the lawsuit. 

The legal group said in a Dec. 1 release that the plaintiffs had been “denied religious accommodations to mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.” The suit has been active for nearly five years. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit had ruled in 2024 that the university had violated the plaintiffs’ “clearly established” First Amendment rights in refusing to issue religious exemptions to the COVID vaccine. Religious objectors have cited numerous concerns with the vaccines, including that they were developed using fetal cell lines. 

Thomas More Society attorney Michael McHale said the plaintiffs in the case “felt forced to succumb to a manifestly irrational mandate” without any exemption for their sincere religious beliefs.

“We are confident our clients’ long-overdue victory indeed confirms, despite the tyrannical efforts of many, that our shared constitutional right to religious liberty endures,” he said.

The lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of a Catholic doctor and a Buddhist medical student, with numerous other plaintiffs subsequently joining the litigation.

Thomas More Society litigation head Peter Breen said the objectors “stood up, at great personal cost, to an injustice that never should have been inflicted on them — or on any American.”

“Because they had the courage to say ‘no’ when their religious freedoms were trampled, people of faith across the country now enjoy stronger protections,” he said. 

Madison Gould, a plaintiff in the case, said in the legal group’s press release that the university’s policy “gutted the years of study and self-sacrifice poured out by so many in pursuit of serving the weakest among us.” 

Gould expressed gratitude to lawyers at the Thomas More Society “for standing by us when no one else would.”

“May our nation never witness anything like this travesty again,” she said. 

Religious objectors in recent years have won several major victories against institutions that have required them to undergo COVID vaccination with a religious exemption. 

In 2022 NorthShore University HealthSystem agreed to pay $10.3 million to more than 500 workers after the health system denied them religious exemptions to the vaccine.

In 2024, meanwhile, a Catholic woman in Michigan won $12.7 million after Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan fired her after refusing to grant her a religious exemption. 

And in July of this year, a federal appeals court revived a Catholic worker’s lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York over the bank’s having fired her for refusing to take the COVID vaccine.

Bishop Patrick Neary of the Diocese of Saint Cloud, Minnesota. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Saint Cloud

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 2, 2025 / 12:03 pm (CNA).

Bishop Patrick Neary of Saint Cloud, Minnesota, has been appointed as the chair of Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) board. 

Neary was appointed by Archbishop Paul Coakley, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) president. Neary succeeds Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia. 

Neary assumes responsibilities for the role immediately, and the term runs until November 2028. 

“It is a profound honor to serve as chairman of the Catholic Relief Services board,” Neary said, according to a press release. “My years in Africa and in parish ministry have shown me the face of Christ in the poor and the vulnerable, and I carry those encounters with me into this role.”

Neary praised CRS for embodying the Church’s mission of compassionate accompaniment of those in need and lauded his predecessor, Pérez, for “his commitment to advocating for the dignity of the poor and amplifying the voices of the vulnerable.”

“I hope to lead with a heart of mercy, listening and working alongside our partners to uphold the dignity of every person,” Neary said. “Together, we will continue to bring the light of Christ to communities around the world, especially those most in need.”

Neary has served as bishop of Saint Cloud since he was appointed by Pope Francis in December 2022. He served in Kenya and Uganda for eight years before returning to the U.S., then served as rector of Holy Redeemer Parish in Portland, Oregon. 

“We are delighted for Bishop Neary to join as CRS chairman of the board of directors,” said Sean Callahan, president and CEO of CRS. “We are certain that he will bring strong leadership and help CRS continue our mission of lifesaving work and advocacy for our sisters and brothers around the world.”

Neary was ordained a priest in 1991 at the University of Notre Dame, where he was also rector for many years. 

According to its website, CRS serves 225 million people across 122 countries annually and has 1,735 partners around the world. 

Pope Leo XIV speaks with reporters on his flight from Beirut to Rome on Dec. 2, 2025. / Credit: Elias Turk/EWTN

Rome, Italy, Dec 2, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has begun conversations with U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the need to halt violence and seek solutions in the Middle East, the pope told journalists on his Tuesday flight from Beirut to Rome.

The wide-ranging news conference also touched on Ukraine, the Catholic Church in Germany, and Leo’s own election as pope, among other topics.

In response to a question referring to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed political party and militia that holds significant influence in Lebanon, the pope said that during the trip he also held personal meetings with representatives of unnamed political groups involved in regional conflicts. “Our work is not something we announce publicly,” he said. “We try to convince the parties to put down the arms and violence and come together to the table of dialogue.”

Leo also addressed concerns about Islam in Europe, saying fear is often “generated by people who are against immigration.” He said the Middle East offers an alternative model. “One of the great lessons that Lebanon can teach to the world,” he said, “is showing a land where Islam and Christianity are both present and respected, and where there is a possibility to live together.”

On Ukraine, Leo repeated his appeal for a ceasefire. He acknowledged that the United States is seeking to promote a peace plan, but “the presence of Europe is important,” noting that the administration in Washington modified its first proposal after European concerns. He suggested that Italy could play “a very important role” as an intermediary.

Asked about his own election, he said he had once imagined retiring. He affirmed his commitment to conclave secrecy but recalled telling a reporter the day before his election that “everything is in the hands of God.” When the reality of the vote became clear, he said, “I took a deep breath. I said, here we go, Lord, you are in charge.” Leo added that he is often amused by journalists’ interpretations of his expressions. “You think you can read my mind or my face,” he joked, “and you are not always correct.”

Leo said he hopes his next trip will be to somewhere in Africa and said he wants eventually to go to Algeria to visit sites associated with St. Augustine and continue building bridges with Muslims. He said he would also like to visit Argentina and Uruguay, which have been waiting for a papal visit. He added that other Latin American countries, including Peru, are being considered, but “nothing is confirmed.”

On Venezuela, Leo said the Holy See is working with the national bishops’ conference and the nuncio to calm tensions after recent threats from the United States. “We are looking for ways to calm the situation,” he said, “seeking above all the good of the people, because so often those who suffer are the people, not the authorities.”

Responding to a question about the German Church’s Synodal Way, a controversial series of meetings of bishops and laity that have proposed major changes to Catholic doctrine and governance, Leo noted concerns among many German Catholics that “certain aspects of the Synodal Way … do not represent their own hope for the Church.” He stressed the need for “dialogue and listening … so that the voice of those who are more powerful does not silence or stifle” others.

“I suspect there will be some adjustments made on both sides in Germany, but I’m certainly hopeful that things will work out positively,” Leo said. He added that the ongoing meetings between German bishops and the Roman Curia aim “to try and make sure that the German Synodal Way does not, if you will, break away from what needs to be considered as the pathway of the universal Church.”

Asked what the Middle Eastern Church can offer the West, Leo reflected on the value of unity in an individualistic age. “Young people ask, why should I want to be one?” he said. “But unity, friendship, human relationships, communion are extremely important and extremely valuable.” Recalling the testimony of Christians and Muslims who helped one another after their villages were destroyed, he said such gestures show how “authentic peace and justice” can take root when people overcome distrust.

In response to a question about how he is learning to be pope, Leo recommended a book that he said has shaped his own life by the 17th-century Carmelite friar known as Brother Lawrence. “If you want to know something about me,” he said, “read ‘The Practice of the Presence of God.’ It describes a way of prayer where one simply gives his life to the Lord and allows the Lord to lead. That has been my spirituality for many years.”