U.S. House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, talks about his faith with Eric Rosales on “EWTN News Nightly” on Dec. 29, 2025. | Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot

Dec 30, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, U.S. House majority whip, said his Catholic faith was formed by his parents’ example at a young age and he encouraged Americans to reflect more on God in a culture filled with many distractions.

Emmer, of Minnesota, spoke to “EWTN News Nightly” about the faith of his parents, including his father’s daily Mass attendance and his mother’s decision to gift her husband a rosary on their wedding day.

“The example that they set, is, I believe, why I am who I am,” Emmer said.

“I’m the son of Tom and Patsy Emmer who literally met in the sixth and seventh grade at Our Lady of Grace Catholic grade school in Edina, Minnesota,” he said. “[They] were married for 60-some years; they literally lived around the corner from each other, and they never moved more than about two or three miles from where they originally grew up.”

Emmer attended a Catholic elementary school and high school. He said he sang in the church choir, saying he “was a soprano” as a child but can no longer reach the high notes.

“When I try to do ‘and the rockets’ red glare,’ I can only say it. My voice doesn’t go there anymore,” Emmer said.

The congressman also opened up about his sister Bridget’s death from breast cancer, saying it made him question God’s will. Yet, he said a conversation with her before her death helped bolster his faith and to stop being angry with God.

Emmer said some older women told his sister that she was too young to have cancer and that he initially told her: “I kind of agree with them.” He said she responded by saying: “Would I love to live forever? Absolutely. But I’m not going to, and people who talk like that have not gotten every second out of every minute out of every hour of every day. I have lived a good life; if God comes and calls me today, so be it.”

Emmer emphasized the importance of reflecting on God’s goodness in a world that has become filled with distractions.

“Too many people, in this age of social media and all the other stuff — the world gets going so fast that they don’t take a minute to sit down and check out what the good Lord has created,” Emmer said.

Legislative activity

According to a 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, about 28% of Congress is Catholic. More than half of Catholic lawmakers in both the House and the Senate are Democrats.

Emmer, the third-ranking House Republican, has consistently opposed abortion access during his 11 years in Congress, receiving an A+ rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. He also has been critical of what he calls “radical gender ideology.”

His stances have not aligned with Church teaching regarding his support for in vitro fertilization (IVF). When he ran for governor of Minnesota in 2010, Emmer opposed same-sex civil marriage. He later shifted his position and voted in favor of a law enacted in 2022 to require states to recognize same-sex civil marriages performed out of state. The Catholic Church does not recognize same-sex civil unions as marriage according to its doctrine and sacramental theology.

Emmer has generally supported President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a “special message” in November opposing “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”

Fifty-one senators asked the FDA to rescind its approval of a generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone on Oct. 9, 2025. | Credit: Yta23/Shutterstock

Dec 30, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Abortion policy at the federal and state levels has continued to shift in the United States three and a half years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump’s administration and congressional Republicans made strides to pull back funding for organizations that advocate for abortion access and to reinstate conscience protections. Yet the administration also approved a generic abortion pill and failed to further regulate chemical abortion drugs.

Some states adopted new restrictions on abortion, but others expanded policies to increase abortion access. In most states, changes to abortion policy were minimal, as many states already set their post-Dobbs abortion policies in the previous years.

Federal: Trump administration shifts

Abortion policy at the federal level shifted shortly after Trump took office, with the administration reinstating many policies from Trump’s first term that had been abandoned for four years under President Joe Biden’s administration.

Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy during his first week in office, which requires foreign organizations to certify they will not perform, promote, or actively advocate for abortion to receive U.S. government funding. In June, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rescinded Biden-era guidelines that had required emergency rooms to perform abortions when a pregnant woman had a life-threatening emergency (like severe bleeding, ectopic pregnancy, or risk of organ failure) to stabilize her condition — even in states where abortion is otherwise banned.

Other changes within federal departments and agencies included rescinding a Department of Defense policy that provided paid leave and travel expenses for abortion and a proposed rule change to end abortion at Veterans Affairs facilities.

The Department of Health and Human Services has also withheld Title X family planning funds from Planned Parenthood. Trump also signed a government spending bill that withheld Medicaid reimbursements from Planned Parenthood. Federal tax money was not spent directly on abortion before those changes, but abortion providers did receive funds for other purposes.

Nearly 70 Planned Parenthood abortion clinics shut down in 2025 amid funding cuts.

Those closures came as the administration advanced changes affecting abortion medication. Although the administration announced it would review the abortion pill, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new generic version of the drug mifepristone. Bloomberg Law reported the review has been delayed, although officials deny it.

The state-level results in 2025 have also been mixed, with a few states adding pro-life laws and others expanding access to abortion.

In Texas, where nearly all abortions are illegal, lawmakers passed a bill that allows families to sue companies that manufacture or distribute chemical abortion pills. This comes as state laws related to chemical abortions often conflict, with states like New York enforcing “shield laws” that order courts to not cooperate with out-of-state lawsuits or criminal charges against abortionists within their states.

Lawmakers in Wyoming passed a law overriding a veto from the governor that requires women to receive an ultrasound before they can obtain an abortion. However, the law was blocked by a court and is not in effect.

There were two pro-life legal wins for states in 2025 as well.

In November, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state’s near-total abortion ban after it was temporarily blocked by a lower court. Under the law, unborn life is protected at every stage in pregnancy in most cases, but it remains legal in the first six weeks in cases of rape and incest and for the duration of pregnancy when the mother is at risk of death or serious physical harm.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that a South Carolina policy to withhold Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood could stay in place. This ruling also opened the door for other states to adopt similar policies moving forward.

In at least 10 states, lawmakers enacted bills to provide more funding for pro-life pregnancy centers, which offer life-affirming alternatives to abortion for pregnant women.

Alternatively, a handful of states in 2025 expanded their shield laws, which prevent courts from complying with out-of-state criminal or civil cases against abortionists. This includes new laws in California, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York. Several states expanded these laws by allowing pharmacies to provide chemical abortion pills without listing the name of the doctor who prescribed them to prevent out-of-state legal action.

About a dozen states expanded funding for abortion providers, such as California directing $140 million to Planned Parenthood to counteract federal defunding efforts. Maryland established a new program called the Public Health Abortion Grant Program, which offers abortion coverage through Affordable Care Act funds.

New laws in Colorado and Washington require emergency rooms to provide abortions when the procedure is deemed “necessary.” A law adopted in Illinois requires public college campuses to provide the abortion pill at their pharmacies.

Connecticut removed its parental notification policy regarding abortion, which means that minors are allowed to obtain abortions without the consent of their parents.

As of December, 13 states prohibit most abortions, four states ban abortions after six weeks’ gestation, two have bans after 12 weeks, and one has a ban after 18 weeks. The other 30 states and the District of Columbia permit abortion up to the 22nd week or later. Nine of those states allow elective abortion through nine months until the moment of birth.

The coffin of Pope Francis rests before the altar at the funeral Mass on St. Peter’s Square, April 26, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Dec 30, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

2025 began with Catholics around the world uniting in prayer for Pope Francis’ health as he entered the hospital on Feb. 14. He was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome for a respiratory infection that progressed to bilateral pneumonia, requiring a prolonged hospitalization that lasted almost six weeks.

Soon after, on March 29, the pontiff was readmitted into the hospital with difficulty breathing. On April 21, the day after Easter, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88 from a stroke, coma, and irreversible cardiovascular collapse, according to the death certificate published just over 12 hours after his death.

On April 26, more than 400,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Francis as the world said goodbye to the first Latin American pope who led the Catholic Church for 12 years. 

Then on May 7, 133 cardinal electors gathered from all corners of the globe in the Sistine Chapel for the start of the conclave to elect a new pope. After four ballots, Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected on May 8 as the 267th bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church. He took the name Pope Leo XIV. A Chicago native, he became the first American pope in Church history.

Here are some of the most impactful images from the papal transition — beginning with Pope Francis’ last general audience before being admitted to the hospital, the start of the conclave, and the election of Pope Leo:

Micah Kim, 5, son of popular Catholic speaker Paul Kim, is anointed by a priest on Dec. 26, 2025. Credit: Courtesy of Paul Kim's Facebook page / null

Dec 29, 2025 / 17:51 pm (CNA).

Paul Kim, a highly popular Catholic youth and young adult speaker, continues to share updates on his 5-year-old son, Micah, who remains on life support following a sudden medical emergency just days before Christmas.

Entering his ninth day in the hospital, Micah’s condition has sparked an outpouring of prayers across the globe, with the family invoking the intercession of Venerable Fulton Sheen for a miracle amid grim medical prognoses.

The ordeal began when Micah was rushed to the hospital last week after experiencing severe internal bleeding and other complications. Kim, a devoted husband and father of six known for his engaging talks on faith and family at Catholic conferences, first alerted followers via social media on Dec. 22: “My son Micah is having a medical emergency right now and headed to the hospital in an ambulance.”

By Dec. 24, Micah underwent emergency chest surgery to address the bleeding, which successfully stabilized his heart function. Kim shared on social media that after the surgery, his son’s heart began beating independently and his vital signs remained steady.

Doctors gradually reduced life support, with Micah’s lungs showing slow improvement on a ventilator. However, a subsequent MRI revealed severe brain damage, leading physicians to conclude there is “no medical possibility” of recovery.

“Micah is fighting for his life,” Kim said in a Dec. 29 update on Instagram. “We’re waiting on the Lord, and we don’t give up trust.”

Micah received the sacrament of anointing of the sick on Dec. 23 at 3 p.m., “when divine mercy redeemed us all,” and Kim invited all Catholics to join with his family in praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, humbly requesting a miracle “through the intercession of Archbishop Fulton Sheen.”

In addition to an outpouring of prayer for Micah, a GoFundMe campaign was begun to support the family amid mounting medical costs.

“Praying that all is stable and the parents are resting,” one supporter posted on social media platform X, echoing widespread sentiment.

As of Dec. 29, Micah’s kidney function remains a concern, but the family is holding fast to hope. “Please keep praying! God has the ultimate say. He is the Divine Physician,” Kim noted on Instagram.

Actor Jonathan Roumie, known for his role as Jesus in “The Chosen,” and Father Mike Schmitz, known for the “Bible in a Year” podcast, sit down for an in-depth interview. Credit: Ascension Presents

Dec 29, 2025 / 17:21 pm (CNA).

In a new sit-down interview with Father Mike Schmitz, who is best known for the “Bible in a Year” podcast and YouTube videos on Ascension Presents, actor Jonathan Roumie spoke in depth about his role portraying Jesus in the hit series “The Chosen.”

“Everything in my life has prepared me for this role,” Roumie told Schmitz in the 43-minute-long interview, which aired Dec. 28 on the Ascension Presents YouTube channel.

Looking back at his childhood, Roumie recalled a couple of moments and experiences that deeply impacted him and his own portrayal of Jesus. He said at 12 years old he reenacted Christ’s passion and crucifixion in his backyard after watching Robert Powell’s portrayal of Jesus in “Jesus of Nazareth.”

“I had 2-by-8 planks that I found and I hammered them together and I hammered the nails where the hands would go and I painted the blood and the same thing with the feet,” he recalled. “And then I grabbed like a bush, a piece of a branch of a bush, and made my own crown of thorns and I painted blood on it and everything and I processed around to the side of my garage.”

Roumie also opened up about his experience being bullied as a child and how it led him to offer up his past trauma to God as he was reenacting the Crucifixion during filming of Season 6 of “The Chosen,” which focuses on Jesus’ passion and crucifixion.

“I was bullied as a kid a lot and I had to kind of look at what Jesus went through as a righteous man and a peaceful man and meek and humble and see just the level of devastation and terrorized bullying that he received to the point of death,” he said.

“So for me, I think, and I’ll go back and look at all those experiences I had as a kid, which might have been part of the reason that led me to reenact the Passion, as something that I could relate to and I think all of that prepared me for this role.”

He added: “I understand it now a bit more, at least I think, in my own sort of human ignorance and pride… Of course I don’t know exactly what all of this is about but it feels authentic. Like, ‘Well, I went through that as a kid and my compassion increased and my empathy increased and now I’m playing the most compassionate, empathetic human being that was God in the universe for all time.’ So I can lend that experience in his suffering and in his empathy even in wanting to forgive his enemies, which I had to do.”

“I was beaten pretty bad. So, I had to offer up all of my past trauma to him as I was recreating it, knowing that that was part of my own personal sacrifice — was my own offering for him on behalf of what he suffered for humanity.”

The actor shared that before beginning the filming of Season 6, he asked God in prayer that “if it were his will to allow me a fraction of a fraction of what he went through.”

Before traveling to Matera, Italy — the location where the Crucifixion was filmed — Roumie injured his right shoulder after falling while filming a scene. An X-ray and MRI showed that he had separated a bit of his AC joint from the clavicle, causing sharp pain.

“It was the right shoulder, so the shoulder that was carrying the beam [of the cross] on and it was extremely painful,” Roumie said. “And that was just one of many things.”

Roumie added that while filming the Crucifixion “certain adjustments” also had to be made due to pain being felt by the metal and real nails being used during filming.

“He [God] gave me exactly what I asked for — just a glimpse, just a glimpse,” he said. “And I think the thing that I got was that I got to enter into it in a way that I had never entered into it before.”

Schmitz asked Roumie how his experience portraying Jesus’ passion and crucifixion has impacted the way he attends or prays at Mass. Roumie shared that in the past year he began to feel “convicted to give more reverence to Christ in the Eucharist.”

“I started receiving on my knees and on the tongue, which I hadn’t before,” he said, adding that it was slightly “disorienting at first.”

He recalled an experience at Mass where he kneeled to receive the Eucharist but the priest asked him to stand up. He hesitated but rose and continued on with the Mass. Afterward, he asked his spiritual director if that was permissible, to which he responded that a priest “shouldn’t do that but it happens.”

After this experience, Roumie shared that he “doubled down on it and now I’m prepared to just wait as long as I need to until somebody concedes because I’m not going anywhere.”

Returning to his time portraying Jesus in the series, Schmitz told Roumie that “the show is called ‘The Chosen’ in the sense that it’s also about those who were chosen, but you were chosen and there’s something in that that has changed you. You being chosen to not only portray Jesus, but to be his disciple, an imitator of him, as St. Paul says, and that’s changed you.”

“That’s something I’m trying to wrap my head around and identify with,” Roumie responded. “It wasn’t somebody else. He picked me. And I, of course, said yes, because I needed the work initially. I didn’t know what it was going to do to me internally.”

Once the final season of “The Chosen” airs, it will have been a span of 10 years that Roumie will have been portraying Jesus. He said that this experience is something that might take “the rest of my life to unpack.”

“So, I have to give myself a little bit of grace, but it’s something that I think I will always live with. And in fact, I don’t know that I want to let it go because it keeps me connected to him, especially when the show ends.”

Pope Leo XIV meets with a group of pilgrims from St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, on Dec. 29, 2025, in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media

Dec 29, 2025 / 14:48 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday explained that in order to allow God’s action in our personal lives, people must “empty” themselves and cultivate a deep inner life.

The pontiff made the observation during a Dec. 29 audience at the Apostolic Palace with a group of pilgrims from St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Alcalá de Henares, Spain.

The event took place in the context of the Jubilee Year of Hope, which the Holy Father described as “a particularly significant time for the Church.” Leo XIV thanked the pilgrims for their spiritual closeness and support for the successor of Peter “with their prayers and generosity,” emphasizing that this is “a gesture of communion and closeness.”

In his greeting, the pope recalled the figure of St. Thomas of Villanova, an Augustinian Spanish bishop and the patron saint of the pilgrims’ parish, highlighting that he was a man “open to God’s action in his life.”

“That openness led him to do much good,” Pope Leo said.

The pontiff invited the faithful to be inspired by some of the distinctive traits of the Spanish saint, beginning with his intense spiritual life.

Recognize talents, put them at service of community

“In his life and in his writings, he reveals to us an unceasing search for continuous prayer; that is, a holy restlessness to be in God’s presence at every moment,” he said. This attitude involves profound interiority, emptying yourself to listen to and allow the Lord to work.”

Leo XIV also highlighted the saint’s “sobriety and simplicity” as well as “his selfless labor,” especially in the university setting, and his “apostolic zeal.” The pope emphasized that all these attitudes lead us to believe that “we must recognize the talents we have received and put them at the service of the community, with effort and dedication, so that they may multiply for the benefit of all,” especially in a world that “seems to offer us everything more and more quickly and easily.”

He also highlighted the simplicity of St. Thomas of Villanova (1486–1555), historically known as the “Archbishop of the Poor” or the “Almsgiver of God” because of his immense charity. “I would like to emphasize his love for the poor,” he said.

Referring to the parish life of the pilgrims, Leo XIV expressed his gratitude for their concrete sensitivity toward those most in need, reminding them that “the poor are not only someone to be helped but the sacramental presence of the Lord.”

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

Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, carries the Blessed Sacrament during a procession at Pickaway Correctional Institution on June 28, 2024, at one of the stops on the Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. Credit: Catholic Times/Ken Snow

Dec 29, 2025 / 14:18 pm (CNA).

The bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, has granted a dispensation from Mass for parishioners who fear deportation by immigration enforcement officers, who have increased activity in the area since mid-December.

Bishop Earl Fernandes announced in a letter and video last week that those who fear immigration enforcement action are free from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass until Jan. 11, 2026. The bishop said the dispensation was precipitated by increased immigration enforcement activity in Ohio stemming from Operation Buckeye, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiative launched Dec. 16 that is allegedly targeting “the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Columbus and throughout Ohio.”

Fernandes told EWTN News on Monday that after he began receiving messages from pastors throughout his diocese informing him that Hispanic parishioners were afraid to attend Mass due to the increased enforcement by ICE officers, he asked diocesan personnel in the Office of Catholic Social Doctrine and the Hispanic ministry office to help him get a clearer picture of “what is happening on the ground.”

“They told me there were ICE trucks in front of parishes; even in front of schools,” Fernandes said. “All of a sudden, there were half or fewer attendees at the Posadas [traditional pre-Christmas] celebrations.”

He said he decided to issue the dispensation “even though I did not want to” because “people need Mass and the sacraments more than ever” and he wanted families to be together without fear for Christmas.

During a Mass he celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 20, Fernandes told EWTN News the pastor of the church remained at the front door and saw an ICE truck nearby. Because of this, the Posada [traditional pre-Christmas] procession was moved from outdoors to a hallway inside the building because “the people were too afraid to go outside.”

The procession took place inside the building. “We had a meal, there was a piñata and some celebrations,” Fernandes said. “But it was clear there were a lot of people who weren’t there.”

The bishop said he began receiving calls from pastors more than two hours from Columbus who were reporting ICE’s presence.

Sharp drops in Mass attendance

“The atmosphere of fear was keeping people away,” he said. One pastor reported that only one-third of his congregation attended weekend Mass. Another said only one-quarter were present, Fernandes said.

Of the increased enforcement against immigrants, Fernandes reflected: “It’s easy to say immigrants should have come to our country legally. But what if your parents came here illegally and you are a U.S. citizen? … What if one spouse is documented and the other is not. What’s in the best interest of their children and society at large?”

Of the Mexican population in Columbus, Fernandes said that “many are the grandchildren of the Cristeros,” resistors to the Mexican government’s attempts in the 1920s to suppress Catholicism in the country.

He said a large group of Hispanics came to the midnight Mass on Christmas at the cathedral because they did not think ICE would be there. “I think they felt safe at the cathedral.”

Fernandes said the Diocese of Columbus also has large numbers of Catholic African migrants who have “tons of children” and make up “young communities full of life and full of faith.”

Fernandes said he talked to the pastor of a multiethnic parish made up of Nigerians, Filipinos, and others, and “they’re afraid too.”

He is concerned for the Haitian community as well, whose temporary protected status (TPS) is set to expire on Feb. 3, 2026.

He said the Mass dispensation expires on Jan. 11, the end of the Christmas season, at which time he will reevaluate the situation.

Pope Leo XIV, Pope Francis, Michael Iskander, Bishop Mark Seitz, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Andrea Bocelli. Credit: Vatican Media; ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images; Jason Davis/Getty Images; Hakim Shammo/EWTN News; Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem; Franco Origlia/Getty Images

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The year 2025 will be etched in the memory of the Catholic Church for various profoundly significant events, including the death of Pope Francis, the election of a new pontiff, and a series of testimonies of faith that resonated throughout the world.

Below we take a look back at six Catholic public figures who made major headlines this past year.

1. Pope Francis

Pope Francis passed away on April 21, Easter Monday, after a pontificate marked by pastoral closeness, defense of the poorest, and a missionary approach of reaching out to the peripheries. His legacy of mercy and dialogue left a profound mark on the universal Church, and his death was a moment of sorrow for millions.

His last act of love for the Church was on Easter Sunday, April 20, during the urbi et orbi blessing. Francis appeared on the balcony of the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to impart the blessing to the crowd of pilgrims that filled St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding area.

2. Pope Leo XIV

Elected in May following the conclave convened after the death of Pope Francis, Leo XIV began his pontificate with a strong emphasis on ecclesial communion, doctrinal continuity, and pastoral closeness to the poor. In October, he released his apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”), focused on love for the poor and the urgency of placing those most in need at the heart of the Church’s mission.

The Holy Father marked significant milestones throughout 2025, such as the canonization of contemporary saints — including Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati — his ongoing strong support for the Jubilee of Hope, and repeated calls for ecumenism, dialogue, and peace, especially during his first apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon.

3. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was one of the clearest voices of the Church amid the tragedy of war in the Holy Land. As Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, he bore witness to the suffering of Christians and civilians in Gaza and Israel, denouncing the violence and reminding everyone that Christ is present, “crucified in the wounded.” His messages to young people, the faithful, and international leaders solidified his position as a moral authority who consistently called for peace, reconciliation, and respect for human dignity.

His pastoral leadership was also expressed in concrete actions: visiting communities affected by the war, celebrating the feast of Our Lady Queen of Palestine, accompanying persecuted Christians, and traveling to the United States to raise awareness and funds for the Holy Land.

4. Bishop Mark Seitz

The bishop of El Paso, Texas, Mark Seitz, has established himself as one of the country’s strongest voices in defense of migrants. From a diocese located right on the border with Mexico, he clearly affirmed that immigration is above all a “matter of the Gospel” and not merely a political debate. His encouragement for bipartisan legislative initiatives such as the Dignity Act and his criticism of immigration policies that he considered “contrary to moral law” reflected a pastoral approach centered on human dignity, the preferential option for the poor, and the formation of consciences.

In addition, his leadership went beyond the national scene as he presented Pope Leo XIV with testimonies and letters from migrant families living in fear of deportation, a gesture that visibly moved the pontiff. He also promoted the “Cabrini Commitment” during National Migration Week and, along with his diocese, received the 2025 Pax Christi International Peace Award.

5. Michael Iskander

The American-Egyptian actor Michael Iskander, known for playing King David in the Prime Video series “House of David,” delivered one of the most inspiring testimonies of faith of the year when he converted to Catholicism in 2025.

Although he was raised in the Coptic Orthodox Church, Iskander shared that his conversion was a “calling from God” that he felt deeply after an inner experience during a visit to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.

6. Andrea Bocelli

The renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli was one of the most influential Catholic figures of 2025 thanks to his testimony of faith and his participation in key events in the life of the Church.

On Sept. 13, Bocelli sang in St. Peter’s Square during the historic “Grace for the World” concert, held at the Vatican to close the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, where he offered performances of profound spiritual content and emphasized the centrality of faith, peace, and fraternity. Days earlier, after singing before Pope Leo XIV at the inauguration of the Borgo Laudato Si’ ecological project, he stated that the Holy Father is “a beacon to guide us in these complex times.”

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

The lethal injection chamber at the Oklahoma State Penintentiary, May 7, 2010. Credit: Josh Rushing via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Dec 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A rise in executions in the United States in 2025 occurred alongside “shifting public opinion” against the death penalty, offering anti-death-penalty advocates a hopeful sign going into 2026 even amid high levels of capital punishment.

The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit group that tracks and catalogs executions in the United States, said in its year-end report that 48 prisoners were executed in the U.S. in 2025, up from 25 the year before.

The near-100% increase in executions was driven in large part by Florida, which at 19 executions counted for about 40% of the year’s total, the group noted.

The year also saw the expanded use of a controversial method of execution, that of nitrogen gas. Louisiana and Alabama both killed two condemned prisoners using this method, which advocates have said poses the risk of a slow, agonizing death. Alabama murderer Anthony Boyd reportedly took around 20 minutes to die during his execution by gas.

South Carolina executed two inmates by firing squad, the first such executions in the U.S. in 15 years. Lawyers alleged that one of those executions was botched, leading to the inmate suffering before dying.

The U.S. Supreme Court, meanwhile, “denied every request to stay an execution” in 2025, the Death Penalty Information Center noted, while several states passed laws expanding the death penalty or otherwise supporting it.

Public opinion shifts against death penalty; new death sentences decline

Though executions were up in 2025, data indicate a growing public opposition to the death penalty, both in poll numbers and in the declining number of prisoners condemned to death in the United States.

The Death Penalty Information Center noted that new death sentences were down in 2025, declining to 22 from 24, with “only 14 juries nationwide” reaching unanimous death verdicts.

Though the decline was relatively small, it reflects a decades-long overall trend in the reduction of death sentences in the U.S., which peaked at 325 in 1986.

A Gallup poll this year, meanwhile, found that public support for the death penalty reached a 50-year low of 52%, while 44% of Americans oppose the death penalty, the highest level recorded since 1966.

A majority of those under 55, meanwhile, oppose the death penalty.

The shift suggests changing opinions in a country known for its relatively high levels of executions. The U.S. ranked third in 2023 for the number of executions in countries where that number was known.

And while countries such as China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia regularly record significantly more executions than the U.S., many of the United States’ traditional geopolitical allies outlaw executions entirely, including effectively all of Western Europe.

A near-majority of U.S. states outlaw executions, which could help to explain decreasing public support for the practice.

Yet while opinion is shifting, Catholics notably remain largely supportive of the practice: A November poll from EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research found a majority of Catholic voters in the U.S. support it.

‘Vengeance’s empty promises’

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director for the anti-death penalty group Catholic Mobilizing Network, admitted that 2025 was a “tough year” for pro-life advocates looking to abolish capital punishment in the U.S.

“We started off the year on a high note,” she told CNA, pointing to former President Joe Biden’s December 2024 commutations of 37 federal prisoners on death row. The beginning of the Catholic Church’s jubilee year, meanwhile, offered a spiritual bolster to life advocates.

But “executions have been happening at breakneck speed” in 2025, she said.

“The Trump administration was talking about the death penalty from day one,” she said. “They haven’t been able to do much in terms of executions [at the federal level], but it’s kind of permeated things and given political cover to elected officials in states.”

Murphy acknowledged that Florida carried out “the lion’s share” of executions in 2025. “I’ve talked to almost every Catholic bishop in the state of Florida,” she said. “They’re stumped. It’s very troubling.”

Like many bishops in the U.S., the Florida bishops regularly petition the state government to commute death sentences, though to no avail. The last clemency granted by an executive in Florida was in 1983, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Executive clemency is somewhat rare in the U.S., though at times it has been used dramatically, including Biden’s mass clemency order as well as North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s commutation of 15 death row cases at the end of 2024.

In spite of the grim execution numbers in 2025, Murphy admitted there are “encouraging signs” for life advocates.

“The jubilee year has been a true reminder that our compass, our North Star, is life — the sanctity of life,” she said. “There’s something about a jubilee year and about the promise it holds. It has exposed vengeance’s empty promises.”

She pointed out that the executions being carried today are actually reflective of “the standard of three decades ago.”

“When you look at the sentencing of the average person being executed today, that sentence happened 25, 30 years ago,” she said. “When you look at the number of death sentences now, it’s low.” She pointed to the well-documented decline in death sentences both this year and overall from decades before.

Murphy said life advocates are looking to 2026 to continue those encouraging trends. Catholic Mobilizing Network in December joined a broad coalition of more than 50 organizations seeking to end the death penalty in the United States.

Activists are generally required to “go state by state” in their efforts to abolish the death penalty, Murphy said. She pointed to promising abolition efforts in Ohio and Oklahoma, among others.

One of the Catholic group’s key focuses, she said, is in speaking to younger generations.

“Young people don’t have the baggage around the death penalty that some older generations might,” she said. “We’re bringing exonerees and murder victim family members to campuses and younger communities and helping them really grab onto the issue and make it their own.”

“Young people are sometimes our best advocates,” she said. “They have lots of energy and a real commitment to a broad consistent life ethic.”

Among the more notable developments in death penalty advocacy in recent years was the Catholic Church’s 2018 update of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that declared the death penalty “inadmissible” and stated that the Church seeks its abolition around the world.

Pope Francis regularly spoke out against the death penalty, while Pope Leo XIV has signaled his own opposition to it. In September he said support for the death penalty is “not real­ly pro-life,” a remark that drew controversy even as it appeared to line up with the catechism’s directive.

Elsewhere, Church leaders have turned to Catholic tradition as part of efforts to abolish the death penalty. In August the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops called for a novena asking the faithful to pray for an end to Florida’s death penalty.

Murphy acknowledged that the 2018 catechism revision “threw some people,” though she said there are opportunities at hand for Catholics to evangelize on the need to save the lives of those condemned to die.

“There’s catechesis we need to do, and formation, about how we can be reconcilers and restorers,” she said. “It’s Jesus’ way. But we need to spend time walking with one another and figuring this out together.”

Graduates pose with their degrees at St. Mary’s University College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. | Credit: St. Mary’s University College

EWTN News, Dec 29, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Four generations of teachers, a Nobel Prize winner, and a kicker with the New Orleans Saints are among those who have graduated from Northern Ireland’s only Catholic higher education institution.

St. Mary’s University College in Belfast is marking the 125th year of a remarkable journey that began in 1900.

Since its foundation, St. Mary’s has been synonymous with training Catholic teachers. It is rooted in a profound commitment to Catholic education, with its alumni teaching in every Catholic school in Northern Ireland and in schools around the world.

Principal Peter Finn told CNA: “At Christmastime, St. Mary’s University College in Belfast celebrates an institutional identity which reflects a Christian, explicitly faith-inspired worldview.”

“We are the only Catholic higher education institution in Northern Ireland, with an identity which is not defined by what proportion of our students are Catholic or any other denomination or none. Our identity has the core characteristics of faith and service as well as a commitment to the values of the Gospel.”

When St. Mary’s opened in 1900, Bishop Henry Henry, bishop of Down and Connor, welcomed “many intelligent, earnest young ladies from different parts of the country.” He assured them: “The good Dominican nuns placed over you will see that you will be proficient in religious knowledge, theoretical and practical.”

Finn said: “In our 125th anniversary year, we celebrate the pioneering work of our founders, Bishop Henry of Down and Connor and the Dominican sisters. We also celebrate what St. Mary’s has become today — a small, specialist, and distinctive institution of higher education in the model of a liberal arts college, which performs very highly. Key to our performance is a partnership of collaborative provision with Queen’s University, Belfast.”

The college campus is situated on the Lower Falls Road in West Belfast, a location that placed it at the very front line during the conflict in Northern Ireland. Over the decades, St. Mary’s has thrived in West Belfast, weathering global and local challenges with unwavering resolve.

Students who boarded there during World War II recalled adapting to the harsh realities of life behind heavy blackout curtains and under curfew, as fears of Nazi bombing raids loomed over Belfast. Even amid the turbulence of the Troubles, the college continued its mission, undeterred by social unrest in the surrounding streets.

St. Mary’s is embedded in the West Belfast community, which is rich in history and culture. The college attracts applicants from across Northern Ireland and beyond, now complemented by a growing international student community.

Finn explained: “There is a special place at St. Mary’s for both community and international engagement. Each year we host events and activities with over 100 community groups, and at the other level we maintain membership of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and the European Federation of Catholic Universities, as well as facilitating international student mobility.”

Finn pointed to St. Mary’s widened international links. “For example, we have established an international summer school in partnership with Féile an Phobail, which is a major community festival held annually in West Belfast during the month of August.”

“We have been delighted to welcome students from partner universities in the United States who travel here to learn about conflict resolution and the Northern Ireland peace process.”

It is for its role in training generations of educators that St. Mary’s is most famous. Since the 1980s, when the former St. Joseph’s teacher training college merged with St. Mary’s, it has educated male and female trainee teachers together. Distinguished alumni include Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney and playwright Brian Friel, author of “Dancing at Lughnasa.”

The college’s governing body is chaired by Bishop Alan McGuckian, bishop of Down and Connor and episcopal successor to founder Henry. Priests have traditionally formed part of the teaching faculty contributing to the certificate in religious education, which is an award of St. Mary’s University College, validated by the Church authority, and a requirement for Catholic primary school teachers in Northern Ireland.

Teachers educated at the college find their way to schools not only in Northern Ireland but also across the globe. The college is supplemented by a liberal arts program empowering students as they contemplate their future pathways. It also has a key role in training teachers for schools where pupils are taught through the medium of the Irish language.

One alumnus making his mark is New Orleans Saints kicker Charlie Smyth. In 2024, Smyth completed his master’s in education degree at St. Mary’s University College in Belfast, having previously graduated from the college as a primary school teacher qualified to teach through the Irish language.

As the 125th milestone is celebrated, the legacy of Henry and the founding Dominican sisters ensures St. Mary’s University College continues and endures in the achievement of its teachers in educating successive generations of Catholic children.