Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, Secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts. / Credit: "EWTN Noticias"/Screenshot

Vatican City, Nov 26, 2025 / 11:15 am (CNA).

The Vatican, the smallest state in the world, possesses a unique and complex legal, administrative, and spiritual structure designed to guarantee the independence of the pope and allow the Church to act freely throughout the world.

Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, in an interview with the Spanish-language edition of EWTN News, detailed how this tiny nation is governed, how its institutions operate, and what role the Holy See plays in the world.

A unique governance structure

Arrieta explained that the Dicastery for Legislative Texts — where he has served for 18 years — is one of the departments that collaborates directly with the pope in the governance of the Church.

“The dicasteries are the ministries of the Holy See; they are like the departments that serve the pope … and this one is dedicated to the preparation of laws, to the oversight of the laws of the entire Church,” he said.

Unlike traditional states, these norms govern worldwide. “They apply to all five continents. They are not like the laws of Spain, Argentina, or Mexico. These are laws that must be created for the entire Church, with its different cultures,” he noted.

This legislation covers everything from the administration of parishes to issues such as canon law offenses and declarations of a marriage annulment: “The Church functions like a society… and that society has its specific laws.”

The reason for the existence of the Vatican City State

Although many confuse the Holy See with Vatican City State, Arrieta clarified that they are distinct entities. The Holy See is the spiritual and governing authority of the universal Church; the Vatican City State, on the other hand, exists to protect its independence. “It is a tiny state — only half a square kilometer (.19 sq. mi.) — that was created to protect the pope's independence from all temporal power,” he explained.

That territory was created after the Lateran Treaties of 1929, by which the Kingdom of Italy recognized the independence, sovereignty, and borders of what would become Vatican City. Arrieta noted that Italy “also ceded to the Holy See certain places, buildings, and palaces in Rome that are the property of the Holy See and are extraterritorial,” such as the St. Mary Major Basilica and the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.

A surprising fact: “The only actual citizen is the pope,” he explained, while the rest have temporary residence or work permits.

What happens when someone commits a crime?

Even though it is small, the Vatican functions like any other state, with courts and prisons. Arrieta gave a common example: “What happens if someone goes to the supermarket inside the Vatican, takes a bottle of cognac, puts it in his pocket, and walks out?... It's a civil crime in the Vatican... the gendarmes catch the person and take him to court.”

Criminal proceedings can take place in Vatican territory or in the country of origin, according to international agreements. The secretary of the dicastery noted that even with the assassination attempt on St. John Paul II, which occurred in Vatican territory, “the Vatican asked Italy to prosecute [the accused].”

A state with a bank, radio station, train, and supermarket

Daily life within the Vatican has peculiarities that surprise visitors.

Regarding the network of services, Arrieta explained about the Vatican Bank: “It's not properly speaking a bank ... it helps the Holy See to be able to move money and assist the missions.”

On Vatican Radio, he said: “It broadcasts in very many languages ... even on shortwave to reach very distant places.”

The pope receives thousands of letters that are processed through the Vatican’s postal service. “If you send a letter to the pope, it’s possible that someone will read it … and respond kindly on the pope’s behalf.”

There is a supermarket and a shopping center in the Vatican that are mainly open for employees and residents.

There is also the famous Vatican train and train station that was initially built to receive foreign dignitaries. Today, part of its facilities function as a shop and in the summer, a tourist train runs from Vatican Station to Castel Gandolfo.

The Swiss Guard and the defense of the pope

The origin of the corps that protects the Holy Father dates back to the year 1506. They famously defended the papacy during the Sack of Rome in 1527, when "over a hundred [Swiss soldiers] died defending the pontiff. Since then, the Swiss Guard has maintained this tradition of loyalty.

The universality of the Church

Arrieta said that the most striking thing about the Vatican is not its power or history, but its transcendent spiritual life: “The most impressive thing here is how one experiences the universality of the Church. How one appreciates that in people of very different origins, of very different cultural backgrounds, we live the same faith and believe in the same things.”

This constant contact with a diverse group of people in the Vatican “is experiencing the universality of the Church. We are all trying to love Jesus, the Lord, more, and to live the same things and to spread the same faith,” he added.

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

Interior of the Church of Jesus and Mary in Rome, Italy / Credit: Mentnafunangann / Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Rome, Italy, Nov 26, 2025 / 10:15 am (CNA).

Catholics in Central Europe — especially in Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, and Hungary — play a vital role in fostering reconciliation and peace on the continent, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See told CNA following a special Mass celebrated in Rome on Monday.

The Mass on Nov. 25, presided over by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, marked the 25th anniversary of the Basic Agreement between the Holy See and Slovakia, which was signed on Nov. 24, 2000. The accord governs various aspects of the Catholic Church’s life and legal status in the Slovak Republic.

Faithful voices in a wounded region

“The region of Central Europe and Slovakia is of critical importance to the entire continent,” Ambassador Brian Burch told CNA after the liturgy. “In particular, the Catholic peoples in those lands have a rich history that plays a vital role in the reconciliation that is necessary to bring about peace.”

The ambassador said he joins the people of the region in prayer “that the conflict [in Ukraine, east of Slovakia] may soon end and that the voices of faith and strength will prevail.”

A saintly witness remembered

The Mass was held at the Church of Gesù e Maria (Jesus and Mary) in Rome, which houses the tomb of Alojz Chmeľ, a Slovak Discalced Augustinian declared a Servant of God. Chmeľ died in Rome as a seminarian after battling cancer and was remembered by Gallagher as a young man marked by “patient study, assiduous prayer, and docility of the spirit.”

“A nation’s history,” the archbishop said, “can become an act of faithfulness.”

He emphasized that the communion expressed in the Slovak–Vatican agreement is “not merely a juridical act.” Rather, it is rooted in a centuries-old Christian heritage stretching back to the ninth century, when Sts. Cyril and Methodius brought the Gospel, the liturgy, and a written language to the Slavic peoples of Great Moravia.

Peace through justice and dialogue

“Since then,” Gallagher said, “a spiritual spring has passed through the centuries, as faith and the Gospel establish civilization and dialogue between the Church and the nation.”

Agreements founded on justice, mutual respect, and shared responsibility, he added, are “signs of peace, instruments of dignity, seeds of future good.”

Juraj Priputen, Slovakia’s ambassador to the Holy See, also addressed the significance of the anniversary. “Even if the world around us changes,” he said, “the values we cherish must remain.”

A 3D rendering of the Living Wall: Monument to the Unborn by the architect of the Living Wall, bringing to life the painted design by Arkansas artist Lakey Goff. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Lakey Goff

CNA Staff, Nov 26, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Amid the sounds of Arkansas’ waterfalls, women who have had abortions will someday be able to find healing at a “living wall” memorial covered in flora and fauna, where the names of unborn children will be inscribed on the hexagonal stone floor thanks to local artist Lakey Goff, who submitted the living wall design, which was selected for Arkansas’ monument for the unborn.

The memorial will be on state property, but funding must come from the people. Now Goff and other Arkansians are fundraising for the living wall.

On Saturday morning, participants gathered at sunrise at Two Rivers Park in Little Rock to kick off the first annual Living Wall 5K — a race to fundraise for the memorial.

Several groups, both local and national — including LIFE Runners, Caring Hearts Pregnancy Center, and Arkansas Right to Life — showed up to kick off the first annual 5K. 

Fundraising began in May 2024 and has reached nearly $30,000; but the living wall’s proposed budget, as of 2025, is estimated to be $1 million.

November has been set aside as a month to remember the unborn in a proclamation signed by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Goff shared with CNA that her inspiration for the wall comes from her faith in Jesus. She hopes it will be a place of healing for women who have had abortions.

CNA: What inspired the design and the Bible message accompanying it? Why a living wall?

Lakey Goff: The monument itself is alive with plants, photosynthesis, and oxygen: There’ll be birds that live in it; there are the sound of seven different waterfalls that I’ve recorded from around Arkansas coming off the top of this wall in an audio loop. That is the sound of Jesus’ voice — the sound of many waters. 

Then, underneath, you’ll see on there are pavers where women have begun to name their babies that were aborted, to put dates when they were aborted and even Scriptures. It’s a way to be healed and set free and say this happened, where they’re no longer locked up in guilt and shame; and so the babies’ names will be underneath our feet in these hexagonal pavers. 

I believe this monument is from the heart of God, the heart of the Father, as he wants to heal our land from the bloodshed in our nation, starting in the state of Arkansas to lead the way. 

Why is this monument important? 

We don’t want to forget what happened during the 50 years of bloodshed, of innocent babies’ bloodshed in our state. It is an act of repentance, and it is saying, “This will not happen again.” We’re saying, “I’m sorry, God, and we want to honor you and honor life.”

This is the very first living wall monument to the unborn in our nation — and so that’s why it’s taking a little while, because it’s never been done before. 

What inspired you to send in a design after the 2023 bill passed? 

I’ve always been an artist, but I was not in any way involved, at least in my adult years, with the pro-life movement or in the political realm. 

I said, “Lord, is there anything that you want to do for this monument?” And I immediately received a blueprint from the Holy Spirit of the details about this living wall. 

I received clearly that the Lord wanted to heal women and families who had abortions and who were held captive by guilt and shame. And he gave me Isaiah 61: He wants to give us double honor for shame; he wants to set the captives free.

What do you hope people will take away from experiencing it?   

It will be an actual place for women, children, families to come and be healed. It’s a place for repentance. It’s a place of life, vitality. There’s nothing dead about Jesus — he’s the risen King.

Even in the process, women, children, families have already started to be healed. I believe what they will take away from it is an encounter with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and his healing: He came for the lost, not the righteous.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

The main altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. / Credit: Jorge Royan (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Vatican City, Nov 26, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has issued a new decree revising the financial and administrative norms governing the basilicas of St. Peter and St. Mary Major, bringing both institutions under the ordinary oversight of the Vatican’s Council for the Economy, in the latest act of fine-tuning of economic reforms undertaken by his predecessor Pope Francis.

The pope writes that the Holy See’s economic and financial reform requires “periodic reevaluation and redefinition” of the applicable regulatory framework. 

The letter motu proprio, dated Sept. 29, 2025, was promulgated this month when it was posted in the San Damaso Courtyard of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. It has not previously been reported by the media.

The decree abrogates two earlier such decrees concerning the Fabric of St. Peter’s and the Chapter of St. Mary Major. Under the updated provisions, both the Fabbrica — which oversees the care, maintenance, and artistic patrimony of St. Peter’s Basilica — and the Chapter of St. Mary Major are now subject to the same forms of oversight established for other entities listed under the statutes of the Council for the Economy and in Praedicate Evangelium, the 2022 apostolic constitution that reorganized the Roman Curia.

To ensure what Pope Leo calls an “immediate and structured transition,” the Secretariat for the Economy will coordinate implementation along with a consultative group to help resolve questions or issues that might arise. The law will eventually be published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the official gazette of the Holy See.

In October, Pope Leo XIV issued the decree Coniuncta Cura, a major financial reform that ended the Vatican Bank’s exclusive role in managing Holy See investments and allowed APSA and other accredited intermediaries to handle funds when advantageous. The change, which reverses a 2022 centralization under Pope Francis, aims to diversify management, improve returns, and strengthen the Holy See’s long-term financial sustainability amid rising operational costs.

Statue of St. John XXIII in the courtyard of St. Anthony of Padua Church, Istanbul. / Credit: Souhail Lawand/ACI MENA

ACI MENA, Nov 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s journey to Turkey and Lebanon carries significant historical and diplomatic symbolism. His decision to make the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk his first stop immediately recalls the legacy of his predecessor, St. John XXIII, who became a cultural and spiritual bridge between East and West, very much like Istanbul (formerly called Constantinople), the city he arrived in 90 years ago.

In January 1935, only weeks after being appointed apostolic delegate to both Turkey and Greece, Archbishop Angelo Roncalli — the future St. John XXIII — arrived at Istanbul’s Haydar Pasha train station from Bulgaria. He began his mission in a country that at the time had no formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

Immediately after his arrival, he began assessing the situation of the Catholic churches and communities across the country — Jesuits, Capuchins, Maronites, Melkites, Syriacs, and others. In an unprecedented gesture, he later met with the ecumenical patriarch.

Roncalli also played an important humanitarian role in relation to other minority groups, particularly helping Jewish refugees from Poland flee their homeland during World War II.

He carried out his mission in Turkey for 10 years, during which he lived through the final years of Atatürk’s life. With rare diplomatic instinct, he understood the political and social transformation underway in modern Turkey. He respected the nation’s secular laws, including the law banning religious clothing outside places of worship, and made sure to abide by them.

The future pope faced significant challenges at first, since relations between the Turkish authorities and the Catholic Church were strained prior to his arrival. Yet he quickly and skillfully built bridges of trust with the young republic, earning the respect of its officials. He developed friendly relations with many Turkish figures, among them the diplomat Numan Menemencioğlu, who later became foreign minister.

Roncalli was also the first bishop to use the Turkish language in the celebration of the Mass, reading a passage from the Gospel in Turkish during the 1935 Christmas liturgy. He believed ignoring the local language would be a sign of disrespect toward the people.

When Pope Pius XII died in 1958, Turkish newspapers highlighted Roncalli as one of the leading candidates to succeed him and followed the conclave closely. Upon his election as Pope John XXIII, Turkey was among the first countries to congratulate him, acknowledging the positive impact he had left behind.

In 1959, Turkish President Celâl Bayar visited the Vatican and met the pope, who expressed his longing for Istanbul and the Bosphorus. He praised Turkish Catholics as faithful citizens. During that visit, the two sides agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations, which officially began the following year and paved the way for future papal trips to Istanbul, with the sole exception of John Paul I, whose papacy lasted only 33 days.

When Pope Benedict XVI visited Istanbul in 2006, a statue of St. John XXIII was unveiled. Originally installed in the courtyard of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, whose entrance today is adorned with an image of the saintly pope, the statue was later moved to the courtyard of St. Anthony of Padua Church.

Beneath the statue is an inscription reading: “Pope John XXIII, a Friend of the Turkish People.” The inscription reflects his many expressions of affection toward them, including his well-known phrase: “I love the Turkish people.” The Turkish public returned this affection, famously giving him the nickname “the Turkish Pope.”

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV meets with Ukrainian children who were welcomed by Caritas Italy during the summer on July 3, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Nov 26, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

On Friday at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV met with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, and a delegation of Ukrainian mothers, wives, and teenagers forcibly taken to Russia during the war. The group discussed the ongoing efforts being made to secure the return of civilians to Ukraine, particularly children.

At the forefront of the work of repatriation and recovery of Ukrainian children swept up in the country’s war with Russia is Caritas Ukraine, which has prioritized the reintegration of these children, according to Liliia Chulitska, an information expert with Caritas Ukraine.

Caritas Ukraine is made up of cooperating organizations and operates as part of the international network Caritas Internationalis, the social ministry of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. It has been implementing humanitarian, social, and recovery programs throughout Ukraine for over 30 years, with a primary focus on humanitarian assistance in more than 15 regions of Ukraine.

Chulitska explained that when it comes to the repatriation of Ukrainian children, Caritas Ukraine cooperates with Ukraine’s Ombudsman’s Office once children are returned to Ukraine and, as a service provider, assesses the children’s needs and provides direct assistance.

Bring Kids Back UA Task Force said it has recorded more than 19,000 cases of unlawful deportations and forced transfers of Ukrainian children. The children’s welfare organization, Save the Children, reported the same number, while a report from the Yale School of Public Health in September said the number of children could be as high as 35,000.

A U.N.-backed investigation in 2023 accused Russia of war crimes for its forced transfers and deportation of Ukrainian children in areas it controlled, but Russia has denied committing these crimes.

The plight of Ukrainian children

There are various circumstances by which Ukrainian children have ended up in Russia or in Russia-controlled territory separated from their families and communities. 

The Yale report identified “more than 8,400 children who have been systematically relocated to at least 57 facilities — including 13 facilities in Belarus and 43 facilities in Russia and Russia-occupied territory.” The report further accuses Russia of targeting “vulnerable groups of children for deportation, including orphans, children with disabilities, children from low-income families, and children with parents in the military.”

A joint report by the Regional Center for Human Rights, the Ukrainian Child Rights Network, and the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation, with the support of Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, claims that the Russian Federation “has consistently implemented a policy of eradicating the Ukrainian identity of children from the occupied territories.”

The report further states that “deportations, forcible transfer, separation from parents, transfer to Russian families, imposition of citizenship, political indoctrination, Russification, and militarization are the tools used to compel Ukrainian children to become enemies of their own nation.” 

Russia has denied these allegations and justified the transfer of children as “humanitarian evacuations for the children’s safety.” The Russian government has also denied accusations of war crimes, even as the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, in 2023.

When they arrive home

Last month, U.S. First Lady Melania Trump announced that after ongoing conversations with Putin about repatriating Ukrainian children caught up in the war, “some have been returned to their families with more to be reunited soon.” 

While locating and returning a Ukrainian child generally requires a highly coordinated effort on the part of many parties, after a child returns the main work Caritas Ukraine focuses on is the adaptation and psychological recovery of the child, according to Chulitska. “This is the task of our case managers and psychologists,” she said.

A project specialist meets the child and their accompanying person at the border and they travel together to Kyiv, where a meeting is held at the Child Protection Center with representatives of the Coordination Center for the Development of Family Education and Child Care. 

A case manager then draws up a needs assessment report, and a psychologist conducts a consultation. A plan is then developed for the entire support period to meet the child’s basic needs and resolve any legal issues through documentation. If necessary, children undergo a medical examination.

After that, the child goes to his or her place of residence and is provided with basic necessities. To catch up on the child’s education, tutors are hired if necessary. 

Chulitska said the team of specialists maintains constant contact with the family, provides guidance on social issues, and offers psychological support. Monitoring visits are conducted regularly.

This period lasts from three to six months in accordance with international standards, and after the support period ends, the local child welfare service continues to monitor the family to ensure they receive support as needed.

According to a Bring Kids Back white paper issued in October 2024: “Effective reintegration requires the close collaboration of many state institutions, child protection organizations, and international actors. A central element is coordination.” 

As of Nov. 21, according to Bring Kids Back, 1,835 сhildren have “returned from deportation, forced transfers, or temporarily occupied territories.”

Caritas Ukraine said it has provided assistance to some of these children and that it has also assisted at least 11 children since the war broke out who are victims of human trafficking. 

Caritas operates through an extensive network of more than 49 local organizations and over 300 active parish assistance centers. The network’s strategic goals are to “promote the restoration of people’s dignified lives, facilitate the integration of victims into communities, strengthen the social protection system, and contribute to the development of a peaceful and just society.”

null / Credit: Patrick Thomas/Shutterstock

EWTN News, Nov 26, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).

Slovenian voters have rejected a proposed euthanasia law in a Nov. 23 referendum, blocking legislation that would have allowed terminally ill patients to end their lives. The bill, passed by the Slovenian Parliament four months earlier, was opposed by 53.43% of voters, preventing it from taking effect.

Under Slovenian law, Sunday’s vote freezes the matter for at least 12 months, after which Parliament may consider a new version of the bill.

A year earlier, a nonbinding referendum indicated public openness to regulated euthanasia, prompting the governing coalition to draft and pass the legislation in July 2025. But opposition quickly mobilized. The Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and other conservative groups denounced the proposal as undermining human dignity and devaluing the lives of the most vulnerable.

The Slovenian Bishops’ Conference also publicly opposed the legislation. Citing Article 17 of the Slovenian Constitution — which states that “human life is inviolable” — the bishops urged lawmakers to strengthen systemic medical, human, and spiritual support for those in need. They called for greater investment in palliative care and related services rather than pursuing policies that permit the direct termination of life.

A coalition of civil and conservative organizations, led by Aleš Primc of the Voice for the Children and the Family party, launched a citizens’ initiative that gathered more than 40,000 signatures — enough to force a binding referendum on the divisive issue.

The rejected bill would have allowed mentally competent patients with no chance of recovery — or those suffering unbearable pain — to access assisted euthanasia. It required patients to self-administer the life-ending medication, contingent on approval by two doctors and a legally mandated waiting period to ensure the decision was voluntary and sustained.

Bishops, civil society welcome result

The metropolitan archbishop of Ljubljana, Archbishop Stanislav Zore, OFM, welcomed the outcome with gratitude, saying he sees “God at work in our time.” He thanked organizers and citizens who publicly defended the value of human life and praised medical and legal professionals for voicing their concerns clearly.

The archbishop stressed, however, that this was not a moment for celebration but for gratitude and renewed resolve. He urged believers to remain guided by conscience, resist pressures to seek “easy and comfortable paths,” and remain open to discerning “good from evil.”

Debate across Europe

Across Europe, end-of-life legislation varies widely. Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands permit euthanasia performed by a physician, while Germany, Italy, and Austria allow only assisted suicide under specific legal conditions.

The Slovenian result comes amid growing debate across Europe over euthanasia and assisted suicide, with Catholic leaders frequently raising concerns about vulnerable populations, conscientious objection for medical professionals, and the erosion of care-based alternatives.

Father Nils de Jesús Hernández speaks out for Nicaragua from exile in the United States. / Credit: “EWTN Noticias”/Screenshot

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 25, 2025 / 18:01 pm (CNA).

Nils de Jesús Hernández, 56, has lived in the United States for 36 years, far from his native Nicaragua. Forced to leave the country in 1988 in the midst of the civil war, he serves a parish in Iowa where he ministers to the Hispanic community and speaks out for the Nicaraguan people.

Hernández, known as the “vandal priest” for having led a student strike and supporting the 2018 protests in Nicaragua, is now the parish priest at Queen of Peace Church in Waterloo, Iowa, in the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

“Vandal priest” was the defamatory, derisive label the dictatorship gave to him for his role in the protests, but the title has now turned into a sort of badge of honor.

The pain of leaving Nicaragua

After being declared a target of the government at the age of 19 when he was a candidate for the priesthood, Hernández said in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News, that leaving the country “meant that I was never going to return to Nicaragua. Leaving my parents, my family, everything that was familiar to me: my language, my culture, my food, everything; that is, everything that is one’s own ... that was the cruelest thing I was experiencing.”

The priest said he inherited his fighting spirit from his mother, who also helped with the student protests at the time.

“In the 1980s, I was also fighting against those [the Sandinistas] who promised us that everything was going to be fine, and everything turned into a dictatorship, a government that was repressing the Nicaraguan people,” Hernández told “EWTN Noticias.”

The priest traveled to Guatemala, then on to Tijuana, Mexico, and continuing to San Diego. He spent six years in Los Angeles before being sent to Iowa.

Having already obtained U.S. citizenship, he was ordained a priest in 2004 for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, and now in his parish he serves Mexicans, Guatemalans, Venezuelans, Chileans, Hondurans, and, of course, members of the Nicaraguan diaspora.

“I have organized marches here against laws that are very aggressive against immigrants under this administration of President Donald Trump,” the priest said. “This has also been my battleground here to continue denouncing the dictatorship of [Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario] Murillo and [President] Daniel Ortega,” he added.

The persecution against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua

“I believe that the persecution against the Church in Nicaragua is becoming much more aggressive, with confiscations [of Church property] that they have carried out and continue to carry out,” the priest lamented.

According to Hernández, the dictatorship wants to “eradicate the Church.”

“But I always say the following: They will steal all the buildings, they can close all the churches they want to close … but they cannot take away the faith from the hearts of every Nicaraguan, because wherever there is a Nicaraguan in Nicaragua, even though they are being repressed and oppressed, there is the Catholic faith, because all of us Nicaraguans are devoted to Mary and we trust in the will of God.”

“We also have great faith that the Lord will prevail and will be victorious, because the Lord triumphed on the cross and overcame death with his resurrection,” he said.

“We will be returning to Nicaragua triumphantly, because we will indeed return to Nicaragua, because this dictatorship will not last forever. They’re old and they’re not going to continue [in power] for all eternity,” he predicted.

Silence of the Church in Nicaragua and reality in Venezuela

“The silence in Nicaragua is due to the repression that exists. The people are silent,” Hernández pointed out. “But that doesn’t mean the people are content. The silence reflects the discontent of the people, because when the drums sound, Nicaragua will roar. That’s a very Nicaraguan saying,” he explained.

“The Nicaraguan people, when they muster the courage, overthrow any dictatorship. This silence is a preparatory silence for what could happen at any moment in Nicaragua,” the exiled priest continued.

“If Nicolás Maduro falls [in Venezuela], the Nicaraguan and Cuban dictatorships will also fall. So the silence on the part of the Church is out of prudence, but here in the United States there are voices that are trying to make people aware that the repression in Nicaragua is not good. We have Bishop [Silvio] Báez, who is a prophetic and very strong voice: He continues to speak very consistently about all the deception that this dictatorship is engaging in,” Hernández told EWTN.

Pope Leo XIV, Nicaragua, and the award to Bishop Silvio Báez

The priest also referred to the meetings that Pope Leo XIV has held with the bishops of Nicaragua, first with bishops Silvio Báez, Carlos Enrique Herrera, and Isidoro Mora; and later with Rolando Álvarez, all of whom are in exile.

In his opinion, these meetings “are a slap in the face to the dictatorship. That’s what grieves them the most, that the Holy Father is saying, ‘Catholic Nicaragua, persecuted Church, your mother is with you. The Holy Father loves you and you are not alone.’”

“That is a very powerful message that the Holy Father is giving to the Nicaraguan people and also to the Church, and that is the most wonderful thing that we must understand. Nicaraguan people, you’ve got to have a lot of courage, because this is not going to continue forever. Once again, these old men are going to die,” he emphasized.

Hernández also shared that it was he who nominated Báez for the 2025 Pacem in Terris Award for peace and freedom — which has also been awarded to Martin Luther King Jr. and St. Teresa of Calcutta and which was presented to him in July of this year in Davenport — to recognize “the role that the prelate has played in the struggle in Nicaragua and from exile” at St. Agatha Parish in Miami.

“My dream for the Nicaraguan Church is that we continue praying for the unity of all the opposition, so that there may be authentic and genuine unity, that they set aside all their political agendas, and that we all unite to fight to overthrow the dictatorship,” he said.

The priest finally emphasized that for him it is “a great source of pride to be the ‘vandal priest,’ because I continue to denounce this criminal dictatorship for crimes against humanity, because they will not escape God’s justice. They will escape human justice, but not God’s justice.

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

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Nov. 24, 2025, sued his own state’s housing agency for rules that allegedly restrict Christian and other religious organizations from receiving public funds to serve homeless and low-income people. / Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 25, 2025 / 17:31 pm (CNA).

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued his own state’s housing agency for rules that allegedly restrict Christian and other religious organizations from receiving public funds to serve homeless and low-income people. The lawsuit alleges that rules established by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) only allow organizations to receive federal and state funds for homeless and low-income housing programs if they agree those programs will be entirely secular and will not include any religious activities.

According to the lawsuit, those rules violate religious liberty protections in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and in Article 1, Sec. 6-7 of the Texas Constitution because they put restrictions on religious entities for participation in public programs in which secular entities can freely participate.

“State agencies have no authority to force Christians and other religious organizations to censor their beliefs just to serve their communities,” Paxton said in a Nov. 24 news release.

“Constitutionally protected religious liberty must be upheld in Texas and across the country,” he added. “These TDHCA’s provisions within certain programs, which deter funding from going towards churches and religious organizations, must be struck down.”

The lawsuit challenges TDHCA rules for two programs.

It states the homelessness program prohibits funds from being used for “sectarian or explicitly religious activities such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization.” It similarly states the Bootstrap Loan Program blocks funding that supports “any explicitly religious activities such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytizing” and requires recipients to enshrine the prohibition in its official policies.

The lawsuit argues that the government must maintain neutrality on religious matters, adding: “It cannot exclude religious organizations from public benefits because of their faith, nor may it condition participation on theological choices about worship, instruction, or proselytization.”

Paxton is asking the district court of Travis County to issue an injunction that blocks TDHCA from enforcing those rules, which he argues are discrimination against religious entities.

TDHCA did not respond to a request for comment from CNA.

Less than two weeks ago, Paxton sued the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board over similar concerns. The lawsuit argues that three university work-study programs exclude religious organizations and students receiving religious instruction.

In a Nov. 14 statement, he said: “These anti-Christian laws targeting religious students must be completely wiped off the books.”

Paxton is on the opposite side of another lawsuit related to religious freedom that began in February 2024. In that lawsuit, the attorney general is trying to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit that provides assistance to migrants.

The attorney general accused Annunciation House of “alien harboring,” which it denies. The nonprofit argues it has never violated state law and that its charitable activities are rooted in its religious mission.

Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2025. / Credit: VALERY HACHE/Getty Images

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 25, 2025 / 17:01 pm (CNA).

Prince Albert II of Monaco has announced that he will not sign into law a bill that aims to relax the conditions for accessing abortion in the European microstate.

The monarch confirmed his rejection of the new bill — passed by the National Council by a margin of 19-2 last May — during an interview given to the Monaco-Matin newspaper on Nov. 18 on the occasion of the holiday celebrating the principality’s nationhood.

The legislative proposal aimed to authorize abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 16 weeks in cases of rape, and to lower the minimum age for waiving parental consent from 18 to 15 years old.

While he said he understands “the sensitivity of this issue,” the monarch pointed out that the current legal framework “respects our identity and the place that the Catholic religion occupies in our country, while simultaneously guaranteeing safe and more humane support.”

Consequently, Monaco will maintain its current abortion legislation. Although the practice was decriminalized in 2019, it remains formally illegal and is only permitted in three exceptional circumstances established by the 2009 law: rape, a life-threatening risk to the mother, and severe fetal malformations.

The principality’s constitution recognizes the Catholic religion as the state religion, and currently more than 90% of the population identifies as Catholic.

Furthermore, the constitution stipulates that executive power is exercised jointly by the prince and the Parliament, meaning the monarch must sign bills into law for them to take effect.

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