Tom Vander Woude with baby Joseph “Josie” Vander Woude. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild

CNA Staff, Dec 11, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

When Virginia father Tom Vander Woude’s 19-year-old son, a boy with Down syndrome, fell into a toxic sewage tank, Tom jumped into the tank with him, pushing him to the surface even as the toxic fumes filled his own lungs.

The father of seven, whose sainthood cause is now under investigation, will be posthumously awarded this year’s Walk for Life St. Gianna Molla Award for Pro-Life Heroism on Jan. 24, 2026, at the West Coast Walk for Life in San Francisco. 

“When we heard Tom’s story years ago, we were touched by the love of a father for his child,” Dolores Meehan, co-chair of the West Coast Walk for Life, told CNA. “The fact that his son has Down syndrome made it all the more important to share his story of love and sacrifice and joy.”

Unborn children with Down syndrome often become victims of abortion.

The award named for St. Gianna Molla — an Italian doctor who chose to carry her child to term ultimately at the cost of her own life after doctors found a uterine tumor — honors those who show “heroic virtue in the defense of the unborn and their mothers and fathers, usually to the extent of profound sacrifice,” according to Meehan.

Chris Vander Woude, who is traveling the U.S. and promoting his father’s cause, told CNA that “Dad was deeply committed to honoring and safeguarding the sanctity of human life.”     

“He lived by these values right up to his last breath when he saved my brother Joseph’s life,” Vander Woude said. “Following St. Gianna’s example, Dad selflessly gave his life out of love for his child.” 

“In a world that often devalues people with Down syndrome, Dad’s final act of love for my brother serves as a powerful testament to the sanctity and dignity of every human life,” Vander Woude continued. 

Openness to life 

“I don’t think Dad ever missed a March for Life,” Vander Woude said. “It didn’t matter if it was snowing or super cold, Dad would take as many family members as possible because he understood the importance of standing up for innocent unborn babies and their right to life.” 

Tom, who worked as a farmer and a commercial pilot, made time for his family, faith, and pro-life beliefs. 

Held in late January, the March for Life is the pro-life movement’s annual march in Washington, D.C., to oppose abortion and defend human life.  

Tom and his wife also frequently prayed the rosary outside of an abortion clinic that has since closed and is now a life-affirming medical clinic that serves women in need, according to Vander Woude.

Tom and his wife also taught natural family planning (NFP), a life-affirming fertility awareness method of family planning, to young couples.  

“He and Mom were always open to life in their marriage,” Vander Woude said. “Dad believed in the age-old saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ and he was quick to do his part in ‘the village’ to help.”

“They had many reasons not to have a large family, but they chose the courageous path of faith, hope, and openness to God’s will,” Vander Woude said. 

When a woman tracks her cycle using an NFP method, NFP works with her fertility rather than against it. Because various NFP methods don’t obstruct conception like contraception does, the Catholic Church accepts it as a form of family planning that is open to life. 

Bob and Karen Fioramonti still remember going to NFP classes with the Vander Woudes in the early 1990s as a young married couple. 

“We learned about NFP, but we learned even more about what it looked like to be a faithful couple who had been open to life,” Karen Fioramonti told CNA. 

“At that point, neither of us knew any big families and the Vander Woudes were a joyful couple raising seven sons encouraging us to trust God’s plan for our family,” Karen Fioramonti said. “They shared what a blessing each child is and that a parent’s mission is to raise saints. In short, they shared their faith.”

“Years later, we have raised our own seven sons and two daughters, and we are so grateful for that message shared many years ago,” Bob Fioramonti said.  

A pro-life hero 

As Vander Woude has been sharing the story of his father’s self-sacrifice with parishes around the U.S., he has seen how his father’s story moves people of all ages.

“I’ve seen the story move people to tears and motivate them to follow Dad’s sacrificial example,” Vander Woude said.

Meehan said she hopes Tom Vander Woude’s story will inspire men to take up the pro-life mantle.

“Men are so in need of heroes,” Meehan said. “Our hope is that the men who hear his story will be encouraged, inspired, and motivated to emulate not just his final act of sacrifice, but his life of sacrifice and the joy he derived from his pro-life heart.”

“Men need to hear that they, too, can be the pro-life hero to their family — to step up and be present day in and day out,” Meehan said.

Congress is set to vote on two plans regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits that are scheduled to expire Dec. 31, 2025.  / Credit: usarmyband, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Congress is set to vote on two plans regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits that are scheduled to expire Dec. 31.

The Senate is expected to vote Dec. 11 on a Democratic proposal to extend existing ACA tax credits for three years, as 24 million Americans use ACA marketplaces for health insurance.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, told reporters Tuesday after a Senate Republican meeting that lawmakers also will vote on a Republican alternative measure.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who leads the Finance Committee, announced the legislation on Monday.

The measure (S. 3386) would set requirements for health savings account (HSA) contributions and direct that the money cannot be used for abortion or “gender transitions.” It would require states to verify citizenship and immigration status before coverage.

Catholic bishops weigh in

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said it favors extending the taxpayer subsidies that lower health insurance costs under the ACA but said lawmakers must ensure that the tax credits are not used for abortions or other procedures that violate Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life. 

The enhanced premium tax credits “should be extended but must not continue to fund plans that cover the destruction of human life, which is antithetical to authentic health care,” the bishops wrote in an Oct. 10 letter to members of Congress. 

There needs to be a policy that serves “all vulnerable people — born and preborn” and applies full Hyde Amendment protections to them, ensuring not only that government funding does not directly pay for the procuring of an abortion but also that plans offered by health insurance companies on ACA exchanges cannot cover elective abortion,” they wrote. 

The Hyde Amendment, passed by Congress in 1977, prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.

Activists respond

A coalition of more than 300 faith leaders including NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Church of God in Christ Social Justice Ministry, Faith in Action Network, and Franciscan Action Network, delivered a joint letter to Congress on Dec. 8 urging legislators to pass a bipartisan bill that protects and expands the ACA premium tax credits.

“Each life is sacred; therefore, there is a moral imperative to provide care for the sick and alleviate suffering particularly for those who lack resources to pay,” the letter wrote. There must be action to ensure everyone has “the health care they need to live and thrive, as people are currently making choices about coverage for 2026.”

“The letter notes that renewing the tax credits will keep health care premiums under the ACA from spiking by an average of 114% in 2026,” NETWORK reported. “This would cause an estimated 4.8 million people to lose their health coverage because they cannot afford it. Subsequently, some 50,000 people could lose their lives without their health coverage.”

Other pro-life organizations have warned against expanding the subsidies. 

“As Congress continues to face pressure to extend Obamacare’s abortion-funding premium subsidies, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA) is making the facts clear on how Obamacare does not include the Hyde Amendment and forces Americans to pay for abortions,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement.

“The enactment of Obamacare ruptured the bipartisan legacy of the Hyde Amendment and resulted in the largest expansion of abortion funding since the 1970s,” she said. “Obama and the Democratic leadership at the time intentionally drafted the program to avoid annual appropriations bills, bypassing the Hyde Amendment.”

“Instead of stopping funding for health insurance plans that cover elective abortion, Section 1303 of Obamacare expressly permits subsidies for Obamacare plans that cover abortion using elaborate accounting requirements and an abortion surcharge to justify the funding,” she said.

SBA and more than 100 other pro-life organizations are demanding that any extensions to Obamacare include a complete application of the Hyde policy. The groups sent a September letter and an October letter to lawmakers calling on Congress to ensure pro-life provisions.

“Preventing taxpayer funding of abortion is a minimum requirement for any new Obamacare spending advanced by a Republican Congress and administration,” Dannenfelser said.

Sister Lucia, visionary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. / Credit: Fatima Shrine

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 16:22 pm (CNA).

Today, Dec. 10, marks the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Sister Lucia of Fatima in Pontevedra province in Spain.

The flag of the European Union. / Credit: U. J. Alexander/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

Europe's Catholic bishops expressed concern over the Court of Justice of the European Union obliging all member states to recognize same-sex marriage.

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square during a Jubilee audience on Nov. 22, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.

Vatican City, Dec 10, 2025 / 11:21 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday rejected technological promises to indefinitely prolong human existence — such as those proposed by “transhumanism”— and said the resurrection of Christ “reveals to us that death is not opposed to life.”

Speaking on a cold morning in St. Peter’s Square Dec. 10, the pontiff warned that numerous current anthropological visions “promise immanent immortality [and] theorize the prolongation of earthly life through technology.”

That outlook, he said, is characteristic of “the transhumance scenario,” a phenomenon that “is making its way into the horizon of the challenges of our time.”

In response, Leo urged people to consider two central questions: “Could death really be defeated by science? But then, could science itself guarantee us that a life without death is also a happy life?”

The Holy Father explained that death and life are not opposed, and that in the Christian meaning, death is “a constitutive part of [life], as the passage to eternal life.”

“The Pasch of Jesus gives us a foretaste, in this time still full of suffering and trials, of the fullness of what will happen after death,” he added.

Thailand-Cambodia border clashes

At the end of his audience, Pope Leo spoke out against violent clashes at the border of Thailand and Cambodia, saying he was “deeply saddened by the news of the escalation of the conflict.”

The hostilities have injured more than 100 people and displaced thousands of people in both countries. An estimated 13 people, including civilians, have been killed as the fighting entered the third day on Wednesday.

“I express my closeness in prayer to these beloved populations and I ask the parties to immediately cease fire and resume dialogue,” the pope said.

Death, ‘a great teacher of life’

In his catechesis for the general audience, Leo XIV noted that throughout history, “many ancient peoples developed rites and customs linked to the cult of the dead, to accompany and to recall those who journeyed towards the supreme mystery.” But today, death “seems to be a sort of taboo” and “something to be spoken of in hushed tones, to avoid disturbing our sensibilities and our tranquility.”

The pope lamented that this attitude often leads people to avoid visiting cemeteries.

He also evoked the teachings of St. Alphonsus Liguori, recalling the enduring relevance of the saint’s work, “Preparation for Death.” The pontiff emphasized that, for the saint, death is “a great teacher of life,” capable of guiding the believer toward what is essential.

As the pope explained, St. Alphonsus invited people to “to know that [death] exists, and above all to reflect on it” as a way to discern what is truly important in life.

Leo also recalled that, in Alphonsian spirituality, prayer holds a central place “to understand what is beneficial in view of the kingdom of heaven, and letting go of the superfluous that instead binds us to ephemeral things.”

From this perspective, he asserted that only the resurrection of Christ “is capable of illuminating the mystery of death to its full extent.”

“In this light, and only in this, what our heart desires and hopes  becomes true: that death is not the end, but the passage towards full light, towards a happy eternity,” he said.

The pope explained that the risen Christ “has gone before us in the great trial of death, emerging victorious thanks to the power of divine Love.”

“He has prepared for us the place of eternal rest, the home where we are awaited; he has given us the fullness of life in which there are no longer any shadows and contradictions,” Leo said.

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

Pope Leo XIV uses a tablet to navigate the website of the new digital version of the Vatican's Pontifical Yearbook, known as the "Annuario Pontificio" in Italian. / Credit: Vatican Media.

Vatican City, Dec 10, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican this week launched the first-ever digital version of its annual directory, creating an easier way to find reliable and up-to-date information about the Church’s structures and members all around the world.

The red-covered Pontifical Yearbook — known in Italian as the “Annuario Pontificio” — is an important reference updated every year with Church statistics, the names and contacts of bishops, information about the departments of the Holy See, and more.

The Pontifical Yearbook, in its current form, started in the early 20th century, though other versions of a book with information about the Catholic hierarchy and the Roman Curia can be traced to the 18th century or earlier.

The biggest benefits to users are the ability to easily search for information and the possibility for updates to be reflected in real time.

Before now, to keep the directory current, one would have to cut out and glue periodic updates from the Vatican into the hardback book.

The directory includes global data that is frequently changing, including statistics about Catholic dioceses and missions, and information about bishops, the members of the Church, the number of priests and religious, and the Holy See’s diplomatic representation.

It also contains information about the pope and cardinals, and lists the people who lead the many different entities that make up the Roman Curia and the Vatican.

On Dec. 8, the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, which is responsible for publishing the Pontifical Yearbook, unveiled the digital version, available in both web and app versions for an annual subscription of 68,10 euros ($79.20), around the same price as a printed version, which is still being published.

The Vatican said in time it intends to offer the directory in languages other than Italian, “making it more accessible to a growing number of users around the world.”

At a presentation of the project, Pope Leo XIV had a chance to receive a first lesson in how the digital yearbook works. He thanked those involved, calling it “a wonderful service which will be of great help.”

Entrance to the building of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal / Credit: Adrian Grycuk / Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0 pl)

EWTN News, Dec 10, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Poland's top court unanimously bans Communist Party of Poland, ruling it violates Article 13 of the constitution, which prohibits parties promoting totalitarian methods

The Holy House of Our Lady in the Shrine of Loreto. / Credit: Tatiana Dyuvbanova/Shutterstock

Loreto, Italy, Dec 10, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

What do Galileo, Mozart, Descartes, Cervantes, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux have in common? They all traveled hundreds of miles to visit Mary’s house in Loreto, Italy.

The Pope greets Zelenskyy in Castel Gandolfo. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 9, 2025 / 14:32 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in audience today at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Holy See announced in a statement.

The meeting, described as "cordial," focused on the situation of the war in Ukraine and the prospects for the diplomatic initiatives currently underway.

During the conversation, the Holy Father reiterated “the need to continue the dialogue” and renewed his “pressing desire” that diplomatic efforts might lead to “a just and lasting peace,” according to the statement released by the Vatican.

The meeting also addressed particularly sensitive humanitarian issues. During the discussions, reference was made to the “prisoners of war” situation and the urgency of “guaranteeing the return” of Ukrainian children separated from their families and illegally deported to Russia was emphasized.

Following the private audience, Zelenskyy expressed his “profound gratitude” to Pope Leo XIV for the Holy See's constant support for the Ukrainian people.

In a message posted on his social media after the meeting, Zelenskyy expressed particular gratitude for the humanitarian aid. During the audience, he said he thanked the pope for "his constant prayers for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, as well as his calls for a just peace."

The Ukrainian president also informed the pope about the diplomatic contacts and negotiations that Kyiv is conducting with the United States to pave the way for peace. "I informed the pope about the diplomatic efforts with the United States to achieve peace," he said.

One of the central points of the conversation was the fate of the Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russian territory. Zelenskyy emphasized that they discussed “future actions and the Vatican's mediation aimed at securing the return of our children kidnapped by Russia,” an issue that the Holy See has kept on its humanitarian agenda since the first months of the conflict.

The Ukrainian president emphasized that the meeting was “an important and cordial dialogue,” focused on the protection of the civilian population and the spiritual support that the pontiff has repeatedly shown.

Zelenskyy took the opportunity to renew a formal invitation to the pope to travel to Ukraine. “I invited the pope to visit Ukraine. It would be a powerful sign of support for our people,” he said.

The audience took place a day after Zelenskyy traveled to the United Kingdom, where he held a meeting at Downing Street with the country's prime minister, Keir Starmer, which was also attended by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz.

That meeting focused on negotiations surrounding the peace plan and next steps for Ukraine presented by Washington. The first 28-point draft presented by the Trump administration in November proposed a resolution to the conflict that was largely favorable to Moscow.

That proposal was followed by another put together in Geneva by delegations from the United States, Ukraine, and Europe.

Zelenskyy arrived in Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday, Dec. 9, after three days of talks in Miami between Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Ukrainian negotiator, Rustem Umerov.

Exactly one week ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Witkoff in Moscow without any significant progress.

This is the third official meeting between the two, after Leo XIV received Zelenskyy in an audience following the Mass marking the beginning of his pontificate on May 18, and in a second meeting on July 9, also in Castel Gandolfo. Pope Leo usually takes Tuesday every week as a day off at Castel Gandolfo.

Following today’s meeting with the pope, Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as part of a new round of contacts with key European leaders regarding the peace process in Ukraine.

Ukraine first requested the Vatican's intervention shortly after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Since then, the Holy See has continued its diplomatic efforts for peace, while maintaining open channels of dialogue with all parties involved.

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

Eduard Habsburg, Hungary's ambassador to the Holy See from 2015 to 2025, takes his leave during a farewell visit to Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.

Vatican City, Dec 9, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Archduke of Austria Eduard Habsburg, who served as Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See since 2015, described his post at the Vatican as “the greatest 10 years of my life.”

Shortly before his farewell meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 21, Habsburg told EWTN News reporter Colm Flynn that after a decade on the job, he has “seen it all” and now wants to dedicate more time to his family, particularly his parents.

“I felt that 10 years is a good term. It’s far longer than ambassadors usually have here,” he said in the exclusive interview.

“I think I’ve seen everything you can see here, including a conclave, visits by my prime minister, exciting moments,” he added. “In a way, I’m going to miss it but also family is important.” 

The former ambassador, whose term at the Vatican ended on Nov. 30, said he will likely continue to represent Hungary at future international events organized by the Church and pro-family groups.  

“I’ll keep a foot in that world, so to speak, so I’m not going to totally give it up,” he said.

Reflecting on his initial surprise at being asked to be Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See, Habsburg, who belongs to the prominent 850-year-old European Catholic dynasty, said he “hit the floor running” when he arrived in Rome for his first post.

On Pope Francis and his love for Hungary

Describing his relationship with Pope Francis as “incredibly positive,” the former ambassador said the Argentine pontiff had a warm affection for the Central European nation and its people.

“I saw it every time he met a Hungarian,” he said. “He would use Hungarian expressions. He would smile. He would be happy. He would take his time with them.”

Though Pope Francis had not visited Hungary until 2021 for the 52nd International Eucharistic Conference, he told Habsburg that he “learned everything” about Hungary through three religious sisters who fled their country in 1956, during the Soviet occupation, to a monastery in Buenos Aires, Argentina.   

“They have shaped Pope Francis’ outlook on Hungary and that made my work very easy,” he quipped. “He was incredibly generous.”

Pope Francis visited Hungary a second time in 2023 for his apostolic journey to the country’s capital of Budapest from April 28–30.   

On Pope Benedict XVI and his humor

During the 1990s, Pope Benedict XVI, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, read Habsburg’s doctoral thesis on the topic of Thomas Aquinas and Vatican II and told him “he liked it” and that he wanted him to either make a documentary or a thriller about Thomism.

After first meeting with Pope Francis, the former ambassador said he later met with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the Vatican Gardens.  

“He looked at me and said, ‘So you’re ambassador now?’” Habsburg recalled. “And then he said, ‘You know you still owe me a documentary or a thriller about Thomism.” 

“That was the first thing he said. I was so blown away,” he said. “I still haven’t written it.”

“That’s the one thing many people don’t realize about Pope Benedict XVI was the sense of humor that he had that we never got to see publicly,” he said.  

Habsburg earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in 1999. 

On Pope Leo XIV 

The archduke told EWTN News he had briefly met Pope Leo XIV four times prior to his farewell visit to the pontiff on Nov. 21.  

“I’m very impressed by him. I feel [he is] a very balanced and just man who is trying to do good,” he said of the first U.S.-born pope. 

Noting Pope Leo’s fluency in many languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, and Latin, Habsburg commented that he believes the universal Church’s new leader “has several cultures in his heart and in his mind.”

“And yes, we will see the things that he’ll do. We pray for him every day,” he said.

Watch the full interview with Eduard Habsburg on the EWTN News YouTube channel.