Giotto’s Nativity fresco projected on the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. / Credit: Buffy1982/Shutterstock

Rome Newsroom, Dec 21, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

One of the world’s most beloved saints, St. Francis of Assisi, loved Christmas so much that he created the first Nativity scene to make the birth of Jesus more real.

Downtown Kansas City, Kansas. / Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Multiple Catholic schools in Kansas were targeted by what were apparently hoax bomb threats this week, according to authorities.

Law enforcement agencies in the Kansas City area reported investigating threats at numerous Catholic schools on Dec. 19. The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas confirmed in a press statement that “several” Catholic schools in the archdiocese had “received bomb threats” on both Dec. 18 and Dec. 19.

“At this time, students and staff are safe,” Archdiocesan Superintendent Vince Cascone said in the statement. “Law enforcement continues to investigate, and we are following their guidance closely.”

The archdiocese did not post a list of the schools affected by the bomb threats, though local media reported at least 13 schools targeted, 12 of which were Catholic.

The Olathe, Kansas, Police Department posted on Facebook that it had investigated a threat at the city’s Prince of Peace Catholic School. “The threat was unfounded, and it was determined that other cities in the metro were receiving similar hoax calls,” the police department said, adding that it was investigating the origin of the call.

Roeland Park Mayor Michael Poppa similarly wrote on Facebook that the threats were “unfounded.” The mayor described the hoaxes as “cowardly and deplorable attempts to spread fear and disrupt our community.”

Poppa praised authorities as well as staff at St. Agnes Catholic School “for jumping into action immediately to prioritize student safety.”

Multiple local outlets, meanwhile, reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is participating in the investigation.

The pope with boys and girls from Italian Catholic Action on Dec. 18, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV told the young people of Italian Catholic Action that they can perform a simple gesture that would be the best gift this Christmas: make peace.

null / Credit: Chinnapong/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In an era when artificial contraception often dominates public discussions on family planning, the Catholic Church continues to champion natural family planning (NFP). 

Far from merely another birth control technique, NFP invites couples to cooperate with God’s plan for married love, which “is a ‘great mystery,’ a sign of the love between Christ and his Church (Eph 5:32),” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).  

NFP — also known as a fertility awareness-based method (FABM) — relies on observing and measuring a woman’s natural signs of fertility, such as basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and hormone levels, in order to identify fertile and infertile phases of her menstrual cycle. 

Unlike chemical or mechanical contraceptives, which suppress or block fertility, NFP respects the woman’s body and its natural rhythms and allows spouses to achieve or postpone pregnancy, after mutual discernment, through informed abstinence during fertile windows. 

Most importantly, NFP honors the sacredness of the unitive and procreative aspects of the conjugal act, which the Church teaches must always be a total gift of self between the spouses and open to the gift of new human life. 

“Suppressing fertility by using contraception denies part of the inherent meaning of married sexuality and does harm to the couple’s unity,” according to the USCCB. “The total giving of oneself, body and soul, to one’s beloved is no time to say: ‘I give you everything I am — except…’ The Church’s teaching is not only about observing a rule but about preserving that total, mutual gift of two persons in its integrity.”

In his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, St. Paul VI affirmed that couples may space births for serious reasons, using natural methods that honor the “inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings” of the marital act. 

The USCCB explains that “NFP is not a contraceptive, it does nothing to suppress or block conception.”

“On the surface, there may seem to be little difference (between NFP and contraception),” according to the bishops. “But the end result is not the only thing that matters, and the way we get to that result may make an enormous moral difference. Some ways respect God’s gifts to us while others do not.”

The bishops continue: “When couples use contraception, either physical or chemical, they suppress their fertility, asserting that they alone have ultimate control over this power to create a new human life. With NFP, spouses respect God’s design for life and love. They may choose to refrain from sexual union during the woman’s fertile time, doing nothing to destroy the love-giving or life-giving meaning that is present. This is the difference between choosing to falsify the full marital language of the body and choosing at certain times not to speak that language.”

The practice of NFP traces its modern roots to the mid-20th century, evolving from early, relatively unreliable calendar-based methods in the 1930s to the smartphone app-based approaches of today. 

Common methods include the Billings Ovulation Method, which tracks cervical mucus changes, and sympto-thermal methods, which combine the charting of mucus observations, temperature shifts, and cervical changes. The Marquette Model uses “several different biomarker devices to detect urinary biomarkers (estrogen, LH, and progesterone),” according to its website.

Per USCCB data, NFP, with perfect use, yields 88% to 100% effectiveness in avoiding pregnancy, with imperfect use at 70% to 98%. For couples trying to achieve pregnancy, it typically occurs in about one year for approximately 85% of couples not using NFP, and within three to six months for those who are. 

Pope Francis praised the Billings method in 2023 as “a valuable tool” for “responsible management of procreative choices,” urging a “new revolution in our way of thinking” to value the body’s “great book of nature.” He noted its simplicity amid a “contraceptive culture,” promoting tenderness between the spouses and an authentic freedom.

Beyond efficacy at planning, preventing, or postponing pregnancy in a morally licit way, couples who use NFP acknowledge that it can be difficult but say it improves communication as well as self-mastery, transforming what can be otherwise difficult times of periodic abstinence into opportunities for deeper intimacy.

Jessica Vanderhyde, a nurse and mother of seven who is using the Marquette method because she and her husband do not feel ready to welcome another child, told CNA that while NFP can be frustrating because of the periods of abstinence it requires, it also “leads to a lot more closeness in the marriage.”

“If it’s been a long period of abstinence, we try to come up with other ways to be close. I need to make sure I’m more affectionate with him because sexual intimacy is one of the primary ways he feels I love him. If that can’t happen, I have to be conscious of that,” she said.

“We have become good at taking each other’s feelings and needs into consideration. I work at providing what he needs as much as I can.”

Vanderhyde also noted how charting symptoms can bring the couple closer as it allows the husband to really appreciate his wife’s body as well as her needs.

“The husband should be involved in the tracking of it,” she continued, “so that he fully participates in the process and doesn’t feel like he’s at the whims of his wife’s moods.”

She said it can also reveal underlying health issues like infertility or hormonal imbalances, which artificial forms of birth control can mask.

Iskali, a ministry that serves young Hispanic Catholics in the United States, seeks to form active missionary disciples. / Credit: Iskali

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Fifteen years ago, Vicente Del Real felt called to create a way to reach out to young Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. and provide them with a space to encounter God and use their gifts and talents for the Church. He went on to found Iskali, a nonprofit based in Chicago that promotes the leadership and holistic development of Latino youth, helping them flourish spiritually, personally, academically, and socially. 

Inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe’s role in the Americas as “the star of the new evangelization,” Iskali works to form, empower, and equip young Latinos to become transformative leaders and to invigorate the Catholic Church.

The name “Iskali” comes from the Nahuatl, or Aztec, language symbolizing growth, resurgence, and new beginnings. This was also the language Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke when she appeared to Juan Diego. Despite Juan Diego being from the Chichimeca people, and not an Aztec, the two groups of people shared the same language. 

Del Real told CNA in an interview that he felt the need to “respond to the urgent need to walk with young Hispanics as they navigate the questions of life, the struggles of life, and to be able to provide to them what the Church has to say and has to offer.”

He added that “at the heart of Iskali is the work of evangelization.” This is done through providing young Latinos with an “adequate formation so they can understand the faith,” which will hopefully lead them to have a “personal encounter with God.”

Iskali is founded on four pillars: faith and community, mentorship and scholarship, sports and wellness, and service to the poor. 

The pillar of faith and community involves members coming together each week for fellowship. Anywhere from five to 600 young adults gather to spend time getting to know one another and learning more about God and the Catholic faith. 

Through Iskali’s mentorship program, individuals are matched with a Latino professional who serves as a mentor and helps them with professional development. Iskali also provides scholarships for young people to attend colleges and trade schools, and works with parishes to set up a variety of sports leagues to help young people build relationships, provide another form of faith formation, and stay active. 

Additionally, once a month, Iskali communities serve those most in need — the homeless, people in hospitals, nursing homes, and immigrant families who have been affected by detentions or deportations.

Several recent studies show that the Latino population is the fastest-growing demographic in the Catholic Church. Del Real said he believes this is because “Latino young people are very attentive to the faith.”

“They have seen their faith lived in their families, our home, with their grandmas, with their mothers. Faith is kind of embedded in our culture,” he added.

In response to this growth being seen among Latinos in parishes, Iskali is launching a missionary program where a full-time missionary will be assigned to a parish that has a Hispanic population of over 50% to work in Hispanic ministry.

“We are very, very excited … this is the first missionary program that helps to serve the Latino Church in the U.S., and we hope that this missionary program will bear the fruits of vocations to marriage, vocation to priesthood in the Hispanic community,” Del Real shared.

Del Real said he also hopes that those who are a part of Iskali leave the formation knowing that they “are beloved, know that God is seeking intimacy with you, and know that he wants you to flourish as a person.”

“We always say that we hope the people flourish,” he said. “God is a God of love and he wants to see us flourish. If we are a flower in his garden, he wants us to bloom.”

A new Vatican labor regulations decree was issued after an audience granted to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, pictured here with Pope Leo XIV. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2025 / 16:22 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV approved new labor regulations at the Office of Labor of the Apostolic See (ULSA, by its Italian acronym), the Holy See’s body responsible for managing labor relations for personnel working in the Roman Curia, the Governorate of Vatican City State, and other entities directly administered by the Apostolic See.

The reform, established through a pontifical rescript signed on Nov. 25, introduces significant changes that strengthen institutional representation, improve internal coordination, and underscore the pontiff’s care for employees and the application of the Church’s social doctrine.

The document that has been released — corresponding to the ULSA’s new statute — details, in precise legal language, how labor disputes should be handled in the Vatican, reinforcing protections, procedures, and deadlines for both current and former employees of the Holy See.

Specifically, the text regulates the chapter dedicated to labor disputes, clearly establishing who can appeal, to which authorities, and within what time frames.

The document indicates that anyone who believes they have been harmed by an administrative act in labor matters — unless it has been expressly approved by the pope — may file a complaint with ULSA or take it to the Vatican judicial authority.

However, it is emphasized that attempting conciliation with the ULSA director is a mandatory condition, an indispensable requirement before pursuing any other course of action.

The text also specifies that, when required by the internal regulations of each administration, the employee must first exhaust all internal remedies, failing which his or her claim will be deemed inadmissible. Only after completing this process can the procedure before ULSA or the courts of Vatican City State be initiated.

Solutions through dialogue before resorting to legal action

Labor disputes — whether individual or collective — will be resolved preferably through conciliation mechanisms, and only in case of failure will they be referred to the ULSA Conciliation and Arbitration Board or the Vatican court. In this way, the system prioritizes solutions through dialogue before resorting to legal action.

The document also establishes a five-year statute of limitations for rights arising from the employment relationship, although it clarifies that filing a request for conciliation interrupts this period until official notification of the document that concludes this phase.

Matters falling under the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Commissions established in the general regulations of the various Vatican administrations are expressly excluded from this procedure.

Regarding deadlines, the statute stipulates that the appeal must be filed within 30 days of notification — or actual knowledge — of the contested act. The same deadline applies after a negative decision on an internal appeal or in the case of administrative silence, if the administration fails to respond within the prescribed time.

Finally, the text details the formal requirements of the claim, which must include the claimant’s personal data, the identification of the administration involved,and the act being challenged, as well as the necessary elements to allow for the proper processing of the case.

The decree was issued after an audience granted to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and coincides with the approval of the new general regulations of the Roman Curia.

Overall, the document reflects an effort to provide greater legal certainty, transparency, and procedural order to labor relations within the Vatican, in line with the recent reform initiated by Pope Leo XIV to strengthen the protection of workers and promote a culture of conciliation before resorting to legal conflict.

A more representative council

Another major innovation of the new statute is the expansion of the ULSA Council, the advisory body responsible for developing regulatory proposals. For the first time, it will include a representative from the Secretariat of State as well as from the Vicariate of Rome, the Pension Fund, and the Healthcare Fund (FAS) used by employees of the Vatican and the Holy See. This addition brings the number of newly represented entities to four and aims to strengthen the technical expertise and effective protection of workers.

The council — whose members serve a five-year term — already included representatives from various Vatican dicasteries and bodies, such as the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Secretariat for the Economy, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, and the Governorate of Vatican City State.

A more ‘synodal’ working style

The new statute also introduces a more participatory way of working. From now on, each council member will be able to propose topics for the agenda directly, a power that previously required the support of at least four members. According to Vatican sources, this measure emphasizes a more “synodal” working style and promotes the creative involvement of the various departments and staff representatives.

Leo XIV has confirmed the historical responsibilities of ULSA, an organization established by St. John Paul II in 1988 and operational since 1989, and which was further updated during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Francis.

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

Pope Leo XIV addresses employment consultants on Dec. 18, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 19, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV advocated for a labor system that serves individuals and families so that the dignity of each employee is recognized and his or her real needs are met.

During a Dec. 18 audience at the Vatican with members of the Order of Employment Consultants, the Holy Father highlighted three aspects that he considers particularly important in the business world: the dignity of the person, mediation, and the promotion of safety.

At the beginning of his address in the Apostolic Palace, the pontiff emphasized that at the heart of any work dynamic “should neither be capital, nor the laws of the market, nor profit, but the person, the family, and their well-being, to which everything else is secondary.”

Consequently, he stated that workers must “be recognized in their dignity” and receive concrete responses to their real needs, such as the needs of young families, of parents with small children, “as well as the importance of helping those who, even while working, must care for elderly and sick family members.”

“These are needs,” he pointed out, “that no truly civilized society can afford to forget or neglect.” This is especially true today, when artificial intelligence and technology “increasingly manage and influence our activities.” Therefore, he emphasized the urgent need to ensure that companies are characterized “as humane and fraternal communities.”

He also urged the establishment of fair mediation between managers and employees, avoiding “excessive bureaucratization of relationships” and “distance and detachment and distance from reality.”

Thus, he invited employment consultants to pay close attention “to the people in front of you, especially those who are in difficulty and have fewer opportunities to express their needs and assert their interests.” 

Finally, he emphasized the importance of promoting workplace safety and lamented the numerous accidents that occur at work. “Prevention is better than remediating,” he remarked.

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

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the Jubilee of Prisoners in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 14, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2025 / 11:05 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has written the preface to a new Vatican edition of the book “The Practice of the Presence of God,” a spiritual work he says is “one of the texts that has most shaped my spiritual life.”

“The Practice of the Presence of God” is a 17th-century spiritual classic written by the Carmelite friar Lawrence of the Resurrection.

The pontiff shared the personal importance of this work during the return flight to Rome at the end of his first international trip to Turkey and Lebanon earlier this month.

“It’s a very simple book, by someone who doesn’t even give his last name — Brother Lawrence — written many years ago,” he said at the time.

“But it describes, if you will, a type of prayer and spirituality where one simply gives his life to the Lord and allows the Lord to lead.”

The book that has ‘shaped my spiritual life’

In a preface to “The Practice of the Presence of God,” published by the Vatican Publishing House (LEV) in Italian, the pope goes deeper into this personal experience and places the work within his own journey of faith.

“As I have had occasion to say, together with the writings of St. Augustine and other books, this is one of the texts that has most shaped my spiritual life and has formed me in what the path for knowing and loving the Lord can be,” he writes.

Leo emphasizes that the small book by Brother Lawrence places at the center not merely the experience but a true “practice” of the presence of God, lived in everyday life.

It is, he explains, a path that is “simple and arduous at the same time. Simple, because it requires nothing other than “constantly calling God to mind, with small, continual acts of praise, prayer, supplication, adoration, in every action and in every thought, with him alone as our horizon, source, and end.”

It is demanding because it requires “a journey of purification, of ascetic discipline, of renunciation and conversion of the most intimate part of ourselves — of our mind and our thoughts, even more than of our actions,” he explains.

In this context, the pontiff cites St. Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians: “Have in you the same sentiments as Christ Jesus” — to underscore that “it is not only our attitudes and behaviors that must be conformed to God, but our very sentiments, our very way of feeling.”

Making daily tasks ‘easy and light’

In the preface, Leo underscores that this spiritual path, in which the presence of God becomes “familiar and occupies our inner space,” is where “graces and spiritual riches blossom, and even daily tasks become easy and light.”

The pope situates Brother Lawrence’s message in the context of today’s world. The writings of this Carmelite, who lived with luminous faith through a century marked by conflicts and violence — “certainly no less violent than our own” — can, he affirms, “also be an inspiration and a help for the lives of us men and women of the third millennium.”

Beyond ‘moralism’

The writing of Brother Lawrence shows us “that there is no circumstance that can separate us from God, that each of our actions, each of our occupations, and even each of our mistakes acquires infinite value if lived in the presence of God, continually offered to him,” the Holy Father says.

The pope adds that the whole of Christian ethics “can truly be summed up in this continual calling to mind of the fact that God is present: He is here.”

“This remembrance, which is more than a simple memory because it involves our feelings and affections, overcomes all moralism and every reduction of the Gospel to a mere set of rules, and shows us that truly, as Jesus promised us, the experience of entrusting ourselves to God the Father already gives us a hundredfold here on earth,” he explains.

“Entrusting ourselves to the presence of God means tasting a foretaste of paradise,” Leo writes.

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

Servant of God Enrique Shaw. / Credit: Acdeano, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 19, 2025 / 10:35 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Enrique Shaw, an Argentine layman, husband, father, and businessman.

Bishop Richard Moth, a former bishop of Britain’s military ordinariate, was appointed as the 12th archbishop of Westminster on Dec. 19, 2025. / Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

London, England, Dec 19, 2025 / 09:26 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Richard Moth, a former bishop of Britain’s military ordinariate, as the 12th archbishop of Westminster.