News Briefing: Church in the World

Pope Leo said that “the Lord’s birth is the birth of peace” in his Urbi et Orbi blessing on Christmas Day. He said Jesus identifies with “those who have nothing left and have lost everything, like the inhabitants of Gaza”. 

He also remembered “the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent” as well as the unemployed, the underpaid and the imprisoned. 

The Pope said the peace of Christ “is unarmed and disarming” in his message for the World Day of Peace on 1 January. “Peace exists,” he said, “it wants to dwell in us.”  

In its Christmas statement, Caritas Internationalis emphasised that the Holy Family was forced to travel to Bethlehem and then to escape into Egypt: “Today, millions of families walk similar roads and Caritas is called to stand with them.” 

The message highlighted humanitarian work with migrants in Moldova, saying people fleeing the war in Ukraine “crossed the border into Moldova in winter, carrying their lives in a single suitcase, exhausted and traumatised, seeking peace, shelter and rest.” 

In its own Christmas message the Laudato Si’ Movement said: “This new year invites our global community to keep building a Church awake to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor … committed to ecological conversion.”

Up to 15,000 people from 72 countries met in Paris for the forty-eight European youth meeting of the ecumenical Taizé Community from 28 December to 1 January.  

The prior of the community, Brother Matthew, in a letter published on 26 December, announced Jesus’ first words in John’s gospel, “What are you seeking?”, as the theme for the gathering in the French capital.

“So many people are looking for meaning in their lives,” Br Matthew said. “They are searching for something greater than the easy promises that fill our screens so much of the time. Are humans not created for a real purpose? What can enable us to discover this?” 

He continued: “When we take time and disconnect from input that never ends, it is sometimes in silence that we truly encounter ourselves and also glimpse a greater reality.” 

In a message to the young people attending the gathering on behalf of Pope Leo, the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin urged them “not to fear this question but to take it into prayer and silence, certain that Christ walks at your side and is always found by those who seek Him with a sincere heart”.

The Spanish bishops’ conference awarded a prize to the singer Rosalía for her album Lux, which explores the search for God and relationship with the divine. It is influenced by female mysticism and sacred music.

The ¡Bravo! awards are given by a jury appointed by the bishops’ Social Communications Committee. The prizes recognise “work worthy of merit from communications professionals in diverse areas who are distinguished for the service for the dignity of mankind, human rights of Gospel values”.  

Categories include prizes for the press, radio, television, digital comms, cinema, PR, podcasts and diocesan communications. The Catalan singer won the music award.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, concluded a visit to the United Arab Emirates shortly before Christmas after celebrating Mass for 30,000 in Dubai, the nation’s largest city, and 18,000 in the capital Abu Dhabi. The Catholic community is made up largely of migrants, predominantly Filipino like the cardinal. 

Central to the visit was participation in the Simbang Gabi celebrations, the Filipino Christmas novena held from 15 to 23 December. The visit included a meeting with apostolic vicar Bishop Paolo Martinelli and the pastoral council of St Mary’s Church in Dubai, considered the largest Catholic parish in the world with over 350,000 parishioners.

The Archbishop of Kigali urged the Rwandan authorities to reopen Catholic churches that meet required standards, saying many believers are struggling to practise their faith. 

Cardinal Antoine Kambanda made the appeal in his Christmas sermon, reflecting that while Christ was born for all humanity, he arrives in a society wrestling with serious spiritual and moral difficulties. 

“The Word who was born for all people was also born for us here in Rwanda,” Kambanda said. “But in what condition does He find us? He finds a people thirsty to know God, yet burdened by serious challenges that threaten faith. He finds us in the darkness of our night, weighed down by the sins of the world.” 

The cardinal noted the continued closure of many churches, parishes, chapels and outstations under official requirements on building standards and licensing. He said Christ finds communities unable to gather for worship.

Uganda’s Catholic bishops called for the electoral commission to take firm control of the electoral process and for security forces to refrain from violence ahead of a general election on 15 January.

The Christmas message from the bishops’ conference, delivered by its chairman Bishop Joseph Anthony Zziwa of Kiyinda-Mityana, said: “As we draw closer to polling day, we appeal to all stakeholders to play their roles in a manner that promotes the dignity of every Ugandan, regardless of political affiliation.”  

The bishops expressed concern at escalating violence during the campaign period and urged a return to moral values. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni is seeking his seventh term in office. In early December the UN human rights chief Volker Türk condemned restrictions on opposition and the media in Uganda, calling on the authorities to respect human rights.

Nigerian authorities announced the release of a further 130 schoolchildren kidnapped from a Catholic school in November, reporting that there were “none left in captivity”. 

Gunmen kidnapped 315 pupils and staff from the rural school in north-central Niger State, but 50 escaped shortly afterwards and a further 100 were freed earlier in December. The remaining captives were taken to the state capital Minna on 22 December, but some Christian groups suggested there were more abductees than the government reported. The authorities did not publicise who kidnapped them nor how it secured their release.

It followed a series of appeals from Catholic groups including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), which recalled “the anguish of families whose loved ones remain in captivity, alongside countless others across the country living under similar threats” in its Christmas message. 

“They are human lives of immeasurable worth, each bearing the image of God,” said the CBCN chair Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri. “Yet Christmas proclaims a deeper truth: suffering does not mean abandonment.”

Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston said he will meet Fr Stephen Josoma, the parish priest at St Susanna’s Church, Dedham, to discuss its controversial Nativity scene protesting United States deportation policies.  

The Holy Family was removed from the scene and in their place a sign read “ICE was here”, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who have been detaining migrants in Boston and other cities.

“My first thing will be just to hear him out and listen,” Henning told the Boston Globe. “He was the one that asked to speak with me.  I’d like to hear him first.”

Earlier this month, the archdiocese issued a statement calling on Josoma to restore the traditional Nativity scene. The priest said he hoped the displays, and similar politically-charged displays in previous years, would prompt conversations about what it means to follow Jesus in today’s world.

The Catholic bishops of New York state issued a statement saying they were “extraordinarily troubled by Governor [Kathy] Hochul’s announcement that she will sign the egregious bill passed by the legislature earlier this year sanctioning physician-assisted suicide in New York State”.  

It becomes the thirteenth state to enact assisted suicide legislation. The bishops said the law undercuts other anti-suicide initiatives: “How can any society have credibility to tell young people or people with depression that suicide is never the answer, while at the same time telling elderly and sick people that it is a compassionate choice to be celebrated?”  

New York’s law comes after Illinois’s Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a similar law on 12 December. Pope Leo XIV disclosed he addressed the issue with Pritzker when they met on 19 November.

“I spoke very explicitly with Governor Pritzker about that. At that time, the bill was already on his desk – I’m sure, also, with Cardinal Cupich – but we were very clear about the necessity to respect the sacredness of life from the very beginning to the very end, and unfortunately, for different reasons, he decided to sign that bill,” Leo said. “I’m very disappointed about that.”

The Archbishop-elect of New York said he wants “to be a pastor with a shepherd’s heart”. Pope Leo appointed Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet on 18 December to succeed Cardinal Timothy Doland, whose resignation he accepted the same day. 

Like Pope Leo, Hicks was reared in the southside of Chicago and is fluent in Spanish. Speaking to Vatican News after his appointment, Hicks said he wanted to cooperate with the Pope. “I want to respect his priorities and work with him to help bring those to reality,” he said.

The Church in Indonesia mounted emergency relief efforts in response to deadly floods and landslides that affected 3.3 million people across Sumatra, while also warning that decades of deforestation have turned the island into an area of environmental catastrophe. 

Amid widespread destruction after a cyclone in November, Caritas Indonesia mobilised parish‑based shelters and communal kitchens, and deployed mobile health services in affected areas. In the Archdiocese of Medan, Caritas has partnered with the Jesuit Refugee Service to support flood survivors in multiple parishes, distributing food and hygiene kits. 

Church leaders said the impact of the floods and landslides has been intensified by deforestation, driven by illegal logging as well as industrial activity in the pulp, palm oil and mining sectors. Capuchins joined other faith leaders in public protests in Sumatra calling for greater accountability.

The Archbishop of Yangon Cardinal Charles Bo prayed for peace in Myanmar after five years of civil war. He reiterated Pope Leo’s call for disarmament in his 2026 World Peace Day Message and prayed that “2026 may be a year of peace for Myanmar and for the whole world”. 

In his Christmas address in St Mary’s Cathedral on 23 December, in the presence of junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing, the cardinal said: “In his time, Jesus brought political and social transformation without violence. Christians are called to witness this noble way and to invite all to reject cruelty. True peace heals wounds through compassion and care for the least among us.” 

Last weekend polling stations opened in some areas of Myanmar for an election that has been widely condemned as a sham designed to legitimise the military junta’s rule. The most popular party is banned from running and large areas of the country are excluded because they are controlled or contested by anti-junta groups.

Holy Cross College in Dhaka, one of Bangladesh’s leading institutions for women, celebrated its Jubilee on 18-21 December, marking 75 years of shaping female leaders.  

Founded in 1950 by American Sr Augustine Marie, the college began with just five students and today educates 2,700 young women. Over the decades, Holy Cross alumnae have become trailblazers in politics, law, and social reform. 

Among them are Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, former Speaker of Parliament, and Dipu Moni, former education minister. 

Principal Sr Shikha Gomes reflected on the college’s growth: “What began as a humble seed has grown into a mighty tree, bearing abundant fruit. Generations of women have emerged prepared to serve humanity with integrity and excel in diverse fields.”

Pakistan’s prime minister joined in cutting a Christmas cake, unveiling a Christmas tree and greeting Christians at an unprecedented gathering on 22 December in Islamabad. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged all Pakistanis to work together for peace, harmony, and national prosperity, emphasising religious unity. The apostolic nuncio Archbishop Germano Penemote and Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi also attended the gathering. 

Ata-ur-Rehman Saman, deputy director of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, described the ceremony as “a deeply meaningful moment for the Christian community”. Mahrukh Saman Lal, of Christian group The Upper Room, said: “Christians have faced socio-political isolation for decades in the country, but in recent months, the government has shown signs of including religious minorities.” 

Christmas celebrations were organised by Pakistan’s three million-strong Christian minority in major cities including Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore. The administration supported some rallies by sponsoring buses and decorated trucks. A 42-foot Christmas tree, illuminated and decorated, was installed at one of Lahore’s busiest locations in Punjab province.  

While Christmas is an official holiday in Pakistan, public expressions of Christian faith have often been muted due to security concerns and religious sensitivities.

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